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throughout this description , the preferred embodiment and examples shown should be considered as exemplars , rather than limitations on the apparatus and methods of the present invention . referring now to the drawings , there is illustrated in fig1 the various air flow components of an hvac system and the central dispensing system of this invention . the portion of the hvac system illustrated includes an air movement generating device , such as a blower 10 which generates an air stream which pass through duct work 11 to a desired residential or commercial space . the hvac system includes a heat exchanger 12 positioned in the air stream path to heat the air moving through the duct 11 in response to the temperature set by a hvac thermostat controller 20 , the input of which is entered through a user operated keypad / display unit 100 . in addition , an a / c coil 14 is positioned in the air stream to cool the temperature thereof in response to the temperature programmed through the thermostat 20 . the blower 10 , duct work 11 , heat exchanger 12 and a / c coil 14 are standard components utilized in hvac forced air systems . positioned down stream from the blower 10 , heat exchanger 12 and a / c coil 14 , in the direction of air movement , is a pressure or flow sensor 21 , such as available from sensotec inc ., 2080 arlingate lane , columbus , ohio 43228 , a humidity sensor 23 and a temperature sensor 25 , such as a he - 6310 series duct - mount humidity / temperature sensor , available from johnson controls , inc ., 507 east michigan street , milwaukee , wis . 53202 , all of which are connected to a system central processor 50 , such as an intel type 8051 microcontroller ds89c420 - qcs dallas semiconductor ultra high speed 8051 based microcontroller plcc package available from newark electronics , 3 marcus boulevard , albany , n . y . 12205 - 1129 , for providing air stream sensor inputs as to the air movement , moisture content of the air stream and the air stream temperature to the system central processor . further down stream from these sensors , is a dispenser 16 which may be in the form of an ultrasonic transducer , available from keramos advanced piezoelectrics , 5460 w . 84 th street , indianapolis , ind . 46268 and etalon innovative piezo transducers , p . o . box 127 , lebanon , ind . 46052 , or vaporizer through which water vapor and / or water - soluble materials , available from aromatech co ., 130 industrial parkway , somerville , n . j . 088076 , are dispensed into the hvac air stream in response to a user - defined program input to the system central processor 50 by means of the keypad / display unit 100 , such as a type xk - 5lc or type lcd - 96m multi menu keypad available from fbii , 149 eileen way , soyosset , n . y . 11791 - 5316 or jds technologies , 12200 thatcher ct ., poway , calif . 92064 - 6876 . while a single dispenser 16 is illustrated , it is to be understood that a single dispensing head may be utilized as illustrated or multiple dispensing heads may be utilized with each one of the multiple dispensing heads being connected by means of a dilution manifold to each individual media reservoir . the dispensing heads may be piezo - electric ultrasonic transducers , atomizer spray nozzles or a media saturated evaporation wick . the dispenser 16 , as illustrated in fig1 is shown dispensing into the main plenum of an hvac system for a centralized effect from the medium dispensed . however , it is to be understood that separate dispensers may be utilized in various trunk ducts as well as the central plenum for dispersal of the medium into specific locations serviced by the hvac system . the display / hvac thermostat portion 20 of the keypad / display unit 100 is coupled to the system central processor 50 to provide the inputs illustrated in fig2 to control the heating / cooling operation of the system central processor 50 . the system central processor 50 is connected to a suitable standard power supply 51 to provide power to the unit upon start up . at this time a thermostat control signal is sent 20 c from the system central processor 50 to actuate one or more of the blower 10 , heat exchanger 12 , or a / c coil 14 , in response to an on / off signal determined from the thermostat setting . the system central processor 50 is programmed in the manner illustrated in fig3 to control the operation of the media dispensing system on a daily basis , to control the dispensing of a selected medium or media , and to control the intensity thereof during the programmed cycle . the system operation , in response to the user - defined program inputs , and the output from various component sensors used in controlling system operations , are controlled in the manner illustrated in fig4 . referring again to fig1 the input from the user - defined program keypad / display unit 100 , including the thermostat signal , is coupled 20 a to the system central processor 50 and appropriate display information is coupled 20 b from the system central processor 50 back to the keypad / display 100 to confirm that the signals input from the keypad / display unit 100 have been received and processed by the system central processor 50 . while in the preferred embodiment disclosed herein as the best mode contemplated by the inventor for practicing the invention the keypad / display unit 100 is utilized , it is to be understood that the input coupled 20 a to the dispenser system central processor 50 could be from a home automation control system commonly used to network and integrate the control and function of several subsystems in the space being controlled , with the feedback 20 b from the system central processor 50 being coupled to such an automation control system instead of a keypad / display unit 100 . a suitable home automation control system , not shown , has been found to be an omni , omni lt , and omni pro models available from home automation , inc ., 5725 powell street , suite a , new orleans , la . 70123 . when the hvac system is in operation , an input 21 a will be received from the pressure or flow sensor 21 to the system central processor 50 confirming the movement of the air stream in the duct 11 , and input signals will be received 23 a from the humidity sensor 23 and from the temperature sensor 25 to provide input 25 a to the system central processor 50 as to the moisture content and the temperature of the air stream moving through the duct 11 . this information will be processed through the system central processor 50 and control 30 a the operation of a water intake control valve 30 , available from south bend controls , 1237 northside boulevard , south bend , ind . 46615 ; hydraforce , inc ., 500 barclay boulevard , lincolnshire , ill . 60069 ; and deltrol controls , 2740 south 20 th street , milwaukee , wis . 53215 , through which water passes from a suitable municipal or domestic supply source 32 into a dilution manifold 34 wherein water soluble media to be dispensed into the air stream are added for dilution prior to dispensing . the water from water supply 32 is also connected to one or more media reservoir tanks , illustrated in the preferred embodiment as three reservoirs 35 a , 35 b and 35 c . these reservoirs may be either permanent containers which are refillable , or be replaceable as modular units . in addition , each reservoir 35 a , 35 b and 35 c incorporates a recognition media such as a bar code , magnetic strip or holographic symbol so that the system central processor 50 will receive a signal that the reservoir is in proper position and the information contained therein will effect display of the particular medium being dispensed on the keypad / display unit 100 . in addition , it is to be understood that the contour of each of the reservoirs may be such that when the reservoir is properly positioned , such a signal will be provided to the system central processor . each of the reservoirs 35 a , 35 b and 35 c preferably contain an inner bladder which effectively creates a second chamber within the media reservoir and the space around the inner bladder is connected in parallel to the water supply 32 such that the water fills the space around the bladder to displace the media contained within the reservoir towards the mixing manifold . each of the media reservoirs is connected to the dilution manifold 34 by media output valves 36 a , 36 b and 36 c such as inert proportional valves available from the water intake control valve supplier and which are individually activated 37 a , 37 b and 37 c by the system control processor 50 to control the dispensing of water soluble media into the dilution manifold 34 from the respective media reservoirs 35 a , 35 b and 35 c . the water soluble media is mixed with water in the dilution manifold 34 and passes to the ultrasonic transducer or vaporizer 16 in response to the actuation 38 a of a dispensing control valve 38 available from the water intake control valve suppliers previously identified and operated by the system central processor 50 in accordance with the information coupled to the central system processor by the temperature and humidity sensors 25 and 23 , respectively , and the programmed input entered by the user through the keypad / display unit 100 . the intensity of the media contained within the media reservoirs may be achieved by varying the amount of media dispensed during and “ on ” cycle wherein the media reservoirs contain a constant concentration of the media or the quantity of the medium dispensed may be held constant with the concentration of the media being controlled by controlling the dilution of the medium in the dilution manifold 34 . the media reservoirs 35 a , 35 b and 35 c are each provided with a sensor 39 a , 39 b and 39 c , respectively , available from gems sensors , 1 cowles road , plainville , conn . 06062 , coupled to the system central processor 50 to monitor the level of the medium contained within each reservoir for proper dispensing of the medium contained therein . sensors 39 a , 39 b and 39 c may be mounted directly upon the respective reservoirs , or upon the chassis or other mounting means for the reservoirs . alternatively , instead of actively monitoring the level of the medium in the reservoirs 35 a , 35 b and 35 c , the system central processor 50 could calculate the quantity dispensed and thereby derive the amount remaining , assuming that the initial amount supplied to these reservoirs is constant , or otherwise “ known ” by the system central processor . the system central processor 50 can be programmed , as illustrated in fig3 to dispense one or more of the media from the reservoirs 35 a , 35 b and 35 c into the dilution manifold 34 in increments stepped to vary the intensity or concentration of the media in the dilution manifold in accordance with the input to the system central processor 50 through the keypad / display unit 100 . a water supply pressure feedback input 33 a is connected to the system control processor 50 from a check valve and pressure sensor 33 , available from sensotec inc . 2080 arlingate lane , columbus , ohio 43228 , carried in the municipal or domestic water supply line to ensure that an adequate supply of domestic water 32 at a desired pressure is available for use in the dispensing system . referring now to fig2 there is illustrated the informational inputs that a user enters into the system through operation of the keypad / display unit 100 to control operation of the system central processor 50 to perform the desired functions . upon initial system power - up , the user manually enters the time and date through the keypad / display unit 100 which is coupled 102 to the system central processor 50 . this information , once coupled to the system central processor 50 , will be used by the processor to accurately maintain current time in a manner known to those skilled in the art , and displayed on the keypad / display unit 100 . the user then enters information to place the system central processor in either an “ active ” or “ standby ” mode . if the “ standby ” mode is selected , the system central processor 100 will be idle and the keypad / display unit 100 will display that the system is in the “ standby ” mode awaiting further instruction . if the user elects to operate the system , the “ active ” mode is selected , displayed , and the user may elect to have the system operated in either a “ manual ” or “ program ” mode . if the “ manual ” mode of operation is selected , the user can either elect to have the system operate in a “ default ” sequence or a “ specified ” sequence of operation . in the “ default ” sequence of operation , the system central processor 50 will sequentially actuate the first medium dispenser 35 a which will continue to operate to depletion . upon depletion a signal will be sent by the sensor 39 a to the system central processor 50 which will then actuate the next available medium dispenser , e . g . : 35 b , which will continue to operate to depletion . at that time the sensor 39 b will send a signal to the system central processor 50 which will actuate the next available medium dispenser until all of the medium has been dispensed , at which time the system central processor 50 will cause a message to be displayed on the keypad / display unit 100 that the dispensers are empty and the system has been placed on “ standby ”. if the user elects to choose a “ specified ” sequence rather than the “ default ” sequence , the user can input a particular order by which the media will be used to depletion , by entering instructions through the keypad / display unit 100 for the system central processor 50 to start with a first programmed medium dispenser and then proceed upon depletion to a second specified medium dispenser and upon the depletion thereof to proceed to another specified medium dispenser . however , regardless of which mode of operation the user selects , in either of these modes the user is required to set the intensity level of each of the media to be discharged from the dispenser 35 a , 35 b , and 35 c into the dilution manifold 34 . the manner in which the intensity parameters are input to the system central processor 50 is illustrated in fig3 . if the user chooses to operate the system in a “ program ” mode ; whereby individual medium and intensity parameters can be selected and set for individual days of the week , the user selects the “ program ” option when the system “ active ” display is presented . referring to fig3 upon entering the “ program ” mode the user is instructed to either accept or edit a previous program setting . if at this time the user elects not to enter the “ program ” mode , an “ escape ” instruction is provided which returns the user to the “ active ” display whereby the system may be operated in the “ manual ” mode or the user may return the system to the “ standby ” mode . if , however , the user elects to proceed with the “ program ” mode , the user must either “ accept ” the previous program settings ( or the factory settings if this is an initial installation ) or select the “ edit ” option if it is desired to make changes in the program previously entered . throughout the operation in the “ program ” mode , an “ escape ” option is available to enable the user to return to the “ active ” input level thereby cancelling all instructions entered to that point and the system returning to the previous program settings , or a “ menu step back ” option is also available to permit the user to correct an entry error without losing the settings previously entered . upon selecting the “ edit ” option , the user sequentially selects each day of the week to define the parameters of operation of the system for that day . these parameters include the time of program operation , identified as “ cycle 1 ”, “ cycle 2 ”, “ cycle 3 ” and “ cycle 4 ”. these times of operation are set for each day and may be individually accepted as presented previously , or edited . after the program cycle is selected , the particular medium , water vapor only or one of the media 35 a , 35 b , 35 c which is to be dispensed , maybe chosen . the intensity level ( concentration ) of the selected medium which is to be dispensed may be selected as well as the time period selected for operation during the program cycle can be chosen and entered through the keyboard / display unit 100 into the system central processor 50 . this information is sequentially entered into the system central processor 50 through the keypad / display unit 100 for each day of the week . although the system described above allows the user to choose from a plurality of concentration levels for each of a plurality of media , the percentage of media in the dispensed solution remains the same for each level any time the system is in use . for example , “ media a ” may have a concentration of 1 . 3 % at the “ low ” setting and 20 % at the “ high ” setting . thus , if the user wants a concentration of media a which is less than 1 . 3 % or greater than 20 %, this cannot be achieved with the system as described to this point . this is illustrated by the graph of fig5 providing an example of the concentration algorithm , a line of constant slope , for media a . the concentration algorithm and percentages of media at each of five intensity levels are as follows : in the user calibration procedure of the present invention , the above algorithm is in effect when media a is recognized by the central processor as the medium in use . at system startup , the default value at the medium intensity level , i . e ., 5 %, is automatically chosen . the medium , assumed in this case to be a fragrance , is dispensed at this level for a predetermined time period , e . g ., one hour . at the end of that time , the display prompts the user to enter the intensity level which most closely corresponds to the user &# 39 ; s perception of the intensity of fragrance at that time . if the user &# 39 ; s sense of smell and personal preference for the fragrance indicate that the intensity level is in the medium - high range , the user presses the “ med / high ” button on the data entry / display 100 . doing so resets the dilution scale by relocating the default x value on the algorithm . that is , the concentration algorithm is shifted from the position shown by the dotted line in fig5 a ( i . e ., the position of fig5 ) to the solid line position of fig5 a . the concentration of media is reduced at each of the five selectable intensity levels . once the user has calibrated the output intensity scale for a particular fragrance ( or other medium ) the system will apply that scale whenever that fragrance ( or medium ) is recognized . “ recognition ” may be implemented , as described earlier herein , by incorporation in each media reservoir of machine readable indicia such as a bar code , magnetic strip , holographic symbol or rfid tag ( as commonly used in retail stores for security purposes ). the user may re - calibrate at any time , and the system will overwrite the former scale with the newly chosen one . the logic block diagram of fig6 illustrates the sequence of steps in the calibration procedure wherein the user provides inputs based on that user &# 39 ; s perceived ( desired ) intensity of the medium which is dispensed at the default level for a predetermined ( default ) time period . referring now to fig4 the user inputs the initial information into the system central processor 50 through the keypad / display unit 100 in the manner previously described , selects the mode of operation and programs the system as desired . the temperature sensor 25 , humidity sensor 23 , flow sensor 21 , media sensors 39 a , 39 b , and 39 c , and water supply sensor 33 a all provide their respective input signals to the system central processor 50 . the keyboard / display 100 shows the status of the informational inputs . if the program cycle inputs , the operational sensor inputs and time of operation call for an activation of a dispensing sequence , dispensing operation is initiated and the keypad / display 100 shows that the system is dispensing as instructed . the selected media dispensing valve 36 a , 36 b or 36 c is opened the prescribed extent and duration . the water intake control valve 30 is opened allowing water and the selected medium to mix in the dilution manifold 34 . the dispensing control valve 38 is opened and the dispenser 16 is actuated for a time period determined by the parameters of the ambient air moving through the air duct 11 . the input from the ambient air flow sensors 21 , 23 and 25 coupled to the system central processor 50 prevent the system from dispensing media at a level beyond the capacity of the air stream flow to move the dispensed medium through the hvac system . referring to fig6 upon installation of a media reservoir the indicia thereon is read to indicate presence of the reservoir and identity of the medium . if the medium is recognized as one for which user - programmed functional data has previously been entered , the system proceeds to operate according to such instructions . otherwise , the user performs , via the keypad data entry , the necessary input instructions to permit the system to operate at a default intensity level . after operation at that level for a predetermined time period , the user is prompted to enter the perceived concentration level . stated another way , the user enters a level of intensity rating the concentration during the default period relative to the concentration which the user would prefer . this action serves to shift the concentration algorithm in the manner illustrated in fig5 a . it will be understood that , although the invention has been described as having a diffuser and various sensors mounted in an air flow plenum of a heating , ventilating and / or air conditioning system , it could instead be incorporated in a console or table top humidifier located in the occupied living space with the diffuser discharging directly into the living space . while this invention has been described in the specification and illustrated in the drawings with reference to a preferred embodiment , the structure of which has been disclosed herein , it will be understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains that various changes may be made , and equivalents may be substituted for elements of the invention without departing from the scope of the claims . therefore , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed in the specification and shown in the drawings as the best mode presently known by the inventors for carrying out this invention , nor confined to the details set forth , but that the invention will include all embodiments , modifications and changes as may come within the scope of the following claims : | 5 |
referring to fig1 of the drawings , biochemical waste water including waste such as activated sludge , garbage , raw sewage , waste water from alcohol distillation processes or concentrated waste water discharged from food manufacturing processes is introduced to an acid reactor 20 for acid fermentation , in which the waste is contacted with acid fermentation bacterias and anaerobically maintained at a prescribed temperature for several days . while the acid fermentation is effected in the acid reactor 20 , macromolecular substances are converted to low molecular weight substances and further decomposed into volatile organic acids . it is preferred to keep the waste within the acid reactor 20 at a temperature of 30 ° to 50 ° c and a ph of 3 to 7 . these temperature and ph conditions are appropriately chosen depending on the kinds of the waste and bacteria used . it is especially preferred that during the acid fermentation . the ph in the reactor 20 be adjusted to a suitable level by adding a neutralizing agent such as naoh , koh , na 2 co 3 , ca ( oh ) 2 or caco 3 . the agitation and temperature controls are performed by conventional methods used for anaerobic stabilization processes ; for example , a gas agitation , a mechanical agitation method , a method using heat exchanger and a direct vapor blowing method . as acid formers , acid fermentation bacteria belonging to the genera of clostridum , escherichia , bacillus and staphyloccus are used . in general , two or more kinds of bacteria are employed at the same time . however , a single species of bacteria can be employed as acid formers . after the acid fermentation has completed , the waste is introduced in a separator 30 wherein the waste is separated into supernatant liquid and waste solid by a solid - liquid separation method such as sedimentation separation method , a low speed centrifugal separation method or a filtration method . the solid including the cells of acid fermentation bacteria and undigested residue partly are recycled to the acid reactor 20 . the supernatant liquid ( which contains the volatile organic acids ) is introduced in a methane reactor 40 for methane fermentation , in which the volatile acids are converted to methane gas and carbon dioxide gas . in order to perform this methane fermentation , it is preferred to heat the supernatant liquid at 30 ° to 50 ° c under an anaerobic atmosphere while sufficiently agitating and adjusting the ph 7 to 8 . heating and agitating can be accomplished by the method described above with respect to the acid fermentation . adjustment of ph is accomplished by adding a mineral acid or an organic acid . as the methane formers , there can be used any known methane fermentation bacteria such as methane fermentation bacterias belonging to the genera of metanosarcina , metanococcus and metanobacterium . the gas produced while methane fermentation comprises 60 to 90 % of methane as main components and 10 to 40 % of carbon dioxide , and minute amounts of h 2 s , n 2 and h 2 . the gas produced while methane fermentation is mixed with the gas produced while acid fermentation and used as a heat source for the temperature control of the treatment system and a power source for agitation . the waste after completion of the methane fermentation in the methane reactor 40 is separated into supernatant liquid and waste solid . the supernatant liquid is discharged as effluent . the waste solid is withdrawn as waste sludge and dehydrated , dried and then used for organic fertilizers . in order to further enhance the treatment efficiency of the stabilization process , a part of the waste solid may be recycled in the acid reactor 40 . a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to fig2 of the drawings . in this embodiment , a preliminary treatment of the waste is conducted . the waste in a raw material tank 11 is introduced to a pretreatment tank 12 through a pipe 101 before acid fermentation , where the waste is preliminarily treated at a ph of 1 . 0 to 3 . 0 while heating , by a heater 13 . an ordinary biochemical waste including activated sludge is a kind of a hydrophilic colloid having a state that resembles a state of a hydrated gel , and it has a solid concentration of about 5 % and takes a slurry or pasty form . therefore , a large agitation power is required for digestion . even in the case of such a biochemical waste , by performing a heat treatment under acid conditions , macromolecular components are modified and partially decomposed to reduce the viscosity of the waste , the subsequent digestion processes can be facilitated and both the digestion efficiency and the gas yield can be highly improved . in this preliminary treatment , good effects are obtained when the ph is lower than 3 . 5 . the lower the ph in the pretreatment tank , the higher the effect of the preliminary treatment . however , from the economical view point , it is preferred that the preliminary treatment be conducted at a ph of 1 . 0 to 3 . 0 . not only mineral acids such as sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid but also organic acids such as acetic acid and citric acid are effectively used for this acidification . from the economical view point , sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid are preferable . further , high concentration acids are preferable because troubles caused by the use of dilute acids are prevented . the amount of acids added changes considerably depending on the kind of solid content of the raw materials and the kind and concentration of the acids used . in general , in order to obtain the above preferred ph condition , for example , 35 % hcl can be added in an amount of 0 . 1 to 1 % weight / weight of waste . the reduction of the viscosity can not be obtained by a preliminary treatment under neutral condition at a high temperature of above 150 ° c . by a preliminary treatment under alkaline conditions , the viscosity is rather increased and it is necessary that the heating should be conducted at a temperature of at least 60 ° c for at least 1 minute . however , if the treatment is conducted at excessively higher temperature for a long period , for example at 170 ° c for 20 minutes , decomposition products inhibiting the digestion are formed . accordingly , the preliminary treatment is preferably conducted at a temperature not higher that 160 ° c for 10 minutes at the longest under acid conditions . however , the preliminary treatment can be omitted for simplifying the system . further , when the waste contains large solid , it is preferable to pulverize the waste to slurry prior to the acid fermentation . the waste in which has been subjected to this preliminary treatment is then introduced to an acid fermentation reactor 21 through a pipe 102 and contacted with acid formers under an anaerobic condition . after the acid fermentation is completed the waste containing the undigested residue the cells of acid formers and the volatile organic acids is introduced into a first settling tank 31 through a pipe 103 ; in which the undigested residue is separated by a solid - liquid separation method from the supernatant liquid including cells of acid formers and the volatile organic acids . the supernatant liquid thus separated is introduced into a heat treatment tank 32 through a pipe 104 and the cells of acid formers are heated by a heater 34 to physiologically deactivate and form an agglomeration of cells . in order to obtain a good agglomeration , it is necessary to conduct the heat treatment at a temperature at least 70 ° c for at least 1 minute . further , a good agglomeration and sedimentation can be obtained when the ph is in a region from 3 to 9 , and if at least 200 ppm of ca 2 + , mg 2 + or al 3 + are present , the agglomeration and sedimentation can be accomplished very easily . as the ca agent , there can be employed calcium hydroxide , calcium chloride , calcium carbonate , calcium nitrate and organic acid salts of calcium . the agglomerated cells of the acid formers are introduced in a second settling tank 33 through a pipe 105 and are sedimented therein . thus the sedimented cells are separated from the supernatant liquid including volatile organic acid and returned to the acid fermentation reactor 21 through a pipe 110 and 111 . further the sedimented cells can be introduced to the preliminary treatment tank 12 through the pipe 110 and a pipe 112 . the supernatant liquid in the settling tank 33 is sent into a methane fermentation reactor 41 through a pipe 106 , wherein the supernatant liquid is contacted with methane formers for methane fermentation under an anaerobic condition and the volatile organic acids in the supernatant liquid are converted to methane gas and carbon dioxide gas . also the undigested residue separated in the first settling tank 31 is introduced to the methane reactor 41 through a pipe 109 for the methane fermentation as described above . the gas generated in the acid reactor 21 and methane reactor 41 is introduced in a gas storage tank 62 through pipes 201 , 202 , a desulfurizing device 61 and a pipe 203 . the composition of the gas generated in the acid fermentation is mainly 70 to 90 % of co 2 , 1 to 15 % of h 2 and minute amounts of n 2 and h 2 s . the gas thus formed in the acid fermentation is used for dilution of a high - calory gas generated at the subsequent methane fermentation step , which is rich in ch 4 , or is discharged into open air after desulfurization with a ferric salt or utilized effectively after compression . the composition of the gases generated in the methane reactor 41 is 60 to 90 % of methane and 10 to 40 % of carbon dioxide gas , and minute amounts of h 2 s , n 2 and h 2 . the waste in which has been completed the methane fermentation in the methane reactor 41 , is introduced to a third setting tank 51 through a pipe 107 in which the waste is separated by a solid - liquid separation method into a supernatant liquid and a waste sludge . the supernatant liquid is then discharged from the setting tank 51 through a pipe 108 as an effluent after a deprivation of bod ( biological oxygen demand ) by a treatment of activated sludge . the waste sludge is withdrawn from the settling tank 51 through a pipe 113 and 114 . usually , it is dehydrated , dried and then used as materials for production of organic fertilizers . it is preferable to recycle a part of thus separated waste sludge to further enhance the efficiency of the methane fermentation through a pipe 115 and 116 , because the reaction speed of the methane fermentation is lower than that of the acid fermentation . further , because the waste sludge thus separated includes much of methane formers , it is preferable to recycle the waste sludge to the preliminary treatment tank 12 or the acid reactor 21 through pipes 113 , 115 , 118 , and 117 as raw materials , for the purpose to enhance the gas yield of the system . in order to enhance the efficiency of the methane fermentation , it is preferable to recycle a part of thus separated waste sludge . 2 . 5 ml of 35 % hcl was added to 490 g of activated sludge ( having a solid content of 1 . 5 % and an organic content of 6 . 1 %) from a city sewage disposal plant , so as to adjust the ph to 2 . 0 . the waste was charged in a stainless beaker and heated at 95 ° c for 5 minutes while agitating . then , 2 . 5 ml of 30 % naoh was added to adjust the ph to 5 . 8 and the waste was charged in a 1 liter capacity glass acid fermentation tank and inoculated with 10 g of a cultured broth obtained by inoculating the preliminary treated sludge having the same concentration as above with acid fermentation bacteria , i . e . clostridum , escherichia , bacillus and staphyloccus separated from garbage and conducting an anaerobic cultivation at 40 ° c for 4 days . then , the acid fermentation was conducted under an anaerobic condition for 3 days at an agitation speed of 150 to 200 rpm at 40 ° c while automatically adjusting the ph to 5 . 8 . after the acid fermentation , the waste was transferred into a settling tank , and 65 g of the residue having a solid concentration of 20 % was separated therefrom . then , 50 mg of cacl 2 was added to 440 g of the highly turbid supernatant liquid and it was heated at 100 ° c for 5 minutes to agglomerate the cells of the acid fermentation bacteria , which were then separated in a settling tank . thus , about 10 g of the cells of the acid fermentation bacteria were recovered . hcl was added to thus recovered cells of the acid fermentation bacteria to adjust the ph to 2 . 0 , and the cells were heated at 95 ° c for 5 minutes and treated under the same condition as above by using a 100 ml capacity tank . the above supernatant liquid was combined with the undigested residue and the cells which were subjected to the acidifying treatment again , and the mixture was charged in a 1 liter capacity methane fermentation tank and inoculated with 10 g of methane fermentation bacteria , i . e . metanosarcina , metanococcus and metanobacterium cultured in the above supernatant liquid . the anaerobic cultivation was conducted at 40 ° c and the amount of the digestion gas produced was measured every day . in a 1 liter capacity glass acid fermentation tank , 490 g of activated sludge having a solid content of 1 . 6 % and an organic content of 6 . 1 % from a city sewage disposal plant was charged , and the activated sludge was inoculated with 10 g of a cultured broth obtained by inoculating sludge having the same concentration as that of the above activated sludge with acid fermentation bacteria separated from garbage , i . e . clostridum , escherichia , bacillus and staphyloccus and conducting an anaerobic cultivation at 40 ° c for 4 days . the acid fermentation was conducted at an agitation speed of 150 to 200 rpm and a temperature of 40 ° c for 3 days while automatically adjusting the ph to 5 . 8 . after the acid fermentation has completed , the waste was transferred to a setting tank to separate therefrom 69 g of an unacidified residue ( having a solid content of 19 %). then , 50 mg of cacl 2 was added to the supernatant liquid containing cells of the acid fermentation bacteria suspended therein and was heated at 100 ° c for 7 minutes to agglomerate the cells of the acid fermentation bacteria . the cells were separated in a settling tank to obtain about 11 g of the cells , and the cells were subjected to the acid fermentation under the same condition as described above by using a 100 ml capacity tank . the supernatant liquid obtained by the acid fermentation was mixed with the unacidified residue and the cells of the acid fermentation bacteria which had been subjected to the acid fermentation again , and the mixture was charged in a 1 liter capacity methane fermentation tank and inoculated with 10 g of a cultured broth of methane fermentation bacteria , i . e . in the same supernatant liquid as mentioned above , and an anaerobic cultivation was conducted at 40 ° c and the amount of the digestion gas produced was measured every day . for comparison , experiments of the anaerobic treatment was conducted according to the conventional methods . following two examples c and d are the result of the conventional methods . the treatment was conducted according to the conventional two - phase anaerobic method on the same sludge as in the example a . in this example , the waste was subjected to centrifugal separation after acid fermentation at 6 , 000 g for 5 minutes , and the supernatent liquid from which the residue and cells of acid fermentation bacteria had been withdrawn from the waste was subjected to the methane fermentation . the treatment was conducted on the same waste as in the example a according to the conventional anaerobic stabilization method in which the waste was treated within a same treatment tank for both the acid fermentation and methane fermentation period . referring now to fig4 of the drawings , curves a , b , c , and d respectively show the results of the example a , b , c , and d . as apparent from the fig4 the digestion gas productivity and treatment efficiency of the present methods a and b are superior to that of the conventional methods c and d . further , as apparent from the curves a and b , the gas productivity of the example a in which pretreatment of the waste is conducted before the acid fermentation is superior to that of the example b . referring now to fig3 of the drawings , in which the same reference numeral indicates the same function or apparatus as in fig2 biochemical waste stored in a raw material tank 11 is introduced to the pretreatment tank 12 through a pipe 301 . as described with respect to fig2 after completed the preliminary treatment of the waste in the pretreatment tank 12 , the waste is introduced to the acid reactor 21 for the acid fermentation through a pipe 302 . the waste in the acid reactor 21 , which contains the unacidified residue the cells of the acid formers and volatile organic acids , is introduced to an unacidified residue settling tank 31 through a pipe 303 , in which the cells of acid formers and the volatile organic acids are separated from the unacidified residue by a solid - liquid separation method . as far as the activity of the cells of acid formers are not inhibited , any methods can be employed such as a sedimentation separation , a centrifugal separation using a low speed centrifugal separator for concentration of sludges , and a filtration method . since the unacidified residue can readily be sedimented by standing for a short period , the intended object can be obtained sufficiently in many cases by the sedimentation separation method . in such a case that only a little amount of unacidified residue is formed , the settling tank 31 can be omitted . the unacidified residue thus separated in the settling tank 31 can hardly be acidified any more , and may not be directly discharged from the treatment system because of bad smell , so that the unacidified residue is treated by methane fermentation . on the other hand , the supernatant liquid including cells of acid formers , are introduced to a bacteria separator 35 through a pipe 304 , in which the digestion gas from the gas storage tank 62 is introduced through a pipe 407 to the bottom of the bacteria separator 35 . in the bacteria separator 35 , there is provided a low wall to partition the separator 35 into first and second chambers . the supernatant liquid introduced in the first chamber is bubbled by the digestion gas introduced through the pipe 407 and bubbles including organic acids are overflown into the second chamber , thereby the cells of acid formers are separated and left in the first chamber . thus separated cells of acid formers are recycled for further acid fermentation to the pretreatment tank 12 or the acid reactor 21 through pipe 313 , 315 , 316 , 317 . when the operation is conducted continuously for a long period , excessive amount of the acid formers are produced . in this case , the separated acid formers may be directly fed to the methane reactor 41 . the effluent overflown in the second chamber , which contains organic acids and from which the cells of acid formers have been removed , is fed to the methane reactor 41 through a pipe 305 and the organic acids are converted to methane and carbon dioxide gas by methane formers . the preferred conditions of the methane formentation are the same as described with respect to fig1 . the waste in which has been completed the methane fermentation in the methane reactor 41 , is introduced to a settling tank 51 through a pipe 306 in which the waste is separated by a solid - liquid separation method into a supernatant liquid and a waste sludge . the supernatant liquid including methane formers is then fed to a bacteria separator 52 through a pipe 307 , which has the same construction as the bacteria separator 35 , wherein the supernatant liquid is separated into waste sludge including methane formers and waste effluent by bubble separating method . the waste effluent is withdrawn through a pipe 308 , and the waste sludge including cells of methane formers is partly withdrawn through pipes 318 and 319 and partly recycled to the methane reactor 41 for methane fermentation through pipes 381 and 320 . the waste sludge thus separated in the settling tank 51 , which has only a slight sewage smell or ammonia smell , is withdrawn from the treatment system through a pipe 322 , dehydrated , dried and can be used as organic fertilizers . in this embodiment , a methane reactor 36 is employed in addition to the methane reactor 41 , which is exclusively used for the methane fermentation of the unacidified residue in the settling tank 31 and the cells of acid formers in the bacteria separator 35 . the unacidified residue in the settling tank 31 can be directly fed to the methane fermentation reactor 41 , however , when the unacidified residue has a high solid concentration , it is preferable to treat the unacidified residue in the methane reactor 36 provided in addition to the methane reactor 41 so as to reduce the power consumed for agitation in the reactor 41 . the unacidified residue through the pipe 309 and the cells of acid formers through the pipe 314 is mixed with the waste sludge including the cells of methane formers through the pipe 321 and anaerobically treated under the existence of the methane formers . the waste in which has been completed the methane fermentation in the reactor 36 is introduced to a settling tank 37 through the pipe 310 . the supernatant liquid thus separated in the settling tank 37 is recycled to the reactor 36 through a pipe 311 , repeatedly treated in the reactor 36 and finally withdrawn through a pipe 312 as a waste sludge . the gas generated in the acid reactor 21 , methane reactor 41 and 36 is introduced in a gas storage tank 62 through pipes 401 , 402 , 404 and 406 , a desulfurizing device 61 and a pipe 409 . the gas introduced to the bacteria separator 35 and 52 through pipes 407 and 408 is recovered through pipes 403 and 405 , and repeatedly used for the bubble separation method . activated sludge was first subjected to a preliminary heat treatment under acid condition and thereafter subjected to an anaerobic treatment . the preliminary treatment was conducted in the following manner . 25 ml of 35 % hydrochloric acid was added to 5 kg of activated sludge having a solid content of 3 . 0 % and an organic content of 2 . 1 % while agitating and adjusting the ph to 2 . 0 . the waste was charged in a stainless heating tank equipped with an agitator , and maintained at 95 ° c for 5 minutes . the waste was then cooled to 40 ° c and fed to an acid fermentation tank by 30 g / l / day , which tank has an effective capacity of 10 l and equipped with an agitator and an automatic ph adjuster . the acid fermentation was conducted continuously under conditions of an agitating speed of 200 rpm , a temperature of 40 ° c , a ph of 5 . 8 ( adjusted by feeding na oh solution ) and a residence time of 40 days . as seed bacteria , i . e . clostridium , escherichia , bacillus and staphyloccus the acidified sludge obtained by conducting the acid fermentation under the above conditions for at least 2 weeks was used . the acidified waste was introduced into a settling tank having an effective capacity of 0 . 5 l and stayed therein for 3 . 8 hours , whereby it was separated into the unacidified residue and the liquid portion . all of the unacidified residue was fed to a methane fermentation tank described below . cells of the acid fermentation bacteria in the liquid left after the separation were separated and concentrated according to the following method . 300 ml of the liquid was charged into a first glass cylinder having a diameter of 3 . 6 cm and a length of 1 m , and nitrogen gas was blown into the liquid at a rate of 3 / min for about 10 minutes from a nozzle having a diameter of 0 . 5 mm and disposed on the bottom of the first cylinder by using a pump . bubbles rising in the first cylinder and overflown therefrom were introduced into a second glass cylinder , which has a capacity of 2 liters and is connected horizontally to the top of the first glass cylinder through a glass tube having a diameter of 3 . 6 cm . thus , 250 ml of acidified effluent was obtained in the second glass cylinder with the overflown bubbles . on the other hand , the concentration of cells of acid fermentation bacterias in the first glass cylinder was increased to 5 times as that before separation of the bubble method . thus obtained liquid including cells of acid fermentation bacteria were recycled to the acid fermentation tank at a rate of 4 g / l / day . the remaining liquid including cells of acid fermentation bacteria was subjected to the pretreatment and recycled to the acid fermentation tank . the acidified effluent in the second glass cylinder was introduced to a methane fermentation tank having an effective capacity of 20 liters , where the effluent was treated by the methane fermentation . the methane fermentation tank was equipped with an agitator and an automatic ph adjuster . the methane fermentation was conducted therein under condition of a residence time of 8 days , a temperature of 40 ° c and a ph of 7 . 5 ( adjusted by feeding hcl solution ). the amounts of gas produced by the acid and the methane fermentation were measured from the amount of the saline solution overflown in the gas storage tank as the seed bacteria , i . e . metanosarcina , metanococcus and metanobacterium for the methane fermentation , a digested sludge formed by performing the methane fermentation continuously for at least 2 weeks was employed . the liquid in which the methane fermentation had been completed was introduced into a settling tank having an effective capacity of 0 . 5 liter and made resident therein for 3 . 8 hours , whereby the liquid was separated into the undigested residue and the liquid containing cells of the methane fermentation bacterias . the cells of the methane fermentation bacterias in the liquid were separated and concentrated by the same bubble method as employed after the acid fermentation . as a result of the bubble method there are 260 ml of effluent including the cells of methane fermentation bacterias . the concentration of the cells of the methane fermentation bacteria in the effluent was increased to about 5 times as that before separation of the bubble method . the effluent was recycled to the methane fermentation tank at a rate of 4 g / l / day as the organic material . the remaining cells were subjected to the preliminary treatment and then fed to the acid fermentation tank at a rate of 1 . 0 g / l / day . according to the above experiments , it was found that the digestion ratio was 70 . 5 % the gas yield was 538 ml per g of the organic material and the content of the gas was 72 % of ch 4 and 27 % of co 2 . | 8 |
fig1 shows an imaging system according to a first embodiment of the present invention . this imaging system includes a solid - state image sensor , and is designed to process each information element corresponding to one picture element monochromatically . this system can be used in a monochrome camera or a three - chip color camera . as shown in fig1 this imaging system includes a ccd solid - state image sensor and a signal processing circuit 9a . the ccd solid - state image sensor includes a plurality of photosensors 1 and vertical ccd shift registers 2 . the photosensors 1 are regularly arranged in a two - dimensional ( area ) array , and serves as a photosensitive light receiving section . each photosensor 1 generates and accumulates signal charge corresponding to the amount of incident light . each vertical ccd shift register 2 receives signal charges from the photosensors 1 in an adjacent one of vertical columns of the two - dimensional photosensor array , and a transfer the signal charges in a vertical direction . the photosensors 1 and the vertical shift registers 2 constitute an image area ( or imaging section ) 3 . the vertical ccd shift registers 2 function as a means for vertical scanning . the vertical ccds 2 of this example have a 4 - phase structure , and are driven by 4 - phase vertical transfer clocks φv1 ˜ φv4 . the image sensor further includes a plurality of horizontal shift registers for horizontal scanning , and output sections . in this example , there are two horizontal ccd shift registers 4 and 5 and two output sections 7 and 8 . the horizontal ccds 4 and 5 of this example have a two - phase structure , and are driven by two - phase horizontal transfer clocks φh1 and φh2 . between the two horizontal ccds 4 and 5 extending in parallel to each other , there is provided a sorting transfer gate section 6 for distributing signal charge packets from the vertical ccds 2 between the two horizontal ccds 4 and 5 . for instance , the sorting transfer gate section 6 allots the signal charge packets of the odd - numbered vertical ccds 2 to the first horizontal ccd 4 , and the signal charge packets of the even - numbered vertical ccd 2 to the second horizontal ccd 5 . the first and second output sections 7 and 8 are connected , respectively , with output ends of the first and second horizontal ccds 4 and 5 . in this example , each output section comprises a floating diffusion amplifier ( fda ) for receiving signal charges from one of the horizontal ccds 4 and 5 and producing voltage signals . the first and second output sections 7 and 8 produce first and second channel output signals . the signal processing circuit 9a of this example has first and second input terminals for receiving the first and second channel output signals from the first and second output sections 7 and 8 , respectively . the signal processing circuit 9a of the example shown in fig1 includes two correlated double sampling ( cds ) circuits 10 and 11 for reducing noise , and first , second and third combining circuits 12 , 13 and 14 . the cds circuits 10 and 11 are effectual specifically for removing low frequency components in amplifier noise of the floating diffusion amplifier , and reset noise . it is optional to employ , in place of each of the cds circuits 10 and 11 , an integral type cds circuit , an alternate gain inversion ( agi ) circuit , or a reflection - delayed noise suppression ( rds ) circuit . each of the first and second combining circuits 12 and 13 of this example has two input terminals and one output terminal . the first channel output signal of the first output amplifier 7 is supplied , through the first cds circuit 10 , to the first input terminal of each of the first and second combining circuit 12 and 13 . the second channel output signal of the second output amplifier 8 , is supplied , through the second cds circuit 11 , to the second input terminal of each of the first and second combining circuit 12 and 13 . in the example shown in fig1 the first combining circuit 12 is a switching ( or alternating ) sample - and - hold circuit , and the second combining circuit 13 is an adder . as shown in fig2 a , the switching sample - and - hold circuit 12 includes a first switch ( or switching element ) sw1 connected between the first input terminal and a branch point which is connected with the output terminal of the first combining circuit 12 , and a second switch ( or switching element ) sw2 connected between the second input terminal and the branch point of the first combining circuit 12 , and a capacitor ( condensor ) c connected between the branch point and a ground . the first and second switches sw1 and sw2 are controlled by first and second sampling pulse signals shown in fig2 b . the switching sample - and - hold circuit 12 shown in fig2 a combines the two channel signals into a first composite output signal by alternating between sampling of the first channel signal and sampling of the second channel signal at regular time intervals τ . in the example shown in 2a , the first combining circuit 12 comprises an output circuit including the output terminal of the first combining circuit 12 , and the holding capacitor c serving as a holding means . it is optional to employ a switching gate circuit shown in fig3 a , instead of the circuit shown in fig2 a . the circuit show in fig3 a includes a first switch sw1 between the first input terminal and the output terminal of the first combining circuit 12 , and a second switch sw2 between the second input and output terminals . the first and second switches sw1 and sw2 are controlled by first and second drive pulse trains which are opposite in phase to each other . therefore , the switching gate circuit periodically alternates between a first state in which the first switch sw1 is closed and the second switch sw2 is open , and a second state in which the first switch sw1 is open and the second switch sw2 is closed . the adder 13 is a circuit for adding two input signals and producing an output signal representing the sum of the two input signals . therefore , the second combining circuit of this example produces a second composite output signal by adding the first and second channel signals . the third combining circuit 13 also has a first input terminal connected with the output terminal of the first combining circuit 12 , a second input terminal connected with the output terminal of the second combining circuit 13 , and one output terminal for delivering a third and final composite output signal . in the example shown in fig1 the third combining circuit 14 is a changeover ( or selector ) switch for connecting the output terminal with one of the first and second input terminals alternatively . the third combining circuit 14 delivers either of the output signals of the first and second combining circuits 12 and 13 , as the third composite output signal , from the output terminal of the signal processing circuit 9a . the combining mode of the switching sample - and - hold circuit 12 is superior in frequency characteristic , but inferior in signal - to - noise ( s / n ), to the simple adding mode of the adder 13 . conversely , the adder 13 is desirable in point of s / n , but poor in frequency characteristic as compared with the switching s / h circuit 12 . therefore , this signal processing circuit 9a can satisfy the demand for higher resolutions by turning the switch 14 to the side for selecting the switching sample - and - hold circuit 12 , and the demand for higher signal - to - noise ratios by selecting the output signal of the adder 13 with the switch 14 . fig4 shows a signal processing circuit 9b according to a second embodiment of the present invention . the signal processing circuit 9b is different from the signal processing circuit 9b of fig1 only in the third combining circuit . in the example shown in fig4 the third combining circuit comprises a variable ( adjustable ) resistor having a first end connected with the output terminal of the first combining circuit 12 , and a second end connected with the output terminal of the second combining circuit 13 . an intermediate tap between the first and second ends of the variable resistor is connected with the output terminal of the signal processing circuit 9b . in the signal processing circuit 9a of fig1 the switch 14 combines the output signals of the first and second combining circuits 12 and 13 at a ratio of 1 : 0 or 0 : 1 by selecting one from the two alternatively . in the circuit 9b of fig4 the third combining circuit 15 can combine the output signals of the first and second combining circuits 12 and 13 at an adjustable ratio . the switch 14 of the third combining circuit shown in fig1 may be a manual switch operated by human action , or may be a switch controlled by an automatic control section in accordance with the picture brightness and / or frequency characteristic to control the whole or part of each of pictures . in the present invention , the solid - state image sensor may be a ctd ( charge transfer device ) image sensor such as a ccd image sensor as in the illustrated embodiments , or may be any other solid - state image sensor which is capable of generating dot - sequential multichannel outputs . to improve the resolution , some imagers employ a technique of arranging pixels out of alignment in a manner of interpolation , or a technique of swing imaging ( swing ccd ) by utilizing vibrations . the present invention is also applicable to imagers of these types which can provide signals equivalent to multichannel output signals . | 7 |
fig1 and 2 show a barrel dolly 10 of this invention including a main frame 12 and a detachable roller frame 14 . main frame 12 further includes opposed side members 16 and 18 and a back support member 20 connecting side members 16 and 18 at one end to form in main frame 12 an open end 22 through which a barrel ( not shown ) can be loaded onto main frame 12 . side members 16 and 18 and back support member 20 are preferably made of 4 . 76 millimeter (“ mm ”) ( 0 . 1875 inch ) thick 7 . 62 - by 7 . 62 centimeter (“ cm ”) ( 3 - by 3 - inch ) angled steel sections forming bottom and side supports for the barrel . back support member 20 forms a closed end 24 of main frame 12 . a flat bottom support member 26 is located between side members 16 and 18 adjacent to open end 22 of main frame 12 . a pair of swiveling caster wheels 28 are mounted at opposed sides of closed end 24 of main frame 12 . alternatively , a single wheel , multiple wheels , or a roller may be employed to form a wheel set . a pair of bridge hooks 30 protrude from side members 16 and 18 at open end 22 of main frame 12 for engagement with detachable roller frame 14 . flat bottom support member 26 is preferably formed from a 4 . 76 mm ( 0 . 1875 inch ) thick by 7 . 62 cm ( 3 inch ) wide steel plate . referring also to fig3 , detachable roller frame 14 is preferably made from a 4 . 76 mm ( 0 . 1875 inch ) thick 7 . 62 - by 7 . 62 cm ( 3 - by 3 - inch ) angled steel section having non - swiveling wheels 32 mounted at its opposed ends . alternatively a wheel set may be employed . opposed ends of detachable roller frame 14 include receiver notches 34 that are aligned with bridge hooks 30 when attaching detachable roller frame 14 to main frame 12 . one end of detachable roller frame 14 further includes a collar 36 for securing a sliding handle 38 . as shown in fig1 , when detachable roller frame 14 is attached to main frame 12 , one end of sliding handle 38 is positioned in the direction of swiveling caster wheel 28 and stowed in a stowing bracket 40 , which effectively locks together detachable roller frame 14 and main frame 12 . loading a barrel onto barrel dolly 10 is carried out as described below . starting with assembled barrel dolly 10 , detachable roller frame 14 is detached from main frame 12 by moving sliding handle 38 away from stowing bracket 40 and rotating detachable roller frame 14 with handle 38 to uncouple receiver notches 34 from bridge hooks 30 on main frame 12 . as shown in fig4 , a barrel 42 supported by a surface 44 is tilted so that open end 22 ( fig2 ) of main frame 12 can be slid under barrel 42 such that the bottom of barrel 42 is supported and constrained by opposed side members 16 and 18 ( fig2 ), back support member 20 ( fig2 ), and flat bottom support member 26 ( fig2 ). as shown in fig3 and 5 , detachable roller frame 14 is moved into position such that receiver notches 34 are aligned with bridge hooks 30 . as shown in fig3 and 6 , sliding handle 38 is rotated to engage receiver notches 34 and bridge hooks 30 . as shown in fig7 , sliding handle 38 is further rotated such that detachable roller frame 14 lifts open end 22 ( fig2 ) of main frame 12 off surface 44 . detachable roller frame 14 includes fulcrum points that ease the lifting effort required . the fulcrum points are described below with reference to fig1 - 14 . as shown in fig8 , sliding handle 38 is rotated parallel to surface 44 such that non - swiveling wheels 32 on detachable roller frame 14 engage surface 44 . as shown in fig9 , detachable roller frame 14 is in its final position , and sliding handle 38 is moved to engage stowing bracket 40 , locking detachable roller frame 14 to main frame 12 . fig1 shows barrel dolly 10 with barrel 42 loaded thereon ready for transporting on surface 44 . fig1 shows a first fulcrum point 46 that contacts surface 44 when bridge hooks 30 initially contact receiver notches 34 on detachable roller frame 14 . at this time , opposed side members 16 and 18 of main frame 12 are still in contact with surface 44 . first fulcrum point 46 is formed by the apex of the angled steel section forming detachable roller frame 14 . fig1 shows a second fulcrum point 48 that contacts surface 44 when detachable roller frame 14 is rotated through a medial range of angles to lift opposed side members 16 and 18 off of surface 44 . second fulcrum point 48 is preferably formed by two 15 . 875 mm ( 0 . 625 inch ) diameter , 12 . 7 mm ( 0 . 5 inch ) tall steel buttons ( only one is shown ) that are welded to and distributed along the outer surface of the angled steel member forming detachable roller frame 14 . without second fulcrum point 48 , the flat outer surface of the member would contact surface 44 , making lifting difficult through the medial range of angles . fig1 shows a third fulcrum point 50 that contacts surface 44 when detachable roller frame 14 is rotated through a final range of angles for lifting opposed side members 16 and 18 ( member 16 not shown ) off of surface 44 . third fulcrum point 50 is formed by the bottom leg of the angled steel section forming detachable roller frame 14 . note that downward force is applied to detachable roller frame 14 at the intersection of bridge hooks 30 and receiver notches 34 . at this point in the range of lifting angles , the intersection is “ over - centered ” from third fulcrum point 50 , which urges detachable roller frame 14 toward its final position . skilled workers will recognize that non - swiveling wheels 32 form yet another fulcrum point as detachable roller frame 14 rotates to its final position . fig1 shows detachable roller frame 14 rotated to its final position with non - swiveling wheels 32 contacting surface 44 . the final position of detachable roller frame 14 is stable , but moving sliding handle in a direction 52 such that it engages stowing bracket 40 ( not shown ), safely locks detachable roller frame 14 in the final position . in the final position , opposed side members 16 and 18 and , therefore , main frame 12 are elevated about 3 . 175 cm ( 1 . 25 inches ) above surface 44 . fig1 shows a lifting handle 54 that eases the tilting of barrel 42 for initial loading on main frame 12 as shown in fig4 . the distal end of lifting handle 54 includes a barrel support member 58 for firmly gripping barrel 42 . near the midpoint of lifting handle 54 is attached a jack stay 60 that pivots between a lifting position ( shown in fig1 ) and a storage position ( shown in fig1 .). a sling 62 is captivated at the pivoting end of jack stay 60 and is of a length sufficient to encircle barrel 42 . sling 62 is preferably made from nylon webbing . raising lifting handle 54 transfers a lifting force to barrel support member 58 and a countering force to sling 62 , thereby making it possible for a single diminutive user to safely and easily load a 600 pound barrel on barrel dolly 10 . using lifting handle 54 also moves the user a distance 56 away from barrel 42 to provide space for the user to push main frame 12 under tilted barrel 42 as shown in fig4 . fig1 shows lifting handle 54 stowed in a storage bracket 64 that is preferably attached to a corner of back support member 20 where it joins one of wheel boxes 66 . this location for storage bracket 64 prevents interference with barrels loaded on barrel dolly 10 . storage bracket 64 is sized to allow a sliding fit to lifting handle 54 . wheel boxes 66 are formed from right angle bent 4 . 76 mm ( 0 . 1875 inch ) thick steel plates . two of wheel boxes 66 are welded at the corner junctions of back support member 20 and opposed side members 16 and 18 . the other two wheel boxes 66 are welded to the opposed ends of detachable roller frame 14 . wheel mounting plates 68 formed from 4 . 76 mm ( 0 . 1875 inch ) thick steel are welded to the top of each of wheel boxes 66 . gussets 70 formed from 6 . 35 mm ( 0 . 25 inch ) thick steel provide shear - strength support for wheel boxes 66 , to which associated wheels 28 and 32 are attached . wheels 28 and 32 are preferably 7 . 62 cm ( 3 . 0 inches ) in diameter and formed from polypropylene to resist deterioration from petroleum products and solvents . each of wheels 28 and 32 have a 195 kilogram ( 430 pound ) capacity giving barrel dolly 10 a maximum 600 kilogram ( 1 , 320 pound ) capacity . the inside dimensions of barrel dolly 10 are about 59 . 2 by 59 . 2 cm ( 23 . 3125 by 23 . 3125 inches ) to allow clearance for barrel 42 , which is preferably a 55 gallon drum . the widest dimension of barrel dolly 10 is about 66 . 36 cm ( 26 . 125 inches ), which is the distance between the outer edges of wheel mounting plates 68 attached at each end of back support member 20 . skilled workers will recognize that portions of this invention may be implemented differently from the implementations described above for a preferred embodiments . for example , barrel dolly 10 may be adapted for loading , supporting , and transporting a variety of containers and goods including barrels , petroleum and chemical and drums , and other - shaped containers and goods of various sizes and weights . of course the fulcrum points may be implemented as one or more arcuate members attached to detachable roller frame 14 . it will be obvious to those having skill in the art that many changes may be made to the details of the above - described embodiments without departing from the underlying principles of the invention . the scope of the present invention should , therefore , be determined only by the following claims . | 1 |
referring now to fig1 there is illustrated a circuit interrupter 10 including a housing 12 generally in accordance with the prior art . in specific implementations , the interior 15 of the housing 12 is filled with pressurized gas , e . g . sf 6 . the housing 12 includes external sheds or skirts 14 , e . g . 14 a , b , c and d to satisfy power - frequency voltage withstand ratings in a variety of environmental conditions , e . g . to prevent external flashover of the circuit interrupter 10 due to the effects of precipitation and pollution . the diameter and spacing of the sheds 14 is varied in accordance with the desired ratings . for example , as known by those skilled in the art and as set forth in various standards etc ., to achieve a particular power - frequency voltage withstand rating , a minimum creepage distance along the exterior of the housing 12 is required to achieve a particular rating , i . e . avoid flashover when a specified voltage is impressed across the interrupter 10 . this may be achieved by differing numbers of sheds of various diameters as long as the overall total creepage distance is achieved . further , the sheds need not be evenly spaced . the circuit interrupter 10 includes relatively movable contacts 16 , 18 carried within the interior 15 of the housing 12 . the contacts 16 , 18 , which are shown in an open position in fig1 so as to define an open gap d 1 , are connected to respective terminals of the electrical power system . in such electrical power systems , the contacts 16 , 18 , when open , as shown in fig1 may be energized at significantly different system voltage potentials . the external electric field stresses must not exceed the breakdown level of air in order to pass bil testing and ensure the avoidance of flashovers . as the diameter of the housing 12 is decreased to minimize size and material usage , high electrical field stresses inside the housing 12 begin to appear on the outside 13 of the housing 12 . in accordance with important features of the present invention and referring now to fig2 it has been found that these external electric field stresses may be reduced and thus a housing 52 of smaller diameter can be utilized for a circuit interrupter 50 . these features of the present invention are achieved by the provision of a predetermined grouping of the external sheds 54 , e . g . 54 a to 54 h , which may also be characterized as a non - uniform pattern . the predetermined pattern includes the spacing and / or grouping of the external sheds 54 . for example , in the illustrative embodiment of fig2 the sheds 54 are grouped in the vicinity of and about the open gap of the contacts 16 , 18 , as denoted by groups 56 , 58 . additionally , it has been found that it is preferable to have a minimum spacing d 2 between the grouped sheds , 56 , 58 that is greater than or equal to the open gap d 1 defined between the contacts 16 , 18 when in the open position . for example , the arrangement of fig1 results in relatively high and undesirable electrical field stresses on the exterior 13 of the housing 12 in the vicinity of the contacts 16 , 18 while in fig2 the electric field stresses are satisfactorily reduced . specifically , for a bil rating of 650 , 000 volts , while the stresses in the arrangement of fig1 result in electrical field stress on the exterior 13 of the housing 12 that exceed 4000 volts / mm , this is reduced to approximately 3500 volts / mm for the interrupter 50 of fig2 i . e . on the exterior 53 of the housing 52 . in accordance with other important aspects of the present invention , it should be noted that the spacing of each shed 54 in each of the groups 56 , 58 is substantially less than that which results from an even spacing of the number of sheds 14 along the housing 12 of the interrupter 10 of fig1 that are required to meet the bil rating . accordingly , the present invention can be practiced by using the required number of sheds 54 to meet bil ratings and spacing the sheds 54 in a non - uniform manner to achieve the groups 56 , 58 and arranging the remaining number of sheds 54 at various positions along the exterior 53 of the housing 52 , e . g . uniformly or non - uniformly . again , it should be noted that the grouping of the sheds 54 as illustrated by fig2 is not required either for exterior environmental reasons or for internal reasons when the interrupter contacts 16 , 18 are closed . instead , the grouping of the sheds 54 is desirable to minimize stress on the exterior 53 of the housing 52 when the contacts 16 , 18 are open . while the spacing d 2 between the groups of sheds 56 , 58 as shown in fig2 may be varied without undesirable effects , e . g . in a range of 10 - 20 % from that shown in fig2 substantially greater or less spacing than that illustrated in fig2 does begin to increase the electrical field stress and reduce the desirable features achieved by the grouped sheds . additionally , it has been found that the geometry of the contacts 16 , 18 also influences the desirable spacing of the groups 56 , 58 . for example , for a contact such as 16 that includes a relatively abrupt increase in size at 17 benefits from a spacing d 2 that is larger and offset toward the contact 16 than if the contact 16 were of uniform diameter at the region 17 . the spacing between each shed 54 within the groups 56 , 58 must also not be too large , e . g . less than a substantial portion of the open gap distance d 1 in order to avoid undesirable electrical field stress from occurring on the exterior of the housing 54 . in accordance with other important aspects of the present invention and referring now additionally to fig3 - 5 , the scope of the present invention is illustrated by different patterns , sizes , and / or grouping of sheds including sheds of diverse diameter on a particular housing . for example , the circuit interrupter 100 of fig3 with housing 102 illustrates the general arrangement as in fig2 with groupings 56 , 58 about the contacts 16 , 18 and a relatively uniform spacing of sheds 54 along the remaining portions 103 of the housing 102 , all of the sheds 54 being of the same diameter . this is useful where it is desirable to utilize only one size shed , e . g . for molding or manufacturing purposes . the interrupter 150 of fig4 illustrates the use of larger diameter sheds 154 as compared to the sheds 54 of fig3 with groupings 156 , 158 about the open gap of the contacts 16 , 18 . for this specific illustrative embodiment , it has been found useful to space the sheds 154 within the groupings 156 , 158 so as to minimize electrical field stress on the exterior 153 of the housing 152 in the vicinity of the open gap . for example , the sheds 154 within each of the groupings 156 , 158 include non - uniform spacing such that the spacing between the sheds 154 b and 154 c is greater than the spacing between the sheds 154 a and 154 b and the spacing between the sheds 154 c and 154 d , which are more closely spaced such as the smaller sheds 54 in fig2 . the arrangement of fig5 illustrates the use of both the smaller sheds 54 and the larger sheds 154 . specifically , as before , the sheds are grouped about the open gap of the contacts 16 , 18 with groupings 204 , 206 . each of the groupings 204 , 206 utilizes a smaller shed 54 adjacent the contacts 16 , 18 respectively and two larger sheds 154 . this arrangement has been found useful to minimize the electric field stress on the exterior 203 of the housing 202 in the vicinity of the open gap of the contacts 16 , 18 of the interrupter 200 . it should be noted that the arrangement of fig5 utilizes only 3 sheds per grouping to achieve the same results as the arrangement in fig3 and 4 that require 4 sheds per grouping . while there have been illustrated and described various embodiments of the present invention , it will be apparent that various changes and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art . accordingly , it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications that fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention . | 7 |
broadly stated , the present invention is directed to an improved method in the form of software and firmware for supporting a scan peripheral over the network . more particularly , the present invention is able to provide an improved server apparatus that can handle network contention situations , and can provide a connectionless protocol for control data and a connection - oriented protocol for scan data . additionally , the present invention provides an improved server that can recover from a client tying up , but not using a scanner for an extended period . turning now to the drawings , and particularly fig1 a server 10 waits for a client 12 on a network 14 to establish a connection with at least one peripheral 16 . for purposes of the present invention , the peripheral 16 is a scanner . the server 10 of the present invention waits for the client 12 by listening for a network 14 scan connection on a scan port utilizing , for example , a transmission control protocol / internet protocol ( tcp / ip ) or sequenced packet exchange ( spx ) protocol . while the server 10 referred to is used as part of a hewlett - packard jetdirect ex box package , it is contemplated that the server 10 can be part of a card that connects via a bus interface to the peripheral 16 , or as part of an internal central processing unit ( cpij ) of the peripheral 16 . the jetdirect ex box is shown and described in a hewlett - packard user manual , part no . 5967 - 2290 , and is incorporated by reference herein . referring to fig2 a user prompts the client 12 to send a scan connection request to the server 10 scan port ( block 18 ). the client discovers a new network scan server address or retrieves a previously stored address ( block 20 ). a preferred discovery technique is disclosed in a commonly owned co - pending application to kumpf et al . filed concurrently herewith and entitled networked peripheral server discovery method . that application is incorporated by reference herein . after the client 12 sends the scan connection request to the server &# 39 ; s scan port , the server 10 automatically accepts connection with the client 12 , hence establishing a network connection between the client 12 and the server 10 through an exchange of data packets ( block 22 ). after the client 12 has connected to the server 10 , the server 10 checks the state of an internal state machine to determine whether or not the scanner is available ( block 24 ). the server 10 contains the state machine ( shown in the flow chart of fig3 ) which represents various internal states that key off external events ( blocks 27 a through 27 j ) to represent a current state of the scanner . for example , the internal state of the state machine changes from the scanner available state ( block 28 ) to an open - wait state ( block 30 ) when the server 10 attempts to open a connection with the scanner ( block 29 ). likewise , the internal state changes from an open - wait state ( block 30 ) to an active state ( block 32 ) when the scan channel opens ( block 33 ). an open - wait - close state ( block 34 ) occurs when a network connection is terminated ( block 35 ) while waiting for the peripheral 16 to respond to an open scan channel request . a close - wait state ( block 36 ) occurs when the server 10 sends a close scan channel request packet to the peripheral 16 ( block 37 ). returning to fig2 if the internal state of the server 10 is in any other state than available , the server 10 sends a scanner busy status , for example “ 01 ”, to the client 12 ( block 38 ). all scanner server statuses used herein are strings of two ascii characters . “ 01 ” in ascii is transferred as an octet with the value 48 in decimal followed by an octet with the value 49 in decimal . other methods of encoding the status are apparent to one skilled in the art . importantly , as the client 12 receives the result code from the server 10 , a result of busy or “ 01 ” prompts the client 12 to obtain a current owner name from the server 10 ( block 44 ), and display a busy message using the name ( block 46 ). preferably , the client 12 obtains the name by sending an snmp query of a owner name management information base ( mib ) object , however the server 10 could send the owner name mib object over the network connection before the network connection is closed . by using the owner name mib object the client &# 39 ; s message can include the name of the current user . this enables the user attempting to open the connection locate the person currently using the scanner . it is recognized that in some situations this may be a security issue so the client software can provide an option not to supply a owner name mib object . the server &# 39 ; s 10 acquisition of the current owner name to set the owner name mib object is discussed below . on the server &# 39 ; s 10 side , after sending the busy message , the server 10 closes the network connection ( block 52 ). as the client 12 attempts to open a connection with the server 10 , if the internal state of the server 10 represents that the scanner is not busy , then the server starts a server - idle - timer ( block 56 ). the server - idle - timer acts so that one client 12 cannot tie up the scanner for more than a threshold time period without data being sent or received between the client 12 and the scanner before the server - idle - timer expires . a threshold time period of five minutes was found to be desirable but can be changed to suit the clients &# 39 ; 12 needs . since the scanner is not busy , the server 10 locks the scanner , i . e ., prevents other clients 12 from using the scanner , by setting the scan status snmp mib object to the integer one to indicate that the scanner is busy ( block 58 ). the server 10 also sets a scan owner address snmp mib object to the client &# 39 ; s network 14 address and the scan owner name snmp mib object to an empty string ( block 60 ). thus , the client software can set the scan owner name snmp mib object so that other clients 12 can determine which client 12 has control of the scanner , as utilized above . thereafter , the server 10 attempts to establish communication with the scanner by opening a logical scan channel ( block 62 ), and determines whether or not the scan channel connection was successful ( block 64 ). the server 10 opens a communication channel to the peripheral for scanning . the preferred embodiment is a logical channel opened when needed and multiplexed with other logical channels used for other purposes , such as printing . however , if the peripheral does not support multiple channels across the communication link with the server , scanning is still possible , but other services will not be able to communicate at the same time . also , the scan channel can be opened once at initialization and kept open between scan jobs . this is not preferred , however , because it ties up peripheral and server resources when there is no scan job in progress . if the scan channel open request fails , then the server 10 returns , for example , 45 an error “ 02 ” status string to the client 12 on the network connection as part of a data packet on the network connection to indicate that the scanner is not available ( block 65 ). for example , the “ 02 ” status occurs if a cable connecting the server 10 to the scanner has detached or the peripheral 16 does not support scanning . after the client 12 sends the data packet containing the status string , the server 10 invokes a cleanup subroutine as shown in fig2 c . the cleanup subroutine involves determining whether a network connection is open ( block 66 a ). if the network connection is open , the server 10 closes the network connection with the client 12 by sending a packet to close the network connection ( block 66 b ). additionally , the server 10 clears the owner name and address snmp mib objects by setting the mib objects to the empty string ( block 66 c ). next , the server 10 determines whether the scan channel is open ( block 66 d ). since the scan channel is not open at this stage in the method , the server 10 merely sets the scan status snmp mib object to the integer zero to indicate that the scanner is idle ( block 66 g ). while the server 10 performs the cleanup operation , the client 12 checks the data packet and displays an error message stating that the server 10 could not communicate with the scanner and prompts the user to determine if the user wishes to select another server 10 ( block 67 ). if the user so indicates , the client invokes a process to select another server 10 . the preferred process is the discovery method mentioned above ( block 20 ). if the scan channel opens successfully , however , the server 10 returns , for example , a “ 00 ” status string to the client 12 on the network connection indicating that the scanner is available ( block 68 ). the client 12 receives the status code from the server 10 , determines that the scanner is available , and sets the owner name snmp mib object on the server 10 ( block 70 ). the client 12 provides a name that can be used by other clients 12 to inform users who are currently scanning . the preferred embodiment is to set an snmp mib object with the name of the user or client computer . at this point in time , the client 12 has effective ownership of the scanner , and can send scan control commands using in - band or out - of - band transmission channels and initiate one or more scans . thus , the client prompts the user to insert a document into the scanner ( block 72 ). an alternate possibility is to skip this step if the client 12 can determine that a document is already inserted in the scanner . this is not preferred , however , because the client 12 may scan a document left in the scanner by a previous user . the client 12 begins a client - idle - timer set to expire for a time slightly less , for example ten seconds less , than the server - idle - timer ( block 74 ). the client - idle - timer avoids a race condition where the server - idle - timer expires a new user begins to scan a document , but the current client 12 detects a change in scanner status and tries to start a scan intended for the new user . after beginning the client - idle - timer , the client 12 periodically polls a scan button and paper insertion status on the peripheral 16 ( block 76 ). in a preferred embodiment , the client checks for the document by polling an snmp mib object on the peripheral . in the preferred embodiment , the client detects the presence of the document to be scanned by checking for a user action on the client computer such as clicking a button ; or checking for a user action on the peripheral such as pushing a scan button after loading the document ; or checking a sensor in the peripheral that changes state when a document is loaded . it should be understood that some peripherals may not provide a button or sensor and that the client 12 software must be fashioned accordingly . if the client - idle - timer expires , the client closes the network connection ( block 82 ). on the server 10 side , the server 10 discovers that the client 12 has closed the network connection and invokes the cleanup subroutine shown in fig2 c ( block 83 ). thus , the server 10 sets the owner address and owner name snmp mib objects to the empty string ( blocks 66 c ). since the scan channel is open , the server 10 closes the scan channel ( block 66 e ) and ensures that the scanner is in a ready state , i . e ., performs any operations on the peripheral 16 necessary to ensure the peripheral 16 is in a known state and ready for the next scan job ( block 66 f ). the exact operations are peripheral - specific and may not be required for some peripherals 16 . a preferred error recovery technique is disclosed in a commonly owned co - pending application to scoville et al . filed concurrently herewith and entitled network scan server ready state recovery method . that application is incorporated by reference herein . additionally , the server 10 sets the scan status snmp object to the integer zero to indicate that the scanner is idle ( block 66 g ). thereafter , the client 12 displays an error message which notifies the user that the timer has expired , and prompts the user to decide whether the user would like to try to scan again ( block 84 ). if the user desires to try another scan , the client 12 begins the operation by opening a network connection to the server ( block 22 ). otherwise , the operation is complete . in the event the document is ready to scan ( block 80 ), i . e ., the user presses the scan button on the scanner , clicks the “ continue ” button on the client , or inserts the document into a self feed scanner . the client 12 begins the scan operation on the peripheral 16 ( block 92 ). the client issues peripheral - specific commands to commence scanning the document . the server 10 transmits client data , typically scan commands , to the peripheral 16 and transmits peripheral data , typically scan image data , to the client 12 ( block 94 ). the server - idle - timer is reset every time the server receives data from either the client or the peripheral . in normal operation the data transfer continues until the client 12 receives the complete scan job , the client 12 detects the end of the scan job , and closes the network connection ( blocks 95 , 96 ). the client 12 processes the image as requested by the user , for example , saving it to a file ( block 100 ). if the network connection closes unexpectedly , the client 12 discards the scan data ( block 102 ) and displays an appropriate error message ( block 104 ). several error conditions can arise during the scan job , including loss of network communication , loss of peripheral communication , and the server - idle - timer expiring . after the scan job ends , either normally or unexpectedly , the server 10 performs a cleanup operation ( block 106 ). as shown in fig2 c , the server 10 closes the network connection with the client 12 ( block 66 b ). additionally , the server 10 sets the owner address and owner name snmp mib objects to the empty string ( block 66 c ). the server 10 also closes the scan channel ( block 66 e ), and invokes the scanner ready state operation as incorporated by reference above ( block 66 f ). furthermore , the server 10 sets the scan status snmp object to the integer zero to indicate that the scanner is idle ( block 66 g ). from the foregoing description , it should be understood that an improved server 10 has been shown and described which has many desirable attributes and advantages . the present invention is able to provide an improved server 10 apparatus that can handle network 14 contention situations . additionally , the present invention provides an improved server 10 which can recover to keep a client 12 from tying up a scanner for too long . further , the present invention provides meaningful error messages to the client 12 . while various embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described , it should be understood that other modifications , substitutions and alternatives are apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art . such modifications , substitutions and alternatives can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , which should be determined from the appended claims . various features of the invention are set forth in the appended claims . | 7 |
with reference to fig1 , an embodiment of the device according to the invention is shown that comprises a first duct 13 for steam and a second duct 15 for air . in the example shown said ducts are immersed into the liquid , for instance milk , contained inside a container 11 . the steam duct 13 has the lower end 13 a closed and it is provided , near said end , with a radial hole 17 . the air duct 15 , having a diameter smaller than one of the steam duct , has the end portion 19 tapered and it ends with an axial opening 21 , placed in front of said radial hole 17 of said steam duct 13 . a temperature electronic sensor 23 , fit for measuring the temperature of the liquid to be heated , is further fastened to one of said ducts 13 , 15 . said sensor 23 is electronically connected to an electronic control unit through a couple of conductors passing inside a protective sheath 25 . in fig2 a a first embodiment of the hydraulic circuit of the device according to the invention is shown . the air duct 15 is connected to the first way of a first three - way electrovalve 16 , whose remaining two ways are connected respectively to the outside environment through a suction pipe 33 that has the end 35 open and to an intermediate pipe 31 that communicates with electrovalve 14 via a third way thereof . the remaining second and first ways of said second electrovalve 14 are respectively connected to said steam duct 13 and to the steam source 27 through a steam supply pipe 29 . in such way , according to the opening or closing condition of said electrovalves 14 , 16 one and / or the other of said ducts 13 , 15 can be put in communication with said steam source 27 or duct 15 put in communication with air from the outside environment . specifically , thanks to the intermediate pipe 31 that connects the two electrovalves 14 , 16 , it is possible to introduce steam into the liquid to be heated through either said ducts 13 , 15 , or , alternatively , to introduce into said liquid steam only through duct 13 and air through duct 15 . advantageously , thanks to the above - mentioned expedient it is possible to obtain drinks that require different preparation modes . for instance , in case said second electrovalve 14 is positioned so to put in communication the steam dispensing pipe 29 both with the intermediate pipe 31 and with the steam duct 13 and said first electrovalve 16 is positioned so to put in communication the intermediate pipe 31 with the air duct 15 and to close said suction pipe 33 , the steam generated from said steam source 27 will reach both the ducts 13 , 15 and the liquid will be heated , substantially without froth formation . in case , on the contrary , said first electrovalve 16 is positioned so to close the intermediate pipe 31 and to put in communication the suction pipe 33 with the air duct 15 , the steam generated from said steam source 27 will only reach the steam duct 13 , while the air duct 15 will be reached by the air sucked from the outside environment and it will be therefore obtained the froth formation during the liquid heating . it is evident that , with the device according to the invention , it is possible to set numerous operating cycles based on the sequence of a plurality of steps , each characterised by a set duration and by a different condition of opening / closing of said electrovalves 14 , 16 , correspondingly obtaining numerous preparation modes of different drinks . it is to be noted that , in a preferred embodiment , said steam source 27 consists of a steam jet of an espresso coffee machine for bar and , to this purpose , said pipe 29 can be equipped with means to be tight fastened to said steam jet . alternatively , the device according to the invention can be provided with an autonomous steam generator and it can therefore be used independently from other apparatuses for bar . with reference to fig2 b a second embodiment of the device according to the invention is shown . in said second embodiment the first three - way electrovalve 16 , instead of being connected through the intermediate pipe 31 to the second three - way electrovalve 14 , is directly connected through a pipe 37 to the pipe 29 carrying steam from the source 27 to the second electrovalve 14 ( alternatively , pipe 37 could be connected to duct 13 immediately downstream the second electrovalve 14 as shown in fig2 b with the dotted line ). in such way , the second three - way electrovalve 14 can be advantageously equipped with a pipe 39 open to the outside at 43 in order to allow the downwards easy flow by gravity of the liquid in case present in the duct 13 that , otherwise , should tend to clog , when said second valve 14 is positioned so to allow the passage from pipe 41 to duct 13 . it is to be noted that in the shown examples two three - way electrovalves have been employed for reasons of simplicity and economy , but it will be also possible to provide arrangements that employ a combination of other kinds of electrovalves and connections . fig3 is a block diagram that illustrates in a simplified way the electronic control unit 51 of the device according to the invention . said control unit 51 comprises a selector 53 onto which the user can select the kind of wanted drink . the selection carried out onto the selector 53 controls a microprocessor 55 , provided with a storage ( memory ) 57 , within which the data relevant to the operating cycle corresponding to each possible user &# 39 ; s selection are stored . on the basis of the instructions stored inside the storage 57 said microprocessor 55 performs a cycle based on a sequence of opening and closing steps of each electrovalve 14 , 16 . said microprocessor 55 is further connected to the temperature sensor 23 , if this is present . on the basis of the temperature - indicative signal sent by said sensor 23 , the microprocessor 55 can modify the duration of the different steps of the opening and closing cycle of the electrovalves stored inside the storage 57 in order to obtain a drink with the optimum temperature and froth amount . as an example , in fig4 is reproduced a graph that illustrates the operating cycle of the device according to the invention in case of preparing a cappuccino . in said graph , on the axis of abscissae the time for preparing the drink is quoted and on the axis of ordinates the milk temperature is quoted . during a first step i , shown with a dotted line in the graph , said first electrovalve 16 and said second electrovalve 14 are maintained in such a position to simultaneously send steam to both the ducts 13 and 15 and to prevent air entering through the suction pipe 35 . when milk reaches a preset temperature t 1 , for instance about 35 ° c . ( or after a fixed time when the temperature control is not present ), in a second step ii , shown with a continuous line in the graph , the first electrovalve 16 is positioned so to allow the air entering through the duct 15 and to prevent steam passing from the intermediate pipe 31 . said first electrovalve is maintained open up to a preset temperature t 2 ( or for a fixed time when the temperature control is not present ), for instance of 5 ° c . under the final wanted temperature t 3 ( in the example 65 ° c .). once reached said temperature t 2 , in a third step iii , shown with a dot - point line in the graph , said first electrovalve 16 is again positioned so to allow the steam entering also through duct 15 and to prevent air suction through the suction pipe 35 . this arrangement is maintained until the preset temperature t 3 is reached , having reached which the second valve 14 is closed so to prevent steam introduction into both the ducts and to allow the removal of the drink . though in the preferred embodiment the ducts of the device according to the invention are directly connected to the steam jet of a professional espresso coffee machine , by following the teachings of wo 01 / 97668 it will be possible to provide a device comprising a container for the liquid to be heated , wherein said ducts are fastened to said container . | 0 |
in fig1 waveform a shows the input recording current to the recording portion of a magnetic transducer or head in accordance with a nrz format while waveform p shows the signal generated by the magnetic head mh when &# 34 ; reading &# 34 ; the recording produced by the current waveform a . the knee k1 and the much greater knee k2 are present because of the increased spacing between the level transitions of waveform a . waveform dp is waveform p after differentiation . it is seen that the knee k1 results in the droop region d1 . if this region reaches the zero level a spurious pulse can be generated . the problem is even more pronounced in region d2 . in order to remove these ambiguities , the apparatus of fig2 processes the reproduced waveform . in particular , the reproducing portion of magnetic head mh is connected to a linear amplifier la . the output of the linear amplifier la emits a signal of waveform p to positive threshold amplifier ta1 , negative threshold amplifier ta2 and differentiator df . the positive threshold amplifier ta1 can be a conventional comparator or difference amplifier without hysteresis whose positive input (+) is connected to the output of amplifier la to receive the signal having waveform p . the negative input (-) to the amplifier ta1 is connected to source of threshold voltage + v . the amplifier is in a sense &# 34 ; bistable &# 34 ;, i . e ., it is normally &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; until the voltage at the positive input (+) exceeds the threshold level + v at which time it switches &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; and stays on until such level drops below the threshold level + v when it switches to the off state . see waveforms p and pp of fig1 . note the multiline leading and trailing edges such as le and te of the transitions of waveform pp are present to indicate &# 34 ; jitter &# 34 ;, ambiguities , or instabilities at these transitions because hysteresis has been deliberately omitted . it should be noted that the signal having waveform pp is unstable at those transitions where the level of waveform p is equal to the threshold level + v , but is stable everywhere else . similarly and in a complementary manner negative threshold amplifier ta2 receives the signal having waveform p at its negative input (-) and receives the threshold voltage - v at its positive input (+) to yield at its output the signal having waveform pn . the differentiator df can be a conventional rc - type differentiator or operational amplifier which when it receives the signal having waveform p at its input connected to the output of amplifier la yields the signal having waveform dp swinging around a constant dc level preferably chosen to be ground . the output of differentiator df is fed to the positive (+) input of threshold amplifier ta3 whose negative input (-) is ground . in this configuration the threshold amplifier ta3 which can be similar to the threshold amplifier ta1 acts as a zero - crossing detector in that it is &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; as long as the level of the signal having waveform dp is below ground or zero volts and switches &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; as the signal passes from a negative level through zero volts to a positive level . the amplifier once &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; switches &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; as the signal passes from a positive level through zero volts to a negative level . compare waveforms dp and z ( the output of amplifier ta3 ) in fig1 . thus the transitions or edges of the waveform z occur at the zero crossings of the waveform dp with the directions or polarities of the transitions following the directions of zero crossings . the output of the amplifier ta3 is fed to inverting amplifier ia to give the signal having waveform zi in fig1 . note again that the multilines at the leading and trailing edges of waveforms z and zi indicate that the signals are unstable whenever the derivative signal ( waveform dp ) is at or near zero volts since hysteresis is intentionally omitted here also . this becomes a problem whenever the waveform p undergoes &# 34 ; shouldering &# 34 ; or , more precisely , has inflections approaching or equal to &# 34 ; zero slope &# 34 ;. see the instabilities a1 and a2 of waveform z . these instabilities would ordinarily lead to spurious output pulses . however , the invention relies on the fact that , except for these unstable regions near the zero crossings , waveform z is stable and that except for the threshold regions waveforms pp and pn are stable . the invention utilizes this fact to control the timing of the transitions in a latch means . in general the latch means which is a bistable device preferably comprises the conventional latches l1 and l2 and conventional one shot pulse generators os1 and os2 . the input s of either latch l1 or l2 can be considered the set input of the latch means ; the input r of either latch l1 or l2 can be considered the reset input of the latch means ; and the output q of either latch l1 or latch l2 can be considered the output of the latch means . the latch means is switched &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; to a first stable state upon receipt of the leading edge of a signal from coincidence detector g1 which can be a conventional and - circuit whose output is connected to input s of latch l1 and whose two inputs are respectively connected to the outputs of amplifiers ta1 and ia respectively . compare waveform lpp with waveforms zi and pp . the latch means is switched &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; ( to its other stable state ) upon receipt of the leading edge of a signal from coincidence detector g2 which can be a conventional and - circuit whose output is connected to input s of latch l2 and whose two inputs are respectively connected to outputs of amplifiers ta2 and ta2 respectively . compare waveform lpp with waveforms z and pn . thus , at a negative transition of waveform z ( positive transition of waveform zi ) during the presence of the signal having waveform pp the output signal from the latch ( waveform llp ) switches high ( a positive transition ) and remains high until there is a positive transition of waveform z during the presence of a signal having waveform pn , at which time waveform lpp switches low ( a negative transition ). note the correspondence of input waveform a and output waveform lpp . note also that in spite of the transition waveform z at region a1 there is no spurious low switching of output waveform lpp because at that time waveform pp is low . a complementary analysis holds for region a2 . in order to enhance the reliability of the latching operation , it is preferred instead of using a single latch to cross connect the output q of latch l1 via one shot pulse generator os1 to the reset input r of latch l2 , and the output q of latch l2 via one shot pulse generator os2 to the reset input r of latch l1 . thus when latch l1 is set the positive going output signal triggers pulse generator os1 to emit a pulse which resets latch l2 ; and when latch l2 is set its positive going output signal triggers pulse generator os2 to emit a pulse which resets latch l1 . there has thus been shown an improved magnetic recording recovery circuit that is droop insensitive independent of the recorded density for nrz recording formats up to that density resolvable by the reproducing head and amplifier designs . while only one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail , there will now be obvious to those skilled in the art many modifications and variations satisfying many or all of the objects of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof as defined by the appended claims . | 6 |
an example of an ip multicast transmission system is described with reference to fig1 . prior to a multicast transmission , an appropriate announcement containing a session description is made , thereby allowing end users 110 a – 110 e to elect to receive the transmission . each end user electing to receive the transmission is linked to a group ip multicast address 120 associated with the transmission . at the transmission time of the multicast session , the session streams are transmitted from a source 130 , or a plurality of sources , to the group address . at the group address , the transmission is disseminated along the links 140 to those end users who have elected to receive it ( in this example end users 110 a – 110 c ). an example of an announcement and election system is described with reference to fig2 . most public multicast sessions are announced at a single group ip multicast address 200 dedicated to the transmission of announcements to multicast end users . end users 210 a – 210 e electing to receive the announcements are linked to the announcement group address and , in the same way as an actual session transmission , each announcement arriving at the announcement group address is disseminated to the end users . a front end interface 220 on each end user &# 39 ; s computer displays information obtained from the associated session description for each announcement . the minimum information a session description may contain is a time and date that the session will be active and the group ip multicast address ( es ) from which the end user may elect to receive one or more media streams and to which they could send their own streams for the session . using the front end interface , an end user can select the announced session ( s ), or their component stream ( s ) they wish to participate in . fig3 is a block diagram of a session description 300 for a simple multicast television session . the session description 300 comprises a base module 310 linked to a media module 320 . the base module 310 contains user oriented data relating to the session including the title and timing information . the base module 310 may also include a description or abstract , contact information about the organiser and a www or an intranet uri pointing to a web site containing further information . ideally , the base module 310 should contain enough information for the user to decide if they are interested in participating in the session . the media module 320 contains announcement data relating to a video stream of the session . the media module 320 contains the technical information ( data ) necessary for the user to receive the associated media stream . in particular , connection , timing and media format details are provided . a first example of a session description 300 generated for transmission to end users is shown below : ( type =( base ) id =( 310 ) info =( title =“ live multicast television session ”) source =( name =“ a . sender ” email = asender @ tx . com ) media =( video =( client = odbits0 . 16 )) time =( length = 50 m repeat = continuous ) category =(“ entertainment ”) options =( none ) modules =( m = 320 ) ) ( type =( media ) id =( 320 310 ) media =( video =( client = odbits0 . 16 )) connection =( 229 . 1 . 1 2 / 7000 ) time =( length = 50 m ) ) the base module 310 has a unique identifier ( id field ) used in the generation of links between two modules during the processing of the session description . the modules field of the base module 310 lists the type and unique identifier of the media module 320 linked to the base module 310 . the second identifier in the id field of the media module 320 is the unique identifier belonging to the base module 310 linking the media module back to the base module 310 . by extension , these two - way links permit a module tree to be traversed from a base module downwards or from a media module upwards . the use of this feature is described later with reference to session description example 4 . the connection field of the media module 320 contains the ip multicast address and port number from which the media stream can be received . fig4 is a block diagram of a session description 400 for a complex multicast session of a multimedia conference with two tracks , or sub - sessions , and a panel discussion . each track provides multiparty video and audio conferencing and a shared whiteboard for leaving notes and messages . the panel discussion is encrypted and the whole conference is subject to a subscription fee payable in advance by each participant . the session description 400 contains a top level base module 410 linked to further base modules 420 , 430 , 440 and an options module 411 . the top level base module 410 contains data relating to the overall session including its name , purpose and timing information . the options module 411 contains details of the payment mechanism for subscription fees . each further base module 420 , 430 , 440 relates to a subsession of the conference . base module 420 relates to the first track of the conference . the base module 420 is linked to media modules 421 – 423 , each containing connection , timing and media format data for respective video , audio and whiteboard streams . the base module 420 is also linked to options module 424 which contains data relating to a qos policy for the first track defining which media modules are optional and which are mandatory for a participant of the first track . the mandatory list contains identifiers of those media modules which are needed for the session or subsession to operate correctly whilst the optional list contains identifiers of the media modules that are not necessary for the session or subsession to operate correctly if system resources are scarce . the base module 430 relates to the second track of the conference . it is linked to media modules 431 – 433 , each containing connection , timing and media format details for respective video , audio and whiteboard streams . the base module 430 is also linked to options module 434 which contains data relating to a qos policy for the second track defining which media modules are optional and which are mandatory for a participant of the second track . base module 440 relates to the panel discussion . it is linked to media modules 441 and 442 , each containing connection , timing and media format details for respective video and audio streams of the panel discussion . the base module 440 is also linked to options module 443 which contains encryption details ( ie . how and where to get the necessary cryptographic keys ) necessary for a participant to decode the panel discussion media streams 441 , 442 according to a known encryption mechanism such as des or public key encryption . the video media stream defined in media module 441 is layered . layering of media streams allows users with different system resources to receive as much of the stream as their system resources allows . every user must receive the bottom layer of the stream containing the minimum stream data . however , if a user has sufficient free system resources they can receive the next layer up containing enhancements to the previous layer . successive layers can be received enhancing the received media stream until the maximum number of layers is received or all free system resources capacity is used . the media module 441 is linked to an options module 444 which contains data on the layering necessary for the end user to be able to receive the layered stream correctly . the portion of the session description 400 generated for modules 410 , 411 , 420 and 440 for transmission to end users is shown below in session description example 2 . type =( base ) id =( 410 ) info =( title =“ multimedia98 conference ”) source =( owner =“ joe bloggs ” email = joe @ nowhere . com ) media =( video =( client = realplayerg2 ) whiteboard =( client = wb )) time ( start =“ 09 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ” stop =“ 13 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ”) options =( oc = 411 ) modules =( b = 420 b = 430 b = 440 oc = 411 ) type =( base ) id =( 420 410 ) info =( title =“ mm98 systems and applications track ”) source =( owner =“ joe bloggs ” email = joe @ nowhere . com ) media =( video =( client = realplayerg2 ) whiteboard =( client = wb )) time ( start =“ 09 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ” stop =“ 11 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ”) options =( osq = 424 ) modules =( m = 421 m = 422 m = 423 osq = 424 ) type =( base ) id =( 440 410 ) info =( title =“ mm98 panel discussion ”) source =( name =“ joe bloggs ” email = joe @ nowhere . com ) media =( video =( client = realplayerg2 ) whiteboard =( client = wb )) time ( start =“ 11 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ” stop =“ 13 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ”) options =( osec = 443 ) modules =( m = 441 m = 442 osec = 443 ) type =( media ) id =( 441 440 ) info =( title =“ mm98 panel discussion video ”) source =( owner =“ joe bloggs ” email = joe @ nowhere . com ) media =( video =( type = live client = realplayerg2 )) connection =( 226 . 0 . 0 . 106 / 1010 policy = 444 ) time =( start =“ 11 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ” stop =“ 13 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ”) where there is surplus network bandwidth available , complete session descriptions can be announced to end users who may then elect to receive the announced session or parts thereof . however , the individual modules of the session description do not need to be announced together . if the network bandwidth available for announcements restricts the size of session descriptions , only the top level base module may be announced . in this situation , the link between modules may be , for example , a uri to a www or an intranet web site or server , an email address , an ip multicast address , an ftp address or details of a file or database stored on a local computer system from which an interested user can obtain the remaining modules . the following session description example illustrates how the above session description for base module 420 would be changed if media module 421 was stored on a www server : type =( base ) id =( 420 410 ) info =( title =“ mm98 systems and applications track ”) source =( owner =“ joe bloggs ” email = joe @ nowhere . com ) media =( video =( client = realplayerg2 ) whiteboard =( client = wb )) time ( start =“ 09 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ” stop =“ 11 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ”) options =( osq = 424 ) modules =( m = 421 location = http :// www . announce . org / cgi - bin / module . cgi ? id = 421 m = 421 m = 423 osq = 424 ) furthermore , top level modules of a session description may be announced well in advance of the actual transmission , at a time where the final details of content are unknown , in which case the remaining levels may be made available from pre - announced links at a later time . fig5 is a schematic diagram of a system for managing media stream connections at a terminal of an end user system according to the present invention . the session control system 500 is linked to an announcement receiving interface 510 and one or more multicast - capable multimedia applications 520 . the session control system 500 and the announcement receiving interface 510 are connected to a network interface 530 via which announcements may be received and multicast transmissions may be initiated and / or received . announcements received at the network interface 530 are routed to the receiving interface 510 . the receiving interface 510 decodes each announcement to obtain the session description and displays the user oriented information from the one or more base modules in a list to the user . the user is able to select a session description from the list announcing a session they wish to receive . the selected description is passed to the session control system 500 which determines which of the user &# 39 ; s multimedia applications 520 are required for participation in the described session , starts the applications and initiates and provides the necessary media streams to the respective applications 520 via a communications manager 550 . the receiving interface 510 may be linked to other internet communications applications 540 such as a www browser or an email client ( not shown ) which may be used to gather further information on the described session based on links provided in the session description . also , where an incomplete set of base and / or media modules of a session description are received , the receiving interface 510 attempts to obtain the remaining modules using the internet communications applications prior to passing it onto the session control system 500 . fig6 is a flow chart showing the steps taken by the session control system 500 upon receipt of a session description . the description is first parsed in step 600 to identify client applications for each media module . once this is done a second parse is carried out where applications are launched in step 610 , that is to say for each media module start the application specified in the client field if that application has not already been started . the portion of the session description relating to the respective media type , i . e . the media module , the base module directly above the media module , all other modules attached to that base module and any other options modules that apply , is passed to the corresponding application in step 620 . since the media modules are marked with appropriate client applications , each application will be able to select those media streams that it wants to participate in . the application replies to the session control system with a connection request specifying its requirements in the form of a list of identifiers of media modules from which streams are to be initiated in step 630 . the connection request is assembled by the session control system in step 640 and the system then parses the session description to identify other applications to launch in step 645 . if a further media type is found , steps 610 to 640 are repeated , otherwise the session control system uses the assembled connection requests to form a list of media modules . this list is passed , together with a session qos policy , to the communications manager , a system used in by the session control system , which determines according to the qos policies and available system resources whether each connection request is viable . the session qos policy is constructed in two steps :— first , the multiple session qos policies relevant for all the media modules to be initiated are combined into one session qos policy : second , the resulting session qos policy may be adapted to take account of ( a ) user default preferences ( defined in a user profile ), ( b ) a user &# 39 ; s wish to determine the policy interactively , and ( c ) an application &# 39 ; s default configuration ( defined in the application profile ( s )). the communications manager responds to the session control system in step 650 with an indication of the viable media stream connection requests . if necessary , the session control system may contact a charging system to initiate accounting for the session prior to requesting the communications manager to create the viable media stream connections in step 660 . once a session starts , each received data stream relating to the session is passed to the associated multimedia application in step 670 until the scheduled stream time ends in step 680 or the multimedia application requests to the session control system that the connection is terminated in step 690 , at which point the session control system disconnects the connection in step 700 . fig7 is a flow chart showing the qos management step 650 of fig6 in greater detail . having received the assembled list of connection requests , the communications manager matches each item of this list to a media profile in step 705 . a media profile defines requirements which must be met for the requested media stream to operate on the end user &# 39 ; s computer including the minimum network bandwidth needed for satisfactory reception of the stream . a terminal profile is determined in step 710 . the terminal profile defines the resources which are available at the end user &# 39 ; s computer for use by the requested media streams . this includes available network bandwidth , free memory and disk space and available hardware such as monitor size , processor speed and free audio and video capture devices . the media profile of each connection request is compared against the available system resources defined by the terminal profile in step 720 . if the terminal profile matches or exceeds the media profile , the connection request is declared viable in step 730 and the terminal profile is decremented accordingly for the remaining connection requests in step 740 . each connection request is processed until there are no remaining requests or until the media profile of a request exceeds the terminal profile . in this situation , the communications manager determines the optimum terminal profile the user &# 39 ; s computer would have if all non - essential applications were not running in step 750 and whether the computer is capable of fulfilling the media profile in step 760 . if the computer is capable of fulfilling the media profile , the communications manager attempts to free system resources from currently allocated streams or connection requests which have lower priority or by asking the user to terminate other non - essential applications running on the computer in step 770 . alternatively , this could be done by reducing the number of layers received from a layered stream transmission . if sufficient resources cannot be found an exception is reported to the user and the connection request is marked as unviable . if the media stream that cannot be received is defined as mandatory in a qos policy for a media session or subsession , all the connection requests for that media session or subsession are cancelled in step 790 . if , however , the media stream is optional , the communications manager continues processing further connection requests in step 720 . once all pending connection requests have been processed , the communications manager reports those that are viable to the session control system . the processing of a session description will now be described with reference to fig4 and session description example 4 which is the session description generated for track 1 ( modules 410 and 420 – 424 of fig4 ). type =( base ) id =( 410 ) info =( title =“ multimedia98 conference ”) source =( owner =“ joe bloggs ” email = joe @ nowhere . com ) media =( video =( client = realplayerg2 ) whiteboard =( client = wb )) time ( start =“ 09 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ” stop =“ 13 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ”) options =( oc = 0010 ) modules =( b = 420 b = 430 b = 440 oc = 411 ) type =( base ) id =( 420 410 ) info =( title =“ mm98 systems and applications track ”) source =( owner =“ joe bloggs ” email = joe @ nowhere . com ) media =( video =( client = realplayerg2 ) whiteboard =( client = wb )) time ( start -“ 09 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ” stop =“ 11 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ”) options =( osq = 424 ) modules =( m = 421 m = 422 m = 423 osq = 424 ) type =( media ) id =( 421 420 ) info =( title =“ mm98 systems and applications track video ”) source =( owner =“ joe bloggs ” email = joe @ nowhere . com ) media =( video =( type = live client = realplayerg2 )) connection =( 226 . 0 . 0 . 100 / 1000 ) time =( start =“ 09 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ” stop =“ 11 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ”) type =( media ) id =( 422 420 ) info =( title =“ mm98 systems and applications track audio ”) source =( owner =“ joe bloggs ” email = joe @ nowhere . com ) media =( audio =( type = live format — g711 )) connection =( 226 . 0 . 0 . 101 / 1001 ) time =( start =“ 09 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ” stop =“ 11 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ”) type =( media ) id =( 423 420 ) info =( title =“ mm98 systems and applications track whiteboard ”) source =( owner =“ joe bloggs ” email = joe @ nowhere . com ) media =( whiteboard =( client = wb )) connection =( 226 . 0 . 0 102 / 1002 ) time =( start =“ 09 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ” stop =“ 1 : 00 gmt 25 / 12 / 98 ”) the session control system , having received the above session description , processes the tree structure of the session description starting at base module 410 . the first module encountered is base module 420 . as this is not a media module but it does have sub - modules , the session control system continues down this branch to media module . the media field of the media module 421 already defines the multimedia client application required as realplayerg2 ( a multimedia application of real networks inc ) thus the session control system ignores it and continues to the next media module . the media field of the media module 422 does not have a multimedia client application defined , however a format for the audio data is specified . the session control system recognises that this particular audio format can be supported by realplayerg2 so it amends the media field to read client = realplayerg2 . the next media module 423 has already defined a client application as wb so it ignores this module , and it also ignores the option module 424 . the session control system parses the tree structure again in order to launch client applications . the first media module 421 specifies that realplayerg2 should be launched , hence the session control system launches the application on the end user &# 39 ; s system and keeps a record of this activity . the second media module 422 specifies an application that has already been launched and so the session control system ignores it and continues to the next media module . the media module 423 specifies that wb should be launched , so the session control system launches the application and keeps a record of this activity . realplayerg2 is passed the media module 421 , base module 420 and modules 422 – 424 . the application processes the media modules given to determine which it can handle , and in this case it identifies 421 and 422 . having determined which streams it can handle , the application sends a connection request back to the session control system requesting connection to the media streams of modules 421 and 422 . similarly , wb is passed the media module 423 , base module 420 , modules 421 – 422 , and the module 424 . the application processes the given modules as described previously , and requests connection to the media stream of modules 423 . the above connection requests are assembled by the session control system into a list , this list is then passed to the communications manager along with the session qos policy module 424 . the communications manager determines whether each request is viable according to the steps of fig7 . assuming there are sufficient resources for all the connection requests for mandatory media streams , the communications manager passes back a list of viable streams to the session control system which then processes the tree again to determine the connection data held in the connection field of each media module so it can request that the communications manager initiate a connection to the appropriate media stream for each of the viable connection requests according to the connection data . the session control system then manages the session and its media stream connections as is described with reference to steps 670 to 700 of fig6 . due to the heterogeneity of the internet and differing capabilities and operating environments of end user computer systems , the session control system described has been implemented in java ( java is a trade mark of sun microsystems inc .). the announcement receiving interface , session directory , receives the announcements and passes those selected by the end user to the session control manager implemented as an application programming interface running as a background process on the end user &# 39 ; s computer . whilst the present invention has been described with reference to the internet and multicast transmissions , it will be apparent to the reader that the described modular session description and the session control system are applicable to the announcement and subsequent management of connections to media streams of a ( multi ) media session using other known transport mechanisms such as unicast . furthermore , although mechanisms for encryption , charging and other such services have not been explicitly described , it would be apparent to the reader that appropriate session descriptions and associated functions within the session control system for their processing could be readily implemented according to the mechanism required . | 7 |
before describing the disclosed implementations in detail , a brief description of the rail welding environment will be undertaken to aid the reader . railroad tracks are comprised of steel that is subject to expansion and contraction as the ambient temperature rises and falls . because railroad tracks are often quite long , a small percentage of expansion or contraction can result in a free rail length that varies substantially with temperature . however , railroad tracks are generally fixed and cannot undergo sizeable dimensional changes . instead , the tension and compression forces in the tracks change with temperature and may become substantial . excess tension forces can cause track separations , while excess compression forces can cause track buckling . to counteract the effects of temperature - dependence , the tracks are installed such that at a predetermined zero - stress temperature , which may differ from the current ambient temperature , the track will be in equilibrium , with no tension or compression . because the ambient temperature during installation is often less than the zero - stress temperature , the track will be somewhat contracted and will need to be pulled together , sometimes quite substantially , during the welding process . this problem can be exacerbated by other causes as well . for example , a segment of track may be “ hung - up ” on another component of the rail system and may need to be pulled free . thus , whatever the cause of the gap , tracks must often be pulled together with substantial force to contact the ends and accomplish a weld . this type of operation is known as a closure weld . the two parameters that generally affect a closure weld are stroke and closure force . the stroke is the distance the rail ends can be moved toward one another in order to close the gap and to effect a butt weld , and the closure force is the force that is available to overcome track tension or hang - ups and push the ends of the track together during the weld . the amount of force applied while the ends are in contact is sometimes referred to as the forging force . the system described herein provides an increased stroke over known systems while at the same time providing increased closure / forging force , thus improving cold - weather operations and other operations in which increased stroke and / or force are required . the described system provides these advantages by employing dc rather than ac welding current . the use of dc current eliminates inductance losses that are present in ac systems . in particular , electrical impedance is generally thought of as including resistive , capacitive , and inductive components . in the present environment , the capacitive component is negligible . more importantly , however , is the inductive component , which is substantial in the case of ac power , but is essentially nonexistent in the case of dc power . eliminating the inductive impedance component allows longer current paths and smaller conductors to be used without incurring parasitic inductance losses . thus , instead of using the force members themselves as conductors , as must be done in ac systems , separate longer conductors with smaller cross - sectional areas can now be used . moreover , these conductors are made of highly conductive material that need not be optimized for physical strength . conversely , the force members are now made of a very strong steel that need not be optimized for electrical conductivity . these improvements in materials and configuration lead to substantial improvements in performance and capabilities . for example , since the force members are optimized for strength and not electrical conductivity , they are smaller and yet can still be as strong as or stronger than prior systems . their decreased size allows the weld head to clamp lower on the rail , at an optimal central location . moreover , since the current path length is no longer critical and the force members are of improved strength , the stroke of the machine can be much longer than prior systems . moreover , the greater acceptable distance between contacts allows for the inclusion in the head of an internal shear to simplify the welding operation . turning to the specifics of rail welding , fig1 is a perspective view of two rail segments in position for flash butt welding in accordance with the disclosure . in particular , a first rail segment 100 and a second rail segment 101 are shown aligned with one another with a slight space 102 between the first rail segment 100 and the second rail segment 101 . each of the first rail segment 100 and the second rail segment 101 include a rail base section 103 as well as a rail head section 104 . the rail base section 103 and the rail head section 104 are interconnected via a rail web section 105 . the rail base section 103 and the rail web section 105 provide strength to the rail generally and also provide surface area for joints between rail segments such as between the first rail segment 100 and the second rail segment 101 . the rail head section 104 provides additional strength to the rail and provides additional surface area for joining , but also provides a support plane upon which rail wheels will run when the rail way is completed . it is often necessary to perform in - track joining of rail segments . for example , large rail segments created during in - plant welding may be transported to a rail way location and joined in series to create a finished rail way . moreover , individual rail segments may be joined at the rail way location in combination with or instead of longer pre - welded segments . finally , in - track welding is also used to repair or modify existing rail ways . in - track welding is welding that is performed at the rail way site , often by a machine that rides on the rails . such a machine may be a rail - only machine , but is more typically a machine adapted to ride on both roadways and rail ways via the use of two different wheel sets . in - track welding in accordance with the disclosed structure is performed via resistive heating of rail ends to allow the ends to be forged together under force . in the illustration of fig1 , the first rail segment 100 has a first rail end 106 , and the second rail segment 101 has a second rail end 107 ( obscured in perspective view by second rail segment 101 ). during in - track welding , a region at the end of each rail of interest is heated . in the illustrated example , a first region 108 adjacent first rail end 106 , delineated by line a , is heated , as is a second region 109 adjacent second rail end 107 , delineated by line b . the longitudinal extent of the first region 108 and the second region 109 are exaggerated in fig1 for clarity . prior to discussing the structure of the in - track welding system in accordance with the disclosure , the welding procedure will be briefly discussed to aid the reader &# 39 ; s later understanding of the unique structural elements . in conjunction with this discussion , reference is made to fig2 , which shows a schematic view of an in - track welding energizing system 200 in accordance with the disclosure . the in - track welding energizing system 200 comprises electrical energy generation and transformation elements . in particular , the in - track welding energizing system 200 includes a primary power source 201 , e . g ., an internal combustion engine . the primary power source 201 is typically a dedicated power source , i . e ., it is not used for transportation but only for the in - track welding energizing system 200 . however , in an alternative embodiment , the primary power source 201 may also be used for functions outside of the in - track welding energizing system 200 . the primary power source 201 provides rotational energy to drive a generator 202 . when thus driven , the generator 202 provides an alternating current ( ac ) electrical power output consistent with its construction . for example , in an embodiment , the generator 202 provides a 3 - phase high - voltage ( 480v ) ac output . the ac output of the generator 202 is first processed by a phase / transformer module 203 , e . g ., an scr bridge comprising scrs and diodes , into a single phase high voltage ( e . g ., 550v ) high frequency ( e . g ., 1200 hz ) ac output . the ac output of the phase / transformer module 203 is provided to and processed by a diode pack assembly 205 . the diode pack assembly 205 comprises a transformer to step down the voltage of the input , as well as one or more rectifying circuit elements such as diodes to transform the signal from ac to dc . after this transformation , the output of the diode pack assembly 205 is a low voltage dc power signal . in an embodiment , the output of the diode pack assembly 205 has an open - circuit voltage between about 5 and about 12 volts , e . g ., 8 volts . the current output by the diode pack assembly 205 may be as high as approximately 30 , 000 amps or higher . during an in - track weld , the dc output of the diode pack assembly 205 is applied to a junction between rail segments , e . g ., first rail segment 100 and second rail segment 101 , to heat the junction and the surrounding material , in order to clean the rail ends , e . g ., first rail end 106 and second rail end 107 , and to perform the welding operation . when the low - voltage high - current signal is passed through the rail junction , the primary heating modality is electrical resistance . in particular , when a high electrical current is passed through a conductive material , heat will be developed in the material as a function of the electrical resistance of the material . the primary heating affect will occur at the point or points of greatest resistance , which will be between the rail ends . moreover , as the rail ends heat up , they become more resistive , increasing the spatial nonlinearity of the heating effect . the net result of these phenomena is to concentrate the heating of the rail material strongly as a function of cross - sectional area . the primary power source 201 also drives a hydraulic source pump 204 to provide pressurized hydraulic fluid to the system . the pressurized hydraulic fluid is used for the operations of the welding head that require motion , such as moving the rails and shearing the weld joint . at the initiation of a weld cycle , the rail ends of interest are brought together until they touch , as determined by the presence of a weld current draw . after contact , an amount of material , e . g ., 0 . 25 inches , is removed from the two rail ends during what is referred to as a “ burn off ” stage . this step aids in the elimination of oxidation , grease , and other contaminants between the rail ends , and also serves to square uneven saw cuts so that the rail ends may be heated evenly . once the ends are square , the process of heating for welding begins in the heat flash stage , referred to as “ flashing .” during the flashing process , the rail ends are moved toward each other at a slow rate . the welding current is maintained at a level sufficient to melt and vaporize small areas of the rail ends that form contact points . this occurs in many places across the rail face at any given moment , forming a protective shield that prevents oxidation of the hot , reactive rail faces . after flashing , a progressive flash stage begins . in this stage , an increase in the feed rate causes an increase in the number of contact points being melted and vaporized . the increase in metal vapor causes an increase in the protective shield that helps eliminate oxides from forming on the rail faces . at the same time , flashing crater depth is reduced , leaving less material to be forged away . after the rail ends have been sufficiently heated and the surface cratering reduced by progressive flashing , the rails are forged at a high feed rate . the welding current may be left energized for some period of time , e . g ., 1 . 5 seconds , after the start of this stage . this helps ensure that the hot rail surfaces are protected from oxidation immediately prior to forging . full forging force is applied to the rails for a predetermined period of time , e . g ., nine ( 9 ) seconds , known as “ holding time .” the travel of the rails is stopped by the resistance of the heated rail ends , and as such the rail ends are forged together until there is no further plastic deformation . experience has shown that a forging force of 9000 pounds per square inch exerted on the face of the two rail ends will yield favorable results . thus , for example , the forging force required for 115 # rail may be approximately 51 tons , while the forging force required for larger 141 # rail may be about 63 tons . during forging , oxides and liquid steel are expelled from the weld joint , typically resulting in a three - part weld burr . two outer portions of the burr are formed by plastic deformation of soft material of the two rails , while a center portion is formed by metal expelled in a liquid state from the center of the weld joint . after the weld is sufficiently firm but while the burr material is still hot , the welding head shears the burr from the weld joint . in an embodiment , the shear operation is executed by releasing one side of the rail , and then extending the welding head to a maximum open position . at this point , the extended side is re - clamped and the opposite side is unclamped . the welding head is then collapsed , i . e ., the two sides are brought together , forcing a shear associated with the second side through the upset burr . depending upon the rail section , the shearing operation may require as much as about 65 tons of force . with the foregoing overview of the welding and shearing process in mind , the following description of the welding head may be more easily understood . a welding head system 300 according to the disclosure is illustrated in fig3 . in particular , fig3 is a plan view of a welding head system 300 including a hoist 301 and a welding head 302 . the hoist 301 may be attached to an on - track vehicle ( not shown ) riding on tracks , of which rail 303 may be seen , so that the welding head 302 may be controlled and positioned from the vehicle , and the welding head may be moved into or onto the vehicle between welding operations , e . g ., during travel to or from a work site . the welding head 302 comprises a link 304 that is attached to a left head portion 305 and a right head portion 306 . the hoist 301 is attached to the welding head 302 via the link 304 . in the view of fig3 , it can be seen that the left head portion 305 and the right head portion 306 are connected at track level via a force member 307 . a matching force member , placed symmetrically across rail 303 , also connects the left head portion 305 and the right head portion 306 . these elements , which will be discussed in greater detail hereinafter , serve to draw the left head portion 305 and the right head portion 306 together , and with them any clamped rail segments in an aligned relationship . the welding head 302 includes a number of rail clamping arms 308 that work in conjunction with mating arms to “ pinch ” the rail 303 with many tons of force . these elements will be described in greater detail with reference to fig4 and 5 . fig4 is a plan view of a rail clamping arm 308 . the rail clamping arm 308 includes three similar portions , the first of which is visible , the other two of which are identically oriented and are situated serially behind the first . each portion includes a force pivot point 309 for receiving a hydraulic clamp actuator 312 , a clamp arm pivot point 310 formed by an elongated through pin about which rail clamping arm 308 pivots , and a force member opening 311 . the force member opening receives a casing linked to the force member 307 . it will be appreciated that in one side of the head , e . g ., the left head portion 305 , the force member 307 is fixed within the force member opening 311 , whereas in the other side , e . g ., the right head portion 306 , the force member is slidably associated within the force member opening 311 to be hydraulically actuated , thus enabling the welding head 302 to be compressed or extended in a controlled manner . in operation , for each of the left head portion 305 and the right head portion 306 , two similar clamp arms 308 are joined via an elongated through pin at the clamp arm pivot point 310 . one or more hydraulic clamp actuators 312 extend between opposed force pivot points 309 of the joined clamp arms 308 . as a hydraulic clamp actuator 312 extends , it forces the opposed force pivot points 309 apart . however , because the joined clamp arms 308 are constrained to pivot about the clamp arm pivot point 310 , this forces the opposite ends of the joined clamp arms 308 together onto the rail , not shown . once the opposite ends of the joined clamp arms 308 are clamped onto the rail for the left head portion 305 and the right head portion 306 , any relative motion of the two weld head portions under the control of the force member 307 will move the clamped rails together or apart . fig5 is a perspective view of the rail clamping arm 308 . in the view of fig5 , all three portions of the rail clamping arm 308 are visible . the force pivot point 309 , clamp arm pivot point 310 , and a force member opening 311 are also visible . the force member 307 is also shown . fig6 is a cross - sectional view of the welding head 302 in accordance with the disclosure . in the view of fig6 two rail clamping arms 308 are shown . the illustrated hydraulic clamp actuator 312 is in a fully extended position , pivoting the rail clamping arms 308 about the clamp arm pivot point 310 , clamping rail 303 between the opposite ends of the rail clamping arms 308 . the force members 307 are visible in end view . the attachment of the hydraulic clamp actuator 312 to the rail clamping arms 308 is configured so as to maximize the portion of the force generated by the clamp actuator 312 which is transformed into clamping force applied to the rail 303 . in particular , the clamping arm 308 must be able to pivot away from the rail 303 a sufficient distance to allow the welding head 302 to be applied to and removed from the rail 303 . however , if typical hydraulic attachment were to be used , i . e ., with a trunion at the cap end 312 a of the cylinder and a trunion at the rod end 312 c , then the clamping arms 308 would be past vertical during clamping , and in such a position , too much of the force created by clamp actuator 312 would be wasted stretching the clamping arm 308 rather than clamping the rail 303 . in the illustrated example , the hydraulic clamp actuator 312 is attached to one clamping arm 308 via trunion 324 at the rod end 312 c of the hydraulic clamp actuator 312 in the traditional manner . however , in this example the hydraulic clamp actuator 312 is attached to the other clamping arm 308 via a trunion 325 at the rod end 312 b of the hydraulic clamp actuator 312 . in this way , when the welding head 302 is clamped on the rail 303 , the clamping arm 308 is substantially vertical , but there is still sufficient range of motion to open the clamping arm 308 enough to clear the rail 303 . this arrangement provides an increase in clamping force of approximately 15 % over the traditional arrangement described above without any increase in the force generated by hydraulic clamp actuator 312 . the cross - sectional view of fig7 shows the force member 307 and its environment in greater detail . in the illustrated arrangement , the force member 307 is fixed within the right head portion 306 . however , the force member 307 is slidably associated with a hydraulic actuator 313 in the left head portion 305 . in this manner , selective pressurization of the hydraulic actuator 313 can be used to move the right head portion 306 and the left head portion 305 relative to one another . as previously noted , it is important to clamp the rails in the right location ( in a central portion of the web ) and to have the force members situated in line with this location . as such , it is desirable to place each hydraulic actuator 313 as close to the ground as possible . to this end , in an implementation , the diameter of each hydraulic actuator 313 is minimized and each hydraulic actuator 313 includes two axially aligned pistons and cylinders to approximately double the effective area that the hydraulic fluid acts upon , and thus to compensate for the smaller actuator diameter . in one implementation , a piston diameter of approximately 7 . 0 ″ is used . in the illustrated implementation , the hydraulic actuator 313 includes a first piston 319 a within a first chamber 319 b and a second piston 320 a within a second chamber 320 b . the first piston 319 a and the second piston 320 a are both linked inline to force member 307 , so that the force applied to the force member 307 is approximately double what would ordinarily be expected an actuator of its dimensions . fig8 is a cross - sectional bottom view of the welding head 302 , showing a hydraulic actuator 313 on each side of the welding head 302 . as noted with respect to fig7 , each hydraulic actuator 313 includes a first piston 319 a within a first chamber 319 b in tandem with a second piston 320 a within a second chamber 320 b , so that there are a total four piston assemblies 321 associated with the force members 307 , with two such assemblies being associated with each force member 307 . although each hydraulic actuator 313 is shown with two piston assemblies 321 in tandem , it will be appreciated that the welding head 302 may alternatively be constructed with a single piston assembly 321 in each hydraulic actuator 313 , or with three or more piston assemblies 321 in tandem in each hydraulic actuator 313 . with the disclosed arrangement , closure forces of 180 tons or greater may be produced over a stroke length of six inches or more . as noted above , forge welding of rail segments creates a weld burr that must be removed from the weld at some point prior to use of the rail way . in an embodiment of the invention , the weld head 302 includes an internal shear 315 , as shown in fig9 , associated with one side of the weld head 302 , and disposed inward of the clamping points of both the right head portion 306 and the left head portion 305 . the long stroke length allowed by the dc operation of the weld head 302 allows the clamping points of the right head portion 306 and the left head portion 305 to be placed sufficiently far apart that the internal shear 315 may be conveniently placed between them . the bottom cross - sectional view of fig8 also shows the internal shear 315 . in this view , it can be seen that the internal shear 315 includes a cutting surface on both sides of the rail 303 . the internal shear 315 is driven by two shear piston assemblies 322 located inward of the respective force members 307 . to execute a shearing operation , the shear piston assemblies 322 force the internal shear 315 over the joint 318 between a first rail segment 316 and a second rail segment 317 , removing any weld burr . the shearing operation is performed while the rail segments remain clamped , to avoid tearing or pulling within the joint 318 itself . as noted above , in accordance with the disclosure , the force member 307 need not be highly conductive , since it is not used as a conductor in the weld circuit . rather , because of the dc operation and the resultant lack of inductive leakage , the weld current path may be constructed independently of high - conductivity material chosen for its electrical rather than structural properties . fig1 is a perspective view of the conductive path members of the weld head 302 . there are two separate conduction paths in the illustrated embodiment . in particular , a first conduction path 901 is associated with one side of the rail clamp and a second conduction path 902 is associated with the other side of the rail clamp . each of conduction path 901 and conduction path 902 includes a diode pack assembly 205 for providing dc power to the circuit . the diode pack assemblies 205 are housed in electrical housings 903 located externally on the welding head 302 in an easily accessible location above and away from the welding location . one of the electrical housings 903 and diode pack assemblies 205 is also visible in fig7 . not only is the illustrated location easily reached , but it is also accessible without removing any major components of the welding head 302 . in this way , maintenance tasks will be more easily and safely undertaken , thus encouraging proactive maintenance and repair of the head 302 . a bus bar 904 in each circuit distributes power from the diode pack assembly 205 to the contact pads 905 . because portions of the circuit must be movable with respect to other portions of the circuit to enable the rails to be brought closer together during a weld operation , a circuit portion 906 is connected to the bus bar 904 via flexible conductive copper straps 907 . the present disclosure is applicable to systems for in - track welding of rail segments and provides an improved system wherein in - track welding is executed via dc power rather than ac power . as a result of this improvement , inductive power leakage is largely eliminated and separate weld circuit conductors of a convenient length and material may be used . as well , the force members 307 of the welding head 302 need not be optimized for conduction , and so may be constructed of a material optimized for strength , such as steel . in an embodiment , the force members 307 are constructed of 4140 stress proof steel and the structure of the welding head 302 near the welding location may be t1 plate . in this way , the force members 307 and other elements may be made smaller , stronger , and / or less expensive than in prior systems . for example , in an implementation , the force members 307 comprise 3 . 5 ″ diameter alloy steel . moreover , because only resistive losses are of interest with respect to the dc power supply , the length of the weld circuit is not critical . this results in a longer allowed path and a longer possible stroke of the weld head 302 . in an embodiment , the weld head 302 stroke is at least six inches and is as great as , or greater than , twelve inches . the increased allowed circuit length also allows the placement of an internal shear member 315 between contact pads 905 on opposite sides of the joint 318 without power leakage , so that the shearing process may be conveniently executed without completely removing the weld head 302 from the rail 303 under process . it will be appreciated that the foregoing description provides examples of the disclosed system and technique . however , it is contemplated that other implementations of the disclosure may differ in detail from the foregoing examples . all references to the disclosure or examples thereof are intended to reference the particular example being discussed at that point and are not intended to imply any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure more generally . all language of distinction and disparagement with respect to certain features is intended to indicate a lack of preference for those features , but not to exclude such from the scope of the disclosure entirely unless otherwise indicated . recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range , unless otherwise indicated herein , and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein . all methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context . accordingly , this disclosure includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law . moreover , any combination of the above - described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the disclosure unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context . | 4 |
referring now to the drawings and particularly to fig1 , there is shown an illustrative test fixture 11 for performing a simple “ accept ” or “ reject ” test for coil spring squareness under compressive load for a spring 27 . the test fixture 11 includes a housing made of a top portion or cover 13 and a bottom portion or base 15 . the top portion or cover 13 and a lower or base portion 15 are electrically conductive . however , the cover 13 contains a contoured insulative upper spring guide 17 while the base 15 for the housing supports a lower spring guide 19 that is located on a set of three equiangularly spaced low friction rollers , 21 , 22 and 23 located on a same radii with respect to an axis 51 and are fixed to the base 15 to engage and support the lower spring guide 19 . the configuration of the upper spring guide 17 is generally circular and is centered on the axis 51 by a tapering frustro conical region or surface 75 located in an upper section of interior sidewall 73 of cover 13 . the upper spring guide 17 is rigidly fixed in place with respect to axial axis 51 through an adhesive interface 53 , as illustrated in fig2 . the rollers 21 , 22 and 23 provide a low friction electrically conductive support for the jaw or spring guide 19 and each may include a primary roller ball 77 supported in a ball bearing race illustrated at 79 . the rollers 21 , 22 , and 23 allow the lower spring guide 19 relatively free lateral movement within the cavity 16 formed within the housing fixture and may be made of stainless steel or similar electrically conductive material commercially available as ball transfer units that are known and used in industry , for example , as photocopier slide supports . a non - electrical conductive annular guide 25 functions to align the cover 13 and base 15 and provide electrical isolation from each other when they are closed on one another . a vent 45 is located in cover 13 to allow air to escape from within cavity 16 of the housing when the cover 13 is located on the base 15 . the annulus guide 25 and the upper spring guide 17 may be made from a nylon , acrylic , or similar insulating material while the cover 13 , base 15 and lower spring guide 19 are preferably made of a stainless steel or similar good conductive material . a screw 29 in cover 13 and a screw 31 in base 15 form electrical terminals to connect the electrically conductive portions of cover 13 and base 15 to a continuity testing arrangement such as shown in fig4 and 5 . except for the screw 31 and vent 45 , the cover 13 , base 15 , guide 17 and guide 19 of the fixture of fig1 exhibit cylindrical symmetry about axis 51 . of course , the exterior of the fixture may depart from such symmetry , for example , for manufacturing convenience , or to suit a specific installation . the interior sidewall portion 73 of cover 13 and the peripheral portion of lower spring guide 19 are also preferably cylindrically symmetric with respect axis 51 to insure that a resulting test for angular spring orientation of a spring to be tested independent . note , that the lower spring guide 19 is spaced a peripherally uniform distance from the inner cylindrical sidewall 73 of the cover 13 and is not restrained in that position , but rather is free to move in any direction orthogonal to the axis 51 on the rollers 21 , 22 and 23 until spring guide 19 comes in contact with the cylindrical sidewall 73 . in fig2 , cover 13 and base 15 are shown as having been moved axially away from one another to accept a spring 27 that has been selected from a spring lot . a selected spring 27 is precisely located to have its axis collinear with the fixture axis 51 by annular groove 41 on spring guide 17 and annular groove 43 on spring guide 19 . the annular groove 41 acts as a jaw to fix an end of spring 27 to the upper spring guide 17 while annular groove 43 acts as a jaw to fix an opposite end of spring 27 to the lower spring guide 43 such that initially spring 27 is located along the fixture axis 51 , as illustrated in fig3 , when the cover 13 and base 15 begin to close on one another . continued closure of the cover 13 and base 15 is achieved by a compressive force being applied to cover 13 and base 15 , as illustrated by arrows 47 and 49 in fig4 to compress the spring 27 with a preferred stress . when the structure in fig2 is compared with that of fig4 , it should be apparent that the cover 13 and base 15 and respective supported spring guides 17 and 19 movable along the fixture axis 51 between the open position for accepting a spring 27 to a closed position wherein spring 27 is compressed . in an acceptable coil spring 27 , the lower spring guide 19 is retained in the generally cylindrical cavity 16 defined by side wall 73 of the cover 13 as shown in fig4 . in fig4 and 5 , an electrical circuit including a galvanometer 33 , battery 35 and leads 37 and 39 is shown as being connected with screw 29 in cover 13 and screw 31 in base 15 . a simple volt / ohm meter or continuity tester as well as any other suitable indicator and / or power source could function in a similar manner to achieve a similar result . if the spring 27 is square ( does not exhibit any induced stress in directions perpendicular to the primary fixture axis 51 ), the lower spring guide 19 remains centered on the fixture axis 51 as shown in fig4 . so long as the lower spring guide 19 is located as in fig4 , there is no current flow through an indicator such as galvanometer 33 from battery 35 by way of the leads 37 and 39 attached to cover 13 and base 15 because of an open circuit is located between cover 13 and base 15 as represented by the gaps 81 and 83 . however , should the compressive stress 47 , 49 induce a lateral stress in spring 27 , the lower spring guide 43 is free to move in directions orthogonal to the fixture axis 51 and the spring 27 will experience a resulting lateral strain that moves the lower spring guide 19 toward the cylindrical sidewall 73 of cover 13 . a sufficient lateral travel component in spring 27 will cause the lower spring guide 19 to contact and make an electrical connection with the inner surface of cylindrical sidewall 73 , see fig5 , to close the circuit and enabling an indicator such as galvanometer 33 to inform an operator that the spring 27 is not square and should be rejected as not possessing a desired squareness characteristic . the process of determining spring squareness of a spring 27 of the present invention is set forth in the flow chart of fig6 when viewed in conjunction with the structure illustrated in fig2 – 5 . in this process , a sample spring 27 is randomly selected from a lot or supply of springs 55 , as indicated at by step 57 . the number of sample springs 27 selected for testing or sample size may be determined by statistical considerations such as lot size and the desired degree of confidence as to the acceptability of the lot 55 based on acceptability of individual tested springs . an individual spring of the number selected to be sampled is indicated by step 59 . of course , the lot may be sufficiently small such that an individual spring 27 may comprises the entire selected sample . step 61 indicates the selected spring 27 has been gripped by the jaws or spring guides 17 and 19 in a manner as shown in fig3 . a compressive force 47 , 49 is then applied to cover 13 and base 15 to axially compress the selected spring 27 as illustrated in fig4 and shown by step 63 in fig6 . excess radial motion is sensed for by the electrical circuit through step 65 and , if such radial motion is detected as illustrated in fig5 , a spring is rejected as indicated by step 67 . otherwise , the lower end of a spring 27 and lower jaw or spring guide 43 remain spaced from the surface sidewall 73 as illustrated in fig4 , the indicator 33 remains un - energized and the spring 27 is accepted as shown at 69 . once a spring 27 has been rejected , another spring 27 from the selected number 59 in the sample or lot 55 for testing , a new sample ( which may comprise the entire lot ) may be selected from the lot 55 , or the entire lot may be rejected as excessively “ un - square .” if a spring 27 that is first selected is accepted as indicated at 69 , further springs 27 may be selected from the number to be tested until the sample select number 59 has been exhausted . acceptance of an entire sample ( or a statistically determined percentage of the sample ) dictates acceptance of the entire number of springs in the lot 55 as shown at 71 . if the test is particularly critical ( as dictated by a particular application , spring compression force 47 , 49 , and the dimensions of gap 83 ), rejecting a single spring 27 my dictate an entire lot 55 must be tested and only those individual springs that pass the test for squareness of the above process be retained as acceptable . | 6 |
referring initially to fig1 there is shown in partial section , an aneurysmal aorta 10 , having a stent graft 12 inserted therein to bypass the weakened blood vessel wall at the aneurysmal location , and thereby prevent further expansion or failure of the lumen wall at the aneurysmal location . stent graft 12 is inserted into the aorta to span the aneurysmal sac in the aorta 10 , such that the opposed ends 16 , 18 of the stent graft are positioned in sealing engagement with portions of the blood vessel wall which are not implicated in the aneurysmal event , i . e ., they are not in a weakened state . the placement of stent graft across the aneurysmal sac 14 causes that portion of the sac 14 to be isolated from the blood flowing through the blood vessel by the presence of stent graft 12 . thus , the stent graft provides a secure bypass of the aneurysmal blood vessel wall preventing blood flow thereto and thus eliminating systemic pressure which would otherwise result in further extension or failure thereof . the stent graft 12 is preferably introduced remotely , such as by the use of a wire and catheter inserted into a blood vessel at a remote location and then pushed therethrough to the location of the aneurysmal blood vessel , as is well known in the art . although the stent graft is shown placed in an aorta , other aneurysmal locations , and thus other stent graft configurations and placements are specifically contemplated for use with the present invention . after the stent graft 12 is in place , blood supply to the aneurysmal sac 14 , the stent graft 12 isolates the aneurysmal sac 14 such that blood flow thereto should be substantially reduced , if not eliminated . preferably , no fresh blood should be introduced to aneurysmal sac 14 , because the presence of such blood could result in further expansion or rupture of the weakened blood vessel wall 22 in the aneurysmal sac 14 . rupture of the aneurysmal aorta 10 could lead to uncontrolled massive hemorrhaging , and patient morbidity and mortality , despite the presence of the stent graft 12 spanning the aneurysmal location . referring now to fig2 there is shown an endoleak and / or endotension detector 18 in situ , comprising an implantable oxygen sensor 20 , positioned on the terminus of a lead 24 extending through the blood vessel wall 22 and terminating within the aneurysmal sac 14 between the stent graft 12 and the weakened blood vessel wall of the aneurysmal sac 14 , and extending outwardly from the aneurysmal sac 14 to an implantable controller 28 preferably maintained in the abdominal cavity at a location adjacent to , but spaced from , the aneurysmal sac 14 . controller 28 is preferably configured to control the operation of oxygen sensor 20 , record the readings for oxygen concentration or content generated by oxygen sensor 20 , and to be remotely read , such as by a telemetry reader 100 , as will be further described herein . referring now to fig3 the placement of the oxygen sensor within the aneurysmal sac 14 is illustrated . the oxygen sensor 20 is shown , in partial cutaway , located in aneurysmal sac 14 , and is configured to provide a signal , indicative of the level or saturation of oxygen in blood , and includes a sealed body portion 30 , from which lead or leads 24 extend , a lens assembly 34 enabling light transmission inwardly and outwardly of the body portion 30 within which body portion 30 is provided a light source 36 and a light detector 38 . the body portion 30 is preferably substantially miniaturized , such that its diameter is on the order of 3 to 4 mm , and the overall length thereof , non - inclusive of the lead 24 , is on the order of one centimeter . a hook ( not shown ), or other securement mechanism , may be provided on body portion to secure the body portion 30 against withdrawal from the aneurysmal sac 14 . oxygen sensor 20 operates on the principle that oxygen in blood reflects or absorbs light in certain frequency ranges . thus , by emitting a known intensity of light in a specific frequency range , and detecting the intensity of light received back at the detector in that specific frequency range , the likely concentration of oxygen in the blood is ascertainable . specifically , as shown in fig3 the light source 36 preferably includes a first light emitter , preferably an led , 42 , and a second light emitter , preferably an led , 44 . first light source 42 is preferably selected to emit light having a first blood oximetry frequency , and second light source is selected to have a second blood oximetry frequency , such that by sequentially powering the light sources 42 , 44 to emit light at different times , light detector 38 will detect discrete signals corresponding to different blood oximetries . the light sources 42 , 44 , as well as the light detector 38 , are maintained within sealed body 30 adjacent lens assembly 34 , which preferably includes discrete windows 50 , 52 , such that light sources 42 , 44 are positioned adjacent window 50 and light detector 38 is positioned adjacent window 52 . a non - light transmissive element 39 is positioned between the two windows 50 , 52 , such that light leaving the light sources 42 , 44 must pass through both windows 50 and 52 before it can reach light detector 38 . as light from light sources 42 , 44 passes through window 50 , as shown by arrows 83 , it will encounter blood 84 present in the aneurysmal sac 14 . a portion of such light will be directed to window 52 , as shown by arrows 85 , for detection by light detector 38 . further details of the operation and structure of a oxygen sensor which may be used with the present invention are found in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 198 , 952 , hereby incorporated by reference herein . referring again to fig2 oxygen sensor 20 is connected , via lead 24 , to controller 28 . lead 24 preferably has a diameter of approximately 3 to 4 mm ( of the same approximate diameter as the detector body 30 ), and a length on the order of about 12 cm , which enables the placement of lead 24 through the aneurysmal blood vessel wall 22 , such as by puncturing the wall 22 to create an opening 120 ( best shown in fig3 ) and inserting oxygen sensor 20 therethrough to position the sensor 20 in the aneurysmal sac 14 and extending the lead 24 therefrom and through the opening 120 and to the controller 28 remotely located from the aneurysmal blood vessel wall 22 location as shown in fig2 . referring now to fig4 the controller 28 is shown in a schematic form , and is provided to operate the sensor 20 , and to maintain a record of the readings provided thereby of blood oxygen content for further review . the controller 28 generally includes a power supply 60 , a timer / clock 62 , a recording memory 64 , a microprocessor 66 and a telemetry system 68 interconnected on a board 70 to enable the control of oxygen sensor 20 for detecting of oxygen content in aneurysmal sac 14 , and to maintain a time based record of such measured values for later interpretation . in operation , microprocessor 66 receives a timing signal from the timer / clock 62 , which is read by microprocessor 66 to establish a time gap over which to initiate a reading of oxygen content in aneurysmal sac 14 . the time gap between measurements is selected to allow a maximum number of measurements to be taken and stored in memory 64 while simultaneously allowing sufficient time between remote reading of memory 64 such that memory 64 can be overwritten with new oxygen content measurements after the recorded measurements are read or otherwise used . a typical controller has sufficient memory to enable oxygen sensor 20 to make readings at 15 - second intervals for 6 months , before the memory will begin re - writing over previously stored data . when microprocessor 66 has received sufficient clock signals indicative of an appropriate time interval , microprocessor 66 initiates a measure signal which opens and then closes gates or switches to pass a signal through lead 24 to sequentially power the led &# 39 ; s 42 , 44 ( fig3 ), the period between their opening and closing being controlled such that each sequential pulse of light emitted from led &# 39 ; s 42 , 44 is of the same time duration , typically on the order of 0 . 1 seconds . opening and closing of the gates causes a connection and disconnection of light sources 42 , 44 to power supply 62 , such that each light source is powered to emit light in a desired frequency range for a select duration of time , such that the light from each light source 42 , 44 reaches detector 38 ( fig3 ) at distinct separate periods of time . preferably lead 24 includes at least two conductors therein , such that one conductor is connected to each led , and the signals emitted by the light detector 38 may be returned down one or either such conductor , the light detector 38 being protected from the incoming signals from the controller 28 by circuit elements , such as a diode ( not shown ). upon the sending of the signal to one or the other led 42 , 44 , the microprocessor 66 also simultaneously opens gates or switches to connect detector 38 to memory 64 , such that a first signal corresponding to light reaching detector 38 from first light source 42 is recorded at a first memory location and a signal corresponding to light reaching the detector 38 from the second light source 44 is recorded at a second memory location . each recorded signal includes address information providing a time of recording linked to the recorded sensor value . microprocessor 66 also monitors the memory 62 , to detect the return of signals corresponding to the light pulses emitted from light sources 42 , 44 . although the invention has been described in terms of emitting light in separate frequency ranges at separate times , the oxygen sensor could be configured to emit light in only one frequency , or , where multiple frequencies are emitted from sources 42 , 44 , the light detector 38 can be configured to discriminate between frequencies received , and send separate signals to the memory 62 indicative of each frequency range detected . likewise , a plurality of light detectors , each capable of detecting light in a discrete frequency range not overlapping with the frequency range of the other may be used . additionally , the microprocessor may be programmed to alternately power the led &# 39 ; s 42 , 42 , such that every other signal recorded will be indicative of light received at the first frequency , and thus every intervening signal recorded will be indicative of light intensity in the second frequency range once signals corresponding to such light pulses are received at memory 62 , or , if no signal is received after a time out period corresponding to an expected return signal period is passed , the switch or gate from light detector 38 to memory 62 is closed , to prevent the recording of spurious signals in memory 62 . power supply 60 is preferably a battery selected to supply sufficient energy to power the system for a period of one to two years . controller 28 is preferably housed in a generally cylindrical biocompatible housing 80 , having a generally thin wall 82 and configured to receive board 70 , with the controller circuitry such as microprocessor 66 , etc ., therein . a sealed aperture 84 enables lead 24 to extend through wall 82 and thus be connected to board 70 for interconnection to the elements of controller 28 . controller 28 is preferably positioned in a sub - dermal abdominal location spaced from the aneurysm location . to evaluate the status of the aneurysmal sac 14 , a medical practitioner can read the data stored in the memory 66 . referring again to fig2 a reader 100 , linked via an electrically conducting cable 102 to a computer or processor 104 , is positioned over the sub dermal location where controller 28 is positioned . to enable reading of memory through the skin of a patient , controller telemetry system 68 includes an antenna 78 , which is linked through the board 68 and microprocessor 66 , to memory 62 . likewise , reader 100 includes a read antenna 106 , which is connected through cable 102 , to processor 104 . to initiate reading of the data stored in memory 62 , the practioner first locates or creates a file in processor 104 corresponding to the downloading of the stored data . the program can be individual patient or person specific , and may include means for generating an id signal which corresponds to a key in controller microprocessor 66 which will only allow reading of data from memory 62 upon first supplying the id . the processor 104 sends a signal , through cable 102 , to read antenna 106 , which transmits a corresponding rf or other radio signal which is picked up by antenna 78 and transmitted through the interconnections on board 68 to microprocessor 66 . microprocessor 66 decodes the signal , and if appropriate , begins reading the oxygen sensor readings and transmitting them , through appropriate rf or other radio signals , through antenna 78 to read antenna 106 , and thus to processor 104 . an appropriate program in processor then tabulates the data , and converts the readings of the photo detector 38 into readings indicative of the oxygen content in the fluid in the aneurysmal sac 14 between the stent graft 12 and the aneurysmal wall 22 at the aneurysm 10 locations . the data can be presented in tabular full data form , graphical form , or as distinct summaries or averages of data over specified time periods , or as excursions from a tabulated norm , median or mean of all the data and corresponding times at which such excursion occurred . from the data , and from the results of the data , the practitioner evaluating the data can determine if further investigation of the conditional of the aneurysmal sac is warranted . the placement and design of controllers and readers , as well as telemetry devices capable of allowing reading of the stored memory through the skin , is well known to those skilled in the art of placement and use of implantable devices , in particular implantable devices used for the monitoring and control of the heart , such as pacemakers . in an additional embodiment , a portable excursion monitor 200 as shown in fig5 may be provided , which is configured to be carried on a patient in a location adjacent to the sub dermal location of controller 28 , and is able to send and receive signals therefrom . in this embodiment , the excursion monitor 200 includes all of the interactive features of the processor 102 and reader 100 , but need not include the analysis enabled by processor 104 . specifically , monitor 200 is configured to include an antenna 202 , interconnected through a monitor board to a monitor microprocessor 204 , a monitor memory 206 and a monitor timer / clock 208 , and an alarm 210 , all powered by a battery 212 . in operation , microprocessor 204 periodically , at specified times set by the user or medical practitioner and set in an addressable memory 206 , reads the memory 62 of readings of oxygen sensor 20 and establishes an average , mean , median or other analytical value thereof as well as a deviation for the readings . if a reading deviates from the average , mean , median or other analytical value of the just read , or previous readings of the oxygen sensor values , in a direction and quantity which indicates that fresh blood is entering the aneurysmal sac 14 existing between the stent graft 12 and the aneurysmal wall 22 , the microprocessor 204 generates a signal and routes it to alarm 210 , thereby activating the alarm 210 and providing the patient , or a caregiver , an early warning of the need for imminent medical attention . alternatively , the monitor 200 circuitry could be modified , such that the controller 28 provides the analysis of the blood oxygen readings , and supplies an alarm signal though antenna 78 to antenna 202 , which signal is routed to alarm 210 to activate the alarm in the event that sensor readings indicate the presence of fresh blood in the aneurysmal sac 14 . the placement of the endoleak / endotension detector 18 is accomplished surgically . initially , a stent graft 12 is located in the blood vessel as shown in fig1 in which the aneurysmal sac 14 is located , spanning the weakened aneurysmal region of the blood vessel wall 22 and having opposed ends 16 , 18 in sealed contact , about the perimeter of the stent graft 12 , to the internal surface of healthy blood vessel tissue . the stent graft 12 is placed by medically accepted techniques , typically through passing a catheter , with the stent graft 12 therein , in a leg blood vessel and pushing the stent graft 12 through the vessel to a desired location where it is positioned to span the aneurysmal sac 14 . the placement and sealing of stent grafts 12 in place is well known to those skilled in the art . once the stent graft 12 is properly positioned , the extent of extension of the blood vessel at the aneurysmal site can be evaluated , and a determination made of the need to place an oxygen sensor into the aneurysmal sac 14 formed between the stent graft 12 and the blood vessel wall . upon a determination that the oxygen sensor is appropriate , an incision is made through the patients &# 39 ; skin , and an endoscope ( not shown ) is used to direct the oxygen sensor 20 into a location adjacent the exterior of the aneurysmal blood vessel wall 22 . the endoscope preferably includes a needle actuable at the distal end thereof , which needle is used to puncture the wall and thus create an aperture 120 ( as shown in fig3 ) through the blood vessel wall having a relaxed diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of lead 24 . the puncture location is chosen to be a location in the blood vessel wall which is not significantly effected by the aneurysm , i . e ., it has not yet suffered significant stretching or loss of resiliency . the oxygen sensor 20 is then manipulated at the end of the endoscope to be inserted through the aperture 120 , such that the oxygen sensor 20 is fully received in the aneurysmal sac 14 , and lead 24 extends therefrom , as shown in fig2 and 3 . the endoscope is removed and the controller 28 , linked to the free end of lead 24 , is then located in a sub - coetaneous location as shown in fig2 and sutured into place . the incision is then closed , and the patient allowed to recover . preferably , the operation of the oxygen sensor 20 is checked immediately before implantation into the body . over a relatively short period of time the blood vessel wall 22 will heal to seal aperture 120 about lead 24 . at a later date , the resulting values for oxygen detected in the blood in the aneurysmal sac 14 are evaluated , and if an elevated oxygen content indicative of new or fresh blood entering the space is found , intervention steps may be taken to prevent further deterioration of the aneurysm . alternatively , a sensor such as a carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide sensor can be used in place of oxygen sensor , to likewise detect changes in that gas content in the fluid in the aneurysmal sac 14 indicative of fresh blood supply thereto . although the invention has been described specifically in terms of the use of an oxygen sensor to evaluate the possibility of blood leakage or supply to the aneurysmal sac 14 , it is specifically contemplated that other sensors , such as carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide detectors can be used to detect fresh blood incursion into the aneurysmal sac 14 . | 0 |
the preferred embodiments of the present invention are directed to automating the process of entering cases in a help - desk software system . the preferred embodiments may be logically , though not necessarily physically , divided into four major components . fig1 shows these four logical components of the preferred embodiment ( user interface 10 , approval component 12 , help - desk software interface 18 and help - desk software 20 ), and how generally they interact . in particular , customers or requestors access the system by way of a user interface component 10 . it is within the user interface component 10 that the customer or requester enters a specific request , which is discussed more thoroughly below . the results of the customer entering the request in the user interface 10 are transferred to an approval component 12 . the approval component 12 is preferably responsible for notifying approvers and gathering approval or denial information . if the request is denied , the approval logic 12 generates an electronic mail ( e - mail ) message to the customer or requestor 8 indicating the denial of the request , as indicated by line 14 of fig1 . it is possible , however , that a particular service request does not require approval , and thus the approval component 12 may be skipped in its entirety as indicated by dashed line 16 of fig1 . the next logical component is the help - desk interface component 18 which gathers its information from the approval component 12 . the interface logic 18 preferably handles communicating to and from the help - desk software 20 . the help - desk software 20 may be any available help - desk type software for managing information technology or related issues . in the preferred embodiment , the help - desk software 20 is the clarify software program offered by amdocs ltd . one of ordinary skill in the art is familiar with the use of clarify and clarify - type help - desk software programs . the user interface component 10 is preferably accessed by the customer or requestor by way of a web - based interface . in this way , the requester or customer need only have access to the internet and standard web browser to enter service requests . preferably , the user interface component 10 operates on principles similar to on - line shopping software , also known as shopping cart software . in particular , preferably service requests are entered by interactively selecting and holding service request items from pre - defined lists for prospective submission . fig2 shows an exemplary user interface screen from which a customer may select service catalog items . fig2 exemplifies the preferred catalog format service requesting by showing four service requests identified in a catalog description search using the search string “ new %” where the “%” is a wild - card identifier . in this exemplary system , four service catalog items were identified , namely : new electronic mail account , new nt account , new nt account — massachusetts , and new sap account . although only four such service catalog items are shown in fig2 it must be understood that many service catalog items may be available to the customer in the preferred embodiments . these service catalog items may also comprise requesting repair of particular hardware ( also providing a field for a brief description of the problem ), requests for relocation of hardware devices such as computers and printers ( also providing a field for a description of the new and old locations ), and the like . fig2 also exemplifies that a requestor or customer may , in the preferred embodiments , select multiple services from the service catalog items in any one session . preferably , each service catalog item has a set - up screen which defines important characteristic of the service in the overall system . fig3 exemplifies a service catalog summary screen that shows the pertinent information associated with a service catalog being a new electronic mail account — massachusetts . the new email account — massachusetts is allowed to be published on the web and is assigned a help - desk queue “ cam .” as one of ordinary skill in the art is aware , queues in the help - desk software are where cases are placed for servicing , typically in a first - in first - out manner . this exemplary catalog summary screen on a new email account — massachusetts also indicates that approval is required for this particular service catalog item . finally , though preferably the services are selected from service catalog items , it may be necessary in some cases to provide additional information so that the service may be fulfilled . in the exemplary case shown in fig3 the additional information needed is the size of the mailbox requested . in other cases , for example , relocation of a computer from one location to another , it may be necessary to input additional information in the form of the name of the computer and current location , as well as the destination location of the computer . one of ordinary skill in the art , now understanding the concept of selecting computer related services through a service catalog item list could easily create many service catalog items , including fields for entry of service - specific information , without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention . after selecting the service or services desired from the catalog , and entering any necessary information associated with any of the service catalog items , preferably the customer or requestor proceeds to a submission or check - out stage , where the customer may have the opportunity to review again the services requested , and remove any of those services that the customer deems are no longer necessary . once final changes are made , if any , the customer “ checks out ” or submits the request . as alluded to above , some requests may need approval prior to performing the services desired . referring again to fig1 the user interface component 10 preferably submits the request generated to the approval component 12 . in broad terms , the approval component 12 is responsible for electronically gathering approvals for service catalog item requests . more particularly , the approval component 12 preferably analyzes the service request passed by the user interface component 10 . if the service requests entered do not require approval , effectively the approval component 12 is by - passed , as symbolically indicated by dashed line 16 . if , however , one or more of the services selected requires approval , the approval component 12 preferably generates an e - mail message to that approver , and includes in the text of that electronic mail message a url link to a web site . preferably , the approver receives the e - mail , clicks the hyperlink to the url provided and approves or denies the request . it should be understood that the approval process may take different forms for different service requests , and indeed may vary between different companies . for example , for some service requests , only technical approval may be required . for other service requests , for example the relocation of a computer system , both a financial approval and a technical approval may be required . further still , in some organizations , the approval chain may be hierarchical , and thus the approval component 12 may be responsible for sending a plurality of electronic mails to different approvers , one at a time , sending the next e - mail if the previous approver approves the service request in question . [ 0028 ] fig4 shows a flow diagram of the service entry process of the preferred embodiment . in particular , the process starts at step 30 and progresses to a customer selecting services from the catalog entries ( step 32 ). selecting services from the catalog entries preferably takes place in the user interface component 10 , as shown in fig1 . after selection of the desired service catalog items , a decision is made regarding whether the services selected require approval ( step 34 ). if no approval is required for the service or services selected by the requester , then the procedure proceeds along line 36 to step 42 , which is discussed more thoroughly below . if , however , approval for a service request is required , preferably the next step is the generation of electronic mail messages which are sent to the predetermined approvers ( step 38 ). preferably , the electronic messages contain a link to a url which takes the approver to a web based location where he or she can approve or deny the request . after generation of the electronic mail messages to the approvers in step 38 , the next step is the determination as to whether the particular service request or requests have been approved ( step 40 ). in the preferred embodiments , each service request is handled independently . thus , if a requestor selects two services , one of which requires approval and a second that does not , then preferably the procedure exemplified in fig4 bypasses the approval process for that service or services that do not require approval ( line 36 ). the service or services that do require approval , however , enter the approval process ( steps 38 and 40 ). thus , in the preferred embodiments , though services may be selected substantially simultaneously , each service selected becomes an independent case , an independent tracking entry , in the preferred clarify help - desk software . if the particular service request is approved as determined at step 40 , the process proceeds to step 42 , where a case for the service is created in the help - desk system . if , however , the approval is denied , the process proceeds to step 44 where an electronic message is generated to the customer indicating that the requested service has been denied . before proceeding , it must be understood that the preferred embodiments of the present invention are not limited to any particular type of approval process . as discussed above , there may only be a single level of approval , for example , a technical approval . likewise , there may be both financial and technical approval , which may be the same or different people . moreover , the approval process may be hierarchical at both the financial and technical levels such that the generation of electronic mail approvals in step 38 and evaluation as to approval of disapproval in step 48 may be serially repeated for each person in the approval chain . if the service selected does not require approval , or if approval has already been obtained through the use of steps 38 and 40 , the next step in the preferred embodiment is the creation of the case in the help - desk system . in the preferred embodiments , the help - desk system is a clarify help - desk program produced by amdocs ltd . if case creation is successful in the help - desk system ( step 46 ), then the case creation status is preferably propagated back to the user interface component 10 ( step 48 ). in this way , the requestor or customer need merely check the status to obtain a case number in the help - desk system , for example for tracking purposes . if however , creation of the case was unsuccessful in the help - desk software , preferably an electronic message is generated to the customer or requester indicating the failure of their request . referring somewhat simultaneously to fig1 and 4 , those steps performed by the user interface component 10 of the preferred embodiment are the selection of the service from the catalog entries step above dashed line 50 of fig4 . the approval component 12 preferably implements the steps between dashed lines 50 and 52 of fig4 in particular steps 34 , 38 , 40 and 44 . line 14 of fig1 is exemplary of generating the electronic message to the customer upon a denial of the service request at step 44 . the steps of fig4 below line 52 are preferably implemented in a combination of the interface component 18 and the help - desk software 20 . in particular , propagating the status of the case creation to the user interface component ( step 48 ) is exemplified by line 62 of fig1 . likewise , line 64 is exemplary of the help - desk software 20 generating an electronic message to the customer upon a failure of creation of the case in the help - desk system ( step 50 ). in the preferred embodiments , the user interface module is preferably a software program written in one or both of the asp or html programming language . generating electronic mail to approvers seeking their approval or denial of a service request , as well as evaluating those responses , in the preferred embodiments is developed using microsoft technology , particularly microsoft visual interdev studio development environment . finally , the interface component 18 is preferably written in microsoft visual studio . however , while these are the preferred languages for implementing the various tasks described , one of ordinary skill in the art , now understanding the procedures and requirements of the system , could easily design equivalent systems in these or different programming languages . the above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention . numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated . for example , it is envisioned that all the software components used to implement the preferred embodiments will be stored and executed on a single computer system ; however , each individual component may reside on an individual computer or server system linked by communication networks , and such a system would still be within the contemplation of this invention . further , there may be many help - desk type software systems available on the market , and each of those help - desk type systems could be equivalently used in the embodiments described . while each of the various components of the preferred embodiment are described as individual software components , it is possible that the functionality embodied in all the various components may be written into or contained in a single software program , and this too would be within the contemplation of this invention . it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications . | 6 |
the brewing module according to fig1 - 6 has , guided in an outer housing 1 , a discharge device 3 and an injector 4 . discharge device 3 and injector 4 are displaceable relative to each other by pivoting of the operating lever 5 . for this purpose , the operating lever is pivotable about a rotary pin 6 which is present on the outer housing 1 or is held by the latter . in the embodiment shown , the injector 4 is displaceable downward in the direction of the discharge device 3 by a pivoting movement of the operating lever 5 while the discharge device is immovable relative to the outer housing 1 . the outer housing 1 can be composed , as the exemplary embodiment illustrated , of two half shells 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 , as is seen in fig1 and 2 . the half shells 1 . 1 , 1 . 2 can be shaped on the inside in such a manner that they receive the parts mounted in the housing — for example the discharge device or the slidingly mounted injector — in a positioning manner . the parts can thus , under some circumstances , even be mounted without separate fastening devices ( screws or the like ), apart from , of course , screws ( or similar ) which fasten the two half shells to each other . in the operating state , the brewing module serves as a horizontal brewing module of a coffee machine which , in addition to the brewing module , has a water tank , a water heating device ( for example continuous water heater ) and a pump for supplying brewing water to the injector 4 . the corresponding supply channels 18 and possibly a non - return valve , etc ., of the injector can be formed as known per se ; they are not the subject matter of the invention and are not described in more detail here . in addition , the injector has at least one piercing point 12 with an associated supply opening , and therefore the capsule can be pierced and supplied with the extraction liquid through the supply opening . the coffee machine furthermore has , for example , a capsule container which is arranged below the brewing chamber and into which the capsule is automatically expelled after the brewing operation by raising of the operating lever . the discharge device 3 is also provided with at least one piercing point 11 and an associated discharge opening 19 . furthermore , depending on the configuration , there is also an outlet line with which coffee ( or the like ) emerging from the outlet 8 of the discharge device is guided in such a manner that it runs into a cup deposited at the designated location . the channels leading to the outlet 8 are not described in detail here either . in the exemplary embodiment shown , the injector 4 is constructed from four parts : an injector support as the first injector part 41 with a supply channel for delivering hot water and an injector plate holder which is held on the first injector plate and has injector - side piercing points 12 , a capsule seal 43 and an injection - side brewing chamber housing part 44 at least partially surrounding the capsule seal . the discharge device is also of multi - part construction here , with a discharge device housing 31 having a discharge channel 19 or discharge channels 19 for the brewed beverage and having extraction - side piercing points 11 , an extraction - side capsule seal 33 and extraction - side brewing chamber housing part 34 . the injection - side brewing chamber housing part 44 and / or the extraction - side brewing chamber housing part 34 can also have — for example guided in a groove 45 — a brewing chamber seal 81 which , in the closed state of the brewing chamber , bears against the other brewing module part in each case and thus seals off the brewing chamber from the outside . the multi - part construction of injector and / or discharge device may be advantageous in terms of manufacturing , but is not a prerequisite for the functioning of the invention . the respective piercing points 11 , 12 can be integrally formed on the actual respective brewing module part 31 , 41 or , as explained in wo 2010 / 118544 with reference to fig1 - 24 , can be present on a separate piercing part ( plate ) or otherwise designed in a suitable manner . apart from the type of fastening , the piercing points and elements , to which the piercing points are fastened , can also be designed in accordance with wo 2010 / 118544 . the insertion opening 7 for inserting a cubic portion capsule 10 is readily visible in fig1 and 3 . the insertion opening is formed in the outer housing 1 , is located in the region of the discharge device 3 and , like the latter , remains stationary during a movement of the operating lever . the insertion opening can be slightly conical in a downwardly tapering manner in order thereby , during the insertion , to have a centering effect on the capsule without there being too great a risk of the capsule jamming . as is apparent in fig3 , the brewing module is designed in such a manner that the axial direction — the axis connecting injector and discharge device and along which the movable brewing module part ( i . e . the injector here ) is moved when the brewing chamber is opened and closed — is slightly inclined , for example by approx . 5 °, in relation to the horizontal , specifically in such a manner that the movable brewing module part ( i . e . the injector here ) moves slightly downward when the brewing module part moves toward the positionally fixed brewing module part ( i . e . the discharge device here ). fig6 also shows the axis of injector and discharge device 14 , and also the angle 15 toward the horizontal 16 ; the axis of injector and discharge device substantially also corresponds to the axis of symmetry of the capsule or is parallel thereto . as is likewise visible , for example , in fig3 , the brewing module furthermore has a support element 21 . together with a support projection 36 of the discharge device 3 , the discharge device forms a support for the capsule inserted through the insertion opening 7 . capsule take - off elements 51 , the function and manner of action of which is explained in further detail below , are also seen in fig3 . fig4 illustrates a detail of the brewing module in the open state with a capsule 10 inserted . it is also seen that the insertion opening 7 and the discharge device 3 are positioned relative to each other in such a manner that the capsule comes to lie directly in front of the extraction - side piercing points 11 , i . e . either already touches the latter or is at a distance of at most the height of a point therefrom . the extraction - side capsule seal 33 and the injector - side capsule seal 43 are also particularly readily seen in fig4 and 5 . the injector - side capsule seal 43 has a plurality of consecutive sealing ribs 48 which are formed on the sealing collar and embrace the capsule in a sealing manner . all in all , the capsule seals 33 , 43 can be designed in accordance with the teaching of pct / ch2010 / 000249 , to which reference is expressly made here . when the brewing chamber is closed , the approach of the injector 4 causes the peripheral collar of the seal 43 of the capsule 10 to be brushed over , and the collar embraces the injector - side part of the peripheral capsule wall . the points of the perforation elements ( piercing points 11 , 12 ) then begin to puncture the injection - side and / or extraction - side capsule wall . fig6 illustrates the brewing chamber in the closed state of the brewing module . the brewing chamber housing parts 34 , 44 of the discharge device and of the injector fit together in a precisely fitting manner . in the closed state , the peripheral , capsule - surrounding brewing chamber housing parts 34 , 44 of the discharge device and of the injector adjoin each other and thereby close the brewing chamber . they form side walls ( in the capsule form illustrated here ) of the closed brewing chamber . for this purpose , there can also be a brewing chamber seal on the contact surface ( on the end side ). a two - stage sealing is thereby achieved . the brewing chamber seal can be fastened here to the injector or to the discharge device and can be pressed against a corresponding sealing surface of the other part in each case . it is often preferred if the seal is fastened to the injector , since the latter , in the open state , is at a retracted position and is therefore better protected . fig7 and 8 illustrate two examples of such a sealing principle . the brewing chamber seal 81 according to fig7 has an axially protruding lip 82 which engages in a corresponding groove 35 of the other brewing chamber part . in addition , it also forms a shoulder 83 which is pressed against the corresponding surface of the other brewing chamber part . a rear - side fastening portion 84 anchors the seal in the corresponding brewing chamber part . the brewing chamber seal according to fig8 corresponds on the front side to the “ square ring ” principle with two sealing lips 82 which engage in a common , wide groove of the other brewing chamber part . other sealing principles would also be conceivable , for example also with a single sealing lip or with a sealing bead , which sealing lip or sealing bead is pressed against a surface , for example in the form of an 0 ring - or correspondingly with a plurality of sealing lips / sealing beads . fig9 is another view ( not sectioned ) in which , however , one of the two half shells of the outer housing 1 is not illustrated . in fig9 , the brewing chamber is closed . the capsule take - off elements 51 have been folded outward on both sides by the approaching injector , and the support element 21 has been displaced downward into the inoperative position . a retaining element 61 which is designed as a rod pivotable about an axis 62 fixed on the housing is in engagement at the extraction - side end thereof with the support element 21 . when the brewing chamber is closed , the extraction - side end of the retaining element 61 was clipped onto the corresponding portion of the support element by way of a pivoting movement of the retaining element . when the brewing chamber is opened by pivoting of the operating lever 5 , the injector is displaced in a translatory manner away from the discharge device ( to the rear on the left in fig9 ). as soon as the front edge of the injector is displaced behind the capsule take - off elements 51 , the latter fold inward toward the capsule and clamp the latter against further retraction . the retaining element 61 simultaneously prevents the support element from pivoting back into the support position on account of the action of the spring ( s ) ( not shown ) holding it . the capsule can thus drop downward into the capsule container as soon as the brewing chamber is opened sufficiently far . only when the brewing chamber is completely opened by movement of the operating lever virtually as far as a stop does the support element pass back again into the support position . this takes place in the embodiment illustrated by a ( release ) portion , which is provided for this purpose , of the injector being pressed against a ramp 63 of the retaining element 61 and thus pivoting the retaining element outward . the snap connection to the support element is released , and the latter pivots back upward into the support position on account of the spring force . the two connecting rods 9 which convert the pivoting movement of the operating lever 5 into the linear movement of the injector 4 are readily visible in fig9 . with reference to the following figures , the functioning of individual parts is explained in further detail with reference to a second embodiment of the brewing module . the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment firstly by the differing configuration ( not discussed in more detail here ) of the outer housing . secondly , the mechanism of the operative connection between injector and support element is also released differently . thirdly , individual elements , in particular the shape of the support element , are also configured differently than in the embodiment discussed above . it goes without saying that these differences can be implemented independently of one another . for example , the configuration of the mechanism releasing the support element does not depend on the shape and configuration of the individual parts , apart , of course , from the functionally required features which are explicitly discussed here . fig1 illustrates the truncated alternative brewing module in a view without a capsule . the support element 21 , which , in this configuration , has an optional , planar , lateral guide portion 22 , and one of the take - off elements 51 are clearly visible . the support element 21 and the take - off elements 51 are in the position / orientation illustrated in fig1 because of the action of associated springs . fig1 shows the brewing module with a capsule 10 which is likewise illustrated in sectioned form and has been inserted through the insertion opening . the brewing chamber is closed in order to brew the beverage . for this purpose , the first brewing module part is displaced relative to the second brewing module part — for example likewise by actuation of an operating lever ; the injector 4 is moved here in the direction of the discharge device 3 . fig1 shows the brewing module during the movement . fig1 , like the following figures , shows a view of the brewing module ( not illustrated in sectioned form ) from another side ( rotated by approx . 180 ° about a vertical axis in comparison to the orientation according to fig1 ), with parts of the outer housing being omitted . as before , the take - off elements 51 are in the non - pivoted starting position . the brewing chamber is virtually closed in fig1 and completely closed in fig1 . the take - off elements 51 which are mounted pivotably about a vertical axis are pivoted away toward the extraction side and outward counter to the spring force by the approaching injector . an optional portion protruding outward over the pivot axis serves here for fastening the spring ; there are also other solutions for this , for example the use of a spiral spring mounted coaxially with the pivot axis , a leaf spring , a helical spring fastened on the inside , etc . fig1 illustrates how the support element has also been pivoted away by the approach of the injector , specifically downward and toward the extraction side . the retaining element 61 here is a plate which is pivotable about a retaining element rotary pin 65 and has a retention portion which latches into a correspondingly shaped receiving recess 24 of the support element 21 when the latter is pivoted into the inoperative position thereof . a correspondingly pretensioned spring pivots the retaining element into this orientation . when the brewing chamber is opened , first of all , as is visible in fig1 , the support element 21 is held in the inoperative position by the retaining element 61 because the support element remains latched thereto . by the injector moving away , the take - off elements 51 can fold back inward because of the spring force and bear with the inside edge thereof against the capsule 10 . during the further movement away of the injector , the take - off elements 51 hold the capsule back ( fig1 ) such that the capsule drops downward into the capsule container as soon as the injector no longer constitutes an adequate support for the capsule . the retaining action of the take - off elements is based , in the variant illustrated in fig1 , on the combination of contact with a peripheral weld seam of the capsule ( as is produced in the separating welding method , which is described in wo 2010 / 118543 ) and frictional forces . in the embodiment of fig1 - 6 and 9 , the take - off elements are dimensioned in such a manner that , when in contact with the capsule , the take - off elements are not completely folded inward , but rather remain at an angle to the radial direction . clamping thus ( also ) occurs , possibly in combination with contact with a reinforcement ( weld seam ; collar ). contact of the peripheral weld seam 10 . 1 with the take - off element is seen somewhat more clearly in fig1 . fig1 illustrates the brewing module with the brewing chamber completely open . the capsule has dropped downward into the capsule container and is no longer visible . in the embodiment of fig1 - 19 , the movement back of the support element 21 into the support position is released as follows . a release pin 66 which serves as the release portion and which is fastened to or formed on the injector is guided in an elongate recess ( elongated hole ) 69 of a release element 68 . the release element 68 is connected at the one extraction - side end to the retaining element 61 . when the brewing chamber is completely open , the release pin strikes against the injector - side end of the elongated hole 69 and pulls along the release element somewhat therewith such that the latter tilts the retaining element 61 counter to the spring force and thus releases the latching connection with the support element . the latter pivots back into the support position . fig1 also illustrates elements of the brewing module with an open brewing chamber , wherein the relative positioning of support element 21 , take - off elements 51 and discharge device 3 are particularly readily visible . an extraction apparatus , in particular a coffee machine with a brewing module , as illustrated schematically in fig2 , in addition to the brewing module has a water tank 71 , a pump 72 for supplying brewing water to the injector 4 and a water heating device 73 ( for example , instantaneous water heater ). a capsule container 75 into which the capsules drop or are transported after the brewing process is arranged below the brewing module . the heated water is supplied to the injector 4 via flexible water line sections ( tubes ) and via supply channels . the coffee machine furthermore has , for example , a capsule container 75 which is arranged below the brewing chamber , into which the capsule is automatically expelled after the brewing operation by raising of the operating lever 5 . a further embodiment of a brewing module — for example for a coffee machine according to fig2 — is illustrated in fig2 - 33 . the description below relates in particular to the difference from the embodiment of fig1 - 9 . these features , by way of which the third embodiment differs from the first two embodiments , act independently of one another even though the advantages thereof complement one another in a favorable manner . the features can therefore be realized individually or ( as in the described embodiment ) in combinations or in any subcombinations : a brewing module resetting spring 91 ( or a respective resetting spring mounted on both sides of the injector 4 ) is tensioned by the closure of the brewing chamber . as a result , the resetting spring exerts a resetting force which facilitates the actuation during the re - opening . the brewing module resetting spring 91 is illustrated in its entirety in fig2 , but only the two ends of the spring are illustrated in the following figures . the brewing module does not have an extraction - side elastomeric capsule seal . rather , there is sealing on the extraction side by the fact that the capsule interior is pressurized during the brewing process and the capsule wall becomes soft , as a result of which the capsule wall is pressed in a planar manner against the corresponding surface of the discharge device . the brewed beverage discharged from the capsule can flow to an exit from the extraction apparatus ; therefore , there is no ( at least not any substantial ) pressure difference between the brewed beverage which has emerged from the capsule and the atmospheric pressure . that is to say , the discharged brewing liquid is no longer pressurized . for this reason , the planar contact of the capsule wall with the corresponding surface of the discharge device is sufficient for an adequate sealing effect on account of the internal pressure of the capsule . the brewing module does not have any take - off elements according to the second aspect of the invention . on the contrary , the capsule is ejected after the brewing process . this takes place by way of ejectors 101 which are axially displaceable relative to the injector 4 in the manner of pistons , and the ends of which , when the brewing chamber is opened , are pushed into the brewing chamber interior relative to the injector 4 such that they eject the capsule . the mechanism for the actuation is described in further detail below . the support element 21 has lateral guides 120 which protrude upward on both sides from the support surface . in the embodiment shown , the guides have a slightly pyramidal configuration , and therefore the receptacle for the capsule tapers downward slightly conically , which centers the capsule with respect to lateral directions during the insertion ( see fig2 ). the support element 21 is held in the support position and the inoperative position — in each case in contact with a stop — by a spring 121 , wherein the spring is moved over and beyond a dead center by the movement from the support position into the inoperative position . as a result , a separate retaining element can be omitted . the spring here is a tension spring which is fastened above the support element to the housing of the discharge device 3 and to the discharge device ( fastening pins 122 , 123 ) and is arranged such that the fastening point on the support element is moved axially beyond the location of the fastening to the discharge device ( exceeding of the dead center ) when the brewing chamber is closed . this mechanism is best seen in fig3 . the release element 68 can then be formed , as in the present case , as a simple bow which is carried along by a carry - along portion 66 ( pin ) of the moving brewing module part , when the brewing module is opened , and retracts the support element 21 over the dead center . the support element is provided with a rotation damper 125 which ensures a slow movement back instead of snapping back . the support projection 36 of the discharge device protrudes beyond the brewing chamber seal 81 in the direction of the injection side ( or if the brewing chamber seal is mounted on the injection side , over the surface with which the brewing chamber seal is in contact ). this makes it possible for the seal to be arranged approximately vertically and does not have to run , as in the above embodiments , along an inclined plane so that nothing stands in the way of the insertion of the capsule . the brewing chamber seal is designed here as an elastomeric surface seal . the brewing module is equipped with a fine adjustment mechanism which , despite existing manufacturing tolerances and also when an elastomeric surface seal is used , permits precise closure of the brewing chamber . this mechanism makes provision for the rotary pin 6 not to be formed and / or mounted in a rotationally symmetrical manner about the axis thereof , but rather , for example , to be eccentric or elliptical . by rotation of an adjustment plate 111 ( see , for example , fig2 ), the latter can be rotated relative to the operating lever 5 and can then be fixed relative to the operating lever for rotation therewith by way of a pin through one of a plurality of adjustment holes 112 ( the same principle could also be applied to the orientation of the rotary pin 6 relative to the housing ). during the final assembly of the brewing module , the brewing chamber is closed and the adjustment plate 111 is fixed in the state in which the brewing chamber seal 81 is fully in contact with the counter surface . the rotary pin here is a shaft which is not rotationally symmetrical about the axis thereof at least either in the region where the shaft is in engagement with the operating lever or wherever the shaft interacts with a part fixed on the housing . the last - mentioned principle of the fine adjustment mechanism with a rotary pin which is not rotationally symmetrical and / or with a rotary pin mounting which is not rotationally symmetrical can be realized in general in brewing modules according to the preamble of the first patent claim independently of the concepts of the first and second aspect . fig2 - 24 illustrate the brewing module or parts thereof in the open state when the capsule is inserted . in this state , the ejector 101 protrudes into the space which is formed by the injection - side seal 43 and , in the closed state , will form the brewing chamber . the capsule , on being inserted , is centered and positioned by the lateral guides . as illustrated in fig2 , in addition to the connecting rods 9 for converting the pivoting movement of the operating lever 5 into an axial movement of the injector 4 , there is also an ejector connecting rod 103 . the latter is fastened to the operating lever 5 at a point located closer to the pivot axis ( defined by the pivot pin 6 ) than the fastening point of the connecting rods 9 . as a result , during a pivoting movement of the operating lever , the ejectors 101 are likewise moved in the direction of movement of the injector , but more slowly and therefore ultimately by a shorter distance . fig2 - 27 illustrate the brewing module in continuing stages of the closing operation . it is seen how a ramp - like actuating surface 46 of the injector pushes the support element 21 away from the support position . the retaining element 68 is freely movable axially and , if required , is carried along at the same time ( fig2 , fig2 ). the geometry of the arrangement is selected in such a manner that , in the closed state , the ejectors 101 are retracted entirely out of the brewing chamber . in the exemplary embodiment shown here , the front sides of the ejectors ( see fig2 ) have a head portion 105 with a somewhat enlarged diameter , and , on the rear side of the ejectors , there can be a peripheral seal ( not shown in the figures ) which , in the state of the ejectors in which they are retracted relative to the injector 4 , is pressed against a shoulder arranged in the interior of the injector and thereby provides a seal . it is seen in fig2 how , when the brewing chamber is closed , the capsule is pierced at least on the injection side by the piercing points 12 . in the closed state ( fig3 and 31 ), the support element is held in the inoperative position by the spring 121 on account of the above - described mechanism while the brewing operation can take place . when the brewing chamber is opened ( fig3 and 33 ), the capsule is first of all ejected from the injector - side capsule seal 43 embracing the capsule by the ejector 101 being retracted by a shorter distance than the injector and thus being displaced relative to the latter into the brewing chamber . the ejectors are dimensioned in such a manner and the ejector connecting rod 103 is arranged in such a manner that the capsule is entirely released from the injector - side capsule 43 and drops downward before the brewing module is completely opened . only at the end of the opening movement will the carry - along pin 66 of the injector carry along the release element ( bow ) 68 and retract the support element over the dead center , whereupon the spring 121 moves the support element back into the support position . the rotation damper 125 prevents an immediate springing back into the support position , as a result of which it is ensured , even in the case of very rapid opening of the brewing module , the support element cannot be back in the support position before the capsule has dropped downward . fig3 - 39 illustrate an embodiment of a brewing module ( illustrated without operating lever and ejection / expelling mechanism ), in which the support element 21 is in two parts . it has a first support element part 21 . 1 and a second support element part 21 . 2 . fig3 - 36 show the brewing module in the open state of the brewing chamber , in which the capsule can be inserted or is inserted . in fig3 and in particular in the view according to fig3 , which illustrates the brewing module tipped onto the side , it is seen how the support element parts 21 . 1 , 21 . 2 are designed as bows which run at the side of the capsule and have an end portion engaging under the capsule . fig3 illustrates the brewing module in the closed state of the brewing chamber , in which the support element is in the inoperative position thereof by the two support element parts being pivoted away outward . for this purpose , in addition to the bow which runs at the side of the capsule and has an end portion , the support element parts also have a pivot lever portion which is substantially horizontal here . as is particularly readily seen in fig3 and 39 , the pivot lever portions are fastened pivotably to the housing 1 by a pivot pin 141 fixed on the housing . the movement of the support element parts 21 . 1 , 21 . 2 is brought about by the guidance of a guide pin 142 in a slotted guide of the second brewing module part ( of the injector 4 ). for each of the two support element parts , a slotted guide is present here in each case in a mirror - inverted arrangement . the slotted guides comprise an outer guide groove 144 and an inner guide groove 146 . when the brewing chamber is closed ( fig3 , by displacement of the injector 4 to the left in the figure ), the guide pin 142 is guided in the outer guide groove 144 and the corresponding support element part 21 . 1 , 21 . 2 is thereby held in the support position . toward the end of the closing movement , the injector will strike against the support element parts , with the guide pin at the same time being able to be in contact with a first stop 145 of the slotted guide . however , as is visible in fig3 , the profile of the slotted guide permits the guide pin 142 to deviate inward at this point , as a result of which the support element parts 21 . 1 , 21 . 2 are pivoted away outward . when the brewing chamber is reopened ( fig3 ; injector 4 is displaced back to the right ), the guide pin will remain in the inner guide groove 146 until the guide pin is in contact with a second stop 149 . by the further retraction of the injector 4 , the guide pin is carried along “ rearward ” ( i . e . toward the injector side ), which causes the support element part 21 . 1 , 21 . 2 to pivot inward with the guide pin 142 at the same time sliding outward . the brewing module is again ready for an insertion of a capsule , and , on closure again , the guide pin is again guided , according to fig3 , in the outer guide groove 144 . the embodiment of fig3 - 39 is at the same time also an example of a brewing module in which the support element can be moved without a spring . by way of the pivotability of the support element parts toward the side , this embodiment also permits a relatively tight lateral guidance of the capsule without interfering frictional forces occurring when the brewing chamber is opened . the features of the support element and of the corresponding actuating mechanism , which features are described with reference to the embodiments , and the features of the take - off elements and of the corresponding mechanism can be implemented independently of one another and varied , with embodiments having a direct connection between the elements also being conceivable . an interaction between support element and take - off elements exists by the fact that the support element should possibly preferably be in the inoperative position when the take - off elements come into contact with the capsule . | 0 |
references will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention . while the present invention has been described with reference to a few specific embodiments , the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention . various modifications to the present invention can be made to the preferred embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by appended claims . it will be noted here that for a better understanding , like components are designated by like reference numerals throughout the various figures . attention is now directed to fig2 where an assembly 10 of coupling and retention means includes a coupling device 12 and a retention device 20 . the coupling device 12 includes a generally square base 14 and a tubular insert 16 extending therefrom . an hole 18 axially extends through the insert 16 and the base 14 and has internal through - threads 19 thereof for engagement with a screw ( not shown ) inserted therein . the thickness of tubular wall around of the top portion of the insert 16 is reduced for easy deformation such that a riveting process may be applied thereto when such insert 16 is fastened to the connect housing 80 as shown in fig8 . the retention device 20 which is stamped and formed by a metal blank , includes at the top a holding or box portion 22 having a platform 24 , a parallel clipping plate 26 and a bight 28 intermediating therebetween . the clipping plate 26 includes a generally round opening 27 extending from the center to the front edge 29 of the clipping plate 26 so that the insert 16 of the coupling device 12 can be inserted into the opening 27 of the clipping plate 26 from the front edge 29 thereof . a recess 30 is formed in the bight 28 for engagement with a engagement bar 94 of the connector 80 as shown in fig6 that will be illustrated in detail later . a pair of reinforcement arms 32 extend upwardly from the front portion of the platform 24 and positioned in front of the front edge 29 of the clipping plate 26 . the top portions 34 of the arms 32 are bent inward to each other in parallel to the platform 24 and generally in coplanarity with the clipping plate 26 . the space between these two top portions 34 of the arms 32 is generally identical to the lateral dimension of the opening 27 about the front edge 29 of the clipping plate 26 . it can be seen that the platform 24 incorporating two opposite reinforcement arms 32 , forms a rectangle vertical opening p facing the outside through which the base 14 of the coupling device 10 can be laterally inserted into the box portion 22 . a mounting portion including a pair of mounting legs 40 respectively integrally extend downward from two opposite sides of the platform 24 , and each mounting leg 40 includes a vertical section 42 at the top and a diverging section 44 and converging section 46 at the bottom to engage an aperture of the board on which the connector is mounted for retention of the connector thereon . when assembled , the base 14 of the coupling device 12 can be horizontally inserted into the internal space of the box portion 22 , which is defined by the platform 24 , the clipping plate 26 and the bight 28 , from the front opening p of the box portion 22 . at the same time , the insert 12 also can pass the space between the two opposite arms 32 and enter the opening 27 in the clipping plate 26 . eventually , the insert 16 of the coupling device 12 is substantially aligned with the mounting portion in position . because the distance between the parallel platform 24 and the clipping plate 26 of the retention device 20 is substantially equal to the thickness of the base 14 of the coupling device 12 , the base 14 of the coupling device 12 can be appropriately sandwiched between the platform 24 and the clipping plate 26 of the retention device 20 without vertical movement . also , the distance defined between two opposite arms 32 and in the opening 27 around the front edge 29 of the clipping plate 26 is somewhat smaller than the diameter of the insert 16 of the coupling device 12 , so that the insert 16 can be retained within the opening 27 without horizontal movement . it can be understood that through the reinforcement arms 32 , the opening p is reliably formed thereof for easily precisely inserting the base 14 of the coupling device 12 into the box portion 22 of the retention device 20 . it is also appreciated that the opposite arms 32 and the front portions of the clipping plate 26 can be resiliently deflected outwardly for allowance of passage of the insert 16 of the coupling device 12 into the box portion 22 of the retention device 20 . fig4 shows a planar extended manner of the retention device 20 which has been stamped from a metal blank but not formed to its final shape . it is noted that the final configuration of the retention device 20 can be obtained by successively bending such planar item along the dashed lines . with reference to fig5 the connector 8 includes a housing 80 composed of the top half 82 and the bottom half 84 vertically stacked together . a plurality of passageways 86 extend through the housing 80 vertically for receiving the corresponding contacts 81 therein . each half 82 , 84 has a pair of apertures 88 are positioned at two opposite ends thereof . a shield 90 positioned on the top of the housing 80 , also has a pair of apertures 91 at two opposite ends in alignment with the corresponding apertures 88 in the housing 80 . referring to fig6 a generally square cavity 92 is formed at two opposite ends of the underside of the bottom half 84 and an engagement bar 94 is positioned within the cavity 92 for engagement with the recess 30 in the bight 28 of the retention device 20 . when assembled , the assembly of coupling and retention means 10 is disposed into the cavity 92 of the housing 80 of the connector 8 from the bottom . the insert 16 of the coupling device 10 successively extends through the apertures 88 of the housing 80 and the aperture 91 of the shield 90 . then , the top portion of the insert 16 is deformed downward to form a flange and riveted to abut against the periphery of the aperture 91 of the shield 90 so that the shield 90 and the housing 80 can be securely sandwiched between the riveted top flange of the insert 16 of the coupling device 12 and the box portion 22 of the retention device 20 . hence , the assembly of coupling and retention means 10 can not be moved with regard to the housing 80 in the vertical direction . additionally , the engagement between the engagement bar 94 with the recess 30 in the box portion 22 of the retention device 20 and the configuration of the cavity 92 both prohibit the assembly of coupling and retention means 10 from horizontal movement or rotation . therefore , the assembly of coupling and retention means 10 is fastened to the connector housing 80 in position for being ready to mount on the board and / or connect to a complementary connector through a screw ( not shown ) inserted into the corresponding apertures 88 , 91 . it can be understood that in comparison with the prior art , the retention device 20 is made of a metal sheet so that it is easy to be manufactured and has a better resilience of its mounting legs 40 for easy mounting on the board . in addition , the threads 19 extend through the insert 16 so that lathing is easier applied thereto and more threads are formed in the hole 18 of the insert 16 for better securement to the inserted screw . it can be understood that the reason why the threads 19 can extend through the whole coupling device 12 is that the platform 24 can cover the bottom opening of the hole 18 of the insert 16 , so no solder may invade into the hole 18 of the insert 16 during wave soldering process which fastens the connector 8 onto the board . furthermore , the coupling device 12 and the retention device 20 can be pre - assembled as a unit for being ready to fasten to the connector housing 20 . accordingly , the invention has the advantage of the prior art vertical i / o connector , i . e ., a compact sized one - piece set ( including coupling and retention means ), but has no aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art vertical i / o connector . fig7 shows another embodiment of the invention wherein there are two protrusions 25 at two sides of the clipping plate 26 to replace recess 30 thereof for engagement with the corresponding additional slots ( not shown ) in the housing for laterally loading the assembly 10 onto the housing 80 . fig8 shows a third embodiment of the invention wherein the outer surface of the insert 16 is knurled to increase friction between the insert 16 and the apertures 88 of the housing 80 for securement . while the present invention has been described with reference to a few specific embodiments , the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention . various modifications to the present invention can be made to the preferred embodiment by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . therefore , persons of ordinary skill in this field are to understand that all such equivalent structures are to be included within the scope of the following claims . | 7 |
where a is the c 1 - c 4 alkylene group , this c 1 - c 4 alkylene group may be a straight chain group having one to four carbon atoms , and examples include , but are not limited to , a methylene , ethylene , trimethylene and tetramethylene . of these , methylene or ethylene is preferred ; ethylene is more preferred . where r 2 and r 3 form the c 2 - c 4 alkylene bridge to yield the 3 to 5 membered ring , this 3 to 5 membered ring may be a cycloalkyl group having three to five carbon atoms , and examples include , but are not limited to , cyclopropyl , cyclobutyl and cyclopentyl . of these , cyclopentyl is preferred . where r 1 and r 4 are the halogen atom , this may be a fluorine , chlorine , bromine or iodine atom . of these , a fluorine atom and a chlorine atom are preferred ; a fluorine atom is more preferred . where r 1 and the substituent of a are the c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , this c 1 - c 4 alkyl group may be a straight or branched chain group having one to four carbon atoms , and examples include , but are not limited to , a methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , butyl , isobutyl , sec - butyl and tert - butyl . of these , methyl or ethyl is preferred ; methyl is more preferred for r 1 . where the substituent of a is the hydroxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , this represents the said c 1 - c 4 alkyl group substituted with hydroxy , and examples include , but are not limited to , a hydroxymethyl , 2 - hydroxyethyl , 1 - hydroxyethyl , 3 - hydroxypropyl , 2 - hydroxypropyl , 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methylethyl , 4 - hydroxybutyl , 3 - hydroxybutyl , 2 - hydroxybutyl , 3 - hydroxy - 2 - methylpropyl and 3 - hydroxy - 1 - methylpropyl . of these , hydroxy - alkyl groups having from 1 to 3 carbon atoms are preferred ; hydroxymethyl , 2 - hydroxyethyl , and 2 - hydroxypropyl are more preferred . where the substituent of a is the c 1 - c 2 alkoxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group this represents the said c 1 - c 4 alkyl group substituted with methoxy or ethoxy , and examples include , but are not limited to , a methoxymethyl , ethoxymethyl , 2 - methoxyethyl , 2 - ethoxyethyl , 1 - methoxyethyl , 3 - methoxypropyl , 3 - ethoxypropyl , 2 - methoxypropyl , 2 - methoxy - 1 - methylethyl , 4 - methoxybutyl , 4 - ethoxybutyl , 3 - methoxybutyl , 2 - methoxybutyl , 3 - methoxy - 2 - methylpropyl and 3 - methoxy - 1 - methylpropyl . of these , alkyloxy - alkyl groups having from 2 to 4 carbon atoms are preferred ; methoxymethyl , 2 - methoxyethyl and 3 - methoxypropyl are more preferred . where 2 of the substituent of a form the bridge to yield the 3 to 6 membered ring , this may be a cycloalkyl or heterocyclyl group and examples include a cyclopropyl , cyclopentyl , cyclobutyl , cyclohexyl , methylcyclopropyl , ethylcyclopropyl , methylcyclobutyl , methylcyclopentyl , methylcyclohexyl , ethylcyclohexyl , hydroxycyclopropyl , hydroxycyclobutyl , hydroxycyclopentyl , hydroxycyclohexyl , methoxycyclopropyl , methoxycyclobutyl , methoxycyclopentyl , methoxycyclohexyl , tetrahydrofuryl and tetrahydropyranyl , preferably cyclopropyl , cyclobutyl , cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl , methoxycyclohexyl and tetrahydropyranyl , and most preferably cyclobutyl , cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl and tetrahydropyranyl . the term “ treating ” and “ treatment ”, as used herein , refers to curative , palliative and prophylactic treatment , including reversing , alleviating , inhibiting the progress of , or preventing the disorder or condition to which such term applies , or one or more symptoms of such disorder or condition . preferred compounds of the present invention are those compounds of formula ( i ) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , each as described herein , in which : ( a ) a is a c 1 - c 2 alkylene group , said alkylene group being unsubstituted or substituted with 1 to 4 substituents independently selected from the group consisting of a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a hydroxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group and a c 1 - c 2 alkoxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , wherein 2 of said substituents may optionally form a bridge to yield a 3 to 6 membered ring ; r 1 is a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom or a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group ; r 2 and r 3 is a methyl group , or r 2 and r 3 may together form a tetramethylene bridge to yield 5 membered ring ; r 4 is a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom or a hydroxy group ; and r 5 is a hydroxy group , a carboxy group , a tetrazolyl group , a 5 - oxo - 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazole - 3 - yl group or a 5 - oxo - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole - 3 - yl group ; ( b ) a is a c 1 - c 2 alkylene group , said alkylene group being unsubstituted or substituted with 1 to 2 substituents independently selected from the group consisting of a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a hydroxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group and a c 1 - c 2 alkoxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , wherein 2 of said substituents may optionally form a bridge to yield a 3 to 6 membered ring ; r 1 is a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom ; r 2 and r 3 is a methyl group , or r 2 and r 3 may together form a tetramethylene bridge to yield a 5 membered ring ; r 4 is a hydrogen atom ; and r 5 is a carboxy group , a tetrazolyl group , a 5 - oxo - 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazole - 3 - yl group or a 5 - oxo - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole - 3 - yl group ; ( c ) a is a c 1 - c 2 alkylene group , said alkylene group being unsubstituted or substituted with 2 substituents independently selected from the group consisting of a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group and a hydroxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , wherein 2 of said substituents may optionally form a bridge to yield a 3 to 6 membered ring ; r 1 is a hydrogen atom or a fluorine atom ; r 2 and r 3 is a methyl group , or r 2 and r 3 may together form a tetramethylene bridge to yield a 5 membered ring ; r 4 is a hydrogen atom ; and r 5 is a carboxy group or a tetrazolyl group ; ( d ) a is r 1 is a hydrogen atom or a fluorine atom ; r 2 and r 3 is a methyl group ; r 4 is a hydrogen atom ; and r 5 is a carboxy group or a tetrazolyl group ( e ) a is a c 1 - c 2 alkylene group , said alkylene group being unsubstituted or substituted with 2 substituents independently selected from the group consisting of a c 1 - c 2 alkyl group and a hydroxy - c 1 - c 2 alkyl group , wherein 2 of said substituents may optionally form a bridge to yield a 4 to 6 membered ring ; r 1 is a hydrogen atom or a fluorine atom ; r 2 and r 3 is a methyl group , or r 2 and r 3 may together form a tetramethylene bridge to yield 5 membered ring ; r 4 is a hydrogen atom ; and r 5 is a carboxy group or a tetrazolyl group ; r 1 is a hydrogen atom or a fluorine atom ; r 2 and r 3 is a methyl group ; r 4 is a hydrogen atom ; and r 5 is a carboxy group or a tetrazolyl group ( g ) a is a c 1 - c 4 alkylene group , said alkylene group being unsubstituted or substituted with 1 to 4 substituents independently selected from the group consisting of a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a hydroxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group and a c 1 - c 2 alkoxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , wherein 2 of said substituents may optionally form a bridge to yield a 3 to 6 membered ring being unsubstituted or substituted with a hydroxy group or a carboxy group ; r 1 is a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom or a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group ; r 2 and r 3 is a methyl group , or r 2 and r 3 may together form a tetramethylene bridge to yield 5 membered ring ; r 4 is a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom or a hydroxy group ; and r 5 is a hydroxy group , a carboxy group , a tetrazolyl group , a 5 - oxo - 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazole - 3 - yl group or a 5 - oxo - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole - 3 - yl group ; ( h ) a is a c 1 - c 2 alkylene group , said alkylene group being unsubstituted or substituted with 1 to 4 substituents independently selected from the group consisting of a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a hydroxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group and a c 1 - c 2 alkoxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , wherein 2 of said substituents may optionally form a bridge to yield a 3 to 6 membered ring ; r 1 is a hydrogen atom , or a halogen atom ; r 2 and r 3 is a methyl group , or r 2 and r 3 may together form a tetramethylene bridge to yield 5 membered ring ; r 4 is a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom or a hydroxy group ; and r 5 is a hydroxy group , a carboxy group , a tetrazolyl group , a 5 - oxo - 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazole - 3 - yl group or a 5 - oxo - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole - 3 - yl group ; ( i ) a is a c 1 - c 2 alkylene group , said alkylene group being unsubstituted or substituted with 1 to 4 substituents independently selected from the group consisting of a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a hydroxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group and a c 1 - c 2 alkoxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , wherein 2 of said substituents may optionally form a bridge to yield a 3 to 6 membered ring ; r 1 is a hydrogen atom , or a halogen atom ; r 2 and r 3 is a methyl group , or r 2 and r 3 may together form a tetramethylene bridge to yield 5 membered ring ; r 4 is a hydrogen atom , a fluorine atom or a hydroxy group ; and r 5 is a hydroxy group , a carboxy group , a tetrazolyl group , a 5 - oxo - 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazole - 3 - yl group or a 5 - oxo - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole - 3 - yl group ; ( j ) a is a c 1 - c 2 alkylene group , said alkylene group being unsubstituted or substituted with 1 to 2 substituents independently selected from the group consisting of a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a hydroxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group and a c 1 - c 2 alkoxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , wherein 2 of said substituents may optionally form a bridge to yield a 3 to 6 membered ring ; r 1 is a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom ; r 2 and r 3 is a methyl group ; r 4 is a hydrogen atom ; and r 5 is a carboxy group , a tetrazolyl group , a 5 - oxo - 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazole - 3 - yl group or a 5 - oxo - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole - 3 - yl group ; ( k ) a is a c 1 - c 2 alkylene group , said alkylene group being unsubstituted or substituted with 2 substituents independently selected from the group consisting of a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group and a hydroxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , wherein 2 of said substituents may optionally form a bridge to yield a 3 to 6 membered ring ; r 1 is a hydrogen atom or a fluorine atom ; r 2 and r 3 is a methyl group ; r 4 is a hydrogen atom ; and r 5 is a carboxy group or a tetrazolyl group . preferred classes of compounds of the present invention are those compounds of formula ( i ) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , each as described herein , in which : ( a ) a is a c 1 - c 2 alkylene group , said alkylene group being unsubstituted or substituted with 1 to 4 substituents independently selected from the group consisting of a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a hydroxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group and a c 1 - c 2 alkoxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , wherein 2 of said substituents may optionally form a bridge to yield a 3 to 6 membered ring ; r 1 is a hydrogen atom , a halogen atom or a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group ; ( b ) a is a c 1 - c 2 alkylene group , said alkylene group being unsubstituted or substituted with 1 to 2 substituents independently selected from the group consisting of a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a hydroxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group and a c 1 - c 2 alkoxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , wherein 2 of said substituents may optionally form a bridge to yield a 3 to 6 membered ring ; ( c ) a is a c 1 - c 2 alkylene group , said alkylene group being unsubstituted or substituted with 2 substituents independently selected from the group consisting of a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group and a hydroxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , wherein 2 of said substituents may optionally form a bridge to yield a 3 to 6 membered ring ; ( d ) a is a c 1 - c 2 alkylene group , said alkylene group being unsubstituted or substituted with 2 substituents independently selected from the group consisting of a c 1 - c 2 alkyl group and a hydroxy - c 1 - c 2 alkyl group , wherein 2 of said substituents may optionally form a bridge to yield a 4 to 6 membered ring ; r 1 is a hydrogen atom or a fluorine atom ; ( e ) a is ( g ) r 1 is a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom ; ( h ) r 1 is a hydrogen atom or a fluorine atom ; ( i ) r 2 and r 3 is a methyl group , or r 2 and r 3 may together form a tetramethylene bridge to yield 5 membered ring ; ( l ) r 5 is a carboxy group , a tetrazolyl group , a 5 - oxo - 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazole - 3 - yl group or a 5 - oxo - 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazole - 3 - yl group ; ( m ) r 5 is a carboxy group or a tetrazolyl group . of these classes of compounds , any combination among ( a ) to ( m ) is also preferred . one embodiment of the invention provides a compound selected from the group consisting of : pharmaceutically acceptable salts of a compound of formula ( i ) include the acid addition salts and base salts ( including disalts ) thereof . suitable acid addition salts are formed from acids which form non - toxic salts . examples include the acetate , adipate , aspartate , benzoate , besylate , bicarbonate / carbonate , bisulphate / sulphate , borate , camsylate , citrate , cyclamate , edisylate , esylate , formate , fumarate , gluceptate , gluconate , glucuronate , hexafluorophosphate , hibenzate , hydrochloride / chloride , hydrobromide / bromide , hydroiodide / iodide , isethionate , lactate , malate , maleate , malonate , mesylate , methylsulphate , naphthylate , 2 - napsylate , nicotinate , nitrate , orotate , oxalate , palmitate , pamoate , phosphate / hydrogen phosphate / dihydrogen phosphate , pyroglutamate , saccharate , stearate , succinate , tannate , tartrate , tosylate , trifluoroacetate and xinofoate salts . suitable base salts are formed from bases which form non - toxic salts . examples include the aluminum , arginine , benzathine , calcium , choline , diethylamine , diolamine , glycine , lysine , magnesium , meglumine , olamine , potassium , sodium , tromethamine and zinc salts . for a review on suitable salts , see “ handbook of pharmaceutical salts : properties , selection , and use ” by stahl and wermuth ( wiley - vch , weinheim , germany , 2002 ). a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of a compound of formula ( i ) may be readily prepared by mixing together solutions of the compound of formula ( i ) and the desired acid or base , as appropriate . the salt may precipitate from solution and be collected by filtration or may be recovered by evaporation of the solvent . the degree of ionization in the salt may vary from completely ionized to almost non - ionized . the compounds of the invention may exist in both unsolvated and solvated forms . the term “ solvate ” is used herein to describe a molecular complex comprising a compound of the invention and one or more pharmaceutically acceptable solvent molecules , for example , ethanol . the term ‘ hydrate ’ is employed when said solvent is water . pharmaceutically acceptable solvates in accordance with the invention include hydrates and solvates wherein the solvent of crystallization may be isotopically substituted , e . g . d 2 o , d 6 - acetone , d 6 - dmso . included within the scope of the invention are complexes such as clathrates , drug - host inclusion complexes wherein , in contrast to the aforementioned solvates , the drug and host are present in stoichiometric or non - stoichiometric amounts . also included are complexes of the drug containing two or more organic and / or inorganic components which may be in stoichiometric or non - stoichiometric amounts . the resulting complexes may be ionized , partially ionized , or non - ionized . for a review of such complexes , see j pharm sci , 64 ( 8 ), 1269 - 1288 by haleblian ( august 1975 ). hereinafter all references to a compound of formula ( i ) include references to salts and complexes thereof and to solvates and complexes of salts thereof . the term “ compound of the invention ” or “ compounds of the invention ” refers to , unless indicated otherwise , a compound of formula ( i ) as hereinbefore defined , polymorphs , prodrugs , and isomers thereof ( including optical , geometric and tautomeric isomers ) as hereinafter defined and isotopically - labeled compounds of formula ( i ). also within the scope of the invention are so - called ‘ prodrugs ’ of the compounds of formula ( i ). thus certain derivatives of compounds of formula ( i ) which may have little or no pharmacological activity themselves can , when administered into or onto the body , be converted into compounds of formula ( i ) having the desired activity , for example , by hydrolytic cleavage . such derivatives are referred to as “ prodrugs ”. further information on the use of prodrugs may be found in ‘ pro - drugs as novel delivery systems , vol . 14 , acs symposium series ( t higuchi and w stella ) and ‘ bioreversible carriers in drug design ’, pergamon press , 1987 ( ed . e b roche , american pharmaceutical association ). prodrugs in accordance with the invention can , for example , be produced by replacing appropriate functionalities present in the compounds of formula ( i ) with certain moieties known to those skilled in the art as ‘ pro - moieties ’ as described , for example , in “ design of prodrugs ” by h bundgaard ( elsevier , 1985 ). some examples of prodrugs in accordance with the invention include : ( i ) where the compound of formula ( i ) contains a carboxylic acid functionality , (— cooh ), an ester thereof , for example , replacement of the hydrogen with ( c 1 - c 8 ) alkyl ; ( ii ) where the compound of formula ( i ) contains an alcohol functionality (— oh ), an ether thereof , for example , replacement of the hydrogen with ( c 1 - c 6 ) alkanoyloxymethyl . further examples of replacement groups in accordance with the foregoing examples and examples of other prodrug types may be found in the aforementioned references . finally , certain compounds of formula ( i ) may themselves act as prodrugs of other compounds of formula ( i ). compounds of formula ( i ) containing one or more asymmetric carbon atoms can exist as two or more stereoisomers . where the compound contains , for example , a keto or oxime group or an aromatic moiety , tautomeric isomerism (“ tautomerism ”) can occur . it follows that a single compound may exhibit more than one type of isomerism . included within the scope of the present invention are all stereoisomers , geometric isomers and tautomeric forms of the compounds of formula ( i ), including compounds exhibiting more than one type of isomerism , and mixtures of one or more thereof . also included are acid addition or base salts wherein the counterion is optically active , for example , d - lactate or l - lysine , or racemic , for example , dl - tartrate or dl - arginine . the present invention includes all pharmaceutically acceptable isotopically - labeled compounds of formula ( i ) wherein one or more atoms are replaced by atoms having the same atomic number , but an atomic mass or mass number different from the atomic mass or mass number usually found in nature . examples of isotopes suitable for inclusion in the compounds of the invention include isotopes of hydrogen , such as 2 h and 3 h , carbon , such as 11 c , 13 c and 14 c , chlorine , such as 36 cl , fluorine , such as 18 f , iodine , such as 123 i and 125 i , nitrogen , such as 13 n and 15 n , oxygen , such as 15 o , 17 o and 18 o , phosphorus such as 32 p , and sulphur , such as 35 s . certain isotopically - labeled compounds of formula ( i ), for example , those incorporating a radioactive isotope , are useful in drug and / or substrate tissue distribution studies . the radioactive isotopes tritium , i . e . 3 h , and carbon - 14 , i . e . 14 c , are particularly useful for this purpose in view of their ease of incorporation and ready means of detection . substitution with heavier isotopes such as deuterium , i . e . 2 h , may afford certain therapeutic advantages resulting from greater metabolic stability , for example , increased in vivo half - life or reduced dosage requirements , and hence may be preferred in some circumstances . substitution with positron emitting isotopes , such as 11 c , 18 f , 15 o and 13 n , can be useful in positron emission topography ( pet ) studies for examining substrate receptor occupancy . isotopically - labeled compounds of formula ( i ) can generally be prepared by conventional techniques known to those skilled in the art or by processes analogous to those described in the accompanying examples and preparations using an appropriate isotopically - labeled reagents in place of the non - labeled reagent previously employed . all of the compounds of the formula ( i ) can be prepared by the procedures described in the general methods presented below or by the specific methods described in the examples section and the preparations section , or by routine modifications thereof . the present invention also encompasses any one or more of these processes for preparing the compounds of formula ( i ), in addition to any novel intermediates used therein . the compounds of the present invention may be prepared by a variety of processes well known for the preparation of compounds of this type , for example as shown in the following methods a to i . the following methods a and b illustrate the preparation of compounds of formula ( i ). methods c through i illustrate the preparation of various intermediates . unless otherwise indicated , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 and a in the following methods are as defined above . the term “ protecting group ”, as used hereinafter , means a hydroxy , carboxy or amino - protecting group which is selected from typical hydroxy , carboxy or amino - protecting groups described in protective groups in organic synthesis edited by t . w . greene et al . ( john wiley & amp ; sons , 1999 ). all starting materials in the following general syntheses may be commercially available or obtained by conventional methods known to those skilled in the art , such as howard , harry r . et al ., j . med . chem ., 1996 , 39 , 143 ; joensson , n et al ., acta chem . scand . ser . b , 1974 , 28 , 225 ; robertson , david w et al ., j . med . chem ., 1986 , 29 , 1832 ; quallich , george j et al ., synthesis , 1993 , 351 and the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by references . in reaction scheme a , r 5a is r 5 as defined above or a group of formula — coor 6 , wherein r 6 is a carboxy - protecting group . the term “ carboxy - protecting group ”, as used herein , signifies a protecting group capable of being cleaved by chemical means , such as hydrogenolysis , hydrolysis , electrolysis or photolysis , and such carboxy - protecting groups are described in protective groups in organic synthesis edited by t . w . greene et al . ( john wiley & amp ; sons , 1999 ). typical carboxy - protecting groups include , but are not limited to : methyl , ethyl , t - butyl , methoxymethyl , 2 , 2 , 2 - trichloroethyl , benzyl , diphenylmethyl , trimethylsilyl , t - butyldimethylsilyl and allyl . of these groups , t - butyl , ethyl or methyl is preferred . in this step , the desired compound of formula ( i ) of the present invention is prepared by carbonylation of the compound of formula ( ii ) with the compound of formula ( iii ). the compound of formula ( ii ) is commercially available or can be prepared according to the methods c and d set forth below . the compound of formula ( iii ) can be prepared according to methods e to g set forth below . the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : halogenated hydrocarbons , such as dichloromethane , chloroform , carbon tetrachloride and 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ; aromatic hydrocarbons , such as benzene , toluene and nitrobenzene ; ethers , such as diethyl ether , diisopropyl ether , tetrahydrofuran and dioxane ; and amides , such as n , n - dimethylformamide and n , n - dimethylacetamide . of these solvents , dichloromethane is preferred . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the carbonylating agents used , and any carbonylating agent commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such carbonylating agents include , but are not limited to : an imidazole derivative such as n , n ′- carbonyldiimidazole ( cdi ); a chloroformate such as trichloromethyl chloroformate and 4 - nitrophenyl chloroformate ; urea ; and triphosgene . of these , 4 - nitrophenyl chloroformate is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 0 ° c . to about 100 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours will usually suffice . in the case where r 5a is a group of formula — coor 6 , the deprotection reaction will follow to yield a carboxy group . this reaction is described in detail by t . w . greene et al ., protective groups in organic synthesis , 369 - 453 , ( 1999 ), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference . the following exemplifies a typical reaction involving the protecting group t - butyl . the deprotection reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : halogenated hydrocarbons , such as dichloromethane , chloroform , carbon tetrachloride and 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ; and aromatic hydrocarbons , such as benzene , toluene and nitrobenzene . of these solvents , halogenated hydrocarbons are preferred . the deprotection reaction is carried out in the presence of an acid . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the acids used , and any acid commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such acids include , but are not limited to : acids , such as hydrochloric acid , acetic acid p - toluenesulfonic acid or trifluoroacetic acid . of these , trifluoroacetic acid is preferred . the deprotection reaction may be carried out in the presence of a radical scavenger . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the radical scavenger used , and any radical scavenger commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such radical scavengers include , but are not limited to : hbr , dimethylsulfoxide or ( ch 3 ch 2 ) 3 sih . of these , ( ch 3 ch 2 ) 3 sih is preferred . the deprotection reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 0 ° c . to about 100 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours , will usually suffice . in reaction scheme b , r 5a is as defined above ; r 7 is an amino - protecting group ; a a is a as defined above or a c 1 - c 3 alkylene group , said alkylene group being unsubstituted or substituted with 1 to 4 substituents independently selected from the group consisting of a halogen atom , a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a hydroxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group and a c 1 - c 2 alkoxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , wherein 2 of said substituents may optionally be taken together with the carbon atom ( s ) to form a 3 to 6 membered ring ; and x is a halogen atom such as an iodine atom , a chlorine atom or a bromine atom . the term “ amino - protecting group ”, as used herein , signifies a protecting group capable of being cleaved by chemical means , such as hydrogenolysis , hydrolysis , electrolysis or photolysis , and such amino - protecting groups are described in protective groups in organic synthesis edited by t . w . greene et al . ( john wiley & amp ; sons , 1999 ). typical amino - protecting groups include , but are not limited to , benzyl , c 2 h 5 o ( c ═ o )—, ch 3 ( c ═ o )—, t - butyidimethylsilyl , t - butyldiphenylsilyl , benzyloxycarbonyl and t - butoxycarbonyl . of these groups , t - butoxycarbonyl is preferred . in this step , the compound of formula ( v ) is prepared by the deprotection of the compound of formula ( iv ), which may be prepared , for example , by a method similar to that described in method a for the preparation of the compound of formula ( i ) from a compound of formula ( ii ). this deprotection method is described in detail by t . w . greene et al . [ protective groups in organic synthesis , 494 - 653 , ( 1999 )], the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference . the following exemplifies a typical method involving the protecting group t - butoxycarbonyl . the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : halogenated hydrocarbons , such as dichloromethane , chloroform , carbon tetrachloride and 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ; and alcohols , such as methanol , ethanol , propanol , 2 - propanol and butanol . of these solvents , alcohols are preferred . the reaction is carried out in the presence of excess amount of an acid . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the acids used , and any acid commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such acids include , but are not limited to : acids , such as hydrochloric acid , or trifluoroacetic acid . of these , hydrochloric acid is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 0 ° c . to about 100 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours , will usually suffice . in this step , the desired compound of formula ( i ) is prepared by the coupling ( b2 - a ) of the compound of formula ( v ) prepared as described in step b1 with the compound of formula ( vi ) or by the reductive amination ( b2 - b ) of the compound of formula ( v ) with the compound of formula ( vii ). the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : halogenated hydrocarbons , such as dichloromethane , chloroform , carbon tetrachloride and 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ; ethers , such as diethyl ether , diisopropyl ether , tetrahydrofuran and dioxane ; amines , such as n - methylmorpholine , triethylamine , tripropylamine , tributylamine , diisopropylethylamine , dicyclohexylamine , n - methylpiperidine , n - methylpyrrolidine , pyridine , 4 - pyrrolidinopyridine , n , n - dimethylaniline and n , n - diethylaniline ; and amides , such as n , n - dimethylformamide and n , n - dimethylacetamide . of these , n , n - dimethylformamide or n - methylpyrrolidine is preferred . the reaction is carried out in the presence of a base . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the base used , and any base commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such bases include , but are not limited to : amines , such as n - methylmorpholine , triethylamine , tripropylamine , tributylamine , diisopropylethylamine , dicyclohexylamine , n - methylpiperidine , pyridine , 4 - pyrrolidinopyridine , picoline , 4 -( n , n - dimethylamino ) pyridine , 2 , 6 - di ( t - butyl )- 4 - methylpyridine , quinoline , n , n - dimethylaniline , n , n - diethylaniline , 1 , 5 - diazabicyclo [ 4 . 3 . 0 ] non - 5 - ene ( dbn ), 1 , 4 - diazabicyclo [ 2 . 2 . 2 ] octane ( dabco ) and 1 , 8 - diazabicyclo [ 5 . 4 . 0 ] undec - 7 - ene ( dbu ); alkali metal hydrides , such as lithium hydride , sodium hydride and potassium hydride ; and alkali metal alkoxides , such as sodium methoxide , sodium ethoxide , potassium t - butoxide . of these , diisopropylethylamine is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 0 ° c . to about 120 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 48 hours will usually suffice . the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : halogenated hydrocarbons , such as dichloromethane , chloroform , carbon tetrachloride and 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ; ethers , such as diethyl ether , diisopropyl ether , dimethoxyethane , tetrahydrofuran and dioxane ; alcohols , such as methanol , ethanol , propanol , 2 - propanol and butanol ; acetic acid ; and water . of these solvents , halogenated hydrocarbons are preferred . the reaction is carried out in the presence of a reducing reagent . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the reducing reagents used , and any reducing reagent commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such reducing reagent include , but are not limited to : sodium borohydride , sodium cyanoborohydride and sodium triacetoxyborohydride . of these , sodium triacetoxyborohydride is preferred . the quantity of the reducing reagent required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , that the reaction is effected under preferred conditions , a chemical equivalent ratio of 1 to 3 of the reducing reagent to the starting material will usually suffice . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about − 20 ° c . to about 60 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours , will usually suffice . in the case where r 5a is a group of formula — coor 6 , the deprotection reaction will follow to yield a carboxy group . the reaction may be carried out under the same conditions as described in step a1 of method a . in reaction scheme c , r 8 is a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , preferably methyl or ethyl ; and x is as defined above . in this step , the compound of formula ( x ) is prepared by coupling ( c1 - a ) of the compound of formula ( viii ) and the compound of formula ( ix ) followed by decarboxylation ( c1 - b ) of the resulting compound . the compound of formula ( viii ) and the compound of formula ( ix ) are commercially available . the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include : ethers , such as diethyl ether , diisopropyl ether , tetrahydrofuran and dioxane ; amides , such as formamide , n , n - dimethylformamide , n , n - dimethylacetamide and hexamethylphosphoric triamide ; and sulfoxides , such as dimethyl sulfoxide and sulfolane . of these solvents , n , n - dimethylsulfoxide is preferred . the reaction is carried out in the presence of a base . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the bases used , and any base commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such bases include : alkali metal hydrides , such as lithium hydride , sodium hydride and potassium hydride ; alkali metal alkoxides , such as sodium methoxide , sodium ethoxide and potassium t - butoxide ; alkali metal carbonates , such as lithium carbonate , sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate ; and alkali metal amides , such as lithium amide , sodium amide , potassium amide , lithium diisopropyl amide , potassium diisopropyl amide , sodium diisopropyl amide , lithium bis ( trimethylsilyl ) amide and potassium bis ( trimethylsilyl ) amide . of these , sodium hydride is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 20 ° c . to about 200 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 10 minutes to about 24 hours , will usually suffice . the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include : ethers , such as diethyl ether , diisopropyl ether , tetrahydrofuran and dioxane ; amides , such as formamide , n , n - dimethylformamide , n , n - dimethylacetamide and hexamethylphosphoric triamide ; and sulfoxides , such as dimethyl sulfoxide and sulfolane . of these solvents , n , n - dimethylsulfoxide is preferred . the reaction is effected in the presence of metal halide and water . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the metal halide to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction at least to some extent . examples of metal halide include : lithium chloride , potassium chloride , sodium chloride and sodium iodide . of these lithium chloride is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 50 ° c . to about 200 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 10 minutes to about 24 hours , will usually suffice . in this step , the compound of formula ( xi ) is prepared by alkylation of the compound of formula ( x ) with the compounds of formula r 2 — x and r 3 — x . the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include : ethers , such as diethyl ether , diisopropyl ether , tetrahydrofuran and dioxane ; amides , such as formamide , n , n - dimethylformamide , n , n - dimethylacetamide and hexamethylphosphoric triamide ; and sulfoxides , such as dimethyl sulfoxide and sulfolane . of these solvents , n , n - dimethylformamide is preferred . the reaction is carried out in the presence of a base . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the bases used , and any base commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such bases include : alkali metal hydrides , such as lithium hydride , sodium hydride and potassium hydride ; alkali metal alkoxides , such as sodium methoxide , sodium ethoxide and potassium t - butoxide ; alkali metal carbonates , such as lithium carbonate , sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate ; alkali metal amides , such as lithium amide , sodium amide , potassium amide , lithium diisopropyl amide , potassium diisopropyl amide , sodium diisopropyl amide , lithium bis ( trimethylsilyl ) amide and potassium bis ( trimethylsilyl ) amide ; and organic lithiums , such as n - butyl lithium , sec - butyl lithium , t - butyl lithium and phenyl lithium . of these , sodium hydride or n - butyl lithium is preferred . the reaction may be conducted in the presence or absence of additives such as 16 - crown - 6 , n , n , n ′, n ′- tetramethylethylene diamine ( tmeda ) and hexamethylphosphoric triamide ( hmpa ). of these additives , 16 - crown - 6 or tmeda is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 50 ° c . to about 200 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 10 minutes to about 24 hours , will usually suffice . in this step , the compound of formula ( ii ) is prepared by annealing of the compound of formula ( xi ) under the reductive condition . the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include : alcohols , such as methanol , ethanol , propanol , 2 - propanol and butanol ; and esters , such as ethyl acetate and propyl acetate . of these solvents , methanol is preferred . the reaction is carried out in the presence of a reducing agent . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the reducing agents used , and any reducing agent commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such reducing agents include : combinations of a hydrogen supplier , such as hydrogen gas and ammonium formate , and a catalyst , such as palladium - carbon , platinum and raney nickel ; and a combination of metals , such as zinc and iron , and acids , such as hydrochloric acid , acetic acid and acetic acid - ammonium chloride complex . of these the combination of iron and acetic acid is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 10 ° c . to about 50 ° c . in the case employing the combination of the hydrogen supplier and the catalyst as the reducing agent , or from about 50 ° c . to about 200 ° c . in the case employing the combination of the metals and acids as the reducing agent . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 10 minutes to about 24 hours , will usually suffice . in reaction scheme d , r 8 and x are each as defined above . in this step , the compound of formula ( xii ) is prepared by annealing of the compound of formula ( x ) which is commercially available or prepared according to step c1 of method c . the reaction may be carried out under the same conditions as described in step c3 of method c . in this step , the compound of formula ( ii ) is prepared by alkylation of the compound of formula ( xii ) with the compounds of formula r 2 — x and r 3 — x . the reaction may be carried out under the same conditions as described in step c2 of method c . in reaction scheme e , x , a a , and r 3a are each as defined above ; and r 9 is an amino - protecting group . in this step , the compound of formula ( xiv ) is prepared by the coupling of the compound of formula ( xiii ) with a compound of formula ( vi ) or by the reductive amination of the compound of formula ( xiii ) with the compound of formula ( vii ). the compound of formula ( xiii ) can be prepared according to methods h and i set forth below or is commercially available . in this step , the compound of formula ( iii ) is prepared by the deprotection of the compound of formula ( xiv ) prepared as described in step e1 . the reaction may be carried out under the same conditions as described in step b1 of method b . this illustrates the preparation of the compound of formula ( iii ) wherein a is a b . in reaction scheme f , r 5a , r 6 and r 9 are each as defined above ; r 10 is a silyl group such as t - butyldimethylsilyl , t - butyldiphenylsilyl , triethylsilyl or trimethylsilyl , preferably trimethylsilyl ; r 11 and r 12 independently represent a halogen atom , a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , a hydroxy - c 1 - c 4 - alkyl group and an c 1 - c 2 alkoxy - c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , wherein r 11 and r 12 may optionally be taken together with the carbon atom to which they are attached to form a 3 to 6 membered ring ; a b is a as defined above with proviso a methylene group and a substituted methylene group are excluded ; and y is an alkoxy group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms , an imidazolyl group or a pthalimidyl group . in this step , the compound of formula ( xv ) is prepared by condensation of the compound of formula ( xiii ) with the compound of formula h — y in the presence of paraformaldehyde . a compound of formula ( xiii ) can be prepared according to method h and i or is commercially available . in the case that y is not an alkoxy group , the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : halogenated hydrocarbons , such as dichloromethane , chloroform , carbon tetrachloride and 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ; and alcohols , such as methanol , ethanol , propanol , 2 - propanol and butanol . of these , dichloromethane or ethanol is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 0 ° c . to about 120 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 48 hours , will usually suffice . in this step , the compound of formula ( iiia ) is prepared by mannich reaction of the compound of formula ( xv ) with the compound of formula ( xvi ). the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : halogenated hydrocarbons , such as dichloromethane , chloroform , carbon tetrachloride and 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ; ethers , such as diethyl ether , diisopropyl ether , tetrahydrofuran and dioxane ; nitriles , such as acetonitrile and benzonitrile ; and amides , such as formamide , n , n - dimethylformamide , n , n - dimethylacetamide and hexamethylphosphoric triamide . of these solvents , dichloromethane is preferred . the reaction is carried out in the presence of a lewis acid . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the lewis acids used , and any lewis acid commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such lewis acid include , but are not limited to : bf 3 , alcl 3 , fecl 3 , mgcl 2 , agcl , fe ( no 3 ) 3 , cf 3 so 3 si ( ch 3 ) 3 , yb ( cf 3 so 3 ) 3 and sncl 4 . of these , yb ( cf 3 so 3 ) 3 , cf 3 so 3 si ( ch 3 ) 3 or mgcl 2 is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 0 ° c . to about 100 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours , will usually suffice . this illustrates the preparation of the compound of formula ( iii ) wherein r 4 is a hydrogen atom and a is a b . in reaction scheme g , a a , a b and r 5a are each as defined above ; each of r and r ′ is a c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , preferably a methyl group , or an aralkyl group such as a benzyl or phenethyl group , preferably a benzyl group . in this step , the compound of formula ( xvi ) is prepared by reduction of the cyano group of the compound of formula ( xv ), which is commercially available . the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : ethers , such as diethyl ether , diisopropyl ether , tetrahydrofuran and dioxane ; aromatic hydrocarbons , such as benzene , toluene and nitrobenzene ; and alcohols , such as methanol , ethanol , propanol , 2 - propanol and butanol . of these , methanol is preferred . the reaction is carried out in the presence of a reducing agent . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the reducing agents used , and any reducing agent commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such reducing agents include , but are not limited to : metal borohydrides such as sodium borohydride and sodium cyanoborohydride ; combinations of hydrogen gas and a catalyst such as palladium - carbon , platinum and raney nickel ; and hydride compounds such as lithium aluminum hydride , and diisobutyl aluminum hydride . of these , raney nickel is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 0 ° c . to about 100 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours , will usually suffice . in this step , the compound of formula ( xviii ) is prepared by reacting a compound of formula ( xvii ), which is commercially available , with a compound of formula ( xvi ). the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : water ; and alcohols , such as methanol , ethanol , propanol , 2 - propanol and butanol . of these , a mixture of water and ethanol is preferred . the reaction is carried out in the presence of a base . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the base used , and any base commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such bases include , but are not limited to : alkali metal hydroxides , such as lithium hydroxide , sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide ; alkali metal alkoxides , such as sodium methoxide , sodium ethoxide , potassium t - butoxide ; and alkali metal carbonates , such as lithium carbonate , sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate . of these , potassium carbonate is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 0 ° c . to about 120 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours , will usually suffice . in this step , the compound of formula ( xix ) is prepared by converting the oxo group of the compound of formula ( xviii ) to a cyano group in the presence of p - toluenesulfonylmethyl isocyanide . the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : ethers , such as diethyl ether , diisopropyl ether , ethylene glycol dimethyl ether , tetrahydrofuran and dioxane ; and alcohols , such as methanol , ethanol , propanol , 2 - propanol and butanol . of these , a mixture of ethylene glycol dimethyl ether and ethanol is preferred . the reaction is carried out in the presence of a base . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the base used , and any base commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such bases include , but are not limited to : alkali metal alkoxides , such as sodium methoxide , sodium ethoxide and potassium t - butoxide . of these , potassium t - butoxide is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 0 ° c . to about 100 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours , will usually suffice . in this step , the compound of formula ( iiib ) is prepared by reduction of the cyano group of the compound of formula ( xix ). the reaction may be carried out under the same conditions as described in step g1 of method g . this illustrates the preparation of compounds of formula ( xiii ) wherein r 4 is a halogen atom . in reaction scheme h , r 4a is a halogen atom ; r 9 is as defined above ; and r 13 is an amino - protecting group , preferably a benzoyl group . in this step , the compound of formula ( xxi ) is prepared by converting the carbonyl group of the compound of formula ( xx ) into the epoxide group . the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : amides , such as formamide , n , n - dimethylformamide , n , n - dimethylacetamide and hexamethylphosphoric triamide ; sulfoxide such as dimethyl sulfoxide or sulfolane . of these solvents , dimethyl sulfoxide is preferred . the reaction is carried out in the presence of a base . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the base used , and any base commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such bases include , but are not limited to : alkali metal alkoxides , such as sodium methoxide , sodium ethoxide and potassium t - butoxide ; and alkali metal carbonates , such as lithium carbonate , sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate . of these , potassium t - butoxide is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 0 ° c . to about 100 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours will usually suffice . in this step , the compound of formula ( xxii ) is prepared by reacting a hydrogen halide with the compound of formula ( xxi ). the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : ethers , such as diethyl ether , diisopropyl ether , tetrahydrofuran and dioxane ; amides , such as formamide , n , n - dimethylformamide , n , n - dimethylacetamide and hexamethylphosphoric triamide . of these solvents , tetrahydrofuran is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 0 ° c . to about 100 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours will usually suffice . in this step , the compound of formula ( xxiii ) is prepared by reaction of the compound of formula ( xxii ) with sodium azide ( h3 - a ) followed by the reduction of the azide group ( h3 - b ). the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : halogenated hydrocarbons , such as dichloromethane , chloroform , carbon tetrachloride and 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ; ethers , such as diethyl ether , diisopropyl ether , tetrahydrofuran and dioxane ; amides , such as formamide , n , n - dimethylformamide , n , n - dimethylacetamide and hexamethylphosphoric triamide ; and sulfoxide such as dimethyl sulfoxide and sulfolane . of these solvents , n , n - dimethylformamide is preferred . before adding sodium azide , the hydroxy group is converted to a leaving group , such as a methylsulfonyl group , a trifluoromethylsulfonyl group and 4 - methyl phenylsulfonyl group by adding reagents , such as trifluoromethanelsulfonylchloride , mesyl chloride and tosyl chloride . of these reagents , mesyl chloride is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 0 ° c . to about 120 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours , will usually suffice . the reaction may be carried out under the same conditions as described in step g1 of method g . in this step , the compound of formula ( xiiia ) is prepared by introducing the amino - protecting group r 9 to the primary amino group ( h4 - a ) and selectively deprotecting the amino - protecting group r 13 of the secondary amino group ( h4 - b ). this reaction is described in detail by t . w . greene et al . [ protective groups in organic synthesis , 494 - 653 , ( 1999 )], the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference . the following exemplifies a typical reaction involving the protecting group t - butoxycarbonyl . the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : water ; ethers , such as diethyl ether , diisopropyl ether , tetrahydrofuran and dioxane ; and sulfoxide such as dimethyl sulfoxide and sulfolane . of these solvents , tetrahydrofuran is preferred . the reaction is carried out in the presence of reagent . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the reagents used , and any reagent commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such reagents include , but are not limited to : di - t - butyl carbonate and 1 -( t - butoxycarbonyl ) benztriazole . of these , di - t - butyl carbonate is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 0 ° c . to about 120 °. the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours , will usually suffice . this method is described in detail by t . w . greene et al ., protective groups in organic synthesis , 494 - 653 , ( 1999 ), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference . the following exemplifies a typical method involving the benzoyl protecting group in the presence of combinations of hydrogen gas and a catalyst such as palladium - carbon or platinum . the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : halogenated hydrocarbons , such as dichloromethane , chloroform , carbon tetrachloride and 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ; alcohols , such as methanol , ethanol , propanol , 2 - propanol and butanol ; and ethers , such as diethyl ether , diisopropyl ether , tetrahydrofuran and dioxane . of these solvents , methanol is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 0 ° c . to about 120 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours , will usually suffice . this illustrates the preparation of compounds of formula ( xiii ) wherein r 4 is a hydroxy group . in reaction scheme i , r 9 and r13 are each as defined above . in this step , the compound of formula ( xxiv ) is prepared by reacting the carbonyl group of the compound of formula ( xx ), which is commercially available , with trimethylsilyl cyanide . the reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of solvent . there is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed , provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or the reagents involved and that it can dissolve reagents , at least to some extent . examples of suitable solvents include , but are not limited to : aromatic hydrocarbons , such as benzene , toluene and nitrobenzene ; halogenated hydrocarbons , such as dichloromethane , chloroform , carbon tetrachloride and 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ; ethers , such as diethyl ether , diisopropyl ether , ethylene glycol dimethyl ether , tetrahydrofuran and dioxane ; nitriles , such as acetonitrile and benzonitrile ; and alcohols , such as methanol , ethanol , propanol , 2 - propanol and butanol . of these , toluene is preferred . the reaction is carried out in the presence of a reagent . there is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the reagents used , and any reagent commonly used in reactions of this type may equally be used here . examples of such reagent include , but are not limited to : lewis acids , such as bf 3 , alcl 3 , fecl 3 , agcl , zni 2 , fe ( no 3 ) 3 , cf 3 so 3 si ( ch 3 ) 3 , yb ( cf 3 so 3 ) 3 and sncl 4 ; bases , such as cao ; ethers , such as 18 - crown - 6 ; acids , such as amberlite xad - 4 resin . of these , zni 2 is preferred . the reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures , and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention . the preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent , and the starting materials . however , in general , it is convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from about 0 ° c . to about 100 ° c . the time required for the reaction may also vary widely , depending on many factors , notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the starting materials and solvent employed . however , provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above , a period of from about 5 minutes to about 24 hours , will usually suffice . in this step , the compound of formula ( xxv ) is prepared by converting the cyano group of the compound of formula ( xxii ) to an amino group . the reaction may be carried out under the same conditions as described in step g1 of method . in this step , the compound of formula ( xiiia ) is prepared by protecting and deprotecting the amino groups of the compound of formula ( xxv ). the reaction may be carried out under the same conditions as described in step h4 of method h . the compounds of formula ( i ), and the intermediates above - mentioned preparation methods can be isolated and purified by conventional procedures , such as distillation , recrystallization or chromatographic purification . compounds of the invention intended for pharmaceutical use may be administered as crystalline or amorphous products . they may be obtained , for example , as solid plugs , powders , or films by methods such as precipitation , crystallization , freeze drying , spray drying , or evaporative drying . microwave or radio frequency drying may be used for this purpose . conventional techniques for the preparation / isolation of individual enantiomers include chiral synthesis from a suitable optically pure precursor or resolution of the racemate ( or the racemate of a salt or derivative ) using , for example , chiral high pressure liquid chromatography ( hplc ). alternatively , a method of optical resolution of a racemate ( or a racemic precursor ) can be appropriately selected from conventional procedures , for example , preferential crystallization , or resolution of diastereomeric salts between a basic moiety of the compound of formula ( i ) and a suitable optically active acid such as tartaric acid . compounds of the invention intended for pharmaceutical use may be administered as crystalline or amorphous products . they may be obtained , for example , as solid plugs , powders , or films by methods such as precipitation , crystallization , freeze drying , spray drying , or evaporative drying . microwave or radio frequency drying may be used for this purpose . they may be administered alone or in combination with one or more other compounds of the invention or in combination with one or more other drugs ( or as any combination thereof ). generally , they will be administered as a pharmaceutical composition or formulation in association with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers or excipients . the term “ carrier ” or “ excipient ” is used herein to describe any ingredient other than the compound ( s ) of the invention . the choice of carrier or excipient will to a large extent depend on factors such as the particular mode of administration , the effect of the excipient on solubility and stability , and the nature of the dosage form . pharmaceutical compositions suitable for the delivery of compounds of the present invention and methods for their preparation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . such compositions and methods for their preparation may be found , for example , in ‘ remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences ’, 19th edition ( mack publishing company , 1995 ). the compounds of the invention may be administered orally . oral administration may involve swallowing , so that the compound enters the gastrointestinal tract , or buccal or sublingual administration may be employed by which the compound enters the blood stream directly from the mouth . formulations suitable for oral administration include solid formulations such as , for example , tablets , capsules containing particulates , liquids , or powders , lozenges ( including liquid - filled ), chews , multi - and nano - particulates , gels , solid solution , liposome , films ( including muco - adhesive ), ovules , sprays and liquid formulations . liquid formulations include , for example , suspensions , solutions , syrups and elixirs . such formulations may be employed as fillers in soft or hard capsules and typically comprise a carrier , for example , water , ethanol , polyethylene glycol , propylene glycol , methylcellulose , or a suitable oil , and one or more emulsifying agents and / or suspending agents . liquid formulations may also be prepared by the reconstitution of a solid , for example , from a sachet . the compounds of the invention may also be used in fast - dissolving , fast - disintegrating dosage forms such as those described in expert opinion in therapeutic patents , 11 ( 6 ), 981 - 986 by liang and chen ( 2001 ). for tablet dosage forms , depending on dose , the drug may make up from about 1 wt % to about 80 wt % of the dosage form , more typically from about 5 wt % to about 60 wt % of the dosage form . in addition to the drug , tablets generally contain a disintegrant . examples of disintegrants include sodium starch glycolate , sodium carboxymethyl cellulose , calcium carboxymethyl cellulose , croscarmellose sodium , crospovidone , polyvinylpyrrolidone , methyl cellulose , microcrystalline cellulose , lower alkyl - substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose , starch , pregelatinised starch and sodium alginate . generally , the disintegrant will comprise from about 1 wt % to about 25 wt %, preferably from about 5 wt % to about 20 wt % of the dosage form . binders are generally used to impart cohesive qualities to a tablet formulation . suitable binders include microcrystalline cellulose , gelatin , sugars , polyethylene glycol , natural and synthetic gums , polyvinylpyrrolidone , pregelatinised starch , hydroxypropyl cellulose and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose . tablets may also contain diluents , such as lactose ( monohydrate , spray - dried monohydrate , anhydrous and the like ), mannitol , xylitol , dextrose , sucrose , sorbitol , microcrystalline cellulose , starch and dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate . tablets may also optionally comprise surface active agents , such as sodium lauryl sulfate and polysorbate 80 , and glidants such as silicon dioxide and talc . when present , surface active agents may comprise from about 0 . 2 wt % to about 5 wt % of the tablet , and glidants may comprise from about 0 . 2 wt % to about 1 wt % of the tablet . tablets also generally contain lubricants such as magnesium stearate , calcium stearate , zinc stearate , sodium stearyl fumarate , and mixtures of magnesium stearate with sodium lauryl sulphate . lubricants generally comprise from about 0 . 25 wt % to about 10 wt %, preferably from about 0 . 5 wt % to about 3 wt % of the tablet . other possible ingredients include anti - oxidants , colorants , flavoring agents , preservatives and taste - masking agents . exemplary tablets contain up to about 80 % drug , from about 10 wt % to about 90 wt % binder , from about 0 wt % to about 85 wt % diluent , from about 2 wt % to about 10 wt % disintegrant , and from about 0 . 25 wt % to about 10 wt % lubricant . tablet blends may be compressed directly or by roller to form tablets . tablet blends or portions of blends may alternatively be wet -, dry -, or melt - granulated , melt congealed , or extruded before tabletting . the final formulation may comprise one or more layers and may be coated or uncoated ; it may even be encapsulated . the formulation of tablets is discussed in “ pharmaceutical dosage forms : tablets , vol . 1 ”, by h . lieberman and l . lachman , marcel dekker , n . y ., n . y ., 1980 ( isbn 0 - 8247 - 6918 - x ). solid formulations for oral administration may be formulated to be immediate and / or modified release . modified release formulations include delayed -, sustained -, pulsed -, controlled -, targeted and programmed release . suitable modified release formulations for the purposes of the invention are described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 106 , 864 . details of other suitable release technologies such as high energy dispersions and osmotic and coated particles are to be found in verma et al , pharmaceutical technology on - line , 25 ( 2 ), 1 - 14 ( 2001 ). the use of chewing gum to achieve controlled release is described in wo 00 / 35298 . the compounds of the invention may also be administered directly into the blood stream , into muscle , or into an internal organ . suitable means for parenteral administration include intravenous , intraarterial , intraperitoneal , intrathecal , intraventricular , intraurethral , intrasternal , intracranial , intramuscular and subcutaneous . suitable devices for parenteral administration include needle ( including microneedle ) injectors , needle - free injectors and infusion techniques . parenteral formulations are typically aqueous solutions which may contain excipients such as salts , carbohydrates and buffering agents ( preferably to a ph of from about 3 to about 9 ), but , for some applications , they may be more suitably formulated as a sterile non - aqueous solution or as a dried form to be used in conjunction with a suitable vehicle such as sterile , pyrogen - free water . the preparation of parenteral formulations under sterile conditions , for example , by lyophilization , may readily be accomplished using standard pharmaceutical techniques well known to those skilled in the art . the solubility of compounds of formula ( i ) used in the preparation of parenteral solutions may be increased by the use of appropriate formulation techniques , such as the incorporation of solubility - enhancing agents . formulations for parenteral administration may be formulated to be immediate and / or modified release . modified release formulations include delayed -, sustained -, pulsed -, controlled -, targeted and programmed release . thus compounds of the invention may be formulated as a solid , semi - solid , or thixotropic liquid for administration as an implanted depot providing modified release of the active compound . examples of such formulations include drug - coated stents and pgla microspheres . the compounds of the invention may also be administered topically to the skin or mucosa , that is , dermally or transdermally . typical formulations for this purpose include gels , hydrogels , lotions , solutions , creams , ointments , dusting powders , dressings , foams , films , skin patches , wafers , implants , sponges , fibers , bandages and microemulsions . liposomes may also be used . typical carriers include alcohol , water , mineral oil , liquid petrolatum , white petrolatum , glycerin , polyethylene glycol and propylene glycol . penetration enhancers may be incorporated — see , for example , j pharm sci , 88 ( 10 ), 955 - 958 by finnin and morgan ( october 1999 ). other means of topical administration include delivery by electroporation , iontophoresis , phonophoresis , sonophoresis and microneedle or needle - free ( e . g . powderject ™, bioject ™, etc .) injection . formulations for topical administration may be formulated to be immediate and / or modified release . modified release formulations include delayed -, sustained -, pulsed -, controlled -, targeted and programmed release . the compounds of the invention can also be administered intranasally or by inhalation , typically in the form of a dry powder ( either alone , as a mixture , for example , in a dry blend with lactose , or as a mixed component particle , for example , mixed with phospholipids , such as phosphatidylcholine ) from a dry powder inhaler or as an aerosol spray from a pressurized container , pump , spray , atomizer ( preferably an atomizer using electrohydrodynamics to produce a fine mist ), or nebulizer , with or without the use of a suitable propellant , such as 1 , 1 , 1 , 2 - tetrafluoroethane or 1 , 1 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 3 , 3 - heptafluoropropane . for intranasal use , the powder may comprise a bioadhesive agent , for example , chitosan or cyclodextrin . the pressurized container , pump , spray , atomizer , or nebulizer contains a solution or suspension of the compound ( s ) of the invention comprising , for example , ethanol , aqueous ethanol , or a suitable alternative agent for dispersing , solubilizing , or extending release of the active , a propellant ( s ) as solvent and an optional surfactant , such as sorbitan trioleate , oleic acid , or an oligolactic acid . prior to use in a dry powder or suspension formulation , the drug product is micronized to a size suitable for delivery by inhalation ( typically less than 5 microns ). this may be achieved by any appropriate comminuting method , such as spiral jet milling , fluid bed jet milling , supercritical fluid processing to form nanoparticles , high pressure homogenization , or spray drying . capsules ( made , for example , from gelatin or hpmc ), blisters and cartridges for use in an inhaler or insufflator may be formulated to contain a powder mix of the compound of the invention , a suitable powder base such as lactose or starch and a performance modifier such as l - leucine , mannitol , or magnesium stearate . the lactose may be anhydrous or in the form of the monohydrate , preferably the latter . other suitable excipients include dextran , glucose , maltose , sorbitol , xylitol , fructose , sucrose and trehalose . a suitable solution formulation for use in an atomizer using electrohydrodynamics to produce a fine mist may contain from about 1 μg to about 20 mg of the compound of the invention per actuation and the actuation volume may vary from about 1 μl to about 100 μl . a typical formulation may comprise a compound of formula ( i ), propylene glycol , sterile water , ethanol and sodium chloride . alternative solvents which may be used instead of propylene glycol include glycerol and polyethylene glycol . suitable flavors , such as menthol and levomenthol , or sweeteners , such as saccharin or saccharin sodium , may be added to those formulations of the invention intended for inhaled / intranasal administration . formulations for inhaled / intranasal administration may be formulated to be immediate and / or modified release using , for example , poly ( dl - lactic - coglycolic acid ( pgla ). modified release formulations include delayed -, sustained -, pulsed -, controlled -, targeted and programmed release . in the case of dry powder inhalers and aerosols , the dosage unit is determined by means of a valve which delivers a metered amount . units in accordance with the invention are typically arranged to administer a metered dose or “ puff ” containing from about 1 to about 100 μg of the compound of formula ( i ). the overall daily dose will typically be in the range about 50 μg to about 20 mg which may be administered in a single dose or , more usually , as divided doses throughout the day . the compounds of the invention may be administered rectally or vaginally , for example , in the form of a suppository , pessary , or enema . cocoa butter is a traditional suppository base , but various alternatives may be used as appropriate . formulations for rectal / vaginal administration may be formulated to be immediate and / or modified release . modified release formulations include delayed -, sustained -, pulsed -, controlled -, targeted and programmed release . the compounds of the invention may also be administered directly to the eye or ear , typically in the form of drops of a micronized suspension or solution in isotonic , ph - adjusted , sterile saline . other formulations suitable for ocular and aural administration include ointments , biodegradable ( e . g . absorbable gel sponges , collagen ) and non - biodegradable ( e . g . silicone ) implants , wafers , lenses and particulate or vesicular systems , such as niosomes or liposomes . a polymer such as crossed - linked polyacrylic acid , polyvinylalcohol , hyaluronic acid , a cellulosic polymer , for example , hydroxypropylmethylcellulose , hydroxyethylcellulose , or methyl cellulose , or a heteropolysaccharide polymer , for example , gelan gum , may be incorporated together with a preservative , such as benzalkonium chloride . such formulations may also be delivered by iontophoresis . formulations for ocular / aural administration may be formulated to be immediate and / or modified release . modified release formulations include delayed -, sustained -, pulsed -, controlled -, targeted , or programmed release . the compounds of the invention may be combined with soluble macromolecular entities , such as cyclodextrin and suitable derivatives thereof or polyethylene glycol - containing polymers , in order to improve their solubility , dissolution rate , taste - masking , bioavailability and / or stability for use in any of the aforementioned modes of administration . drug - cyclodextrin complexes , for example , are found to be generally useful for most dosage forms and administration routes . both inclusion and non - inclusion complexes may be used . as an alternative to direct complexation with the drug , the cyclodextrin may be used as an auxiliary additive , i . e . as a carrier , diluent , or solubilizer . most commonly used for these purposes are alpha -, beta - and gamma - cyclodextrins , examples of which may be found in . wo 91 / 11172 , wo 94 / 02518 and wo 98 / 55148 . inasmuch as it may be desirable to administer a combination of active compounds , for example , for the purpose of treating a particular disease or condition , it is within the scope of the present invention that two or more pharmaceutical compositions , at least one of which contains a compound in accordance with the invention , may conveniently be combined in the form of a kit suitable for coadministration of the compositions . thus the kit of the invention comprises two or more separate pharmaceutical compositions , at least one of which contains a compound of formula ( i ) in accordance with the invention , and means for separately retaining said compositions , such as a container , divided bottle , or divided foil packet . an example of such a kit is the familiar blister pack used for the packaging of tablets , capsules and the like . the kit of the invention is particularly suitable for administering different dosage forms , for example , oral and parenteral , for administering the separate compositions at different dosage intervals , or for titrating the separate compositions against one another . to assist compliance , the kit typically comprises directions for administration and may be provided with a so - called memory aid . for administration to human patients , the total daily dose of the compounds of the invention is typically in the range of about 0 . 05 mg to about 100 mg depending , of course , on the mode of administration , preferred in the range of about 0 . 1 mg to about 50 mg and more preferred in the range of about 0 . 5 mg to about 20 mg . for example , oral administration may require a total daily dose of from about 1 mg to about 20 mg , while an intravenous dose may only require from about 0 . 5 mg to about 10 mg . the total daily dose may be administered in single or divided doses . these dosages are based on an average human subject having a weight of about 65 kg to about 70 kg . the physician will readily be able to determine doses for subjects whose weight falls outside this range , such as infants and the elderly . as discussed above , a compound of the invention exhibits 5 - ht 4 agonist activity . a 5 - ht 4 agonist of the present invention may be usefully combined with at least one other pharmacologically active agent or compound , particularly in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease . for example , a 5 - ht 4 agonist , particularly a compound of the formula ( i ), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof , as defined above , may be administered simultaneously , sequentially or separately in combination with one or more pharmacologically active agents selected from : ( i ) histamine h 2 receptor antagonists , e . g . ranitidine , lafutidine , nizatidine , cimetidine , famotidine and roxatidine ; ( ii ) proton pump inhibitors , e . g . omeprazole , esomeprazole , pantoprazole , rabeprazole , tenatoprazole , ilaprazole and lansoprazole ; ( iii ) acid pump antagonists , e . g . soraprazan , revaprazan ( yh - 1885 ), azd - 0865 , cs - 526 , au - 2064 and yja - 20379 - 8 ; ( iv ) oral antacid mixtures , e . g . maalox ®, aludrox ® and gaviscon ®; ( v ) mucosal protective agents , e . g . polaprezinc , ecabet sodium , rebamipide , teprenone , cetraxate , sucralfate , chloropylline - copper and plaunotol ; ( vi ) gaba b agonists , e . g . baclofen and azd - 3355 ; ( vii ) α2 agonists , e . g . clonidine , medetomidine , lofexidine , moxonidine , tizanidine , guanfacine , guanabenz , talipexole and dexmedetomidine ; ( viii ) xanthin derivatives , e . g . theophylline , aminophylline and doxofylline ; ( ix ) calcium channel blockers , e . g . aranidipine , lacidipine , falodipine , azelnidipine , clinidipine , lomerizine , diltiazem , gallopamil , efonidipine , nisoldipine , amlodipine , lercanidipine , bevantolol , nicardipine , isradipine , benidipine , verapamil , nitrendipine , barnidipine , propafenone , manidipine , bepridil , nifedipine , nilvadipine , nimodipine , and fasudil ; ( x ) benzodiazepine agonists , e . g . diazepam , zaleplon , zolpidem , haloxazolam , clonazepam , prazepam , quazepam , flutazolam , triazolam , lormetazepam , midazolam , tofisopam , clobazam , flunitrazepam and flutoprazepam ; ( xi ) prostaglandin analogues , e . g . prostaglandin , misoprostol , treprostinil , esoprostenol , latanoprost , iloprost , beraprost , enprostil , ibudilast and ozagrel ; ( xii ) histamine h 3 agonists , e . g . r - alpha - methylhistamine and bp - 294 ; ( xiii ) anti - gastric agents , e . g . anti - gastrin vaccine , itriglumide and z - 360 ; ( xiv ) 5 - ht 3 antagonists , e . g . dolasetron , palonosetron , alosetron , azasetron , ramosetron , mitrazapine , granisetron , tropisetron , e - 3620 , ondansetron and indisetron ; ( xv ) tricyclic antidepressants , e . g . imipramine , amitriptyline , clomipramine , amoxapine and lofepramine ; ( xvi ) gaba agonists , e . g . gabapentin , topiramate , cinolazepam , clonazepam , progabide , brotizolam , zopiclone , pregabalin and eszopiclone ; ( xvii ) opioid analgesics , e . g . morphine , heroin , hydromorphone , oxymorphone , levorphanol , levallorphan , methadone , meperidine , fentanyl , cocaine , codeine , dihydrocodeine , oxycodone , hydrocodone , propoxyphene , nalmefene , nalorphine , naloxone , naltrexone , buprenorphine , butorphanol , nalbuphine and pentazocine ; ( xviii ) somatostatin analogues , e . g . octreotide , an - 238 and ptr - 3173 ; ( xix ) cl channel activator : e . g . lubiprostone ; ( xx ) selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors , e . g . sertraline , escitalopram , fluoxetine , nefazodone , fluvoxamine , citalopram , milnacipran , paroxetine , venlafaxine , tramadol , sibutramine , duloxetine , desvenlafaxine and dapoxetine ; ( xxi ) anticholinergics , e . g . dicyclomine and hyoscyamine ; ( xxii ) laxatives , e . g . trifyba ®, fybogel ®, konsyl ®, isogel ®, regulan ®, celevac ® and normacol ®; ( xxiii ) fiber products , e . g . metamucil ®; ( xxiv ) antispasmodics , e . g . : mebeverine ; ( xxv ) dopamine antagonists , e . g . metoclopramide , domperidone and levosulpiride ; ( xxvi ) cholinergics , e . g . neostigmine ( xxvii ) ache inhibitors , e . g . galantamine , metrifonate , rivastigmine , itopride and donepezil ; ( xxviii ) tachykinin ( nk ) antagonists , particularly nk - 3 , nk - 2 and nk - 1 antagonists e . g . nepadutant , saredutant , talnetant , ( αr , 9r )- 7 -[ 3 , 5 - bis ( trifluoromethyl ) benzyl ]- 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 - tetrahydro - 9 - methyl - 5 -( 4 - methylphenyl )- 7h -[ 1 , 4 ] d iazocino [ 2 , 1 - g ][ 1 , 7 ] naphthridine - 6 - 13 - dione ( tak - 637 ), 5 -[[( 2r , 3s )- 2 -[( 1r )- 1 -[ 3 , 5 - bis ( trifluoromethyl ) phenyl ] ethoxy - 3 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 4 - morpholinyl ] methyl ]- 1 , 2 - dihydro - 3h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 3 - one ( mk - 869 ), lanepitant , dapitant and 3 -[[ 2 - methoxy - 5 -( trifluoromethoxy ) phenyl ] methylamino ]- 2 - phenyl - piperidine ( 2s , 3s ). the 5 - ht 4 receptor binding affinities of the compounds of this invention are determined by the following procedures . human 5 - ht 4 ( d ) transfected hek293 cells were prepared and grown in - house . the collected cells were suspended in 50 mm hepes ( ph 7 . 4 at 4 ° c .) supplemented with protease inhibitor cocktail ( boehringer , 1 : 1000 dilution ) and homogenized using a hand held polytron pt 1200 disruptor set at full power for 30 sec on ice . the homogenates were centrifuged at 40 , 000 × g at 4 ° c . for 30 min . the pellets were then resuspended in 50 mm hepes ( ph 7 . 4 at 4 ° c .) and centrifuged once more in the same manner . the final pellets were resuspended in an appropriate volume of 50 mm hepes ( ph 7 . 4 at 25 ° c . ), homogenized , aliquoted and stored at − 80 ° c . until use . an aliquot of membrane fractions was used for protein concentration determination using bca protein assay kit ( pierce ) and arvosx plate reader ( wallac ). for the binding experiments , 25 μl of test compounds were incubated with 25 μl of [ 3 h ]- gr113808 ( amersham , final 0 . 2 nm ) and 150 μl of membrane homogenate and wga - spa beads ( amersham ) suspension solutions ( 10 μg protein and 1 mg spa beads / well ) for 60 minutes at room temperature . nonspecific binding was determined by 1 μm gr113808 ( tocris ) at the final concentration . incubation was terminated by centrifugation at 1000 rpm . receptor - bound radioactivity was quantified by counting with microbeta plate counter ( wallac ). human 5 - ht 4 ( d ) transfected hek293 cells were prepared and grown in - house . the collected cells were suspended in 50 mm tris buffer ( ph 7 . 4 at 4 ° c .) supplemented with protease inhibitor cocktail ( boehringer , 1 : 1000 dilution ) and homogenized using a hand held polytron pt 1200 disruptor set at full power for 30 sec on ice . the homogenates were centrifuged at 40 , 000 × g at 4 ° c . for 10 min . the pellets were then resuspended in 50 mm tris buffer ( ph 7 . 4 at 4 ° c .) and centrifuged once more in the same manner . the final pellets were resuspended in an appropriate volume of 50 mm tris buffer ( ph 7 . 4 at 25 ° c .) containing 10 mm mgcl 2 , homogenized , aliquoted and stored at − 80 ° c . until use . an aliquot of membrane fractions was used for protein concentration determination using bca protein assay kit ( pierce ) and arvosx plate reader ( wallac ). for the binding experiments , 50 μl of test compounds were incubated with 50 μl of [ 3 h ] 5 - ht ( amersham , final 8 . 0 nm ) and 400 μl of membrane homogenate ( 300 μg protein / tube ) for 60 minutes at room temperature . nonspecific binding was determined by 50 μm gr113808 ( tocris ) at the final concentration . all incubations were terminated by rapid vacuum filtration over 0 . 2 % pei soaked glass fiber filter papers using brandel harvester followed by three washes with 50 mm tris buffer ( ph 7 . 4 at 25 ° c .). receptor - bound radioactivity was quantified by liquid scintillation counting using packard ls counter . agonist - induced camp elevation in human 5 - ht 4 ( d ) transfected hek293 cells human 5 - ht 4 ( d ) transfected hek293 cells were established in - house . the cells were grown at 37 ° c . and 5 % co 2 in dmem supplemented with 10 % fcs , 20 mm hepes ( ph 7 . 4 ), 200 μg / ml hygromycin b ( gibco ), 100 units / ml penicillin and 100 μg / ml streptomycin . the cells were grown to 60 - 80 % confluence . on the previous day before treatment with compounds dialyzed fcs ( gibco ) was substituted for normal and the cells were incubated overnight . compounds were prepared in 96 - well plates ( 12 . 5 μl / well ). the cells were harvested with pbs / 1 mm edta , centrifuged and washed with pbs . at the beginning of the assay , cell pellet was resuspended in dmem supplemented with 20 mm hepes , 10 μm pargyline ( sigma ) and 1 mm 3 - isobutyl - 1 - methylxanthine ( sigma ) at the concentration of 1 . 6 × 10 5 cells / ml and left for 15 minutes at room temperature . the reaction was initiated by addition of the cells into plates ( 12 . 5 μl / well ). after incubation for 15 minutes at room temperature , 1 % triton x - 100 was added to stop the reaction ( 25 μl / well ) and the plates were left for 30 minutes at room temperature . homogenous time - resolved fluorescence - based camp ( schering ) detection was made according to the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instruction . arvosx multilabel counter ( wallac ) was used to measure htrf ( excitation 320 nm , emission 665 nm / 620 nm , delay time 50 μs , window time 400 μs ). data was analyzed based on the ratio of fluorescence intensity of each well at 620 nm and 665 nm followed by camp quantification using camp standard curve . enhancement of camp production elicited by each compound was normalized to the amount of camp produced by 1000 nm serotonin ( sigma ). all compounds of examples showed 5ht 4 receptor agonistic activity . the presence of 5 - ht 4 receptors in the rat esophagus and the ability to demonstrate partial agonism in the tmm preparation are reported in the literature ( see g . s . baxter et al . naunyn - schmiedeberg &# 39 ; s arch pharmacol ( 1991 ) 343 : 439 - 446 ; m . yukiko et al . jpet ( 1997 ) 283 : 1000 - 1008 ; and j . j . reeves et al . br . j . pharmacol . ( 1991 ) 103 : 1067 - 1072 ). more specifically , partial agonist activity can be measured according to the following procedures . male sd rats ( charles river ) weighing 250 - 350 g were stunned and then killed by cervical dislocation . the esophagus was dissected from immediately proximal to the stomach ( including piece of stomach to mark distal end ) up to the level of the trachea and then placed in fresh krebs &# 39 ; solution . the outer skeletal muscle layer was removed in one go by peeling it away from the underlying smooth muscle layer using forceps ( stomach to tracheal direction ). the remaining inner tube of smooth muscle was known as the tmm . this was trimmed to 2 cm from the original ‘ stomach - end ’ and the rest discarded . the tmms were mounted as whole ‘ open ’ tubes in longitudinal orientation in 5 ml organ baths filled with warm ( 32 ° c .) aerated krebs . tissues were placed under an initial tension of 750 mg and allowed to equilibrate for 60 minutes . the tissues were re - tensioned twice at 15 minute intervals during the equilibration period . the pump flow rate was set to 2 ml / min during this time . following equilibration , the pump was switched off . the tissues were exposed to 1 μm carbachol and contracted and reached a steady contractile plateau within 15 minutes . tissues were then subject to 1 μm 5 - ht ( this was to prime the tissues ). the tissues relaxed in response to 5 - ht fairly rapidly — within 1 minute . as soon as maximal relaxation has occurred and a measurement taken , the tissues were washed at maximum rate ( 66 ml / min ) for at least 1 minute and until the original baseline ( pre - carbachol and 5 - ht ) has returned ( usually , the baseline drops below the original one following initial equilibration ). the pump flow rate was reduced to 2 ml / min and the tissues left for 60 minutes . a cumulative concentration - effect - curve ( cec ) to 5 - ht was constructed across the range 0 . 1 nm to 1 μm , in half - log unit increments ( 5 - ht curve 1 for data analysis ). contact time between doses was 3 minutes or until plateau established . tissues responded quicker as concentration of 5 - ht in the bath increases . at the end of the curve , the tissues were washed ( at maximum rate ) as soon as possible to avoid desensitization of receptors . pump rate was reduced to 2 ml / min and the tissues left for 60 minutes . a second cec was carried out — either to 5 - ht ( for time control tissues ), another 5 - ht 4 agonist ( standard ) or a test compound ( curve 2 for data analysis ). contact time varied for other 5 - ht 4 agonists and test compounds and was tailored according to the tissues &# 39 ; individual responses to each particular agent . in tissues exposed to a test compound , a high concentration ( 1 μm ) of a 5 - ht 4 antagonist ( sb 203 , 186 : 1h - indole - 3 - carboxylic acid , 2 -( 1 - piperidinyl ) ethyl ester , tocris ) was added to the bath following the last concentration of test compound . this was to see if any agonist - induced relaxation ( if present ) could be reversed . sb 203 , 186 reversed 5 - ht induced relaxation , restoring the tissue &# 39 ; s original degree of carbachol - induced tone . agonist activity of test compounds was confirmed by pre - incubating tissues with 100 nm standard 5ht 4 antagonist such as sb 203 , 186 . sb 203 , 186 was added to the bath 5 minutes before the addition of carbachol prior to curve 2 . tissues must be ‘ paired ’ for data analysis i . e . the test compound in the absence of sb 203 , 186 in one tissue was compared with the test compound in the presence of sb 203 , 186 in a separate tissue . it was not possible to carry out a curve 3 i . e . 5 - ht curve 1 , followed by the test compound curve 2 (− sb 203 , 186 ), followed by the test compound curve 3 (+ sb 203 , 186 ). all compounds of examples showed 5ht 4 receptor agonistic activity . human herg transfected hek293s cells were prepared and grown in - house . the collected cells were suspended in 50 mm tris - hcl ( ph 7 . 4 at 4 ° c .) and homogenized using a hand held polytron pt 1200 disruptor set at full power for 20 sec on ice . the homogenates were centrifuged at 48 , 000 × g at 4 ° c . for 20 min . the pellets were then resuspended , homogenized , and centrifuged once more in the same manner . the final pellets were resuspended in an appropriate volume of 50 mm tris - hcl , 10 mm kcl , 1 mm mgcl 2 ( ph 7 . 4 at 4 ° c . ), homogenized , aliquoted and stored at − 80 ° c . until use . an aliquot of membrane fractions was used for protein concentration determination using bca protein assay kit ( pierce ) and arvosx plate reader ( wallac ). binding assays were conducted in a total volume of 200 μl in 96 - well plates . twenty μl of test compounds were incubated with 20 μl of [ 3 h ]- dofetilide ( amersham , final 5 nm ) and 160 μl of membrane homogenate ( 25 μg protein ) for 60 minutes at room temperature . nonspecific binding was determined by 10 μm dofetilide at the final concentration . incubation was terminated by rapid vacuum filtration over 0 . 5 % presoaked gf / b betaplate filter using skatron cell harvester with 50 mm tris - hcl , 10 mm kcl , 1 mm mgcl 2 , ph 7 . 4 at 4 ° c . the filters were dried , put into sample bags and filled with betaplate scint . radioactivity bound to filter was counted with wallac betaplate counter . caco - 2 permeability was measured according to the method described in shiyin yee , pharmaceutical research , 763 ( 1997 ). caco - 2 cells were grown on filter supports ( falcon hts multiwell insert system ) for 14 days . culture medium was removed from both the apical and basolateral compartments and the monolayers were preincubated with pre - warmed 0 . 3 ml apical buffer and 1 . 0 ml basolateral buffer for 0 . 5 hour at 37 ° c . in a shaker water bath at 50 cycles / min . the apical buffer consisted of hanks balanced salt solution , 25 mm d - glucose monohydrate , 20 mm mes biological buffer , 1 . 25 mm cacl 2 and 0 . 5 mm mgcl 2 ( ph 6 . 5 ). the basolateral buffer consisted of hanks balanced salt solution , 25 mm d - glucose monohydrate , 20 mm hepes biological buffer , 1 . 25 mm cacl 2 and 0 . 5 mm mgcl 2 ( ph 7 . 4 ). at the end of the preincubation , the media was removed and test compound solution ( 10 μm ) in buffer was added to the apical compartment . the inserts were moved to wells containing fresh basolateral buffer at 1 hr . drug concentration in the buffer was measured by lc / ms analysis . flux rate ( f , mass / time ) was calculated from the slope of cumulative appearance of substrate on the receiver side and apparent permeability coefficient ( p app ) was calculated from the following equation . where sa is surface area for transport ( 0 . 3 cm 2 ), vd is the donor volume ( 0 . 3 ml ), md is the total amount of drug on the donor side at t = 0 . all data represent the mean of 2 inserts . monolayer integrity was determined by lucifer yellow transport . test compounds ( 1 μm ) were incubated with 3 . 3 mm mgcl 2 and 0 . 78 mg / ml hlm ( hl101 ) in 100 mm potassium phosphate buffer ( ph 7 . 4 ) at 37 ° c . on the 96 - deep well plate . the reaction mixture was split into two groups , a non - p450 and a p450 group . nadph was only added to the reaction mixture of the p450 group . an aliquot of samples of p450 group was collected at 0 , 10 , 30 , and 60 min time point , where 0 min time point indicated the time when nadph was added into the reaction mixture of p450 group . an aliquot of samples of non - p450 group was collected at − 10 and 65 min time point . collected aliquots were extracted with acetonitrile solution containing an internal standard . the precipitated protein was spun down in centrifuge ( 2000 rpm , 15 min ). the compound concentration in supernatant was measured by lc / ms / ms system . the half - life value was obtained by plotting the natural logarithm of the peak area ratio of compounds / internal standard versus time . the slope of the line of best fit through the points yields the rate of metabolism ( k ). this was converted to a half - life value using following equations : the invention is illustrated in the following non - limiting examples in which , unless stated otherwise : all operations were carried out at room or ambient temperature , that is , in the range of 18 - 25 ° c . ; evaporation of solvent was carried out using a rotary evaporator under reduced pressure with a bath temperature of up to 60 ° c . ; reactions were monitored by thin layer chromatography ( tlc ) and reaction times are given for illustration only ; melting points ( mp ) given are uncorrected ( polymorphism may result in different melting points ); the structure and purity of all isolated compounds were assured by at least one of the following techniques : tlc ( merck silica gel 60 f 254 precoated tlc plates or merck nh 2 gel ( an amine coated silica gel ) f 254s precoated tlc plates ), mass spectrometry , nuclear magnetic resonance spectra ( nmr ), infrared absorption spectra ( ir ) or microanalysis . yields are given for illustrative purposes only . workup with a cation - exchange column was carried out using scx cartridge ( varian bondelute ), which was preconditioned with methanol . flash column chromatography was carried out using merck silica gel 60 ( 63 - 200 μm ), wako silica gel 300hg ( 40 - 60 μm ), fuji silysia nh gel ( an amine coated silica gel ) ( 30 - 50 μm ), biotage kp - sil ( 32 - 63 μm ) or biotage aminosilica ( an amine coated silica gel ) ( 40 - 75 μm ). preparative tlc was carried out using merck silica gel 60 f 254 precoated tlc plates ( 0 . 5 or 1 . 0 mm thickness ). low - resolution mass spectral data ( ei ) were obtained on an integrity ( waters ) mass spectrometer . low - resolution mass spectral data ( esi ) were obtained on zmd ™ or zq ™ ( waters ) and mass spectrometer . nmr data were determined at 270 mhz ( jeol jnm - la 270 spectrometer ), 300 mhz ( jeol jnm - la300 spectrometer ) or 600 mhz ( bruker avance 600 spectrometer ) using deuterated chloroform ( 99 . 8 % d ) or dimethylsulfoxide ( 99 . 9 % d ) as solvent unless indicated otherwise , relative to tetramethylsilane ( tms ) as internal standard in parts per million ( ppm ); conventional abbreviations used are : s = singlet , d = doublet , t = triplet , q = quartet , quint = quintet , m = multiplet , br .= broad , etc . ir spectra were measured by a fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer ( shimazu ftir - 8300 ). the powder x - ray diffraction ( pxrd ) pattern was determined using a rigaku rint - ttr powder x - ray diffractometer fitted with an automatic sample changer , a 2 theta - theta goniometer , beam divergence slits , a secondary monochromator and a scintillation counter . the sample was prepared for analysis by packing the powder on to an aluminum sample holder . the specimen was rotated by 60 . 00 rpm and scanned by 4 °/ min at room temperature with cu - ka radiation . chemical symbols have their usual meanings ; bp ( boiling point ), mp ( melting point ), l ( liter ( s )), ml ( milliliter ( s )), g ( gram ( s )), mg ( milligram ( s )), mol ( moles ), mmol ( millimoles ), eq . ( equivalent ( s )), quant . ( quantitative yield ). to a stirred suspension of nah ( 17 . 7 g , 0 . 443 mol ) in n , n - dimethylformamide ( 200 ml ) was added dropwise a solution of tert - butyl cyanoacetate ( 25 . 0 g , 0 . 177 mol ) in n , n - dimethylformamide ( 100 ml ) at 0 ° c . under n 2 . the mixture was allowed to warm up to ambient temperature , and stirred for 1 h . then , bis ( 2 - bromoethyl ) ether ( 49 . 3 g , 0 . 177 mol ) was added to the mixture , and the resulting mixture was stirred at 90 ° c . for 24 h . after cooling to 0 ° c ., the mixture was washed with water ( 100 ml ). the volatile components were removed by evaporation and the residue was precipitated with a mixture of ethyl acetate - toluene ( 1 : 2 , 500 ml ) and water ( 500 ml ). the organic phase was washed with water ( 500 ml ) three times , dried over na 2 so 4 , filtered and evaporated . the solid was washed with hexane , collected by filtration and dried in vacuo to give 19 . 0 g ( 57 %) of the title compound as white crystal . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 3 . 96 ( 2h , dt , j = 3 . 9 hz , 12 . 3 hz ), 3 . 73 ( 2h , dt , j = 2 . 6 hz , 12 . 3 hz ), 2 . 20 - 1 . 94 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 52 ( 9h , s ). a mixture of tert - butyl 4 - cyanotetrahydro - 2h - pyran - 4 - carboxylate ( 18 . 95 g , 0 . 0897 mol , step 1 of example 1 ) and raney ni ( 1 . 00 g ) in methanol ( 200 ml ) was hydrogenated ( 3 atm ) at room temperature for 12 h . then , the mixture was filtered through a pad of celite , and the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo to give 16 . 01 g ( 83 %) of the title compound as yellow syrup . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 3 . 86 ( 2h , dt , j = 4 . 1 hz , 11 . 4 hz ), 3 . 48 ( 2h , dt , j = 2 . 5 hz , 11 . 5 hz ), 2 . 75 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 03 ( 2h , br d , j = 10 . 7 hz ), 1 . 55 - 1 . 35 ( 13h , m , including 9h , s , 1 . 49 ppm ). to a refluxing mixture of tert - butyl 4 -( aminomethyl ) tetrahydro - 2h - pyran - 4 - carboxylate ( 8 . 00 g , 0 . 0372 mol , step 2 of example 1 ) and k 2 co 3 ( 0 . 51 g , 0 . 0372 mol ) in ethanol - h 2 o ( 2 : 1 , 240 ml ) was added dropwise 1 - ethyl - 1 - methyl - 4 - oxopiperidinium iodide ( 12 . 0 g , 0 . 0445 mol , j . org . chem . 1995 , 60 , 4324 ) in ethanol - h 2 o ( 2 : 1 , 150 ml ), and the resulting mixture was stirred at the same temperature for 1 h . after cooling to room temperature , the solvent was removed in vacuo . the residue was poured into sat . nahco 3 aq . ( 200 ml ), and the mixture was extracted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 200 ml × 3 ). the extracts were dried over na 2 so 4 , filtered and concentrated . the residue was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with hexane / ethyl acetate ( 3 : 1 to 2 : 1 ) to give 10 . 77 g ( 98 %) of the title compound as colorless syrup . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 3 . 84 ( 2h , br d , j = 11 . 4 hz ), 3 . 50 ( 2h , dt , j = 2 . 0 hz , 11 . 7 hz ), 2 . 85 ( 4h , t , j = 5 . 9 hz ), 2 . 61 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 39 ( 4h , t , j = 6 . 1 hz ), 2 . 05 ( 2h , d , j = 11 . 5 hz ), 1 . 75 - 1 . 45 ( 1h , m , including 9h , s , 1 . 49 ppm ). to a stirred solution of tert - butyl - 4 -[( 4 - oxopiperidin - 1 - yl ) methyl ] tetra hydro - 2h - pyran - 4 - carboxylate ( 8 . 77 g , 0 . 0295 mol , step 3 of example 3 ) in 1 , 2 - dimethoxyethane ( 250 ml ) was added p - toluenesulfonylmethylisocyanide ( 11 . 51 g , 0 . 0590 mol ), ethanol ( 3 . 96 ml , 0 . 0678 mol ) and potassium t - butoxide ( 11 . 58 g , 0 . 1032 mol ) at 0 ° c . the resulting mixture was stirred at 50 ° c . for 16 h . after cooling , the reaction mixture was poured into sat . nahco 3 aq . ( 200 ml ), and the mixture was extracted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 200 ml × 3 ). the extracts were dried over na 2 so 4 , filtered and concentrated . the residue was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with hexane / ethyl acetate ( 2 : 1 ) to give 5 . 76 g ( 63 %) of the title compound as yellow syrup . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 3 . 81 ( 2h , dt , j = 3 . 1 hz , 11 . 0 hz ), 3 . 48 ( 2h , dt , j = 2 . 1 hz , 11 . 7 hz ), 2 . 76 - 2 . 64 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 64 - 2 . 52 ( 1h , m ), 2 . 50 - 2 . 35 ( 4h , m , including 2h , s , 2 . 46 ppm ), 1 . 98 ( 2h , br d , j = 11 . 9 hz ), 1 . 92 - 1 . 70 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 65 - 1 . 40 ( 1h , m , including 9h , s , 1 . 47 ppm ). a mixture of tert - butyl 4 -[( 4 - cyanopiperidin - 1 - yl ) methyl ] tetra hydro - 2h - pyran - 4 - carboxylate ( 5 . 76 g , 0 . 0187 mol , step 4 of example 1 ) and raney ni ( 3 . 00 g ) in methanol ( 100 ml ) was hydrogenated ( 3 atm ) at room temperature for 12 h . then , the mixture was filtered through a pad of celite , and the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo to give 5 . 72 g ( 98 %) of the title compound as yellow syrup . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 3 . 80 ( 2h , dt , j = 3 . 1 hz , 11 . 5 hz ), 3 . 49 ( 2h , dt , j = 2 . 1 hz , 12 . 2 hz ), 2 . 80 ( 2h , br d , j = 11 . 5 hz ), 2 . 58 - 2 . 40 ( 4h , m , including 2h , s , 2 . 43 ppm ), 2 . 15 ( 2h , br t , j = 7 . 3 hz ), 1 . 98 ( 2h , br d , j = 13 . 7 hz ), 1 . 70 - 1 . 40 ( 16h , m , including 9h , s , 1 . 47 ppm ), 1 . 30 - 1 . 10 ( 2h , m ). to a stirred solution of spiro [ cyclopentane - 1 , 3 ′- indol ]- 2 ′( 1 ′ h )- one ( 600 mg , 3 . 2 mmol , howard , harry r . et al ., j . med . chem ., 1996 , 39 , 143 ) and triethylamine ( 972 mg , 9 . 6 mmol ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 20 ml ) was added 4 - nitrochloroformate ( 677 mg , 3 . 4 mmol ) at room temperature , and stirred at ambient temperature for 3 h . then , a solution of tert - butyl 4 -{[ 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] methyl } tetrahydro - 2h - pyran - 4 - carboxylate ( 1 . 0 g , 3 . 2 mmol , step 5 of example 1 ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 5 ml ) was added at room temperature , and stirred for 18 h . then , sat . nahco 3 aq . ( 20 ml ) was added , extracted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 30 ml × 3 ), dried over mgso 4 , filtered and concentrated gave yellow brown oil . the residue was chromatographed on a column of aminopropyl - silica gel eluting with hexane / ethyl acetate ( 11 : 1 ) to give 1 . 3 g ( 75 %) of the title compound as clear yellow oil . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 70 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 23 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 41 - 7 . 10 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 83 - 3 . 75 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 52 - 3 . 47 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 29 - 3 . 20 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 83 - 2 . 75 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 44 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 25 - 1 . 20 ( 28h , m ). to a solution of tert - butyl 4 -{[ 4 -({[( 2 ′- oxospiro [ cyclopentane - 1 , 3 ′- indol ]- 1 ′( 2 ′ h )- yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] methyl } tetrahydro - 2h - pyran - 4 - carboxylate ( 2 . 3 g , 4 . 38 mmol , step 6 of example 1 ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 14 ml ), trifluoroacetic acid ( 18 ml ) was added at room temperature , and the mixture was stirred overnight at room temperature . the mixture was concentrated to give yellow oil , ch 2 cl 2 ( 200 ml ) was added and washed with sat . nahco 3 aq . ( 80 ml ), dried over mgso 4 , filtered and concentrated gave a syrup , which was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with ch 2 cl 2 / methanol ( 15 : 1 ) to give 2 . 1 g ( quant .) of the title compound as white solid . recrystallization from ethyl acetate / n - heptane gave white powder . ir ( kbr ) ν : 2943 , 2864 , 1733 , 1558 , 1465 , 1352 , 1151 , 1109 , 759 cm − 1 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 85 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 21 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 30 - 7 . 15 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 95 - 3 . 72 ( 4h , m ), 3 . 40 - 3 . 25 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 20 - 3 . 06 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 65 - 2 . 45 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 25 - 1 . 85 ( 13h , m ), 1 . 60 - 1 . 40 ( 4h , m ). signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 26 h 35 n 3 o 5 . 0 . 25h 2 o : c , 65 . 87 ; h , 7 . 55 ; n , 8 . 86 . found : c , 65 . 58 ; h , 7 . 39 ; n , 8 . 86 . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from tert - butyl 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidine - 1 - carboxylate . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 78 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 23 ( 1h , d , j = 9 hz ), 7 . 31 - 7 . 10 ( 3h , m ), 4 . 20 - 4 . 05 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 35 - 3 . 25 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 80 - 2 . 60 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 25 - 1 . 80 ( 9h , m ), 1 . 80 - 1 . 65 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 46 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 30 - 1 . 10 ( 2h , m ). tert - butyl 4 -({[( 2 ′- oxospiro [ cyclopentane - 1 , 3 ′- indol ]- 1 ′( 2 ′ h )- yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidine - 1 - carboxylate ( 750 mg , 1 . 8 mmol , step 1 of example 2 ) was dissolved in 10 % hcl in methanol ( 20 ml ) and the mixture was stirred for 7 h at room temperature . concentrated gave a colorless oil , which was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with ch 2 cl 2 / methanol / nh 4 oh ( 12 / 11 / 0 . 1 ) to give 570 mg ( quant .) of the title compound as colorless oil . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 76 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 24 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 31 - 7 . 10 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 32 - 3 . 25 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 15 - 3 . 09 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 67 - 2 . 60 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 30 - 1 . 60 ( 12h , m ), 1 . 32 - 1 . 10 ( 2h , m ). to a stirred solution of 2 ′- oxo - n -( piperidin - 4 - ylmethyl ) spiro [ cyclopentane - 1 , 3 ′- indole ]- 1 ′( 2 ′ h )- carboxamide ( 480 mg , 1 . 5 mmol , step 2 of example 2 ) and methyl 2 , 2 - dimethyl - 3 - oxopropanoate ( 248 mg , 1 . 7 mmol , kim , hwa - ok et al ., synth . commun ., 1997 , 27 , 2505 ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 40 ml ) was added sodium triacetoxyborohydride ( 623 mg , 2 . 9 mmol ) in one portion at room temperature . the mixture was stirred for 20 h at ambient temperature . to the mixture was added sat . nahco 3 aq . ( 10 ml ), extracted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 30 ml × 2 ), dried over mgso 4 , filtered and concentrated gave yellow oil . the residue was chromatographed on a column of aminopropyl - silica gel eluting with hexane / ethyl acetate ( 9 : 1 ) to give 150 mg ( 23 %) of the title compound as clear colorless oil . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 72 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 24 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 31 - 7 . 10 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 65 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 27 - 3 . 20 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 85 - 2 . 75 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 46 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 23 - 1 . 90 ( 1h , m ), 1 . 70 - 1 . 60 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 35 - 1 . 28 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 15 ( 6h , s ). to a stirred solution of methyl 2 , 2 - dimethyl - 3 -[ 4 -({[( 2 ′- oxospiro [ cyclopentane - 1 , 3 ′- indol ]- 1 ′( 2 ′ h )- yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] propanoate ( 170 mg , 0 . 38 mmol , step 3 of example 2 ) in acetic acid ( 2 ml ), h 2 so 4 ( 113 mg ) in water ( 2 ml ) was added , and the mixture was refluxed for 36 h . the mixture was cooled to room temperature and solid nahco 3 ( 500 mg ) was added slowly . the resulting mixture was concentrated to give white solid . to the solid , ch 2 cl 2 ( 40 ml ) was added and stirred for 10 min , dried over mgso 4 . the solution was filtered and concentrated and then resulted yellow oil . the oil was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with ch 2 cl 2 / methanol ( 14 : 1 ) to give 130 mg ( 80 %) of the title compound as white solid . recrystallization from ethyl acetate / diethyl ether gave white powder . ir ( kbr ) ν : 2950 , 1732 , 1600 , 1537 , 1475 , 1348 , 1321 , 1280 , 1153 , 964 , 873 , 758 cm − 1 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 80 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 21 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 35 - 7 . 10 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 36 - 3 . 20 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 20 - 3 . 10 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 56 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 54 - 2 . 40 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 30 - 1 . 60 ( 1h , m ), 1 . 58 - 1 . 35 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 24 ( 6h , s ). a signal due to co 2 h was not observed anal . calcd . for c 24 h 33 n 3 o 4 . 0 . 3h 2 o : c , 66 . 58 ; h , 7 . 82 ; n , 9 . 71 . found : c , 66 . 33 ; h , 7 . 72 ; n , 9 . 51 . to a stirred solution of diisopropylamine ( 7 . 7 ml , 0 . 055 mol ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 80 ml ), n - butyl lithium ( 1 . 59 m in cyclohexane , 34 ml , 0 . 055 mol ) was added slowly at − 70 ° c . and the mixture was stirred for 20 min at 0 ° c . the mixture was cooled to − 78 ° c . and tert - butyl cyclopropanecarboxylate ( 6 . 5 g , 0 . 046 mol , kohlrausch et al ., z . elektrochem . angew . phys . chem ., 1937 , 70 , 392 ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 10 ml ) was added dropwise , and the mixture was stirred for 3 h . then , diiodomethane ( 4 . 0 ml , 0 . 050 mol ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 10 ml ) was added dropwise , and the mixture was allowed to warm up to room temperature overnight . saturated aqueous nh 4 cl ( 80 ml ) was added to the solution and it was extracted with diethyl ether ( 50 ml ), washed with brine ( 20 ml ), dried over mgso 4 , filtered and concentrated to give brown oil . the oil was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with hexane / diethyl ether ( 40 : 1 ) to give 1 . 9 g of the title compound as a crude product . the crude product was used without further purification . rf : 0 . 3 ( hexane / diethyl ether ( 40 : 1 )) a mixture of tert - butyl 1 -( iodomethyl ) cyclopropanecarboxylate ( 1 . 9 g 6 . 7 mmol , step 1 of example 3 ), tert - butyl ( piperidin - 4 - ylmethyl ) carbamate ( 3 . 0 g , 14 mmol ), n , n - diisopropylethylamine ( 5 . 8 ml , 34 mmol ) in n , n - dimethylformamide ( 25 ml ) was heated at 120 ° c . for 20 h . after cooled to room temperature , water ( 50 ml ) was added , extracted with ethyl acetate / toluene ( 1 : 2 , 60 ml × 2 ), washed with water ( 50 ml × 2 ), brine ( 50 ml ), dried over mgso 4 , filtered and concentrated to give brown oil . the oil was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with ch 2 cl 2 / methanol ( 10 : 1 ) to give 560 mg ( 1 %) of the title compound as clear brown oil . ms ( esi ) m / z : 369 ( m + h ) + . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 4 . 60 ( 1h , br ), 3 . 08 - 2 . 82 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 59 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 10 - 1 . 90 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 75 - 1 . 55 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 50 - 1 . 05 ( 23h , m ). tert - butyl 1 -[( 4 -{[( tert - butoxycarbonyl ) amino ] methyl } piperidin - 1 - yl ) methyl ] cyclopropanecarboxylate ( 211 mg , 0 . 57 mmol , step 2 of example 3 ) was dissolved in 10 % hcl in dioxane ( 5 ml ) and the mixture was stirred for 4 h at room temperature . resultant brown suspension was concentrated to give 150 mg ( quant .) of the title compound as a pale brown solid . this was used without further purification . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from 1 -{[ 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] methyl } cyclopropanecarboxylic acid ( step 3 of example 3 ). purification was performed by silica gel column eluting with ch 2 cl 2 / methanol ( 18 : 1 ˜ 10 : 1 ) to give 130 mg ( 53 %) of the title compound as white solid . the solid was triturated with hexane / diethyl ether , and collected by filtration to give the title compound as white solid . ir ( kbr ) ν : 3300 , 2960 , 2908 , 1743 , 1697 , 1542 , 1463 , 1348 , 1267 , 1161 , 1143 , 1105 , 779 cm − 1 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 81 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 21 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 32 - 7 . 14 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 43 - 3 . 15 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 59 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 30 - 1 . 60 ( 17h , m ), 0 . 65 - 0 . 56 ( 2h , m ). a signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 24 h 31 n 3 o 4 : c , 67 . 74 ; h , 7 . 34 ; n , 9 . 88 . found : c , 67 . 45 ; h , 7 . 36 ; n , 9 . 80 . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 1 of example 3 from methyl cyclopentanecarboxylate . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 3 . 73 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 42 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 30 - 2 . 15 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 80 - 1 . 55 ( 6h , m ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 2 of example 3 from methyl 1 -( iodomethyl ) cyclopentanecarboxylate . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 4 . 58 ( 1h , br s ), 3 . 66 ( 3h , s ), 2 . 97 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 3 hz ), 2 . 77 ( 2h , br d , j = 11 . 5 hz ), 2 . 55 ( 2h , s ), 1 . 70 - 1 . 50 ( 9h , m ), 1 . 44 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 25 - 1 . 08 ( 2h , m ). a solution of methyl 1 -[( 4 -{[( tert - butoxycarbonyl ) amino ] methyl } piperidine - 1 - yl ) methyl ] cyclopentanecarboxylate ( 1 . 16 g , 3 . 27 mmol , step 2 of example 4 ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 25 ml ) and trifluoroacetic acid ( 5 ml ) was stirred at room temperature for 1 . 5 h . the reaction mixture was then concentrated , basified with sat . nahco 3 aq . ( 100 ml ) and extracted with chcl 3 ( 100 ml ) five times . the combined extracts were dried over mgso 4 , filtered and concentrated to give 0 . 831 g ( 100 %) of title compound as yellow syrup . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 3 . 66 ( 3h , s ), 2 . 78 ( 2h , d , j = 11 . 5 hz ), 2 . 62 - 2 . 50 ( 4h , m ), ( 9h , m ), 1 . 30 - 1 . 05 ( 2h , m ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from methyl 1 -{[ 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] methyl } cyclopentane carboxylate ( step 3 of example 4 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 71 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 23 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 34 - 7 . 10 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 28 - 3 . 20 ( 2 h , m ), 2 . 82 - 2 . 75 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 56 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 25 - 1 . 40 ( 21h , m ), 1 . 38 - 1 . 12 ( 2h , m ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 4 of example 2 from methyl 1 -{[ 4 -({[( 2 ′- oxospiro [ cyclopentane - 1 , 3 ′- indol ]- 1 ′( 2 ′ h )- yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] methyl } cyclopentanecarboxylate ( step 4 of example 4 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3301 , 2935 , 2869 , 1730 , 1602 , 1531 , 1469 , 1278 , 1147 , 758 cm − 1 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 80 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 21 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 32 - 7 . 14 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 31 ( 2h , t , j = 5 . 4 hz ), 3 . 23 - 3 . 12 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 67 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 50 - 2 . 32 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 31 - 1 . 56 ( 17h , m ), 1 . 55 - 1 . 32 ( 4h , m ). a signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 26 h 35 n 3 o 4 . 0 . 5h 2 o : c , 67 . 51 ; h , 7 . 84 ; n , 9 . 08 . found : c , 67 . 17 ; h , 7 . 83 ; n , 8 . 85 . to a stirred mixture of tert - butyl ( piperidin - 4 - ylmethyl ) carbamate ( 12 . 8 g , 60 mmol ) and methyl 1 - formylcyclobutanecarboxylate ( 2 . 13 g , 15 mmol , davis , charles r . ; swenson , dale c . ; burton , donald j ., j . org . chem ., 1993 , 58 , 6843 ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 50 ml ) was added acetic acid ( 8 . 6 ml , 150 mmol ) at ambient temperature . after 30 min , sodium triacetoxyborohydride ( 12 . 7 g , 60 mmol ) was added to the mixture . then , the mixture was heated to 60 ° c . for 2 h . after cooling , the reaction mixture was poured into sat . nahco 3 aq . the aqueous layer was extracted with ch 2 cl 2 for 3 times . the combined organic phase were washed with brine , dried over mgso 4 , filtered and concentrated . the residue was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with hexane / ethyl acetate ( 1 : 1 ) to give 4 . 25 g ( 83 %) of the title compound as white solid . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 3 . 69 ( 3h , s ), 2 . 96 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 2 hz ), 2 . 75 ( 2h , d , j = 11 . 4 hz ), 2 . 67 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 37 - 2 . 46 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 78 - 2 . 05 ( 6h , m ), 1 . 45 - 1 . 65 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 43 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 09 - 1 . 21 ( 2h , m ), the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 3 of example 4 from methyl 1 -[( 4 -{[( tert - butoxycarbonyl ) amino ] methyl } piperidin - 1 - yl ) methyl ] cyclobutanecarboxylate ( step 1 of example 5 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 3 . 67 ( 3h , s ), 2 . 72 - 2 . 78 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 66 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 54 ( 2h , d , j = 6 . 2 hz ), 2 . 34 - 2 . 47 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 79 - 2 . 04 ( 8h , m ), 1 . 54 - 1 . 64 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 05 - 1 . 35 ( 3h , m ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from methyl 1 -{[ 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] methyl } cyclobutane carboxylate ( step 2 of example 5 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 71 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 23 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 35 - 7 . 10 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 70 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 27 - 3 . 21 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 88 - 2 . 70 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 68 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 49 - 2 . 35 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 28 - 2 . 15 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 14 - 1 . 75 ( 13h , m ), 1 . 70 - 1 . 62 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 34 - 1 . 15 ( 2h , m ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 4 of example 2 from methyl 1 -{[ 4 -({[( 2 ′- oxospiro [ cyclopentane - 1 , 3 ′- indol ]- 1 ′( 2 ′ h )- yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] methyl } cyclobutanecarboxylate ( step 3 of example 5 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3303 , 2937 , 2868 , 1728 , 1537 , 1461 , 1280 , 1226 , 1145 , 765 , 750 cm − 1 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 80 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 20 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 0 hz ), 7 . 32 - 7 . 12 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 30 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 1 hz ), 3 . 14 - 3 . 00 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 77 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 60 - 2 . 46 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 45 - 1 . 70 ( 17h , m ), 1 . 54 - 1 . 35 ( 2h , m ). a signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 25 h 33 n 3 o 4 . 0 . 5h 2 o : c , 66 . 94 ; h , 7 . 64 ; n , 9 . 37 . found : c , 66 . 95 ; h , 7 . 75 ; n , 9 . 32 . the title compound was prepared with the similar method shown in the step 1 of example 5 by using methyl 2 - ethyl - 2 - formylbutanoate ( okano , k . ; morimoto , t . ; sekiya , m . journal of the chemical society , chemical communications , 1985 , 3 , 119 ) 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 4 . 62 - 4 . 48 ( 1h , br ), 3 . 65 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 01 - 2 . 93 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 73 - 2 . 65 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 46 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 13 - 2 . 02 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 73 - 1 . 50 ( 6h , m ), 1 . 44 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 28 - 1 . 10 ( 3h , m ), 0 . 76 ( 6h , t , j = 7 . 5 hz ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 3 of example 4 from methyl 2 -[( 4 -{[( tert - butoxycarbonyl ) amino ] methyl } piperidin - 1 - yl ) methyl ]- 2 - ethylbutanoate ( step 1 of example 6 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 92 - 8 . 86 ( 1h , m ), 8 . 28 - 8 . 23 ( 1h , m ), 7 . 20 - 7 . 12 ( 3h , m ), 4 . 77 - 4 . 61 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 65 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 27 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 4 hz ), 2 . 75 - 2 . 66 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 47 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 16 - 2 . 05 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 72 - 1 . 49 ( 10h , m ), 1 . 38 - 1 . 21 ( 5h , m ), 0 . 76 ( 6h , d , j = 7 . 5 hz ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from methyl 2 -{[ 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] methyl }- 2 - ethyl butanoate ( step 2 of example 6 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 72 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 23 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 30 - 7 . 13 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 65 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 24 ( 2h , t , j = 5 . 4 hz ), 2 . 75 - 2 . 69 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 47 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 30 - 1 . 50 ( 20h , m ), 1 . 35 - 1 . 20 ( 2h , m ), 0 . 76 ( 3h , t , j = 6 . 0 hz ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 4 of example 2 from methyl 2 - ethyl - 2 -{[ 4 -({[( 2 ′- oxospiro [ cyclopentane - 1 , 3 ′- indol ]- 1 ′( 2 ′ h )- yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] methyl } butanoate ( step 3 of example 6 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3323 , 2937 , 1732 , 1596 , 1539 , 1463 , 1348 , 1147 , 746 cm − 1 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) d : 8 . 80 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 22 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 35 - 7 . 15 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 31 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 0 hz ), 3 . 18 - 3 . 05 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 61 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 57 - 2 . 40 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 30 - 1 . 25 ( 17h , m ), 0 . 88 ( 6h , t , j = 9 . 0 hz ). signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 26 h 37 n 3 o 4 . 0 . 4h 2 o : c , 67 . 48 ; h , 8 . 23 ; n , 9 . 08 . found : c , 67 . 87 ; h , 8 . 13 ; n , 8 . 95 . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 3 of example 8 from [ cyclobutylidene ( ethoxy ) methoxy ]( trimethyl ) silane ( kuo . y .- n . et al ., j , chem . soc . d ., 1971 , 136 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 4 . 55 ( 1h , br ), 4 . 17 ( 2h , q , j = 7 . 1 hz ), 2 . 96 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 3 hz ), 2 . 76 ( 2h , d , j = 11 . 4 hz ), 2 . 48 - 2 . 33 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 05 - 1 . 80 ( 6h , m ), 1 . 43 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 25 ( 3h , q , j = 7 . 1 hz ), 1 . 40 - 1 . 05 ( 7h , m ). a mixture of ethyl 1 -[( 4 -{[( tert - butoxycarbonyl ) amino ] methyl } piperidin - 1 - yl ) methyl ] cyclobutanecarboxylate ( 4 . 2 g , 11 . 9 mmol , step 1 of example 7 ), 2n naoh ( 18 ml ) and ethanol ( 12 ml ) was heated at 50 ° c . for 4 h . the resulting solution was cooled in ice bath and 2n hcl ( ca 19 ml ) was added until ph of the mixture was ca 5 - 6 . the whole was extracted with ch 2 cl 2 / i - propanol ( 3 : 1 , 30 ml × 3 ). combined organic layers were dried ( na 2 so 4 ) and filtered . the filtrate was concentrated to give 3 . 8 g ( 98 %) of the titled compound as yellow solid . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 4 . 08 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 20 - 3 . 10 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 08 - 2 . 99 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 91 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 60 - 2 . 38 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 35 - 2 . 16 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 05 - 1 . 76 ( 6h , m ), 1 . 65 ( 1h , m ), 1 . 44 ( 9h , s ) in a 500 ml , 3 - necked round bottom flask under n 2 , a mixture of 1 -[( 4 -{[( tert - butoxycarbonyl ) amino ] methyl } piperidin - 1 - yl ) methyl ] cyclobutane carboxylic acid ( 30 g , 92 mmol , step 2 of example 7 ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 150 ml ) was stirred at room temperature for 10 min . to this suspension , a solution of p - toluensulfonic acid monohydrate ( 52 . 4 g , 276 mmol ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 150 ml ) was added at room temperature . after stirring at that temp for 10 min , the resulting solution was heated under reflux condition for 3 h . after cooling down to room temperature , triethylamine ( 28 . 1 ml , 202 mmol ) was added very slowly during the period of 1 h with seeding . the white precipitate was formed during the addition of triethylamine . the resulting white suspension was stirred at room temperature for 6 h and it was filtered and the obtained solid was washed with tetrahydrofuran ( 100 ml × 2 ), dried at 50 ° c . for 5 h to give 35 g ( 96 %) of the titled compound as white powder . 1 h - nmr ( d 2 o ) δ : 7 . 40 ( 2h , d , j = 7 . 2 hz ), 7 . 07 ( 2h , d , j = 7 . 2 hz ), 3 . 28 - 3 . 00 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 80 - 2 . 57 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 09 ( 3h , s ), 2 . 18 - 1 . 97 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 85 - 1 . 58 ( 8h , m ), 1 . 36 - 1 . 12 ( 2h , m ) the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from 6 ′- fluorospiro [ cyclopentane - 1 , 3 ′- indol ]- 2 ′( 1 ′ h )- one ( joensson , n et al ., acta chem . scand . ser . b , 1974 , 28 , 225 ) and 1 -{[ 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidine - 1 - yl ] methyl } cyclobutanecarboxylic acid 4 - methylbenzene sulfonate ( step 3 of example 7 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3305 , 2935 , 1735 , 1602 , 1492 , 1440 , 1357 , 1296 , 1228 , 1157 , 1095 , 869 cm − 1 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 73 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 01 ( 1h , dd , j = 5 . 4 , 8 . 1 hz ), 6 . 92 - 6 . 83 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 30 ( 2h , t , j = 5 . 4 hz ), 3 . 15 - 3 . 03 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 78 ( 3h , s ), 2 . 64 - 2 . 50 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 45 - 1 . 70 ( 16h , m ), 1 . 55 - 1 . 36 ( 2h , m ). a signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 25 h 32 fn 3 o 4 . 0 . 4h 2 o : c , 64 . 61 ; h , 7 . 11 ; n , 9 . 01 . found : c , 64 . 31 ; h , 7 . 11 ; n , 9 . 05 . to a stirred solution of tert - butyl ( piperidin - 4 - ylmethyl ) carbamate ( 7 . 0 g , 33 mmol ) in ethanol ( 19 ml ), paraformaldehyde ( 1 . 2 g , 39 mmol ) and k 2 co 3 ( 5 . 4 g , 39 mmol ) were added at ambient temperature . the mixture was stirred at ambident temperature for 4 h . the mixture was filtered and the filter cake was washed with ethanol ( 50 ml ). the volatile components were removed by evaporation to give 8 . 9 g ( quant .) of the title compound as a white powder . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 4 . 60 ( 1h , br s ), 4 . 07 ( 2h , s ), 3 . 49 ( 2h , q , j = 7 . 1 hz ), 3 . 08 - 2 . 83 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 50 - 2 . 36 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 75 - 1 . 60 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 44 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 52 - 1 . 35 ( 1h , m ), 1 . 19 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 1 hz ), 1 . 31 - 1 . 12 ( 2h , m ). to a stirred solution of diisopropylamine ( 1 . 6 g , 0 . 016 mol ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 4 ml ) was added dropwise n - butyllithium ( 1 . 59 m in hexane , 9 . 2 ml , 0 . 014 mol ) at 0 ° c . under nitrogen , and stirred for 20 min . then , the reaction mixture was cooled to − 40 ° c ., methyl tetrahydro - 2h - pyran - 4 - carboxylate ( 1 . 9 g , 0 . 013 mol ) and trimethylsilyl chloride ( 2 . 0 ml , 0 . 015 mol ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 1 ml ) was added , and the resulting mixture was gradually warmed to room temperature over 3 h . the volatile components were removed by evaporation and the residue was filtered through a pad of celite washing with hexane . the filtrate was dried in vacuo to give 2 . 9 g ( quant .) of the title compound as a clear yellow oil . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 3 . 64 - 3 . 59 ( 4h , m ), 3 . 52 ( 3h , s ), 2 . 24 ( 2h , t , j = 5 . 2 hz ), 2 . 15 ( 2h , t , j = 5 . 3 hz ), 0 . 22 ( 9h , s ). to a stirred solution of tert - butyl {[ 1 -( ethoxymethyl ) piperidin - 4 - yl ] methyl } carbamate ( 4 g , 14 mmol , step 1 of example 8 ) and [ methoxy ( tetrahydro - 4h - pyran - 4 - ylidene ) methoxy ]( trimethyl ) silane ( 2 . 9 g , 13 mmol , step 2 of example 8 ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 30 ml ) was added dropwise trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate ( 0 . 24 ml , 1 . 3 mmol ) at 0 ° c ., and the resulting mixture was stirred at room temperature for 12 h . the reaction mixture was quenched with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate ( 150 ml ), extracted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 30 ml × 2 ), and the combined organic layer was dried over sodium sulfate and filtered . removal of the solvent gave a residue , which was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with ethyl acetate / hexane ( 1 : 1 ) to give 6 . 3 g ( 64 %) of the title compound as clear colorless oil . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 4 . 57 ( 1h , br s ), 3 . 84 - 3 . 78 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 70 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 49 - 3 . 41 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 99 - 2 . 95 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 73 - 2 . 68 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 47 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 19 - 2 . 11 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 06 - 2 . 01 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 61 - 1 . 51 ( 5h , m ), 1 . 44 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 24 - 1 . 11 ( 2h , m ). to a solution of methyl 4 -[( 4 -{[( tert - butoxycarbonyl ) amino ] methyl } piperidine - 1 - yl ) methyl ] tetrahydro - 2h - pyran - 4 - carboxylate ( 6 . 47 g , 17 . 5 mmol , step 3 of example 8 ) in methanol ( 32 ml ), 5 n naoh aq ( 10 ml ) was added at room temperature ( exothermic ). the resulting solution was stirred at 60 ° c . for 7 h , then cooled to 5 ˜ 10 ° c . in ice - cold bath . to this solution , 5 n hcl aq ( 10 added and the resulting solution ( ph value was ca . 6 ) was concentrated . to the residue , 2 - propanol ( 80 ml ) was added . this solution was concentrated . to the residue , 2 - propanol ( 80 ml ) was added and it was concentrated again . the residue was diluted with ethanol ( 80 ml ) and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 h . it was filtered through a celite pad ( 5 . 0 g ) to remove nacl . the celite pad was washed with ethanol ( 20 ml ) and the combined filtrate was concentrated . to the residue , ch 3 cn ( 40 ml ) was added and it was concentrated . during this procedure , the formation of white precipitate was noticed . to the residue , ch 3 cn ( 40 ml ) was added and the resulting suspension was stirred at room temperature for 2 h . this mixture was filtered and obtained solid was washed with ch 3 cn ( 10 ml ), then dried under reduced pressure to give 4 . 1 g ( 65 %) of the titled compound as white powder . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 4 . 66 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 93 - 3 . 82 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 15 - 2 . 99 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 58 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 58 - 2 . 45 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 98 - 1 . 76 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 55 - 1 . 35 ( 6h , m ), 1 . 44 ( 9h , s ). in a 300 ml , 3 - necked round bottom flask under n 2 , 4 -[( 4 -{[( tert - butoxycarbonyl ) amino ] methyl } piperidin - 1 - yl ) methyl ] tetrahydro - 2h - pyran - 4 - carboxylic acid ( 10 g , 28 mmol , step 4 of example 8 ) was placed and a solution of p - toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate ( 16 g , 84 mmol ) in i - propanol ( 150 ml ) was poured at room temperature . the resulting mixture was stirred at 60 ° c . for 7 h under n 2 and triethylamine ( 8 . 6 ml , 62 mmol ) was added dropwise slowly during the period of 2 hr with seeding . the white precipitate was formed during the addition of triethylamine . the resulting white suspension was stirred at 60 ° c . for 3 h , at 50 ° c . for 5 h and at room temperature for 10 h . the suspension was filtered and the obtained solid was washed with i - propanol ( 100 ml ), dried at 50 ° c . for 5 h to give 10 . 5 g ( 87 %) of the titled compound as white powder . 1 h - nmr ( d 2 o ) δ : 7 . 54 ( 2h , d , j = 7 . 4 hz ), 7 . 22 ( 2h , j = 7 . 4 hz ), 3 . 80 - 3 . 65 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 55 - 3 . 40 ( 4h , m ), 3 . 20 - 2 . 75 ( 6h , m ), 2 . 24 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 90 - 1 . 80 ( 6h , m ), 1 . 55 - 1 . 35 ( 4h , m ) the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from 6 ′- fluorospiro [ cyclopentane - 1 , 3 ′- indol ]- 2 ′( 1 ′ h )- one ( joensson , n et al ., acta chem . scand . ser . b , 1974 , 28 , 225 ) and 4 -{[ 4 -( amino methyl ) piperidine - 1 - yl ] methyl } tetrahydro - 2h - pyran - 4 - carboxylic acid 4 - methyl benzenesulfonate ( step 5 of example 8 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3315 , 2943 , 2869 , 1733 , 1604 , 1541 , 1473 , 1359 , 1298 , 1228 , 1157 , 1099 , 867 cm − 1 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 16 - 7 . 11 ( 1h , m ), 6 . 90 - 6 . 84 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 90 - 3 . 75 ( 4h , m ), 3 . 31 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 0 hz ), 3 . 18 - 3 . 06 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 65 - 2 . 45 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 25 - 1 . 75 ( 13h , m ), 1 . 58 - 1 . 40 ( 4h , m ). signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 26 h 34 fn 3 o 5 . 0 . 4h 2 o : c , 63 . 12 ; h , 7 . 09 ; n , 8 . 49 . found : c , 62 . 83 ; h , 7 . 09 ; n , 8 . 45 . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dihydro - 2h - indol - 2 - one ( robertson , david w et al ., j . med . chem ., 1986 , 29 , 1832 ) and 1 -{[ 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] methyl } cyclobutanecarboxylic acid 4 - methylbenzenesulfonate ( step 3 of example 7 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3440 , 3296 , 2933 , 1735 , 1705 , 1608 , 1541 , 1382 , 1346 , 1271 , 1159 , 966 , 773 cm − 1 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 78 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 23 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 35 - 7 . 18 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 31 ( 2h , t , j = 5 . 4 hz ), 3 . 12 - 3 . 01 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 78 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 61 - 2 . 48 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 45 - 2 . 25 ( 3h , m ), 2 . 00 - 1 . 75 ( 6h , m ), 1 . 44 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 55 - 1 . 40 ( 6h , m ). a signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 23 h 31 n 3 o 4 . 0 . 4h 2 o : c , 65 . 66 ; h , 7 . 62 ; n , 9 . 99 . found : c , 65 . 82 ; h , 7 . 64 ; n , 9 . 89 . a mixture of tert - butyl ( piperidin - 4 - ylmethyl ) carbamate ( 3 . 0 g , 14 mmol ) and ethyl acrylate ( 1 . 7 g , 17 mmol ) in ethanol ( 30 ml ) was refluxed for 1 h . after cooled to room temperature , the solution was concentrated to give clear colorless oil . the residue was chromatographed on a silica gel column eluting with ch 2 cl 2 / methanol ( 14 : 1 ) to give 4 . 0 g ( 91 %) of the title compound as clear colorless oil . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 4 . 61 ( 1h , br s ), 4 . 13 ( 2h , q , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 3 . 01 ( 2h , t , j = 5 . 4 hz ), 2 . 98 - 2 . 80 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 05 - 1 . 90 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 70 - 1 . 60 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 44 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 25 ( 3h , t , j = 8 . 1h ), 1 . 55 - 1 . 20 ( 4h , m ). to a stirred solution of ethyl 3 -( 4 -{[( tert - butoxycarbonyl ) amino ] methyl } piperidin - 1 - yl ) propanoate ( 500 mg , 1 . 6 mmol , step 1 of example 10 ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 5 ml ), trifluoroacetic acid ( 1 . 2 ml , 16 mmol ) was added and stirred overnight at room temperature . the mixture was concentrated , and the residual oil was dissolved in ch 2 cl 2 ( 60 ml ) and solid k 2 co 3 ( 5 g ) was added , and stirred for 10 min . the mixture was filtered , and the filtrate was concentrated to give ethyl 3 -[ 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] propanoate as a pale yellow oil . following coupling reaction was carried out according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dihydro - 2h - indol - 2 - one ( robertson , david w et al ., j . med . chem ., 1986 , 29 , 1832 ) and ethyl 3 -[ 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] propanoate . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 73 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 25 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 34 - 7 . 10 ( 2h , m ), 4 . 13 ( 2h , q , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 3 . 29 ( 2h , t , j = 5 . 4 hz ), 2 . 98 - 2 . 85 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 69 ( 2h , t , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 2 . 49 ( 2h , t , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 2 . 05 - 1 . 95 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 81 - 1 . 70 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 50 - 1 . 20 ( 13h , m ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 4 of example 2 from ethyl 3 -[ 4 -({[( 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indol - 1 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] propanoate ( step 2 of example 10 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3315 , 1733 , 1606 , 1541 , 1460 , 1379 , 1344 , 1269 , 1163 , 958 , 769 cm − 1 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 79 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 23 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 40 - 7 . 15 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 40 - 3 . 24 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 20 - 3 . 18 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 85 - 2 . 73 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 39 - 2 . 21 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 00 - 1 . 75 ( 3h , m ), 1 . 55 - 1 . 30 ( 10h , m ). signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 20 h 27 n 3 o 4 . 1 . 0h 2 o . 0 . 5meoh . 0 . 2ch 2 cl 2 : c , 58 . 57 ; h , 7 . 46 ; n , 9 . 90 . found c , 58 . 94 ; h , 7 . 16 ; n , 9 . 81 . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dihydro - 2h - indol - 2 - one ( robertson , david w et al ., j . med . chem ., 1986 , 29 , 1832 ) and tert - butyl 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidine - 1 - carboxylate . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 76 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 24 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 34 - 7 . 15 ( 3h , m ), 4 . 25 - 4 . 03 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 36 - 3 . 23 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 79 - 2 . 60 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 85 - 1 . 69 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 55 - 1 . 36 ( 16h , m ), 1 . 30 - 1 . 10 ( 2h , m ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 2 of example 2 from tert - butyl 4 -({[( 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indol - 1 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidine - 1 - carboxylate ( step 1 of example 11 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 74 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 25 ( 2h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 34 - 7 . 15 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 29 ( 2h , t , j = 5 . 4 hz ), 3 . 15 - 3 . 05 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 67 - 2 . 55 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 80 - 1 . 74 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 43 ( 6h , s ), 1 . 28 - 1 . 18 ( 2h , m ). a signal due to n h ( piperidine ) was not observed . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 3 of example 2 from 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - n -( piperidin - 4 - ylmethyl ) indoline - 1 - carboxamide ( step 2 of example 11 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 70 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 25 ( 1h , d , j = 6 . 0 hz ), 7 . 33 - 7 . 15 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 65 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 25 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 0 hz ), 2 . 84 - 2 . 72 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 46 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 23 - 2 . 10 ( 3h , m ), 1 . 73 - 1 . 54 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 43 ( 6h , m ), 1 . 38 - 1 . 24 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 15 ( 6h , s ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 4 of example 2 from methyl 3 -[ 4 -({[( 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indol - 1 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ]- 2 , 2 - dimethylpropanoate ( step 3 of example 11 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3402 , 3317 , 2943 , 2858 , 1616 , 1596 , 1541 , 1498 , 1307 , 1263 , 1105 , 985 cm − 1 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 78 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 24 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 34 - 7 . 18 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 32 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 0 hz ), 3 . 24 - 3 . 06 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 60 - 2 . 38 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 97 - 1 . 65 ( 3h , m ), 1 . 60 - 1 . 28 ( 8h , m ), 1 . 24 ( 6h , s ). a signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 22 h 31 n 3 o 4 : c , 65 . 81 ; h , 7 . 78 ; n , 10 . 47 . found : c , 65 . 56 ; h , 7 . 83 ; n , 10 . 36 . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dihydro - 2h - indol - 2 - one ( robertson , david w et al ., j . med . chem ., 1986 , 29 , 1832 ) and 4 -( aminomethyl )- 1 - benzylpiperidin - 4 - ol ( somanathan , r . et al ., synth . commun ., 1994 , 24 , 1483 ) 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 93 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 23 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 35 - 7 . 16 ( 8h , m ), 5 . 30 ( 2h , s ), 3 . 54 ( 2h , s ), 3 . 45 ( 2h , d , j = 5 . 4 hz ), 2 . 70 - 2 . 56 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 46 - 2 . 33 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 27 ( 1h , s ), 1 . 80 - 1 . 67 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 43 ( 6h , m ). a mixture of n -[( 1 - benzyl - 4 - hydroxypiperidin - 4 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxoindoline - 1 - carboxamide ( 280 mg , 0 . 68 mmol , step 1 of example 12 ) and palladium hydroxide ( 80 mg , 20 wt . % pd on carbon ,) in 10 % hcl in methanol was stirred under h 2 atmosphere for 20 h . the mixture was filtered through a pad of celite , washed with methanol and the filtrate was concentrated to give pale yellow oil . the residue was chromatographed on silica gel column eluting with ch 2 cl 2 / methanol / nh 4 oh ( 10 : 1 : 0 . 2 ) to give 73 mg ( 34 %) of the title compound as clear yellow oil . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 95 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 25 - 8 . 16 ( 1h , m ), 7 . 35 - 7 . 12 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 51 - 3 . 40 ( 4h , m ), 3 . 05 - 2 . 80 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 75 - 1 . 55 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 44 ( 6h , s ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 3 of example 2 from n -[( 4 - hydroxypiperidin - 4 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxoindoline - 1 - carboxamide ( step 2 of example 12 ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 4 of example 2 from methyl 3 -[ 4 -({[( 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indol - 1 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ]- 2 , 2 - dimethylpropanoate ( step 3 of example 12 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 9 . 01 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 20 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 33 - 7 . 15 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 50 - 3 . 45 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 00 - 2 . 85 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 65 - 2 . 55 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 81 - 1 . 45 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 45 ( 6h , s ), 1 . 25 ( 6h , s ). signals due to o h and co 2 h were not observed . hrms ( fab ) ( m + h ) + calcd for c 22 h 32 o 5 n 3 418 . 2342 , found 418 . 2356 the title compound was prepared with the similar method shown in the step 3 of example 8 by using [ cyclohexylidene ( methoxy ) methoxy ]( trimethyl ) silane ( hannaby , malcolm et al ., j . chem . soc . perkin trans . 1 , 1989 , 303 ) 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 4 . 56 ( 1h , br s ), 3 . 66 ( 3h , s ), 2 . 97 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 1 hz ), 2 . 71 ( 2h , br d , j = 11 . 7 hz ), 2 . 43 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 11 ( 2h , br t , j = 11 . 5 hz ), 2 . 03 ( 2h , br d , j = 11 . 4 hz ), 1 . 65 - 1 . 10 ( 22h , m ). the title compound was prepared with the similar method shown in the step 2 of example 10 from methyl 1 -[( 4 -{[( tert - butoxycarbonyl ) amino ] methyl } piperidin - 1 - yl ) methyl ] cyclohexanecarboxylate ( step 1 of example 13 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 71 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 23 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 34 - 7 . 15 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 66 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 24 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 0 hz ), 2 . 80 - 2 . 68 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 44 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 25 - 1 . 15 ( 25h , m ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 4 of example 2 from methyl 1 -{[ 4 -({[( 2 ′- oxospiro [ cyclopentane - 1 , 3 ′- indol ]- 1 ′( 2 ′ h )- yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] methyl } cyclohexanecarboxylate ( step 2 of example 13 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3300 , 2923 , 2862 , 1728 , 1600 , 1552 , 1469 , 1346 , 1265 , 1222 , 1143 , 752 cm − 1 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 80 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 21 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 32 - 7 . 13 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 30 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 0 hz ), 3 . 16 - 3 . 03 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 60 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 55 - 2 . 40 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 27 - 1 . 26 ( 23h , m ). a signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 27 h 37 n 3 o 4 . 0 . 8h 2 o : c , 67 . 28 ; h , 8 . 07 ; n , 8 . 72 . found : c , 67 . 46 ; h , 8 . 05 ; n , 8 . 66 . to a stirred solution of 1 - cyano - 1 - cyclopentanecarboxylic acid ethyl ester ( 6 . 19 g , 37 . 0 mmol , bioorg . med . chem . lett . 1999 , 9 , 369 - 374 ) in 1 , 4 - dioxane ( 100 ml ) was added ( ch 3 ch 2 ch 2 ch 2 ) 3 snn 3 ( 12 . 3 g , 37 . 0 mmol ) at ambient temperature . the resulting mixture was refluxed for 15 h and concentrated under reduced pressure . to the resulting residue was added 4 m hcl in 1 , 4 - dioxane ( 50 ml ) and concentrated under reduced pressure . the resulting oil was washed twice with hexane to give crude product of the title compound as a yellow oil , which was used for next step without further purification . to a stirred mixture of α - cyclopentyltetrazole - 5 - acetic acid , ethyl ester ( step 1 of example 14 ) and k 2 co 3 ( 12 . 3 g , 89 . 0 mmol ) in acetone ( 200 ml ) was added benzyl bromide ( 4 . 84 ml , 40 . 7 mmol ) at ambient temperature . the resulting mixture was stirred at 50 ° c . for 14 h and concentrated under reduced pressure . the resulting residue was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with hexane / ethyl acetate ( 10 : 1 ) to give 2 . 95 g ( 27 % in 2 steps ) of the title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 7 . 45 - 7 . 23 ( 5h , m ), 5 . 73 ( 2h , s ), 4 . 11 ( 2h , q , j = 7 . 1 hz ), 2 . 55 - 2 . 35 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 88 - 1 . 56 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 12 ( 3h , t , j = 7 . 1 hz ). to a stirred mixture of 2 - benzyl - α - cyclopentyl - 2h - tetrazole - 5 - acetic acid , ethyl ester ( 2 . 92 g , 9 . 72 mmol , step 2 of example 14 ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 50 ml ) at − 78 ° c . was added diisobutylaluminium hydride ( 1 . 0 m in toluene , 22 . 5 ml , 22 . 5 mmol ). the resulting mixture was stirred at − 78 ° c . for 5 h . to the mixture were added 2 m aqueous hcl ( 50 ml ) and saturated aqueous nh 4 cl ( 10 ml ). the organic layer was separated , dried over magnesium sulfate , and concentrated under reduced pressure . the resulting residue was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with hexane / ethyl acetate ( 10 : 1 ) to give 862 mg ( 35 %) of the title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 9 . 71 ( 1h , s ), 7 . 50 - 7 . 30 ( 5h , m ), 5 . 74 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 45 - 2 . 18 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 85 - 1 . 66 ( 4h , m ). to a stirred solution of 2 - benzyl - α - cyclopentyl - 2h - tetrazole - 5 - acetaldehyde ( 850 mg , 3 . 32 mmol , step 3 of example 14 ) and tert - butyl ( piperidin - 4 - ylmethyl ) carbamate ( 7 . 11 g , 33 . 2 mmol ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 500 ml ) were added nabh ( o ( co ) ch 3 ) 3 ( 3 . 52 g , 16 . 6 mmol ) and acetic acid ( 1 . 03 g , 16 . 9 mmol ). the resulting mixture was stirred at 60 ° c . for 13 h and concentrated under reduced pressure . to the stirred residue were added saturated aqueous nahco 3 and ch 2 cl 2 . the organic layer was separated , dried over magnesium sulfate , and concentrated under reduced pressure . the resulting residue was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with hexane / ethyl acetate ( 1 : 1 ) to give 1 . 19 g ( 79 %) of the title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 7 . 43 - 7 . 23 ( 5h , m ), 5 . 72 ( 2h , s ), 4 . 67 ( 1h , br t ), 2 . 88 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 66 ( 2h , br s ), 2 . 48 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 24 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 93 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 83 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 78 - 1 . 48 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 43 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 37 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 23 ( 1h , m ), 0 . 94 ( 2h , m ). a mixture of tert - butyl [{ 1 -( 2 -( 2 - benzyltetrazole )- 2 - cyclopentylethyl ) piperidin - 4 - yl } methyl ] carbamate ( 150 mg , 0 . 34 mmol , step 4 of example 14 ) and 10 % hcl in methanol ( 10 ml ) was stirred for 3 h at 60 ° c ., and the mixture was concentrated to give yellow oil . the residue was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with ch 2 cl 2 / methanol / nh 4 oh ( 12 : 1 : 0 . 1 ) to give 115 mg ( quant .) of the title compound as clear yellow solid . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 7 . 50 - 7 . 25 ( 5h , m ), 5 . 73 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 67 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 60 - 2 . 40 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 35 - 2 . 16 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 05 - 1 . 78 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 75 - 1 . 34 ( 6h , m ), 1 . 20 - 0 . 85 ( 3h , m ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from ({ 1 -[ 1 -( 2 - benzyl - 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) cyclopentyl ] piperidin - 4 - yl } methyl ) amine ( step 5 of example 14 ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 8 . 66 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 23 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 40 - 7 . 15 ( 3h , m ), 5 . 73 ( 2h , s ), 3 . 15 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 0 hz ), 2 . 67 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 54 - 2 . 44 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 26 - 2 . 11 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 10 - 1 . 76 ( 10h , m ), 1 . 70 - 0 . 90 ( 14h , m ). a mixture of n -[( 1 -{[ 1 -( 2 - benzyl - 2h - tetrazol - 5 - yl ) cyclopentyl ] methyl } piperidin - 4 - yl ) methyl ]- 2 ′- oxospiro [ cyclopentane - 1 , 3 ′- indole ]- 1 ′( 2 ′ h )- carboxamide ( 120 mg , 0 . 21 mmol , step 6 of example 14 ) and palladium hydroxide ( 20 mg , 20 wt . % palladium on carbon ) in methanol ( 10 ml ) was stirred for 8 h under h 2 atmosphere . the mixture was filtered through a pad of celite , and washed with methanol and the filtrate was concentrated to give a clear colorless oil . the residue was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with ch 2 cl 2 / methanol ( 16 : 1 ) to give 80 mg ( 80 %) of the title compound as a white solid . the solid was triturated with ethyl acetate / hexane and collected by filtration to give 72 mg ( 72 %) of the title compound as a white solid . ir ( kbr ) ν : 3417 , 2958 , 1732 , 1703 , 1548 , 1465 , 1282 , 1161 , 769 cm − 1 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 8 . 81 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 22 ( 1h , d , j = 9 . 0 hz ), 7 . 34 - 7 . 12 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 40 - 3 . 27 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 16 - 3 . 05 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 45 - 2 . 31 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 00 - 1 . 65 ( 21h , m ), 1 . 58 - 1 . 41 ( 2h , m ). a signal due to tetrazole - h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 26 h 35 n 7 o 2 . 1 . 0h 2 o : c , 63 . 01 ; h , 7 . 52 ; n , 19 . 78 . found : c , 62 . 90 ; h , 7 . 35 ; n , 19 . 40 . a stirred mixture of methyl ( 4 - fluoro - 2 - nitrophenyl ) acetate ( 3 . 0 g , 0 . 014 mol , quallich , george j et al ., synthesis , 1993 , 351 ), methyl iodide ( 2 ml , 0 . 032 mol ) and 18 - crown - 6 ( 925 mg , 3 . 5 mmol ) in n , n - dimethylformamide ( 75 ml ) was treated portion wise with nah ( 1 . 28 g , 0 . 032 mol , 60 % dispersion in mineral oil ) at 0 ° c . then the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 h . it was quenched by addition of water . the aqueous layer was extracted with diethylether ( 25 ml × 3 ). the organic layer was washed with water and brine , dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo . the residue was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with ethyl acetate / hexane ( 1 : 20 to 1 : 4 ) to give 2 . 52 g ( 75 %) of the title compound as oil . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 67 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 3 , 2 . 9 hz ), 7 . 59 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 9 , 5 . 4 hz ), 7 . 39 - 7 . 29 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 66 ( 3h , s ), 1 . 66 ( 6h , s ). a mixture of methyl 2 -( 4 - fluoro - 2 - nitrophenyl )- 2 - methylpropanoate ( 2 . 53 g , 0 . 010 mol , step 1 of example 15 ) and iron powder ( 2 . 34 g , 0 . 042 mol ) in acetic acid ( 30 ml ) was stirred at 100 ° c . for 5 . 5 h . the reaction mixture was rinsed with methanol and it was filtered through a pad of celite . the filtrate was concentrated . it was added water and the aqueous layer was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 20 ml × 3 ). the organic layer was washed with brine , dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated . the residue was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with ethyl acetate / hexane ( 1 : 6 to 1 : 4 ) to give 1 . 67 g ( 89 %) of the title compound as a white solid . ms ( esi ) m / z : 180 ( m + h ) + , 178 ( m − h ) − . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 7 . 84 ( 1h , br s ), 7 . 12 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 1 , 5 . 3 hz ), 6 . 73 ( 1h , ddd , j = 9 . 2 , 8 . 1 , 2 . 4 hz ), 6 . 65 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 8 , 2 . 4 hz ), 1 . 39 ( 6h , s ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dihydro - 2h - indol - 2 - one ( step 2 of example 15 ) and 1 -{[ 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] methyl } cyclobutanecarboxylic acid 4 - methylbenzenesulfonate ( step 3 of example 7 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3300 , 2934 , 1740 , 1605 , 1547 , 1477 , 1385 , 1352 , 1304 , 1236 , 1151 cm − 1 . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 71 ( 1h , t , j = 5 . 9 hz ), 8 . 03 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 2 , 2 . 5 hz ), 7 . 15 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 2 , 5 . 4 hz ), 6 . 94 - 6 . 84 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 31 ( 2h , t , j = 5 . 9 hz ), 3 . 13 - 3 . 00 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 78 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 61 - 2 . 44 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 44 - 2 . 24 ( 3h , m ), 2 . 01 - 1 . 80 ( 5h , m ), 1 . 82 - 1 . 65 ( 1h , m ), 1 . 54 - 1 . 42 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 42 ( 6h , s ). a signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 23 h 30 n 3 o 4 f . 0 . 7h 2 o : c , 62 . 20 ; h , 7 . 13 ; n , 9 . 46 . found : c , 61 . 85 ; h , 7 . 14 ; n , 9 . 34 . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dihydro - 2h - indol - 2 - one ( step 2 in example 15 ) and ethyl 3 -[ 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] propanoate ( step 2 in example 10 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 67 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 05 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 2 , 2 . 6 hz ), 7 . 14 ( 1h , dd , j = 7 . 7 , 5 . 4 hz ), 6 . 93 - 6 . 84 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 14 ( 2h , dd , j = 14 . 3 , 7 . 2 hz ), 3 . 29 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 2 hz ), 2 . 96 - 2 . 86 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 70 ( 2h , t , j = 7 . 5 hz ), 2 . 50 ( 2h , t , j = 7 . 5 hz ), 2 . 06 - 1 . 93 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 82 - 1 . 65 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 43 - 1 . 28 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 42 ( 6h , s ), 1 . 27 ( 3h , t , j = 14 . 3 hz ). a signal due to c h was not observed . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 4 of example 2 from ethyl 3 -[ 4 -({[( 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indol - 1 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] propanoate ( step 1 of example 16 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3317 , 2972 , 2937 , 1728 , 1603 , 1545 , 1493 , 1385 , 1354 , 1304 , 1273 , 1155 , 1111 , 1072 cm − 1 . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 72 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 03 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 5 , 2 . 5 hz ), 7 . 15 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 5 , 5 . 4 hz ), 8 . 89 ( 1h , dt , j = 8 . 5 , 2 . 5 hz ), 3 . 23 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 3 hz ), 3 . 25 - 3 . 12 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 79 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 3 hz ), 2 . 53 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 3 hz ), 2 . 38 - 2 . 24 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 99 - 1 . 86 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 90 - 1 . 70 ( 1h , m ), 1 . 56 - 1 . 35 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 43 ( 6h , s ). a signal due to co 2 h was not observed . hrms ( esi ) m / z calcd for c 20 h 27 fn 3 o 4 ([ m + h ] + ) 392 . 1986 , found 392 . 1993 . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dihydro - 2h - indol - 2 - one ( step 2 of example 15 ) and tert - butyl 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidine - 1 - carboxylate . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 69 ( 1h , t , j = 5 . 5 hz ), 8 . 04 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 2 , 2 . 4 hz ), 7 . 15 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 3 , 5 . 5 hz ), 6 . 92 - 6 . 84 ( 1h , m ), 4 . 24 - 4 . 03 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 34 - 3 . 24 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 78 - 2 . 60 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 80 - 1 . 64 ( 3h , m ), 1 . 46 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 42 ( 6h , s ), 1 . 29 - 1 . 10 ( 2h , m ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 2 of example 2 from tert - butyl 4 -({[( 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indol - 1 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidine - 1 - carboxylate ( step 1 of example 17 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 68 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 05 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 3 , 2 . 4 hz ), 7 . 15 ( 1h , dd , j =( 1h , m ), 3 . 29 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 0 hz ), 3 . 25 - 3 . 08 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 65 ( 2h , dt , j = 12 . 2 , 2 . 3 hz ), 1 . 89 - 1 . 65 ( 3h , m ) 1 . 42 ( 6h , s ), 1 . 40 - 1 . 15 ( 2h , m ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 3 of example 2 from 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - n -( piperidin - 4 - ylmethyl ) indoline - 1 - carboxamide ( step 2 of example 17 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 63 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 05 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 4 , 2 . 5 hz ), 7 . 14 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 3 , 5 . 5 hz ), 6 . 92 - 6 . 83 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 66 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 25 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 3 hz ), 2 . 83 - 2 . 73 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 47 ( 2h , s ) 2 . 16 ( 2h , dt , j = 11 . 6 , 2 . 0 hz ), 1 . 71 - 1 . 56 ( 2h , m ) 1 . 56 - 1 . 44 ( 1h , m ), 1 . 42 ( 6h , s ), 1 . 36 - 1 . 22 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 15 ( 6h , s ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 4 of example 2 from methyl 3 -[ 4 -({[( 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indol - 1 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ]- 2 , 2 - dimethylpropanoate ( step 3 of example 17 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3319 , 2974 , 2930 , 1736 , 1605 , 1545 , 1497 , 1439 , 1350 , 1302 , 1275 , 1231 , 1153 cm − 1 . 1 h - nmr ( dmso ) δ : 8 . 55 ( 1h , t , j = 6 . 1 hz ), 7 . 83 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 6 , 2 . 6 hz ), 7 . 48 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 3 , 5 . 8 hz ), 7 . 03 ( 1h , ddd , j = 9 . 4 , 8 . 3 , 2 . 6 hz ), 3 . 18 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 1 hz ), 2 . 91 - 2 . 80 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 45 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 24 - 2 . 12 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 67 - 1 . 56 ( 2h , m ) 1 . 60 - 1 . 45 ( 1h , m ), 1 . 36 ( 6h , s ), 1 . 28 - 1 . 10 ( 2h , s ), 1 . 06 ( 6h , s ). a signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 22 h 30 fn 3 o 4 : c , 62 . 99 ; h , 7 . 21 ; n , 10 . 02 . found : c , 62 . 66 ; h , 7 . 27 ; n , 9 . 90 . a solution of 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - n -( piperidin - 4 - ylmethyl ) indoline - 1 - carboxamide ( 200 mg , 0 . 63 mmol , step 2 in example 17 ) and triethylamine ( 114 μl , 0 . 82 mmol ) in tetrahydrofuran ( 3 ml ) was stirred at 0 ° c ., it was slowly added tert - butyl bromoacetate ( 111 μl , 0 . 75 mmol ). the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 5 h and at 35 ° c . for 4 h . it was further added triethylamine ( 17 μl , 0 . 12 mmol ) and tert - butyl bromoacetate ( 18 μl , 0 . 12 mmol ). the solution was stirred at room temperature overnight . the resulting solution was added sat . sodium bicarbonate . it was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 10 ml × 3 ). the organic phase was washed with brine , dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated . the residue was chromatographed on a column of aminopropyl - silica gel eluting with ethyl acetate / hexane ( 1 : 10 to 1 : 6 ) to give 203 mg ( 74 %) of the titled compound . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 67 ( 1h , t , j = 6 . 1 hz ), 8 . 05 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 4 , 2 . 5 hz ), 7 . 14 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 3 , 5 . 6 hz ), 6 . 87 ( 1h , dt , j = 8 . 7 , 2 . 5 hz ), 3 . 30 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 1 hz ), 3 . 11 ( 2h , s ), 3 . 02 - 2 . 92 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 16 ( 2h , dt , j = 11 . 6 , 2 . 3 hz ), 1 . 80 - 1 . 69 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 54 - 1 . 33 ( 3h , m ), 1 . 46 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 42 ( 6h , s ). a mixture of tert - butyl [ 4 -({[( 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indol - 1 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] acetate ( 200 mg , 0 . 46 mmol , step 1 of example 18 ) and trifluoroacetic acid ( 106 μl , 1 . 38 mmol ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 1 ml ) was stirred at room temperature overnight . the resulting solution was neutralized by addition of sodium bicarbonate ( 116 mg ) and it was concentrated . the desired product was dissolved with ch 2 cl 2 / methanol = 8 / 1 solution and filtrated . the filtrate was concentrated . the residue was chromatographed on preparative tlc eluting with methanol / dichloromethane ( 1 : 7 ) to give 115 mg ( 66 %) as white gum . ir ( kbr ) ν : 3315 , 2937 , 2872 , 1732 , 1686 , 1638 , 1543 , 1497 , 1408 , 1304 , 1275 , 1304 , 1205 , 1130 cm − 1 . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 69 ( 1h , t , j = 5 . 9 hz ), 7 . 96 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 3 , 2 . 4 hz ), 7 . 11 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 5 , 5 . 6 hz ), 6 . 83 ( 1h , dt , j = 8 . 5 , 2 . 4 hz ), 3 . 75 - 3 . 54 ( 3h , br ), 3 . 37 - 3 . 23 ( 2h , br ), 2 . 90 - 2 . 64 ( 2h , br ), 2 . 55 - 1 . 53 ( 6h , br ), 1 . 38 ( 6h , s ). a signal due to co 2 h was not observed . hrms ( esi ) m / z calcd for c 19 h 25 fn 3 o 4 ([ m + h ] + ) 378 . 1829 , found 378 . 1816 . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 3 of example 1 from tert - butyl 2 - methylalaninate . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 2 . 95 - 2 . 85 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 48 - 2 . 40 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 47 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 35 ( 6h , s ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 4 of example 1 from tert - butyl 2 - methyl - 2 -( 4 - oxopiperidin - 1 - yl ) propanoate ( step 1 of example 19 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 2 . 93 - 2 . 76 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 68 - 2 . 45 ( 3h , m ), 2 . 00 - 1 . 75 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 47 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 27 ( 6h , s ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 5 of example 1 from tert - butyl 2 -( 4 - cyanopiperidin - 1 - yl )- 2 - methylpropanoate ( step 2 of example 19 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 3 . 07 - 2 . 96 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 56 ( 2h , d , j = 5 . 9 hz ), 2 . 25 - 2 . 13 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 80 - 1 . 65 ( 3h , m ), 1 . 46 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 27 ( 6h , s ), 1 . 30 - 1 . 10 ( 2h , m ). signal due to n h 2 were not observed . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dihydro - 2h - indol - 2 - one ( step 2 of example 15 ) and tert - butyl 2 -[ 4 -( aminomethyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ]- 2 - methylpropanoate ( step 3 of example 19 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 65 ( 1h , br s ), 8 . 05 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 5 , 2 . 5 hz ), 7 . 14 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 3 , 5 . 5 hz ), 6 . 88 ( 1h , dt , j = 8 . 6 , 2 . 5 hz ), 3 . 28 ( 2h , t , j = 6 . 2 hz ), 3 . 10 - 2 . 98 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 28 - 2 . 13 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 83 - 1 . 64 ( 3h , m ), 1 . 46 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 42 ( 6h , s ), 1 . 45 - 1 . 25 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 27 ( 6h , s ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 4 of example 2 from tert - butyl 2 -[ 4 -({[( 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indol - 1 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ]- 2 - methylpropanoate ( step 4 of example 19 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3271 , 2934 , 1736 , 1632 , 1560 , 1495 , 1441 , 1346 , 1302 , 1231 , 1151 cm − 1 . 1 h - nmr ( dmso ) δ : 8 . 59 ( 1h , t , j = 6 . 0 hz ), 7 . 83 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 7 , 2 . 5 hz ), 7 . 47 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 3 , 5 . 8 hz ), 7 . 04 ( 1h , ddd , j = 9 . 4 , 8 . 3 , 2 . 5 hz ), 3 . 23 - 3 . 53 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 70 - 2 . 56 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 85 - 1 . 65 ( 3h , m ), 1 . 63 - 1 . 40 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 55 - 1 . 42 ( 1h , m ), 1 . 37 ( 6h , s ), 1 . 23 ( 6h , s ). a signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 21 h 28 fn 3 o 4 0 . 2h 2 o : c , 61 . 66 ; h , 7 . 00 ; n , 10 . 27 . found : c , 61 . 26 ; h , 6 . 90 ; n , 10 . 14 . a mixture of n - benzoyl - 4 - aminomethyl - 4 - fluoropiperidine ( j . med . chem . 1999 , 42 , 1648 - 1660 .) ( 3 . 54 g , 15 . 0 mmol ) and di - tert - butyl dicarbonate ( 4 . 91 g , 22 . 5 mmol ) in methanol ( 80 ml ) was stirred at room temperature for 15 h and concentrated in vacuo . the resulting residue was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with hexane / ethyl acetate ( 1 : 1 ) to give 4 . 52 g ( 89 %) of the title compound as colorless oil . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 7 . 55 - 7 . 25 ( 5h , m ), 5 . 16 ( 1h , br t , j = 6 . 3 hz ), 4 . 51 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 62 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 55 - 3 . 00 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 10 - 1 . 25 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 43 ( 9h , s ). a mixture of n - benzoyl - 4 - tert - butoxycarbonylaminomethyl - 4 - fluoro piperidine ( step 3 of example 15 ) ( 4 . 42 g , 13 . 1 mmol ), naoh ( 2 . 62 g , 65 . 5 mmol ), h 2 o ( 9 . 00 ml ) and ethanol ( 90 . 0 ml ) was refluxed for 15 h and concentrated in vacuo . to the resulting residue were added water and chloroform . the organic layer was separated , dried over magnesium sulfate , and concentrated under reduced pressure . recrystallization of the resulting solid with hexane - ch 2 cl 2 afforded colorless solid 1 . 77 g ( 58 %) as the title compound . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ 4 . 93 ( 1h , m ), 3 . 30 ( 2h , dd , j = 21 . 5 , 6 . 3 hz ), 2 . 91 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 88 - 1 . 34 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 45 ( 9 h , s ). a signal due to n h and was not observed . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 3 of example 2 from 4 - tert - butoxycarbonylaminomethyl - 4 - fluoropiperidine ( step 2 of example 20 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 4 . 78 ( 1h , br s ), 3 . 66 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 27 ( 2h , dd , j = 22 . 1 , 6 . 3 hz ), 2 . 50 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 64 - 2 . 35 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 77 - 1 . 50 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 44 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 15 ( 6h , s ). a signal due to n h was not observed . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 2 of example 2 from methyl 3 -( 4 -{[( tert - butoxycarbonyl ) amino ] methyl }- 4 - fluoro piperidin - 1 - yl )- 2 , 2 - dimethylpropanoate ( step 3 of example 20 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 3 . 66 ( 3h , s ), 2 . 74 ( 2h , d , j = 20 . 4 hz ), 2 . 65 - 2 . 41 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 51 ( 2h , s ), 1 . 87 - 1 . 20 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 16 ( 6h , s ). a signal due to n h 2 was not observed . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dihydro - 2h - indol - 2 - one ( step 2 example 15 ) and methyl 3 -[ 4 -( aminomethyl )- 4 - fluoropiperidin - 1 - yl ]- 2 , 2 - dimethyl propanoate ( step 4 of example 20 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 81 ( 1h , t , j = 5 . 3 hz ), 8 . 03 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 6 , 2 . 5 hz ), 7 . 15 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 4 , 5 . 6 hz ), 6 . 88 ( 1h , dt , j = 8 . 4 , 2 . 5 hz ), 3 . 66 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 56 ( 2h , dd , j = 21 . 1 , 5 . 9 hz ), 2 . 68 - 2 . 45 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 51 ( 2h , s ), 1 . 89 - 1 . 58 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 43 ( 6h , s ) 1 . 15 ( 6h , s ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 4 of example 2 from methyl 3 -[ 4 - fluoro - 4 -({[( 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indol - 1 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ]- 2 , 2 - dimethylpropanoate ( step 5 of example 20 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3319 , 2974 , 2937 , 1734 , 1607 , 1543 , 1497 , 1352 , 1304 , 1273 , 1232 , 1153 , 1092 cm − 1 . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 87 ( 1h , t , j = 6 . 3 hz ), 8 . 02 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 2 , 2 . 5 hz ), 7 . 16 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 4 , 5 . 6 hz ), 6 . 90 ( 1h , dt , j = 8 . 4 , 2 . 5 hz ), 3 . 63 ( 2h , dd , j = 20 . 7 , 6 . 3 hz ), 3 . 04 - 2 . 94 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 86 - 2 . 72 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 59 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 05 - 1 . 74 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 44 ( 6h , s ), 1 . 24 ( 6h , s ). a signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 22 h 29 f 2 n 3 o 4 . 0 . 1h 2 o : c , 60 . 15 ; h , 6 . 70 ; n , 9 . 57 . found : c , 59 . 95 ; h , 6 . 67 ; n , 9 . 37 . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dihydro - 2h - indol - 2 - one ( robertson , david w et al ., j . med . chem ., 1986 , 29 , 1832 ) and methyl 3 -[ 4 -( aminomethyl )- 4 - fluoropiperidin - 1 - yl ]- 2 , 2 - dimethylpropanoate ( step 4 of example 20 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 88 ( 1h , t , j = 5 . 9 hz ), 8 . 24 ( 1h , d , j = 7 . 9 hz ), 7 . 34 - 7 . 14 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 66 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 57 ( 2h , dd , j = 21 . 1 , 5 . 9 hz ), 2 . 67 - 2 . 45 ( 4h , m ), 2 . 51 ( 2h , s ), 1 . 90 - 1 . 53 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 44 ( 6h , s ) 1 . 15 ( 6h , s ). the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 4 of example 2 from methyl 3 -[ 4 -({[( 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indol - 1 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl )- 4 - fluoropiperidin - 1 - yl ]- 2 , 2 - dimethylpropanoate ( step 1 of example 21 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3306 , 2972 , 1736 , 1543 , 1460 , 1344 , 1271 , 1229 , 1159 , 770 cm − 1 . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 94 ( 1h , t , j = 4 . 9 hz ), 8 . 23 ( 1h , d , j = 8 . 6 hz ), 7 . 36 - 7 . 15 ( 3h , m ), 3 . 64 ( 2h , dd , j = 21 . 1 , 5 . 9 hz ), 3 . 04 - 2 . 92 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 86 - 2 . 69 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 59 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 15 - 1 . 65 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 45 ( 6h , s ), 1 . 24 ( 6h , s ). a signal due to co 2 h was not observed . anal . calcd . for c 22 h 30 fn 3 o 4 . 0 . 1h 2 o : c , 62 . 72 ; h , 7 . 23 ; n , 9 . 97 . found : c , 62 . 32 ; h , 7 . 22 ; n , 9 . 74 . to a suspension of tert - butyl 4 - oxopiperidine - 1 - carboxylate ( 2 . 0 g , 10 mmol ) in diethyl ether ( 40 ml ), a solution of nacn ( 0 . 54 g , 11 mmol ) and nahco 3 ( 1 . 7 g , 20 mmol ) in water ( 25 ml ) was added slowly with vigorous stirring at room temperature . the mixture was stirred overnight , and extracted with et 2 o ( 30 ml × 2 ). the organic phase was washed with water ( 50 ml ), brine ( 50 ml ) and dried over mgso 4 , filtered and evaporated gave 2 . 1 g of the title compound as clear colorless oil . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 3 . 81 - 3 . 72 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 42 - 3 . 32 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 18 - 2 . 00 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 88 - 1 . 77 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 46 ( 9h , s ). 13 c - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 154 . 67 , 121 . 13 , 80 . 57 , 67 . 15 , 36 . 57 , 28 . 23 . to a suspension of lithium aluminum hydride ( 84 mg , 2 . 2 mmol ) in thf ( 5 ml ), a solution of tert - butyl 4 - cyano - 4 - hydroxypiperidine - 1 - carboxylate ( 200 mg , 0 . 88 mmol , step 1 of example 22 ) in thf ( 1 ml ) was added dropwise at 0 ° c . the mixture was stirred for 1 h at that temperature and na 2 so 4 . 10h 2 o ( 400 mg ) was added slowly , and the mixture was stirred for 5 h at room temperature . the mixture was filtered though a pad of celite , washed with ch 2 cl 2 ( 20 ml × 2 ), the filtrate was concentrated to give clear colorless oil . the residue was chromatographed on a column of silica gel eluting with ch 2 cl 2 / meoh / nh 4 oh ( 14 : 1 : 0 . 1 ) to give 120 mg ( 59 %) of the title compound as white solid . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 3 . 98 - 3 . 75 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 17 ( 2h , t , j = 10 . 8 hz ), 2 . 56 ( 2h , s ), 1 . 46 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 60 - 1 . 25 ( 4h , m ). signals due to o h and n h 2 were not observed . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 6 of example 1 from 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 , 3 - dihydro - 2h - indol - 2 - one ( step 2 example 15 ) and tert - butyl 4 -( aminomethyl )- 4 - hydroxypiperidine - 1 - carboxylate ( step 2 of example 22 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 91 ( 1h , t , j = 6 . 1 hz ), 8 . 01 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 2 , 2 . 5 hz ), 7 . 16 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 4 , 5 . 6 hz ), 6 . 90 ( 1h , dt , j = 8 . 4 , 2 . 5 hz ), 3 . 95 - 3 . 74 ( 2h , m ), 3 . 44 ( 2h , d , j = 6 . 1 hz ), 3 . 28 - 3 . 12 ( 2h , m ), 1 . 71 - 1 . 45 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 46 ( 9h , s ), 1 . 43 ( 6h , s ). a signal due to o h was not observed . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 2 of example 2 from tert - butyl 4 -({[( 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indol - 1 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl )- 4 - hydroxypiperidine - 1 - carboxylate ( step 3 of example 22 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 88 ( 1h , t , j = 5 . 8 hz ), 8 . 02 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 5 , 2 . 3 hz ), 7 . 15 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 4 , 5 . 6 hz ), 6 . 89 ( 1h , dt , j = 8 . 4 , 2 . 3 hz ), 3 . 45 ( 2h , d , j = 5 . 8 hz ), 3 . 04 - 2 . 82 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 69 - 1 . 57 ( 4h , m ) 1 . 43 ( 6h , s ). a signal due to o h was not observed . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 3 of example 2 from 6 - fluoro - n -[( 4 - hydroxypiperidin - 4 - yl ) methyl ]- 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxoindoline - 1 - carboxamide and methyl 1 - formylcyclobutanecarboxylate ( step 4 of example 22 ) and methyl 1 - formylcyclobutanecarboxylate ( davis , charles r . et al ., j . org . chem ., 1993 , 58 , 6843 ). 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 85 ( 1h , t , j = 5 . 8 hz ), 8 . 02 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 4 , 2 . 6 hz ), 7 . 14 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 6 , 5 . 3 hz ), 6 . 88 ( 1h , dt , j = 8 . 6 , 2 . 6 hz ), 3 . 70 ( 3h , s ), 3 . 40 ( 2h , d , j = 5 . 8 hz ), 2 . 73 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 61 - 2 . 30 ( 6h , m ), 2 . 10 - 1 . 78 ( 6h , m ), 1 . 65 - 1 . 56 ( 2h , m ) 1 . 42 ( 6h , s ). a signal due to o h was not observed . the title compound was prepared according to the procedure described in step 4 of example 2 from methyl 1 -{[ 4 -({[( 6 - fluoro - 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indol - 1 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl )- 4 - hydroxypiperidin - 1 - yl ] methyl } cyclobutanecarboxylate ( step 5 of example 22 ). ir ( kbr ) ν : 3300 , 2939 , 1738 , 1535 , 1495 , 1481 , 1350 , 1302 , 1231 , 1155 cm − 1 . 1 h - nmr ( cdcl 3 ) δ : 8 . 94 ( 1h , t , j = 5 . 9 hz ), 7 . 99 ( 1h , dd , j = 10 . 2 , 2 . 3 hz ), 7 . 16 ( 1h , dd , j = 8 . 5 , 5 . 6 hz ), 6 . 90 ( 1h , dt , j = 8 . 5 , 2 . 3 hz ), 3 . 46 ( 2h , d , j = 5 . 9 hz ), 2 . 95 - 2 . 74 ( 4h , br ), 2 . 84 ( 2h , s ), 2 . 61 - 2 . 48 ( 2h , m ), 2 . 41 - 2 . 24 ( 1h , m ), 2 . 04 - 1 . 86 ( 3h , m ), 1 . 83 - 1 . 66 ( 4h , m ), 1 . 43 ( 6h , s ). signals due to o h and co 2 h were not observed . anal . calcd . for c 23 h 30 fn 3 o 5 1h 2 o : c , 59 . 34 ; h , 6 . 93 ; n , 9 . 03 . found : c , 59 . 02 ; h , 6 . 57 ; n , 8 . 95 . 1 -{[ 4 -({[( 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indol - 1 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] methyl } cyclobutanecarboxylic acid ( 41 . 0 g , 99 . 2 mmol , example 9 ) was dissolved with tetrahydrofuran ( 820 ml ). the mixture was filtered and washed with tetrahydrofuran ( 410 ml ) and the resulting solution was heated to 45 ° c . aqueous concentrated hydrogen chloride ( 12n , 8 . 27 ml , 99 . 2 mmol ) was added to the solution at 45 ° c . for 20 min and stirred at this temperature for 1 h . the suspension was cooled to 20 ° c . for 1 min stirred at 2 h . after filtration , the resulting solid was washed with tetrahydrofuran ( 205 ml ), and dried in vacuo at 40 ° c . the titled compound was obtained as white solid ( 38 . 6 g , 86 . 6 %) 1 -{[ 4 -({[( 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydro - 1h - indol - 1 - yl ) carbonyl ] amino } methyl ) piperidin - 1 - yl ] methyl } cyclobutanecarboxylic acid ( 2 . 09 g , 5 . 04 mmol , example 9 ) was dissolved with thf ( 25 ml ) at 60 ° c . fumaric acid ( 293 mg , 2 . 52 mmol ) was added to the solution . the mixture was concentrated until 12 . 5 ml . it was cooled to room temperature , and stirred for 1 h . after filtration , the obtained solid was washed with thf ( 3 ml ), and dried in vacuo . the desired compound was obtained as a white solid ( 2 . 02 g , 85 %). 1 h nmr ( dmso , 6 ) 8 . 59 ( t , 1h , j = 5 . 9 hz ), 8 . 04 ( d , 1h , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 44 ( dd , 1h , j = 1 . 5 , 7 . 3 hz ), 7 . 30 ( ddd , 1h , j = 1 . 5 , 8 . 1 , 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 19 ( dd , 1h = 8 . 1 , 7 . 3 hz ), 6 . 62 ( s , 1h ), 3 . 19 ( t , 2h , j = 5 . 9 hz ), 2 . 89 ( br - d , 2h , j = 11 . 8 hz ), 2 . 75 ( s , 2h ), 2 . 35 - 2 . 20 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 20 ( br - t , 2h , j = 11 . 8 hz ), 2 . 00 - 1 . 75 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 75 - 1 . 50 ( m , 3h ), 1 . 37 ( s , 6h ), 1 . 30 - 1 . 10 ( m , 2h ). under nitrogen atmosphere , a solution of 2 - bromoisobutyryl bromide ( 150 g , 652 mmol ) in ethyl acetate ( 200 ml ) was added to a well - stirring solution of aniline ( 66 . 8 g , 717 mmol ) and et 3 n ( 72 . 6 g , 717 mmol ) in ethyl acetate ( 400 ml ) on ice bath , maintaining reaction temperature under 30 ° c . the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 h . the cold water ( 600 ml ) was added and stirred at room temperature for 20 min . the mixture was separated and the aqueous layer was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 600 ml ). the combined organic layer was washed with 2n hcl ( 180 ml ), water ( 180 ml ) and dried over sodium sulfate . after filtration , the filtrate was concentrated . the desired compound was obtained as a pale yellow solid ( 153 g , 97 %). 1 h nmr ( cdcl3 , δ ) 8 . 46 ( br - s , 1h ), 7 . 55 ( d , 2h , j = 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 36 ( dd , 2h , j = 7 . 3 , 8 . 1 hz ), 7 . 16 ( t , 1h , j = 7 . 3 hz ), 2 . 06 ( s , 6h ) a mixture of alcl 3 ( 16 . 5 g , 75 . 0 mmol ) and 1 - bromo - 1 - methyl - propananilide ( 10 . 0 g , 41 . 3 mmol , step 1 ) was heated slowly to about 90 ° c . the mixture was maintained at 90 - 120 ° c . for 30 min . the mixture was cooled at 30 - 40 ° c . then toluene ( 100 ml ) was added to the well - stirring mixture . the resulting slurry was added to well - stirring ice water ( 100 g ). the mixture was separated and the aqueous layer was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 50 ml ). the combined organic layer was washed with 1n hcl ( 30 ml ), 10 wt % aqueous sodium carbonate ( 30 ml ), dried over sodium sulfate , and filtered . the filtrate was evaporated affording a yellow solid . ( 6 . 94 g ). the obtained solid was dissolved with ethyl acetate ( 14 ml ) under reflux . the solution was cooled slowly to room temperature and it was stirred at room temperature for 1 h . heptane ( 56 ml ) was added slowly to the resulting slurry . the slurry was stirred at 20 - 30 ° c . for 1 h and cooled to 0 - 5 ° c . after stirring for 1 h , it was filtered off and the obtained solid was washed with a small amount of ethyl acetate / heptane ( 1 / 4 ). the desired compound was obtained as a white solid ( 5 . 4 g , 81 %). 1 h nmr ( cdcl3 , δ ) 7 . 60 ( br - s , 1h ), 7 . 23 - 7 . 18 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 05 ( t , 1h , j = 7 . 3 hz ), 6 . 90 ( dd , 1h , j = 1 . 5 , 7 . 3 hz ), 1 . 40 ( s , 6h ) all publications , including but not limited to , issued patents , patent applications , and journal articles , cited in this application are each herein incorporated by reference in their entirety . although the invention has been described above with reference to the disclosed embodiments , those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the specific experiments detailed are only illustrative of the invention . it should be understood that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention . accordingly , the invention is limited only by the following claims . | 2 |
fig1 and 3 illustrate a converter console 10 embodying the present invention and a typical portable radio 12 , which converter console 10 is adapted to receive portable radio 12 . portable radio 12 includes the usual controls thereon and a universal connector 14 which provides external contacts for shifting or converting control of portable radio 12 to remote controls , for example , to a remote microphone or to radio controls 15 of converter console 10 . portable radio 12 also has a battery 16 and externally accessible power contacts ( not shown ) through which battery 16 can be charged or replaced by the power supply of a vehicle . converter console 10 includes a housing 20 adapted to be mounted on a vehicle by some convenient means , such as mounting bracket 21 . housing 20 has power contacts 22 and a universal connector 23 , both of which are designed to mate with the power contacts and universal connector 14 , respectively , of portable radio 12 . converter console 10 further includes an elongated sleeve 25 designed to receive portable radio 12 in nesting engagement therein . sleeve 25 has a first pair of mounting members 27 ( one of which is not visible ) and a second pair of mounting members 29 ( one of which is not visible ) affixed to the bottom thereof . in this specific embodiment , each of the mounting members includes a downwardly extending bracket 31 formed as an integral part of sleeve 25 , a half or partial axle 32 fixedly attached to bracket 31 in outwardly extending relationship , and a bearing 33 , which could be a fixed ring of teflon or the like , or a wheel rotatably mounted on half axle 32 . the wheel could be , for example , a small roller bearing pressfit onto half axle 32 , a teflon tire on a steel rim , or any other convenient fixed or rotatable device which will provide easy movement of sleeve 25 . housing 20 is formed with a channel 35 extending along one side of the upper surface thereof and designed to receive sleeve 25 nestingly therein . a superstructure 36 formed as an integral part of housing 20 extends upwardly at the front end of channel 35 and is designed to receive universal connector 23 in mounting engagement therein . channel 35 has a first pair of guideways 40 ( one of which is not visible ) formed in opposite sides adjacent the rear end thereof . guideways 40 each include a generally horizontal section 41 and a section 42 communicating with section 41 and opening external to channel 35 for receiving first pair of mounting members 27 in movable engagement therein . channel 35 has a second pair of guideways 45 ( one of which is not visible ) formed in opposite sides adjacent the front end thereof . guideways 45 each include a generally c shaped section 46 and a section 47 communicating with section 46 and opening external to channel 35 for receiving second pair of mounting members 29 in movable engagement therein . c shaped sections 46 positioned with the bight of the c nearest to first guideways 40 . further , c shaped sections 46 are each connstructed with a lower end 48 which define a loaded position for sleeve 25 and an upper end 49 which define an unloaded position for sleeve 25 . although directional terms , such as &# 34 ; horizontal &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; lower &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; rearward &# 34 ;, etc ., are used throughout this specification for convenience of explanation it will be understood that these are merely relative terms and while a change in position of the converter console may change the direction of movement relative to an observer no change in the relative movement or direction between components of the converter console will occur and no change in the meaning of the claims or the explanation should be interpreted . in the operation of converter console 10 , assume sleeve 25 is in the unloaded position and empty . bearings of second mounting members 29 are positioned in upper ends 49 of second guideways 45 and the opening of sleeve 25 is positioned above superstructure 36 for easy access . portable radio 12 is easily inserted into sleeve 25 and sleeve 25 is easily moved rearwardly relative to housing 20 . as sleeve 25 moves rearwardly , first mounting members 27 move horizontally along section 41 of guideways 40 and second mounting members 29 move horizontally and downwardly along c section 46 of guideways 45 . finally , sleeve 25 moves forward until second mounting members 29 are positioned at lower ends 48 of c sections 46 . in this position universal connector 14 of portable radio 12 is in electrical engagement with universal connector 23 in superstructure 36 and the power contacts of portable radio 12 are engaged with power contacts 22 in housing 20 . a pair of tension springs 50 are mounted between housing 20 and sleeve 25 to bias sleeve 25 into either the loaded or unloaded position . in the loaded position springs 50 hold universal connectors 14 and 23 tightly engaged so that no electrical breaks in the contact occur regardless of the vibration caused by rough terrain or the water on the components . also , in the loaded position superstructure 36 extends across a substantial portion of the opening in sleeve 25 and prevents the removal of portable radio 12 . it will of course be understood by those skilled in the art that the position of mounting members and guideways can be exchanged and the resulting structure will be the mechanical equivalent of the structure illustrated . therefore , all such changes are believed to be well within the scope of the claims . a locking mechanism 60 is provided in housing 20 to lock sleeve 25 , and portable radio 12 , in the loaded position . in this embodiment locking mechanism 60 ( illustrated in larger detail in fig5 and 7 ) includes an elongated shaft 61 rotatably mounted in housing 20 generally parallel with and below sleeve 25 . a block 62 forms a bearing for the rear end of shaft 61 and the forward end is engaged by a keylock 63 , which is fixedly and rotatably engaged in the front panel of housing 20 in the usual manner . as keylock 63 is rotated , shaft 61 is rotated between a locked and an unlocked position . shaft 61 has a section 65 with a generally elliptical cross section ( see fig7 ) which is positioned with the major axis generally perpendicular to sleeve 25 when shaft 61 is in the unlocked position and the major axis rotated approximately ninety degrees when shaft 61 is in the locked position . a frictional member , which in this specific embodiment is flexible sleeve 66 , is engaged over section 65 , which sleeve 66 may be formed of rubber , plastic , or any material that will produce a satisfactory amount of friction . sleeve 25 has a pair of spaced aprat parallel surfaces 70 which are positioned on opposite sides and adjacent to section 65 of shaft 61 ( see fig7 ). with shaft 61 in the unlocked position ( shown in fig7 ), sleeve 25 can be easily moved between the loaded and unloaded positions . however , when shaft 61 is rotated ninety degrees flexible sleeve 66 frictionally engages surfaces 70 and substantially prevents relative movement between sleeve 25 and housing 20 . in this embodiment surfaces 70 are serrated to increase the frictional engagement with flexible sleeve 66 . thus , locking mechanism 60 further prevents any chatter and substantially reduces wear between universal connectors 14 and 23 . because of the symmetry , which improves the operation and the holding ability , two opposed surfaces and a flexible sleeve are disclosed in the present embodiment , however , it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that other configurations might be utilized , such as a single surface and a flexible projection attached to one side of a movable member . in addition , to aid in preventing theft , a generally radially extending projection 71 is formed on shaft 61 adjacent the rear end thereof and a mating opening 72 is formed in the surface of sleeve 25 ( see fig6 ). projection 71 is positioned so as to extend into and engage an edge of opening 72 when shaft 61 is rotated into the locked position . when shaft 61 is in the unlocked position projection 71 is positioned so as to extend outwardly to one side and , thus , does not engage opening 72 . thus , locking mechanism 60 provides the dual function of preventing chatter in electrical contacts due to vibration and the like and also securely locks sleeve 25 in the loaded position , since sleeve 25 must be moved horizontally rearwardly before it can be moved into the unloaded position . referring to fig8 and 9 , another locking mechanism 80 embodying the present invention is illustrated in simplified form . components in this embodiment which are similar to components in the previous embodiment are designated with similar numbers and a prime is added to indicate the different embodiment . locking mecahnism 80 includes an elongated latch 81 rotatably affixed to the underside of sleeve 25 &# 39 ; by means of axle 82 . axle 82 is mounted by a pair of bearing blocks 83 so as to extend from side - to - side of sleeve 25 &# 39 ;, perpendicular to the direction of movement thereof . a block 85 is affixed to , or formed integrally with , housing 20 &# 39 ; so as to extend upwardly into engagement with the rear end 86 of latch 81 when it is in a horizontal position ( shown in fig8 ). in this position block 85 prevents horizontal movement of latch 81 , and , thus , sleeve 25 &# 39 ;. a plunger 87 is operatively affixed to a key lock ( not shown ) so as to assume the position illustrated in fig8 when locked and to move a short distance toward latch 81 when unlocked . when plunger 87 moves horizontally toward latch 81 , the end of plunger 87 engages an inclined or wedge - shaped surface 88 on the front end of latch 81 . surface 88 is positioned so that engagement by plunger 87 causes downward movement , which results in latch 81 rotating in a clockwise direction ( in fig8 ) and rear end 86 being disengaged from block 85 . latch 81 can then slide up and over block 85 as sleeve 25 &# 39 ; moves from the loaded to the unloaded position . thus , a converter is disclosed and illustrated which conveniently and easily converts a portable radio to mobile operation by receiving the portable radio in a sleeve and moving the sleeve into a loaded position wherein the portable radio is connected to remote controls located on the converter console and to the mobile power supply . the mechanism mounting the sleeve is designed to hold the portable radio , and the sleeve , firmly in the loaded position and in engagement with the electrical contacts . further , the sleeve is mounted to easily receive the portable radio therein and to move with little difficulty between the unloaded and the loaded positions . in addition , locking mechanisms are disclosed and illustrated which aid in firmly holding the portable radio in engagement with the various electrical contacts to prevent chatter and wear . the locking mechanism also cooperates with the sleeve to greatly improve the prevention of theft and misuse . while we have shown and described specific embodiments of the present invention , other improvements and modifications may occur to those skilled in the art . we desire it to be understood , therefore , that this invention is not limited to the particular forms shown and we intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of this invention . | 7 |
with reference to fig1 the gas turbine 10 includes a compressor 12 , a combustor 14 , and the turbine 16 , with the compressor and turbine sharing a common rotor 18 connected to a load device ( for example , a generator ) 20 . the integrated intake air humidification system in accordance with this first embodiment of the invention includes intake air duct work which supplies ambient air to the inlet of the compressor 12 . the duct work includes an ambient air flow inlet region 22 which may incorporate , in the direction of flow , weather louvers or a weather hood 24 , an air filter 26 , and a plurality of saturating water spray nozzles 28 , 30 which are fixed within respective manifolds 32 , 34 . the inlet region 22 tapers down to a duct 36 which may incorporate a conventional silencer 38 , an optional air heating system 40 ( for use only at low or part load conditions in a low nox mode ) and a debris screen 42 . the duct 36 feeds the air into an inlet bell mouth 44 of the compressor 12 with flow arrows indicating the flow or air into the compressor . closely adjacent the compressor inlet bell mouth 44 along one side of the duct 36 , there are a pair of supersaturation water manifolds 46 and 48 , each having sets of water spray nozzles 50 and 52 , respectively . a water storage tank 54 receives water from a supply source ( not shown ), and supplies water via pump p to the supersaturating water manifolds 46 and 48 by means of conduits 56 , 58 and 60 , as well as to the saturating water manifolds 32 and 34 by means of conduits 56 , 62 and 64 . a control system generally indicated at 66 ( including a microprocessor and appropriate software ) controls the flow of water to the supersaturating water manifolds 46 , 48 as well as to the saturating water manifolds 32 , 34 . included in the control system is a water flow sensor 68 which monitors water exiting the pump p , as well as water flow sensors 70 and 72 which monitor the flow of water to the manifolds 46 , 48 , respectively . a dry bulb temperature sensor 74 monitors the temperature of the inlet air between the filter 26 and the manifolds 32 , 34 , and additional water flow sensors 76 and 78 monitor the flow of water to the saturating water spray manifolds 32 , 34 . an ambient air dew point temperature or humidity sensor 80 forwards temperature or humidity information to the control system 66 from a position just outside the inlet region 22 . a second dry bulb temperature sensor 82 provides temperature information to the control system 66 from a location beyond the debris screen 42 but upstream of the compressor inlet bell mouth 44 . a water saturated air flow sensor 84 monitors the air flow upstream of the compressor inlet 44 . conventional valves are utilized in conjunction with the control system 66 to control the flow of water . for example , a minimum flow control valve 86 controls the water flow in conduit 56 from pump p . similarly , flow control valves 88 and 90 control the flow of water to supersaturation manifolds 46 , 48 through conduits 58 and 60 . control valves 92 , 94 control the flow of water to saturation manifolds 32 , 34 through conduits 62 and 64 . turning to fig2 reference numerals are used which are similar to those used in fig1 for corresponding components , and except where appropriate , only the structural and functional differences are discussed in detail . in this second embodiment , the integrated gas turbine intake air humidification system which eliminates the saturating water spray manifolds 32 and 34 and associated saturating water spray nozzles 28 and 30 in the inlet region 22 of the intake duct in favor of a media type saturator 96 and mist eliminator 98 , located just downstream of the air filter 26 . in this embodiment , potable water is supplied to a holding tank 100 from a supply conduit 102 . this water is in turn supplied via pump 104 to the media type saturator 96 by means of a conduit 106 . the water flow to the media saturator 96 is determined by a blow down control valve 108 controlled by the control system 66 , with excess water drained via line 110 . a drain sump level transmitter 112 monitors the level of the potable water within the holding tank 100 , with the information transmitted to the control system 66 . water for the supersaturating water manifolds 46 , 48 and respective spray nozzles 50 , 52 continues to be supplied from the water storage tank 50 as in the previously described embodiment . in the fig3 embodiment , where identical reference numerals are again used to indicate corresponding components , the supersaturating water manifolds 46 , 48 and respective water spray nozzles 50 , 52 utilized in the previously described embodiments are eliminated in favor of a supersaturating water manifold system located about the conduit 36 at a location immediately upstream of the compressor inlet bell mouth 44 ( as opposed to across from the inlet ). more specifically , water from the water storage tank 50 is supplied via conduits 58 and 60 to a pair of supersaturating water manifolds 114 , 116 , respectively . these manifolds have supersaturation water spray nozzles 118 , 120 which spray atomized water into the duct 36 in a direction transverse to the air flow . the system is otherwise similar to the system described in connection with fig1 . common to all three embodiments are a number of key elements . first , the spray type evaporative nozzles 28 , 30 ( or media type saturator 96 ) are able to introduce atomized water into the gas turbine combustion air in the duct 36 well upstream of the compressor inlet bell mouth 44 , and thus humidify all of the air entering the duct . the air velocity here is low , so that evaporation of the water can be achieved with minimum entrainment of water . governed by control system 66 , the saturating spray nozzles 28 and 30 apportion water to the inlet or combustion air to reduce the total air flow down to or near the wet bulb temperature to thereby humidify and cool all of the inlet air . this arrangement provides the lowest possible temperature for the air entering the compressor 12 to thereby achieve maximum gas turbine cycle temperature ratio and maximum flow of humidified air . second , water spray nozzles 50 , 52 ( or 118 , 120 ) in the gas turbine air intake duct immediately adjacent or immediately upstream of the compressor inlet bell mouth 44 , also governed by the control system 66 , introduce finely atomized water ( or fog ) to the now humidified inlet air to supersaturate it . the close proximity of nozzles 50 and 52 ( or 118 , 120 ) to the compressor minimizes the agglomeration of large droplets which could otherwise erode the compressor blades . the liquid water entrained in the humidified air at the compressor inlet bell mouth 44 is carried into the compressor blade path where it is evaporated to cool the air being compressed . this decreases the compressor power consumption and thereby increases the gas turbine power consumption and thereby increases the gas turbine power output . third , the integrated control system optimizes the water supplied to the saturating section and supersaturating sections to achieve maximum gas turbine performance and efficiency , within the overall limits and operating parameters of the gas turbine and related components . 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 embodiment , but on the contrary , is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . | 5 |
fig1 illustrates a brazed regenerator core as utilized in heat exchangers of the type discussed hereinabove . the unit 10 of fig1 is but one section of a plurality ( for example , six ) designed to be assembled in a module such as the module 20 of fig2 . as shown in fig1 the core section 10 comprises a plurality of formed plates interleaved with fins which serve to direct the air and exhaust gas in alternating adjacent cross - flow passages for maximum heat transfer . when assembled and brazed to form an integral unit , the formed plates define respective manifold passages 12a and 12b at opposite ends of the central counterflow , heat exchanging section 14 . as indicated by the respective arrows in fig1 heated exhaust gas from an associated turbine enters at the far end of the section 10 , flowing around the manifold passage 12b , then through the gas flow passages in the central section 14 and out of the section 10 on the near side of fig1 flowing around the manifold 12a . at the same time , compressed air from the compressor driven by the associated turbine enters the heat exchanger section through the manifold 12a , flows through internal air flow passages connected with the manifolds 12a , 12b through the central , heat exchanging section 14 , and then flows out of the manifold 12b . in the process , the exhaust gas gives up substantial heat to the compressed air which is fed to the associated turbine , thereby considerably improving the efficiency of operation of the regenerated turbine system . the illustration of fig2 shows six such sections 10 , ( a &# 34 ; six - pack &# 34 ;) assembled with associated hardware in a single heat exchanger module 20 . these modules can in turn be combined in parallel operation to satisfy the regenerating requirements of the gas turbines over a considerable range of sizes and power ratings . such systems are presently providing regeneration for gas turbines in the range of 5000 to 100 , 000 hp . in the operation of a typical system employing a regenerator of the type discussed herein , ambient air enters through an inlet filter and is compressed to about 100 to 150 psi , reaching a temperature of 500 ° to 600 ° f . in the compressor section of the gas turbine . it is then piped to the regenerator , entering through the inlet flange 22a ( fig2 ) and inlet duct 24a . in the regenerator module 20 , the air is heated to about 900 ° f . the heated air is then returned via outlet duct 24b and outlet flange 22b to the combustor and turbine section of the associated engine via suitable piping . the exhaust gas from the turbine may be at approximately 1100 ° f . and is at essentially ambient pressure . this gas is ducted through the regenerator 20 as indicated by the arrows labelled &# 34 ; gas in &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; gas out &# 34 ; ( ducting not shown ) where the waste heat of the exhaust is transferred to heat the air , as described . exhaust gas drops in temperature to about 600 ° f . in passing through the regenerator 20 and is then discharged to ambient through an exhaust stack . in effect , the heat that would otherwise be lost is transferred to the air , thereby decreasing the amount of fuel that must be consumed to operate the turbine . for a 30 , 000 hp turbine , the regenerator heats 10 million pounds of air per day . the regenerator is designed to operate for 120 , 000 hours and 5000 cycles without scheduled repairs , a lifetime of 15 to 20 years in conventional operation . this requires a capability of the equipment to operate at gas turbine exhaust temperatures of 1100 ° f . and to start as fast as the associated gas turbine so there is no requirement for wasting fuel to bring the system on line at stabilized operating temperatures . the use of the thin formed plates , fins and other components making up the brazed regenerator core sections contribute to this capability . however , it will be appreciated that there is substantial thermal growth in all three dimensions as a result of the extreme temperature range of operation and the substantial size of the heat exchanger units . as an example , the overall dimensions for the module shown in fig2 in one instance , were 17 feet in width , 12 feet in length ( the direction of gas flow ) and 7 . 5 feet in height . the core section shown in fig1 is approximately 2 feet in width ( the minimum dimension ). construction of the module 20 of a plurality of sections 10 affords a limitation on the cumulative thermal growth of the manifold portions in the width dimension . a single section 10 expands in all three dimensions as it is heated . these changes of direction of the core must be accommodated with respect to the frame 26 , which is a rigid structure . whenever the core sections are joined to each other or to associated ducting , seals are required for the air passages which , as shown , extend transversely of the core plates . fig3 - 5 illustrate particular arrangements in accordance with the present invention for coupling between the ducts 24a , 24b ( fig2 ) and the end plate 28 of the core section 10a . similar arrangements are employed for coupling the blind ducts at the opposite end of the module 20 which are equipped with manhole covers to permit ready access to the core for inspection , maintenance , and the like . in fig3 - 5 , a duct 24 is shown equipped with a duct flange 32 , which is attached , as by welding or brazing , at 34 . at the peripheral face of the flange 32 , there are a plurality of radially aligned slots such as 36 which permit engagement of the flange by corresponding t - shaped clips 38 , attached as by welding to the heat exchanger end plate 28 . associated with this coupling , as shown in fig4 is a flexible bladder seal 40 which is attached , as by welding , at 42 to the adjacent end of the duct 24 and the edge of the heat exchanger end plate 28 which defines the opening of the manifold 12 . the sealing member 40 is a circumferential u - shaped bladder or diaphragm extending completely around the air passage comprising the juncture of the duct 24 and the manifold 12 and serves to provide a fluid tight seal at this juncture . the seal 40 of fig4 permits relative variation in dimension between the portions which it joins -- the end of the duct 24 and the manifold section of the end plate 28 -- thus eliminating structural failures which would result from a rigid connection . at the same time , the attachment means comprising the clips 38 and the duct flange 32 permit relative movement in a radial direction resulting from differences in thermal growth between the duct 24 and the end plate 28 while at the same time serving to transmit end loading and torque loading between the duct and the end plate . it will be noted from fig2 that the ducts 24 are provided with bellows sections 25 to accommodate relative thermal growth of the core with respect to the outer casing and to control the duct loads applied to the core . this allows a rigid coupling to be effected at the duct flanges 22 . as indicated in fig5 the underside of the t - shaped clip 38 is spaced just slightly apart from the adjacent surfaces of the duct flange 32 . this spacing may be approximately 0 . 002 or 0 . 003 inches and is sufficient to accommodate radial displacement of the flange 32 relative to the core end plate 28 while transmitting axial loads between the duct and the core . fig6 and 7 illustrate the use of a sealing member 50 between the manifold portions of adjacent core sections of the heat exchanger . in fig6 the core sections are designated 10 &# 39 ; and 10 &# 34 ; and , in the broken away portion , the manifold portions 12 &# 39 ; and 12 &# 34 ; are represented . the seal 50 , a circumferential u - shaped bladder or diaphragm , preferably of stainless steel similar to the seal 40 of fig4 is secured , as by welding , at the ends thereof to the end plates of the core sections 10 &# 39 ;, 10 &# 34 ; at the peripheries of the respective manifold 12 &# 39 ;, 12 &# 34 ; terminal portions . reinforcing discs 52 are included as part of the welded connection . these are circumferential members extending about the manifold opening within the bladder of seal 50 . fig7 also shows in particular detail portions of the inner tube plates 54 having openings defining the manifold 12 with exterior reinforcing members 56 which provide reinforcement for the tube plate brazed joints about the manifold opening . spacing bars 58 ( fig6 ) are brazed between adjacent core sections 12 &# 39 ;, 12 &# 34 ; except at the ends of the heat exchanger core where the manifold portions are located . these bars 58 serve to tie adjacent core sections together to ensure that lateral growth is substantially uniform in all of the sections making up a given core module . however , the manifold portions of the heat exchanger are not so constrained ; therefore , by flexing , the manifold portions are enabled to experience axial thermal growth which is limited to a single core section and not transmitted to the next . because of different temperatures which may occur in the manifold portions relative to the remainder of the core , particularly during the transitional phases encountered during start - up and shutdown of the system , the differences in thermal growth would result in severe distortion of the core if the core were not divided into sections . such differences in axial thermal growth of the manifold portions are accommodated by the flexible bladder seals such as 50 which are welded between adjacent core sections . the seal 50 serves the same function as described for the seal 40 of fig4 ; it permits relative axial or longitudinal movement between the adjacent end plates of the core sections 10 &# 39 ;, 10 &# 34 ; while effecting a pressure tight seal from one manifold portion 12 &# 39 ; to the next 12 &# 34 ;. however , the specific purpose is different , since the need for the expandable seal 50 at this point is to permit the overall module 20 ( fig2 ) to be made up of a series of individual sections such as the core section 10 of fig1 . by sectioning the overall core in this manner , the degree of cumulative thermal growth in the major dimension of the module is limited and maintained within tolerable limits . thus , any growth of the core section manifold 12 &# 39 ; is not transmitted to the core section 12 &# 34 ; ( and vice versa ) but is absorbed by the flexible u - shaped seal member 50 between the core section manifold portions . by virtue of the arrangements in accordance with the present invention as described hereinabove , suitable connections and couplings are developed between adjacent structural sections which , in operation of the overall system , encounter changes in dimension which differ from one element to the next . in the case of the duct - to - duct core coupling of fig3 - 5 , the duct and heat exchanger stresses resulting from the attachment become negligible , while at the same time the desired fluidtight seal at the interface between the duct and the heat exchanger is established . in the example of fig6 and 7 , the considerable thermal growth of the manifold portions of the adjacent core sections 10 is absorbed , one with respect to the other , by the seals 50 . although there have been described above specific arrangements of a heat exchanger duct attachment and sealing apparatus and method in accordance with the present invention for the purpose of illustrating the manner in which the invention may be used to advantage , it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited thereto . accordingly , any and all modifications , variations or equivalent arrangements which may occur to those skilled in the art should be considered to be within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 5 |
embodiments of the invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings . fig1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a print control apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . a computer 1 includes hardware such as a central processing unit ( cpu ), memory , a hard disk , a compact disk read - only memory ( cdrom ) drive , a keyboard , a mouse , a monitor , and a network interface . fig7 is a block diagram showing exemplary hardware of the computer 1 . in fig7 , the computer 1 includes an input control unit 700 , a display unit 701 , a network interface unit 702 , a cpu 703 , rom 704 , random access memory ( ram ) 705 , a hard disk drive ( hdd ) 706 , and an input / output interface 707 . each of the above components is connected via the input / output interface 707 . the input control unit 700 controls the keyboard / mouse that receive input from a user . the display unit 701 provides an output screen ( monitor ) to the user . the network interface unit 702 communicates with an external device via a network 101 . the cpu 703 controls each component of the computer 1 . if the computer 1 is a server computer , processing of the computer 1 is performed based on a control program stored in one of the rom 704 and the hdd 706 shown in fig3 and 5 . the rom 704 stores the control program and data . the ram 705 is used as a temporary storage area and a work area . the hdd 706 includes a large - capacity storage area and stores the control program and various data . in fig1 , an operating system 2 manages hardware provided in the computer 1 , and software such as an application 3 , a printer driver 4 , a language monitor 5 , and a network port driver 6 . the application 3 is application software such as a word processor and carries out creation / printing of a document according to instructions of an operator . the printer driver 4 receives a print instruction issued by the application 3 via the operating system 2 and converts the print instruction into a printer command that can be interpreted by the language monitor 5 and a printer 7 . the language monitor 5 receives the printer command issued by the printer driver 4 and transmits the printer command to the printer 7 via the network port driver 6 . the language monitor 5 also notifies the printer driver 4 of density correction information and color deviation correction information received from the printer 7 via the network port driver 6 . the network port driver 6 transmits the printer command issued by the language monitor 5 to the printer 7 via the network interface . if the density correction information and color deviation correction information are received from the printer 7 , the network port driver 6 outputs the density correction information and color deviation correction information to the language monitor 5 . the printer 7 performs printing according to the printer command received from the network port driver 6 . fig2 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of the printer 7 . a network interface 21 receives a printer command from the computer 1 . a fifo ( first in , first out ) memory 22 stores image data of each color received from the network interface 21 . a decoding circuit 23 decodes image data of each color stored in the fifo memory 22 and outputs the image data to a printer engine 24 . the printer engine 24 is , for example , a laser beam printer engine and performs printing according to instructions of a control circuit 25 based on image data output from the decoding circuit 23 . the control circuit 25 includes , for example , a 1 - chip cpu , and controls the network interface 21 , the fifo memory 22 , the decoding circuit 23 , and the printer engine 24 . when an operator gives a print instruction operating the application 3 on the computer 1 , a print directive is delivered from the application 3 to the printer driver 4 via the operating system 2 . the printer driver 4 converts the print directive issued by the application 3 into image data , compresses the image data , and outputs the compressed image data together with a page start command specifying a paper size , a left margin , an upper margin , and a line length and the number of lines of bitmap data and the like , and a page end command indicating an end of a page . when a printer command is output , the operating system 2 notifies the language monitor 5 of job start and then delivers the output printer command to the language monitor 5 one by one . when a job is started , the language monitor 5 transmits an occupancy request command to the printer 7 . if the printer 7 is successfully occupied , the language monitor 5 transmits the received printer commands to the printer 7 one by one . before transmitting an image data command to the printer 7 , the language monitor 5 transmits a status request command to acquire a status of the printer 7 and confirms that the printer 7 is ready to receive image data commands . when the image data command is received , a control circuit 25 stores the image data in the fifo memory 22 . when transmission of the printer command for one page is completed , the language monitor 5 transmits a print request command . when the print request command is received , the control circuit 25 directs the printer engine 24 to start printing . when a print start is directed , the printer engine 24 feeds a sheet of paper and , when the sheet reaches a predetermined location , requests output of image data . when the output of image data is requested , the decoding circuit 23 reads a compressed image from the fifo memory 22 and outputs decoded original image data to the printer engine 24 . at this time , the image data read from the fifo memory 22 is eliminated from the fifo memory 22 . when printer commands for all pages of the job are transferred , the language monitor 5 transmits an occupancy release command without waiting until the sheet is ejected . even after transmitting the occupancy release command , the language monitor 5 continues to acquire the status of the printer 7 . the language monitor 5 frees up relevant page memory if the acquired printer status indicates that page printing is normally terminated . if an error is detected , the language monitor 5 retransmits an occupancy request command to try to restore an error page . next , details of processing of the printer driver 4 operating on a host are described with reference to fig3 . before the processing is executed , the printer driver 4 acquires correction amount information of each color in the sub - scanning direction stored in non - volatile memory of the printer 7 at the time of starting each printing job . first , in step s 1 , the printer driver 4 outputs , in accordance with instructions of the application 3 , the page start command that specifies the paper size , the left margin , the upper margin , the line length and the number of lines of bitmap data . at this time , as described below , the upper margin and the number of lines of bitmap data are corrected . next , in step s 11 , the printer driver 4 outputs as a command , a sub - scanning correction amount at each main scanning position , as described below . though this command is not required for printing , reference is made to the command if a sub - scanning correction is canceled later or a re - correction is made according to a correction amount of another engine . next , in step s 2 , the printer driver 4 creates a 1 - band image data consisting of eight bits for each color of red , green , and blue in accordance with a drawing instruction of the application 3 . next , in step s 3 , the printer driver 4 converts each pixel consisting of eight bits for each color of red , green , and blue into image data consisting of eight bits for each color of yellow , magenta , cyan , and black . at this time , density is corrected by referring to density correction information acquired in advance when a job is started . next , in step s 4 , the printer driver 4 performs dither processing to image data consisting of eight bits for each color of yellow , magenta , cyan , and black to convert the data into image data consisting of two bits for each color of yellow , magenta , cyan , and black . next , in step s 5 , the printer driver 4 corrects color deviation in the sub - scanning direction in accordance with a color deviation correction procedure described below . at this time , since some images lie outside a band buffer , as described below , the printer driver 4 holds such images in an intermediate buffer . next , in step s 6 , the printer driver 4 compresses and outputs each color of a 1 - band image data . next , in step s 7 , the printer driver 4 determines whether processing of all bands in the page has been completed . if processing of all bands in the page has not been completed , the printer driver 4 returns to step s 2 to perform processing of the next band . if , in step s 7 , it is determined that processing of all bands in the page has been completed , the printer driver 4 , in step s 8 , compresses and outputs the data held in the intermediate buffer , that is , the image data that lay outside the band processed last . next , in step s 9 , the printer driver 4 outputs a page end command . next , in step s 10 , the printer driver 4 determines whether processing of all pages has been completed . if processing of all pages has not been completed , the printer driver 4 returns to step s 1 to perform processing of the next page . if processing of all pages has been completed , the printer driver 4 terminates the processing . next , how to determine a correction amount in the sub - scanning direction is described . before shipping from a factory , the correction amount of each color in the sub - scanning direction is measured . the measured correction amount of each color at a left end , in the center , and at aright end of maximum paper is stored in advance in non - volatile memory incorporated into the control circuit 25 of the printer 7 . the printer driver 4 acquires this value from the printer 7 before starting a printing job and first approximates it using a quadratic function . more specifically , assume that the correction amount in the sub - scanning direction at the left end , in the center , and at the right end of maximum paper be l , m , and r respectively . then , the correction amount z = ax 2 + bx + c can be calculated as shown below , where x is a position in the main scanning direction with an origin point in the center . x coordinates at the left end , in the center , and at the right end of maximum paper are − w / 2 , 0 , and w / 2 respectively , where w is a width of the maximum paper . therefore , the correction amount in the sub - scanning direction z can be calculated according to the following formula : z = 2 ( r + l − 2 m )( x / w ) 2 +( r − l )( x / w )+ m next , based on this formula , the correction amount in the sub - scanning direction will be calculated for all pixel positions in the main scanning direction . since , at this time , correction in the sub - scanning direction is made by a line , the correction amount is rounded off to a nearest integer on a line basis . next , it is described how to determine the correction amount in the sub - scanning direction from coordinates on a band buffer with reference to fig4 . if the paper size is smaller than the maximum size , the paper is generally positioned in the center . thus , paper positioning is considered when correction is made . in fig4 , an upper horizontal line indicates the x axis and the center thereof is the origin point . a rectangle drawn by a broken line indicates a sheet of paper , the width thereof is w , and the center of the paper agrees with the origin of the x coordinate . a rectangle drawn by a solid line indicates an area in which the printer driver 4 creates an image in step s 2 in fig3 , and the origin of the x and y coordinates thereof is in an upper left corner . the origin of the x coordinate is positioned a left margin lm apart from the left end of the paper . since the origin of the x coordinate is represented by w / 2 − lm as the x coordinate , as shown in fig4 , the x coordinate will be calculated as shown below . the x coordinate value thus determined is used to calculate the correction amount z in the sub - scanning direction from the x coordinate by the formula as described above . since the paper width w changes depending on the paper size and a different x corresponds to the same x , the correction amount for the same x changes depending on the paper size . next , details of color deviation correction processing in step s 5 in fig3 are described with reference to fig5 . in the present exemplary embodiment , one pixel includes two bits for each color and one byte contains four pixels of a specific color . accordingly , processing is performed in a two - bit unit to change a correction amount for each pixel , which increases time required for processing . to avoid this problem , the same correction amount is applied to four pixels contained in one byte so that processing can be performed in a one - byte unit , which shortens time required for processing . first , in step s 21 , the printer driver 4 sets a current color to a first color , for example , to cyan . next , in step s 22 , the printer driver 4 sets a current column to a head , that is , the left end of the band buffer of the current color . here , the column has the width of one byte . next , in step s 23 , the printer driver 4 calculates the correction amount of a leftmost pixel of the current column as described above . at this time , the printer driver 4 makes reference to the color deviation correction information acquired in advance when starting a job so as to calculate the correction amount . since , in the present embodiment , one pixel includes two bits for each color , one byte contains four pixels of specific colors . however , the correction amount of the leftmost pixel in one byte is similarly applied to four pixels in one byte so that processing can be performed in a one - byte unit , as described above . next , in step s 24 , the printer driver 4 adds a maximum correction amount to the correction amount to obtain a positive value or 0 . for example , if the correction amount is between − 20 lines to 20 lines , the maximum correction amount of 20 lines is added to obtain 0 line and 40 lines . this processing enables avoiding a case in which processing cannot be performed . otherwise , when the correction amount becomes a negative value as a result of correcting data in the current band , the data moves to the position of a previous band in which processing is completed . next , in step s 25 , the printer driver 4 sets the current byte to the end of the current column , that is , to the current column in the last line of the band buffer . next , in step s 26 , the printer driver 4 calculates a correction position of the current byte to determine whether the correction position is within the band buffer . more specifically , the printer driver 4 determines whether the position of the current byte below the correction number of lines calculated in step s 24 is within the band buffer . if the correction position of the current byte is within the band buffer , in step s 27 , the printer driver 4 copies the current byte to the correction position calculated in step s 26 and then proceeds to step s 28 . if the correction position of the current byte is not within the band buffer , in step s 36 , the printer driver 4 copies the current byte to a position according to the number of lines lying outside the band buffer in a second intermediate buffer , and then proceeds to step s 28 . in step s 28 , the printer driver 4 moves up the current byte position by one line . next , in step s 29 , the printer driver 4 determines whether processing of one column is completed , that is , whether the current byte position is outside a head position of the band buffer . if processing of one column is not completed , the printer driver 4 returns to step s 26 to continue processing of the current column . if processing of one column is completed , in step s 30 , the printer driver 4 copies data by the number of correction lines calculated in step s 24 , from the head line of the current column , from a first intermediate buffer to the band buffer . the first intermediate buffer is assumed to be filled in advance with blank pixels . next , in step s 31 , the printer driver 4 moves the current column rightward by one byte . next , in step s 32 , the printer driver 4 determines whether processing of all columns is completed . if processing of all columns is not completed , the printer driver 4 returns to step s 23 to start processing of the next column . if processing of all columns is completed , in step s 33 , the printer driver 4 copies content of the second intermediate buffer to the first intermediate buffer of the current color . next , in step s 34 , the printer driver 4 sets the current color to the next color . next , in step s 35 , the printer driver 4 determines whether processing of all colors is completed . if processing of all colors is not completed , the printer driver 4 returns to step s 22 to start processing of the next color . if processing of all colors is completed , the printer driver 4 terminates color deviation correction processing . the number of lines in the upper margin performed in step s 1 shown in fig3 is corrected by subtracting a value to be added to the correction amount ( i . e ., the maximum correction amount ) in step s 24 . by performing this processing , increase of the upper margin caused by addition of a correction amount in step s 24 can be canceled . the number of lines in bitmap data performed in step s 1 shown in fig3 is corrected by adding the number of lines in the intermediate buffer . since the number of lines in the intermediate buffer is twice the maximum amount , that value is added . next , processing in fig5 is described by taking horizontal bands ( lateral direction : main scanning direction ), as shown in fig6 , as an example . first , image data in a byte unit at a lower left of a band is written in one of the band buffer and the intermediate buffer in accordance with the correction amount . next , image data in a byte unit immediately above ( longitudinal direction : sub - scanning direction ) is written in one of the band buffer and the intermediate buffer in accordance with the correction amount . image data in a byte unit immediately above is processed sequentially until processing of image data for the band in the longitudinal direction is completed . then , image data in a byte unit immediately to the right of the image data in a byte unit at the lower left is written in one of the band buffer and the intermediate buffer in accordance with the correction amount . then , image data in a byte unit immediately above is sequentially processed . in the above example , processing in the longitudinal direction ( sub - scanning direction ) has been described , however , a system in which processing is performed in the lateral direction ( main scanning direction ) can also be realized . more specifically , image data in a byte unit at a lower left of a band is written in one of the band buffer and the intermediate buffer in accordance with the correction amount . next , image data in a byte unit immediately to the right ( lateral direction : main scanning direction ) is written in one of the band buffer and the intermediate buffer in accordance with the correction amount . image data in a byte unit immediately to the right is processed sequentially until processing of image data for the band in the lateral direction is completed . then , image data in a byte unit immediately above the image data in a byte unit at the lower left is written in one of the band buffer and the intermediate buffer in accordance with the correction amount . then , image data in a byte unit immediately to the right is processed sequentially . next , a flow of data caused by color deviation correction processing will be described with reference to fig6 . first , image data 601 in a first band is formed in the band buffer . when color deviation correction processing is invoked , a correction is made in accordance with the correction amount in the sub - scanning direction . the image data 601 is divided into data 602 that remains in the band buffer , and data 603 that lies outside the band buffer and is stored in the second intermediate buffer . the data 603 stored in the second intermediate buffer is copied to the first intermediate buffer as image data 604 when processing of the first band is completed . next , image band 605 in a second band is formed in the band buffer . when color deviation correction processing is invoked , the image data 605 is divided into data 606 that remains in the band buffer , and data 607 that lies outside the band buffer and is stored in the second intermediate buffer . further , the data 604 held in the first intermediate buffer that lay outside the first band is stored in the band buffer as image data 609 . correction processing is performed sequentially in this manner . after processing of the last band is performed , data 610 that lay outside the last band is held in the first intermediate buffer . the data 610 is output by processing in step s 8 shown in fig3 . a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described next . in the second exemplary embodiment , color deviation correction processing is performed before dither processing . more specifically , dither processing in step s 4 and color deviation correction processing in step s 5 shown in fig3 are interchanged . since an image before dither processing includes eight bits for each color , a correction amount for each pixel is calculated in color deviation correction processing without applying the same correction amount to four pixels . a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described next . in the third exemplary embodiment , the printer engine 24 has a two - sided printing mechanism . in the case of two - sided printing , while printing on a first side is generally center - aligned like single - sided printing , printing on a second side can be left - aligned . in such a case , the correction amount calculated in step s 23 shown in fig5 is calculated using center alignment for the first side of two - sided printing , similar to the first embodiment and using left alignment for the second side of two - sided printing . more specifically , instead of x = x + lm − w / 2 described above , the same formula as the maximum paper , that is , x = x + lm − w / 2 can be used for calculation regardless of the paper width . when the two - sided printing is performed , depending on a combination of a paper transfer direction ( longitudinal feed and transverse feed ) and a binding direction ( longer side binding and shorter side binding ), an image on the first side must be rotated by 180 °, but this processing can be performed by creating a rotated image in advance in step s 2 shown in fig3 . in the above - described exemplary embodiments , image creation and color deviation corrections are performed by a host computer , but instead other methods can also be used . for example , the printer driver 4 can output a page description language without performing image creation and color deviation corrections so that the printer 7 can perform , based on the received page description language , image creation and color deviation corrections . as described above , by using the band buffer with a set of four colors , the first intermediate buffer with a set of four colors , and the temporary intermediate buffer with a set of one color , color deviation corrections in the sub - scanning direction can be performed , and printing can be executed without preparing special hardware . while the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments . the scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all modifications , equivalent structures and functions . | 7 |
while the present invention will be described more fully hereinafter , it is to be understood at the outset that persons of skill in the art may modify the invention herein described while still achieving the favorable results of this invention . accordingly , the description that follows is to be understood as a broad teaching disclosure directed to persons of skill in the appropriate arts , and not as limiting upon the present invention . referring now to fig1 , the location of the meibomian glands m are shown on the upper and lower eyelids . as briefly stated herein above , the upper lid contains approximately 25 meibomian glands and the lower lid contains approximately 20 meibomian glands . as shown in fig2 , each gland includes a channel c into which the secretion flows and an orifice o which opens on to the eyelid margin and through which the secretion must flow in order to be added to the tear film upon blinking . it will be seen that the glands are of different size , depending upon the location in the eyelid and that the orifice o is narrower than the channel c . as briefly mentioned herein above , obstruction composition will vary with the etiology which produced it . however , the obstruction will , in most cases , consist of a combination of , dead cells , keratin , bacteria , desquamated cells , sebaceous ground substance , milky fluid , inspissated or creamy secretions , or any combination of the foregoing in solid , semi - solid and thickened forms . the obstruction may be in the gland channel , at the gland orifice , atop the gland orifice or a combination of the foregoing . as employed herein , obstruction refers to any of the foregoing . thus , it is self - evident that any obstruction of the channel will restrict or prevent secretions from exiting the gland and further , that in order to clear such obstructions or “ occlusions ”, the obstruction may be loosened from the gland wall , and / or broken up , fractured , softened , or liquified so that it will fit through the gland orifice without causing excessive pain . lastly , the obstruction remnants must be expressed from the gland . the present invention provides a method and apparatus to accomplish these tasks . according to the method of the present invention , the obstruction p should be softened or liquefied prior to attempting extraction or expression . with respect to the foregoing , the terms “ softened ” or “ liqified ” are intended to mean a “ non - solid ” flowable state . in addition , in order to be clinically satisfactory , softening or liquefying of the obstruction p should be effected as quickly as possible and regulated heat treatment time should be less than five ( 5 ) minutes with one to two ( 1 - 2 ) minutes being preferred without causing damage to the surrounding tissues of the ocular globe or the eye , such heat treatments can be electrical , laser heating , hot water conductive heating , infrared heating , ultrasonic heating , rf heating , etc . this necessarily requires the addition of a greater amount of energy ( heating ) than is deliverable by the conventional application of hot compresses which according to current practice are applied for 3 - 15 minutes prior to the clinician attempting to remove the obstruction . once the obstruction is softened or liquified , removal is obtained by the application of a regulated force to the gland . more specifically , it is contemplated by the present invention that the force applied be a repeatable controlled force , as more fully explained herein below . treatment to remove the obstruction will involve the application of an external regulated force to the eyelid and / or directly over the obstructed orifice to loosen the obstruction within the gland g and the orifice . the means for applying the force may be selected from one or more of a number of modalities wherein the frequency of vibration may be including low frequency vibration ( generally less than 1000 hz ), sonic ( generally 1000 hz to 20 , 000 hz ) or ultrasonic energy ( generally greater than 20 , 000 hz ), fluid jet such as air or water , microwave energy , needles , micro - needles , laser energy , rf energy , aspiration / suction , vacuum , pressure , compression and functional equivalents thereof . in addition , once a modality is chosen , the physician will have to determine the optimum treatment parameters so that each of the foregoing modalities will be applied to the eyelid such that the force ( or energy , as appropriate ) provided thereby is transmitted through the eyelid tissue to the obstruction . further , the treatment intensity and length of application of these external forces will vary with the size and composition of the obstruction . once a treatment protocol is established , the force can either be set or variable within a preselected range . experiments were performed using an eccentric vibrating motor applied directly to the human eyelids . bench tests of the vibration revealed the following data points , specifically setting number 3 was shown to be clinically effective to loosen the obstruction within the meibomian gland and orifice : setting vibration freq . ( hz .) vibration amplitude ( in / μm ) 1 51 . 001 in . ( 25 . 4 μm ) 2 118 . 004 in . ( 100 μm ) 3 165 . 5 . 0062 in . ( 157 . 5 μm ) once the obstruction has been loosened from the walls of the gland , it may be operated upon such that it will pass through the orifice o in a manner which causes little or no pain or discomfort to the patent . this can be accomplished by heating to soften or liquify the obstruction up to a range of thirty seven degrees centigrade ( 37 ° c .) to fifty degrees centigrade ( 50 ° c .) with the preferred operating range being forty degrees centigrade ( 40 ° c .) to forty seven degrees centigrade ( 47 ° c .) and desired modality of forty two degrees centigrade ( 42 ° c .) to forty six degrees centigrade ( 46 ° c .) so that it easily passes through the orifice ( or with minimal non - painful expansion thereof ). modalities for heating may include conduction , convection and radiation supplied by one or more of the following : thermal conduction , thermal convection , ultrasonic energy , laser energy , rf energy , direct and / or indirect transfer from heat source ad microwave energy which may be applied for a preselected period of time . by varying the amplitude , intensity and length of application , some of the foregoing modalities may also be employed to fracture or break up the obstruction . it will be noted that a closed loop feedback control system , well known to those skilled in the art ( not shown ) may be employed during heating to measure temperature proximate the eyelid to ensure that the obstruction does , in fact , reach a temperature sufficient to turn the obstructive material into a flowable , liquid or semi - liquid state . extraction of the softened , broken apart or fractured obstruction may be accomplished by one or more of the following : needles , micro - needles , aspiration / suction , vacuum , pressure and compression . one embodiment of the invention is a suction system that is placed over the gland orifice may be employed to suck out the components of the softened , loosened or liquefied obstruction or the pieces thereof , as appropriate or alternatively , to employ suction to collect the obstruction as it exits the gland orifice . in order to be clinically effective , the foregoing modalities for extracting or expressing the obstruction should be administered in a fashion that is regulated , i . e ., done in a repeatable manner . an apparatus for unplugging the obstructed gland channel c is schematically illustrated in fig3 a . the apparatus comprises a power source 100 which may be direct current ( battery powered ) or alternating current ( wall socket ) as desired . the power source 100 is connected to a controller , generally indicated at 200 , which includes a power on / power off switch 210 . the controller 200 includes a means 220 for applying an external force to the gland to loosen the obstruction . the means 220 includes a probe 230 , which is adapted to vibrate at a preselected frequency at preselected amplitude . the probe 230 may vibrate at sonic or ultrasonic frequencies as needed . in addition , means for varying the frequency 240 and amplitude 250 of the probe output , well known to those skilled in the art , are provided . the means 220 for applying the regulated external force or regulated energy to the obstruction may also include fluid jet , air fluid , water fluid , microwave energy , needles , micro - needles , laser energy , rf energy , aspiration , suction , vacuum , pressure , piezoelectric , and compression . turning now to fig3 b , a small ultrasonic probe 230 ( and specifically the probe tip ) is illustrated in fig4 c in place on the eyelid . the probe 230 is adapted to deliver ultrasonic vibrational energy through the skin into the obstruction p in order to loosen , liquefy , and / or fracture the obstruction . more specifically , by tuning the probe output so that the obstruction p resonates ( by adjusting the frequency and amplitude of the signal ) energy is efficiently transferred to the obstruction and sympathetic vibration of the obstruction p occurs with minimal energy transfer to the surrounding tissues . in some instances , vibration alone may be sufficient to change the characteristics of the obstruction p such that vigorous blinking may express the obstruction remnants . in addition to vibration alternative force , energy , aspiration and / or chemical / pharmacological agents can be used to open up the channel c . the probe may be further equipped with aspiration means 260 ( best illustrated in fig4 c for introducing aspiration , suction or vacuum into the gland channel c to evacuate the obstruction remnants . alternatively , heat and aspiration may be employed in lieu of or in addition vibration . in another aspect of the invention , the probe 230 may be equipped with a means for heating 270 such as a solid state heating element which may be regulated to provide relatively precise amounts of energy in the previously mentioned ranges that assists in softening , liquifying or melting the obstruction p via heat transfer through the tissue when the probe is placed against the tissue . a second embodiment of the invention ( fig5 ) employs microdermabraision or exfoliation to remove any cells or cellular material that may have overgrown the gland opening . microdermabraision is a process that was developed for use in dermatology to remove dead skin cells . as shown in fig5 a probe or tip 330 is equipped with an abrasive surface 310 that is adapted to scrape the skin . the abrasive employed is usually a diamond power or other suitable material , well known to those skilled in the art . an inner tube 320 having a central bore 325 includes holes defining openings 330 through which a fluid such as air is pumped . an outer covering 335 surrounds the tube 320 , but at its lower edge extends slightly lower and is spaced from the abrasive surface 310 and a space is defined between the lower ends of the respective tubes 320 , 335 . the outer covering is connected to aspiration , vacuum , and / or suction that operates as described herein below . in operation , the clinician would place the abrasive tip 310 in contact over the gland orifice creating a seal between the tip and the skin . movement of the probe 330 would cause the abrasive 310 on the bottom of the tip to separate the cells from the skin and the aspiration , suction or vacuum would extract the cellular material from the vicinity of the gland opening . in addition , depending upon the obstruction , aspiration , suction and / or vacuum alone may be sufficient to extract the obstruction . additional features may also be providing to the microdermabraision tip such as a heating element 340 which could be placed in the outer covering 335 near the tip . in addition , the inner tube 320 could be equipped such that ultrasonic energy could be delivered to the obstruction as discussed herein above . another embodiment of the invention may employ a chemical agent to clean the gland margin and to remove or exfoliate cells from the meibomian gland orifice . for example ophthaine ® or a similar pharmacological agent may be employed to assist in removing epithelial cells from over the gland orifice . a probe similar to that shown in fig5 may be employed , except that the inner tube will deliver the chemical agent and the suction applied by the outer covering will be used to evacuate the used chemical agent and cellular material mixture away from the gland margin . similarly , the heating and vibrational features discussed above may also be included . a further embodiment of the invention may deliver vibrational and / or thermal energy to the obstruction p without contacting the gland . one potential energy source is laser light supplied by titanium , argon , krypton or microwave energy . extraction of the obstruction would be accomplished by the means described herein above . a third embodiment of the invention employs pressure applied to the tissue as shown in fig6 a , 6 b and 7 by rollers ( or drums ) 375 which are placed in front of and / or behind the meibomian gland with the rollers applying constant regulated pressure to the meibomian glands to apply a “ milking ” type force to expel the obstruction to return the gland to normal secretion levels . the rollers can be connected to heat , aspiration , vacuum , and / or suction that operate as described herein . in operation , the physician would place the rollers 375 in contact with the eyelid , either inside , outside or both . lateral movement of the rollers 375 would cause pressure to be applied to the gland to remove the obstruction . alternatively , aspiration , suction and / or vacuum could be applied to extract the obstruction and material from the vicinity of the gland opening . in addition , depending upon the obstruction , aspiration , suction and / or vacuum alone may be sufficient to extract the obstruction . additional features may also be provided to the rollers such as a regulated heating element ( not shown ) which could be placed in the outer covering near the tip as shown in fig6 a . in addition , the roller 375 could be equipped such that ultrasonic energy could be delivered to the obstruction as discussed herein above . fig8 illustrates a prototype hand held suction system generally indicated at 400 that was constructed . the system comprised an ac power supply 410 which powered a suction pump 420 to which tubing 430 was connected . at the opposite end of tubing 430 a probe 440 was connected . a tip 450 having a 1 mm diameter and a 200 micron orifice was attached to the end of the probe 440 . the probe end 460 was curved for ergonomic access to the gland orifice . in use , the tip 450 is placed on or proximate the gland orifice and the applied vacuum is used to collect the obstruction as it exits the orifice or may alternatively be employed to assist in expression of the obstruction . fig9 illustrates another prototype of a hand held apparatus generally indicated at 500 that was constructed . the system comprised a power supply 510 which powered an electromagnet ( not shown ) which was encased in a handle 530 that may be easily held by the clinician in one hand . a rod 540 is mounted for reciprocating motion to the output of the electromagnet . the throw or amount of movement of the rod 540 is 0 . 5 mm . at the end of rod 540 is mounted a back plate 550 which is substantially perpendicular to the axis of rod 540 . further , a lever 560 is pivotally mounted to rod 540 and operates to actuate a roller 570 . a heating means or heater 580 was mounted in backplate 550 . the heater 580 was also provided with an appropriate power source . in operation , the device is positioned such that the back plate 550 is positioned between the cornea and the back surface of the eye lid . the lever 560 is actuated such that the roller 570 comes into contact with the front surface of the eye lid . the arc of the roller is such that the eye lid is squeezed between the foregoing the clinician may elect to maintain the back plate and the roller under tension for a preselected period of time to soften the obstruction . once the desired temperature has been reached , further pressure on the lever 560 will cause the roller to move from the bottom of the meibomian gland ( the end away from the orifice ) to the top of the gland to express the obstruction from the gland in am “ milking type ” motion . thus , a repeatable regulated method for opening obstructed meibomian glands is provided . the embodiment illustrated in fig1 a through 10c , the present invention prototype is a hand held apparatus generally indicated at 600 . the apparatus comprises a power source 610 which may be a dc source such as a battery or an ac source similar to those discussed herein above . the power source 610 resides within a housing 620 . the power source 610 provides electrical current to a wave form generator 625 which powers an acoustic amplifier 630 ( for example , a small audio speaker ) also located within housing 620 and mounted at an ergonomic angle therein . the acoustic amplifier 630 is programmed to vibrate in a wave format at a frequency of 0 to 200 hz at an amplitude in the range of 0 . 25 mm to 5 mm . initial experiments indicate that free air amplitude of 3 - 4 mm at a frequency of 60 hz to 125 hz is well tolerated and after 10 - 30 seconds of application seems to impart a natural numbing effect to the eyelid / gland . mounted in operative association atop the acoustic amplifier 630 is an annulus 635 that floats thereon and includes a cone shaped housing 640 extending perpendicularly away from the amplifier 625 that encloses the amplifier 625 the end of the housing 640 is adapted to mount a variety of tips 650 . for example , the tip may comprise a roller 655 mounted for rotation in a cradle 665 . further , the tip 650 may be modified to include a regulated heating element ( not shown ) that acts to soften the obstruction . other tip configurations may include a vacuum for collecting the obstruction after expression thereof from the gland and different tip configurations to apply various contact areas and resulting forces . thus , it will be seen that the obstruction is actually subjected to a pair of forces , the first being the weight of the device itself on the gland which may be combined with additional pressure by the health care provider pressing on the gland plus the additional intermittent force delivered to the gland by the vibratory or pulsatory force of the tip 650 . the first force may be a fixed constantly applied force or one that increases to a preselected maximum . testing has indicated that use of the foregoing method , i . e ., applying a first force to the meibomian gland and a second pulsatile force to the meibomian gland allows delivery of a greater quantity of energy to the obstruction while lowering the perceived pain level to the patient . it is believed that this is the result of an overall lower degree of localized nerve stimulation about the orbit . heating the gland is also beneficial in the event softening of the obstruction is needed prior to expression thereof . another embodiment of the invention is shown in fig1 a through 11e wherein the treatment apparatus is incorporated into a goggle - like device , termed herein as the “ hydro - oculator ” which is a head borne device that locates the treatment mechanism proximate the eyelids , generally indicated at 700 . the hydro - oculator 700 comprises a flexible frame 705 having a headband 710 ( which may be elastic ) connected thereto at each end . connected to the bottom of the frame 705 is a molded housing 720 which has an angled leg 725 which is adapted to overlie the cheek bone when the apparatus is in use . further , an expandable fluid or gas impermeable container referred to herein as a bladder 730 is positioned within the cavity defined by the space between the housing and the lower eye lid . a pumping mechanism is provided that facilitates movement of a fluid or gas , collectively referred to herein as a “ medium ” ( not shown ) into and out of each of the respective bladders 730 . according to the invention , the patient would position the hydo - oclulator 700 on his or her head such that the leg 725 of molded housing 730 rests on the upper cheek bone as best shown in fig1 c through 11e . the regulated heated medium is pumped into the bladders 730 causing partial expansion thereof in order to apply a pressure to the eyelids in the range of from zero to fifty pounds per square inch ( 50 psi ). the bladder containing the heated medium ( a water based solution being preferred ) is positioned on the eyelids over the meibomian glands for a preselected period of time ( up to thirty minutes ) to soften the obstruction . it is desirable to place the heat source in direct contact with the eyelids which thereby transmits thermal energy to the meibomian glands , in contrast to the prior art which heats a confined space in front of the open eye where heat could be transmitted to the ocular bulbi structures such as the crystalline lens which introduces the possibility of cataract formation . thereafter , the bladder is slowly expanded to a preselected maximum such that the force on the gland increases from the bottom up to the top or orifice end of the gland such that the obstruction is expressed therefrom in a “ milking ” type of action . milking may be applied at a preselected frequency between zero and five hertz ( 0 - 5 hz ) and for a preselected period of time , usually not more than thirty minutes . in addition , the medium may be “ pulsed ”, i . e ., milkingly moved into and out of the bladder to further facilitate expression of the obstruction from the gland . pulsing may also be achieved by providing an external force to the bladder and transmitting the force through the fluid into the gland . pulsing may be applied at a preselected frequency between zero and one hundred hertz ( 0 - 100 hz ) for a preselected period time , usually not more than thirty ( 30 ) minutes . a chemical or pharmacological agent may be inserted into the meibomian gland to assist in softening the obstruction and any of the extraction modalities mentioned above may be further employed to assist in removing the obstruction . another embodiment of the invention may employ a chemical agent or compound to clean the glandular margin to remove or exfoliate cells from the gland orifice . a probe similar to that shown in fig5 may be employed , except that the outer drum or roller will deliver the chemical agent and the suction applied by the outer covering will be used to evacuate the used chemical agent and cellular material mixture away from the gland margin . similarly , the heating and vibrational features discussed above may also be included . a further embodiment of the invention may deliver vibrational and / or thermal energy to the obstruction p without contacting the gland . one potential energy source is laser light supplied by a titanium - sapphire , argon , krypton , rf energy or microwave energy . extraction of the obstruction would be accomplished by the means described herein above . another embodiment of the invention employs the use of chemical or pharmacological agents to open or dilate the gland and gland orifice wherein the obstruction naturally is expressed and returns the normal secretions of the gland . alternatively , the chemical or pharmaceutical agent would be used to soften or breakup the obstruction with such obstruction being expressed with the use of devices as defined above or combinations thereof . chemical or pharmacological agents may also be used in connection with the device for post treatment . once the glands have been opened then chemical or pharmacological agents may be used to enhance the normal production or secretion to maintain the glands in its unblocked state . dilation of the meibomian gland channel and orifice may also be employed to loosen or free the obstruction from the gland walls . dilation may be accomplished by chemical , pharmacological , or mechanical means . stimulation of the meibomian gland may also be employed in conjunction with the other modalities discussed above to loosen or fracture the obstruction . as mentioned herein above , the present invention has been described in detail on conjunction with the figures in connection with the meibomian glands of the eye . the reader will note that the principals of this invention may be applied with equal efficacy to the other glands of the human body and potentially to valuable domesticated farm animals to treat various ailments . | 0 |
fig1 a shows a portion of a fuel and oil system 10 for gas turbine engine 12 with heated bypass valve 14 . gas turbine engine 12 includes compressor 16 , turbine 18 , combustor 20 , turbine shaft 22 , generator shaft 24 and generator 26 . fuel and oil system 10 includes boost pump 28 , generator heat exchanger 30 , engine heat exchanger 32 , fuel pump 34 , fuel metering unit ( fmu ) 36 , first oil pump 38 and second oil pump 40 . in the configuration of fig1 a , heated bypass valve 14 is closed such that direct flow between boost pump 28 and engine heat exchanger 32 through bypass line 41 is prevented ( as indicated by a dashed line in fig1 a ). as discussed with reference to fig1 b , heated bypass valve 14 can be opened to bypass generator heat exchanger 30 in the event fuel within generator heat exchanger becomes blocked with ice and flow of fuel through line 48 is prevented ( as indicated by a dashed line in fig1 b ). engine heat exchanger 32 heats bypass valve 14 to prevent formation of ice within bypass valve 14 . a lubricant , such as oil , is stored within fuel and oil system 10 , such as in oil tank 43 , and is provided to generator 26 and shaft 22 . using pump 38 , oil from generator heat exchanger 30 is pumped to generator 26 through line 42 a and subsequently pumped to generator heat exchanger 30 through line 42 b . likewise , oil from engine heat exchanger 32 is provided to shaft 22 through oil line 44 a , and oil is returned to engine heat exchanger 32 through line 44 b using pump 40 . in the disclosed embodiment , oil tank 43 is disposed within line 42 a and , although not shown , line 44 a may also be connected to the same or a different oil tank . likewise , in the disclosed embodiment , pumps 38 and 40 are shown being placed in lines 42 a and 44 b , respectively , but may be located in other locations . boost pump 28 receives fuel from fuel tank 45 , and delivers fuel to fuel line 46 , which routes fuel to generator heat exchanger 30 . fuel line 48 connects generator heat exchanger 30 and engine heat exchanger 32 . outlet line 50 routes fuel to fmu 36 , which provides fuel to combustor 20 through fuel line 52 . gas turbine engine 12 operates in a conventional manner by combusting fuel from fmu 36 and compressed air from compressor 16 in combustor 20 to produce high energy gases for driving turbine 18 . compressor 16 draws in ambient air a a , compresses it and provides it to combustor 20 . boost pump 28 pushes fuel through generator heat exchanger 30 and engine heat exchanger 32 to fuel pump 34 . fuel pump 34 provides pressurized fuel to fmu 36 , which is electronically controlled , such as through a full authority digital engine controller ( fadec ), to deliver precise amounts of fuel to combustor 20 based on performance needs of gas turbine engine 12 . fuel not needed by combustor 20 is returned to the fuel system via appropriate fuel lines ( not shown ). combustor 20 includes fuel injectors and igniters for burning a mixture of fuel and air to provide exhaust gas g e that turns turbine 18 . rotation of turbine 18 drives shaft 22 , which rotates compressor 16 . in addition to driving operation gas turbine engine 12 , rotation of engine shaft 22 causes generator shaft 26 to rotate and provide a mechanical input to electrical generator 26 . electrical generator 26 is shown schematically being driven by tower shaft 24 , which is coupled to shaft 22 through a gearbox , as is known in the art . aside from exhaust gas g e , operation of gas turbine engine 12 produces heat , particularly in bearings used to support shaft 22 and within generator 26 itself . thus , generator 26 and the bearings for shaft 22 typically require lubrication to remove heat . generator heat exchanger 30 and engine heat exchanger 32 are interconnected with fuel lines and oil lines to transfer heat generated by generator 26 and shaft 22 to the fuel . the oil is thereby cooled and the heated fuel improves operating efficiency of gas turbine engine 12 and prevents formation of ice within the fuel lines . heat exchangers 30 and 32 each receive a motive flow of heated oil and a motive flow of relatively cooler fuel . pump 38 circulates a continuous flow of heated oil from generator 26 to generator heat exchanger 30 through line 42 b . pump 40 circulates a continuous flow of heated oil from the bearings for shaft 22 ( or oil sumps within engine 12 that collect oil from the bearings ) to engine heat exchanger 32 through line 44 b . colder fuel from boost pump 28 flows through heat exchangers 30 and 32 . heat exchangers 30 and 32 transfer heat from the oil to the fuel . oil cooled in engine heat exchanger 32 is returned to shaft 22 via line 44 a . oil cooled in generator heat exchanger 30 is returned to generator 26 via line 42 a . heated fuel is consumed within combustor 20 . as such , heat from fuel and oil system 10 is continuously removed from the oil by the fuel and removed from engine 12 by burning of the fuel . heat exchangers 30 and 32 are connected in series and cold fuel is heated incrementally at each of heat exchangers 30 and 32 . generator heat exchanger 30 is positioned upstream ( relative to the flow direction of the fuel ) of engine heat exchanger 32 . series placement of generator heat exchanger 30 and engine heat exchanger 32 is desirable because it maintains the flow velocity of the fuel and maximizes heat transfer , as opposed to parallel flow heat exchangers where flow velocity is reduced . in series connected heat exchangers , oil used to cool the bearings for shaft 22 reaches higher temperatures than the oil used to cool generator 26 . configured as such , the coldest fuel cools generator 26 in order to reduce overheating of generator 26 and loss of electrical power to gas turbine engine 12 . it is , thus , highly desirable to keep fuel running through system 10 under all conditions to , among other things , prevent overheating of generator 26 . as shown in fig1 a , fuel is allowed to flow from generator heat exchanger 30 to engine heat exchanger 32 through fuel line 48 . with bypass valve 14 closed , fuel flows uninterruptedly from fuel tank 45 , through boost pump 28 , inlet line 46 , generator heat exchanger 30 , line 48 , engine heat exchanger 32 , line 50 and pump 34 to fmu 36 . thus , engine 12 operates under normal conditions . if atmospheric conditions become sufficient , water within the fuel will become frozen into ice particles , even though generator heat exchanger 30 operates to heat the fuel . small amounts of ice within system 10 may be tolerated . it is , however , desirable to prevent formation of ice within system 10 altogether . thus , under normal operating conditions operation of heat exchangers 30 and 32 is sufficient to prevent the formation of ice . under more extreme atmospheric temperatures and altitudes , ice may still form in the fuel . enough ice may form to cause blockage of heat exchanger 30 and prevent fuel from being delivered to combustor 20 , which is highly undesirable due to the potential to stall operation of engine 12 . bypass valve 14 is operable to allow fuel to circumvent generator heat exchanger 30 and flow directly from boost pump 28 to engine heat exchanger 32 . fig1 b shows fuel and oil system 10 for gas turbine engine 12 of fig1 a with heated bypass valve 14 in an open state to allow fuel flow through bypass line 41 . fig1 b additionally shows oil bypass valves 56 and 58 and fuel bypass valve 60 . as indicated by a dashed line in fig1 b , fuel is prevented from flowing through fuel line 48 by clogging of ice within generator heat exchanger 30 . bypass valve 14 is responsive to pressure differentials across generator heat exchanger 30 . specifically , when the pressure in bypass line 14 becomes greater than the pressure in line 50 beyond a threshold pressure , bypass valve 14 will open . pressure in bypass line 14 increases as ice within generator heat exchanger 30 reduces flow through heat exchanger 30 and increases the backpressure in line 46 . the location of bypass valve 14 in close proximity to heat generated by engine heat exchanger 32 inhibits ice from forming within bypass valve 14 . bypass valve 14 will open to allow fuel to flow through bypass line 41 . heat from oil within engine heat exchanger 32 is used to heat bypass valve 14 to prevent ice particles within the fuel from clogging bypass valve 14 . the heat emitted from heat exchanger 32 increases the temperature of the fuel within valve 14 to temperatures sufficiently high so as to be able to melt ice crystals within the fuel and to prevent ice crystals from clogging heat exchanger 32 . thus , the risk of ice crystals clogging fuel lines 50 and 52 and small orifices within fuel pump 34 and combustor 20 is mitigated , thereby increasing the operating efficiency and safety of gas turbine engine 12 . as will be discussed in greater detail with reference to fig2 , bypass valve 14 may be positioned anywhere to allow the heat from engine heat exchanger 32 to impart heat into valve 14 sufficient to melt ice . in the event ice crystals do form within heat exchanger 32 sufficient to cause blockage , bypass valve 60 can be opened to allow fuel to bypass heat exchanger 32 . continuous flow of heated oil from generator 26 will flow into generator heat exchanger 30 through line 42 b to melt the ice forming the blockage . after enough ice has melted to allow flow through heat exchanger 30 and the pressure within bypass line 41 to drop , bypass valve 14 will close and fuel flow through line 48 will be restored . flow of oil through generator heat exchanger 30 may be bypassed by valve 56 . similarly , flow of oil through engine heat exchanger 32 may be bypassed by valve 58 . operation of valves 56 and 58 may be manually closed for service or may be automatically closed by the fadec based on engine conditions . fig2 shows a schematic view of engine heat exchanger 32 connected to heated bypass valve 14 of fig1 a and 1b . engine heat exchanger 32 includes bypass valve 14 , bypass line 41 , oil input line 44 a , oil output line 44 b , fuel input line 48 , fuel output line 50 , bypass line 61 , housing 62 and heat exchange mechanism 64 . fuel input line 48 delivers cool fuel to heat exchange mechanism 64 while oil input line 44 a delivers hot oil to heat exchange mechanism 64 . heat exchange mechanism 64 transfers heat from the oil to the fuel . heat exchange mechanism 64 may comprise any suitable heat transfer mechanism as is known in the art . for example , heat exchangers 30 and 32 may comprise dual - fluid plate - fin or shell - and - tube heat exchangers . heat exchange mechanism 64 is disposed within housing 62 , which also provides a framework for mounting the components of heat exchanger 32 . for example , fuel line 48 , bypass line 41 , oil lines 44 a and 44 b and bypass line 61 may pass through housing 62 to join with heat exchange mechanism 64 . as mentioned above , bypass valve 14 may be positioned anywhere near heat exchanger 32 where there is sufficient heat to melt ice within bypass valve 14 . as explained earlier , bearings for engine shaft 22 generate much higher heat than does generator 26 . thus , heat exchanger 32 may be able to melt ice that heat exchanger 30 was unable to melt . additionally , due to the extremely elevated temperatures of the oil used to cool bearings for shaft 22 , engine heat exchanger 32 produces heat zone 66 . as such , bypass valve 14 may be positioned outside of heat exchanger 32 anywhere within heating zone 66 where there is sufficient heat to melt ice . in the embodiment depicted , bypass valve is attached to the outside of housing 62 within heat zone 66 so as to be in thermal communication with heat from the oil . in other embodiments , bypass valve 14 may be attached to the inside of housing 62 or anywhere within bypass line 42 between housing 62 and input line 48 in thermal communication with heat from the oil . in yet other embodiments , bypass valve 14 can be heated more directly from the heat of oil used to cool and lubricate the bearings of shaft 22 . for example , bypass valve 14 could be thermally coupled to line 44 a , line 44 b , pump 40 , an oil sump or another component having heated bearing oil , rather than being coupled to heat exchanger 32 . engine heat exchanger 32 also includes bypass valve 60 which is disposed within bypass line 61 . bypass line 61 forms a secondary fuel bypass circuit around heat exchange mechanism 64 in the event heat from oil within oil lines 44 a and 44 b is insufficient to melt ice within the fuel . bypass line 61 extends from fuel line 48 downstream of bypass line 41 and bypass valve 14 to fuel outlet line 50 downstream of heat exchange mechanism 64 . thus , fuel including frozen ice particles may travel from boost pump 28 ( fig1 a ) to fuel pump 34 ( fig1 a ) without passing through heat exchangers 30 or 32 . bypass valve 60 may be sized accordingly to allow large ice crystals to pass through without clogging the valve mechanism . such a condition is undesirable , but may provide fuel to engine 12 for a time sufficient for heat exchangers 30 and 32 to melt ice blocking the heat exchangers . by using the heat of oil used to cool and lubricate bearings within engine 12 , which is typically much higher than the heat of generator heat exchanger 30 , blockage of generator heat exchanger 30 can be mitigated . for example , the presence of an unheated bypass valve around the heat exchange mechanism of heat exchanger 30 is eliminated . this eliminates a potential choke point for ice particles within the system . thus , flow of fuel can never be completely choked off at generator heat exchanger 30 . the elevated heat from engine heat exchanger 32 will always be available within the system to melt ice , whether it is blocking generator heat exchanger 30 or engine heat exchanger 32 . heat from oil engine bearings is conveniently accessed at engine heat exchanger 32 , which is typically positioned in close proximity to heat exchanger 30 and input line 48 . while the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment ( s ), 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 embodiment ( s ) disclosed , but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims . | 8 |
preferred embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings . fig1 shows a configuration of an image monitoring system 100 according to an embodiment . this image monitoring system 100 is formed by connecting each of a camera 101 , a recording device 102 , a display 103 , an alarm generating unit 104 , a user operating unit 106 , a cpu ( central processing unit ) 107 , a rom ( read only memory ) 108 , and a ram ( random access memory ) 109 to a bus 105 . the camera 101 is an itv camera , for example . the recording device 102 stores an image signal obtained by photographing by the camera 101 , information on an object area which information is obtained by an object area tracking process in an image processing unit to be described later , and the like . the recording device 102 is formed by for example an hdd ( hard disk drive ), a semiconductor memory or the like . the display 103 displays an image based on an image signal obtained by image pickup by the camera 101 , an image based on an image signal reproduced from the recording device 102 , an object tracking image processed on the basis of object area information recorded in the recording device 102 , and the like . the display 103 is formed by for example an lcd , a crt , or the like . the alarm generating unit 104 for example generates an alarm under control of the image processing unit to be described later when an alarm is needed on the basis of object area information obtained by the object area tracking process in the image processing unit and the like . for example , when a predetermined object enters an area where trespassing is prohibited , the alarm generating unit 104 generates an alarm . the user operating unit 106 forms a user interface for a user to perform various operations on the image monitoring system 100 . the user operating unit 106 is formed by for example a keyboard , a mouse and the like . the cpu 107 controls operation of the whole of the image monitoring system 100 . the rom 108 stores a control program for controlling the operation of the cpu 107 , and the like . the ram 109 functions as a working area for the cpu 107 or the like . the cpu 107 reads the control program stored in the rom 108 as occasion demands , transfers the read control program to the ram 109 , and then expands the control program . then , the cpu 107 reads and executes the control program expanded in the ram 109 to thereby control each part of the image monitoring system 100 . the cpu 107 , the rom 108 , and the ram 109 form the image processing unit that performs an object area detecting process for detecting a moving object in images and an object area tracking process . fig2 shows functional blocks forming the image processing unit . the image processing unit includes an object area detecting unit 111 , an object area information storing unit 112 , a past object area information storing unit 113 , an object area associating unit 114 , an object area determining unit 115 , a disappeared object area reproducing unit 116 , and an object area information integrating unit 117 . on the basis of an image signal ( input image signal ) obtained by image pickup by the camera 101 , the object area detecting unit 111 detects information on an object area ( current object area ) from an image based on the image signal . this detection process is performed using for example the inter - frame difference processing or the background difference processing described above . in this case , the information on the object area is for example the size , position , traveling velocity , color and the like of the object area . for example , the traveling velocity is composed of a horizontal component and a vertical component . a left and a right and an upward direction and a downward direction are distinguished from each other by a plus sign and a minus sign . the object area information storing unit 112 stores the information on the current object area which information is detected by the object area detecting unit 111 . the object area detecting unit 111 detects object area information in correspondence with each frame of the image signal . the past object area information storing unit 113 stores information on a past object area . in this case , past object area information includes object area information detected by the object area detecting unit 111 in a frame immediately preceding a current frame and object area information reproduced in the frame immediately preceding the current frame . incidentally , contents of the object area information stored in the past object area information storing unit 113 are contents of the object area information stored in the above - described object area information storing unit 112 and an identifying number as identifying information added to the contents of the object area information stored in the object area information storing unit 112 . the object area associating unit 114 associates the current object area and the past object area with each other on the basis of the information on the current object area which information is stored in the information storing unit 112 and the information on the past object area which information is stored in the information storing unit 113 . this association is performed using the information ( size , position , traveling velocity and the like ) on the current object area and predictive information on the current object area , the predictive information on the current object area being based on the information ( size , position , traveling velocity and the like ) on the past object area . the size , the traveling velocity and the like forming the information on the past object area become predicted values of the size , the traveling velocity and the like of the current object area as they are . the position forming the information on the past object area is converted into a predicted value of the position of the current object area , using the traveling velocity and the like . the object area associating unit 114 associates each past object area with a current object area having information closest to predictive information on the current object area , the predictive information being obtained on the basis of information on the past object area . depending on the number of current object areas detected by the object area detecting unit 111 , all past object areas may not be associated with current object areas . this means that a past object area that cannot be associated has disappeared . depending on the number of current object areas detected by the object area detecting unit 111 , a current object area remains after all past object areas are associated with current object areas . this means that the remaining current object area has appeared as a new object area . the disappeared object area reproducing unit 116 reproduces and outputs information on a past object area that cannot be associated by the object area associating unit 114 as described above . in this case , as the reproduced object area information , the above - described predictive information is basically used . as for an identifying number , a positive value is converted into a negative value . incidentally , object area information including an identifying number that is already a negative value has been reproduced in the previous frame . incidentally , in this case , by reproducing information on a predetermined object area that has disappeared , an identifying number given to the predetermined object area continues being retained . in the present embodiment , the retention of the identifying number is stopped on certain conditions . for example , as described above , the object area associating unit 114 uses predictive information on a current object area which information is based on information on a past object area . however , in a case where a predicted position is outside an image , even when object area information is to be reproduced by the reproducing unit 116 , the object area information is not reproduced . in addition , for example , in a case where the number of times of reproduction of object area information including an identifying number that is already a negative value exceeds a predetermined number of frames , even when the object area information is to be reproduced by the reproducing unit 116 , the object area information is not reproduced . this case means that the predetermined object area that has disappeared has not reappeared at a predicted position within a period corresponding to the predetermined number of frames . the predetermined number of frames may be set as a fixed value , or may be set according to the number of frames in which the predetermined object area existed before the disappearance thereof . thus , by stopping reproduction in the disappeared object area reproducing unit 116 and hence retention of an identifying number on certain conditions , a need for a process of for example predicting a reappearance position of a predetermined object area corresponding to the identifying number is eliminated , so that a processing load can be reduced . the object area determining unit 115 adds an identifying number included in the information on the past object area associated with the current object area by the object area associating unit 114 as described above to the information on the associated current object area . the object area determining unit 115 then outputs the object area information . in this case , when the identifying number is a negative value , the negative value is converted to a positive value . this means that the object area that once disappeared has reappeared . in addition , the object area determining unit 115 adds a new identifying number to information on the current object area that remains without being associated with a past object area by the object area associating unit 114 as described above , and then the object area determining unit 115 outputs the object area information . this means that the new object area that did not exist in the past has appeared . further , the object area determining unit 115 determines whether information such as size or the like of the current object area associated with the past object area is changed greatly as compared with that of the past object area . when the information of the current object area is changed greatly , the information on the associated past object area is reproduced and output . in this case , as the reproduced object area information , the above - described predictive information is basically used . as for an identifying number , a positive value is converted into a negative value . when the information such as the size or the like of the current object area associated with the past object area is thus changed greatly as compared with that of the past object area , it is expected that in a next frame in which the current object area becomes a past object area , the current object area will not be correctly associated with a current object area to be detected in the next frame . that is , in this case , although the past object area is tentatively associated with the current object area , in the present embodiment , the object area is also considered to have substantially disappeared , and the same process as in the disappeared object area reproducing unit 116 described above is performed . the object area information integrating unit 117 integrates the object area information output from the disappeared object area reproducing unit 116 and the object area determining unit 115 . the object area information integrating unit 117 outputs only object area information having positive identifying numbers as a result for the current frame . in addition , the object area information integrating unit 117 sends the object area information having positive and negative identifying numbers as past object area information to be used in a next frame to the information storing unit 113 . the operation of the image processing unit shown in fig2 will be described . an image signal ( input image signal ) obtained by image pickup by the camera 101 is supplied to the object area detecting unit 111 . the detecting unit 111 detects information ( size , position , traveling velocity and the like ) on an object area ( current object area ) from an image obtained from the input image signal on the basis of the input image signal , using inter - frame difference processing , background difference processing or the like . the information on the current object area which information is thus detected by the detecting unit 111 is supplied to the object area information storing unit 112 to be stored in the object area information storing unit 112 . the information on the current object area which information is stored in the information storing unit 112 is supplied to the object area associating unit 114 . in addition , the object area associating unit 114 is supplied with information ( size , position , traveling velocity , identifying number and the like ) on a past object area which information is stored in the past object area information storing unit 113 . the object area associating unit 114 associates the current object area and the past object area with each other on the basis of the information on the current object area and the information on the past object area . this association is performed using the information ( size , position , traveling velocity and the like ) on the current object area and predictive information on the current object area , the predictive information on the current object area being based on the information ( size , position , traveling velocity and the like ) on the past object area . in this case , each past object area is associated with a current object area having information closest to predictive information on the current object area , the predictive information on the current object area being obtained on the basis of information on the past object area . however , depending on the number of current object areas detected by the object area detecting unit 111 , there is a case ( 1 ) where all past object areas cannot be associated with current object areas or a case ( 2 ) where a current object area remains without being associated with a past object area . the case ( 1 ) means that there is an object area that has disappeared . the case ( 2 ) means that there is an object area that has appeared as a new object area . the disappeared object area reproducing unit 116 refers to a result of the association by the object area associating unit 114 . the disappeared object area reproducing unit 116 reproduces and outputs information on a past object area that cannot be associated . in this case , as the reproduced object area information , the above - described predictive information is basically used . as for identifying numbers , an identifying number that is a positive value is converted into a negative value , and an identifying number that is already a negative value remains as it is , indicating that the object area information including the identifying numbers results from reproduction . the reproducing unit 116 thus reproduces information on a predetermined object area that has disappeared , whereby identifying information given to the predetermined object area continues being retained . however , the retention of the identifying number is stopped on certain conditions ( a predicted position is outside an image , and the number of times of reproduction exceeds a predetermined number of frames , for example ) as described above , so that a processing load is reduced . the object area determining unit 115 refers to the result of the association by the object area associating unit 114 . the object area determining unit 115 adds an identifying number included in the information on the past object area associated with the current object area to the information on the associated current object area . the object area determining unit 115 then outputs the object area information . in this case , when the identifying number is a negative value , the negative value is converted to a positive value . this means that the object area that once disappeared has reappeared . in addition , referring to the result of the association by the object area associating unit 114 , the object area determining unit 115 adds a new identifying number to information on the current object area that remains without being associated with a past object area , and then the object area determining unit 115 outputs the object area information . this means that the new object area that did not exist in the past has appeared . further , the object area determining unit 115 determines whether information such as size or the like of the current object area associated with the past object area is changed greatly as compared with that of the past object area . when the information of the current object area is changed greatly , the information on the associated past object area is reproduced and output . in this case , as the reproduced object area information , the above - described predictive information is basically used . as for an identifying number , a positive value is converted into a negative value to indicate the reproduction . the object area information output from the reproducing unit 116 and the determining unit 115 is supplied to the object area information integrating unit 117 , and then integrated . that is , the information integrating unit 117 outputs only object area information having positive identifying numbers as a result for the current frame . the object area information having the positive identifying numbers is supplied to the recording device 102 to be stored therein , as described above . in addition , the object area information having positive and negative identifying numbers is sent from the object area information integrating unit 117 to the information storing unit 113 to be stored in the information storing unit 113 as past object area information to be used in a next frame . description will next be made of an example of continued retention and restoration of an identifying number in the image processing unit shown in fig2 . first , consideration will be given to a case where two objects at a time t − 1 overlap each other at time t , and are separate from each other again at time t + 1 , as shown in fig8 described above . this is a phenomenon that occurs in an actual image monitoring system when people overlap each other . description will be made with reference to fig3 and fig4 . at time t , there is only one object area . when this object area is associated with an object area at time t − 1 , the object area is associated with an object area having an identifying number “ 1 ” at time t − 1 . an object area having an identifying number “ 2 ” at time t − 1 is not associated with any object area and is thus in a disappeared state at time t . in this case , information on the disappeared object area is reproduced , and the identifying number is changed from “ 2 ” as a positive value to “− 2 ” as a negative value . thereby the identifying number of the disappeared object area continues being retained . at time t + 1 , whether there is an object area that can be associated with the object area having the identifying number “− 2 ” is determined using predictive information ( size , position , traveling velocity and the like ) on the object area at time t + 1 , the predictive information being obtained from the information reproduced at time t on the object area having the identifying number “− 2 ”. when there is an object area that can be associated at time t + 1 , the object area is associated , and the identifying number “ 2 ” is added to information on the object area . thereby , when the object area that disappeared temporarily due to the overlapping of objects reappears , the same identifying number as that before the disappearance of the object area is given to the object area . thus an identical identifying number can be maintained for an identical object area . incidentally , while the above description has been made of a case where an object area overlaps another object area and thereby disappears temporarily , similar operation is performed when an object is completely hidden behind an obstacle and thus disappears temporarily . consideration will next be given to a case where an object at time t − 1 is hidden by another object at time t , and reappears at time t + 1 , as shown in fig1 described above . this is a phenomenon that occurs in an actual image monitoring system when a person is hidden behind an obstacle ( for example a utility pole ) or the like . description will be made with reference to fig5 and fig6 . at time t , there is only one object area . this object area is associated with an object area having an identifying number “ 1 ” at time t − 1 . in this case , however , because the object area at time t is hidden behind an obstacle , the size of the object area is changed greatly as compared with that of the object area at time t − 1 . thus , further , information on the object area having the identifying number “ 1 ” at time t − 1 is reproduced at time t . in this case , the identifying number is changed from “ 1 ” as a positive value to “− 1 ” as a negative value . in this case , because the size of the object area having the identifying number “ 1 ” at time t is changed greatly from the original size , it is expected that the object area having the identifying number “ 1 ” at time t will not be correctly associated with an object area at a next time t + 1 . that is , the reproduction is performed as described above because the object area having the identifying number “ 1 ” at time t − 1 is considered to substantially disappear at time t . at time t + 1 , whether there is an object area that can be associated with the object area at time t ( the identifying number “ 1 ” and the identifying number “− 1 ”) is determined using predictive information ( size , position , traveling velocity and the like ) on the object area at time t + 1 , the predictive information being obtained from information on the object area at time t . in this case , from relation in size , an object area that goes out of the hiding obstacle and reappears at time t + 1 is associated with the object area having the identifying number “− 1 ” at time t , and the identifying number “ 1 ” is added to information on the object area that reappears at time t + 1 . thereby , when the object area that disappeared temporarily due to the hiding of an object reappears , the same identifying number as that before the disappearance of the object area is given to the object area . thus an identical identifying number can be maintained for an identical object area . as described above , according to the image monitoring system 100 shown in fig1 , in the object area tracking process , an identifying number given to a predetermined object area that disappeared continues being retained . when the predetermined object area reappears , the retained identifying number is given to the predetermined object area . even when the object area temporarily disappears because the object area is overlapped or hidden , the identifying number can be maintained . therefore object tracking performance can be improved . in addition , according to the image monitoring system 100 shown in fig1 , in the object area tracking process , when a predetermined object area disappears , information such for example as a size , position and the like on the predetermined object area when the predetermined object area reappears is predicted on the basis of information on a past object area associated with the predetermined object area . whether the predetermined object area has reappeared is determined referring to the predicted object area information . it is thus possible to determine the reappearance of the predetermined object area with high accuracy , and improve accuracy in maintenance of identifying numbers . incidentally , in the process of the image processing unit in the foregoing embodiment , when information on an object area that has disappeared is reproduced , an identifying number included in the information is changed from a positive value to a negative value . however , the present invention is not limited to this . the identifying number can be changed to any form as long as the object area information can be recognized as reproduced information and the original identifying number can be restored . in addition , while the foregoing embodiment uses identifying numbers as unique identifying information , other information may be used . according to an embodiment of the present invention , even when an object area temporarily disappears because the object area is overlapped or hidden , the identifying number can be maintained . therefore object tracking performance can be improved . the present invention is applicable to monitoring systems using itv cameras , for example . it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications , combinations , sub - combinations and alterations may occur depending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof . | 7 |
referring first to fig1 there is shown a fork 10 , a derailleur 11 , chain 12 , spokes 13 , and a set 14 of cogs . referring next to fig2 the illustrated cog set 14 comprises seven cogs 16 - 22 , inclusive , having different diameters and numbers of teeth so as to cooperate with chain 12 with different mechanical advantages . cogs 15 - 21 , inclusive , are maintained separate from each other by the illustrated cog hubs 23 or ( alternatively ) by separate spacers . the outer end cog , number 22 , is always fixedly secured to its hub or spacer 24 . it is to be understood that the inner six cogs 16 - 21 , may , if desired , be prebolted together so as to go on as an assembly . however , the outer cog , number 22 , is put on 20 separately after mounting of the inner six cogs 16 - 21 as described below . different diameters of cogs may be employed as desired by the operator . referring next to fig3 and 4 , the cogs 16 - 22 ( only one of which is shown in these figures ) are mounted on a cylindrical body 26 which is called a cassette body in the illustrated embodiment . the exterior cylindrical surface 27 of body 26 is provided with a multiplicity of circumferentially - spaced shallow keyways 28 that are parallel to each other and to the axis of body 26 . keyways 28 receive splines or keys 29 that are formed integrally at the 30 central openings of the inner six cogs 16 - 21 , the splines or keys 29 on one such cog being shown in fig3 . it is to be understood that the splines or keys on the remaining ones of the six inner cogs correspond to what is shown in fig3 . the set 14 of cogs is prevented from shifting off the inner end of cassette body 26 by means of integral stops 32 . these are radial wall or flange portions that extend outwardly from the cylindrical surface 27 , at regions between keyways 28 , at the inner end of the body 26 the hub 24 of the inner cog 22 is not splined but instead is internally threaded . the shape and size of such internal threading are such that the outer cog 22 and its hub 24 may be and are threaded onto the outer end of cassette body 26 . the thread for hub 24 is numbered 33 in fig4 . this thread 33 has a smaller diameter than that of the threads described below . thread 33 is not provided on the main part of the exterior cylindrical surface 27 , but instead on a necked - down outer end portion of the body 26 and which is numbered 34 . the necking down provides a shoulder 36 located in substantially the same radial plane as the outer ends of the various keyways 28 . the necked - down end region 34 of the body is cylindrical immediately adjacent shoulder 36 . then , outwardly thereof , the outer end of the body is exteriorly generally hexagonal as shown in fig4 and 5 . furthermore , only spaced corner regions of the exteriorly - hexagonal surface are threaded , as shown as 37 . thus , wrench flats 38 are provided between such exteriorly - threaded corner regions 37 to receive a wrench that is employed to torque the body . the thread 33 for the outer cog 22 , and the threaded corners 37 between wrench flats 38 , form a continuous helical thread the diameter of which is just sufficiently small that it does not interfere with mounting of the splines 29 in keyways 28 . thus , the inner cogs 16 - 21 shift axially over the thread regions 33 and 37 without interference therefrom , and then enter the keyways 28 . thereafter , the outer end cog 22 and its hub 24 are threaded onto the threaded regions 33 and 37 to mount the outer cog 22 on the body and also to hold the inner cogs in position . cassette body 26 is provided with a relatively large diameter axial bore 41 ( fig3 ) at the outer end of which is an axial counterbore 42 ( fig2 and 4 ). a relatively large diameter combination bearing race and clutch - ball race 43 is mounted coaxially in the bore and counterbore 41 , 42 . at its portion within bore 41 , race 43 has surface regions the diameters of which are substantially less large than the diameter of bore 41 , as shown at 44 in fig3 . at its region within counterbore 42 , race 43 has a continuous cylindrical surface 46 that is spaced somewhat inwardly from the cylindrical wall of counterbore 42 . at its inner end , race 43 has an externally threaded neck 47 that threads into an internally threaded bore 48 in the illustrated bicycle wheel hub 49 ( fig2 ). threading of the neck 47 into the hub 49 continues until a shoulder , at the hub end of race 43 , engages the radial end surface of hub 49 . such threading is readily effected because the outer ( right in fig2 ) end of a cylindrical bore 51 in race 43 is hexagonally shaped to receive a allen wrench . the bicycle wheel hub 49 and the race 43 are rotatably mounted conjointly on the tubular axle 52 of the bicycle wheel , by bearings next described . these are two roller bearing assemblies 52 , one of which is pressed into a counterbore in the left end of hub 49 ( fig2 ). the other ball bearing assembly is pressed into a counterbore in the right end of race 43 ( fig2 ). in each case , the ball bearing assembly is pressed against a shoulder formed near an end of the tubular axle 53 of the bicycle wheel . in each case , a bearing cap 54 is provided , as shown in section in fig2 . outwardly of each bearing cap , there is a stopper 56 pressed over each end of the axle . the stoppers cooperate with the forks 10 to mount the assembly between the forks 10 of the bicycle . quick release means , including the usual element that extends through the tubular axle 53 , are provided to pull the forks together to thus press against the stoppers 56 and mount the assembly for quick release when desired . spacers , not shown , may be provided immediately inwardly of the stoppers . referring next to a description of the balls and associated grooves , there are two sets of preferably small - diameter balls 61 that rotatably mount the cassette body 26 on race 43 in low - friction ball - bearing relationship . referring to fig2 the first such set of balls 61 is adjacent the hub 49 of the bicycle wheel , and rides in an annular groove that is formed in the inner end of race 26 in communication with axial bore 41 ( fig3 ). stated otherwise , the groove for the left set of balls 61 ( fig2 ) is provided by forming a short counterbore at the left end of the bore in body 26 . the left set of balls 61 is caged by the outer surface of the race . the second set of bearing balls 61 , shown at the right in fig2 is provided in an annular groove formed in the outer - left corner of the large portion of race 43 . thus , the right balls are caged in position by the inner end of the wall of counterbore 42 . the two sets of balls 61 maintain body 26 coaxial with the assembly despite the fact that there are spaces between the surfaces of body 26 and the opposed surfaces of race 43 . there will next be described balls , grooves , etc ., which cooperate with the race 43 and cassette body 26 in spherical ball - clutch relationship . this provides a very high - torque , high - strength connection between the body and race when the pedals of the bicycle are being turned forwardly and permits low - friction silent turning of the wheel when the pedals are not being actuated . furthermore , upon actuation of the pedals the response is substantially immediate , there being no substantial slop or play . referring to fig3 and 4 , body 26 is provided in four axially - spaced radial planes with circumferentially spaced bores 62 that are ( at least at their inner regions ) threaded . the bores 62 in each radial plane are generally tangential to the race 43 . furthermore , the bores 62 in each plane are equally spaced about the axis of the assembly . the bores in adjacent planes are staggered relative to each other , as shown in fig4 in corresponding ways . thus , the bores shown at the left in fig4 correspond in circumferential positions to those shown third from left . also , the bores second from left in fig4 correspond in circumferential positions to those fourth from left . it is to be understood that other numbers of bores could be employed . at its inner end , each bore 62 communicates with a recess 63 ( fig3 ) which in turn opens through the wall of axial bore 41 of body 26 . each recess has an outer wall portion 66 that is smooth and extends generally tangentially to the race 43 . a clutch ball 67 is mounted in each recess 63 and in an annular groove 68 , 69 , 70 or 71 ( fig4 ) in race 43 . each groove 68 - 71 is located correspondingly to one set of bores 62 and recesses 63 . thus , the grooves 68 - 71 lie in radial planes , the centers of the groove corresponding to the centers of recesses 63 and of clutch balls 67 . each clutch ball 67 is pressed toward the end of its associated recess 63 by a helical compression spring 72 , the spring being backed by a set screw 73 threaded into each bore 62 , there being a cylindrical spring guide ( part of the set screw ) around each spring 72 . the diameters of balls 67 are correlated to the radial location of the outer walls 66 of recesses 63 , in such manner as to achieve wedging relationships when the operator attempts to rotate cassette body 26 clockwise relative to race 43 . accordingly , torque is transmitted through the balls to the race and thus to the bicycle hub 49 . when , on the other hand , no torque is applied by the operator , the race shifts the balls slightly in a direction away from the ends of the recesses , eliminating the wedging relationships and freeing the hub 49 for silent rotation relative to the cassette body 26 . when the operator again rotate the cassette body ( by means of the pedals , chain and a cog ), torque is again instantly transmitted to the race and thus to the hub 29 , wheel and tire . referring next to fig5 there is shown a free - wheel type cog adapter 74 the external portion of which correspond to any one of many different free - wheel cog adapters in conventional use . thus , the illustrated cog adapter has but one of man different configurations which could be employed and which are known in the art . cog adapter 74 ( and others , not shown ) has at least two different outer diameters adapted to receive cogs 75 - 81 having correspondingly different internal diameters . the cog adapters have external longitudinal keyways or grooves 82a and 82b which receive key portions 83 of the cogs 75 - 80 . at its outer end , cog adapter 74 is externally threaded , at 83 , to receive an internally threaded cog 80 , or associated hub or spacer , which holds the set of cogs on the cog adapter . at its inner end , cog adapter 74 has a radial flange to prevent excessive inward movement of the set of cogs . in accordance with one aspect of the present invention , cog adapter 74 has an internal thread 84 that mates with an external thread 85 on cassette body 26 . such external thread is present only on the lands between the above - described keyways 28 on the external surface of the cassette body 26 . in operation , when a retailer or bicyclist desires to employ a cassette set 14 of cogs , he or she does not employ the free - wheel cog adapter 74 or the associated cogs 75 - 81 . instead , cog set 14 is mounted directly on the cassette body 26 as described in detail above . however , if a retailer or operator desires to employ a free - wheel cog adapter and set of cogs , he or she takes the cog adapter 74 and threads it onto the threads 85 on cassette body 26 . then , or previously , the cogs 75 - 79 are mounted on the cog adapter 4 , being maintained in mounted condition by means of the outer end cog 81 which is threaded onto the external end thread 83 . in either case , there is extremely high - strength transmission of torque between the cogs and the race and thus the hub of the bicycle , by means of the balls 67 and associated mechanism . furthermore , the operation is completely silent and substantially instantaneous . the foregoing detailed description is to be clearly understood as given by way of illustration and example only , the spirit and scope of this invention being limited solely by the appended claims . | 8 |
fig1 shows schematically the general layout of the header according to the present invention . thus the header comprises a main frame generally indicated at 10 including a main longitudinal beam 10 a which extends across the full width of the frame and defines the width of the header . the frame further includes a table 11 which is mounted downwardly and forwardly of the main beam 10 a and supported on the main beam by a plurality of braces 12 . on top of the table 11 is mounted a draper or other conveyor 13 which carries the cut crop material along the header for discharge . at the front of the table is provided a knife support bracket 14 in the form of a generally u - shaped channel facing forwardly of the table . on the bracket 14 is mounted a sickle knife 15 which extends across the full width of the table and acts to cut a standing crop as the header is moved across the ground carrying the crop . a reel 16 is mounted on arm 17 . the construction of the reel is substantially the same as that shown and described in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 776 , 155 and 5 , 768 , 870 of the present assignees . however the reel can vary in design and is well known to one skilled in the art and therefore will not be described in full detail . the reel comprises a main elongate beam 30 in the form of a cylindrical tube which is mounted on suitable bearings ( not shown ) so as to allow rotation of the beam 30 about a main longitudinal axis 32 of the beam . the beam carries a plurality of star shaped support elements ( not shown ) at spaced positions along the length of the beam with each support element having a number of arms equal to a number of bats 34 carried by the main beam 30 . each bat includes a support shaft 35 which is mounted in a bearing at the end of a respective arms . on the shaft is mounted a bat comprising an elongate body which supports a number of fingers 36 at longitudinally spaced positions along the length of the bat which project from the bat generally outwardly away from the axis 32 . the bat shafts 35 and their longitudinal axis thus rotate about the axis 32 . at the same time each bat pivots about its respective shaft 35 so as to provide a variation in the angle of the fingers 36 relative to an axial plane joining the axis 32 and the shaft 35 . the intention in the movement is maintain the bat fingers mutually parallel at least as they move through the working zone in which they contact the crop and more preferably throughout the full rotation around the reel axis . in order to achieve this , it is of course necessary that the bat fingers constantly adjust in angle relative to the axial plane passing through the respective bat axis . the arms 17 are mounted for pivotal movement about a mounting pin 21 carried on a lug 20 welded to the top of the beam 10 a . the arms 17 can be raised and lowered by hydraulic cylinders 17 a operating between the underside of the arm and a front side of the support 12 . each of the arms includes a rear portion 17 b which extends upwardly and outwardly to a top apex 17 c and a second portion 17 d which extends downwardly and forwardly to a forwardmost end 17 e . the portions 17 b and the rear part of the portion 17 d is formed of a tubular member . a forward part of the portion 17 d is defined by a angle iron including a top wall 50 and a depending side wall 51 . a part of the side wall may include a flange at the bottom end to provide a stiffening effect for structural strength . the shaft 30 is carried upon two beam support members 53 each carried on the respective arm 17 . the beam support member 53 comprises a horizontal plate 54 which can slide across and rest upon the upper surface of the top wall 50 . the plate 54 has a hole 55 by which the plate can be bolted to the top wall 50 . for this purpose the top wall 50 has a plurality of square holes 56 at longitudinally spaced positions along its length from a first one of the holes 56 a to a last one of the holes 56 b . this allows the position of the plate to be moved from a forwardmost position where its edge 54 a aligns roughly with an edge 50 a of the top wall 50 of the arm to a rearward position in which a rear edge 54 b of the plate reaches the location indicated at 50 b just beyond the hole 56 b . fore and aft movement of the support member therefore effects fore and aft movement of the beam of the reel between the required adjustment positions for required operation of the header . the beam support member 53 further includes a downwardly depending front plate 57 . this plate is parallel to the front side wall 51 of the channel of the support arm and may be in contact with that wall as shown in fig4 or it may be spaced forwardly from that wall . the front plate 57 includes a bottom portion 58 which extends to a position below the bottom edge 51 a of the side wall 51 so that a portion is exposed below . the support member 53 is shown only schematically and may further include a mounting for the bearings of the shaft and for the operating elements of the reel which are not described herein as they are not relevant to the particular structure with which the present invention is concerned and since they are well known to or can be found by a person skilled in the art from the previously described patents and from products available in the marketplace . the bottom portion 58 of the plate 57 which extends below the bottom edge of the wall 51 carries a pair of rearwardly projecting mounting elements 59 each of which extends beyond the wall 51 to a mounting member 60 in the form of a vertical plate . the plate extends upwardly from the support brackets 59 to a top edge 61 which is located immediately adjacent or in contact with the bottom surface of the top wall 50 . the plate 60 has two ends 60 a , 60 b and a center section 60 c bent into a vertical plane parallel to but spaced from the ends with the center section located just to one side of the holes 56 . the bent portions 60 d of the plate 60 effect stiffening of the plate . the brackets 59 comprise a pair of bolts with spacer sleeves surrounding the bolts thus clamping the plate 60 rigidly to the front plate 57 and holding it in fixed parallel position relative to the plate 57 . a sprocket 63 is mounted on a spindle 64 at the plate portion 60 c so that the sprocket lies in a plane parallel to the plate 60 with the spindle 64 extending at right angles to the plate 60 and rearwardly therefrom away from the side walls 51 of the arm . the sprocket is thus mounted for rotation about the axis of the spindle 64 . the sprocket has on its outer periphery a plurality of sprocket teeth 65 which are arranged at a spacing so as to match the spacing of the holes 56 in the top wall 50 . the sprocket 63 carries on its exposed face a nut 65 which can be grasped by a wrench 66 engaged onto the nut from behind . the wrench is thus operated in movement back and forth so as to effect rotation of the nut 65 thus driving rotation of the sprocket 63 . as the sprocket is fixed to the plate 60 which is attached to the beam support member 53 , rotation of the sprocket causes the teeth to grasp each hole 56 in turn and thus to drive the sprocket longitudinally along the wall 50 . an operator therefore using the wrench can manually quickly move the support member 53 to a required position along the length of the support arm . when the support member 53 is moved to the required position and the hole 55 in the plate 54 is suitably aligned with a selected one of the holes 56 , the wrench is removed and a bolt 70 inserted in place through the hole 55 and the selected hole 56 . the bolt 70 thus ensures that the beam support member 53 is maintained in its fixed position at the required location along the support arm . if further adjustment is required , the bolt 70 is removed and the sprocket actuated by the wrench 66 to move again to the required position . the use of the sprocket ensures that the beam support member can be moved despite any binding or resistance due to the mechanical advantage obtained by the wrench 66 . the sprocket is protected in its location behind the plate 52 and underneath the plate 50 of the arm so that it is not exposed to view nor to damage nor to contamination . the sprocket co - operates with existing locating holes in the support arm and therefore the additional elements necessary for this mechanical adjustment system are relatively limited . furthermore , the mounting plate 60 which is located underneath the arm member and adjacent or in abutment with the top wall 50 is rigidly attached to the support member 57 and thus prevents the support member from lifting away from the top surface of the wall 50 due to changes in torque in the reel or due to shock loading over bumpy ground . it is possible therefore to use only a single bolt 70 holding the plate 54 onto the top wall 50 so that the adjustment and locking can be effected quickly and easily without the danger that the plate will be twisted or the bolt broken by the tendency of the rear edge of the plate 54 to lift away from the top wall 50 . while the preferred embodiment is described above , the sprocket can be rotated by other manually operable tools such as a ratchet lever permanently attached thereto . the use of a wrench or a nut is not therefore essential to the invention . in some arrangements , the use of the bolt 70 to connect the plate 54 to the arm may be omitted and in some cases may be replaced by other fastening techniques . since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described , and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without departing from such spirit and scope , it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense . | 0 |
various embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings . the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts . additionally , detailed descriptions of well - known functions and structures incorporated herein may be omitted to avoid obscuring the subject matter of the present disclosure . accordingly , examples provided herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein . the term “ cell ” used in the following description refers to a sector being served by the enodeb . one enodeb can serve multiple cells . the embodiments herein disclosed relate to a method and system for providing mbms continuity in a telecommunication network . referring now to the drawings , and more particularly to fig1 - 7 , where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures , there are shown several embodiments . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating an mbms provisioning system 100 , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . the mbms provisioning system 100 includes an mbms network 101 and at least one ue 106 . the mbms network 101 includes a mobility management entity ( mme ) 102 , a multicast coordination entity ( mce ) 103 , at least one enodeb 104 , and an mbms gateway 105 . the ue 106 is configured to communicate with the enodeb 104 to access the mbms network 101 . the mce 103 is configured to communicate with the enodeb 104 and the mme 102 to manage resources and contents of various mbms services being offered by the mbms network 101 . the mme 102 is configured to act as a key control node and is responsible for managing and controlling idle mode operation of the ue 106 . the mme 102 is further responsible for authenticating the any resource / service access attempts of the ue 106 . the mbms gateway 105 is configured to manage and control multicast process for distributing mbms user plane data . the mbms gateway 105 is responsible for performing mbms session control signaling through the mme 102 . the mbms gateway 105 is further configured to provide mbms service continuity between the mbms network 101 and the ue 106 . the mbms gateway 105 is also configured to provide at least one means for applying cell reselection rules for ensuring the mbms service continuity . the mbms gateway 105 is also configured to provide means for applying cell restrictions on non - mbms cell ( s ). fig2 is a block diagram illustrating components of an mbms enabled ue , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . the mbms enabled ue 106 includes a network ( nw ) interface module 201 , an mbms application layer interface module 202 , a reselection module 203 , a memory module 204 , and a cell restriction module 205 . the nw interface module 201 is configured to provide a means for connecting , using a suitable communication channel , the mbms gateway 105 to the ue 106 through the enodeb 104 . the nw interface module 201 is further configured to provide suitable means for the mbms gateway 105 to collect all inputs required for the purpose of providing mbms data continuity . for example , the nw interface module 201 communicates with the network and receives the information regarding barring time to apply for non - mbms cells . the mbms application layer interface module 202 is configured to communicate with third party service providers , which offer different types of mbms services to the ue 106 . the mbms application layer interface module 202 is further configured to perform an authentication check of the third party service providers , which connect with the mbms network 101 . the mbms application layer interface module 202 is also configured to perform pre - processing of data received from the associated third party vendors , if required . the reselection module 203 is configured to perform cell reselection measurement , wherein the reselection module 203 determines signal strength of the cell being considered . the reselection module 203 is further configured to determine configuration of the cell to facilitate mbms . the reselection module 203 is also configured to determine whether the measured signal strength matches a predetermined strength value , wherein the predetermined strength value is a threshold value . the memory module 204 is configured to store any data associated with the process of ensuring mbms service continuity . for example , the memory module 204 stores information related to a predetermined strength value pertaining to signal strength . the memory module 204 also stores information related to type of mbms service ( s ) that each ue 106 has subscribed for . the memory module 204 is further configured to store data required for performing authentication check of the ue 106 , as well as the service providers . the cell restriction module 205 is configured to apply selected restriction ( s ) to selected cell ( s ). for example , the cell restriction module 205 is used to perform cell specific barring on selected cell ( s ). the cell restriction module 205 can bar a selected cell for a selected / preconfigured time period . the cell restriction module 205 can also bar a selected cell until an expiration of the current session . fig3 is a flowchart illustrating a method 300 of providing mbms continuity using the mbms provisioning system , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . the mbms network 101 provides , at step 302 , an mbms of interest to the ue 106 , from a first cell that is configured to provide the mbms of interest and a signal strength that at least matches a pre - determined strength value . while receiving the mbms from the first cell , the ue 106 performs , at step 304 , cell reselection measurement towards a second cell , wherein the second cell is a neighboring cell of the first cell , while the ue 106 initiates cell reselection measurement based on signal strength of the second cell . the term “ mbms capability ” used henceforth refers to capability of the second cell to provide the mbms of interest to the ue 106 . during the cell reselection , if the second cell is found to have mbms capability , then the reselection module 203 checks , at step 308 , whether the second cell provides the mbms of interest . if the second cell is providing the mbms of interest and if the signal strength of the second cell is more than that of the first cell , then the ue 106 reselects , at step 312 , to the second cell , and the mbms gateway 105 provides the mbms of interest through the second cell . in accordance with another embodiment of present disclosure , the ue 106 can switch to the second cell if the signal strength provided by the second cell is higher than that of the first cell . if the second cell is not providing mbms or the mbms service of interest to the user , then the ue 106 switches back to the first cell . in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure , instead of switching back to the first cell , the ue 106 can , with or without the assistance of the reselection module 203 , scan any of the neighboring cells , select a cell that matches requirements in terms of signal strength and mbms capability , and then switch to the selected cell . if the second cell is not providing mbms , the mbms enabled ue 106 applies , at step 310 , at least one selected solution to that cell . alternatively , the mbms enabled ue 106 can apply the solution ( s ) if the second cell is providing mbms , however , not the mbms of interest . for example , by applying a first solution , the mbms enabled ue 106 reselects back to the first cell , from the second cell that does not provide mbms / mbms of interest . the various actions in the method 300 illustrated in fig3 can be performed in the order presented , in a different order or simultaneously . further , in some embodiments , some actions listed in fig3 may be omitted . fig4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 of reselecting from a non - mbms cell to an mbms cell by means of cell specific offset using the mbms provisioning system , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . the mbms enabled ue 106 can use this method as a first solution upon identifying that the current cell ( i . e . the second cell ) the ue 106 is connected to is not providing an mbms , or an mbms of interest . upon identifying that the current cell ( i . e . the second cell ) that the ue 106 is connected to is not providing the mbms , or the mbms of interest , the reselection module 203 decides to switch back to the previous cell i . e . the first cell . to switch back to the first cell , the reselection module 203 adds , at step 402 , a cell specific offset towards the first cell . in another embodiment , the offset shall be applied towards the second cell instead of the first cell . in an embodiment , the ue 106 , based on data stored in the memory module 204 , selects the cell specific offset . in another embodiment , the cell specific offset can be selected by the enb 104 . further , by performing the cell reselection measurement and subsequent cell reselection , the ue 106 is switched , at step 406 , to the first cell , through which the mbms gateway 105 provides the mbms of interest to the ue 106 . the various actions in the method 400 illustrated in fig4 may be performed in the order presented , in a different order or simultaneously . further , in some embodiments , some actions listed in fig4 may be omitted . fig5 is a flowchart illustrating a method 500 of barring a non - mbms cell after performing cell reselection , using the mbms provisioning system , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . the mbms enabled ue 106 can use this method as a second solution upon identifying that the current cell ( i . e . the second cell ) the ue 106 is connected to is not providing an mbms , or an mbms of interest . the mbms enabled ue 106 , upon identifying that the second cell the ue 106 is connected to is not providing the mbms , or the mbms of interest , adds , at step 502 , a cell specific offset towards the first cell which has a configuration that matches requirements in terms of signal strength and mbms capability . in another embodiment , the offset shall be applied towards a second cell instead of the first cell . further , by performing cell reselection measurement towards the first cell , the ue 106 switches to the first cell , and the mbms gateway 105 provides the mbms of interest to the ue 106 through the first cell . further , to prevent further cell reselection measurement towards the second cell that does not provide mbms / the mbms of interest , the ue 106 applies a suitable cell barring mechanism , and bars , at step 506 , the second cell . in various embodiments , the cell can be barred for a selected time period , or until the end of the current mbms session . the various actions in the method 500 illustrated in fig5 may be performed in the order presented , in a different order or simultaneously . further , in some embodiments , some actions listed in fig5 may be omitted . fig6 is a flowchart illustrating a method 600 of directly barring a non - mbms cell or cell not supporting the mbms of interest ( i . e . a second cell ); immediately after reselecting to second cell using the mbms provisioning system , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . the mbms enabled ue 106 shall subsequently return to previously camped cell immediately without completing the reselection procedure to second cell . the mbms enabled ue 106 can use this method as a third solution upon identifying that the current cell ( i . e . the second cell ) the ue 106 is trying to reselect to is not providing an mbms , or an mbms of interest . in this method , upon identifying that the second cell does not provide the mbms , or the mbms of interest , the mbms ue 106 considers , at step 602 , the second cell to be barred . further , without completing a cell reselection procedure towards the second cell , the ue 106 is immediately switched , at step 604 , back to the previous cell i . e . the first cell , which had been providing the mbms of interest service to the ue 106 , before switching to the second cell . further , the ue 106 applies , at step 606 , cell specific restriction ( s ) to the second cell . for example , the cell specific restriction can refer to barring the second cell using a suitable cell barring mechanism . in various embodiments , the cell can be barred for a selected time period , or until the end of the current mbms session . the various actions in method 600 illustrated in fig6 may be performed in the order presented , in a different order or simultaneously . further , in some embodiments , some actions listed in fig6 may be omitted . fig7 is a flowchart illustrating a method 700 of removing applied cell specific restrictions , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . consider that the ue 106 has applied , at step 702 , cell specific restriction ( s ) ( which can be an offset , or barring ) across frequencies . the ue 106 compares , at step 704 , the signal strength of the cell currently serving the ue 106 with mbms with a minimum level of signal strength ( as defined in the system information ). if the signal strength of the cell currently serving the ue 106 is less than the minimum level of signal strength , the ue 106 removes , at step 706 , cell specific restriction ( s ) ( which can be an offset , or barring ) across frequencies towards cells , which do not provide non - mbms . the ue 106 removes the restrictions immediately . the various actions in method 700 illustrated in fig7 may be performed in the order presented , in a different order or simultaneously . further , in some embodiments , some actions listed in fig7 may be omitted . the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented through at least one software program running on at least one hardware device and performing network management functions to control the elements . the elements shown in fig1 can be at least one of a hardware device , or a combination of hardware device and software module . it should be understood that the embodiments described herein are to be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation . descriptions of features or aspects within each embodiment should typically be considered as available for other similar features or aspects in other embodiments . while one or more embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with reference to the figures , it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the following claims and their equivalents . | 7 |
fig1 illustrates a breast pump constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention in which reservoir 11 is connected to pump 12 by flexible hose 13 . pump 12 includes platform 15 having a convex upper surface and treadle 16 having a convex lower surface . the convex surfaces of platform 15 and treadle 16 touch along a line of contact perpendicular to the plane of the drawing , indicated by reference number 18 . the radii of curvature of the convex surfaces are not critical and provide a rocking action of treadle 16 on platform 15 in which line of contact 18 moves left or right as the treadle rocks . if the radius of curvature of the lower surface of treadle 16 becomes vanishingly small , one obtains corner 19 , as illustrated in fig2 . if treadle 16 includes corner 19 , then platform 15 preferably includes flat 20 , i . e . a contact surface having a large radius of curvature . in this configuration , treadle 16 does not rock but pivots on platform 15 and line of contact 18 does not move left or right . since a corner contact is subject to high stress and high wear , it is preferred that a pivoting contact include some type of joint to provide a large contact area . fig3 illustrates a bead and cove joint which can be used for the contact between treadle 16 and platform 15 in which bead 23 on the treadle fits in cove 24 on the platform . other joints , such as a hinge , can be used instead . as shown in fig1 convex surfaces having a moderate radius of curvature are preferred since the platform and treadle can be made easily and inexpensively for this configuration . in a preferred embodiment of the invention , platform 15 and treadle 16 are elongated blocks of wood having an overall length of approximately twelve inches and a width of approximately four inches . the blocks are two to three inches thick and shaped as shown in fig1 . bellows 21 is attached between platform 15 and treadle 16 , enclosing a variable displacement chamber . bellows 21 is attached to platform 15 and treadle 16 by any suitable means , such as staples or adhesive . bellows 21 is preferably connected with an airtight seal since the connection between the pump and the reservoir is unobstructed , as explained below . chamber 25 is connected to hose 13 by a pair of intersecting holes in treadle 16 . hole 31 extends from the convex surface into the body of treadle 16 and ends before intersecting the upper surface of treadle 16 . hole 33 is approximately perpendicular to hole 31 and extends through one side of treadle 16 to hole 31 . hose 13 is inserted into hole 33 . since the mating surfaces of platform 15 and treadle 16 are convex , the treadle rocks on the platform , changing the volume of chamber 25 . as the volume of chamber 25 increases , air is drawn through hose 13 from reservoir 11 . as chamber 25 decreases in volume , air is supplied to reservoir 11 by hose 13 . unlike bellows for a fireplace , it is preferred that the connection between chamber 25 and reservoir 11 be unobstructed i . e . that there be no valve for controlling air flow , thereby providing a bidirectional pump . the absence of a valve simplifies the construction of the breast pump and provides better control of the pressure within the reservoir . the improved control is compromised if bellows 21 is not sealed to the platform and to the treadle . reservoir 11 includes cap 41 and bottle 42 . referring to fig1 and 4 , cap 41 includes fitting 43 for coupling the reservoir to a woman &# 39 ; s breast . fitting 43 includes funnel shaped member 44 and tube 45 . tube 45 is attached to cap 41 around hole 46 . cap 41 includes cylindrical side wall 57 having an internal thread for engaging the threaded end of bottle 42 . preferably , bottle 42 is a standard baby bottle . the connection to hose 13 is made through a separate hole to assure that milk flows into the reservoir and not into hose 13 . specifically , fitting 47 includes tube 48 having one end enclosing hole 49 and the other end enclosed by cap 51 . cap 51 can be screwed or glued onto tube 48 and includes nipple 53 for receiving hose 13 . as the pressure in reservoir 11 is reduced from atmospheric pressure to a partial vacuum , milk is withdrawn from the breast and flows into bottle 42 . the pressure within bottle 42 is fully controllable by the woman , who positions treadle 16 relative to platform 15 . fitting 43 is readily released from the breast by simply increasing the pressure within reservoir 11 , i . e . by decreasing the size of chamber 25 . the absence of a valve in the connection between chamber 25 and reservoir 11 is not a disadvantage as the reservoir fills with milk since fitting 43 is frequently removed from the breast , e . g . as the woman changes sides during the pumping session . either or both of platform 15 and treadle 16 can include a non skid surface such as a rubber layer or a roughened coating . as illustrated in fig1 treadle 16 includes non - skid layer 61 on the upper surface thereof and platform 15 includes non skid layer 63 on the lower surface thereof . thus , a breast pump constructed in accordance with the invention can be used anywhere , e . g . in a car , at a camp site , at home , or at the office . the operation of the pump is silent and completely controlled by the woman . since pump 12 is symmetrical from end to end , a second bellows can be added for pumping both breasts . bellows 26 , on the opposite end of pump 12 from bellows 21 , is sealed between treadle 16 and platform 15 , enclosing a second variable displacement chamber . chamber 27 is connected by holes 28 and 29 to a second reservoir ( not shown ). bellows 21 and 26 operate oppositely , that is , one bellows increases pressure in a reservoir while the other bellows decreases pressure in the other reservoir . fig5 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a variable displacement chamber in which concentric , telescoping tubes 71 and 72 are attached between platform 15 and treadle 16 . the interior volume of the tubes is coupled by hole 31 and hole 33 to hose 13 . tube 72 is sealed within tube 71 by any suitable means , such as lip 74 . alternatively , a separate gasket could be used between tube 72 and tube 71 . in use , the pivoting motion of treadle 16 changes the interior volume of the telescoping tubes . tubes 71 and 72 are curved slightly to accommodate the motion of treadle 16 about pivot 36 . pivot 36 can be a hinge , a bead and cove joint , or other connection permitting a pivoting motion . fig6 illustrates another alternative embodiment of the invention in which a cylinder containing a movable piston is used as the variable displacement chamber . in this embodiment , platform 81 and treadle 82 are preferably made from sheet stock and each have a rectangular central portion and two , triangle shaped sides bent at approximately ninety degrees to the central portion . the peaks of the triangles of the sides are interconnected by a hinge such as hinge 85 to provide the pivoting motion for treadle 82 . cylinder 84 is connected to the central portion of platform 81 by hinge 83 . a piston ( not shown ) within cylinder 84 is connected by connecting rod 86 to hinge 87 and hinge 87 is connected to treadle 82 . in operation , the pivoting motion of the treadle moves the piston in cylinder 84 , directly changing the pressure within the reservoir . as with the others embodiments , it is preferred that a valve not be used with cylinder 84 to control the flow of air to or from cylinder 84 . if a valve were used , the woman can only release the vacuum by depressing the breast within fitting 43 to allow air to enter reservoir 11 . the invention thus provides a manual breast pump requiring only one hand to operate and which permits control of both parts of the pump cycle , vacuum and increased pressure . the breast pump is portable , quiet , and inexpensive . in addition , the pump is inherently safe and does not require additional sensors or valves , e . g . a woman will stop pumping if she falls asleep during a pumping session . having thus described the invention , it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention . for example , the pump can be constructed of any suitable material including wood , metal , and / or plastic . the treadle and platform can be hollow or solid . the mating surfaces of platform 15 and treadle 16 can have any suitable shape permitting a pivoting motion of the treadle and the platform and treadle are interchangeable . the special cap for the bottle can be a single piece of molded plastic or several pieces joined together . hose 13 can be connected to a single , straight hole extending from the convex surface through the upper surface of treadle 16 . alternatively , the connecting hole can be in platform 15 . while intended to be operated by foot , a handicapped person can operate the pump by pushing on either end of the treadle with a hand or by resting a forearm on the treadle . manual dexterity ( small motor control ) is not required . | 0 |
fig1 shows two configurations of a robotic arm 1 in an exemplary scenario . this scenario relates to a head surgery , wherein a head of a patient p 1 is to be treated . the patient p 1 is lying on an operating room table 2 . involved in the treatment is a surgeon p 2 , a nurse p 3 and an anesthetist p 4 . further provided is an imaging unit 3 , which is for example an mr imaging unit , and a sterile barrier 4 , which separates a sterile area from a non - sterile area . the medical robotic arm 1 comprises a base 1 a and a plurality of segments , wherein two adjacent segments are connected via at least one joint . one end is attached to the base 1 a , for example via at least one joint , and the other end , which is also referred to as a free end , can move in space depending on the joint positions , which represent the positions of the joints between the segments and is also referred to as pose of the robotic arm 1 . the combination of the pose of the robotic arm and the position of the base 1 a of the robotic arm is called the configuration of the robotic arm 1 . each of the persons p 2 to p 4 involved in the treatment and of the equipment ( imaging device 3 and sterile barrier 4 ) requires a particular spatial area during the treatment . the required areas may vary for different workflow steps of the treatment . it is therefore essential to determine a suitable configuration of the robotic arm 1 , in particular a proper position of the base 1 a of the robotic arm 1 . the configuration of the robotic arm 1 might be different for two or more different workflow steps , but could also be the same for all workflow steps . the left and right parts of fig1 show different positions of the base 1 a of the robotic arm 1 , and therefore different configurations of the robotic arm 1 . for the configuration shown in the left part of fig1 , the position of the base 1 a of the robotic arm 1 is such that all persons and parts of the equipment have enough room for performing the treatment . for the position of the base 1 a of the robotic arm 1 shown in the right part of fig1 , to the contrary , the freedom of the surgeon p 2 and the nurse p 3 is limited by the robotic arm 1 , which can easily lead to deteriorated results of the treatment . the configuration of the robotic arm 1 in the left part of fig1 is therefore favorable over the configuration of the robotic arm 1 shown in the right part of fig1 . fig2 shows scenarios similar to the one shown in fig1 for two different workflow steps of a treatment of the patient p 1 . in the workflow step shown in the left part of fig1 , the free end of the robotic arm 1 a is near the head of the patient p 1 , for example for holding a medical instrument or a medical tool . in the workflow step shown in the right part of fig2 , the free end of the robotic arm 1 is retracted and the imaging device 3 is being used for imaging the head of the patient p 1 . during the imaging process , the imaging device 3 moves along the inferior - superior axis of the patient p 1 as indicated by the double arrow . since the imaging device 3 emits x - ray radiation during the imaging process , the persons p 2 to p 4 are standing behind protective shields 5 . fig3 gives a schematic overview of the data which are processed and output by the algorithm for calculating the configuration of the robotic arm 1 according to the present invention . on the input side , there are treatment information data , people data , equipment data , room data , robot data , live data and patient position data . the people data , equipment data , room data and robot data can be summarized as constraint information data . they define spatial constraints on the configurations of the robotic arm 1 . the constraint information data are optional , but advantageous . the treatment information data comprises at least one of the diagnosis , the disease , disease classification , diagnostic information , location of the treatment , regions of interest , organs at risk , medical images and processed images . the people data comprises information on at least one person involved in the treatment , such as the patient , a surgeon , a scrub - nurse , and an anesthetist , including the department , profession and personal preferences of the person . patient data might include patient weight ( which might cause potential bending of the or table ), patient position ( for example prone versus supine versus lateral ) or equipment effecting patient access ( such as cables , tubes , stickers or holders ). the equipment data comprises at least one of the operating room table type , layout , height , operating room lights , devices for anesthesia , imaging devices , treatment devices and tools used for the treatment . the room data comprises at least one of room number , room geometries , fixed installations , such as booms or lights , equipment flow , sterile tables or air flow . the robot data comprises at least one of type , size , footprint , maximum payload , work space , start options , movement options , and current state of the robotic arm 1 . start options might indicate a possible initial position like a park position , a position in the middle of the treatment volume or a position in the middle of the achievable work space of the robot ( avoiding border positions which affect maximum load and / or accuracy ). live data comprises data from sensors , such as torque , force , speed , acceleration , gravity and gyroscopic information , and from other devices such as imaging devices and orientation devices , like cameras or ultrasound devices . the patient position data represent the position of the patient p 1 to be treated . the treatment information data basically describes the part of the patient p 1 to be treated , for example relative to a patient coordinate system . since the position of the patient p 1 is known from the patient position data , which defines the position of the patient in space relative to a reference , such as a reference system associated with the operating room , the spatial area to be treated is known or can be calculated in this reference system . the patient position data may be derived from the treatment information data and the position of the operating room table 2 in the reference system , for example if the position of the patient p 1 on the operating room table 2 is known or can be estimated . the output of the algorithm comprises the configuration of the robotic arm 1 . optional outputs are potential movement data and / or user options data . as mentioned above , the configuration comprises a pose of the robotic arm 1 and a position of the base of 1 a of the robotic arm 1 . however , the pose of the robotic arm 1 might be a default pose , such that the algorithm only calculates the position of the base 1 a of the robotic arm . user options could be a manual movement of the robot , for example if the robot has 7 degrees of freedom and there is a variety of possible configurations . another user option could be that the robot builds a boundary box , in which all robot positions would be good , but the user can select ( within the box ) the final position . in this example , the algorithm allows a multitude of good or even ideal positions within the box . another user option could be to either move the base or to move the arm to achieve the desired , good or ideal position or to combine the base position and the arm pose in a way to achieve the best configuration calculated by the algorithm . the potential movement data describe potential movement options that minimize interference of the robotic arm 1 with the patient p 1 other persons p 2 to p 4 , equipment 3 and 4 and further procedure steps of the treatment . they do for example describe the transition from one pose to another . a controller of the robotic arm 1 is then not free to determine the transition , because this could lead to a violation of a constrained space . the transition is instead provided to the controller . the overview of fig3 further comprises different loops connecting the output of the algorithm to the input of the algorithm . the first loop is the live data loop , which provides updated live data to the algorithm . a second loop is a procedure loop which indicates changed environment data to the algorithm . the changed environment data represents a change in the environment in which the robotic arm 1 is used . this may comprise at least one of information on already performed workflow steps of the treatment , new layouts , new positions of persons or equipment involved in the treatment and other constraints . new layouts can refer to potential repositioning of the patient during the surgical procedure , leading to a new layout of the surgery . in an abdominal case for example , access could be first through ports in the stomach wall , whereas later on access is through the colon . new layouts can further describe how equipment could be moved to a new position or could be removed as it is not needed anymore , leading to increased space for the robot . new layouts can still further describe that an additional surgeon enters the procedure for a later and / or more complex step . the user interaction loop provides user interaction data to the algorithm . the user interaction data may comprise at least one of options selected by the user , options confirmed by a user or information indicating that the user ignores or overrides the calculated configuration of the robotic arm 1 . the user could for example use the advantage of a robot with 7 degrees of freedom to select the best option in case more than one option exists , could consider constraints not present in the algorithm or could react to unforeseen situations , complications or life threatening conditions , for example by abandoning the case , removing the robot , changing the planned treatment or adding new unknown equipment . with the feedback loops described above , it is possible to update a configuration of the robotic arm 1 depending on any changes occurring in the environment or the scenario in which the robotic arm 1 is used . the present invention also involves to bring the robotic arm 1 into the calculated configuration , for example by relocating the base 1 a of the robotic arm 1 or providing the configuration to a controller of the robotic arm 1 , which controls the robotic arm 1 to assume the pose comprised in the configuration . fig4 shows a table which comprises spatial constraint data for the configuration of the robotic arm 1 depending on treatment information data and constraint information data . fig4 also assigns a priority to each spatial constraint data item . fig4 only shows a part of the whole table . in the example shown in fig4 , the treatment information data indicates a head surgery . for the head surgery , the table comprises a plurality of entries for different constraint information data . spatial constraint data and a priority are assigned to each item of the constraint information data . in the present embodiment , the spatial constraint data describe a cuboid defined by a position , which is given by three coordinates ( x , y , z ), an orientation , which is given three angles ( α , β , γ ), and a size given by three length values ( lx , ly , lz ). however , the spatial constraint data may describe a spatial area of any other shape and / or by any other suitable parameters . in the table , different spatial constraint data are defined for a surgeon , a nurse and an anesthetist . in addition , spatial constraint data are defined for an operating room table , a sterile barrier and an imaging device . fig5 schematically shows a system 6 for carrying out the present invention . the system 6 comprises a computer 7 connected to an input unit 11 and an output unit 12 . the input unit 11 can be any suitable input unit , such a mouse , a keyboard , a touch screen or any other man - machine interface . the output unit 12 can be any suitable output unit such as a monitor or a projector . the computer 7 comprises a central processing unit 8 connected to an interface 9 and a memory unit 10 . via the interface 9 , the central processing unit 8 can acquire data , such as the treatment information data , the constraint information data and the live data . the memory unit 10 can store working data , such as the acquired data , and program data which implements the method according to the present invention . in one embodiment , the central processing unit 8 acquires all available input data , such as the treatment information data , the patient position data and constraint information data . the central processing unit 8 then accesses a table like the one shown in fig4 to determine spatial constraint data and corresponding priorities depending on the treatment information data and the constraint information data . the central processing unit 8 then combines the obtained spatial constraint data to calculate an overall spatial area into which the robotic arm 1 shall not enter . the central processing unit 8 then calculates the configuration of the robotic arm 1 from the treatment information data , the patient position data and the combined spatial area into which the robotic arm 1 shall not enter . if there is no suitable configuration for the robotic arm 1 under the given conditions , the central processing unit 8 repeats the process of calculating the configuration , but ignores one or more spatial constraint data with the lowest priority . in another embodiment , the central processing unit 8 acquires changed environment data . in the present example , the changed environments data indicates a workflow step or a change in the workflow step , such as from the workflow step shown in the left part of fig2 to the workflow step shown in the right part of fig2 , and live data . the changed environment data indicates that the imaging unit 3 is used for imaging the head of the patient p 1 , which includes a movement of an imaging device 3 along the inferior - superior axis of the patient p 1 . this implies changed spatial constraint data corresponding to the imaging device 3 , such that the configuration of the robotic arm 1 is to be updated . the central processing unit 8 calculates the ( updated ) configuration of the robotic arm 1 from the changed environment data . the calculation can further be based on at least one of constraint information data , patient position data and the current configuration of the robotic arm . in the example shown in fig2 , the position of the base of the robotic arm 1 can be maintained , while the pose of the robotic arm 1 has to be changed in order to free the space required for the movement of the imaging device 3 . further examples include that the changed environment data indicates changes in the constraint information data . the computer 7 is connected to a medical tracking system 13 via the interface 9 . the medical tracking system 13 then tracks the position of an object , for example by detecting a marker device attached to the object . if it detects a change in the position of the object , it generates corresponding changed environment data which is acquired by the central processing unit 8 and used for calculating the configuration of the robotic arm 1 . | 0 |
referring now to the accompanying drawings , a description will be given of an embodiment of the present invention . fig1 a and 1b schematically illustrate an example of an electric motor vehicle to which the present invention is applied . specifically , fig1 a is a diagram of the layout of electric power units , a control unit , motor drivers , and motors in the electric motor vehicle in which the motors are disposed for the respective wheels , and fig1 b is a circuit diagram illustrating the state of electrical connection of the electric power units , control unit , motor drivers , and motors . in the drawing , reference numeral 26 denotes a manual steering device . in an electric motor vehicle 1 to which the present invention is applied , four wheels are adapted to be driven directly by four driving motors , respectively , without using a transmission and the like . the motors are respectively driven by motor drivers separately disposed . the motor drivers are adapted to supply electric current to the respective motors in correspondence with the torque acting in the rotating direction , so as to drive the motors . specifically , a motor 13 1 is mounted associated with a right front wheel 11 1 , while a motor 13 2 , not shown in fig1 a , is mounted associated with a left front wheel 11 2 . a motor 14 1 dismounted associated with a right rear wheel 12 1 , while a motor 14 2 , not shown in fig1 a , is mounted associated with a left rear wheel 12 2 . an electric power unit 16 is disposed substantially in the center of the vicinity of a line connecting the front wheels 11 1 , 11 2 , and a motor driver 18 1 for driving the motor 13 1 and a motor driver 18 2 for driving the motor 13 2 are mounted on the electric power unit 16 . in addition , an electric power unit 17 is disposed substantially in the center of the vicinity of a line connecting the rear wheels 12 1 , 12 2 , and a motor driver 19 1 for driving the motor 14 1 and a motor driver 19 2 for driving the motor 14 2 are disposed on the electric power unit 17 . a control unit 15 is designed to calculate motor command values to be imparted to the motor drivers 18 1 , 18 2 , 19 1 , 19 2 , and is disposed , for instance , below a driver &# 39 ; s seat , as shown in fig1 a . the command values for the respective motors determined by the control unit 15 are transmitted to the motor drivers via respective control signal lines . as shown in fig1 b , a driving force for the motor 13 1 is signalled to the motor driver 18 1 via a control signal line 20 1 ; a driving force for the motor 132 is signalled to the motor driver 18 2 via a control signal line 20 2 ; a driving force for the motor 14 1 is signalled to the motor driver 19 1 via a control signal line 21 1 ; and a driving force for the motor 142 is signalled to the motor driver 19 2 via a control signal line 21 2 . optical cables are used as the control signal lines 20 1 , 20 2 , 21 1 , 21 2 , and the instruction of the motor command values instructed from the control unit 15 to the respective motor drivers 18 1 , 18 2 , 19 1 , 19 2 is effected through optical communication . the electric power source is divided into two parts . one electric power unit 16 is used for driving only the motors 13 1 , 13 2 for driving the front wheels , so that the unit is connected to the motor drivers 18 1 , 18 2 via power lines 22 1 , 22 2 , as shown in fig1 b . the other electric power unit 17 is used for driving only the motors 14 1 , 14 2 for driving the rear wheels , so that the unit is connected to the motor drivers 19 1 , 19 2 via power lines 24 1 , 24 2 . he output of the motor driver 18 1 is supplied to the motor 13 1 via a power line 23 1 ; the output of the motor driver 18 2 is supplied to the motor 13 2 via a power lines 23 2 ; the output of the motor driver 19 1 is supplied to the motor 14 1 via a power line 25 1 ; and the output of the motor driver 19 2 is supplied to the motor 14 2 via a power line 25 2 . in accordance with the above - described configuration , the motor drivers 18 1 , 18 2 , 19 1 , 19 2 control electric power supplied from the electric power units 16 , 17 by switching over the state of energization of switching elements on the basis of motor command values communicated by the control unit 15 , so as to supply predetermined power to the motors 13 1 , 13 2 , 14 1 , 14 2 , respectively . fig2 is a block diagram of a control circuit for the respective motors . as shown in fig2 each of the motor drivers 18 1 , 18 2 , 19 1 , 19 2 for controlling electric current to be supplied to the respective drive motors 13 1 , 13 2 , 14 1 , 14 2 in this electric motor vehicle has a bridge circuit 42 comprised of transistors 40 and diodes 41 and adapted to control the current to the motor . a description will now be given of processing which is effected by the control unit 15 . fig3 is a diagram of the control system for a electric motor vehicle in accordance with the present invention . in fig3 the number of revolutions of the motors 13 1 , 13 2 , 14 1 , 14 2 are respectively outputted from the motor drivers 18 1 , 18 2 , 19 1 , 19 2 to the control unit 15 . it should be noted that the numbers of revolution of the motors 13 1 , 13 2 , 14 1 , 14 2 are each detected by a signal from an unillustrated resolver . an obstacle sensor 30 is a known sensor which makes use of electromagnetic waves , such as microwaves or millimeter waves , a laser beam , or the like . the obstacle sensor 30 detects the presence of an obstacle located in front of the vehicle and measures the distance to that obstacle . a vehicle speed sensor 31 is a sensor for measuring the number of revolutions of the wheels in a vehicle . in addition , a steering angle sensor 32 detects the steering angle of a steering wheel , and a forward / reverse command switch 33 is used by the driver to give a command to advance or reverse the vehicle . furthermore , an accelerator opening sensor 34 detects the amount of travel of accelerator pedal , while a brake sensor 35 detects the amount of travel of a brake pedal . outputs of these sensors are accepted by the control unit 15 at predetermined timings , and are then processed by being digitized by an a / d converter ( not shown ). detected signals from these sensors and switches are inputted to the control unit 15 , and the control unit 15 executes processing and calculation on the basis of these detected signals and outputs drive control signals to the respective motor drivers on the basis of the results to the processing and calculation . in the present invention , if an obstacle is present in front of an electric motor vehicle when the vehicle is running , and if there is a likelihood of the vehicle colliding against that obstacle , control is effected in such a manner as to apply electric brakes to the driving motors , thereby preventing the collision of the electric motor vehicle against the obstacle . a description will be given hereinunder of this control . as shown in fig4 . after initialization , setting is provided such that a measurement is effected at intervals of 10 msec , and after the lapse of each 10 msec , detected signals from the respective sensors are inputted to the control unit 15 . in that case , when an electric motor vehicle is running , if an obstacle , such as another vehicle running in front , is present , that obstacle is detected by the obstacle sensor 30 , and the distance from the vehicle to the obstacle is measured , and a detection signal and a distance signal are inputted to the control unit 15 . additionally , a steering angle signal and a signal representing whether the electric motor vehicle is moving forward or backward are inputted from the steering angle sensor 32 and the forward / reverse command switch 33 , respectively , to the control unit 15 . on the basis of these input signals , the control unit 15 calculates relative speed between the obstacle and the vehicle though a subroutine for determining relative speed . as shown in fig5 relative speed v is calculated on the basis of the formula v = d1 - d0 by using a previously measured distance d0 from the vehicle to the obstacle and a presently ( i . e ., after the lapse of 10 msec ) measured distance d1 . in that case , since the measurement time interval is set to 10 msec , the calculation is very simple . in addition , by substituting the presently measured distance d1 for the previously measured distance d0 , a new calculation of the relative speed is conducted . then , on the basis of the relative speed thus calculated , danger determination processing is executed by using a subroutine for danger determination . as shown in fig6 a determination is made on the basis of the presently determined distance d1 and the steering angle θ from the steering angle sensor 32 as to whether or not the vehicle will collide against the obstacle . in making this determination , in the light of the relationship between the steering angle and the distance to the obstacle , as shown in fig7 a map is prepared in advance in which a region where the vehicle is capable of turning without colliding against the obstacle is set as a safe region , and a region where there is the danger of collision even if the vehicle turns is set as a dangerous region , the map being set in memory inside the control unit 15 . then , on the basis of the presently measured distance d1 and the steering angle θ from the steering angle sensor 32 , the control unit 15 determines in which region of the map the vehicle is located . if the situation is determined to be dangerous , a determination is made on the basis of the relative speed v and the presently measured distance as to whether or not the vehicle will collide against the obstacle . in making this determination , in the light of the relationship between the relative speed v with respect to the obstacle and the distance d1 to the obstacle , as shown in fig8 a map is prepared in advance in which a region where there is no danger of the vehicle colliding against the obstacle is set as a safe region , and a region where there is the danger of the vehicle colliding against the obstacle is set as a dangerous region , the map being set similarly in the memory inside the control unit 15 . in that case , as for the situation in which the present a number of stages are set ( four stages in this embodiment ) depending on the degree of danger . that is , the setting provided is such that the dangerous stage 1 which is the closest to the safe region is the state of danger in which the degree of danger is the smallest , and the degree of danger becomes gradually greater as the number of the dangerous stage increases . in addition , on the basis of the presently measured distance d1 and the relative speed v , the control unit 15 determines in which region of the map the vehicle is located . if the situation is determined to be dangerous , on the basis of the measured distance d1 and the relative speed v , the control unit 15 determines a braking force corresponding to the present degree of danger of the vehicle , i . e ., of such a magnitude that the vehicle will not collide against the obstacle . in that case , in determining the braking force , an optimum braking force is determined on the basis of maps that are prepared and stored in advance . as for these maps , in a case where the relative distance between the vehicle and the obstacle is relatively small , a map in which the relationship between the relative distance and the braking force becomes such as the one shown in fig9 a is prepared . concurrently , in a case where the relative distance between the vehicle and the obstacle is relatively large , a map in which the relationship between the relative distance and the braking force becomes such as the one ,. shown in fig9 b is prepared . at the same time , a danger flag is set . in addition , if it is determined that the vehicle is safe both in the determination of the state of danger from the steering angle and the present measured distance , and in the determination of the state of danger from the relative speed and the present measured distance , the control unit 15 resets the danger flag . then , a determination is made as to whether the danger flag has been set or reset . if it is determined that the danger flag has been reset , the control unit 15 executes ordinary torque control for the motors . that is , by referring to a map prepared in advance , the control unit 15 determines a driving force or a braking force ( i . e ., torque of the motors ) on the basis of the rotating direction of the motors from the forward / reverse command switch 33 , the accelerator pedal position from the accelerator opening sensor 34 , and the brake pedal position from the brake sensor 35 . then , the control unit 15 outputs a control signal to the motor drivers in such a manner that the torque of the driving motors becomes identical with the torque thus determined . meanwhile , if it is determined that the danger flag has been set , the control unit 15 outputs a brake signal to the motor drivers so as to apply to the motors the braking force determined in the danger determination processing . in each motor driver , a brake is applied to each motor as the switch of each transistor in its bridge circuit is controlled . as this brake , electric braking such as regenerative braking and dynamic braking is used . if regenerative braking , in particular , is used , it is possible to recover energy and , hence , attain an energy - saving effect . thus , the relative speed with respect to the obstacle located in front of the electric motor vehicle is reduced by decelerating the vehicle , so that the risk of a collision with the obstacle can be obviated . then , detected signals from the respective sensors are inputted again to the control unit 15 after the lapse of each 10 msec , and the same processing and control as described above is repeated . thus , as the control flow shown in fig4 is repeated , a collision with the obstacle located in front of the electric motor vehicle is obviated . as described above , in accordance with the present invention , when an obstacle is present in front of the electric motor vehicle and the electric motor vehicle is likely to collide against the obstacle , brakes are automatically applied to the driving motors of the electric motor vehicle . consequently , the collision of the electric motor vehicle against the obstacle is prevented positively , and the safety of the vehicle is improved . | 8 |
referring to the drawings , the pre - set pressure regulator , indicated generally by the numeral 10 , comprises a base 15 , a resilient wall or diaphragm 20 , a retainer 25 , and an initial adjuster in the form of a cap 30 . the base 15 has an inlet 35 where fluid is introduced into the regulator 10 and an outlet 40 where the fluid exits at the desired pressure . a central , axial passage 45 extends through the base 15 , and is in fluid communication with the inlet 35 . the diameter of the open end at the top of the passage 45 which is smaller than the lower portion forms a valve seat 50 . a plug 55 closes the lower end of the passage . the top surface of the base 15 is concave and forms the lower boundary of a fluid pressure - sensing chamber 60 . the perimeter of the top surface of the base member has an angled , annular shoulder 65 which defines a seating and gripping surface for the diaphragm 20 . the shoulder 65 has an externally threaded lip 70 which mates with interior threads on the retainer 25 , which is generally ring shaped . the outlet conduit 40 in fluid communication with the chamber 60 extends from the top surface of the base 15 to an exterior surface of the base 15 . the diaphragm 20 is a generally circular , preferably generally flat member which has an outer annular portion clamped between the base shoulder 65 and a flat annular surface 90 on the retainer 25 to seal that area . this causes the bottom surface of the diaphragm to form the upper boundary of the pressure - sensing chamber 60 . the diaphragm is preferably made of an elastomeric material , such as silicone so that it will be responsive to fluid pressure changes in the chamber 60 and has a significant “ memory ” so that it is self - restoring . depending from the diaphragm 20 is an integral valve stem 75 which extends axially through the chamber 60 and into the passage 45 . a valve element 80 on the lower end of the valve stem is positioned in the passage 45 to cooperate with the valve seat 50 . the valve element is preferably ball - shaped as illustrated , but may be in the form of a disk or other suitable shape that will properly mate with the valve seat . during assembly , the valve element 80 may be lubricated with alcohol to enable it to be pushed through the valve seat into the passage 45 . the retainer 25 may be ultrasonically welded to the base 15 if desired . an annular area 95 of the retainer 25 slopes upwardly , and inwardly to an interiorly threaded collar 105 , which is part of the retainer . the adjuster cap 30 has a flat upper wall 110 and a cylindrical flange 115 extending downward into the collar 105 . the exterior surface of the flange 115 is threaded to mate with the threads of the collar 105 . the cap 30 is adjusted so that its lower annular end contacts the top surface of the diaphragm 20 . the circular , central section of the diaphragm , which is bounded by the cylindrical flange 120 , is responsive to fluid pressure in the chamber 60 . the loading by the adjusting cap 30 pushes the diaphragm 20 downward , thereby unseating the valve element 80 , as shown in the drawing . the adjuster may also be in sliding or cam - like engagement with the retainer . the upper surface of the diaphragm 20 and the initial adjusting cap 30 form an upper interior space 130 that is separated from the pressure - sensing chamber 60 by the diaphragm 20 . vents 125 extend through the flat surface 110 of the adjusting cap 30 to prevent pressure build - up in the upper interior space 130 , and to facilitate turning the adjuster cap 30 when setting the desired pressure . the base 15 , plug 55 , adjusting cap 30 , and retainer 25 are preferably made of polyvinyl chloride , but may be made of other durable , inexpensive materials known to those of ordinary skill in the art . when the diaphragm 20 is assembled within the pressure regulator 10 , between the angled shoulder 65 of the base 15 and the flat surface 90 of the retainer 25 , the valve member 80 is seated in a sealed closed position . after a pressure source is attached to the inlet 35 , the cap 30 is advanced against the diaphragm causing the annular tip of the cap flange 115 to deflect the diaphragm 20 , thereby unseating the valve element 80 from the valve seat 50 . while the valve element 80 is unseated , fluid travels through the inlet 35 and the valve seat 50 , flows into the fluid sensing chamber 60 , and out through outlet 40 . the cap is adjusted until the desired outlet pressure is attained . for a preset pressure device , a suitable adhesive or the like is applied to the threads at 115 to prevent changes in the output pressure setting . when the pressure of the fluid in the chamber 60 exerts a force against the bottom of the diaphragm 20 greater than the desired value initially set by the adjusting cap 30 , a force imbalance occurs . the force of the fluid in the chamber 60 pushes the resilient central section of the diaphragm 20 upward causing the valve member 80 to move in a flow - reducing or flow stopping direction towards the valve seat 50 . when the outlet pressure drops below the desired level , the resilient diaphragm central section moves the valve member 80 away from the valve seat 50 and fluid flow into the chamber 60 increases . the resiliency of diaphragm 20 provides its central section the self - restoring flexibility to respond to the pressure of the fluid in the fluid pressure - sensing chamber 60 . consequently , diaphragm 20 is an active member responsive to pressure changes without the need for a conventional spring . the valve stem and the valve may be made of the same material as the diaphragm 20 and the valve member 80 , and may be made as a one piece unit . however , a valve stem 75 made from a material stiffer than that used to make the diaphragm 20 is better able to maintain a constant pressure over a wider range of input pressures . to increase stiffness and obtain this improved effect , a rigid pin ( not shown ) may be inserted into the valve stem 75 , after the diaphragm 20 is assembled into the valve body but before the adjusting cap 30 is installed . alternatively , the cross section of the valve stem 75 may be increased over part or all of its length to increase stiffness . further , the valve stem may be a completely separate part that links a separate valve element to the diaphragm . the pressure regulator is useful in many applications but is particularly suited to control the output pressure of elastomeric balloon or other mechanical pumps . fig2 - 4 illustrate an additional embodiment of a fluid pressure regulator , indicated generally by the reference numeral 10 ′. the pressure regulator 10 ′ is similar in construction and function to the pressure regulator 10 of fig1 . accordingly , like reference numerals will be used to denote like components , except that a (′) will be added . with similarity to the embodiment of fig1 pressure regulator 10 ′ comprises a valve body including a base 15 ′ and a retainer 25 ′, a resilient wall or diaphragm 20 ′, and an adjuster in the form of a cap 30 ′. the base 15 ′ has an inlet 35 ′ where fluid is introduced into the regulator 10 ′ and an outlet 40 ′ where the fluid exits at the desired pressure . a central , axial passage 45 ′ extends through the base 15 ′, and is in fluid communication with the inlet 35 ′. the diameter of the open end at the top of the passage 45 ′, which is smaller than the lower portion , forms a valve 50 ′. a plug 55 ′ closes the lower end of the passage . as with the embodiment of fig1 the diaphragm 20 ′ of the present pressure regulator 10 ′ is clamped between the base 15 ′ and the retainer 25 ′. therefore , the bottom surface of the diaphragm 20 ′ forms the upper boundary of the pressure sensing chamber 60 ′. an upper surface of the base 15 ′ forms the lower boundary of the pressure sensing chamber 60 ′. depending from the diaphragm 20 ′ is an integral valve stem 75 ′, which extends axially through the chamber 60 ′ and into the passage 45 ′. a valve element 80 ′ on the lower end of the valve stem is positioned in the passage 45 ′ to cooperate with the valve seat 50 ′. as in the embodiment of fig1 the adjuster cap 30 ′ of the present pressure regulator 10 ′ is threadably engaged within a central portion of the retainer 25 ′. the adjuster 30 ′ may be advanced or retracted relative to the retainer 25 ′ such that a lower annular end 120 ′ contacts the top surface of the diaphragm 20 ′. advancing or retracting the adjuster 30 ′ alters the force necessary to close the valve element 80 ′ against the valve seat 50 ′, thereby adjusting the fluid outlet pressure of the pressure regulator 10 ′, as described above with respect to the embodiment of fig1 . the pressure regulator 10 ′ of fig2 - 4 additionally comprises a cover 150 . preferably , the cover 150 is rotatably supported on the retainer 25 ′ and engages the adjuster 30 ′ such that the adjuster 30 ′ is fixed for rotation therewith . thus , rotation of the cover 150 results in corresponding rotation of the adjuster 30 ′ such that the deflection of the diaphragm 20 ′ is altered , thereby adjusting the fluid outlet pressure . with reference to fig3 and 4 , the cover 150 preferably includes a plurality of flexible lock tabs 152 . the lock tabs 152 engage the retainer 25 ′ to hold the cover 150 in a substantially fixed axial relationship with the retainer 25 ′, while allowing rotation with respect thereto . each lock tab 152 includes a substantially transversely extending lock surface 154 configured to engage a retaining surface 156 of the retainer 25 ′. the retaining surface 156 may be a transversely extending uninterrupted annular surface . however , the retaining surface 156 may also include a series of interrupted surfaces , preferably with the interruptions being less than a width of any one of the flexible lock tabs 152 . the illustrated pressure regulator 10 ′ includes four , equally spaced lock tabs 152 ( fig4 ), however , a lesser or greater number of lock tabs 156 may be used . advantageously , the lock tabs 152 and retaining surface 156 construction allow assembly of the cover 150 to the retainer 25 ′ without the use of tools or additional fasteners . however , other suitable coupling methods may also be used . with reference to fig2 the cover 150 includes a pair of downwardly extending shafts or pins 157 which engage vent holes 125 ′ of the adjuster cap 30 ′. the shafts 157 may be of a smaller diameter than that of the vent holes 125 ′ such that pressure build - up in the upper chamber 130 ′ is avoided . the pair of shafts 157 fix the adjuster cap 30 ′ for rotation with the cover 150 , while simultaneously allowing the adjuster cap 30 ′ to move axially with respect to the cover 150 by sliding on the shafts 157 . thus , when the cover 150 is rotated , the adjuster cap 30 ′ both rotates , due to its engagement with the cover 150 via the shafts 157 , and moves axially with respect to the cover 150 , due to its threaded engagement with the retainer 25 ′. the pressure regulator 10 ′ also includes a catch , or detent , mechanism 158 arrangement for locating the cover 150 in a desired angular position with respect to the retainer 25 ′. each of a plurality of recesses 160 define a plurality of angular positions relative to the base 15 ′. the cover 150 includes a depending flexible tab 162 adjacent the cover periphery . the tab 162 includes an inwardly extending projection 164 ( fig4 ). the illustrated projection 164 is hemispherical in shape and each of the recesses 160 are substantially semi - cylindrical in shape . however , other suitable mating shapes may also be used , as can be determined by one of skill in the art . with reference to fig2 the catch mechanism 158 is constructed such that the projection 164 is biased into engagement with a recess 160 by the inherent biasing force of the flexible tab 162 . as a result , the cover 150 and thus the adjuster cap 30 ′ are held in one of the annular positions defined by the plurality of recesses 160 . when the cover 150 is rotated relative to the base 15 ′ with a sufficient force , the projection 164 is disengaged from its current recess 160 and moves into engagement with the next adjacent recess 160 in the direction of rotation of the cap 150 . preferably , the inherent biasing force of the flexible tab 162 is such that a caregiver and / or patient may rotate the cover 150 by hand , while also inhibiting undesired rotation of the cover 150 due to vibrations or inadvertent contact . advantageously , with such a construction , rotation of the cover 150 results in rotation of the adjuster cap 30 ′ which , in turn , alters the deflection of the flexible diaphragm member 20 ′. as discussed above , the outlet fluid pressure is influenced by the deflection of the flexible diaphragm member 20 ′. accordingly , the pressure regulator 10 ′ allows a caregiver and / or patient to easily adjust the fluid outlet pressure to a desired value . with reference to fig3 the fluid pressure regulator 10 ′ includes an indicator arrangement 166 , which correlates the angular position of the cover 150 with a resulting fluid outlet pressure . advantageously , with such a construction the caregiver is able to adjust the variable pressure regulator 10 ′ to a proper outlet pressure for a specific fluid being dispensed . the illustrated indicator arrangement 166 comprises an annular scale 168 on the retainer 25 ′. a reference indicia 170 is provided on the cap 150 and , when the cap 150 is assembled to the retainer 25 ′, is aligned such that at least a portion of the scale 168 is indicated by the reference indicia 170 . in the illustrated embodiment , the reference indicia 170 comprises a window 172 and an arrow 174 . the window 172 is sized and shaped preferably to display one demarcation of the scale 168 . the arrow 174 allows for rapid identification of the location of the window 172 , and may or may not be provided . the scale 168 of the illustrated embodiment is an index scale , which provides a relative indication of outlet pressure . thus , each range of the index scale 168 may correspond to a predetermined value , or a range of values , for the fluid outlet pressure . alternatively , the scale 168 may provide actual fluid pressure outlet values . in an alternative arrangement , the scale 168 may be provided on the cap 150 and the reference indicia 170 may be located on the retainer 25 ′, or possibly the base 15 ′. in this arrangement , the reference indicia 170 may comprise a projection and / or colored region of the retainer 25 ′ or base 15 ′. of course , other suitable arrangements for indicating a value on a scale may also be used . as such , it is not intended for the indicator arrangement 166 to be limited simply to the embodiments disclosed herein , but to include other suitable variations . fig5 - 7 illustrate an alternative arrangement of the catch mechanism 158 . in this embodiment , the recesses 160 are defined on an upper annular surface of the retainer 25 ′ and the flexible tab 162 is correspondingly located on an upper surface of the cover 150 . in addition , the recesses 160 are generally triangular in cross - section , as viewed in fig5 with the radially innermost wall portion being rounded ( fig6 ). with reference to fig7 the projection 164 is semi - cylindrical in shape . otherwise , the embodiment of fig5 - 7 is similar in construction and function to the embodiment described immediately above . although this invention has been described in terms of certain embodiments , other embodiments apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art are also within the scope of this invention . thus , various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , the scope of the invention is intended to be defined only by the claims that follow . | 8 |
preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying figures . fig1 is a schematic diagram showing the front appearance of a data processing apparatus for a diver ( dive computer , below ) 1 according to this embodiment of the invention . this dive computer 1 calculates and displays the diving depth and dive time for the user ( diver ) while diving , measures and expresses the amount of inert gas ( assumed below to be nitrogen ) accumulated in vivo , i . e . in real time , while diving in terms of partial pressure , and displays the non - decompression limit ndl ( how long a diver can dive without requiring decompression or danger of suffering decompression illness ) calculated from the nitrogen partial pressure . as shown in fig1 this dive computer 1 has wristbands 3 and 4 attached to a circular body 2 at the top and bottom as seen in the figure , and is worn on the wrist similarly to a wristwatch by these wristbands 3 and 4 . the top case and bottom case of the body 2 are fastened with screws for water resistance to a specific diving depth . the electronic components ( not shown in the figure ) are housed inside the body 2 . a display unit 10 with an lcd panel 11 is provided at the front of the body 2 , and operating controls 5 for selecting and switching the various operating modes of the dive computer 1 are provided at the bottom as seen in fig1 . the operating controls 5 in this example are two push - button switches a and b . a dive mode monitoring switch 30 using a conductive sensor and provided at the left side of the body 2 as seen in fig1 automatically detects when diving starts . this dive mode monitoring switch 30 has two electrodes 31 , 32 disposed on the face of the body 2 . when immersion in water creates conductivity between these electrodes 31 , 32 so that resistance between the electrodes 31 , 32 drops , the dive computer 1 knows that it has entered the water . the configuration of the display unit 10 is described in further detail below . as shown in fig1 the lcd panel 11 has a display area 11 a in the middle that is further subdivided into first to seventh display areas 111 to 117 . information displayable in first to seventh display areas 111 to 117 includes the current date , current time , dive date , planned dive depth , current depth , maximum depth , depth rank , dive time , dive start and end times , inert gas release time , dive safety factor , non - decompression limit , surface stop time , temperature , power supply warning , altitude rank , inert gas absorption / release tendency , rapid ascent warning , and decompression diving warning . the electrical configuration of the dive computer 1 is described next with reference to the block diagram thereof in fig2 . as shown in fig2 this dive computer 1 has operating controls 5 for operating the dive computer 1 , display unit 10 for displaying information , dive mode monitoring switch 30 , alarm device 37 for issuing audible warnings to the diver by means of a buzzer , for example , vibration generator 38 for warning the diver by means of vibrations , a control unit 50 providing overall control of the dive computer 1 , a pressure measuring unit ( i . e . pressure gauge ) 61 for measuring air pressure or water pressure , and a clock unit 68 for handling time operations . the display unit 10 has an lcd panel 11 for displaying information , and an lcd driver 12 for driving the lcd panel 11 . the operating controls 5 , dive mode monitoring switch 30 , alarm device 37 , and vibration generator 38 are connected to the control unit 50 . the control unit 50 consists of a cpu 51 , control circuit 52 , rom 53 , and ram 54 . the cpu 51 controls overall operation of the dive computer 1 . the control circuit 52 is also controlled by the cpu 51 and runs processes for controlling the operating modes of a time counter 33 and the operation of the lcd driver 12 to display information on the lcd panel 11 according to the selected operating mode . the rom 53 stores the control program and control data , and ram 54 temporarily stores data . the cpu 51 reads the control program and control data from rom 53 and runs the read program . from the depth ( or water pressure ) and dive time the dive computer 1 must be able to measure , display , and report the depth to the diver , and measure the amount of inert gas accumulated in the diver &# 39 ; s tissues . the pressure measuring unit ( i . e . pressure gauge ) 61 therefore measures , both air pressure and water pressure . the pressure measuring unit 61 has a semiconductor pressure sensor 34 , an amplifier circuit 35 for amplifying the output signal from the pressure sensor 34 , and an a / d converter 36 for converting the analog output signal from the amplifier circuit 35 to a digital signal , and outputting the digital pressure signal to the control unit 50 . in order to measure time and monitor dive time in the dive computer 1 , the clock unit 68 has an oscillation circuit 31 for generating a clock signal of a specific frequency , a frequency divider 32 for frequency dividing the clock signal output from the oscillation circuit 31 , and a time counter 33 for running a timing process in 1 - second units based on the output signal from the frequency divider 32 . ( 3 ) saturation half - time and maximum tolerated partial pressure for different tissue compartments , i . e . tissue types . the saturation half - time and maximum tolerated partial pressure of inert gases are described next below . different body tissues absorb and release inert gases at different rates and are therefore commonly referred to as “ fast ” tissues and “ slow ” tissues . generally speaking , the speed at which a given tissue becomes saturated at a new pressure is determined by how fast the inert gas is absorbed into the tissues and the rate of blood flow . for example , because there is less blood flow in fatty tissue the time to saturation is longer . blood flow to the brain , however , is greater and brain tissues are therefore more quickly saturated . the blood and brain , therefore , are considered fast tissues , and the marrow , cartilage , and fatty tissue are considered slow tissues . the saturation half - time and maximum tolerated inert gas partial pressure ( saturation limit ) are indices indicative of such tissue differences . albert buhlmann , as discussed above , proposes compartmentalizing tissue into 16 different tissue compartments , or tissue types . it should be noted that classification of , these tissue compartments is based on a theoretical classification mathematically approximating changes within the tissues due to pressure , and there is no direct 1 : 1 correlation between these theoretical tissue compartments and the actual brain , marrow , and other tissues . fig3 is a table showing the saturation half - times th for the inert gases nitrogen and helium , and the maximum tolerated nitrogen and helium partial pressure m 0 in each of these 16 tissue compartments . the tissue compartments compn are ranked from 1 to 16 in ascending order from the shortest to highest nitrogen half - time . it will be understood from fig3 that as the nitrogen half - time th increases the maximum tolerated partial pressure m 0 decreases , and tissues with a faster half - time th to saturation have a higher maximum tolerated partial pressure m 0 . the values from this table 1 shown in fig3 are stored in a tissue compartment table 53 a in the rom 53 of dive computer 1 . ( 4 ) calculating the in vivo , i . e . real - time , inert gas partial pressure calculating the in vivo nitrogen partial pressure is described below using nitrogen by way of example as the inert gas . the general method used by dive computer 1 according to this embodiment of the invention to calculate the in vivo nitrogen partial pressure is known from the literature . see , for example , “ dive computers , a consumer &# 39 ; s guide to history , theory , and performance ,” ken loyst , et al . incorporated herein by reference , watersport publishing inc . ( 1991 ) incorporated herein by reference , and particularly page 14 in “ decompression - decompression sickness ,” a . a . buhlmann , springer , berlin ( 1984 ) also incorporated herein by reference . it will be further noted that the method for calculating nitrogen partial pressure described here is by way of example only and other methods may be used . first , the inhaled nitrogen partial pressure pa ( t ), that is , the partial pressure of nitrogen in the gas mix being breathed by the diver ( the “ breathing mix ” below ), is calculated based on depth d ( t ) at time t from the following equation ( 1 ). where fo2 is a number denoting the percentage of oxygen in the breathing mix , and is below referred to as the oxygen ratio . ( 1 − fo2 ) is a value denoting the percentage of inert gas in the breathing mix , and because it is assumed that the breathing mix contains only oxygen and nitrogen ( 1 − fo2 ) effectively denotes the percentage of nitrogen in the breathing mix . note that msw , the unit of inert gas partial pressure , is based on an atmospheric pressure of 10 msw at an altitude of 0 m ( i . e ., sea level ). equation ( 1 ) can therefore be used without modification if the altitude of the water level where the diving takes place is at sea level ( 0 m ), but if diving at an altitude of 800 m or 1600 m , for example , a smaller value should be substituted for the 10 in equation ( 1 ). air generally contains nitrogen and oxygen in a volume ratio of approximately 0 . 79 : 0 . 21 . therefore , when a tank is filled with air , this embodiment of the invention uses fo2 = 0 . 21 . it will be further noted that so - called nitrox contains a greater percentage of oxygen than does air , generally having a nitrogen : oxygen volume ratio between 0 . 68 : 0 . 32 and 0 . 64 : 0 . 36 . furthermore , trimix is a breathing mix containing nitrogen , oxygen , and helium with a nitrogen : oxygen : helium volume ratio of 0 . 34 : 0 . 16 : 0 . 50 . after the inhaled nitrogen partial pressure pa ( t ) is determined the in vivo , nitrogen partial pressure pgt ( t + δt ) is calculated for each tissue compartment with a different rate of nitrogen absorption and release . using a given tissue compartment by way of example , the in vivo nitrogen partial pressure pgt ( t + δt ) absorbed and released from dive time t to time ( t + δt ) can be calculated from the following equation using the nitrogen partial pressure pgt ( t ) at computing start time t . pgt ( t + δ t ) = pgt ( t ) + { p a ( t ) - pgt ( t ) } * { 1 - exp ( - k · δ t / th ) } ( 2 ) where k is an experimentally determined constant , and th is the saturation half - time of the tissue compartment in question . these half - time values are shown in table 1 ( fig3 ). the cpu 51 of dive computer 1 repeatedly performs this calculation of the in vivo nitrogen partial pressure pgt ( t ) for each tissue compartment at a specific sampling period δt . the ndl is determining by first calculating the amount of time required to reach each tissue compartment &# 39 ; s maximum tolerated inert gas pressure , m 0 , and then setting ndl equal to the shortest calculated time among all the tissue compartments since decompression sickness can result from any tissue compartment reaching its m 0 value ( shown in fig3 ). therefore for each tissue compartment , compn , a lapse time δt starting from an initial time t required to reach an in vivo nitrogen partial pressure , pgt ( t + δt ), equal to its corresponding m 0 value , i . e . m 0 n , ( as calculated from equation ( 2 )) is determined . the maximum tolerated inert gas partial pressure m 0 n for each tissue compartment compn is the maximum inert gas partial pressure at which the diver will not experience bubbling at the water surface ( i . e . not suffer decompression sickness ). that is , if in equation ( 2 ) pgt ( t + δt ) is set equal to m 0 and one solves the equation for δt , then in equation ( 3 ), δt is the ndln for a particular tissue compartment compn . thus , the ndln for each tissue compartment , compn , is calculated from equation ( 3 ), and the lowest ndln value found is used as the overall system ndl . when calculating the in vivo nitrogen partial pressure pgtn for each tissue compartment , compn , the dive computer 1 uses a value of 0 . 693 for k in equation ( 2 ). for each of the 16 tissue compartments ( compn , where “ n ” is 1 − 16 ), its corresponding half - time th value and corresponding maximum tolerated partial pressure m 0 value is read from tissue compartment table 53 a stored in rom 53 . the sampling frequency ( δt ) for calculating in vivo nitrogen partial pressure pgt is one minute in this embodiment of the invention . as shown in fig4 , the non - decompression limit ndln for a particular tissue compartment . compn is calculated by hypothetically increasing the dive time in one minute increments beginning from when computing starts , and continuing until the nitrogen partial pressure pgt , which increases according to increasing dive time , exceeds the maximum tolerated partial pressure m 0 . the dive time at which the nitrogen partial pressure pgt for the particular tissue compartment exceeds its maximum tolerated partial pressure m 0 is used as the tissue compartment &# 39 ; s non - decompression limit ndln . in other words , to calculate each tissue compartment &# 39 ; s non - decompression limit ndln , δt in equation ( 2 ) for each tissue compartment is increased in 1 - minute units to calculate the nitrogen partial pressure pgt ( t + δt ) at time t + δt , and the value of δt at which pgt ( t + δt )& gt ; m 0 is set as the tissue compartment &# 39 ; s non - decompression limit ndln . this method of computation reduces the number of operations required to determine ndln from m 0 n as compared to using equation ( 3 ). it should be noted that this first embodiment of the invention initially sets a maximum non - decompression limit ndl of 200 minutes , and computing stops if this limit is exceeded . to reduce the number of operations performed in the first computational pass , the value of ( 1 − exp (− 0 . 693 / th )) in equation ( 2 ) ( where δt = 1 ) is pre - calculated for each tissue compartment and stored as a constant in ram 54 , or alternatively in rom 53 . in addition , the non - decompression limit display value ndldisp is preset to 200 . furthermore , the inhaled nitrogen partial pressure pa ( t ) at the dive start time ( t = 0 ) and the nitrogen partial pressure pgt 1 ( t ) to pgt 16 ( t ) [ i . e . pgtn ( t )] for tissue compartments 1 to 16 [ i . e . comp 1 to comp 16 ] ( equal to pa ( t )) are pre - calculated using equation ( 1 ) and stored as pa and pgt 1 to pgt 16 in ram 54 , or alternatively in rom 53 . the elapsed time since time t = 0 is measured by clock unit 68 . fig5 is a flow chart of non - decompression limit ndl computation by the cpu 51 of dive computer 1 . cpu 51 performs different operations during its first , second and subsequent passes calculating the non - decompression limit ndl , and these operations are therefore described separately below . the first pass is used to calculate a first , non - decompression limit display time ndldisp displayed after a dive starts , and presents the calculated ndldisp value on the display unit 10 of dive computer 1 . the cpu 51 references clock unit 68 to determine if one minute has passed since t = 0 . if one minute has passed ( step s 1 = yes ), it is time to update , the nitrogen partial pressure pgtn ( t ) stored in ram 54 . nitrogen partial pressure pgt 1 to pgt 16 and inhaled nitrogen partial pressure pa stored in ram 54 and the saturation half - time th stored in rom 53 are then read , nitrogen partial pressure pgt 1 ( 1 - minute ) to pgt 16 ( 1 - minute ) are calculated from equation ( 2 ), and pgt 1 to pgt 16 in ram 54 are updated to the calculated values ( step s 2 ). the cpu 51 then reads each tissue compartment &# 39 ; s nitrogen partial pressure pgtn calculated in step s 2 from ram 54 and the maximum tolerated partial pressure m 0 n from rom 53 , and determines for all tissue compartments if pgtn ≦ m 0 n ( step s 3 ). if pgtn & gt ; m 0 n for any tissue compartment ( step s 3 returns no ) the diver is in a decompression dive and the cpu 51 runs the decompression diving process ( step s 4 ). that is , the non - decompression limit display value ndldisp is set to 0 and displayed on the display unit 10 of dive computer 1 , and processing ends . if pgtn ≦ m 0 n for all tissue compartments ( step s 3 returns yes ), control moves to step s 6 . returning to step s 1 , if one minute has not passed since t = 0 ( step s 1 returns no ), nitrogen partial pressure pgtn ( t ) is not calculated and the cpu 51 determines if the diver is in a decompression dive ( step s 5 ). that is , the cpu 51 detects if the diver was in a decompression dive the last time pgtn ( t ) was calculated . if a decompression dive is detected ( step s 5 returns yes ), the cpu 51 runs the decompression dive process ( step s 4 ). if a decompression dive is not detected ( step s 5 returns no ), control moves to step s 6 . in step s 6 the cpu 51 references pressure measuring unit , i . e . pressure gauge , 61 to get the inhaled nitrogen partial pressure pa ( t ), and then determines if this inhaled nitrogen partial pressure pa ( t ) and the previous inhaled nitrogen partial pressure pa stored to ram 54 are equal ( step s 7 ). if pa ( t )= previous pa ( step s 7 returns yes ), cpu 51 determines if it is time to update nitrogen partial pressure pgtn ( step s 8 ). if it is not time to update nitrogen partial pressure pgtn ( step s 8 returns no ) ( and one minute has not passed since t = 0 ), cpu 51 leaves the non - decompression limit display value ndldisp in ram 54 set to its previous display value , 200 ( step s 9 ), and the first process pass ends . if it is time to update nitrogen partial pressure pgtn ( step s 8 returns yes ), cpu 51 compares the non - decompression limit display value ndldisp stored in ram 54 with 200 ( step s 10 ). the first time the process runs non - decompression limit display value ndldisp is set to 200 , therefore the comparison ndldisp ≧ 200 of step s 10 returns no , and control advances to step s 12 . in step s 12 the cpu 51 sets the tissue compartment counter compn indicating the tissue compartment for which values are to be calculated to 1 , and sets the minimum non - decompression limit ndlmin to 200 . cpu 51 then gets maximum tolerated partial pressure m 01 for tissue compartment comp 1 from the tissue compartment table 53 a in rom 53 ( step s 13 ), and compares inhaled nitrogen partial pressure pa ( t ) with maximum tolerated partial pressure m 01 ( step s 14 ). if pa ( t )& lt ; m 01 ( step s 14 returns yes ), the diver will not reach maximum tolerated partial pressure m 01 even if he continues breathing the mix at inhaled nitrogen partial pressure pa ( t ). cpu 51 therefore sets non - decompression limit ndl 1 to 200 ( step s 15 ), and advances to step s 24 to repeat the calculations for the next tissue compartment . however , if pa ≧ m 01 ( step s 14 returns no ), cpu 51 initializes a working non - decompression limit ndl variable to 0 in step s 16 in order to calculate the non - decompression limit ndln ( i . e . ndl 1 ) for the particular tissue compartment , comp 1 in the present case . note that this “ working non - decompression limit ndl variable ” is a variable for temporarily storing values during the computing process . cpu 51 then sets nitrogen partial pressure pgt 1 ( t ) stored in ram 54 to working pgt 1 ( t ) ( step s 17 ). like working non - decompression limit ndl variable , this “ working pgt 1 ( t )” is also a variable for temporarily storing values during the computing process . cpu 51 then compares working pgt 1 ( t ) with maximum tolerated partial pressure m 01 ( step s 18 ). because the non - decompression limit has still not been calculated at this time nitrogen partial pressure pgt 1 ( t ) and working pgt 1 ( t ) are equal , and pgt 1 ( t )≦ m 01 because step s 3 or s 5 has already been completed . step s 18 therefore returns no , control advances to step s 20 , and cpu 51 calculates the non - decompression limit ndln , i . e . ndl 1 , for comp 1 . that is , using the measured current water pressure and saturation half - time th for comp 1 from rom 53 , cpu 51 calculates the nitrogen partial pressure at the time equal to working non - decompression limit ndl variable plus 1 minute from equation ( 2 ), and updates working pgt 1 ( t ) to the calculated value ( step s 20 ). the working non - decompression limit ndl variable is then incremented 1 minute ( step s 21 ). cpu 51 then compares working non - decompression limit ndl variable with the minimum non - decompression limit ndlmin ( step s 22 ). because minimum non - decompression limit ndlmin is set to 200 at this time , ndl & lt ; ndlmin ( step s 22 returns no ), and the procedure loops to step s 18 . in step s 18 cpu 51 again compares working pgt 1 ( t ) with maximum tolerated partial pressure m 01 . if working pgt 1 ( t ) is not greater than m 01 ( step s 18 returns no ), steps s 18 to s 22 repeat until working pgt 1 ( t ) is greater than maximum tolerated partial pressure m 01 . when working pgt 1 ( t ) becomes greater than m 01 ( step s 18 returns yes ), the minimum non - decompression limit ndlmin is set to the value of the working non - decompression limit ndl variable . also , compmin , i . e ., the tissue compartment number with the lowest non - decompression limit ( the “ lowest tissue compartment number ” below ) is set to the current compn , “ 1 ” in the present case ( step s 19 ). then , the non - decompression limit ndln for the current tissue compartment , i . e . ndl 1 in the present case , is set to the value of the working non - decompression limit ndl variable and stored to ram 54 ( step s 23 ), and control advances to step s 24 to run the calculations for the next tissue compartment . in step s 24 cpu 51 determines if calculations were completed for all tissue compartments . because calculations are completed for only the current tissue compartment number ( 1 ) at this time ( step s 24 returns no ), control branches to step s 26 . cpu 51 then determines if this was the first time the computing process ran . because it is ( step s 26 returns yes ), cpu 51 increments the current tissue compartment counter compn by 1 to set the number of the next tissue compartment to process ( step s 27 ). because the tissue compartment counter compn is currently 1 , the next tissue compartment to be processed is tissue compartment 2 ( comp 2 ). cpu 51 then performs the same operation described above from step s 13 , and repeats this operation for all tissue compartments . it should be noted that although the working non - decompression limit ndl variable for comp 1 was less than ndlmin in step s 22 , this was because the minimum non - decompression limit ndlmin was initially set to a default value of 200 . it should be noted that the value of ndlmin was changed to comp 1 &# 39 ; s highest working non - decompression limit ndl value ( step 19 ) before processing moved on to comp 2 . therefore , when processing tissue compartment comp 2 , it may happen that the highest value of comp 2 &# 39 ; s working non - decompression limit ndl variable may be lower than comp 1 &# 39 ; s , in which case step s 18 will return “ yes ” before comp 2 &# 39 ; s ndl value reaches the value of comp 1 &# 39 ; s ndl as determined by step s 22 . if this is the case , then step s 19 will update ndlmin to be equal to comp 2 &# 39 ; s ndl value . therefore , ndlmin will maintain a value equal to the lowest ndln among all previously processed tissue compartments compn . as a result , when processing tissue compartment comp 2 and above , the minimum non - decompression limit ndlmin will have a value equal to the minimum ndln value determined during the processing of the tissue compartments prior to the current tissue compartment being processed , and it is possible that for the current tissue compartment , ndl ≧ ndlmin , which means that the ndl value of the current tissue compartment is higher than a that of a previously processed tissue compartment . if this is the case , then ndlmin remains unchanged ( step s 22 returns yes , and step s 19 is skipped ). if ndl ≧ ndlnin ( step s 22 returns yes ) then a non - decompression limit ndln of a shorter time or the same time was already calculated for a tissue compartment processed before the tissue compartment currently being processed , and minimum non - decompression limit ndlmin will not change even if processing continues . cpu 51 therefore sets working non - decompression limit ndl to non - decompression limit ndln ( step s 23 ), terminates computing for the current tissue compartment , and moves to step s 24 to process the next tissue compartment . if all tissue compartments have been processed ( step s 24 returns yes ), the non - decompression limit display value ndldisp is set to the value of the minimum non - decompression limit ndlmin and stored to ram 54 ( step s 25 ). the non - decompression limit display value ndldisp is displayed on display unit 10 of dive computer 1 , and the first process ends . specific examples of the calculations in this first process are shown in fig6 . in the computations for tissue compartments 1 - 3 ( i . e . comp 1 through comp 3 ) in this example , the minimum non - decompression limit ndlmin = 40 and the lowest tissue compartment number compmin is 1 , i . e . comp 1 . however , when calculating tissue compartment comp 4 , the minimum non - decompression limit ndlmin is changed to 38 , and the lowest tissue compartment number compmin is therefore updated to 4 , i . e . comp 4 . minimum non - decompression limit ndlmin and lowest tissue compartment number compmin remain unchanged during the processing of tissue compartments comp 5 - comp 16 , and the final value for minimum non - decompression limit ndlmin is 38 and , the final value for lowest tissue compartment number compmin is 4 , i . e . comp 4 . returning to fig5 , cpu 51 references the clock unit 68 to determine if one minute has passed since the last time nitrogen partial pressure pgtn stored in ram 54 was updated , that is , if it is time to update nitrogen partial pressure pgtn ( step s 1 ). steps s 2 to s 9 are the same as during the first pass described above . if in step s 10 the previous display value ndldisp & lt ; 200 ( step s 10 returns yes ), cpu 51 decrements ndldisp by one minute . that is , cpu 51 updates the non - decompression limit display value ndldisp to a value equal to the non - decompression limit display value ndldisp stored in ram 54 minus 1 minute ( step s 11 ), displays the updated non - decompression limit display value ndldisp on display unit 10 of dive computer 1 , and ends operation . if the previously displayed ndldisp is not less than 200 ( step s 10 returns no ), control advances to step s 12 . in step s 12 cpu 51 sets compn ( the tissue compartment to be processed ) to the lowest tissue compartment number compmin stored to ram 54 in the previous pass , and sets the minimum non - decompression limit ndlmin to 200 . the reason lowest tissue compn is set to compartment number compmin , and calculations therefore start from this tissue compartment , compn is there is a high likelihood that the tissue compartment number that had the lowest ndln value in the previous pass through the computing process will also have the lowest non - decompression limit ndln in the current pass , and it is therefore more efficient to begin calculations from the tissue compartment compn that had the lowest non - decompression limit npln in the previously pass . for example , if the current process is the second pass and the results from the first pass are as shown in fig6 , lowest tissue compartment number compmin = 4 and tissue compartment compn is therefore set to 4 , i . e . comp 4 . steps s 13 to s 25 then proceed as described in the first pass above . in step s 26 , cpu 51 checks if the current process pass is the first pass through , and if it is the second or subsequent pass ( step s 26 returns no ). cpu 51 then selects for processing the tissue compartment compn whose saturation half - time is closest to the saturation half - time of the tissue compartment compmin , which was previously identified as having the lowest ndln value , i . e . having ndlmin . in other words , cpu 5 sets compn equal to the tissue compartment whose absolute value of the difference between its corresponding saturation half - time and the saturation half - time of lowest tissue compartment number compmin (| δth |= th compmin − th n |) is lowest among the not yet processed tissue components ( step s 28 ). this method of determining the tissue compartment is derived from experience , which provides a rule of thumb specifying that the probability is high that the tissue compartment with a saturation half - time close to the saturation half - time of the tissue compartment that had the lowest non - decompression limit in the previous process cycle , will likely have the lowest non - decompression limit in the next process cycle . for example , if the tissue compartment numbers are listed in order from the lowest absolute difference of its saturation half - time to the saturation half - time th ( th 4 = 18 . 5 minutes ) of the lowest tissue compartment number compmin (= comp 4 ) using the data of fig3 and 6 , the computing sequence becomes : compn = 3 ( th 3 = 12 . 5 min , | δth |= 6 min ); compn = 5 ( th 5 = 27 min , | δth |= 8 . 5 min ); compn = 2 ( th 2 = 8 min , | δth |= 10 . 5 min ); compn = 1 ( th 1 = 4 min , | δth |= 14 . 5 min ); compn = 6 ( th 6 = 38 . 3 min , | δth |= 19 . 8 min ); compn = 7 ( th 7 = 54 . 3 min , | δth |= 35 . 8 min ); compn = 8 ( th 8 = 77 min , | δth |= 58 . 5 min ), and so on . this first embodiment of the present invention thus permits efficient calculation of the overall non - decompression limit ndl for the system by eliminating unnecessary operations as much as possible , by : ( 1 ) stopping computation when the non - decompression limit ndln of tissue component being processed reaches the current minimum non - decompression limit ndlmin or reaches a new lower value for the minimum non - decompression limit ndlmin ; ( 2 ) in the second and subsequent passes , determining the tissue compartment compn for which the non - decompression limit ndln is computed next by finding the difference | δth | between the saturation half - time of each unprocessed tissue compartment and the saturation half - time of the tissue compartment corresponding to the current compmin , and selecting the tissue compartment compn for which the absolute value of this difference , | δth |, is smallest ; ( 3 ) not calculating the non - decompression limit ndl when inhaled nitrogen partial pressure pa is less than the maximum tolerated partial pressure m 0 ; ( 4 ) skipping the calculations and setting the current non - decompression limit to the previously defined non - decompression limit ( step s 9 ) when the current time ( when the non - decompression limit was to be calculated ) is not the time to update the nitrogen partial pressure ( step s 8 ) and the measured inhaled nitrogen partial pressure is equal to the previous inhaled nitrogen partial pressure ( step s 7 ); and ( 5 ) when it is time to update the non - decompression limit ndl ( step s 8 = yes ), updating the ndl to the previous non - decompression limit minus the time lapse since the last ndl update ( i . e . 1 minute in the present example ) if the measured inhaled nitrogen partial pressure is equal to the previous inhaled nitrogen partial pressure ( step s 7 ) and the previous non - decompression limit is less than the maximum non - decompression limit ( 200 minutes ) ( step s 10 ). it is therefore possible to reduce the time lag from measuring the water pressure to displaying the non - decompression limit ndl , and more accurate information can therefore be provided for the diver . power consumption is also reduced by reducing the number of calculations . battery life can therefore be extended , and a smaller dive computer 1 can be achieved . by thus providing the diver with accurate information , preventing battery failure while diving as a result of extending battery life , and improving portability by making the dive computer 1 smaller , this embodiment of the present invention helps enable safe diving . it should be noted that while the first embodiment of the invention described above runs the calculations in sequence from the lowest tissue compartment number in the first pass described above , any sequence can be used in this first pass because it is still not known which tissue compartment has the lowest non - decompression limit ndl . the circuit configuration of this second embodiment is substantially similar to the circuit configuration of the first embodiment other than the program stored to rom 53 , and further description thereof is thus omitted below . the operation of a dive computer 1 according to this second embodiment of the invention is described next below . in the first embodiment , as shown in fig7 ( a ), nitrogen partial pressure pgtn ( t ) is calculated by hypothetically incrementing the dive time in one minute intervals for each tissue compartment . in this second embodiment as shown in fig7 ( b ), however , nitrogen partial pressure pgtn ( t ) is calculated for each tissue compartment each time the dive time is hypothetically incremented by one minute . with the method of the first embodiment it therefore takes a total of 14 computations in the first pass to calculate the non - decompression limit ndl , that is , 5 times for tissue compartment 1 and three times each for tissue compartments 2 , 3 , and 4 as shown in fig7 ( a ). with the method of this second embodiment as shown in fig7 ( b ), however , only 10 computations are needed , three each for tissue compartments 1 and 2 , and two each for tissue compartments 3 and 4 . as in the first embodiment the computations performed by dive computer 1 use a value of 0 . 693 for k in equation ( 2 ) to determine nitrogen partial pressure pgtn in each tissue compartment . furthermore , the values read from tissue compartment table 53 a in rom 53 are used for the saturation half - times th n and maximum tolerated partial pressure m 0 n of the sixteen tissue compartments , the sampling interval ( δt ) for calculating nitrogen partial pressure pgt is 1 minute , the maximum non - decompression limit is 200 minutes , and computing stops when this maximum is exceeded . to reduce the number of operations performed in the first pass the value of ( 1 − exp (− 0 . 693 / th )) in equation ( 2 ) is pre - calculated for each tissue compartment and stored as a constant in ram 54 . in addition , the non - decompression limit display value ndldisp is preset to 200 . furthermore , the inhaled nitrogen partial pressure pa ( t ) at the dive start time ( t = 0 ) and the nitrogen partial pressure pgt 1 ( t ) to pgt 16 ( t ) for tissue compartments 1 to 16 ( equal to pa ( t )) are pre - calculated using equation ( 1 ) and stored as pa and pgt 1 to pgt 16 in ram 54 . time passed since time t = 0 is measured by the clock unit 68 . fig8 is a flow chart of non - decompression limit ndl computation by the cpu 51 of dive computer 1 . cpu 51 performs different operations during the first pass and second and subsequent passes calculating the non - decompression limit ndl , and these operations are therefore described separately below . in the first pass in this embodiment the working non - decompression limit ndl = 0 , and in the second and subsequent processes the working non - decompression limit ndl is 1 minute or more depending on the number of previous passes . steps s 1 ′ to s 8 ′ are similar to steps s 1 through s 8 of the first embodiment , and further description thereof is thus omitted below . in step s 9 ′ cpu 51 initializes the working non - decompression limit ndl to 0 and initializes the assigned value of the lowest tissue compartment number compmin variable to 0 . in the first pass , step s 10 ′ cpu 51 sets the tissue compartment counter compn to the number of the first tissue compartment to process ( 1 ). cpu 51 then gets the maximum tolerated partial pressure m 01 of tissue compartment number 1 from tissue compartment table 53 a in rom 53 ( step s 11 ′), and determines if the working non - decompression limit ndl is 0 ( step s 12 ′). because the working non - decompression limit ndl is 0 in this first pass ( step s 12 ′ returns yes ), cpu 51 compares inhaled nitrogen partial pressure pa ( t ) and maximum tolerated partial pressure m 01 ( step s 13 ′). if pa ( t )≧ m 01 ( step s 13 ′ returns no ), cpu 51 sets lowest tissue compartment number compmin to the current tissue compartment number ( 1 ) for calculating the non - decompression limit ndl ( step s 14 ′), and then copies the current nitrogen partial pressure pgt 1 ( t ) to pgt 16 ( t ) stored in ram 54 from all tissue compartments having a tissue compartment number greater than or equal to current value , 1 , ( that is , all tissue compartments in this case ) to corresponding working variables pgt 1 ( t ) to working pgt 16 ( t ) ( step s 15 ′). cpu 5 also increases the working non - decompression limit ndl variable by 1 minute at step s 24 ′ for the second and subsequent passes . however if pa ( t )& lt ; m 01 ( step s 13 ′ returns yes ), the diver will not reach maximum tolerated partial pressure m 01 even if he continues breathing the mix at inhaled nitrogen partial pressure pa ( t ). cpu 51 therefore stops computation for the current tissue compartment number ( 1 ), and determines if the calculations have been completed for all tissue compartments in preparation for processing the next tissue compartment ( step s 19 ′). because processing the current tissue compartment 1 has not ended yet ( step s 19 ′ returns no ), tissue compartment comp 1 is incremented by one ( step s 20 ′), and the process loops back to step s 11 ′ for tissue compartment 2 . as long as pa ( t )& lt ; m 0 n in this case , cpu 51 continues looping from step s 11 ′ to s 12 ′ to s 13 ′ to s 19 ′ to s 20 ′ and back to s 11 ′ for all tissue compartments with a tissue compartment number of 2 or higher . because step s 19 ′ returns yes when running through this loop for the last tissue compartment , cpu 51 advances from step s 19 ′ to step s 21 ′ where it is determined if lowest tissue compartment number compmin = 0 . because lowest tissue compartment number compmin remains set to 0 in this case ( step s 21 ′ returns yes ), the non - decompression limit display value ndldisp is set to 200 ( step s 23 ′), the non - decompression limit display value ndldisp is displayed on display unit 10 of dive computer 1 , and the first process ends . if while looping through step s 11 ′ to s 12 ′ to s 13 ′ to s 19 ′ to s 20 ′ for each tissue compartment , it is determined in step s 13 ′ for tissue compartment compn that pa ≧ m 0 n ( step s 13 ′ returns no ), cpu 51 sets the lowest tissue compartment number compmin equal to the current tissue compartment number compn to calculate the non - decompression limit ndl ( step s 14 ′). cpu 51 then copies the nitrogen partial pressure pgtn ( t ) from ram 54 for tissue compartment numbers greater than or equal to compn to their corresponding working pgtn ( t ) variable ( step s 15 ′). afterwards , cpu 51 increases the working non - decompression limit ndl by 1 minute at step s 24 ′ to run the process the second or subsequent time . because the maximum tolerated partial pressure m 0 n decreases as the tissue compartment compn increases , due to the chosen arrangement of compn as shown in tissue compartment table 53 a of table 1 ( fig3 ), if pa ≧ m 0 n for any tissue compartment compn , then pa ≧ m 0 i for any tissue compartment number compi greater than tissue compartment compn ( where n & lt ; i ≦ 16 ). the comparison in step s 13 ′ is therefore skipped for each subsequent tissue compartment compi , and the cpu 51 proceeds to step s 15 ′. calculations are performed in the second and subsequent passes using the process described below for each tissue compartment compn greater than or equal to lowest tissue compartment number compmin where pa ≧ m 0 n . in step s 24 ′ cpu 51 adds the update time increment , 1 minute , to the working non - decompression limit ndl . then in step s 10 ′ it sets the next tissue compartment compn to be processed equal to the lowest tissue compartment number compmin from the previous process stored in ram 54 . next , cpu 51 reads the maximum tolerated partial pressure m 0 n for tissue compartment compn from tissue compartment table 53 a in rom 53 ( step s 11 ′), and determines if the working non - decompression limit ndl is 0 ( step s 12 ′). because this is the second or subsequent pass and working non - decompression limit ndl is “ 1 minute ” or longer ( step s 12 ′ returns no ), cpu 51 applies equation ( 2 ) to calculate the nitrogen partial pressure at 1 minute after the working non - decompression limit ndl of the previous calculation using the measured current water pressure and saturation half - time th stored in rom 53 . it then updates working pgtn ( t ) to the calculated value ( step s 16 ′). cpu 51 then compares working pgtn ( t ) with maximum tolerated partial pressure m 0 n ( step s 17 ′). if working pgt 1 ( t )& gt ; m 01 ( step s 17 ′ returns yes ), the working non - decompression limit ndl at this time is the minimum non - decompression limit ndl . the non - decompression limit display value ndldisp is therefore updated to working non - decompression limit ndl ( step s 18 ′), the udpated non - decompression limit display value ndldisp is displayed on the display unit 10 of dive computer 1 , and the process ends . if working pgt 1 ( t )≦ m 01 ( step s 17 ′ returns no ), cpu 51 determines if computations have been completed for all tissue compartments ( step s 19 ′). if not ( step s 19 ′ returns no ), compn is incremented by 1 ( step s 20 ′), and operation continues from step s 11 ′ for the next tissue compartment . if calculations are completed for all tissue compartments ( step s 19 ′ returns yes ), it is determined whether lowest tissue compartment number compmin = 0 ( step s 21 ′). because lowest tissue compartment number compmin has been set to a value greater than 0 in the second and subsequent processes ( step s 21 ′ returns no ), whether the working non - decompression limit ndl is greater than or equal to 200 is determined ( step s 22 ′). if the working ndl is less than 200 ( step s 22 ′ returns no ), control loops to step s 24 ′ to advance the working ndl and calculate information for tissue compartments greater than or equal to compmin . however , if working non - decompression limit ndl is 200 or more ( step s 22 ′ returns yes ), cpu 51 sets non - decompression limit display value ndldisp to 200 ( step s 23 ′), displays the non - decompression limit display value ndldisp on display unit 10 of dive computer 1 , and ends the process . it will thus be apparent that this embodiment of the invention greatly reduces the number of calculations performed by repeatedly hypothetically adding a specific time to the working non - decompression limit ndl , calculating the nitrogen partial pressure pgtn ( t ) to the incremented working non - decompression limit ndl for each tissue compartment , and defining the working non - decompression limit ndl at which the nitrogen partial pressure pgtn ( t ) for a given tissue compartment exceeds the maximum tolerated partial pressure m 0 n as the non - decompression limit ndl to be displayed . it should be noted that while a period of 1 minute is used as the update time for nitrogen partial pressure pgt ( t ) in step s 1 ′ and the update time of working non - decompression limit ndl , this period can be appropriately adjusted with consideration for the speed of the cpu 51 and the required accuracy . furthermore , the maximum non - decompression limit ndl is set to 200 in the preceding embodiments , but can be set to a value other than 200 with consideration for the speed of the cpu 51 and computing requirements . in the first embodiment above the next tissue compartment to process is determined by finding the difference between the saturation half - time th of lowest tissue compartment number compmin and the saturation half - time th of each unprocessed tissue compartment compn , and selecting as the next tissue compartment to process the tissue compartment compn for which the absolute value of this difference is smallest . the invention shall not be so limited , however , and other computing sequences considered appropriate based on experience can be used . for example , the tissue compartment computing sequence could be determined by alternately subtracting and adding , or adding and subtracting , 1 to the tissue compartment number of the tissue compartment with the lowest calculated non - decompression limit ndl during the previous computing process . if compmin = 4 , for example , then the computing sequence for the second or subsequent process using the subtract - add rule is compn = 3 , compn = 5 , compn = 2 , compn = 6 , compn = 1 , compn = 7 , compn = 8 , compn = 9 . . . compn = 16 . using the add - subtract rule , the sequence becomes compn = 5 , compn = 3 , compn = 6 , compn = 2 , compn = 7 , compn = 1 , compn = 8 , compn = 9 . . . compn = 16 . it should be further noted that the tissue compartment numbers in table 1 are assigned in order from the lowest saturation half - time but could be assigned in order from the highest saturation half - time while still determining the computing sequence as described above . these preferred embodiments of the invention have been described using nitrogen by way of example as the inert gas , but the invention shall not be so limited and other inert gases such as helium can be used . it should be noted , however , that the saturation half - time th depends upon the type of inert gas used , and saturation half - times th for helium are as shown in table 1 . to determine the inert gas partial pressure pgt ( t ) for trimix as noted above the in vivo nitrogen partial pressure and the in vivo helium partial pressure are first separately determined using equation ( 2 ). the resulting nitrogen and helium partial pressures are then added together to obtain the total in vivo inert gas partial pressure . the total in vivo inert gas partial pressure is thus determined for a breathing mix having two or more inert gases by separately calculating the value for each inert gas and then simply finding the sum of the results . these preferred embodiments of the invention assume that a program controlling the above - described operations is prestored in rom 53 . the invention shall not be so limited , however . for example , a personal computer ( not shown in the figure ) could be connected to and communicate with the dive computer 1 so that the program can be downloaded from the personal computer to the dive computer 1 . in this case the program is preferably written to rewritable non - volatile memory ( not shown in the figure ), and the cpu 51 reads and runs the program from the rewritable non - volatile memory . it will thus be apparent that a data processing apparatus for a diver according to the present invention can efficiently calculate the non - decompression limit indicating how long a diver can dive without needing decompression . although the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art . such changes and modifications are to be understood as included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims , unless they depart therefrom . | 1 |
the movement simulator may be any system having from 1 to and including 6 degrees of freedom , wherein the degrees of freedom ( dof ) can be any of x , y , z , pitch , roll & amp ; yaw . a preferred movement simulator has 6 degrees of freedom . the description will illustrate a movement - simulator having 6 degrees of freedom . a skilled person can easily understand how this disclosure will work for a movement simulator having fewer degrees of freedom based on said description . fig1 illustrates an example of a movement simulator 1 having 6 degrees of freedom . the illustrated movement simulator is also referred to as stewart platform or six - axis platform . stewart platforms are well known and for example described in the afore mentioned ep - a - 446786 or us - a - 2009 / 0047636 . the movement simulator of fig1 comprises a base 2 placed on the floor , and a platform 3 movable relative to that base 2 , on which platform e . g . a cockpit ( not shown ) with a seat for a user may be fixed . the base may be a single frame or separate elements individually fixed to the floor . the cockpit may be for example an airplane cockpit , a helicopter cockpit , a space shuttle cockpit , a ( race ) automobile cockpit , or a cockpit for a train , metro , or tram . the cockpit may be used for recreation or for professional training applications . the platform 3 is movably carried by the base 3 by means of six hydraulic cylinders , which all for the sake of convenience are referred to with the numeral 4 . these hydraulic cylinders are connected with a non - shown central controller and a hydraulic system . the lengths of the hydraulic cylinders can be varied at will by the central controller which is not shown in fig1 . the actuators shown in fig1 are hydraulic cylinders . alternatively the actuators may be electric actuators , pneumatic cylinders or any other actuators which length can be varied . fig2 is a block diagram illustrating how the demanded platform state is adapted to a commanded platform state by the method and simulator according to the invention . the motion cueing algorithm receives input from a computer program which describes the simulation , for example a aircraft flight simulation program . motion cueing algorithms are well known . the above referred to us - a - 2009 / 0047636 discloses an example of a possible motion cueing algorithm which can be used . the demanded platform state comprises of a demanded acceleration , demanded velocity and demanded position for the platform 3 . the demanded acceleration , velocity and position are subsequently adapted by a washout controller resulting in a commanded platform state . in the kinematic transformation the commanded platform state as expressed in commanded acceleration , velocity and position are translated to an actuator state . in the kinematic transformation the actual required lengths of actuators are calculated to achieve the commanded platform state . by instructing the actuators to vary their lengths platform 3 will move according to the commanded platform state . fig2 shows an mpc washout filter which stands for washout filter using a model predictive control algorithm ( mpc ). mpc is a well known method of process control that has been in use in the process industries such as chemical plants and oil refineries since the 1980s . mpc is based on iterative , finite horizon optimization of a model of the apparatus to be controlled . the apparatus of the present disclosure is the movement simulator . the model predictive control algorithm samples at time t the current platform platform state and subsequently computes a cost minimizing control strategy ( via a numerical minimization algorithm ) for a relatively short time horizon in the future t + δt . specifically , an online or on - the - fly calculation is used to predict the state of the platform that emanates from the current commanded platform state , and to find a cost - minimizing control strategy until time t + δt . only the first computational step ( after time period dt ) of the control strategy is implemented to the commanded platform state . then the platform state is sampled again and the calculations are repeated starting from the now current platform state , yielding a new commanded platform state and new predicted platform state path . the prediction horizon keeps being shifted forward , and for this reason the term “ receding horizon control ” is also used to describe this method of process control . the above referred to platform state is expressed in the platform domain position coordinates . the number of different platform domain position coordinates used will preferably be the same as the number of degrees of freedom of the movement simulator itself . the demanded and commanded platform states are preferably expressed in terms of position , velocity and acceleration . using the same coordinates , relative platform position can be expressed with respect to the positive or negative workspace boundaries or with respect to the workspace center . preferably the model predictive control algorithm comprises a cost - minimizing control strategy for relative platform position , platform velocity and platform washout acceleration . more preferably the model predictive control algorithm continuously uses the demanded platform state and current washout adaptation as inputs to compute a commanded platform state . the commanded platform state is then used to predict a platform state at t + δt ( the predicted platform state ); subsequently the algorithm quantifies the first and second order gradient of the costs j . in this manner an optimal washout adaptation is obtained which results in minimal total costs . the term “ minimal total costs ” does not relate to money . it is a term often used in mpc to describe the difference between the optimal platform state and the best achievable platform state at t + δt . the washout adaptation is used to continuously modify the demanded platform state to a commanded platform state for a next computational step t + dt , wherein dt is smaller than δt . for a typical 1 . 5 ghz computer δt can for example be 0 . 5 seconds and dt can for example be 2 milliseconds . the above is illustrated by the block diagram given in fig3 . fig3 shows a block diagram of the washout controller in more detail . the washout controller is part of the central controller . fig3 shows how the predicted platform state at t + δt is calculated starting from a demanded state and a current platform washout adaptation . δt is a adjustable parameter shown as one of the dwm parameters . the predicted platform state forms the input for a so - called single dof excursion analysis ( sde analysis ) for the predicted position , which will be described in detail below . the sde analysis predicts a workspace for the predicted platform state . the costs derivatives are the first and second order gradient of the costs j with washout acceleration . the predicted platform state in the workspace and preferred adjustable weight factors will influence the calculated first and second order gradient of the costs j . using so - called weight functions which use weight factors and use the predicted workspace as inputs , the first and second order gradient of the costs j are subsequently calculated . using weight functions is advantageous because they allow the weight to be a function of , for example , position , where higher weight and thus costs result when the platform state is near the workspace boundary and lower weight and thus cost result when the platform is near its central position . the weight factors will have adjustable constants which are shown as one of the dwm parameters in fig3 . the weight function can also be made time dependant , shown as the optional feed forward in fig3 . for example when the motion cueing predicts an extreme movement , as , for example , the start of a formula one race , weight factors can be temporarily adjusted resulting in that the platform is brought into a position that allows the prolonged acceleration of said formula one start . the optimal change in washout is obtained at minimal costs . by means of a single integration optimum washout acceleration is obtained . by means of a double integration the optimal washout adaptation at minimal total costs is obtained . in state integration at dt only the first computational step ( after time period dt ) of the control strategy is implemented as the washout adaptation to the commanded platform state . the washout adaptation is the integration of washout acceleration which is preferably calculated by the following equation : wherein { right arrow over ( a )} wo is the washout acceleration , { right arrow over ({ dot over ( a )} wo is the optimum rate of change of the washout acceleration and j is the total costs . j is a summation of jp , jv and ja , wherein jp is position cost , jv is velocity cost and ja is acceleration cost . suitably j is the summation of jp which is derived from the relative position in the workspace , jv which is derived from the velocity through the workspace and ja which is derived from the washout acceleration through the workspace . k is a constant which will , in an ideal mathematical situation , be equal to − 1 . applicants believe that k may vary while still achieving the benefits of the present invention . jp is the result of multiplying the predicted position relative to the workspace center with a position weight function which uses the position relative to the workspace center and the position relative to a positive and negative workspace boundary as inputs . jv is the result of multiplying the predicted velocity with a velocity weight function which uses the position relative to the workspace center and the position relative to a positive and negative workspace boundary as inputs . ja is the result of multiplying the predicted washout acceleration with an acceleration weight function . the weight function may be a constant or alternatively be a function which uses the position relative to the workspace center and the position relative to a positive and negative workspace boundary as inputs . the objective of using non - constant position dependent weight functions is to implement adaptive dynamic behavior of the washout optimization for various areas of the workspace . other different , but mathematically equivalent , methods exist . for example , the same effect is achieved by choosing constant weight functions and non - constant scaling functions for normalized position , velocity and acceleration coordinates . since the platform can move in 6 degrees of freedom , the mpc control problem is multi - variable and therefore all cost functions jp , jv and ja contain the contributions of each degree of freedom . the acceleration cost ja depends on the difference between demanded and commanded platform acceleration . in this respect the demanded platform acceleration is the acceleration as computed by the motion cueing algorithm . the commanded acceleration refers to the platform acceleration as computed by the washout controller . for example , the value of the acceleration cost function is minimal when the commanded acceleration closely follows the demanded acceleration . in motion cueing terms : the demanded acceleration represents the acceleration cue where the difference between demanded and commanded acceleration represents the washout . for each predicted value of platform position , the washout optimization , and more specifically , the cost function j requires computation of the workspace boundaries and center . additionally the first and second order derivatives of j require computation of the first and second order derivative of the predicted workspace boundaries and center for variations of the washout acceleration . the used algorithm preferably integrates a method for efficiently computing these quantities as will be described below . the workspace position coordinate { right arrow over ( e )} is expressed in platform domain coordinates x , y , z , pitch , roll , & amp ; yaw according to the following formula : { right arrow over ( e )} =( x y z φ θ ψ ) t = e i ( 2 ) wherein x , y and z are the position coordinates for platform translation and φ , θ and ψ are the platform angular position in pitch , roll & amp ; yaw . an index e i is added as a subscript to indicate the dof of the coordinate system , i . e ., e i is the excursion value for the i - th dof , wherein for 6 degrees of freedom ( doe ) i runs from 1 to 6 for x , y , z , pitch , roll , & amp ; yaw respectively . likewise e i + and e i − are the positive and negative excursion limits for the i - th dof , where e i c is the center excursion for the i - th degree of freedom . coordinates { right arrow over ( e )} representing combinations of degrees of freedom , i . e . the possible platform position coordinates x , y , z , φ , θ and ψ , that can be realized by the platform 3 , are mapped within the workspace . when a coordinate is mapped outside of the workspace , one or more of the actuators 4 are either too long or too short . the outside surface of the workspace is continuous but not completely smooth . it is characterized by adjacent patches . on each of these patches a single combination of one or multiple actuators 4 are at their excursion limit . the surface of each patch is continuous and smooth ; however , when moving from one patch to another , a different set of actuators 4 becomes the limiting factor and a discontinuous transition occurs in the gradient of the surface . at some places the transition between two adjacent workspace surface areas will be relatively smooth . at other places sharp edges are present . the above is illustrated in fig4 , which shows images of two degrees of freedom workspaces that are formed when 4 of the 6 degrees of freedom are fixed . no combinations of the 2 “ free ” degrees of freedom exist which can bring the platform to a position outside these lines . this is because that would require that one or both of the actuators 4 would have a length which is higher or lower than the possible variation of the length of the actuator 4 . the single dof excursion analysis is illustrated in fig5 . fig5 shows an image of a single dof excursion ( sde ) workspace that is formed when 5 of the 6 degrees of freedom are fixed and only one degree of freedom remains . the resulting sde workspace is represented by a line with boundaries e − and e + . all values of the remaining degree of freedom that can be realized are mapped on this line segment . excursions that require one or more actuators 4 to be either too long or too short are mapped outside of the indicated boundaries . the coordinate value at the center of the workspace is specified by the coordinate e c which is given by : for any given platform state within the workspace , the minimum , maximum and center coordinate values of the sde workspace for any degree of freedom are determined by the values of the other degrees of freedom which are assumed to be fixed . in practical cases where a platform is moving through its workspace , the minimum , maximum and center values of the sde workspaces will constantly change . preferably , for any given platform position within the workspace { right arrow over ( e )}, the sde workspaces are sequentially computed for each degree of freedom using an sde analysis which allows the platform only to move in the analyzed free degree of freedom while keeping the remaining 5 degrees of freedom fixed at their value e i . this results in the values for e i + , e i − and e i c . for the sde analysis , an iterative method can be used where the platform is moved stepwise along its free degree of freedom until a position is found where one or more actuators is either fully extended or fully retracted . each step requires a forward kinematics analysis in which actuators &# 39 ; lengths are computed for a defined platform position . preferably use is made of the jacobian matrix which expresses the partial derivatives of actuator length for displacements of the platform along its degree of freedom for the current position of the estimator in the workspace . by using a jacobian matrix , a relatively fast iteration is possible which will nevertheless require between 3 - 4 steps to converge with sufficient accuracy . the more preferred method for sde analysis makes use of two persistent sde estimators for each degree of freedom , one estimating the minimum excursion and one estimating the maximum excursion , and each having its own jacobian matrix . while the motion system is moving through its workspace , the fixed degrees of freedom of the sde estimators need to be aligned with the predicted position of the motion system at the fixed time horizon δt . at each cycle of the algorithm , each estimator copies the values of the fixed degrees of freedom from current predicted position e i which leads to a new position of the estimator , possible slightly away from the workspace boundary . a forward kinematics analysis is then used to update the jacobian matrix for the new position and to adjust the free degree of freedom such that the estimator is repositioned accurately on the workspace boundary . this leads to 12 platform extreme positions , 2 per degree of freedom ( either e + or e − ) in just one iteration step per degree of freedom . subsequently , the center of the workspace is computed using equation ( 3 ). the sde workspace acceleration derivatives are defined as the partial derivatives of the sde workspaces maximum , minimum and center values for variations of the platform acceleration applied during the finite time horizon δt . they are noted as ∂ e i + /∂ a j , ∂ e i − /∂ a j and ∂ e i c /∂ a j in which index i defines the degree of freedom of the sde workspace , and index j defines the degree of freedom of the acceleration perturbation . likewise , the sde workspace position derivatives are defined as the partial derivatives of the sde workspaces maximum , minimum and center values for variations of the predicted platform position due to variations of the platform acceleration during the finite time horizon δt . they are notated as ∂ e i + /∂ a j , ∂ e i − /∂ a j and ∂ e i c /∂ a j in which index i defines the degree of freedom of the sde workspace , and index j defines the degree of freedom of the position perturbation . the sde workspace acceleration derivatives can be computed from the sde workspace position derivatives using : wherein the partial derivative ∂ e j /∂ a j represents the partial derivative of the predicted platform position for the j - th degree with platform acceleration in the same degree of freedom . taking into account that the a constant acceleration perturbation is applied during a finite time horizon of δt , its value is constant and equals δt 2 / 2 . computation of the cost derivatives in equation ( 1 ) requires computation of the sde workspace acceleration derivatives which are in turn computed from the sde workspace position derivatives using equation ( 4 ). theoretically , the sde workspace position derivatives can be obtained numerically by numerical differentiation of the sde analysis for the current predicted platform position . this , however , required 120 sde analyses per time step dt which is generally too much to be done in real - time . the preferred method for computation of the sde workspace position derivatives is to proceed from a linear analysis given by of equation : which expresses how much excursion δe i in direction of the sde workspace free degree of freedom ( index i ) is required to get back on the workspace extreme when a position perturbation of δe j is applied , wherein jc is the jacobian matrix for the considered sde workspace extreme position and j identifies the degree of freedom of the position perturbation . fig4 shows that that the derivatives of the single dof workspace limits can be expected sometimes to vary in a discontinuous manner when the platform moves through its workspace . when these discontinuities happen , the critical actuator 4 that determines the workspace limit jumps discretely from one actuator 4 to another . the problem is that these large discontinuous changes of the sde workspace position derivatives may cause oscillations or discontinuities in the washout adaptation . to avoid these effects applicants have found a solution wherein preferably mathematically the edges of the workspace , at places where the limiting actuator changes index , are smoothed off , also referred to as an “ edge blending solution .” preferably a tuneable edge blending distance is as small as possible . a too large edge blending distance will limit the available workspace , while a too small distance will not avoid the non - desirable oscillation . a skilled person may by trial and error determine the optimal edge blending distance . an example of a typical value for a typical platform is 10 mm . this edge blending solution thus allows actuators 4 that are not yet critical to influence the outcome of the washout controller according to the invention . using the edge blending technique , the sde workspace derivatives for e i + and e i − are give by : wherein w k is the edge blending function which is a function of available free travel of the k - th actuator 4 to its critical excursion limit . generally a function is chosen in which w k is zero when the available travel is larger than the edge blending distance and then linearly approaches a value of 1 when the available length is zero . edge blending is cancelled when w k = 1 for critical actuators and when w k = 0 for non - critical actuators . the position derivative of the sde workspace center is the average of the derivative for the positive and negative sde workspace limits : the cost function for platform position ( symbol jp ) is calculated by : j p ={ right arrow over ( c )} p ·{ right arrow over ( c )} p =( p ( { right arrow over ( e )} )( { right arrow over ( e )}−{ right arrow over ( e )} c ))·( p ( { right arrow over ( e )} )( { right arrow over ( e )}−{ right arrow over ( e )} c )) ( 8 ) wherein { right arrow over ( c )} p is a cost vector that is the result of multiplying the position weight function p with the predicted position { right arrow over ( e )}, with { right arrow over ( e )} given by : { right arrow over ( e )}= e i ( x y z φ θ ψ ) predicted t ( 9 ) the position weight function p is chosen to be a fully diagonal matrix . in this way , a cost is assigned to usage of workspace for each degree of freedom separately . this is advantageous because it allows tuning of the algorithm . the cost function for platform velocity ( symbol jv ) is given by : j v ={ right arrow over ( c )} v ·{ right arrow over ( c )} v =( v ( { right arrow over ( e )} ) { right arrow over ( ė )} )·( v ( { right arrow over ( e )} ) { right arrow over ( ė )} )· ( 11 ) wherein { right arrow over ( c )} v is the velocity cost vector that is the result of multiplying the velocity weight function v with the predicted platform velocity { right arrow over ( ė )} that is given by : { right arrow over ( ė )}= ė i ( { dot over ( x )} { dot over ( y )} ż { dot over ( φ )} { dot over ( θ )} { dot over ( ψ )}) predicted t ( 12 ) the velocity weight function is chosen to be a fully diagonal matrix . in this way , a cost is assigned to platform velocity for each degree of freedom separately . this is advantageous because it allows tuning of the algorithm . for motion cueing applications , the platform acceleration must closely match the acceleration set point of the motion cueing algorithm . any deviation of the demanded platform acceleration is penalized with a cost factor . the cost function for platform acceleration is suitably given by : j a ={ right arrow over ( c )} a ·{ right arrow over ( c )} a =( a ( { right arrow over ( e )} ) { right arrow over ( a )} wo )·( a ( { right arrow over ( e )} ) { right arrow over ( a )} wo ) ( 14 ) wherein { right arrow over ( c )} a is the acceleration cost vector that is the result of multiplying the velocity weight function a with the predicted acceleration { right arrow over ( ė )} which is given by : { right arrow over ( ë )}= ë i =( { umlaut over ( x )} ÿ { umlaut over ( φ )} { umlaut over ( θ )} { umlaut over ( ψ )}) predicted t ( 15 ) in this cost equation , is a weight function which is chosen to be a fully diagonal matrix . in this way , a cost is assigned to deviation from demanded platform acceleration for each degree of freedom separately . the weight function is preferably independent of the position in the workspace . the partial derivatives of the position , velocity , and acceleration cost with washout acceleration can be worked out by straight forward differentiation . this leads to partial derivatives of predicted platform position , velocity and acceleration with washout acceleration . these derivatives are non - zero when a time horizon of δt is considered : the differentiation of the position , velocity and acceleration cost function also leads to sde workspace acceleration derivatives which are computed from the sde workspace position derivatives using equation 4 . the disclosure is also directed to a computer - readable recording medium that stores a computer program for use as a washout controller according to the present disclosure . thus the computer program has a washout adaptation as output which is calculated using a model predictive control algorithm . the computer readable recording medium is suitably used as part of a controller of a motion - system as described above . | 1 |
many standard connectors , including the socapex connector , have unused pins , or extra supply and / or ground or pins . according to the present system , the unused pins are fitted with one of three different items , and the fit between the items effectively forms a keyway that prevents lower voltage loads , e . g ., 110 volt lights , from being connected to higher voltage supplies , e . g ., 208 volt sources . in an embodiment , the connector has a spare central pin . fig2 shows a version of the connector , configured for a 208 volt female connector with its central pin blocked . effectively , each female 19 pin connector with the plug installed is designated as being for 208 volts . 19 pins are provided , with each of the pins such as 200 , including a metal contact therein for connection to a corresponding supply of power . however , the central unused pin , here designated as 205 , is blocked with a special plug that fills within the contact hole and prevents insertion of any pin into that central contact hole . the male connector is also correspondingly coded . fig3 shows a male connector which is coded for 120 volt use . a special pin 300 is inserted into the central unused contact portion of the male connector . this codes the male connector as a 120 volt connector . note that this 120 volt coded male connector , has a centrally extending pin 300 in the corresponding location to the plug in the female connector . therefore , this ( 110 volt coded ) male connector cannot be inserted correspondingly into the 208 volt coded ( plugged ) female connector 200 . rather , the extending pin 300 prevents its connection into the wrong kind of connector such as 200 . however , connector 300 can in fact be inserted into a corresponding female connector which has been coded for 120 volts . fig4 shows a corresponding female connector 400 with a metal pin 405 inserted in the central hole . the metal pin 405 includes a central aperture within which the outer portion of the pin 300 can connect . therefore , the connector 299 can in fact mate with the connector 400 , but can not mate with the connector 99 . many of these connectors are sold , as shown , with the metal contacts either removed or separately available . whether removed or not , however , each of these contacts may be modified and / or retrofitted using the connector set 500 that is shown in fig5 . the connector set 500 includes a first plug 505 , which is sized to fit within the central hole and 205 shown in fig2 . one of the plugs 505 is placed within an unused pin of the female connector of the 208 volt supply . a keyway pin 510 is also provided which has a threaded shank 515 . the shank 515 may be used to hold the keyway pin into place within the connector . a key way pin 510 is configured to go within the unused pin of the male connector . the surfaces of keyway pin 510 prevent it from being inserted into a connector which has its central hole plugged . the female keyway pin 520 is placed within the central hole of 120 volt supply connector . the female keyway pin 520 has a central hole 525 which is sized to receive the outer surface of the keyway pin 510 therein . in this way , a keyway pin 510 can fit entirely within the central orifice 525 . note that both the keyway pin 510 and the female key way pin 520 include insertion force relief ends 522 , which facilitate the connection of one of the pins into the other . in this way , the physical layout of the connectors mechanically prevents a 120 volt lamp connector from being inserted into a 208 volt supply connector , even though the two connectors each have the same form factor . a yellow rubber band may also be included with the set , marked “ warning 208 volts ”, and supplied for fitting over the 208 volt designated connectors . the above has described one embodiment of this system . however , it should be understood that this basic idea could be used with many other connectors within the entertainment lighting industry . for example , while only 120 and 208 volts are described , it should be understood that the basic system can be used with different voltage pins . this may include 220 volts , or 440 volts or other voltages . also , this system allows a 208 volt light to be connected into a 120 volt supply , since this will typically not cause dangers , and at worst , the light will simply not operate . however , other keyways can be used in a similar way . in addition , the position of the plugs and pins can be reversed . this system is also usable with other formats of connectors , as long as the connector includes a spare pin . the spare can be in the center as in this connector , or may be in any other location . for systems with a common ground , this may also be used in a pin that does not have a spare pin , by using the pins / plug arrangement in place of one of redundant power or ground connections . the above has described using the keyway to prevent a higher voltage supply to a lower voltage system . however , it can also be used to prevent different kinds of incomparable voltages from being used . for example , the pins can be used to prevent an ac unit from being powered with a dc source or vice versa . it can also be used to prevent incomparable signals from being provided , also . any other prevention can also be done , which allows preventing a unit which needs a first kind of electricity from receiving a second kind of electricity . all such modifications are intended to be encompassed within the following claims , in which : | 7 |
while the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms , there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be described a presently preferred embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated . it should be further understood that the title of this section of this specification , namely , “ detailed description of the invention ”, relates to a requirement of the united states patent office , and does not imply , nor should be inferred to limit the subject matter disclosed herein . referring now to the figures and in particular to fig1 , there is a shown remote indication ( smart ) closure 10 embodying the principles of the present invention . the closure 10 is exemplified by the illustrated two - part buckle assembly having mating members , e . g ., a male ( insert ) closure member 12 and a female ( receptacle ) closure member 14 . as seen in fig2 and 3 , in a typical arrangement , the female member 14 includes top and bottom walls 16 , 18 and side walls 20 that define a generally rectangular shaped interior channel 22 ( fig1 ). apertures 24 are formed at a rear end of the female member 14 ( beyond the side walls ) that are contiguous with the interior channel 22 . a farthest or distal end of the female member 14 includes one or more slot - like openings 26 for receiving a strap or belt - like element . in one embodiment , such as that illustrated , the female member interior channel 22 is partially separated from the apertures 24 by interior partition walls 28 ( fig2 ). the partition walls 28 can include windows or open portions 30 ( fig3 ) for receiving structural portions ( e . g ., gussets 32 ) of the male member 12 . referring now to fig1 and 4 , the male member 12 includes a base portion 34 and a pair of flexible arm members 36 extending from the base portion 34 . the arms 36 are elongated and are flexible to permit bending or flexing the arms toward and away from a centerline a 12 of the male member 12 . a central guide element 38 extends in generally the same direction as the arms 36 , along the centerline a 12 of the male element 12 . the central guide element 38 is configured for receipt in the interior channel or groove 22 formed in and along the longitudinal center a 14 of the female member 14 . the arms 36 each include an elongated main portion 40 and an enlarged , rounded protrusion 42 at a distal end thereof . when the male member 12 is inserted in to the female member 14 , the protrusions 42 are configured to engage a wall or surface 44 forming a part of the aperture 24 to lock the male member 12 ( at the arms 36 ) to the female member 14 . as can be seen in fig1 and 2 , the arm main portions 40 ( which are smaller than their respective protrusions 42 ) ride in channels 46 ( fig2 ) in the wall surfaces 44 in which the protrusions 42 do not fit or insert because of their larger size . thus , the protrusions 42 are prevented from being “ pulled ” from the apertures 24 by engagement of the arm main portions 40 in the channels 46 . any of a variety of angled surfaces , lips and / or shoulders can be used to assure engagement and locking of the male 12 and female 14 members to one another . examples of such configurations are disclosed in frano et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 222 , 279 , and hamilton , et al ., u . s . pat . no . des . 397 , 641 , both of which patents are commonly assigned with the present application and are incorporated herein by reference . a present smart closure 10 provides remote indication of the state or condition of the closure 10 by use of wireless microelectronic transmission and receiving components . a present closure uses an rf transmitter / encoder 48 and an rf receiver / decoder 50 ( fig5 ) in combination with the structural components of the closure 10 . as best seen in fig1 , the transmitter 48 is mounted to ( or within ) the female member 14 . in a present embodiment , the transmitter 48 is a fully self - contained unit ( circuit board 52 ) having a power supply , such as a battery 54 . the transmitter 48 can be positioned within the member 14 such that the battery 54 can be replaced , the battery can be recharged , or the battery ( and that is the entirety of closure 10 ) is disposable . as illustrated , a covering portion 56 can be configured for removal for access to the battery 54 for replacement . a switch 58 is operably connected to the transmitter unit 48 . the switch 58 is positioned within the female member 14 so that it is engaged , i . e ., actuated , by a portion of the male member 12 when the male member 12 is properly inserted into the female member 14 . the switch 58 energizes / deenergizes a circuit within the transmitter 48 . rf signal ( s ) are then received by the receiver 50 to provide indication of proper engagement of the male 12 and female 14 closure members . in contrast , in the event that the closure 10 is not properly closed ( e . g ., the male member 12 is not properly inserted into the female member 14 ), the transmitter 48 fails to transmit a signal ( or otherwise undergoes a change in state ) which alerts a user to the improper condition of the closure 10 . preferably , the switch 58 is a sealed - type switch , such as a sealed push - button switch . the mechanical portions of the switch 58 are within a sealed or controlled environment . for example , the switch can be within a sealed or isolated chamber in the female portion 14 that is “ covered ” by a rubber or polymer covering 60 ( fig3 ). the covering 60 is sufficiently resilient or soft so that the switch 58 is readily contacted ( to change switch state ) but is protected from environmental conditions . in that one anticipated use is in connection with juvenile products , it is envisioned that such an environmentally sealed switch 58 will have a longer useful life than an otherwise non - sealed switch . as seen in fig1 and 4 , the central guide portion 38 of the male member 12 is configured for contact with the switch 58 ( when the male 12 and female 14 members are engaged ) to energize the transmitter 48 circuit . conversely , when the male member 12 is removed from ( or not properly inserted into ) the female member 14 , the transmitter 48 circuitry is deenergized ( or otherwise undergoes a change in state ) providing indication of an open closure 10 condition . with reference to fig5 , the receiver 50 can be connected to audible ( horns or speakers 62 ), visual ( led or other lights 64 ) or vibratory signal indicators , which signal indicators are exemplary only and are not to be considered limiting in any way . it is also anticipated that circuitry can be employed so that the transmitter 48 circuit “ samples ” the closure 10 state , rather than constantly monitoring that state to extend battery 54 life . in addition , the use of the numerous rf channel combinations that are available will reduce the opportunity for interference and crosstalk when the smart closure 10 is used near other smart closures . another switch arrangement 158 is illustrated in fig6 . the switch 158 is used to actuate circuitry on the circuit board 52 . the switch 158 includes an electrically conductive flexible dome switch element 168 that is affixed to , but electrically isolated from , the circuit board 52 by , for example , a section of 2 - faced tape 170 with a die cut opening ( indicated at 172 ) under the dome 168 . in this arrangement , flexing the dome 168 toward the circuit board 52 brings the dome 168 into contact with contacts 53 on the circuit board 52 to “ change ” the state of the switch 158 . conversely , unflexing ( by releasing ) the dome 168 , terminates switch 158 contact . a flexible membrane seal 174 , such as a linear low density polyethylene ( lldpe ) or other suitable elastomer sheet is affixed over the dome 168 . a plunger 176 is positioned in an opening 178 in the female buckle member wall 16 ( over the seal 174 ), to overlie the dome 168 . in this manner , the plunger 176 is driven by engagement of the male and female members 12 , 14 to contact the flexible seal member 174 overlying the dome 168 . this urges the dome 168 into contact with the electrical contacts 53 on the circuit board 52 , changing the state of the switch 158 . in a present closure 10 , the transmitter 48 is a transmitter with integral encoder such as that commercially available from linx technologies , inc ., of grants pass , oreg . under product code txe - 418 - kh and the receiver 50 is a receiver with integral decoder such as that commercially available from linx technologies , inc . under product code rxd - 418 - kh . other transmitters and receivers will be recognized by those skilled in the art and are within the scope and spirit of the present invention . those skilled in the art will appreciate that although the present smart closure 10 circuitry is described and disclosed with respect to a two - part buckle closure 10 , the present invention can be provided within any multi - part closure , such as clasps , snaps and the like , which other multi - part closures are within the scope and spirit of the present invention . all patents referred to herein , are hereby incorporated herein by reference , whether or not specifically done so within the text of this disclosure . in the present disclosure , the words “ a ” or “ an ” are to be taken to include both the singular and the plural . conversely , any reference to plural items shall , where appropriate , include the singular . from the foregoing it will be observed that numerous modifications and variations can be effectuated without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the present invention . it is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific embodiments illustrated is intended or should be inferred . the disclosure is intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims . | 1 |
fig1 depicts the front view of the portable electronic bookmark device 10 . in the device 10 there is a display section 20 , a keyboard section 30 and a lid 40 . above the keyboard section 30 is the display section 20 . the display section 20 has a screen 50 to display data to the user . in one embodiment of the present invention , the display screen is an lcd screen , but it can be any screen suitable to displaying graphics and / or text to the user . the device 10 can be extremely thin because the battery unit 110 is positioned on the upper part of the device . the thickness of the device is uniform for both the display section 20 and the keyboard section 30 . as such , the entire main body of the device 10 will easily fit in between two pages of a closed book without causing any damage to the pages or to the binding of the book . the device can then act as a bookmark to designate the relevant page for the user . in addition , by having the entire device within the book , the display section and the flexible keyboard section are protected by the book . the keyboard section 30 has various keys that allow the user to input data into the book mark 10 . in one embodiment of the present invention , the book mark 10 has six menu keys 60 that allow the user to select different modes of operation for the device . as shown in this embodiment , the six modes are ( 1 ) dictionary , ( 2 ) time / date , ( 3 ) word games , ( 4 ) calculator , and ( 5 ) phonebook and ( 6 ) on / off switch . each mode allows the user to access different functions of the device . the number and type of keys can vary depending on the type and purpose of the device . the keyboard section 30 also has a set of alphabetic keys 70 . the user can use these keys to type in words to be processed by the device . below the alphabetic keyboard , there is a set of four keys corresponding to the four directional arrows 80 . these keys can be used by the user to navigate through different menus displayed on the screen . next to the directional arrows 80 are a set of keys 90 marked as ( 1 ) prev , ( 2 ) next , ( 3 ) back , and ( 4 ) enter . these keys are also available to allow the user to navigate various software menus displayed on the screen . to the left of the directional keys 80 are six miscellaneous keys 100 . in a dictionary mode , the user will be able to enter a word to look up . upon typing the word using the keyboard and pressing the enter key , the device 10 will display the definition of the word . if the word is misspelled , then the device will display a list of words that are the potential word . if the user selects the time / date key from the menu keys , the device 10 will display the current time and date . the user can change the date and time by using the keys in the lower left hand side of the device . if the user selects the word games key from the menu keys , the screen will display various word games that the user can use . word games available in one embodiment include ( a ) hangman , ( b ) jumble , ( c ) anagrams , and ( d ) tic tac toe . the user can use the directional arrow keys 80 located directly below the alphabetic keys 70 to select the appropriate game . if the user selects the calculator key from the menu keys 60 , the device will allow the user to perform various arithmetic functions . in the calculator mode of operation , the alphabetic keys 111 will now be used to input numbers and the arithmetic functions . the numeric values and arithmetic functions are printed above each corresponding key . if the user selects the databank key from the menu keys , the device 10 allows the user to build a user list of words and store them in the device &# 39 ; s memory . this user list can be used in conjunction with the games operating mode . the keyboard section 30 is primarily composed of a thin flexible pc circuit board . the portion of the flexible pc circuit board that is in the keyboard section is covered with a thin vinyl laminate . the keys on the keyboard section 30 are printed onto the laminate and do not rise above the surface of the laminate . the vinyl laminate is pliable so that a user pressing on the keys will be able to create an electrical connection in the circuit board below the laminate to register that key being pressed with the processor . above display section 20 , there is provided a battery housing 110 . the battery housing 110 is provided to contain batteries that will supply power to the lid 40 . the battery housing 110 is cylindrical and is capable of holding at least two triple a batteries . a ribbon 112 extends from the batter housing 110 . the ribbon 112 can be used to mark specific pages in a book . the battery housing 110 will be discussed in greater detail with reference to fig6 . fig2 details a schematic diagram showing the electrical components of one embodiment of the present invention . it can be seen that a processor unit 120 is electrically connected to a memory unit 130 , display circuitry 140 and keyboard circuit 150 . the processor 120 is typically located in the display section 20 . the processor 130 can be any microprocessor that is capable of being programmed to perform the various functions required by the device . the memory unit 130 acts as the main storage area for data entered by the user . the memory unit 130 can be comprised of memory chips that are permanently located within the apparatus . it can also include an external memory unit that is temporarily connected to the device . other circuits , such as a sound unit , can be added to the device without changing the teachings of this invention . fig3 is a more detailed view of the display section 20 and the lid 40 . the lid 40 is transparent and in one embodiment is a plexiglas structure . although , in the present embodiment the lid is constructed with plexiglas material , any material providing durability and transparency may be utilized . the lid 40 , in one embodiment , has a first side and a second side opposite the first side . the first side is pivotally connected to the display section 20 of the device 10 . the second side as shown in fig3 is curved . the lid 40 is provided with a light compartment 150 . the lid 40 and light compartment 150 will be discussed in greater detail with reference to fig6 . fig4 and 5 illustrate side views depicting the positioning of the lid 40 in an open and closed state . fig4 illustrates a side view of the device 10 when the lid 40 is in an open position . the lid 40 , as mentioned above , is pivotally connected to display section 20 . more specifically , the lid 40 is connected to a hinge 162 . also , a clip 170 is positioned on the back portion of the device 10 . the clip 170 can be used to clip the device onto the cover of a book . the ribbon 112 ( not shown ) then may be used to mark a specific page in the book . fig5 illustrates the device 10 when the lid 40 is in a closed position . when the lid 40 is placed flat against the display section 10 , a user is capable of viewing the display screen through the lid 40 . now turning to fig6 , the structure of the light compartment and operation of the light with respect to the movement of the lid 40 will be explained . fig6 illustrates the lid 40 and light compartment 150 in more detail . the light compartment 150 is provided with a detachable lid 180 , light socket 190 , light clip 200 , and light bulb 210 . the electrical circuitry of the light compartment 150 and the lid 40 are provided so that when the lid 40 is moved from the closed position to the open position , the light bulb in the light compartment is powered on , providing illumination of the device 10 . generally , the light bulb is powered on when the lid 40 is moved to position greater than 45 degrees from the closed position . when the lid 40 is “ closed ” or placed over the display section 20 , the light is turned off . more specifically , the light bulb 210 is powered off when the lid 40 is less than 45 degrees or greater than 100 degrees . a switch is provided within a hinge that enables the light to be turned on and off depending on the positioning of the lid 40 . the switch will be discussed in greater detail with reference to fig9 . the detachable lid 180 is secured to the light compartment 150 by a latch 220 . the detachable lid 180 can be removed by applying pressure and pushing upward on the latch 220 . the inner side of the detachable lid 170 is provided with reflective material so that the light will reflect in one direction — away from the reflective surface . the lid also has a curved section 230 on the second side of the lid . the curved section 230 of the lid 40 acts in conjunction with the location of the lid and the reflective surface to allow a portion of the light to shine out of ( refract ) the curved section of the lid and a portion be reflected down toward the book pages . specifically , since the light bulb 210 is positioned so that that the illumination from the light bulb 210 is directed towards the curved section 230 of the lid , part of the light is able to be reflected off of the curved section 230 of the lid 40 towards the book . as a result , the reflection of the illumination from the reflection sheet and the refraction of the light from the curved section 230 of the lid 40 provides greater , more uniform and directed illumination . more importantly , this creates a type of halo where the light from the lid emanates directly from the light source and also from the entire curved edge of the lid . in addition , the light compartment 150 is positioned on the left hand side of the device so that when the bookmark is placed on the right hand side of an open book , the light is closer to the center of the open book and the illumination of the light bulb will shine on both pages of the open book . fig7 illustrates the battery housing 110 in more detail . the battery housing 110 is located at the top portion of the display section 20 . the battery housing 110 is shown having a pivoted opening 230 . as mentioned above , a triple a battery 240 is provided in the battery housing 110 to power the light compartment 150 of the device 10 . although one triple a battery 240 is illustrated , the present device operates utilizing two triple a batteries . the lid 40 is also illustrated attached to the hinge 162 . fig8 illustrates a battery compartment 250 for providing power to the display and keyboard section . the battery compartment is constructed in the display section 20 and is capable of sliding in and out from below the display section 20 . the battery compartment 250 is provided to supply power to the electronic circuitry of the display and keyboard section 30 . when the battery compartment is laterally moved into the device 10 , electrical components of the keyboard section are connected to the battery and provided power . a cr2016 lithium 3 v battery is shown as a power source . fig9 shows a schematic of the electrical components of the device connected to the light compartment 150 . a power supply 270 is connected to a switch 280 . the switch 280 when switched supplies power to a light source 290 thereby illuminating the light compartment 150 . the power supply 270 is provided by battery 240 from the battery housing 110 . the switch 280 is provided in the hinge 162 and is connected electrically to the light compartment 150 . the switch allows power to the light source automatically when the lid moves from a closed position to an open position . fig1 illustrates the directional transmission of light according to the present invention . as shown in fig1 , directional arrows a - h illustrate the direction the light is transmitted when the lid 40 is in an open position and the light bulb 210 is powered on . the light is transmitted toward curved edges a , b , c , d , e of the lid 40 as well as through the lid 40 f , g , h . as a result , the light is refracted a , b , reflected c , d , e and transmitted through the lid f , g , h to the book ( not shown ). the transmission of the light in this manner produces the halo effect on the pages of the book . accordingly , the pages of the book are provided with greater illumination . the present invention is not to be considered limited in scope by the preferred embodiments described in the specification . additional advantages and modifications , which readily occur to those skilled in the art from consideration and specification and practice of this invention are intended to be within the scope and spirit of the following claims : | 6 |
lactulose crystallization according to the present invention is characterized by the following process : the water content of the lactulose aqueous syrup is lowered to a sugar concentration of from 70 ° to 80 ° brix ; the resulting syrup is added at from 5 ° c . to 20 ° c . with crystalline trihydrated lactulose , acting as a crystallization initiator , in amounts ranging from 5 % to 30 % by weight of the lactulose present in the starting syrup , which temperature is maintained for a period of from 20 to 120 hrs . the crystalline solid obtained consisted of trihydrated lactulose having a content of carbohydrates different from lactulose below 1 % by weight and a lactulose content of at least 98 . 5 % ( on anhydrous basis ). in particular , the process for the preparation of crystalline lactulose according to the present invention comprises the following steps : a ) commercial lactulose aqueous syrup is evaporated under continuous stirring at a temperature of from 50 ° to 60 ° c . and at a pressure of 2660 to 6650 pa , up to a sugar concentration of 70 °- 80 ° brix ; b ) the resulting concentrated syrup is cooled to 5 ° to 20 ° c . and added with crystalline trihydrated lactulose in an amount of from 5 to 30 parts by weight of the lactulose present in the syrup ; c ) the suspension obtained is stirred at said temperature for a period of from 20 to 120 hours and the lactulose present in the syrup is crystallizes in the form of trihydrated lactulose ; d ) the crystallized trihydrated lactulose obtained is separated by centrifuging or filtering from mother liquors , washed with cold water , and dried at a pressure of from 6650 to 13300 pa , at a temperature of from 30 ° to 60 ° c ., to yield crystalline lactulose having a water content below 0 . 5 %. the process of the invention gives highly pure ( 98 . 5 % minimum ) crystalline lactulose in yields per cycle greater than 40 % of the lactulose present in the starting syrup . the mother liquors resulting from the separation of crystalline trihydrated lactulose are passed once or several times through columns containing anionic or cationic exchange resins , either individually or in sequence , as illustrated in european patent applications ep - a - 132 , 509 , ep - a - 158 , 148 , ep - a - 159 , 521 , ep - a - 284 , 959 , and ep - a - 294 , 960 by the applicant , so to lower the content of carbohydrates different from lactulose below the aforesaid limits and , therefore , to allow the mixing of same with the commercial starting syrup to be subjected to the process of the present invention . this operation allows the recycling of the mother liquors and the almost complete recovery of the lactulose present in the syrups of commerce . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the concentrated syrup of step b ) has a content of 55 % to 62 % by weight of lactulose and the crystalline trihydrated lactulose is added in an amount ranging between 5 % and 15 % by weight of the lactulose present in the commercial syrup ( the amount of trihydrated lactulose used as a crystallization initiator is expressed as % by weight of anhydrous lactulose ). a single washing of the crystalline trihydrated lactulose obtained in d ) with cold water ( 3 °- 5 ° c .) is generally enough for a satisfactory removal of the residual mother liquors and fop obtaining a product of the desired purity . several crystallizations of commercially available lactulose syrups were carried out according to the standard procedure described below . syrups characteristics are shown in table 1 and the results obtained in table 2 . a syrup ( 1000 kg ) of composition as shown in table 1 was concentrated under vacuum at a pressure of from 2660 to 6650 pa , under continuous stirring , at a temperature of from 50 ° to 60 ° c ., to a sugar concentration of 70 °- 80 ° brix . the resulting solution was fed to a crystallizer and cooled to 8 ° c . under continuous stirring . once said conditions have been reached , crystalline trihydrated lactulose was fed in the amounts shown in table 2 . the obtained suspension was slowly stirred at 8 ° c . for the period indicated in table 2 , then the mother liquors were removed by centrifuging , the crystal cake was squeezed to remove most mother liquors , washed with cold water , and squeezed again . the resulting product was dried in an air oven at a temperature not exceeding 60 ° c . and at a pressure of from 6650 to 13300 pa , until obtaining anhydrous lactulose crystals ( i . e . having a maximum water content of 0 . 5 %) of & gt ; 98 . 8 % purity ( on dry basis ) ( table 2 ). the purity of lactulose crystals was determined on the dried product by hplc analysis ( j . agric . food chem ., 32 , 288 - 292 , 1984 ), by means of comparison with standard lactulose produced and sold by merck . table 1______________________________________composition (%) of the aqueous solutions useditem ltl lts epi glt nd h . sub . 2 o______________________________________i 51 . 4 4 . 4 1 . 2 3 . 6 6 . 4 34 . 0ii 50 . 6 4 . 9 2 . 0 3 . 8 5 . 0 33 . 7iii 51 . 9 3 . 1 2 . 2 7 . 9 3 . 1 31 . 8iv 51 . 0 8 . 2 1 . 3 3 . 5 4 . 0 32 . 0______________________________________ remarks : all quantities are by weight percentages of the solution total weight . abbreviations ltl lactulose ; lts lactose ; epi epilactose ; glt galactose ; nd carbohydrates different from ltl , lts , epi , and glt . table 2__________________________________________________________________________experimental results total ltl conc . syr . ltl as initiator ltl ltl recoveredex . syr .. sup . a ° brix . sup . b h . sup . c % w . sup . d kg . sup . e %. sup . f kg . sup . g kg . sup . h kg . sup . i % tit . sup . l % tit . sup . m yield . sup . n__________________________________________________________________________1 i 74 72 55 . 2 931 18 . 7 111 . 6 610 309 84 . 2 99 . 0 42 . 22 i 74 96 55 . 3 929 7 . 5 46 . 1 553 254 83 . 8 98 . 9 38 . 53 i 74 72 55 . 3 929 10 . 0 61 . 1 565 260 84 . 6 99 , 2 38 . 94 ii 78 120 57 . 0 888 5 . 0 30 . 3 531 212 83 . 9 99 . 0 33 , 55 ii 74 72 55 . 0 920 7 . 5 45 . 2 544 253 84 . 1 99 . 4 38 . 96 iii 75 88 55 . 6 933 7 . 5 46 . 5 558 310 83 , 4 99 , 0 46 . 37 iii 71 88 54 . 4 954 7 . 5 46 . 7 558 255 84 . 0 98 , 8 38 . 48 iv 74 56 55 . 2 924 15 . 0 69 . 8 587 238 83 , 5 99 , 1 33 . 99 iv 74 72 55 . 5 919 7 . 5 45 . 8 548 248 84 , 6 98 , 8 38 , 310 iv 70 72 53 . 8 948 7 . 5 45 . 9 548 213 84 , 6 98 , 8 32 . 9__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . a commercial aqueous syrup used . sup . b brix degrees after syrup concentration . sup . c residence time in crystallizer at 8 ° c . . sup . d by weight %, amount of ltl af ter syrup concentration . sup . e amount of concentrated syrup ( kg ) . sup . f by weight % amount of trihydrated ltl used as a crystallization initiator . sup . g weight of trihydrated ltl used as a crystallization initiator . sup . h ltl total weight ( ltl of the syrup + ltl used as a crystallization initiator ) . sup . i weight of trihydrated ltl recovered . sup . 1 titre of anhydrous ltl in trihydrated crystal before drying . sup . m titre of anhydrous ltl after drying . sup . n yield calculated by : ## str1 ## | 2 |
fig1 is a diagram of a data word 100 and a corresponding rll code word 102 according to an embodiment of the invention . as discussed below , a sequence of code words 102 is significantly more efficient and contains significantly fewer code - bit transitions than sequences of prior code words . furthermore , the error propagation of the associated rll code is relatively small even though the code efficiency is relatively high . therefore , a write channel can typically write a sequence of such code words more quickly than it can write a sequence of conventional code words , and a read channel can typically read a sequence of such code words more quickly than it can read a sequence of conventional code words . in one embodiment , the data word 100 includes three data bytes 104 a , 104 b , and 104 c , and the code word 102 is a 24 / 25 rll ( 0 / 14 ) code word that includes a coded portion 106 and an uncoded portion 108 . the coded portion 106 includes a number of code bits c , here seventeen code bits c 0 - c 16 , which represent the data bytes 104 a and 104 b . conversely , the uncoded portion 108 does not include code bits , but instead includes the data bits d c0 - d c7 of the data byte 104 c . that is , the uncoded portion 108 is identical to the data byte 104 c . to insure that a sequence of code words 102 never has more than 14 bits between consecutive transitions , the coded portion 106 is selected such that there is at least one transition within each of the following sections of code bits : the first three bits c 0 - c 2 , the middle eleven bits c 3 - c 13 , and the last three bits c 14 - c 16 . in other embodiments , however , the code word 102 can have different x / y and d / k ratings , the coded and uncoded portions 106 and 108 can have different lengths , and the coded portion 106 can have different code - bit transition sections . in addition to having a higher efficiency than a sequence of conventional code words , a sequence of code words 102 also has a lower error propagation with respect to its efficiency than a sequence of conventional code words . this lower error propagation is due to the code word 102 having two portions instead of only one portion . for example , an error in the uncoded portion 108 causes a data error in at most one data byte 104 c . likewise , an error in the coded portion 106 causes a data error in at most two data bytes 104 a and 104 b . furthermore , because the coded portions 106 are separated by the uncoded portions 108 in a sequence of code words 102 , a cross - boundary error causes a data error in at most three data bytes 104 a , 104 b , and 104 c . therefore , compared to a sequence of conventional code words such as the 16 / 17 code word discussed in conjunction with fig4 a sequence of the code words 102 has a significantly higher efficiency ( 24 / 25 versus 16 / 17 ) and a significantly lower error propagation ( between 1 and 3 bytes versus between 2 and 4 bytes ). furthermore , as discussed below , the code words 102 can be constructed so that a sequence of code words 102 has an even lower error propagation . still referring to fig1 , in another embodiment of the invention , the code word 102 is designed according to a minimal transition probability ( mtp ) rll coding scheme in which the coded portion 106 is selected to have the fewest possible transitions in the form — typically the nrz form — in which it will be stored . this increases the snr of the read signal , and thus improves the initial reading accuracy , and thus the effective read speed , of a read channel that reads a sequence of code words 102 . specifically , it has been found that contrary to the prior - art teachings , a combination of single - bit and tri - bit errors compose approximately 99 % of all initial read errors , with single - bit errors composing approximately 80 % of all initial read errors and with tri - bit errors composing merely 19 % of all initial read errors . therefore , to provide the greatest overall reduction in total initial read errors , it is clear that a code should be designed to cause as few single - bit errors as possible . it has also been found that a major cause of single - bit errors is bit transitions in the sequence of code words being read . that is , the more transitions the more single - bit errors , and the fewer transitions the fewer single - bit errors . therefore , it follows that all else being equal , sequences of code words having the fewest code - bit transitions cause the fewest read errors on average . in accordance with these findings , the inventors developed the mtp rll coding scheme . for example purposes , the development process for a 24 / 25 mtp rll ( 0 / 14 ) code having code words 102 is discussed , it being understood that similar processes can be used to develop other mtp rll codes . first , the code designer selects the coded portions 106 having the fewest possible transitions . because they include 17 code bits , there are 2 17 possible coded portions 106 . but because these portions 106 represent respective pairs of data bytes 104 a and 104 b ( 16 data bits total ), only half ( 2 16 ) of the possible portions 106 are used . therefore , the designer first discards all the code portions 106 that do not have at least one transition in each of the following transition sections : c 0 - c 2 , c 3 - c 13 , and c 14 - c 16 . because they will be converted from the nrzi to the nrz domain for storage , the code portions 106 are selected such that they have this transition pattern in the nrz domain . as stated above in conjunction with fig8 a “ 1 ” in an nrzi sequence indicates a transition in a corresponding nrz sequence . therefore , by discarding the code words that don &# 39 ; t have at least one “ 1 ” in each of the transition sections , the designer discards the coded portions 106 that do not meet the given transition requirement in the nrz domain . from the remaining coded portions 106 , the designer selects the 2 16 that have the fewest bit transitions in the nrz domain . again , he does this by selecting the 2 16 coded portions 106 having the fewest “ 1 &# 39 ; s ”. next , the designer assigns the selected coded portions 106 to corresponding 16 - bit ( two byte ) data words in such a way that the 24 / 25 mtp rll ( 0 / 14 ) code has a reduced error propagation . specifically , the designer assigns a coded portion 106 to a data word such that an error in one section of the coded portion 106 causes an error in only one of the corresponding data bytes 104 a and 104 b . for example , consider the following assignments in table a . suppose that only coded portions 106 ending in 00100001 ( last 8 bits ) are assigned to data words ending in 00000000 . that is , the decoder ( not shown in fig1 ) “ knows ” that any coded portion ending in 00100001 represents a data word having a data byte 104 a equal to 00000000 . therefore , an error in the most significant 9 bits of these coded portions 106 would cause an error in at most one data byte , i . e ., the most significant byte 104 b of the data word . this reduces the error propagation of a series of such code words 102 because not all errors in the coded portions 106 will cause errors in two data bytes . appendix a lists 2 16 coded portions 106 for a 24 / 25 mtp rll ( 0 / 14 ) code developed according to an embodiment of the above - described process . the coded portions 106 are in hexadecimal form , and are in row order with respect to the 16 - bit data words that they represent . for example , data word 0000000000000000 is represented by the coded portion 15 b 49 , which is in the upper left - hand corner of page 1 of appendix a . likewise , the data word 0000000000000001 is represented by the coded portion 04103 , and so on . furthermore , because the uncoded portions 108 are identical to the data bytes 104 c , the portions 108 are not preselected . fig1 is a diagram of the data word 100 and a corresponding rll parity code word 110 , which includes a parity bit p according to an embodiment of the invention . in one embodiment , the code word 110 includes the code word 102 ( fig1 ) and a parity bit p , and is thus compatible with a 24 / 26 mtp rll ( 0 / 14 ) code . therefore , in addition to the advantages discussed above for a sequence of the code words 102 , a sequence of the parity code words 110 provides the error - detecting advantages discussed above in conjunction with fig9 . the parity bit p is calculated in either the nrz or nrzi domain to provide the proper parity with respect to the code word 110 in the nrz domain . this allows a viterbi detector to check for read errors by checking the parity of the code word 110 . to calculate the parity bit p in the nrz domain , one first converts the coded and uncoded portions 106 and 108 — which are initially in the nrzi domain — into the nrz domain . the parity - bit calculation is then the same as that discussed above in conjunction with fig5 . to calculate the parity bit p in the nrzi domain , one must take into account how the nrzi - to - nrz conversion will affect the values of p and the other bits of the code word 110 . according to one technique for generating the code word 110 having even parity , p in the nrzi domain ( p evennrzi ) equals the sum of every other bit of the code word 102 ( i . e ., every other bit of the code word 110 other than p ) starting with c 1 . thus , where the code word 102 is 25 bits long , p evennrzi is given by the following equation : p evennrzi = c 1 ⊕ c 3 ⊕ c 5 ⊕ c 7 ⊕ c 9 ⊕ c 11 ⊕ c 13 ⊕ c 15 ⊕ d c0 ⊕ d c2 ⊕ d c4 ⊕ d c6 ( 3 ) for example , if the code word 102 is 1001110001110011110000110 , then p evennrzi = 1 ⊕ 0 ⊕ 0 ⊕ 1 ⊕ 1 ⊕ 0 ⊕ 1 ⊕ 1 ⊕ 0 ⊕ 1 ⊕ 1 ⊕ 0 = 1 . therefore , the code word 110 equals 11001110001110011110000110 in the nrzi domain . using the pre - coder 14 ( fig5 ) and assuming that nrzout t − 1 = 0 , the code word 110 equals 01000101111010001010000010 in the nrz domain . there are ten “ 1 &# 39 ; s ” in the first 25 bits ( i . e ., all the bits except the parity bit p ), and p evennrz = 0 to provide even parity in the nrz domain as desired . this parity - calculation technique is derived as follows , where x represents the bits of the code word 110 in the nrzi domain , y represents the bits of the code word 110 in the nrz domain , s = nrzout t − 1 , and b equals the number of bits y in the code word 110 . { y 0 , y 1 , . . . , y b − 1 }={ s ⊕ x 0 , s ⊕ x 0 ⊕ x 1 , . . . , s ⊕ x 0 ⊕ x 1 ⊕ . . . ⊕ x b − 1 } ( 4 ) therefore , substituting the nrzi ( x ) values for the nrz ( y ) values we get : parity =[ b ⊕ s ]⊕[ b ⊕ x 0 ]⊕[( b − 1 )⊕ x 1 ]⊕ . . . ⊕[ 2 ⊕ x b − 2 ]⊕ x b − 1 ( 6 ) where ⊕ represents mod2 multiplication such that q ⊕ r = 0 if q is an even number and q ⊕ r = r if q is an odd number . if q ={ b , b − 1 , . . . , 1 } and b is an even number , then it follows that : parity = ∑ n = 1 b / 2 x 2 n - 1 mod2 ( 7 ) because the parity bit is the last element of the right - hand side of equation ( 7 ), p evennrzi equals the logical sum of all the other elements . so for even parity : p evennrzi = ∑ n = 1 b / 2 - 1 x 2 n - 1 mod2 ( 8 ) fig1 is a block diagram of a data encoder 120 according to an embodiment of the invention . for example , the encoder 120 can replace the encoder 12 in the write channel 10 of fig1 . referring to fig1 and 12 , the encoder 120 includes a coded - portion encoder 122 , which receives the data bytes 104 a ( d a0 - d a7 ) and 104 b ( d b0 - d b7 ) in parallel and converts them into the coded portion 106 ( c 0 - c 16 ) of the code word 110 . a parity - bit generator 124 receives the uncoded portion 108 ( d c0 - d c7 ) and the coded portion 106 in parallel and generates the parity bit p therefrom . in one embodiment , the generator 124 calculates p for even parity using the technique described above in conjunction with fig1 . the encoder 120 also includes a conventional parallel - to - serial converter 126 , which receives the code word 110 in parallel and converts it into a 1 - bit wide nrzi bit stream . in one embodiment , this bit stream is processed by a pre - coder such as the pre - coder 14 of fig5 . furthermore , the encoder 120 can be modified to generate only the code word 102 ( i . e ., the code word 110 without the parity bit p ) by omitting or deactivating the generator 124 . fig1 is a block diagram of a data decoder 130 according to an embodiment of the invention . for example , the decoder 130 can replace the decoder 132 in the read channel 22 of fig2 . referring to fig1 and 12 , the decoder 130 includes a conventional serial - to - parallel converter 132 , which receives the nrzi bit stream from a post - coder such as the post - coder 30 ( fig2 ) and which converts the bit stream into the code word 110 . a coded - portion decoder 134 receives the coded portion 106 ( c 0 - c 16 ) of the code word 110 from the converter 132 and decodes it into the data bytes 104 a ( d a0 - d a7 ) and 104 b ( d b0 - d b7 ). therefore , assuming there are no write or read errors , the decoder 130 provides the originally encoded bytes data 104 a , 104 b , and 104 c ( d c0 - d c7 ) at its output . in one embodiment , the parity bit p is analyzed only by a parity - checking viterbi detector , an embodiment of which is disclosed in u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 409 , 923 parity - sensitive viterbi detector and method for recovering information from a read signal , therefore , in such an embodiment , the converter 132 may strip p from the code word 110 . fig1 is a block diagram of a disk - drive system 140 according to an embodiment of the invention . specifically , the disk - drive system 140 includes a disk drive 142 , which incorporates the encoder 120 or the decoder 130 of fig1 and 13 , respectively . the disk drive 142 includes a combination write / read head 144 , a write - channel circuit 146 for generating and driving the head 144 with a write signal , and a write controller 148 for interfacing the write data to the write - channel circuit 146 . in one embodiment , the write - channel circuit 146 is similar to the write channel 10 of fig1 except that the write head 18 is omitted and the encoder 12 is replaced with the encoder 120 . the disk drive 142 also includes a read - channel circuit 152 for receiving a read signal from the head 144 and for recovering the written data from the read signal , and includes a read controller 154 for organizing the read data . in one embodiment , the read - channel circuit 152 is similar to the read channel 22 of fig2 except that the read head 24 is omitted , the decoder 32 is replaced with the decoder 130 , and the viterbi detector 28 is replaced with the parity - checking viterbi detector of u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 409 , 923 entitled parity - sensitive viterbi detector and method for recovering information from a read signal . the disk drive 142 further includes a storage medium such as one or more disks 156 , each of which may contain data on one or both sides . the write / read head 144 writes / reads the data stored on the disks 156 and is connected to a movable support arm 158 . a position system 160 provides a control signal to a voice - coil motor ( vcm ) 162 , which positionally maintains / moves the arm 158 so as to positionally maintain / radially move the head 144 over the desired data on the disks 156 . a spindle motor ( spm ) 164 and a spm control circuit 166 respectively rotate the disks 156 and maintain them at the proper rotational speed . the disk - drive system 140 also includes write and read interface adapters 168 and 170 for respectively interfacing the write and read controllers 148 and 154 to a system bus 172 , which is specific to the system used . typical system busses include isa , pci , s - bus , nu - bus , etc . the system 140 also typically has other devices , such as a random access memory ( ram ) 174 and a central processing unit ( cpu ) 176 coupled to the bus 172 . from the foregoing it will be appreciated that , although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration , various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
referring to fig1 , one embodiment of the invention comprises a communication system 5 that includes two telecommunications networks 10 and 30 , each comprising a collection of geographically dispersed network elements called nodes . inter - network routes 20 , including routes 22 and 23 , connect networks 10 and 30 . network 10 includes a source node 11 , a primary node 12 and a secondary node 13 , which are connected to one another by communication links or routes ( e . g ., fiber , wireless links or routes ). for example , a set of primary routes 14 , including primary routes 15 and 16 , links source node 11 , primary node 12 and secondary node 13 as shown . a secondary route 18 may link source node 11 with secondary node 13 . in all embodiments , a primary route is disjoint from its corresponding secondary route . otherwise , if the primary and secondary routes intersect , a failure at the intersection point ( s ) would be a single failure that would disable both routes , defeating one purpose of the embodiments . network 30 includes a destination node 31 , a primary node 32 and a secondary node 33 , which are connected to one another by communication links or routes ( e . g ., fiber , wireless links or routes ). for example , a set of primary routes 34 , including primary routes 35 and 36 , links destination node 31 , primary node 32 and secondary node 33 as shown . the topology of each network may be a ring or an arbitrary mesh . traffic may be intra - network , i . e ., staying entirely within network 10 or entirely within network 30 , or it may be inter - network , i . e ., originating in network 10 and terminating in network 30 ( or vice versa ). for inter - network traffic that needs to be transmitted with high reliability , it is important that the transition between networks 10 and 30 be effected in a way that has no single point of failure . in the case where networks 10 and 30 are both sonet rings , standard ring inter - working methods have been developed ( see the ansi standard t1 . 105 . 01 - 1998 , sonet automatic protection switching ). the embodiment of fig1 covers the case in which networks 10 and 30 are arbitrary mesh networks and the case in which one is a ring and the other is a mesh . in the example of fig1 , it is assumed that source node 11 is the source of the inter - network data and that destination node 31 in network 30 is the destination for the data . in each network , two nodes are selected to be dual - homing nodes . one dual - homing node is designated to be the primary node ( i . e ., nodes 12 and 32 ) and the other is designated to be the secondary node ( i . e ., nodes 13 and 33 ). in each node , a network element , such as a cross - connect , is configured to perform various functions that will be described . still referring to fig1 , under normal operation , source node 11 sends a first set of data to primary node 12 in network 10 . primary node 12 performs a drop - and - continue function in a well known manner : node 12 creates a copy of the data from source node 11 ( i . e ., a second set of the data ) and “ drops ” ( i . e ., transmits ) the first set of the data over to one of the dual - homing nodes in network 30 , and primary node 12 “ continues ” ( i . e ., transmits ) the second set of the data onto secondary node 13 . ( if primary node 12 drops to the primary node in network 30 , this is called same - side routing ; if primary node 12 drops to the secondary node in network 30 , this is called opposite - side routing .) fig1 illustrates opposite - side routing . there may exist intermediate nodes between source node 11 and primary node 12 , and between primary node 12 and secondary node 13 ( not shown ). secondary node 13 then drops the second set of the data to the other dual - homing node in network 30 . the net effect is for network 10 to send two sets ( 1 + 1 ) of the inter - network data to network 30 , one to each dual - homing node in network 30 ( i . e ., to nodes 32 and 33 as shown in fig1 ). during normal operation , secondary node 33 in network 30 sends one set of the data to primary node 32 in network 30 . primary node 32 then performs a service selection ( ss ) function 40 : node 32 chooses one of the two incoming sets of data ( i . e ., the data from secondary node 33 in network 30 or the set of data coming directly from secondary node 13 ). primary node 32 then forwards the chosen data set to destination node 31 . the fig1 embodiment is designed to survive any single node or link failure , except for a failure of the source or the destination , which cannot be survived in any case . more specifically , if there is any failure between source 11 and primary node 12 in network 10 , secondary node 13 uses a detector function to detect the failure and notify source node 11 , which uses a selector function 42 to switch its data traffic to an alternate ( protection ) path 18 to secondary node 13 . if secondary node 13 in network 10 fails , source node 11 and primary node 12 in network 10 continue to operate normally . if one of the links or routes between the two networks fails , the nodes in network 10 continue to act normally ; however , if primary node 32 in network 30 was selecting the data set coming directly from network 10 and this data is lost , primary node 32 switches over to selecting the data set from secondary node 33 . similarly , if secondary node 33 in network 30 loses its data set from network 10 , node 33 stops sending data traffic to primary node 32 . if secondary node 33 in network 30 fails , or if any node or link between the primary and secondary nodes in network 30 fails , then all the remaining nodes will continue to act as they would under normal operation , except that if primary node 32 in network 30 was selecting the data set coming from secondary node 33 in network 30 , node 32 will switch over to the data set that received directly from network 10 . if there is a failure between primary node 32 in network 30 and destination node 31 , then destination node 31 detects the failure and notifies secondary node 33 in network 30 , which will uses a selector function 44 to switch data traffic to a protection path 38 to destination node 31 . as may be seen from fig1 , in all these cases , the data traffic continues to be transmitted from source node 11 to destination node 31 . referring to fig2 , another form of the invention using a drop and continue mode of operation is embodied in a communication system 105 including two telecommunications networks 110 and 130 , each comprising a collection of geographically dispersed network elements , called nodes . inter - network routes 120 , including routes 122 and 123 , connect networks 110 and 130 . network 110 includes a source node 111 , a primary node 112 and a secondary node 113 , which are connected to one another by communication links or routes ( e . g ., fiber , wireless links or routes ). for example , a set of primary routes 114 , including primary routes 115 - 116 , links source node 111 , primary node 112 and secondary node 113 as shown . a secondary route 118 links source node 111 with secondary node 113 , and a secondary route 118 a links primary node 112 with secondary node 113 . network 130 includes a destination node 131 , a primary node 132 and a secondary node 133 , which are connected to one another by communication links or routes ( e . g ., fiber , wireless links or routes ). for example , a set of primary routes 134 , including primary routes 135 - 136 , links destination node 131 , primary node 132 and secondary node 133 as shown . secondary routes 137 - 138 also are provided . the topology of each network 110 and 130 may be a ring or an arbitrary mesh . traffic may be intra - network , i . e ., staying entirely within network 110 or entirely within network 130 , or it may be inter - network , i . e ., originating in network 110 and terminating in network 130 ( or vice versa ). the embodiment of fig2 covers the case in which networks 110 and 130 are arbitrary mesh networks and the case in which one is a ring and the other is a mesh . in the example of fig2 , it is assumed that source node 111 is the source of the inter - network data and that destination node 131 in network 130 is the destination for the data . in each network , two nodes are selected to be dual - homing nodes . one dual - homing node is designated to be the primary node ( i . e ., nodes 112 and 132 ) and the other is designated to be the secondary node ( i . e ., nodes 113 and 133 ). in each node , a network element , such as a cross - connect , is configured to perform various functions that will be described . still referring to fig2 , under normal operation , source node 111 sends a first set of data to primary node 112 over route 115 in network 110 . primary node 112 performs a drop - and - continue function in a well known manner : node 112 creates a copy of the data from source node 111 ( i . e ., a second set of the data ) and “ drops ” ( i . e ., transmits ) the first set of the data over to primary node 132 , and primary node 112 “ continues ” ( i . e ., transmits ) the second set of the data onto secondary node 113 via route 116 . fig2 illustrates a case of same - side routing . ( there may exist intermediate nodes between source node 111 and primary node 112 , and between primary node 112 and secondary node 113 ( not shown ).) secondary node 113 then drops a set of the data to the other dual - homing node in network 130 ( i . e ., secondary node 133 ). the net effect is for network 110 to send two sets ( 1 + 1 ) of the inter - network data to network 130 , one to each dual - homing node in network 130 ( i . e ., to nodes 132 and 133 as shown in fig2 ). during normal operation , secondary node 133 in network 130 sends the second set of the data to primary node 132 in network 130 via route 136 . primary node 132 then performs a service selection ( ss ) function 140 : node 132 chooses one of the two incoming sets of data ( i . e ., the data from secondary node 133 in network 130 or the set of data from primary node 112 ). primary node 132 then forwards the chosen data set to destination node 131 . the fig2 embodiment is designed to survive any single node or link failure per network , except for a failure of the source or the destination , which cannot be survived in any case . for most failures , two sets of data continue to be sent from network 110 to network 130 . one exemplary failure is shown in fig3 . more specifically , if there is a failure between source 111 and primary node 112 in network 110 ( indicated by the x across route 115 in fig3 ), primary node 112 uses a detector function to detect the failure and notify source node 111 . source node 111 uses a selector function 142 to switch its data traffic to an alternate ( protection ) path 118 to secondary node 113 . the data is routed to primary node 112 over secondary routes 118 and 118 a . primary node 112 generates a second set of the data and sends the second set to secondary node 113 over route 116 . the first set of data is sent (“ dropped ”) by node 112 to primary node 132 over route 122 , and the second set of the data is sent from secondary node 113 to secondary node 133 over route 123 . if primary node 112 fails , then secondary node 113 detects the failure and informs source 111 . source 111 sends its data along route 118 and secondary node 113 now stops receiving data from route 116 and switches over to receive data from route 118 . if secondary node 113 in network 110 fails , source node 111 and primary node 112 in network 110 continue to operate normally , and node 112 drops the first set of data across route 122 as before . if any node or link between the primary and secondary nodes in network 110 fails , then secondary node 113 detects the failure and notifies primary node 112 , which switches its second set of data traffic from route 116 to secondary routes 118 b and 118 . secondary node 113 switches over to receiving data from route 118 and sends this traffic to secondary node 133 over route 123 as before . if one of the links or routes between the two networks fails , the nodes in network 110 continue to act normally ; however , if primary node 132 in network 130 was selecting the data set coming directly from network 110 and this data is lost , primary node 132 switches over to selecting the data set from secondary node 133 . similarly , if secondary node 133 in network 130 loses its data set from network 110 , node 133 stops sending data traffic to primary node 132 . if secondary node 133 in network 130 fails , then all the remaining nodes will continue to act as they would under normal operation , except that if primary node 132 in network 130 was selecting the data set coming from secondary node 133 in network 130 , node 132 will switch over to the data set received directly from network 110 . if any node or link between the primary and secondary nodes in network 130 fails , then primary node 132 detects the failure and notifies secondary node 133 , which switches its data traffic from route 136 to secondary routes 138 and 138 b . primary node 132 switches over to receiving data from route 138 b instead of route 136 and performs its service selection function on the data traffic on route 122 and the data traffic on route 138 b . if there is a failure between primary node 132 in network 130 and destination node 131 ( as indicated by the x across route 135 in fig3 ), then destination node 131 detects the failure and notifies primary node 132 , which sends the first set of data along a secondary route 137 to secondary node 133 that sends a set of the data along a protection path 138 to destination node 131 . as may be seen from fig3 , in all these cases , the data traffic continues to be transmitted from source node 111 to destination node 131 . still referring to fig3 , if primary node 132 fails , then destination node 131 detects the failure and informs secondary node 133 . secondary node 133 and destination node 131 then re - establish communication along route 138 . referring to fig4 , another form of the invention using a dual transmit mode of operation is embodied in a communication system 205 including two telecommunications networks 210 and 230 , each comprising a collection of geographically dispersed network elements , called nodes . inter - network routes 220 , including routes 222 and 223 , connect networks 210 and 230 . network 210 may include a source node 211 , a primary node 212 and a secondary node 213 , which are connected to one another by communication links or routes ( e . g ., fiber , wireless links or routes ). for example , a set of primary routes 214 , including primary routes 215 - 216 , links source node 211 , primary node 212 and secondary node 213 as shown . secondary routes 218 - 219 link source node 211 with primary node 212 and secondary node 213 as shown . network 230 includes a destination node 231 , a primary node 232 and a secondary node 233 , which are connected to one another by communication links or routes ( e . g ., fiber , wireless links or routes ). for example , a set of primary routes 234 , including primary routes 235 - 236 , links destination node 231 , primary node 232 and secondary node 233 as shown . the topology of each network 210 and 230 may be a ring or an arbitrary mesh . traffic may be intra - network , i . e ., staying entirely within network 210 or entirely within network 230 , or it may be inter - network , i . e ., originating in network 210 and terminating in network 230 ( or vice versa ). the embodiment of fig4 covers the case in which networks 210 and 230 are arbitrary mesh networks and the case in which one is a ring and the other is a mesh . in the example of fig4 , it is assumed that source node 211 is the source of the inter - network data and that destination node 231 in network 230 is the destination for the data . in each network , two nodes are selected to be dual - homing nodes . one dual - homing node is designated to be the primary node ( i . e ., nodes 212 and 232 ) and the other is designated to be the secondary node ( i . e ., nodes 213 and 233 ). in each node , a network element , such as a cross - connect , is configured to perform various functions that will be described . still referring to fig4 , under normal operation , source node 211 receives or generates a first set of data and generates a second set of the data . the first set of the data is sent to primary node 212 over route 215 , and the second set of the data is sent to secondary node 213 over route 216 . primary node 212 transmits the first set of data to primary node 232 over route 222 , and secondary node 213 sends the second set of data to secondary node 233 over route 223 . thus , the network use same - side routing . ( there may exist intermediate nodes between source node 211 and primary node 212 , and between primary node 212 and secondary node 213 ( not shown ).) the net effect is for network 210 to send two sets ( 1 + 1 ) of the inter - network data to network 230 , one to each dual - homing node in network 230 ( i . e ., to nodes 232 and 233 as shown in fig4 ). during normal operation , secondary node 233 in network 230 sends the second set of the data to destination node 231 over route 236 , and primary node 232 sends the first set of the data to destination node 231 over route 235 . destination node 231 then performs a service selection ( ss ) function : node 231 chooses one of the two incoming sets of data ( i . e ., the set of data from secondary node 233 in network 230 or the set of data from primary node 232 . the fig4 embodiment is designed to survive any single node or link failure per network , except for a failure of the source or the destination , which cannot be survived in any case . for most failures , two sets of data continue to be sent from network 210 to network 230 . if there is a failure between source 211 and primary node 212 in network 210 , primary node 212 uses a detector function to detect the failure and notify source node 211 , which uses a selector function to switch the first set of data traffic to an alternate ( protection ) path 218 . if there is a failure between source 211 and secondary node 213 in network 210 , secondary node 213 uses a detector function to detect the failure and notify source node 211 , which uses a selector function to switch the second set of data traffic to an alternate ( protection ) path 219 . in either case , two sets of data continue to be received at nodes 212 and 213 . if secondary node 213 in network 210 fails , source node 211 and primary node 212 in network 210 continue to operate normally . if one of the links or routes between the two networks fails , the nodes in network 210 continue to act normally , and data is delivered to network 230 over the unaffected route . if secondary node 233 in network 230 fails , the first set of data is still delivered to destination node 231 over route 235 . if primary node 232 fails , the second set of data is still delivered to destination node 231 over route 236 . if there is a failure between primary node 232 in network 230 and destination node 231 , then destination node 231 detects the failure and informs primary node 232 . primary node 232 and destination node 231 then re - establish communication along route 239 . if there is a failure between secondary node 233 in network 230 and destination node 231 , then destination node 231 detects the failure and informs secondary node 233 . secondary node 233 and destination node 231 then re - establish communication along route 238 . as may be seen from fig4 , in all these cases , the data traffic continues to be transmitted from source node 211 to destination node 231 . while the invention has been described with reference to one or more preferred embodiments , those skilled in the art will understand that changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular step , structure , or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its scope . therefore , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed , but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
with reference now to the drawings , the preferred embodiment of the three - dimensional scanner is herein described . it should be noted that the articles “ a ”, “ an ”, and “ the ”, as used in this specification , include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise . with reference to fig1 , 100 is the system itself while 101 is a hand probe with a three - dimensional scanning head . cable 102 contains both optical fiber and electrical cables inside . processing consol 103 includes controls for scanning heads , light sources , ccd cameras , and process cpu . processing consol 103 is connected to computer 105 by cable 104 . computer 105 is provided with customized software for imaging processing . u8i fig2 depicts the hand probe ( fig1 , 101 ) used in the present invention , where 200 is the hand probe . housing 201 provides open space 202 surrounded by three walls 203 , 204 , and 205 , respectively . the open space 202 is sufficient to allow the probe 200 to encompass the objects to be scanned , teeth as illustrated in the figures , though other scanner sizes could be used to scan other objects and use the same structures , configurations and methods as described herein to generate three - dimensional images . the walls are made of transparent materials like quartz , glass , or plastic . inside housing 201 , proximate each wall , there are three scanning heads . scanning head 206 with a conduction cable 207 are proximate the facet of 203 . scanning head 208 with a conduction cable 209 are proximate facet 204 . scanning head 210 with a conduction cable 211 are proximate facet 205 . the conduction cables 207 , 209 , and 211 include both optical and electrical cables and are generally contained in cable 102 in fig1 . fig3 depicts a scanning head 300 ( 206 , 208 and 210 in fig2 ). housing 301 is made of transparent materials like quarts , glass , or plastic . cable jacket 302 covers and protects optical fiber 307 , and power cable 309 . micro - motor 303 is powered thorough power cable 309 and has a shaft 304 that can move along horizontal axis when rotating . a prism 305 is attached to the shaft so that prism can be rotated 360 degrees . a graded index (“ grin ”) lens 306 is in front of prism 305 . optical fiber 307 is attached to grin lens using epoxy 308 . the fiber 307 is used to transport the light source to prism 305 and transport the reflection light back to process center 103 ( fig1 ). with a prism 305 moving in horizontal direction while rotating , the prism can transfer the light from fiber to an object surface 310 . the area that from which light can be collected depends on the reflection angle of prism and moving distance of prism . the light is reflected by the object surface 310 , back to prism 305 , collected by grin lens 306 and is transported through fiber 307 back to the process center 103 . thus the image on the object can be formed . three scanning probes , each in a different facet , can work independently to collect the surface image in different views . by using construction software , the images from different directions can be constructed to form a three - dimensional image . fig4 illustrates to overall system 400 . the three - dimensional probe 401 as illustrated in fig3 is connected to cable 402 , containing both electrical and optical fiber cable . electrical cable 403 branches from cable 402 and connects to control logic circuit 405 to control the micro - motor in the probe 401 . electrical cable 406 connects control logic circuit 405 to computer 407 . fiber cable 404 also branches from cable 402 and is connected to another fiber cable 409 through coupler 408 . light source 410 is connected to fiber 409 and electrical cable 411 , which connects it to its control 412 . the light source can be a laser or led , or other light sources that can be used for oct . electrical cable 413 connects light control 412 to computer 407 . optical fiber cable 414 extends from coupler 408 and connects to detector 415 , which is used to detect return signals from the probe 401 . electrical cable 416 connects detector 415 to computer 407 for data exchange . spectrometer 418 , which is used to aid in the matching and integration of the images , is connected to computer 407 through electrical cable 41 9 and to the fiber coupler 408 through fiber cable 417 . the processing console 420 ( 103 in fig1 ) physically contains all of the above referenced components ( at least partially ) except the computer 407 , and the probe 401 . the electrical cables 405 , 413 , 416 , and 419 may connect individually to the computer 407 or may be combined into one multi - cable ( 104 in fig1 ). the working principle for scanning system is depicted in fig5 . the three images from the scanner are combined with calibration images ( previously , later or contemporaneously obtained with the scanner images ) and matched to yield three individual range images , each one including three - dimensional information for a surface . the range images are then integrated to form a three - dimensional model , from which three - dimensional shapes may be extracted for diagnosis . although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments , numerous modifications and variations can be made and still the result will come within the scope of the invention . no limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred . | 6 |
as fig2 illustrates , the device according to the invention consists mainly in two ultrasound sensors 21 and 22 configured so as to be able to be integrated into a system for the injection of resin into an injection mold , so as to impregnate a preform positioned in that mold with the resin uniformly in terms of volume . fig2 illustrates diagrammatically the principle of positioning the device according to the invention in the context of a conventional injection system , such as that illustrated by fig1 , notably including means 13 for injecting into a rigid mold 14 through an inlet port resin at a controlled temperature and a controlled pressure together with means 15 for recovering resin that has not been absorbed by the preform 16 that leaves the mold 14 through an exit port . the mold 14 is for example a fixed - volume rtm mold . according to the invention , the ultrasound sensors employed are piezoelectric components able to function at a high temperature , typically at the resin injection temperature . the operating principle of these sensors is that of ultrasound echography based on relative measurements of amplitude ( attenuation ) and measurements of time delay ( flight time ) as well as on a frequency ( phase - shift ) analysis of the echoes of an emitted acoustic wave reflected by the various structures encountered during its passage within the thickness of the material being produced , placed in the mold . also in accordance with the invention , the ultrasound sensors are disposed as close as possible to the inlet and outlet ports of the injection mold so that no pressure or temperature drop can affect the pertinence of the measurements of the state of the flow of resin at the inlet and at the outlet of the mold . according to the invention , the ultrasound sensors 21 and 22 are positioned as close as possible to the inlet 23 and the outlet 24 of the mold . in a preferred but non - exclusive embodiment of the device according to the invention illustrated by fig2 and 3 the ultrasound sensors 11 and 12 are respectively positioned in the connecting fittings 11 and 12 normally fitted to the inlet and outlet ports for the resin injected into the mold , the structure of which connecting fittings is seen to be modified compared to that of a standard connecting fitting so as to incorporate an ultrasound sensor and to ensure the operation thereof . in the embodiment illustrated by the view 3 b of fig3 , the fitting shown includes between the end 31 intended to be mounted on the inlet or outlet port of the mold 13 and the end 32 intended to be connected to a resin feed pipe or resin recovery pipe a flat cavity forming externally a flat 33 and inside which the ultrasound sensor is housed . a fitting according to the invention is generally made of steel . however , it can equally well be made of a refractive polymer , for example polyimide charged with graphite . refractory polymer fittings favor the propagation of the emitted ultrasound signal because of the closeness of their acoustic characteristics to those of the material to which the event to be quantified relates , notably epoxy resin . however , these fittings , although reusable nevertheless have a limited service life ( because of wear ). the low cost of manufacture / fitting is a material choice criterion here . thus the analysis of the reflected echoes as seen from the side of the inlet port 23 of the mold 13 and captured by the sensor 21 positioned at the level of the port 23 makes it possible to detect and to timestamp the events such as the presence of a flow of resin at the inlet of the mold 13 and the absence of porosity ( i . e . of gas bubbles ) in that flow of resin . this time stamping notably makes it possible to define a synchronization pulse triggering the starting up of the monitoring system responsible for the evaluation of the material - health of the impregnated object during the operation . a monitoring system of this kind is for example a system constituted in known manner of various ultrasound sensors disposed inside the injection mold and the function of which is to determine by echography if the composite material being fabricated inside the mold features any structural anomaly . the published french patent application fr 2995556 filed by the applicant notably describes a “ material health ” monitoring system of this kind . for its part , the analysis of the reflected echoes as seen from the side of the outlet orifice 24 of the mold 13 and captured by the sensor 22 positioned at the level of the port 24 makes it possible to evaluate the volume of resin injected ( mold of fixed volume and volume of fibers determined as a percentage of that volume ) as well as its quality ( degassing ) and thus to define the end of injection operation pulse as accurately as possible . this end pulse is moreover intended to be compared with the information supplied by the sensors constituting the monitoring system situated on the upstream side of the mold 13 to determine as accurately as possible the time at which it can be considered that the impregnation of the preform is completed in order to stop the impregnation operation and to launch the operation of polymerization of the resin impregnating the preform . in addition to the two fittings equipped with ultrasound sensors , the device according to the invention also includes means for analysis of the signals transmitted by the sensors , these means carrying out the analysis of the received signals to determine if the flow of resin at the location concerned is a stabilized flow . by a stabilized flow is meant a continuous flow of resin with no gas bubbles present . as indicated above , the analysis of the received signals consists mainly in a measurement of the variation over time of the amplitude of the echo received by the sensor concerned . the determination of these amplitude variations notably makes it possible to determine at the level of the inlet of the mold the time at which the resin begins to pass through the fitting and the time at which the resin flows in a continuous stream ( without bubbles ) through the fitting ( time t 0 ). in the same way it makes it possible to determine at the outlet of the mold the time at which the resin leaving the mold begins to pass through the fitting and the time at which the flow of resin through the latter becomes continuous ( complete impregnation ). the principle of determination of the above times is illustrated by the fig7 diagram , relating to the analysis of the echoes received by the sensor 21 positioned in the inlet fitting 11 ; this diagram can easily be transposed to the analysis of the echoes received by the sensor 22 positioned in the outlet fitting 12 . in this diagram , the curve 71 shows the variation over time of the travel time of the soundwaves in the fitting at the level of the inlet fitting 11 for times before and after the arrival of resin in the fitting and the curve 72 shows the variation over time of the amplitude of the soundwaves for the same times before and after the arrival of resin in the fitting . for these two curves , the arrival of resin is characterized by a sudden inflection ( zone 73 of diagrams 71 and 72 ). after stabilization of a flow of resin without bubbles each of the two curves has an easily discernible and substantially constant amplitude or propagation time value ( zone 74 of diagrams 71 and 72 ). as can be seen in fig7 , the time of starting of filling of the inlet fitting is easily identifiable by a variation of the amplitude of the signal corresponding to the curve 72 while the time t 0 ( stabilized flow of resin ) corresponds to the occurrence of a minimum on the curve 71 . from a functional point of view , and with the aim of optimum control of the impregnation process , as much in terms of impregnation quality ( homogeneity , fiber content , etc .) as in terms of operation duration and quantity of resin used , the device according to the invention can advantageously be employed to carry out fine control of the process of impregnation of the preform . to this end , the device according to the invention may be employed on its own or in association with the internal monitoring system equipping the injection mold and intended mainly to determine the material health of the composite material component produced inside the mold . the state of material health is a criterion generally resulting from echography measurements carried out by means of ultrasound sensors installed in the mold the echoes from which are analyzed and the analysis results compared to reference values , the agreement with the reference values making it possible to declare the part in a good state of health . fig4 and 6 describe the principal steps of different variants of a method of monitoring the completeness of impregnation operations employing the device according to the invention . this method described by way of example in different variants obviously does not constitute the only method of using the device according to the invention , and the scope of the device according to the invention is not limited to this use . fig4 describes the principal steps of a simple variant of a monitoring method employing monitoring of the appearance of a flow of resin at the outlet of the mold , for example a visual or optical check , and a measurement of time , here the time being counted from the time t 0 at which the analysis of the echo received by the sensor 21 of the device according to the invention situated in the inlet fitting 11 indicates a stabilized flow of resin . a first step 41 of launching the operation of injection of resin during which there is carried out an operation 411 of analysis of the flow of resin entering the mold , there is determined , 412 , from the echoes received by the sensor 21 placed in the inlet fitting 11 of the mold if the flow of resin is a stabilized flow , that is to say a continuous flow ; a step 42 of initialization of a time t 0 _ injection of starting injection , this step being carried out as soon as the flow of resin entering the mold is considered as stabilized ; a third step 43 of monitoring the injection operation . in this variant , the third step merely consists in , while the injection of resin into the mold is continuing , carrying an operation 431 of measurement of the elapsed time , t elapsed , that time being counted from the time t 0 _ injection , together with a comparison 432 of the elapsed time to a set point value t injection . then if the elapsed time exceeds the set point value the injection of resin is stopped and the impregnation process is considered as finished . the operation of polymerization of the preform impregnated with resin can then begin . it should be noted that because the time of starting counting is determined by the device according to the invention , a more accurate measurement is available of the real duration of the injection of resin into the mold . usually , in the absence of the device according to the invention , the duration of the injection generally has to be measured taking as the starting time the time of starting up the resin injection device 13 . then , when the measured injection time reaches the reference value t injection , it is generally obligatory to allow the injection to continue for a given further time lapse to take account of the difference that may exist between the time of starting injection ( starting up of the device 13 ) and the real time of the beginning of penetration of the resin into the mold . in contrast , the use of the device according to the invention makes it possible to shorten if not eliminate this time lapse . this therefore achieves optimization of the injection time and economizes on resin . fig5 describes the main steps of a monitoring method in a more sophisticated variant based on the analysis of the echoes received by the sensor 21 of the device according to the invention situated in the inlet fitting 11 of the mold 14 and by the sensor 22 situated in the outlet fitting 12 . a first step 51 of launching the operation of injection of resin , similar to the first step 41 of the previous variant , during which there is carried out an operation 411 of analysis of the flow of resin entering the mold , there is determined , 412 , from the echoes received by the sensor 21 positioned in the inlet fitting 11 of the mold if the flow of resin is a stabilized flow , that is to say a continuous flow ; a second step 52 of initialization of an injection start time t 0 _ injection , this step , similar to the second step 42 of the previous variant , being carried out as soon as the flow of resin entering the mold is considered as stabilized . in the context of this variant this second step may prove optional ; a third step 53 of monitoring the injection operation . in this variant , the third step merely consists in , while the injection of resin into the mold continues , carrying out an operation 531 of analyzing the flow of resin leaving the mold and determining ( operation 532 ) from the echoes received by the sensor 22 positioned in the inlet fitting 12 of the mold if the flow of resin is a stabilized flow , that is to say a continuous flow . then , as soon as the flow of resin leaving the mold is considered as stabilized , the injection of resin is stopped and the impregnation process is considered as finished . the operation of polymerization of the preform impregnated with resin can then begin . it should be noted that , in this variant , the determination of an event , other than a time measurement , characterizing the fact that the flow of resin leaving the mold is stabilized makes it possible to provide a stronger guarantee that , the mold being filled with resin , the preform housed in the mold is completely impregnated with resin . a variant of this kind , which exploits the information supplied by the two ultrasound sensors of the device according to the invention , therefore proves advantageously appropriate for ensuring the proper impregnation of a preform intended to produce a composite material component the fabrication quality of which is highly critical . without using the device according to the invention the impregnation of the preform to fabricate a component of this kind necessitates extending the injection time well beyond the theoretical time concerned . fig6 describes the principal steps of a monitoring method in an even more sophisticated variant based on the analysis of the echoes received by the sensor 21 of the device according to the invention situated in the inlet fitting 11 of the mold 114 and by the sensor 22 situated in the outlet fitting 12 , the result of this analysis being combined with the material health information supplied by the monitoring system integrated into the mold concerned . a first step 61 of launching the operation of injection of resin , similar to the first step 41 of the previous variant , during which there is carried out an operation 411 of analysis of the flow of resin entering the mold , there is determined , 412 , from the echoes received by the sensor 21 positioned in the inlet fitting 11 of the mold if the flow of resin is a stabilized flow , that is to say a continuous flow ; a second step 62 of initialization of an injection start time t 0 _ injection , this step , similar to the second step 42 of the previous variant , being carried out as soon as the flow of resin entering the mold is considered as stabilized . in the context of this variant this second step may prove optional ; a third step 53 of monitoring the injection operation . in this variant , the third step consists in , while the injection of resin into the mold continues , carrying out an operation 531 of analyzing the flow of resin leaving the mold and determining ( operation 532 ) from the echoes received by the sensor 22 positioned in the outlet fitting 12 of the mold if the flow of resin is a stabilized flow , that is to say a continuous flow . it also includes simultaneously collecting from the material health monitoring system integrated into the mold information making it possible to determine if the structure of the component contained in the mold conforms to what is expected . it then consists in effecting the merging 631 of the information relating to the stabilization of the flow of resin leaving the mold obtained by the operation 432 , and to the good material health of the component . then , if the “ stabilized flow ” and “ good material health ” conditions are both satisfied in combination ( operation 632 ), the injection of resin is stopped and the impregnation process is considered as finished . the operation of polymerization of the preform impregnated with resin can then begin . it should be noted that the material health information delivered by the monitoring system integrated into the mold can take various forms that it is therefore necessary to consider and to process so as preferably to make available a simple indicator , for example of the “ go - no go ” or “ 0 / 1 ” kind , easily exploitable in the context of the method described here , as fig6 illustrates . the synthesis of an indicator of this kind can depending on the circumstances be carried out either by the system responsible for monitoring material health or by the analysis means of the device according to the invention itself . it should also be noted that this variant constitutes a sophisticated variant of the previous variant illustrated by fig5 . this variant makes it possible to take account of complementary information , useful in particular for determining whether continuing the injection operation under certain particular circumstances is well founded . this is in particular the case if the material health monitoring system detects an area of the preform into which the resin is not able to penetrate . in a situation of this kind the material health indicator will assume a permanent “ no - go ” or “ 0 ” state indicating a structural anomaly of the component . then , although the flow of resin appears stabilized , the injection operation will be continued until , the zone concerned being finally impregnated , the material health indicator assumes a “ go ” or “ 1 ” state leading to stopping the injection operation . if despite the extension of the injection operation the zone concerned remains non - impregnated , then the material health indicator remains in a “ no - go ” or “ 0 ” state that can lead to stopping the injection operation at the end of a limit time lapse determined elsewhere . although the foregoing description elements rely on an application example concerning an rtm process involving a mold of fixed volume , the device according to the invention as has just been described can advantageously be used with various systems for injection of dry textile preforms of rtm and lri type equally at a high temperature for the usual industrial applications or at room temperature as in the context of permeability benches . the functional characteristics of the device according to the invention are not commensurately modified , however . variants of the position of the device on a mold can nevertheless be induced by the nature of the mold or its operating principle , which variants can lead to modification / adaptation of the injection fittings . this is in particular the case when fitting the device according to the invention to a mold of variable volume , such as lri injection molds . in a context of this kind the resin outlet port may for example coincide with the vacuum suction port and the outlet fitting constituting the device be placed on that port . thus , the sensors can be installed so as to operate them in send / receive mode or in transmission mode . similarly , the fittings can be modified in terms of design as much where this concerns the material used ( metal in the standard manner or refractory polymer ( more costly )), the presence of zones machined or modified specifically to favor the propagation of longitudinal or transverse waves , or a structural optimization linked to the configuration of the injection tooling used ( for example multipoint injection ). moreover , the installation of the ultrasound sensor in the fitting can have various specific features . accordingly : the connectors associated with the sensors can be designed to be removable and reusable ( encapsulation device ); the installation can be of diverse kinds and either without contact with the injection fluid , the body of the fitting serving as a relay for the soundwaves , or with direct contact with the injection fluid , the sensor being mounted by drilling and immobilization in the fitting . the sensitive component , the sensor , can furthermore be mounted on a machined area and fixed by gluing . the sensitive component may further consist in a deposition of material by spraying ( piezo - spraying ), the material being cured on the fitting . | 6 |
turning now to the drawings , and referring first to fig1 , an exemplary welding system 10 is illustrated that includes a power supply 12 for providing power for welding , plasma cutting and similar applications . the power supply 12 in the illustrated embodiment comprises an engine generator set 14 that itself includes an internal combustion engine 16 and a generator 18 . the engine 16 may be of any suitable type , such as gasoline engines or diesel engines , and will generally be of a size appropriate for the power output anticipated for the application . the engine will be particularly sized to drive the generator 18 to produce one or more forms of output power . in the contemplated application , the generator 18 is wound for producing multiple types of output power , such as welding power , as well as auxiliary power for lights , power tools , and so forth , and these may take the form of both ac and dc outputs . various support components and systems of the engine and generator are not illustrated specifically in fig1 , but these will typically include batteries , battery chargers , fuel and exhaust systems , and so forth . power conditioning circuitry 20 is coupled to the generator 18 to receive power generated during operation and to convert the power to a form desired for a load or application . in the illustrated embodiment generator 18 produces three - phase power that is applied to the power conditioning circuitry 20 . in certain embodiments , however , the generator may produce single phase power . the power conditioning circuitry includes components which receive the incoming power , converted to a dc form , and further filter and convert the power to the desired output form . more will be said about the power conditioning circuitry 20 in the discussion below . the engine 16 , the generator 18 and the power conditioning circuitry 20 are all coupled to control circuitry , illustrated generally by reference numeral 22 . in practice , the control circuitry 22 may comprise one or more actual circuits , as well as firmware and software configured to monitor operation of the engine , the generator and the power conditioning circuitry , as well as certain loads in specific applications . portions of the control circuitry may be centrally located as illustrated , or the circuitry may be divided to control the engine , generator and power conditioning circuitry separately . in most applications , however , such separated control circuits may communicate with one another in some form to coordinate control of these system components . the control circuitry 22 is coupled to an operator interface 24 . in most applications , the operator interface will include a surface - mounted control panel that allows a system operator to control aspects of the operation and output , and to monitor or read parameters of the system operation . in a welding application , for example , the operator interface may allow the operator to select various welding processes , current and voltage levels , as well as specific regimes for welding operations . these are communicated to a control circuitry , which itself comprises one or more processors and support memory . based upon the operator selections , then , the control circuitry will implement particular control regimes stored in the memory via the processors . such memory may also store temporary parameters during operation , such as for facilitating feedback control . also illustrated in fig1 for the welding application is an optional wire feeder 26 . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , such wire feeders are typically used in gas metal arc welding ( gmaw ) processes , commonly referred to as metal inert gas ( mig ) processes . in such processes a wire electrode is fed from the wire feeder , along with welding power and , where suitable , shielding gas , to a welding torch 28 . in other applications , however , the wire feeder may not be required , such as for processes commonly referred to as tungsten inert gas ( tig ) and stick welding . in all of these processes , however , at some point and electrode 30 is used to complete a circuit through a workpiece 32 and a work clamp 34 . the electrode thus serves to establish and maintain an electric arc with the workpiece that aides in melting the workpiece and some processes the electrode , to complete the desired weld . to allow for feedback control , the system is commonly equipped with a number of sensors which provide signals to the control circuitry during operation . certain sensors are illustrated schematically in fig1 , including engine sensors 36 , generator sensors 38 , power conditioning circuitry sensors 40 , and application sensors 42 . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , in practice , a wide variety of such sensors may be employed . for example , engine sensors 36 will typically include speed sensors , temperature sensors , throttle sensors , and so forth . the generator sensors 38 will commonly include voltage and current sensors , as will the power conditioning circuitry sensors 40 . the application sensors 42 will also typically include at least one of current and voltage sensing capabilities , to detect the application of power to the load . fig2 illustrates electrical circuitry that may be included in the power conditioning circuitry 20 illustrated in fig1 . as shown in fig2 , this circuitry may include the generator windings 44 , illustrated here as arranged in a delta configuration , that output three - phase power to a rectifier 46 . in the illustrated embodiment the three - phase rectifier is a passive rectifier comprising a series of diodes that provide a dc waveform to a dc bus 48 . power on the dc bus is then applied to filtering and conditioning circuitry 50 which aide in smoothing the waveform , avoiding excessive perturbations to the dc waveform , and so forth . the dc power is ultimately applied to a switch module 52 , which in practice comprises a series of switches and associated electronic components , such as diodes . in welding applications , particular control regimes may allow for producing pulsed output , ac output , dc output , and particularly adapted regimes suitable for specific processes . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , various switch module designs may be employed , and these may use available components , such as insulated gate bipolar transistors ( igbts ), silicon controlled rectifiers ( scrs ), transformers , and so forth . many of these will be available in packaging that includes both the switches and / or diodes in appropriate configurations . finally , an output inductor 54 is typically used for welding applications . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the welding arts , the size and energy storage capacity of the output inductor is selected to suit the output power ( voltage and current ) of the anticipated application . although not illustrated , it should also be noted that certain other circuitry may be provided in this arrangement , and power may be drawn and conditioned in other forms . while only certain features of the exemplary systems have been illustrated and described herein , many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art . for example , in addition to the output terminals illustrated in fig2 , power may be drawn from the dc bus for use in other conversion processes . this may allow for dc welding , for example , as well as for the supply of synthetic ac power for various auxiliary applications . the synthetic auxiliary power may be adapted , for example , for single phase power tools , lighting , and so forth . where provided , such power may be output via separate terminals , or even conventional receptacles similar to those used for power grid distribution . various physical arrangements may be envisaged for packaging some or all of the circuitry discussed above . a presently contemplated arrangement is illustrated in fig3 . fig3 shows an integrated power module 56 that incorporates essentially the rectifier circuitry of fig2 , the filtering and conditioning circuitry , as well as the switch modules . as discussed below , the integrated power module 56 also includes at least a drive board for the switches . various bus structures are also included in the package as discussed below . the integrated power module 56 is illustrated as including an upper housing 58 and a lower housing 60 . these may be made of non - conductive or insulative materials , such as injection molded plastic . the illustrated housings facilitate covering the components , supporting them mechanically , and also separating them as needed for electrical insulation purposes . shown in fig3 are input terminals 62 which lead into rectifier modules 64 discussed below . each of these input terminals will be coupled to an output phase of the generator in a three - phase application . fig4 shows an exploded view of the exemplary module illustrated in fig3 . as mentioned above , the module 56 includes and upper housing 58 and a lower housing 60 with the various circuit components disposed in these housing sections and mechanically supported by the housing . in the illustration of fig4 , a pair of rectifier clamp bars 66 are shown that coupled to output of diodes within the rectifier modules as described more fully below . these clamp bars are conductive , and apply power to an upper bus plate 68 . bus plate 68 forms one side of the dc bus discussed above with reference to fig2 . a lower bus plate 72 is also illustrated and will make contact with diodes of the rectifier modules 64 to form the lower branch of the dc bus . an insulator plate is positioned between lower bus plate 72 and upper bus plate 68 for maintaining voltage potential between the plates . an output bus bar 70 is provided for channeling output power from the power module . capacitors 74 are shown exploded from the lower housing 60 . in the illustrated embodiment the lower housing 60 comprises apertures and structures designed to receive these capacitors , to mechanically support them , and to allow them to be coupled to the bus bar plates . the switch modules are comprised in a subassembly , in this case a buck converter module 76 . the buck converter module is also secured to the lower housing , and supports a driver board for applying drive signals to the switches of the buck converter module . the buck converter module is in contact with the upper and lower bus plates when the integrated power module is assembled , as well as with the output bar 70 . finally , an output resistor 78 is provided that will extend between terminals external to the housing in the currently contemplated embodiment . fig5 is an illustration of the same module , from a different perspective and with the upper housing removed to show the interconnection of various components . here the module 56 can be seen as comprising the lower housing with the rectifier modules 64 at an input end of the structure . the rectifier clamp bar 66 is in contact with upper diodes forming the rectifier . the upper bus plate 68 is also visible and is in contact with this same side of the rectifier modules and with the output terminal . the capacitors , one of which is visible in fig5 , are electrically and mechanically secured to both the upper bus plate 68 and to the lower bus plate 72 , corners of which are visible in corner cut - outs of the upper bus plates . a driver circuit board 80 is shown in fig5 . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , the driver circuit board is populated with electronic circuitry that allows for application of drive signals to the power electronic switches of the buck converter module . these drive signals will typically be generated based upon control signals from the one or more processors within the control circuitry discussed above . as also shown in fig5 , conforming housing sections 82 may be defined for receiving and securely holding various components , such as the capacitors 74 in this case . moreover , one or more of the circuits may be designed with fins to assist in air or forced cooling . such fins 84 illustrated for the buck converter module shown in fig4 . it has been found that the particular arrangements of the packaging shown in the figures is well suited to compact and efficient design , manufacturing , assembly and operation . in the illustrated embodiment , the circuit components may be formed in advance and sub - assemblies made , particularly of the converter module and the rectifier modules , as well as the drive circuit board . these are then simply assembled in the package as described . the resulting package is space and energy efficient , and allows for cooling of the power electronic devices during operation . the package may be used in wide range of applications and is particularly well - suited to the presently contemplated welding and plasma cutting applications , based upon inputs from a welder generator which is , together with the integrated power module , positioned in a mobile enclosure . fig6 and 7 illustrate a presently contemplated design for the rectifier modules that is useful in allowing them to be easily integrated into the power module . as shown in fig6 , for example , each rectifier module comprises a housing 86 which is made of an injection molded conductive material , such as aluminum or an aluminum alloy . the housing includes multiple integral features that are formed in the molding process . ideally , little or no further machining is required following molding . the housing includes an integral terminal extension 88 to which an input conductor is coupled during assembly of the integrated power module into the welder generator . the body 90 of the housing 86 is unitary such that the entire body is placed at the potential applied to the terminal extension 88 . thus , when used in applications as a portion of a rectifier of ac input power , the rectifier module body will typically receive an ac waveform that is applied to the entire body during operation . the body comprises fin extensions 92 on rear side thereof to aid in cooling of the body and the entire module . recesses 94 are formed in opposite face of the body and receive diode modules 96 . in the illustrated embodiment for such diode modules are received , although it should be noted that the four diode modules function in the circuitry as only two diodes . that is , the upper two diode modules illustrated in the figures function as the upper diode in the rectifier circuitry of fig2 ( for one of the phases ) while the lower pair of diodes function as the lower diode ( for the same phase ). each diode module comprises a conductive body 98 within which the diode itself is formed . this conductive body forms the input side of each individual diode module , which is placed at the input potential when the diode modules are received within the recesses 94 of the body 90 . output conductors 100 of each module extend from a center of the prospective diode module . electrical connection is made with these output conductors ( which are sandwiched between the rectifier clamp bars discussed above ). fig7 illustrates the same diode module from a rear side . here the fins 92 can be seen extending from the body 90 , as well as the input terminal extension 88 . the bodies 98 of the individual diode modules 96 are illustrated before they are pressed into the recesses 94 of the body . it has been found that the foregoing design allows for a highly efficient manufacturing process , simple assembly , and robust performance . in particular , with each rectifier module body being placed at the input potential , multiple phases of the rectifier can be separated from one another by the non - conductive material of the housing ( see , e . g ., fig5 ). it should also be noted that the flanged arrangements of the module body and the tongue - in - groove mounting allow for environmental isolation of the modules and diodes , which may be particularly important in mobile applications in which the circuitry may be subjected to weather and environmental factors , even when placed in a unit enclosure . in practice , one or multiple phases can be rectified in this manner . moreover , it should be noted that while pairs of diodes are utilized to perform the function of individual diodes illustrated diagrammatically in fig2 , in practice , one , two or more such diodes may perform this function . thus , the body of the rectifier module may be re - configured and the recesses reduced or multiplied , and their position changed to accommodate the particular packaging envisaged . the circuitry and systems described above may be controlled in various manners , depending upon the particular application or load . in the case of a welder driven by an engine generator set , it is presently contemplated that control may be made to the speed of the engine in order to optimize output of the generator and power conditioning circuitry . this optimization will typically allow for reduced speeds when appropriate for providing power to the welding load , with increased speeds where additional voltage and / or power are required . this allows for reduced fuel usage , noise and exhausts where lower power and / or voltage requirements are demanded , while nevertheless accommodating higher requirements within the capabilities of the system . fig8 and 10 illustrate exemplary logic for carrying out this type of control . the control logic summarized in fig8 a and 8a is particularly directed to decisions and control logics for stick welding applications . the exemplary logic , designated globally by reference numeral 102 begins at step 104 where an initial engine speed is adopted . in particular , engines presently contemplated will have a power and voltage curve that provide for higher output power and voltage as speed increases . the nominal initial speed of 2400 rpm can be regulated by feedback control of the engine speed and throttle positions ( and any other desired controlled variables ), typically implemented by an engine electronic governor or control circuitry of the type described above . as indicated by reference numeral 106 , then , a process or mode will typically be selected by the operator . that is , the operator may , in a presently contemplated embodiment , enter a stick process , utilizing low hydrogen electrodes as indicated at reference numeral 108 , or a cellulose electrode process as indicated at reference numeral 110 . moreover , synthetic auxiliary power may be generated by the system and output as indicated by reference numeral 112 . the selection of the xx18 ( low hydrogen ) or xx10 ( cellulose ) mode will typically be made by the operator interface described above . the detection of synthetic auxiliary power output may be detected by a current sensor on an auxiliary power line of the power conditioning circuitry . based upon the mode , then , the system may detect a pre - set current for the welding output . as illustrated in fig8 a , this current may fall within various ranges , such as below 158 amps , above 260 amps , or at various ranges between . the current will typically be set via the operator interface . based upon this current setting , then , the control circuitry causes the engine to accelerate to desired engine speed , again , adapted based upon the voltage and / or power curve of the engine . in the illustrated embodiment , the new speed indicated by reference numeral 116 will be either 2800 rpm , 3200 rpm , or 3600 rpm . thereafter , the algorithm will call for either a power calculation or a power and voltage calculation . specifically , in a stick mode , in the illustrated embodiment , the system will sense current and voltage of the output waveform and calculate output power of the welding output based upon these measured parameters . similarly , if synthetic power is output for auxiliary application , the auxiliary draw may be added to this welding power output to obtain the calculations indicated at reference numeral 118 . the logic summarized in fig8 a and 8b also allow for determination of certain electrode types that may be used in stick welding , an adaptation of the engine and generator output performance based upon the electrode type . in particular , at step 118 , if the system is operating in pipe mode , the logic may determine whether a certain type of electrode , in this case an electrode recognized in the art as “ xx10 ” is identified by monitoring voltage spikes during initial welding operations . such electrodes may be termed “ cellulose ” electrodes . to operate effectively such electrodes should be powered with sufficient voltage to ride through high voltage requirements unique to these electrode formulations . the voltage will not be constant , but a transient may be repeated and is detectable by monitoring the arc voltage . if the voltage requirement is not met , the arc may be unstable , and may intermittently be extinguished . while heretofore known power sources addressed such requirements by raising the voltage potential as high as possible and sometimes beyond during a weld , or using inductors or stabilizers in series with the output , the present approach uses an adaptive technique . this adaptive technique , like the other speed increase approaches summarized , allows for running the engine as slow as possible to save on noise and fuel . the available voltage changes with engine speed and therefore the system will seek a speed just sufficient to stabilize the arc . in a presently contemplated embodiment , for example , when using xx10 electrodes , transients will be noted during the initial moments of welding . in this contemplated embodiment , if there are more than 5 ( e . g ., 10 ) such transients above a threshold ( e . g ., 44 volts ) in the first second of welding , control moves the engine speed to the speed required as summarized in fig8 a . still more specifically , the control solution for this type of electrode allows for initiating and controlling the arc start , then monitoring for high voltage events once the arc is established . in one presently contemplated approach , if there are 10 such events , the engine speed is raised incrementally by increments of 400 rpm above the initial operating point . with cellulose electrodes , these events will be expected to happen quickly , and the engine speed change will generally be unnoticed . if the operator runs a different type of electrode but pulls the arc , the engine speed may also respond in a similar manner . this could be somewhat more noticeable , but would nevertheless provide smooth operation of the electrode . the control technique monitors the voltage of the output of the machine , which generally represents the arc voltage . in the presently contemplated embodiment , the voltage is monitored rapidly ( e . g ., every 100 us ). the system determines if the voltage events over the threshold represent the likely use of a cellulose electrode , and thus adapts for the electrode requirements . the higher engine speed will increase the bus voltage , and thereby the voltage output . as indicated at reference numeral 120 in fig8 a and 8b , then , based upon the power calculation or power / voltage calculation at step 118 , the system may remain at the current speed , or may increase in speed as required . thereafter , similar calculations are made at step 122 , and further boosts in engine speed and output are made , where appropriate , at step 124 . at step 126 further similar calculations are made , to determine whether a final boost may be made to the final engine speed . several notes of interest should be made with reference to the logic summarized in 8 a and 8 b . first , once the arc is initiated for welding , the system may boost output to higher levels , but generally does not return to the initial speed until the arc is extinguished ( i . e ., after termination of a current weld ). moreover , once at a boosted speed , the system may remain at that speed or increase incrementally to higher speeds as required . moreover , the increments in the presently contemplated design are of 400 rpm from the initial speed of 2400 rpm to a final speed of 3600 rpm . these increments could be of different magnitudes , of a different number , and could have different beginning and ending points , depending upon the engine specifications , the generator specifications , the number of steps desired , and so forth . in general , these steps will be contemplated based upon the overall engine power and voltage curves . finally , while the power calculations as opposed to the power / voltage calculations are indicated for particular welding processes , similar calculations may be made independent of the particular selected process , particularly where certain types of electrodes with different anticipated performance may be employed . fig9 a and 9b illustrate similar control logic , here for tig welding applications . as indicated in fig9 a , this tig control logic , designated generally be reference numeral 132 begins with an initial running condition of 2400 rpm as indicated at step 134 . the user may select a tig or pulse tig process as indicated at step 136 , such as via the power supply interface . here again , synthetic auxiliary power output may be detected as indicated at step 112 . at step 138 , then , the system detects a preset current value within a desired range , as described above in the case of the stick welding logic . based upon the selected process and the selected current , then , the engine may be caused to stay at the same speed or to increase speeds as indicated by reference numeral 140 . as indicated by reference 142 , then , a power calculation is made based upon detected current and voltage of the weld , and any auxiliary power draw may be added to this calculation ad indicated by reference numeral 154 . as shown in fig9 b , then , at step 144 the system may determine to stay at the initial speed or current speed or to advance further to a higher speed . similar power calculations are made , then , at step 146 and 150 , resulting in decisions at steps 148 and 152 . here again , the beginning and end points for the speed range could be altered , as may the particular incremental increases based upon the power calculations . it may also be noted that , as in the case of stick welding , the logic summarized in fig9 a and 9b generally do not allow for return to the initial engine speed until the arc is extinguished following the end of a particular weld . fig1 a and 10b illustrate similar logic for mig welding . this logic , designated generally by reference numeral 156 , begins with an initial engine running speed at step 158 . the operator may select between different mig welding processes , such as a solid wire process as indicated by reference numeral 160 or a flux core process as indicated by reference numeral 162 . here again , synthetic auxiliary power may be provided as indicated at block 112 . in the embodiment illustrated , the initial engine speed for use with solid wire is 3200 rpm , and for flux cored wire , 3600 rpm , as indicated at steps 164 . for flux cored wire , this speed is held initially for 3 to 5 seconds before allowing a down - correction ( as indicated at step 168 ). for solid wire , the initial speed is held approximately 1 second . subsequently , then , once the welding arc has started , a determination may be made whether to decrease the engine speed based upon a power calculation , as indicated by reference numeral 166 , which may include addition of any auxiliary power draw as indicated at reference numeral 178 . based upon the calculation , the speed may be decreased and maintained or further altered . it should be noted that in this algorithm , the initial speed may be maintained if the load requires higher output , as indicated by the lines extending from step 164 to step 174 ( see fig1 b ). if a speed reduction is possible ( based on reduced power requirements ) the decrease may be implemented as indicated at step 168 . further calculations are then made at steps 170 and 174 , which may be followed by decisions to increase speed as indicated at steps 172 and 176 . here again , once speed has increased during a particular weld , speeds are not generally decreased until that weld has terminated . moreover , as in the logic for stick and tig welding , the particular beginning and ending points of speed control , and the particular intervals or steps in speed may be adapted for different engines , generators and power conditioning circuitry . | 1 |
the present invention relates to an electronic control system for a refrigeration system . as shown in fig1 the refrigeration system comprises two circuits each having at least one compressor 12 , an air - cooled condenser 13 ( cooled by fan 11 ), a filter - dryer 14 , and expansion valve 15 , and a dual circuit cooler 16 connected in the usual manner . also , as shown in fig1 the control system comprises a processor board 21 , a display / set point board 22 , a relay board 23 , an accessory reset board 24 , control transformer 25 and a plurality of thermistors . the processor board 21 contains a microprocessor 36 and various other electronic components , such as , a power supply , a / d converters , expansion valve drivers , relay drivers , and display drivers . the microprocessor may be any device or combination of devices , suitable for receiving input signals , for processing the received input signals according to pre - programmed procedures , and for generating control signals in response to the processed input signals . the control signals generated by the microprocessor are supplied to control devices which control the operation of the refrigeration system in response to the control signals provided to the control devices from the microprocessor . preferably , the microprocessor is a model 8031 manufactured by intel corporation , having an external eprom memory module . a masked version of the model 8031 , i . e . a model 8751 is also suitable . the processor board 21 is a generic control board for use with various refrigeration systems . to determine the configuration of the processor board 21 to be used with a specific refrigeration system , a configuration header 30 is used to correlate the processor board 21 to the specific physical characteristics of the refrigeration unit . the configuration header 30 contains a plurality of small wires 32 , e . g . eight jumpers , that are selectively broken to develop a binary code which sets the configuration of the processor board 21 . the configuration header 30 is generally preprogrammed at the factory and shall configure the processor board 21 for the type of unit to be controlled . in fig2 the processor board 21 is shown with its various inputs and outputs for controlling the refrigeration unit . the processor board may also contain a plurality of small dip switch assemblies 35 intended to be used in the field to select the field programmable options . the options may include unloaders , brine temperature , pulldown selection , and return water temperature reset . the dip switches are generally on - off switches connecting various set point controls to field thermistors or resistance temperature detectors . all field setpoint adjustments , after the corresponding dip switch is turned to the proper position are made through adjustable potentiometers . to be able to detect faulty potentiometers a valid potentiometer range of 10 to 95 % of potentiometer travel has been established . if the potentiometer is outside the 10 to 95 % range , then an alarm will be energized and the control will automatically transfer to its failsafe condition . further , as shown in fig2 the processor board 21 is electrically connected through electrical connectors to various inputs and outputs . temperature signals indicative of sensed temperatures are supplied by way of electrical lines to the processor board 21 . the various input thermistors and their locations are as follows : __________________________________________________________________________input thermistorsthermistorname function location__________________________________________________________________________t1 leaving cooler water leaving water nozzlet2 entering cooler water entering water baffle spacet3 saturated condensing return bend of lag temp . cir . 1 coilt4 saturated condensing return bend of lag temp . cir . 2 coilt5 cooler saturated suc - cooler head near liquid tion temp . cir . 1 nozzlet6 cooler saturated suc - cooler head near liquid tion temp . cir . 2 nozzlet7 superheat gas entering lead comp . cir . 1 piston cir . 1t8 superheated gas enter - lead comp . cir . 2 ing piston cir . 2t10 reset temperature outside air or build - ing air temperature__________________________________________________________________________ the processor board 21 uses the temperature readings to control capacity , fan cycling , and the electronic expansion valve . a relay board 23 receives signals from the processor board 21 and connects output relays to the compressors and unloaders in order to define the loading and unloading sequence of the compressors . the sequences to be used to load and unload the compressors are programmed into the microprocessor on the processor board . generally , one - half of the relays will be used to control the circuit number 1 compressors and unloader while the other half of the relays are used to control circuit number 2 compressors and unloader . two basic chiller compressor loading sequences are defined in order to allow for lead - lag control of the compressors . lead - lag is used to equalize the run time on the compressors . the lead - lag control sequence shall automatically be selected by the software . the sequence is randomly determined after the unit is turned on and is changed whenever the unit becomes fully loaded or fully unloaded . the display / set point board 22 is generally connected to the processor board 21 through a ribbon cable . preferably , the board contains a digital display 37 , a display switch 38 for energizing the digital display , and a set point potentiometer 39 for adjusting the leaving water temperature set point . further , the display switch 38 is used in conjunction with the led display to show the stage of capacity , control system status , and diagnostic information . the diagnostic information is generally displayed on the two digit led display in numbered codes . accordingly , the diagnostic information including either operating status information or overload information will automatically be displayed on the led . the display will rotate every two seconds and overload information will take priority over all other codes . generally , display numbers 0 - 19 tell the status of the compressor stage numbers , display numbers 20 - 49 tell operational status information , e . g . relay status for compressors , expansion valves , or economizers , and display numbers 50 - 99 tell overload information , e . g . compressor failure , thermistor failure , or potentiometer failure . when the processor board 21 receives a signal indicating a malfunction , it loads a failure code into the display 37 and energizes an alarm circuit . the display / set point board 22 operates as described below and shown in fig3 . the unit is first started by turning the start - stop - reset display switch 38 to start . the switch is also used for resetting the microprocessor , if any safety has been tripped . a reset is accomplished by turning the switch to stop and then to start again . the switch is also used as a circuit breaker for the electronic processor and relay boards . as soon as the switch is closed , the logic will proceed to the initialization routine . it will stay in this routine for 2 minutes . the display will continuously display &# 34 ; 20 &# 34 ; during this period . during this time the microprocessor will be initializing the expansion valve &# 39 ; s internal constants and will wait for loop temperatures to stabilize . if the display button is pushed during this period , the control will go into the quick test mode . once the initial time delay has passed , the logic will proceed to the executive routine where it will begin to control all the various processes . the &# 34 ; 20 &# 34 ; will be removed from the display and the display will be turned off to increase its life . to view the display , the display button located next to the display must be pushed continuously . under normal operation only the stage number will be displayed . if status codes or overload codes are being displayed , then the display will rotate every two seconds and will display up to three numbers . overload information will take priority over all other codes . the display board is also used to run a quick test procedure to determine if the control components are connected and operating properly . the quick test mode procedure is initiated by pressing the display button on the set point board when the number &# 34 ; 20 &# 34 ; is shown in the display . the number &# 34 ; 20 &# 34 ; is displayed during the control &# 39 ; s initialization stage , which occurs when power is first applied to the processor . when the display button is pushed , the display will change to the number &# 34 ; 88 &# 34 ; and the alarm light will be lit , this indicates the beginning of the quick test . the quick test will allow a manual step through a preprogrammed sequence . the display button must be pushed twice for each step of stored sequence . the first push will cause the control to advance to the next step and display the step number followed by a decimal point . when the step number is displayed , no action is taken by the control , when the display button is pushed a second time , the control will initiate the required action . if the display button is pushed again , the control will advance to the next step and stop all actions of the previous step . if it is pushed once more the control will initiate the next step . this procedure must be followed for the 42 or necessary preprogrammed steps . when the last step has been completed , the control will return to the beginning of the quick test and the display will show &# 34 ; 88 &# 34 ;. the control will return to normal operating if the display button is not pushed within 10 minutes or if the operator resets the stop - start switch . the display will continuously be updated during the test sequence so if a dip switch or other input device is changed , then the display will show it . thus , this test permits checking to make sure every component is connected and operating properly and permits the operator to troubleshoot the refrigeration unit . | 5 |
a number of commercially - available polyvinylidene fluoride ( pvdf ) polymers and copolymers were investigated for utilization in the polymeric electrolytes of the invention . since the ready formation of self - supporting films or layers of polymeric electrolyte is of paramount importance in practical cell construction , attempts were initially made to cast these various polymer products as films from easily - managed solvent solutions at reasonable ambient conditions , i . e ., from dissolution with no more than moderate heating to formation of a sturdy dry layer without excessive processing , such as extended radiation or annealing . tetrahydrofuran was selected as the common solvent for the pvdf materials , as well as the medium - boiling solvents to be incorporated later , on the basis of its efficacy and acceptable ancillary properties , particularly in connection with the functioning of rechargeable lithium or li - ion cells . samples of pvdf homopolymers ( commercially available from atochem north america under the trademark , kynar ) in the molecular weight ranges of about 155 × 10 3 and 535 × 10 3 , respectively , were suspended at a wt . ratio of about 12 . 5 % in a mixture of 75 % tetrahydrofuran ( thf ) and 12 . 5 % of an equipart mixture of the medium - boiling solvents ethylene carbonate ( ec ) and propylene carbonate ( pc ) which is typically used as the dispersion vehicle for the lithium salt in a complete electrolyte composition . although dissolution of these samples was ultimately achieved after heating at about 60 ° c ., the solutions gelled to an unworkable state after standing for a short time at room temperature , rendering these materials unsuitable for practical electrolyte use . despite this unsatisfactory showing , it was deemed prudent to reexamine the pvdf homopolymer under the conditions reported by tsuchida et al . ( earlier noted ). the sample having the lower mw , i . e ., in the range of the tsuchida material , was dissolved in the described manner in a heated mixture of acetone and the ec / pc mixture which now contained liclo 4 in 1m solution . the composite solution was cooled to room temperature and before the onset of solidification a portion was immediately spin cast onto a silicon disk and dried to a final thickness of about 0 . 1 mm . the resulting film exhibited a pronounced bloom or whitening indicative of the inhomogeneity resulting from polymer and salt crystallite formation . the film also exhibited low physical strength and split under moderate handling . although the crystallite - disrupted surface of the film sample presented a somewhat difficult contact for the subsequent conductivity testing , values were obtained which confirmed the best tsuchida measurements , i . e ., in the range approaching 10 - 5 s / cm . this level of conductivity is well below the range of practical utility and , considered with the undesirable working and physical properties of the intermediate solution and coated film , highlights the unsatisfactory quality of the pvdf homopolymers for use in polymeric electrolytes . this conclusion appears to be supported by the lack of reported successes with these materials during the long time since the tsuchida investigations . the pvdf copolymers suggested by tsuchida et al . as being less desirable than their preferred homopolymer were also examined . in particular , a sample of vinylidene fluoride - tetrafluoroethylene copolymer having about 245 × 10 3 mw was tested for solubility , coatability , and conductivity with a preferred lipf 6 salt in the above - noted solvents . although the conductivities of 40 - 60 % medium - boiling solvent ratio compositions registered within the desirable range of 10 - 5 to 10 - 3 s / cm , their films continued to exhibit the unsatisfactory crystallite separation and structural inadequacy . in the present invention , however , a group of pvdf copolymers has been discovered which meets the requirements for successful lithium battery cell polymeric electrolytes . the undesirably high crystallinity of the pvdf homopolymer may apparently be suppressed to an optimum degree by the copolymerization of vinylidene fluoride with about 8 to 25 % hexafluoropropylene ( hfp ). it was found that below this lower limit the crystallinity of the primary monomer persists with resulting unmanageable coating solutions , unsatisfactory film texture and strength , and limited medium - boiling salt solution retention . beyond the higher limit , on the other hand , while the solutions remain fluid at ambient room temperature and below , removal of the major coating vehicle , e . g ., tetrahydrofuran ( thf ), fails to result in the formation of a self - supporting film , unless additional processing such as cross - linking under actinic radiation is undertaken . solid electrolyte compositions comprising vdf - hfp copolymers within the noted range were tested for conductivity and efficacy in rechargeable lithium and li - ion cells . the following examples of test electrolyte and cell compositions were prepared under anhydrous conditions , typically with anhydrous reagents and in a helium environment , due to the extreme moisture sensitivity of the lithium salts . a solid polymeric electrolyte film was prepared by casting a portion of the following coating composition onto a polished silicon wafer using a common spin - coating apparatus operating at 600 rpm for 2 sec . the film was allowed to dry at room temperature for about 10 min within the confines of the coating apparatus , in order to minimize uneven drying or flashing of the thf vehicle solvent , yielding a clear elastic film about 50 μm thick . the coating solution was prepared by suspending about 1 . 5 g of an 88 : 12 vdf : hfp copolymer of about 380 × 10 3 mw ( atochem kynar flex 2801 ) in about 9 g of anhydrous thf and adding to this mixture about 1 . 5 g of a 1m solution of lipf 6 in a 1 : 1 mixture by weight of ethylene carbonate ( ec ): propylene carbonate ( pc ). the completed mixture was warmed to about 60 ° c . for 30 min to facilitate dissolution and with occasional agitation a solution was obtained which retained its fluidity upon standing at room temperature for a number of hours . the resulting film , comprising copolymer , ec / pc solvent , and lipf 6 in a weight ratio of about 50 : 44 . 3 : 5 . 7 , was readily removed from the coating substrate for conductivity testing according to the usual ac impedance method on common test equipment , e . g ., a hewlett - packard computer - controlled hp4192a capacitance bridge operating over the frequency range of 5 hz to 110 mhz . the film exhibited an ionic conductivity of about 4 × 10 - 4 s / cm . an electrolyte film coating composition was prepared according to example 1 utilizing instead an 85 : 15 copolymer of vdf : hfp ( atochem kynar flex 2750 ). doctor blade coating at about 0 . 5 mm followed by ambient air drying produced an exceptionally clear , tough , elastic 0 . 1 mm film which provided a conductivity of about 3 × 10 - 4 s / cm . indicative of other electrolyte film formation techniques which may be used with the present compositions , 55 and 50 parts by wt of the copolymers of examples 1 and 2 , respectively , were suspended , without thf vehicle solvent , in 45 and 50 parts of the ec / pc lithium salt electrolyte solution . the resulting swollen slurried masses were pressed at about 100 ° c . for 1 min between polished aluminum plates separated by 0 . 15 mm shims . after cooling to room temperature , the resulting clear , flexible films respectively exhibited conductivities similar to those obtained in the earlier examples . a series of films was prepared according to the procedures of example 1 with variations only in the percentage of the 1m lipf 6 solution added to the coating composition and thus retained in the electrolyte film . these variations and the resulting room temperature ionic conductivities of the films are depicted in the graph of fig1 as trace 14 ( circles ). a second series of films was prepared as in example 4 using a 1m solution of liasf 6 in the equipart mixture of ec / pc in place of the lipf 6 solution . the variations in amounts of added salt solution and the resulting room temperature ionic conductivities of the films are depicted in the graph of fig1 as trace 16 ( triangles ). a film was prepared according to the procedures of example 1 with the exception that 1 . 2 g of the 1m lipf 6 solution was added to the coating composition in order that the resulting film contained about 40 % salt solution or about 5 . 1 % lipf 6 . conductivity measurements were then made while cycling the temperature of the film from about room temperature to - 30 ° c . and return . the conductivities of the film are shown in fig2 as trace 23 in which the cooling phase data points are indicated by open triangles and the warming phase points are indicated by filled triangles . as can be observed , the film substantially retained its homogeneity and resultant conductive efficacy over the entire range . a film was prepared according to the procedures of example 6 with the exception that 1 . 9 g of the 1m lipf 6 solution was added to the coating composition in order that the resulting film contained about 63 % salt solution or about 8 . 1 % lipf 6 . conductivity measurements were then made while cycling the temperature of the film from about room temperature to - 30 ° c . and return . the conductivities of the film are shown in fig2 as trace 25 in which the cooling phase data points are indicated by open circles and the warming phase points are indicated by filled circles . as can be observed , the film substantially retained its homogeneity and resultant conductive efficacy over the entire range . a segment of a 0 . 1 mm thick film electrolyte film prepared from the composition of example 1 was used as a separator / electrolyte element in place of an electrolyte solution - saturated glass paper to construct a &# 34 ; rocking chair &# 34 ; li - ion battery such as is generally described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 196 , 279 . for use as the positive electrode of the cell , a suspension of 5 . 6 parts by weight of the vdf - hfp copolymer of example 1 , 11 . 1 parts of powdered limn 2 o 4 , 1 . 4 parts of ss carbon black , 10 . 9 parts of 1m lipf 6 in ec / pc , and 72 . 2 parts of thf was warmed for about 10 min at 60 ° c . to facilitate dissolution of the polymer and was then stirred at ambient room temperature to obtain a smooth paste . this paste was coated on an aluminum foil by means of a common doctor blade gapped at about 1 . 3 mm and air - dried to complete the electrode stock . a matching negative electrode was prepared by similarly coating on a copper foil and air - drying a 0 . 6 mm layer of a paste of 5 . 6 parts vdf - hfp copolymer , 11 . 8 parts powdered petroleum coke , 0 . 7 parts ss carbon black , 10 . 9 parts the 1m lipf 6 : ec / pc solution , and 72 . 2 parts thf . the difference in the amounts of coated electrode materials was for the purpose of optimizing the ratio of active intercalation materials . the electrode and electrolyte layer materials were assembled in the usual manner in a swagelock test cell which was run repeatedly through charge / discharge cycles . the cycling characteristics depicted in fig3 attest to the efficacy of the polymeric electrolyte film . a variation in the manner of constructing the battery cell of example 8 provides a means for avoiding in great measure the moisture sensitivity of lithium electrolyte salts . instead of including such salts in each of the electrolyte and electrode elements , the salts were eliminated from the electrode compositions in order that these materials may be more conveniently coated and stored at ambient conditions . an increased amount of the salt was then included in the electrolyte film to provide for diffusion into the electrode elements after cell assembly . thus about 9 . 7 parts of a 1 : 1 mixture of ec / pc was substituted for the lipf 6 solution in the electrode coating compositions , and about 1 . 7 g of a 2m lipf 6 solution was used in preparing the electrolyte film . the resulting cell assembly performed similar to that of example 8 . the compositions of examples 1 and 8 were used to prepare an integrated cell by coating each in turn to form the multi - layer assembly depicted in fig4 . an aluminum collector foil 41 was coated with the limn 2 o 4 composition of example 8 and dried to form positive electrode layer 43 . the polymer / salt composition of example 1 was then coated upon the positive electrode layer with a 0 . 5 mm gap doctor blade and dried to form a solid polymer electrolyte layer 45 of about 0 . 1 mm thickness . the negative electrode composition of example 8 was then applied and dried to form electrode 47 . a copper collector foil 49 was then overlaid upon electrode 47 to complete the elements of a working cell whose cycling characteristics are plotted in fig5 . the copolymer electrolyte materials of the present invention may be successfully compounded with any of the numerous components used in liquid electrolyte solutions . notably , there may be employed other medium - boiling organic solvents such as dimethyl carbonate , diethoxyethane , diethyl carbonate , dimethoxyethane , and dipropyl carbonate . other useful lithium salts include liclo 4 , lin ( cf 3 so 2 ) 2 , libf 4 , licf 3 so 3 , and lisbf 6 which may also be employed in solution concentrations of between about 0 . 5 and 2m . of particular utility are the exceptional ethylene carbonate / dimethyl carbonate compositions of lipf 6 and mixtures with libf 4 described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 192 , 629 . while the above examples relate the simpler and more practical methods of processing associated with the preferred fluid coating compositions , it should be apparent to the skilled artisan that the present invention may take other forms to accommodate individual practices . for example , the high - ratio hfp copolymer solution compositions which fail to form adequate self - supporting films may be successfully employed in coating processes which include cross - linking operations , e . g ., by means of actinic radiation . these and other variants are likewise to be included within the scope of the invention as set out in the appended claims . | 2 |
the educational keyboard of the present invention is illustrated schematically in fig1 . as shown , a keyboard 10 with removable keys 20 forms the heart of the invention . when a key is correctly placed on the keyboard , a musical tone corresponding to the key &# 39 ; s note sounds . a variety of methods can be used to achieve this result . in preferred embodiments , the means is electronic or mechanical . in an example embodiment employing electronic means , a musical tone is sounded when a circuit is closed . each key closes a different circuit connected to a tone generator which produces a frequency corresponding to the key &# 39 ; s note . such a circuit can comprise a pair of small electrodes installed in the keyboard base which become electrically connected when a key with a small metal wire bridge in its base comes in contact with the electrodes . in order that only the correct key produces the tone when placed on the keyboard , each key position and key can have their electrodes and wires in a different position along the length of the key , so that only correct key placement closes the circuit . a variety of other methods for tone generation corresponding to correct key placement can be easily implemented . in preferred embodiments , colored lights go on when a key is correctly inserted , in addition to the sounding of the appropriate tone . the lights can be located either on the keys themselves , as shown as 30 on one key in fig1 or on the keyboard just behind the keys . this feature can be easily implemented electronically if the light corresponding to each key is in the circuit closed by the placement of the correct key . also , in preferred embodiments , each key is letter - coded on the front vertical side , where the letter is visible but not obvious . the letter code 40 is shown on one key in fig1 . in a particularly preferred embodiment , the color of the letter code for each key matches the color of the light that goes on when a key is correctly placed on the keyboard . in preferred embodiments , if a key is placed incorrectly , a red light goes on along with a &# 34 ; sour &# 34 ; tone indicating the error . one way to implement this feature electronically is to have a second circuit for each key which is closed by any key placement ( electrodes and wire bridge at the same location on all key slots and keys ). the red light and the tone generator for the sour note form part of the circuit . in this way , placement of any key closes the circuit . additional circuitry is included to open this circuit if the first circuitry is closed by correct placement of the keys . in this simple way , correct key placement leads to a colored light and a musical tone corresponding to the key &# 39 ; s note , and incorrect placement always leads to a sour tone and a red light . the electronic implementation discussed above is just one of a variety of ways in which the keyboard with removable keys can be implemented . other embodiments are within the scope of the present invention . a variety of methods can be used to instruct the student using the keyboard . the simplest method for the young beginner is to have a teacher , parent , or friend instruct the student directly , but older and more advanced students can use the keyboard and teaching tools alone or with someone else . tasks can be assigned and games can be played according to the student &# 39 ; s age and level of ability . preferably , the keyboard includes an entire set of different - colored keys for a parent , teacher , or friend to use interactively as part of the learning process ; the different colors ( beige / brown instead of white / black , for example ) ensure that the student &# 39 ; s keys are clearly differentiated from the teacher &# 39 ; s . separate instructions for the teacher / parent with respect to using the beige / brown keys interactively are preferred to promote learning . in addition , the keyboard preferably includes at least one extra octave of keys to replace lost keys , and additional lost keys may be sent away for . a wide variety of exercises which employ the student &# 39 ; s right and left brain capabilities can be used to teach a student music theory and harmony with the keyboard of the present invention . for example , the student may start by removing all the keys from the keyboard , then placing back , one by one , all the notes in one scale on the keyboard , then all the notes in another scale , and so on , each time removing only those notes that are not in the next scale and adding the notes that are . another example exercise begins with the removal of all the keys , both black and white , from the keyboard . then the student is requested to correctly place back on the keyboard only the black keys that are in groups of three . next , the student is requested to correctly place on the keyboard the groups of four white keys that surround the sets of triple black keys . then the student is asked to remove the four white keys and place them on the keyboard this time in pairs , f / g and a / b . the student is asked questions such as : which black keys are the f and g adjacent to ? which black keys are the a and b adjacent to ? a third example exercise requires the student to place on the keyboard the keys that correspond to six consecutive minor thirds starting at middle c . the student can be asked to what possible scales this set can belong . etc . in one embodiment , the student is instructed with a book , preferably a cartoon book . in addition to showing the student tasks and games , the cartoon book can include interesting facts about music and musicians of all ages and times and provides easily comprehended information about how tones are generated by a keyboard and what the insides of both traditional and electronic keyboards look like . the student can also be instructed with an audiocassette tape which steps a student through lessons . if a student is having difficulty , the tape can be rewound to repeat lessons or portions of lessons . in a preferred embodiment , the keyboard comprises means for a computer interface . this embodiment is illustrated in fig2 . as shown , the keyboard 10 with removable keys 20 is connected to a computer 50 via an interface 60 in such a way that the computer accepts as input signals from the keyboard , the signals being in response to the playing of the keys . in particular embodiments , the computer may also send signals to the keyboard to generate tones or turn on or off lights . one way to achieve the computer interface employs a musical instrument digital interface ( midi ), a standard communication protocol familiar to those skilled in the art . this can be used to send data to the computer which include timing information for key press and release , and additional parameters such as key velocity and key pressure . in simple embodiments of the present invention , the full capabilities of such an interface are not used , and a simple databus connecting the keyboard to the computer , which simply indicates which keys are on or off , is sufficient . in one embodiment , this databus is an rs232 interface . programs running in the computer use text , graphics , or tones to lead students through lessons . the student &# 39 ; s responses are monitored by the program . a correct response by the student can be rewarded with a graphics display ( a cartoon , for example ) or a tune . an incorrect response can be followed by a prompt to try again . the computer can be programmed to provide clues , if required . as the computer monitors a student &# 39 ; s progress , it can increase or decrease the difficulty of the lessons in relation to the student &# 39 ; s performance . thus , a true interaction with the student is created , which helps keep the student &# 39 ; s interest by involving him or her in tasks and games at the student &# 39 ; s level of ability . if a student is responding quickly and making few mistakes , the program can quickly increase the level of the lessons . on the other hand , if the student is having a great deal of difficulty responding to the prompts of the computer , the level of the lessons can be quickly decreased to avoid discouraging the student . the computer software also allows for playing predesignated pieces as well as helping the student to compose them on the spot . | 6 |
preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a sectional view showing an application state of a probe 20 inserted into an external auditory meatus 10 for thermometry of a clinical thermometer as one embodiment . referring to fig1 a measurement portion is substantially a tympanic membrane 40 including an external auditory meatus 10a near the tympanic membrane 40 . the probe 20 comprises comparatively a thick - walled holder portion 22 and a constricted diameter portion 30 extending from the holder portion 22 . a hole or window 32 through which an infrared ray radiated from the tympanic membrane including the external auditory meatus passes is formed in the distal end portion of the almost cylindrical constricted diameter portion 30 . a compact infrared sensor 34 for receiving an infrared ray r radiated from the tympanic membrane including the external auditory meatus is arranged inside the constricted diameter portion 30 . the constricted diameter portion 30 preferably has an almost circular cross - section and is tapered toward the distal end thereof . it is also preferable to arrange the infrared sensor 34 inside the distal end portion of the constricted diameter portion 30 to improve measurement precision . fig2 a is a view showing the outer appearance of the probe 20 inserted into the external auditory meatus for thermometry of the clinical thermometer of the embodiment shown in fig1 . a material such as a flexible material , an extendible material , or a plastic material ( at body temperature ) can be exemplified as a material for forming the constricted diameter portion 30 of the probe 20 . for example , an elastomer ( e . g ., a synthetic resin - based soft material , soft vinyl chloride or rubber ), sponge , or the like can be used . to increase the degree of freedom depending on such a material , a circumferential slit , a bellows , or the like may be preferably formed . the roughness such as jogs , ribs , grooves or the like are preferably disposed in the outer surface of distal end portion of the probe 20 so as to decrease the contacted surface between the probe and the external auditory meatus , thus , the heat transfer between the probe and the external auditory meatus is prevented . fig4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the probe 20 shown in fig2 a . referring to fig4 the infrared sensor 34 is connected to the distal end of a flexible substrate 38a supported on a rod - like support member 38 . the infrared sensor 34 is disposed in the bottom of the recessed portion 34a made of metal such as copper . the recessed portion 34a is preferably sealed by a window member 32 . the flexible substrate 38a is surrounded by a coil spring 38c made of copper , bronze , or the like to improve the bending characteristics of the substrate . the predetermined length of a bendable , deformable portion of the constricted diameter portion 30 is preferably about 0 to 12 mm from the distal end of the probe . fig2 c is a view showing the outer appearance of the distal end portion of the probe 20 . it is also preferable to arrange the infrared sensor 34 in or near the distal end portion of the constricted diameter portion 30 to improve the detection precision . the depth of the recessed portion 34a from the bottom thereof to the front of infrared sensor 34 is set enough not to interfere with the angle or view of the infrared sensor 34 . a ratio of a depth h of the recessed portion 34a to an inner diameter d thereof preferably falls within the range of 0 . 05 to 1 . 0 . thus , the heat distribution except the object , within all angles of the view of the infrared sensor 34 , can be small at detecting the infrared from the tympanic membrane . the error by the individual who measures the infrared substantially from the tympanic membrane can be decreased . a pulse wave detector for detecting a pulse wave and a biological information detecting means 41 for detecting information except for the body temperature , such as a blood pressure oxygen detector for detecting an amount of oxygen can be arranged in a peripheral portion 30a of the external auditory meatus insertion portion of the constricted diameter portion 30 as shown in fig4 . fig3 shows another embodiment of the present invention which is different from the embodiment of fig2 a and 2b in that a material for forming a constricted diameter portion of a probe is a hard material . at least one part 36 of the constricted diameter portion is made of a material such as a synthetic resin - based soft material , a flexible material , an extendible material , or a plastic material ( at body temperature ). referring to fig2 b , a constricted diameter portion 30 of a probe 40 is made of a flexible material . when the constricted diameter portion 30 is flexed , an infrared sensor 34 is also directed toward the tympanic membrane . for this reason , to increase the heat capacity of an infrared sensor 34 , the infrared sensor 34 is supported by an elastic member 39 such as a coil spring supported on a rod - like support member 38 . the infrared sensor 34 is directed toward the tympanic membrane so as to follow up bending of the constriction portion . a ball or universal joint may be used in place of the elastic member 39 . only the infrared sensor 34 may be fixed at the distal end portion without using the elastic member 39 , a ball joint , or a universal joint . the elastic member 39 preferably has a high heat - conductivity so as to transfer backward to the heat which is transferred from the external auditory meatus at detecting the infrared from the tympanic membrane and so as to protect the degree of the constricted diameter portion 30 in view of strength . in a probe shown in fig5 a collar 31 is formed at the proximal end of a relatively non - flexible constricted diameter portion 30 . the collar 31 is pivotally mounted in a holder portion 22 of the probe in which the distal end of the collar 31 is stored so as not to be removed from the holder portion 22 . therefore , the constricted diameter portion w is pivotal in the 360 ° forward direction , as indicated by a double - heated arrow w . when the probe is removed from an external auditory meatus , the constricted diameter portion 30 is reset to the initial position by a biasing force of an elastic member 35 such as a coil spring supported on a support member 33 . in addition , the constricted diameter portion 30 can be axially withdrawn by the elastic member 35 , as indicated by an arrow s . a light guide tube 37 extending from a window member 32 to the infrared sensor 34 is disposed in the constricted diameter portion in fig5 . an infrared ray r radiated on the window member 32 is guided to the sensor 34 . since the light guide tube 37 is formed integrally with the constricted diameter portion 30 , the light guide tube 37 is adjusted to direct toward a tympanic membrane 40 in accordance with the direction of the constriction portion 30 . for this reason , an infrared ray representing the temperature of the tympanic membrane can be expected to be incident from the window member 32 . the inner wall of the light guide tube 37 is made of a predetermined material which does not absorb , in another words , reflects almost of all the infrared ray , such as gold . as shown in fig2 c , a sensor 34 may be arranged near a window member 32 by a rod - like support member 38 in place of a light guide tube . the rod - like support member 38 is made of the high heat conductivity material , such as copper , copper - alloy ( brass ), aluminum and aluminum alloy . as has been described above , according to the present invention , a probe can be accurately inserted into an external ear , and the sensor of the inserted probe is accurately directed toward the tympanic membrane . therefore , thermometric errors caused by variations in thermometric methods can be eliminated , and stable , accurate thermometry can always be performed . in insertion of the probe into the external auditory meatus , the degree of freedom ( right - and - left movement , and back - and - forth movement ) is provided to the probe of the clinical thermometer . for this reason , a shock on the wall surface of the external auditory meatus can be minimized to relax pains and discomfort of a patient . the probe is formed to be earphone - type so as to be compact . the probe formed to be headphone type so as to be available as the monitoring system . as many apparently widely different embodiments of the present invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments thereof except as defined in the appended claims . | 6 |
fig1 shows a plan view on to a device for recognizing the occupancy of a seat comprising an inner sensor mat 10 of closed surface area surrounded by an outer sensor mat 12 . in plan view the outer sensor mat 12 exhibits substantially the shape of a u while the inner sensor mat 10 possesses a rectangular , approximately square section 14 amounting to approximately 85 % of its total area . from two opposite sides of the section 14 project two arms 16 in the direction of the base of the outer mat 12 , wherein the two arms extend away from two opposite , shorter sides of the rectangular section 14 and as a result point towards the base of the u of the outer mat 12 . in the region located between the two arms 16 the outer mat 12 possesses a projection 18 of approximately trapezoidal construction projecting in between the arms 16 . the side legs 20 of the u - shaped outer mat 12 begin starting from the base of the u at a slightly tapering section 22 and are widened in a section 24 located adjacent to the arms 16 of the inner mat 10 . in an adjoining section 26 the two legs 20 of the outer mat 12 possess recesses both on the inside of the legs and on the outside of the legs which recesses are located at the level of the rectangular section 14 of the inner mat 10 . this gives rise in turn to a slightly widened end section 28 . in fig1 the length of the legs is designated by the reference symbol l 2 and the width of the base by the reference symbol d 2 , whereas the length of the rectangular section 14 of the inner mat 10 is designated by l 1 and the width of this section 14 extending parallel to the base is designated by d 1 . as can be seen the u - shaped outer mat 12 has a width d 2 which is approximately 2 . 5 times the width d 1 of the rectangular section 14 . the length 1 2 is approximately 2 . 5 times the length l 1 of the rectangular section 14 . the length of the arms 16 is approximately 0 . 6 times the length l 1 of the rectangular section 14 . the area of the outer mat 12 is approximately 2 . 25 times the area of the inner mat 10 . fig2 illustrates the evaluation of signals from both mats 10 and 12 . the signal from the inner sensor mat 10 is plotted on the x axis and the sum of the signals from the inner sensor mat 10 and the outer mat 12 is plotted on the y axis . by constructing regions 30 , 32 , 34 , 36 the types of occupancy of the seat can be clearly distinguished , ie classified . the diamonds in region 30 represent a child ( approximately 12 months old ) in a child &# 39 ; s seat . in this case a good part of the signal comes from the outer sensor mat 12 because the child &# 39 ; s seat is standing on runners which exert pressure on sections 24 , 26 , 28 . on the other hand , due to its narrow hipbones an approximately six year - old child presses down almost exclusively on to the inner sensor mat 10 and , accordingly , is to be differentiated from the value range of the child &# 39 ; s seat ( square values in region 32 ). in a central region 34 is found the group of particularly light adults belonging to the so - called 5 percent , ie to the 5 % lightest of their gender . the circles in region 34 represent values for living persons and the triangles those of associated test dummies . the group of adults belonging to the 50th percentile whose weight is therefore the statistical median for their gender yields values in an upper region 36 of the graph in fig2 ( crossed circles : test dummies , crosses : living persons ). if the sum of the signals from the two mats 10 and 12 yields a value of more than 300 ( arbitrary units ) a normal person of at least average weight is sitting on the seat . accordingly , the device according to the invention with two sensor mats and the method according to the invention for evaluating the signals from these two mats allows clear electronic recognition of different seat occupancy situations as required for controlling the deployment of air bags . the belt tension and acceleration sensors from the state of the art are no longer required . the entire system is simplified . | 1 |
referring to the drawings and particularly to fig1 and 3 , the valve of the present invention for use in a truck - trailer pneumatic system is generally indicated by the numeral 12 . the valve is specially adapted for use in a truck - trailer pneumatic system of the character having a source of air under pressure and one or more air pressure reservoirs , air - release parking brake units , and brake service lines . in the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings , the valve comprises an integral housing 14 having an inlet 16 adapted to be interconnected with the source of air under pressure provided by the truck - trailer pneumatic system . as best seen by referring to fig2 and 3 , housing 14 includes first , second and third chambers 18 , 22 and 24 respectively . each of these chambers is in communication with the housing inlet 16 via first , second and third air flow paths 26 , 28 and 30 respectively . disposed within chambers 18 , 22 and 24 are the three major operating subassemblies of the valve , namely a pressure protection subassembly generally designated by the numeral 19 , a pressure holding quick release subassembly 23 and an anti - compounding subassembly 25 . as best seen in fig1 and 2 , chamber 18 has an outlet port 32 which is adapted to be interconnected with one of the reservoirs of the truck - trailer pneumatic system via a connector 33 . second chamber 22 has first outlets 34 which are adapted to be placed in communication with the air chambers of the air release brake units of the truck - trailer via connector means 35 and a second outlet 36 which is adapted to communicate with atmosphere via an outlet 37 and connector 39 . third chamber 24 is provided with a flow port 38 which is in communication with the control or brake service line of the truck - trailer pneumatic system by means of a connector 41 . disposed within first chamber 18 is a first valve means for selectively blocking the flow of air to and from the reservoir ( not shown ) through the first chamber outlet 32 . the first valve means is uniquely designed so as to be responsive to air under a predetermined pressure to permit air flow between first chamber 18 and outlet 32 . in the present form of the invention , the first valve means comprises a first chamber valve seat 40 formed at the mouth of chamber 18 , a valve member 42 which is movable from a first position in sealing engagement with the valve seat to a second position spaced apart from the valve seat . the first valve means also comprises first and second biasing means both functioning to urge valve member 42 into the first valve closed position . as best seen by referring to fig2 the first biasing means of the first valve means here comprises a valve body 44 which is reciprocally movable within chamber 18 between a first and second position . valve body 44 is provided with a shoulder 46 for engagement with valve member 42 . valve body 44 is also provided with a counterbore 48 , the purpose of which will presently be described . the first biasing means of the first valve means also comprises a first spring 50 which circumscribes a portion of valve body 44 and is in engagement at its upper end with a shoulder 52 formed on valve body 44 . the opposite or lower end of spring 50 is in engagement with a shoulder 54 provided on an externally threaded adjustment member 56 which , in the manner illustrated in fig2 is threadably adjustable within chamber 18 . member 56 includes an upper sleeve portion 56a within which the lower portion 44a of valve body 44 is closely received . an elastomeric o ring 58 is carried by portion 44a of valve body 44 for sealable engagement with the inner surface of sleeve portion 56a of adjustment member 56 . similarly , adjustment member 56 carries proximate its lower end a second elastomeric o ring 60 which sealably engages the inner wall of chamber 18 . o ring 58 prevents leakage of air between valve body 44 and the inner wall of sleeve 56a while o ring 60 prevents the leakage of air between adjustment member 56 and the inner wall of chamber 18 . as best seen in fig2 adjustment member 56 is provided with a recessed slot 56b which permits easy rotation by a screw driver or the like of the adjustment member relative to body 14 in a manner so as to precisely adjust the degree of compression of spring 50 . more particularly , clockwise movement of adjustment member 56 within chamber 18 will cause spring 50 to exert a progressively greater closing pressure of valve member 42 against seat 40 . obviously , the greater the closing pressure , the greater will be the air pressure on the upper surface of member 42 required to move it away from seat 40 . in practice spring 50 can be adjusted so that a minimum pressure of about 60 pounds per square inch exerted against valve member 42 will move the member away from valve seat 40 to a compression wherein approximately 90 pounds per square inch will be required to move valve body 42 away from seat 40 . normal settings for this first valve means are on the order of approximately 80 pounds per square inch . that is , the compression on spring 50 is adjusted so that approximately 70 pounds per square inch of air pressure must be exerted on the upper surface of valve member 42 in order to move it away from valve seat 40 . an important feature of the first valve means resides in the fact that when valve member 42 is moved away from seat 40 the second biasing means , provided here as second coil spring 64 , which is seated within counterbore 48 , will continue to urge valve member 42 in a direction toward valve seat 40 . with this construction , valve member 42 functions as a biased check valve which functions to effectively preclude the flow of air from the reservoir of the pneumatic system in a reverse direction toward inlet 60 . with this construction , when 80 psi is reached in passageway 26 , the valve will open and allow air under pressure to flow to the supply reservoir on the trailer . this air then becomes available for use in the service portion of the trailer braking system . however , the second biasing means will prevent air within the reservoir from flowing back toward the inlet port 16 in case of any reduction of pressure in the supply line . this allows the first 70 psi of air to be used for spring brake release only . a second valve means , or brake release subassembly , is disposed within second chamber 22 for controllably permitting air flow toward the air chambers of the air release brakes and for normally blocking air flow toward the second or exhaust outlet 36 of chamber 22 . the second valve means also includes a resiliently deformable sleeve type check valve 66 which functions to block reverse air flow in a direction from the air chamber of the air release brakes with which the valve is associated toward the inlet 16 of the valve housing . in the form of the invention shown in the drawings , the second valve means comprises a resiliently deformable , generally anular shaped sealing member 68 which is disposed proximate outlet 36 of second chamber 22 . sealing member 68 includes a peripheral portion constructed from a suitable elastomeric material such as rubber and a central portion comprising a washer like brass seat 77 . such a sealing member is sold by seal co air controls under model no . 509 . sealing member 68 is retained in position across outlet 36 of chamber 36 by means of an externally threaded member 72 which is threadably receivable within internal threads 74 provided proximate outlet 36 of chamber 22 ( fig2 ). an elastomeric o ring 76 is carrried by member 72 to prevent air leakage between member 72 and chamber 22 . the second valve means further includes a valve body 78 which is reciprocally movable within chamber 22 . valve member 78 is provided with an internal flow passageway 80 which is adapted to place flow path 28 in communication with outlets 34 when valve member 66 is moved into an open position permitting the flow of air past the valve member . as best seen in fig2 member 78 is provided with a lower reduced diameter portion 78a which is adapted to closely receive the upper end 66b of sleeve valve 66 in the manner shown in fig2 . the skirt portion 66a of sleeve valve 66 is yieldably deformable so that fluid under pressure entering passageway 80 from passageway 28 will distend the skirt portion of valve 66 so as to permit air to flow through second chamber outlets 34 and thence to the air chambers of the air release parking brakes with which the valve is associated . as indicated in fig2 valve body 78 functions to seal off exhaust port 36 when the pressure within chamber 22 exerts a force thereon sufficient to urge the central portion thereof downwardly into pressural engagement with seat 77 of sealing member 60 . when the pressure exerted on member 78 deceases sufficiently , due to a decrease of air pressure within chamber 22 , member 78 will lift opening chamber 22 to atmosphere via outlet 36 . disposed within third chamber 24 is a third valve means which functions to normally block air flow from the service or control line of the pneumatic system inwardly toward passageway 28 . threadably receivable within chamber 24 is a fitting 84 within which filter means is provided . this filter means is here shown as a porous filter 86 which functions to block the passage of particulate contaminates from the brake service line inwardly into the valve . as indicated in fig3 a similar filter 87 is provided in inlet 16 to block passage of particulate contaminates into the valve . an elastomeric o ring 89 is carried by member 84 and functions to prevent leakage of air between members 84 and the valve housing . in the form of the invention shown in the drawings , the third valve means comprises a valve seat 90 formed on the inboard end of adapter member 84 and a one - way check valve member 92 which is movable from a first position in engagement with valve seat 90 to a second position spaced apart from the valve seat . a biasing means shown here as a coiled spring 94 is carried within the third chamber for continuously urging check valve member 92 into sealing engagement with the valve seat 90 thereby normally preventing the flow of air in the direction from the controllor brake service line of the pneumatic system toward passageways 28 and 30 of the valve housing . one end of spring 94 is in engagement with a shoulder provided on valve member 92 and the other end is in engagement with a spring seat 95 . however , upon a sufficient build up of pressure within the brake service line , valve member 92 can move away from seat 90 against the urging of spring 94 thereby permitting the flow of fluid in a direction toward air passageway 28 . turning to fig4 the apparatus of the invention is further illustrated in block diagram form . the operation of the apparatus , which will now be described , can readily be understood from a study of fig4 . in operation supply air from the tractor is introduced into the valve of the invention through air inlet 16 and flows first to chamber 22 of the pressure holding quick release subassembly 23 via passageways 28 and 30 ( fig2 ). at the same time , air under pressure also flows to the pressure protection subassembly 19 via passageway 26 . as previously mentioned , upon opening of check valve 92 air under pressure from of the tractor can also enter chamber 22 via the control line and flow port 38 . air under pressure flowing through passageway 28 opens sleeve type check valve 66 causing valve member 78 to move into sealing engagement with seat 77 thereby closing the exhaust port provided in this portion of the valve . upon closing of the exhaust port closed , the air under pressure flowing past check valve 66 will flow toward the spring brake chambers of the individual parking brake units via outlets 34 ( fig1 ) thereby releasing the spring actuated , air release parking brakes of the trailer . check valve 66 , of course , prevents air within the spring brake air chambers from flowing back toward passageway 28 . member 78 will function to close the exhaust port 36 until such time as the air pressure in the supply area is reduced to approximately forty pounds per square inch . if the supply pressure continues to leak down slowly , this feature will maintain approximately a 2 . 5 to 1 ratio as the pressure continues to leak to zero . however , if the air pressure is reduced rapidly , member 78 will lift and the unit will function to rapidly exhaust the iar in the spring brake chambers to atmosphere through port 36 . in the event that the inlet air pressure reaches 80 psi , ( or whatever pressure the pressure protection valve subassembly is set to ), the first valve means will open and permit air to flow past the one - way check valve member 42 and outwardly via port 32 toward a supply tank or reservoir provided on the trailer . this air then becomes available for use in the service portion of the trailer braking system . as previously mentioned , the unique design of the one - way check valve member 42 will not allow the air in the reservoir to flow back toward the supply port in case of any reduction of air pressure in this line . with this construction , the first 80 pounds of air pressure in the supply line will always be used only for spring brake release . as previously mentioned , under certain pressure balance conditions , air under pressure from the service or control line can also enter air passageway 28 through flow port 38 and flow past one - way check valve member 92 into passageway 28 of the valve . of course , if the supply line is already pressurized , the check valve design is such that nothing will happen . however , if the supply line has been evacuated in order to actuate the air release parking brakes , then control line air is free to flow past member 92 and enter passageway 26 , 28 , and 30 and would flow out inlet 16 into the vacated or vented supply line , reducing the amount of pressure in the control line . having now described the invention in detail in accordance with the requirements of the patent statutes , those skilled in this art will have no difficulty in making changes and modifications in the individual parts or their relative assembly in order to meet specific requirements or conditions . such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention , as set forth in the following claims . | 1 |
the present invention is directed to improved fittings to be used in fusion welding of mating thermoplastic components . standard fusion welding results in a weld bead which is undesirable to some users because of its fabricated , unfinished look , and because of the potential for the weld to entrap air borne particles that can be embedded in the material while in a melted state . the improved fittings of the present invention allow manufacturers to continue using fusion welding in their manufacturing steps while giving their products a more finished and injection - molded look by integrating the weld bead , and helping prevent the common mistake of over insertion by providing an additional stop in the fitting . it also reduces manufacturing steps by eliminating removal of the weld bead through machining which some companies current perform on their products . as illustrated in fig1 through 7 , an improved fitting 20 embodying the present invention comprises a body 22 having a weld bead chamber 24 . a passageway 26 runs through the body 22 and provides physical communication between adjoining thermoplastic components , i . e ., pipes , vessels , etc ., mated to the fitting 20 . the body 22 and passageway 26 are preferably cylindrical but may take the form of any shape that is compatible with the shape of a mated thermoplastic component , i . e ., triangular , square , rectangular , etc . the fitting 20 also includes a threaded coupling 28 which can receive a cap , flare tube and nut , compression connection with a split ring , ferrule , and nut , or other type of connector ( not shown ). the weld bead chamber 24 is preferably a continuous annular ring provided on the outer perimeter of the body 22 and oriented toward an end of the body . however , it may be a discontinuous annular ring , but such construction will not completely integrate and conceal the weld bead . a stop ledge 30 is included in the weld bead chamber 24 to prevent over insertion of the fitting 20 and mated thermoplastic component , i . e ., a pipe 32 or a wall / plate 34 . the function of the stop ledge 30 will be discussed more fully below . the fitting 20 of is typically joined by fusion welding to either a pipe 32 or a plate or wall of a vessel 34 . when joined to a pipe 32 , the end of the fitting 20 adjacent to the weld bead chamber 24 is inserted into the pipe 32 . the pipe 32 with which the fitting 20 is mated may be a regular straight pipe or may comprise a multi - junction pipe , i . e ., a t - shaped junction , which can be joined to multiple fittings 20 . the diameters of the fitting 20 and the mating pipe 32 are chosen so as to create and interference fit . this means that the outer diameter of the fitting 20 is so close to the inner diameter of the pipe 32 that there is substantial surface contact around the perimeter of the fitting 20 . this carefully designed interference fit of the heated mating parts provides consistency of jointing . prior to insertion of the fitting 20 into the mating pipe 32 , the outer surface of the fitting 20 and the inner surface of the pipe 32 are heated to a temperature above the respective melting points of each . the heated surfaces of the fitting 20 and pipe 32 are then engaged and held together until cool and fused . the interference fit results in a portion of the surface of the fitting 20 being “ scraped ” off and accumulating as a bead 36 around the end of the pipe 32 . in prior fusion welding processes , this bead 36 would be machined off for a more finished appearance . however , in the present invention , the weld bead chamber 24 on the fitting 20 conceals the bead 36 so that it does not need to be machined off . in addition , the weld bead chamber 24 includes a stop ledge 30 ( fig2 ) within the weld bead chamber 24 to prevent over insertion of the fitting 20 into the pipe 32 . the stop ledge 30 presents a surface against which the end of the mating pipe 32 abuts to prevent insertion of the fitting 20 beyond that point of abutment . this stop ledge 30 is positioned from the end of the fitting 20 so that there is a minimum amount of surface contact between the fitting 20 and the pipe 32 to ensure a strong fusion weld . in cases where the outside diameter of pipe 32 is too large for the end to fit within the weld bead chamber 24 , or when it is more practical to simplify the fitting , then a stop ledge edge 31 will prevent over insertion . the fitting 20 also includes one or more view windows 38 to inspect the quality of the bead 36 after the parts are mated . the appearance of the bead 36 correlates to the quality of the fusion weld between the mated parts . it is important that one be able to inspect the bead 36 to determine the quality of the fusion weld before using the mated pieces . when the fitting 20 is fusion welded to a plate or wall of a vessel 34 , the end of the fitting 20 is inserted into a hole in the plate or wall 34 . the manner in which these pieces are mated is nearly as described above : the respective diameters are close enough to create an interference fit ; the mating surfaces are heated to above the melt point ; the heated surfaces are mated ; excess surface material is “ scraped ” off the surface of the fitting 20 and accumulated as a bead 36 around the surface of the plate or wall 34 ; the parts cool and fusion weld together ; the bead 36 is covered by the weld bead chamber 24 . one difference involves that part of the fitting 20 that acts as the stop ledge 30 . when welding the fitting 20 to a plate or wall 34 , the stop ledge is an edge 31 ( fig7 ) of the weld bead chamber 24 rather than a surface inside the weld bead chamber 24 as described above . fig8 through 12 depict another preferred embodiment of the present invention for coupling together opposed ends of two pipes by fusion welding ( or more then two as in a tee ). in this embodiment , the fitting 40 comprises a body 42 including a passageway 44 therethrough . this fitting 40 includes a first weld bead chamber 46 at a first end and a second weld bead chamber 48 at a second end . these weld bead chambers 46 , 48 comprise continuous annular grooves around the inside diameter of the passageway 44 . the weld bead chambers 46 , 48 may be discontinuous annular grooves , but such construction will not completely integrate and conceal the weld bead . the fitting 40 includes a stop ledge 50 adjacent to each weld bead chamber 46 , 48 to perform a similar function as described above . in this embodiment , the stop ledge 50 is included in the passageway 44 . the diameters at each extreme end 52 of the fitting 40 are larger than the diameter of the passageway 44 but smaller then the diameter of the weld bead chambers 46 , 48 . because the diameters at each extreme end 52 of the fitting 40 are larger , they will not contact the heater and the extreme end material will not melt . the extreme end 52 diameter is smaller then the diameter of the weld bead chambers 46 , 48 to provide a means to keep the bead 52 ( discussed below ) within the chambers 46 , 48 . the fitting 40 is designed to receive a pipe 54 within each end of the fitting 40 . for the joining of one pipe 54 to a first end of the fitting 40 , the inner diameter of the passageway 44 is closely matched to the outer diameter of the pipe 54 so as to create an interference fit between the two parts . the mating surfaces are then heated and the pipe 54 is inserted into the fitting 40 . the interference fit results in excess material being scraped off of the heated surfaces and forming a bead 56 which accumulates in the weld bead chamber 46 . the stop ledge 50 prevents over insertion of the pipe 54 into the fitting 40 by abutting against the end of the pipe 54 . again , a view window 58 permits inspection of the bead 56 . this configuration may be formed integral with a member such as a valve body , a tee ( fig1 ), an elbow ( fig1 ), or a pipe connector ( fig8 - 10 ). the pipe connector style fitting 40 has been described above . as shown in fig1 , the fitting 40 may include more than two openings and hence , more than two weld bead chambers 46 , 48 , 60 . when more than two pipes 54 are mated to this fitting 40 , a corresponding number of weld bead chambers 46 , 48 , 60 are provided . similarly , as shown in fig1 , a fitting 40 may include a bend or elbow to allow for an angled mating of pipes 50 . the fittings 20 , 40 and their mated components , 32 , 34 , 54 are preferably manufactured from heat fusible thermoplastic materials . such heat fusible thermoplastic preferably includes polypropylene ( pp ), polyethylene , polybutylene , polyvinylidene fluoride ( pvdf ), teflons such as pfa and fep , and other materials . fusion welding has become established in industry as a primary joining system for small and medium sizes of polyvinylidene fluoride ( pvdf ) and polypropylene pipe ( pp ). fusion welding is typically used for sizes from ½ ″ up to 100 mm or 4 ″ piping diameter . heating of the components is typically achieved through conductive means via an electric heater that reaches temperatures in the regions of 500 ° f .± 10 ° ( or 260 ° c .). with the appropriate time , the surfaces of the fittings 20 , 40 and mating components 32 , 34 , 54 which come in direct contact with the heating tool will melt . the parts are then carefully removed from the heating tool and quickly pushed together thereby fusing the two parts together . although various embodiments have been described in detail for purposes of illustration , various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . | 1 |
apparatuses and methods disclosed herein relate to the assembly and installation of strings of large - diameter tubulars . while strings of conductor pipe are discussed in conjunction with the embodiments described below , it should be understood that various types ( and sizes ) of tubular items may be handled , assembled , and installed in accordance with the embodiments described below . referring initially to fig1 , a horizontal lifting apparatus 100 is shown schematically lifting a horizontally - stored joint of conductor pipe 102 . as shown , lifting apparatus 100 includes a pair of lifting rings 104 a and 104 b extending from a pair of lifting lines 106 a and 106 b to a single lifting point 108 . as shown , lifting lines 106 a , 106 b may be of equal length so that when rings 104 a , 104 b are positioned at equal distances from ends of conductor pipe 102 , vertical lifting at point 108 will result in a horizontal lift of joint of conductor pipe 102 . however , in certain circumstances , it may be advantageous to lift joint of conductor pipe 102 at an angle , so those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the relative positions of lifting rings 104 a , 104 b and lengths of lifting lines 106 a , 106 b may be varied to achieve the desired angle of joint of conductor pipe 102 as it is lifted . further , it should be understood that lifting rings 104 a , 104 b may be constructed as continuous circular ( or other ) profiles such that they are simply slid over the ends of conductor pipe 102 and moved into position . similarly , the internal profiles of lifting rings 104 a , 104 b may comprise friction elements to prevent conductor pipe 102 from sliding out of the grasp of rings 104 a , 104 b during lifting operations . as such , the inner profiles of lifting rings 104 a , 104 b may comprise rubber or hardened metal dies to prevent undesired movement of conductor pipe 102 relative thereto . furthermore , as shown in fig1 , when lines 106 a , 106 b are pulled at point 108 , lifting rings 104 a , 104 b may be tilted with respect to an axis 110 of the joint of conductor pipe 102 at an angle α . as such , lifting rings 104 a , 104 b may be constructed such that enough diametrical slack exists relative to the outer profile of joint of conductor pipe 102 that lifting rings 104 a , 104 b may “ bite ” into the conductor pipe 102 to more securely retain it . additionally , lifting rings 104 a , 104 b may be constructed as hinged and segmented rings such that they may be opened and closed laterally around the joint of conductor pipe 102 without needing to be slid over the ends . in particular , in cases where joints of conductor pipe 102 are laying directly on the floor of the rig or in the pipe rack , it may not be possible to slide rings 104 a , 104 b over the ends of layed pipe without lifting the conductor pipe 102 a sufficient amount to allow the thickness of lifting rings 104 a , 104 b thereunder . as such , segmented , openable , and closeable lifting rings 104 a , 104 b may allow the joint of conductor pipe 102 to be “ grabbed ” from above and lifted . furthermore , the mechanisms of lifting rings 104 a , 104 b may be such that the segments of each ring 104 a , 104 b are tended to be closed as tension from lines 106 a , 106 b increases . thus , for a joint of conductor pipe 102 laying on the floor , lifting rings 104 a and 104 b may be hingedly placed around the joint of pipe 102 , but may not be able to fully close with pipe 102 laying on the floor . as lines 106 a , 106 b are pulled from point 108 , rings 104 a , 104 b may be pulled fully closed as pipe 102 is lifted from the floor . finally , while lifting lines 106 a , 106 b and lifting point 108 are shown schematically , it should be understood that various lifting methods and apparatus , for example , but not limited to , lifting slings , chains , and other rigging may be used in place of the simple schematic view shown in fig1 . furthermore , depending on location and the resources available , the horizontal lifting of joint of conductor pipe 102 from a pipe rack or the rig floor and next to be run may be performed by an auxiliary crane , a separate lifting apparatus , or by the drilling rig &# 39 ; s draw works . after a “ to be added ” joint of conductor pipe 102 is disposed from its position in the pipe rack ( or other location on the rig ), it must be rotated to vertical before it may be assembled to the remainder of the string of conductor pipe 112 . referring now to fig2 and 3 , the rotation and assembly of joint of conductor pipe 102 to the remainder of a string of conductor pipe 112 is shown schematically . as depicted , the drilling rig includes a rig floor 114 and a spider 116 holding string of conductor pipe 112 in the well . a segmented elevator 118 grasps a first end of the joint of conductor pipe 102 to be added to string 112 , such that joint of conductor pipe 102 may be tilted from a non - vertical position , e . g ., the horizontal position in fig1 , or an intermediate position , e . g ., as shown in fig2 , and to a vertical ( fig3 ) position . as will be described below in further detail , elevator 118 includes slips to grip the outer profile of joint of conductor pipe 102 and lifting lugs to allow elevator 118 to be lifted from a horizontal position to a vertical position so that lower end 120 of joint of conductor pipe 102 may be connected ( e . g ., threaded , welded , etc .) to the upper end 122 of the string of conductor pipe 112 . referring now to fig4 the joint of conductor pipe 102 to be added is shown atop string of conductor pipe 112 where it may be connected in place at 124 . prior to completion of the welding , spider 116 supports the weight of pipe string 112 and elevator 118 supports the weight of joint of conductor pipe 102 . with joint 102 securely connected to ( and now integrally part of ) conductor pipe string 112 , the slips of spider 116 may be released so that the entire weight of the conductor pipe string 112 ( including add on joint 102 ) may be carried by elevator 118 . referring now to fig5 , conductor pipe string 112 may be engaged into the formation surrounding the wellbore ( e . g ., through driving , suction , jetting , etc .) from its full height ( fig4 ) to it &# 39 ; s new , lowered height such that upper end of joint 102 of conductor string 112 is adjacent and above rig floor 114 . in this new position , the slips of spider 116 may be re - engaged so that spider 116 again holds the entire weight of string of conductor pipe 112 . referring briefly now to fig6 , the slips of elevator 118 may be de - activated so that elevator 118 may be lifted , e . g ., by the rig &# 39 ; s draw works , and removed from upper end of added on joint 102 of conductor string 112 so that the process may be repeated with a new joint of conductor pipe to be added . referring now to fig7 , a more detailed view of the elevator 118 depicted in fig2 - 6 is shown . elevator 118 is shown constructed as a segmented ring comprising a first half 126 a , a second half 126 b , a hinge , 128 , and a latch 130 . latch 130 may be constructed as a pin , a hinge , or any other mechanism through which a connection between half 126 a and half 126 b may be coupled and de - coupled . while elevator 118 is shown segmented into two halves 126 a , 126 b , those having ordinary skill will appreciate that more than two segments may be used . furthermore , it should be understood that the segments of elevator 118 need not be equal in size or angle swept . for example , in one embodiment , segmented elevator 118 may comprise three segments , two segments having 150 ° swept angles , and a third ( e . g ., non - pivoting ) segment having an angle of 60 °. furthermore , when in the closed position ( shown ), the inner profile 132 of the halves 126 a , 126 b of the segmented ring is generally circular in shape and includes a plurality of slip assemblies 134 spaced at generally equal radial positions ( at a common axial location ) thereabout . as shown , each slip assembly 134 includes a die , e . g ., gripping surface , 136 configured to “ bite ” into contact with joints of conductor pipe ( e . g ., 102 ) and assembled conductor pipe string 112 . those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that slip assemblies 134 may be designed on inclined planes such that the grip diameter ( i . e ., the average inner diameter among the slip assemblies 134 ) of the slip assemblies 134 decreases as the slip assemblies are thrust downward . in one embodiment , a single timing ring including a first timing ring segment 135 a and a second timing ring segment 135 b axially actuates all slip assemblies 134 simultaneously so that the grip diameter of the elevator 118 is relatively consistent . the timing ring may be thrust hydraulically , pneumatically , mechanically , or through any type of actuator known to those having ordinary skill in the art . thus , as slip assemblies 134 ( and dies 136 ) are activated to engage the outer profile of conductor pipe string 112 , additional downward thrusting of the conductor string 112 ( e . g ., from the weight of the string 112 ) acts to increase the amount of “ bite ” dies 136 exhibit into conductor pipe string 112 . those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that slip assemblies 134 of elevator 118 may be activated and actuated using various methods and mechanisms available including , but not limited to , electrical activation . referring now to fig8 , elevator 118 is shown in an open position as it is lowered over a horizontally - laying joint of conductor pipe 102 . a lifting sling ( not shown ) or an alternative form of rigging may attach to elevator at lifting lugs 138 a and 138 b . such a lifting apparatus may include swivels or other devices so that elevator 118 may switch from vertical position ( e . g ., fig3 and 4 ) to horizontal position ( fig8 ) with relative ease . in certain embodiments , elevator 118 may be suspended directly from the hook ( e . g ., 60 of fig1 ) of a traveling block ( e . g ., 56 of fig1 ) of the rig &# 39 ; s draw works . as shown , elevator 118 is lowered about horizontal joint of conductor pipe 102 such that a back stop 140 of elevator abuts the top of joint of conductor pipe 102 . optionally , a pair of cylinders 144 a , 144 b may be used to open and close halves 126 a , 126 b of elevator 118 . similarly , referring briefly to fig8 a , a cylinder 146 may be used to open and close latch 130 between halves 126 b and 126 a . while hydraulic cylinders are depicted in fig8 and 8a as 144 a , 144 b , and 146 , it should be understood that pneumatic cylinders , mechanical ball screws , or any other type of powered actuator may be used . alternatively still , referring to fig8 b , a torsion spring 148 in conjunction with an upset portion 150 of latch 130 may be used to bias latch 130 in a closed or open direction . referring now to fig9 , the two halves 126 a , 126 b of elevator 118 may rotate about hinge 128 to the closed position and latch 130 may rotate about pin 142 to lockably engage half 126 b with half 126 a . because joint of conductor pipe 102 is non - vertical and elevated ( e . g ., with lifting apparatus 100 of fig1 ), two halves 126 a , 126 b of elevator 118 may rotate about hinge 128 to the closed position , e . g ., encircling the joint 102 . depicted latch 130 has sufficient clearance to reach around the bottom of joint of conductor pipe 102 and engage with half 126 a of segmented ring of elevator 118 . with latch 130 secured closed , elevator may be lifted up ( in direction z ) without concern that halves 126 a , 126 b will separate and release joint of conductor pipe 102 . as such , slips 134 may be activated to secure ( and center ) joint of conductor pipe 102 within the inner profile of elevator 118 . in alternative embodiments , latch 130 may function without pivot pin 142 and may have a lower profile . it should be understood that embodiments disclosed herein should not be limited to a particular latch mechanism . furthermore , it should be understood that latch mechanism ( e . g ., 130 ) may not be necessary at all , for example , powered actuators used to open and close halves 126 a , 126 b of elevator 118 may be used to keep halves 126 a , 126 b together when lifting joint of conductor pipe 102 . referring now to fig1 , a top - view schematic of elevator 118 is shown with slips 134 activated into the engaged position and securing joint of conductor pipe 102 within the inner profile of segmented ring elevator 118 . as such , elevator may be used to raise and lower the joint of conductor pipe 102 in the vertical position , the horizontal position , and all positions in - between . advantageously , embodiments disclosed herein allow an elevator to engage and lift a ( e . g ., horizontally laying ) joint of conductor pipe without requiring the elevator to be slid over a free end of the joint of conductor pipe . furthermore , embodiments disclosed herein depict a method by which joints of conductor pipe may be assembled and thrust into the wellbore without the need for welded and / or bolted lifting eyes to be installed and removed from each joint of conductor pipe . pursuant thereto , embodiments disclosed herein reduce likelihood that individual joints of conductor pipe may become damaged during assembly and installation processes . advantageously still , embodiments disclosed herein allow cylindrical joints of conductor pipe having no lifting features , e . g ., upsets on the outer diameter of the pipe ) to be lifted from a non - vertical position in a pipe rack or another rig location , grasped by a lifting elevator , rotated into a vertical position , and installed atop a string of conductor pipe . while the disclosure has been presented with respect to a limited number of embodiments , those skilled in the art , having benefit of this disclosure , will appreciate that other embodiments may be devised which do not depart from the scope of the present disclosure . accordingly , the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims . | 1 |
before explaining the present invention in detail , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings , since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways . also , it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation . referring now to the drawings , the invention will be described in greater detail . the first trailer 10 has a trailer bed 12 to which is attached at the front end 14 a tongue 16 for attachment to a tow vehicle , not shown . the trailer 10 has an axle assembly 18 pivotally mounted on the trailer bed 12 at 20 . the axle assembly 18 includes a pair of parallel side members 22 which define parallelograms . each side member 22 is pivotally supported at an upper angle of the parallelogram at the pivot 20 , and at the diagonally opposite lower angle an axle shaft 24 is mounted on which the wheels 26 are journaled for rotation . when in the first position shown in solid lines in fig1 one edge 28 of the parallelogram will be essentially parallel to and in supporting relationship with respect to the under side of the trailer bed 12 , and when pivoted to the second position shown in broken lines , the adjacent edge 30 will be in a position substantially parallel to and in supporting relationship to the under side of the trailer bed 12 . as can be seen best in fig1 when the axle assembly 18 is in its first position , the wheels 26 will be essentially midway between the front end 14 and the rear end 32 of the trailer bed 12 so that they will be in the most favorable position for supporting a load on the trailer bed , such as a pair of snowmobiles extending lengthwise thereon . when the axle assembly 18 is pivoted to the second position shown in broken lines , the wheels 26 will be adjacent to the rear end 32 of the trailer 10 so that when a second trailer is connected , back - to - back , thereto as shown in fig3 the axle assemblies 18 and 36 will be located so that their wheels 26 and 38 are closely adjacent to one another substantially midway of the length of the interconnected trailers 10 and 34 . when two such trailers 10 and 34 are connected back - to - back , a suitable coupler bracket assembly 40 will be used to secure the trailers together , as is shown in fig4 . to provide spring means or other suitable cushioning apparatus between the axle assembly 18 and the trailer bed 12 , suitable sockets 42 and 44 are provided at the edges 28 and 30 into which the spring means 46 can be inserted in accordance with the position of the axle assembly 18 . when the axle assembly is in the second position shown in fig5 the spring means 46 will be located in the sockets 44 , and when the axle assembly is in the first position shown in solid lines in fig2 the spring means 46 will be located in the sockets 42 . the spring means 46 comprises two coil springs 48 only one of which is shown , the coil springs 48 being interconnected by a transverse bar 50 , shown best in fig5 and 7 . when it is desired to pivot the axle assembly 18 to either its first or second positions , the spring means 46 can be removed from the socket 42 or 44 during the pivoting operation and can be inserted into the other socket which will be uppermost so as to provide the desired spring support between the axle assembly 18 and the trailer bed 12 . as shown in fig6 and 7 , a shock absorber 52 can also be pivotally mounted on each side member 22 and connected at the upper end at 54 to the transverse bar 50 if a shock absorber of this type is desired . in fig1 - 7 , inclusive , the side member 22 is a rigid parallelogram which can be in the form of a sheet metal plate or the like . as shown in fig8 and 9 , the side member 56 may be an articulate frame having four hingedly connected side members 58 , 60 , 62 and 64 . the articulate frame member 56 is pivotally connected at 20 to the trailer bed 12 and the axle assembly 64 is connected to the parallelogram at the diagonally opposite connection between the side members 58 and 60 . a compression spring means 66 extends between the hinged connections 68 and 70 urging the hinged connections 68 and 70 apart so that the articulate frame 56 can flex but will maintain essentially the position shown in fig8 . fig9 illustrates the addition of the shock absorber 72 which also may be connected between the hinged connections 68 and 70 . it will be recognized that the axle assemblies shown in fig8 and 9 are in their forward or first positions , and they can readily be pivoted to the rearward or second positions and the spring means 66 and the shock absorber 72 will continue to function in the same capacity in the second positions . from the foregoing descriptions , it will be readily apparent that an improved trailer has been provided which can be interconnected with a second trailer to double the load - carrying capacity of the interconnected unit . by virtue of the pivotal mounting of the axle assemblies to the trailer beds , the wheels can be located close together in positions substantially midway between the opposite ends of the interconnected unit so as to provide ease of handling and effective operation of the interconnected trailer unit . while the invention has been described with respect to trailers primarily used in connection with hauling snowmobiles , it is to be understood that it applies to any type of two - wheel trailer adapted to be hauled by a tow vehicle where the capacity of the trailer is to be increased . also , it is to be understood that when trailers 10 and 34 are connected , the tongue 74 of trailer 34 will be removed . | 1 |
reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . throughout the following detailed description , the same reference numerals refer to the same elements in all figures . referring to fig1 a , a side schematic view of a system of a first embodiment of the present invention will be described . often , to combat orthopedic problems , a doctor recommends or prescribes a remedy that includes placing pads or raised areas beneath affected areas of the foot . past solutions included prescription shoes with such raised areas integrated into the curvature of the inner sole of the shoe . unfortunately , such a solution requires the prescription to be replicated across all shoes the wearer owns . furthermore , once manufactured , it is difficult to make any fine adjustments . the solution of the present invention includes a platform 10 and one or more raised pads 30 that stick to the platform 10 and are easily adjusted by swapping with other raised pads 30 or by manually repositioning the raised pads along the x and y axis upon the platform 10 . in one embodiment , the raised pads 30 are held to the platform 10 by magnetic force , either having a magnet integrated into the bottom of the raised pads 30 and using a ferromagnetic material such as iron or steel for the platform 10 ; having a magnetic material integrated into the bottom of the raised pads 30 and using a ferromagnetic material for the platform 10 ; or using a magnetic material for both the bottom of the raised pads 30 and the platform 10 . in some embodiments , the magnet is a solid magnet . in other embodiments , the magnet is flexible , made from powdered iron as known in the industry . in some embodiments , the platform 10 is covered on the bottom by a plastic coating or plastic sheet to prevent tearing and wear on the shoe . in some embodiments , the platform 10 is coated with a sticky or tacky surface to reduce movement within the wearer &# 39 ; s shoe . in other embodiments , the surface of the platform 10 is textured to create surface friction , thereby reducing movement within the wearer &# 39 ; s shoe . in another embodiment , the surface of the platform 10 has parallel ridges that mate with similar parallel ridges on the bottom surface of the raised pads 30 , thereby reducing movement within the wearer &# 39 ; s shoe . in the preferred embodiment , the platform 10 is held within an anchor strap 16 of a holder that is worn like a sock around the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 . the holder includes a stretch strap or cloth elastic band 12 that is worn around the wearer &# 39 ; s foot between the toes and the ankle . in the preferred embodiment , one or more toe straps 14 connect between top forward edges of the strap 12 , pass between the wearer &# 39 ; s toes and connect to the bottom forward edges of the strap 12 . the toe straps 14 keep the holder from rotating around the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 and keep it from sliding back within the wearer &# 39 ; s shoe 20 while walking . the platform 10 slides into the holding strap 16 and is kept from moving forward by making notches 11 as shown in fig1 b and 2 . the platform 10 is sandwiched between the bottom of the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 and the sole 21 of the shoe 20 . being that the holding strap 12 secures the holder to the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 , the wearer can change between shoes , try on new shoes , etc . without needing additional devices . referring to fig1 b , a top schematic view of a system of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described . the platform 10 is held within an anchor strap 16 of a holder that is worn like a sock around the wearer &# 39 ; s foot . the holder includes a stretch strap 12 that is worn around the wearer &# 39 ; s foot at a location between the toes and the ankle . in the preferred embodiment , one or more toe straps 14 connect between top forward edges of the strap 12 , pass between the wearer &# 39 ; s toes and connect to the bottom forward edges of the strap 12 . the toe straps 14 keep the holder from rotating around the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 and keep it from sliding back within the wearer &# 39 ; s shoe 20 while walking . the platform 10 slides into the holding strap 16 and is kept from moving forward by making the holding strap 16 smaller than the larger width of the platform 10 at a notch or inflection point 11 . being that the holding strap 12 secures the holder to the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 , the wearer can change between shoes , try on new shoes , etc . without needing additional devices . one or more raised pads 30 are held to the platform 10 and are easily adjusted by swapping with other raised pads 30 or by manually repositioning the raised pads along the x and y axis upon the platform 10 . in one embodiment , the raised pads 30 are held to the platform 10 by magnetic force , either having a magnet integrated into the bottom of the raised pads 30 and using a ferromagnetic material for the platform 10 ; having a magnetic material integrated into the bottom of the raised pads 30 and using a ferromagnetic material for the platform 10 ; or using a magnetic material for both the bottom of the raised pads 30 and the platform 10 . referring to fig2 , a plan view of the platform 10 a of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described . in this embodiment , the platform 10 a is sized to accommodate both metatarsal pads and toe crest ( or buttress ) pads . the platform 10 a has a narrow area ( the area forward of the notch 11 ) that fits within the holding strap 16 ( see fig1 ) while the wider area ( the area rear of the notch 11 ) keeps the platform 10 a from pushing forward as the wearer walks . in some embodiments , a cut line 31 is provided to guide the user in cutting unneeded sections of the platform 10 a . if the user needs only a toe crest pad , the back area of the platform 10 a is cut along the cut line 31 and removed . referring to fig2 a , a plan view of the platform 100 of an alternate design of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described . in this embodiment , the platform 100 is sized to accommodate both metatarsal pads and toe crest ( or buttress ) pads . the platform 100 has a narrow area ( the area between the notches 11 ) that fits within the holding strap 16 which keeps the platform 100 from pushing forward , pushing rearward or twisting as the wearer walks . in some embodiments , a cut line 31 is provided to guide the user in cutting unneeded sections of the platform 100 . if the user needs only a toe crest pad , the back area of the platform 100 is cut along the cut line 31 and removed . referring to fig3 , a plan view of a platform 10 b of the second embodiment of the present invention will be described . in this embodiment , the platform 10 b is sized to accommodate only toe crest ( or buttress ) pads . the platform 10 b has a narrow area ( the area forward of the notch 11 ) that fits within the holding strap 16 ( see fig1 ) while the wider area ( the area rear of the notch 11 ) keeps the platform 10 b from pushing forward as the wearer walks . referring to fig4 , a plan view of the platform 10 c of the third embodiment of the present invention will be described . in this embodiment , the platform 10 c is sized to fit snuggly within a predetermined shoe such as a insole would fit . it is anticipated that several different sizes of the platform 10 c will be provided for different shoe sizes or a larger platform 10 c will be provided with cut lines provided to guide the user or doctor in trimming the platform 10 c to the desired shoe size . the platform 10 c is designed to accommodate any combination of metatarsal pads , toe crest ( or buttress ) pads and / or arch support pads . fig5 - 10 show different combinations of metatarsal pads 30 / 32 / 34 and toe crest ( or buttress ) pads 40 / 42 / 44 , each pad sized and shaped to remedy a particular bone problem of the user &# 39 ; s foot . it is anticipated that many different metatarsal pads and toe crest ( or buttress ) pads will be provided with varying degrees of height and contour and the orthopedic doctor will determine the right pad for the particular ailment . the platform 10 provides for the ability to uniquely and adjustably position the selected pad ( s ) at any location to remedy the unique ailment of the individual patients . for reference , the metatarsal bones and phalanges are numbered , the bones of the big toe 80 being numbered one ( 1 ) and the bones of the little toe 82 being numbered five ( 5 ). referring to fig5 and 6 , a top and side plan view of the first and second embodiments of the present invention will be described . the platform 10 is installed in the holding strap 16 and held to the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 by the elastic cloth band 12 ( shown in fig6 ). the toe straps 14 limit the amount of rotation and front / back movement of the elastic cloth band , thereby holding the platform 10 in a relatively stable position with respect to the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 . in the example shown in fig5 , a metatarsal pad 40 is in place on the platform 10 to compensate for a problem with the fourth metatarsal bone and a toe crest pad 30 is in place on the platform 10 to compensate for a problem with the second phalange bone . referring to fig7 and 8 , another top and side plan view of the first and second embodiments of the present invention will be described . as previously described , the platform 10 is installed in the holding strap 16 and held to the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 by the elastic cloth band 12 ( shown in fig8 ). the toe straps 14 limit the amount of rotation and front / back movement of the elastic cloth band , thereby holding the platform 10 in a relatively stable position with respect to the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 . in the example shown in fig7 and 8 , a metatarsal pad 42 is in place on the platform 10 to compensate for a problem with the third metatarsal bone and a toe crest pad 32 is in place on the platform 10 to compensate for a problem with the third phalange bone . referring to fig9 and 10 , another top and side plan view of the first and second embodiments of the present invention will be described . as previously described , the platform 10 is installed in the holding strap 16 and held to the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 by the elastic cloth band 12 ( shown in fig1 ). the toe straps 14 limit the amount of rotation and front / back movement of the elastic cloth band , thereby holding the platform 10 in a relatively stable position with respect to the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 . in the example shown in fig9 and 10 , a metatarsal pad 44 is in place on the platform 10 to compensate for a problem with the second metatarsal bone and a toe crest pad 34 is in place on the platform 10 to compensate for a problem with the fourth phalange bone . referring to fig1 , a side plan view of the second embodiment of the present invention will be described . in this example , the platform 10 is installed in the holding strap 16 and held to the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 by the elastic cloth band 12 and extends at least partially beneath the arch of the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 . the toe straps 14 limit the amount of rotation and front / back movement of the elastic cloth band 12 , thereby holding the platform 10 in a relatively stable position with respect to the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 . in the example shown , an arch support pad 50 is in place on the platform 10 to compensate for a problem with the wearer &# 39 ; s arches . referring to fig1 and 13 , a side and top plan view of the third embodiment of the present invention will be described . in this embodiment , the platform 10 covers a substantial area of the inner sole of the user &# 39 ; s shoe and is thereby held steady in relation to the shoe . since the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 is normally held steady within their shoe , this platform also holds the pads 30 / 40 / 50 in position with respect to the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 . in this example , a toe crest pad 30 is in place on the platform 10 for compensating for an abnormality of the second phalange bone ; a metatarsal pad 40 is in place on the platform 10 to compensate for a problem with the fourth metatarsal bone ; and an arch support pad 50 is in place on the platform 10 to compensate for a problem with the user &# 39 ; s arch . referring to fig1 , an isometric view of the first and second embodiments of the present invention will be described . the platform 10 is attached to the elastic cloth band 12 by means known in the industry including , but not limited to sewing and gluing welding . in some embodiments , the elastic cloth band 12 completely encircles the wearer &# 39 ; s foot while in other embodiments , the elastic cloth band 12 ends where it is affixed to the edges of the platform 10 . the toe straps 14 are affixed to the upper front edge of the elastic cloth band 12 by means known in the industry including , but not limited to sewing , gluing and welding . in embodiments where the elastic cloth band 12 completely encircles the wearer &# 39 ; s foot , the toe straps 14 are affixed to the lower front edge of the elastic cloth band 12 by means known in the industry including , but not limited to , sewing , gluing and welding . in embodiments where the elastic cloth band 12 the elastic cloth band 12 ends where it is affixed to the edges of the platform 10 , the toe straps 14 are affixed to the upper surface of the platform 10 by means known in the industry including , but not limited to sewing , gluing and welding . in this example , a toe crest pad 30 and a metatarsal pad 40 are shown installed upon the platform 10 . referring to fig1 , a plan view of the platform 200 of an alternate design of a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described . in this embodiment , the platform 200 is sized to accommodate both metatarsal pads and toe crest ( or buttress ) pads . the platform 200 has a narrow area ( the area between the notches 11 ) that fits within the holding strap 16 which keeps the platform 200 from pushing forward , pushing rearward or twisting as the wearer walks . in some embodiments , a cut line 31 is provided to guide the user in cutting unneeded sections of the platform 200 . if the user needs only a toe crest pad , the back area of the platform 200 is cut along the cut line 31 and removed . the platform 200 is substantially or partially covered with either hook or loop material , preferably loop material . this accommodates removable attachment of pads 330 ( see fig1 ) which have mating hook or loop material on their bottom surface . referring to fig1 , a plan view of a platform 200 b of the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described . in this embodiment , the platform 200 b is sized to accommodate only toe crest ( or buttress ) pads . the platform 200 b has a narrow area ( the area forward of the notch 11 ) that fits within the holding strap 16 ( see fig1 ) while the wider area ( the area rear of the notch 11 ) keeps the platform 200 b from pushing forward as the wearer walks . the platform 200 b is substantially or partially covered with either hook or loop material , preferably loop material . this accommodates removable attachment of pads 330 ( see fig1 ) which have mating hook or loop material on their bottom surface . referring to fig1 , a plan view of the platform 200 c of the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described . in this embodiment , the platform 200 c is sized to fit snuggly within a predetermined shoe such as a insole would fit . it is anticipated that several different sizes of the platform 200 c will be provided for different shoe sizes or a larger platform 200 c will be provided with cut lines provided to guide the user or doctor in trimming the platform 1200 c 0c to the desired shoe size . the platform 200 c is designed to accommodate any combination of metatarsal pads , toe crest ( or buttress ) pads and / or arch support pads . the platform 200 c is substantially or partially covered with either hook or loop material , preferably loop material . this accommodates removable attachment of pads 330 ( see fig1 ) which have mating hook or loop material on their bottom surface . referring to fig1 , a cut - away view of pad 330 of the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described . the toe pad 330 is similar to the previous toe pads 30 / 40 / 50 , except it is held in place with hook and loop material instead of magnetic force . it is preferred that the hook material 332 be on the bottom surface of the pad 330 and the loop material be on the platform 200 / 200 b / 200 c , but it is acceptable to have the loop material 332 be on the bottom surface of the pad 330 and the hook material be on the platform 200 / 200 b / 200 c . the hook and loop material covers any desired area of the bottom surface of the pad 330 and the top surface of the platform 200 / 200 b / 200 c . referring to fig1 , a side plan view of the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described . in this embodiment , the platform 10 is held to the elastic cloth band 12 by hook and loop material 7 / 9 ( e . g ., velcro ®). the bottom surface of the platform 10 has hook or loop material 9 affixed by means known in the industry such as adhesive , sewing , etc . the top surface of the elastic cloth band 12 has mating hook or loop material 7 affixed by means known in the industry such as adhesive , sewing , etc . the hook and loop material 7 / 9 holds the platform 10 to the elastic cloth band 12 . any amount of hook and loop material 7 / 9 is anticipated varying from covering a small area between the platform 10 and the elastic cloth band 12 to covering the entire area between the platform 10 and the elastic cloth band 12 . the elastic cloth band 12 holds the platform 10 in position beneath the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 222 . the toe straps 14 limit the amount of rotation and front / back movement of the elastic cloth band , thereby holding the platform 10 in a relatively stable position with respect to the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 . in the example shown in fig1 , a metatarsal pad 40 is in place on the platform 10 to compensate for a problem with a metatarsal bone and a toe crest pad 30 is in place on the platform 10 to compensate for a problem with a phalange bone . referring to fig2 , a side plan view of the sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described . in this example , the platform 10 is held to the elastic cloth band 12 by hook and loop material 7 / 9 ( e . g ., velcro ®). the bottom surface of the platform 10 has hook or loop material 9 affixed by means known in the industry such as adhesive , sewing , etc . the top surface of the elastic cloth band 12 has mating hook or loop material 7 affixed by means known in the industry such as adhesive , sewing , etc . the hook and loop material 7 / 9 holds the platform 10 to the elastic cloth band 12 . any amount of hook and loop material 7 / 9 is anticipated varying from covering a small area between the platform 10 and the elastic cloth band 12 to covering the entire area between the platform 10 and the elastic cloth band 12 . the platform 10 extends at least partially beneath the arch of the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 . the toe straps 14 limit the amount of rotation and front / back movement of the elastic cloth band 12 , thereby holding the platform 10 in a relatively stable position with respect to the wearer &# 39 ; s foot 22 . in the example shown , an arch support pad 50 is in place on the platform 10 to compensate for a problem with the wearer &# 39 ; s arches . referring to fig2 , a top perspective view of a seventh embodiment is shown . in this , the stretch strap or cloth elastic band 112 that is worn around the wearer &# 39 ; s foot at a location between the toes and the ankle is formed from a continuous sheet of material ( see fig2 - 25 ) that also forms the toe straps 14 ( e . g ., the toe straps are a continuation of the same material of the rest of the band 112 ). additional material 114 is folded and affixed to the body of the band 112 forming a pocket into which the platform 10 is inserted and held during use . the stretch strap or cloth elastic band 112 is assembled from a cut - out sheet ( see fig2 - 25 ) by affixing edges to other surface of the material as known in the industry including , but not limited to , stitching , adhesives , ultrasonic welding , etc . referring to fig2 , a bottom perspective view of the seventh embodiment is shown . in this view , the platform 10 is shown installed into the material 114 that forms a pocket . note , for comfort , in this preferred embodiment , the platform 10 curves upward between the ball of the foot 22 and the toes . in other embodiments , the platform 10 does not curve upward . referring to fig2 , a bottom plan view of the seventh embodiment is shown before assembly . in this view , the pocket 114 has been formed and the platform 10 is ready for insertion into the pocket 114 . referring to fig2 , a top plan view of the seventh embodiment is shown before assembly . in this view , the pocket 114 is only partially visible . referring to fig2 , a method of making the seventh embodiment is shown . the seventh embodiment is preferably fabricated from one cut - out sheet of material shaped similar to that shown in fig2 . the pocket wing 114 is folded ( as shown by arrows ) and affixed to the base of the material using stitches , adhesives or any other known method . likewise the left and right wings and front wing are bent as shown with arrow and edges of the left and right wings are affixed to corresponding edges of the front wing in the same or a different manner ( e . g . stitching ), forming the stretch strap or cloth elastic band 112 as shown in fig2 and fig2 . referring to fig2 , a perspective view of the seventh embodiment showing installation of a pad 40 onto the platform 10 is described . in this embodiment , the pad 40 has an adhesive backing 142 . in a preferred embodiment , though not required , the adhesive backing 142 is covered by a removable protective layer 140 that is removed before the pad 40 is affixed to the proper location of the platform 10 . it is preferred , though not required , that the adhesive backing 142 provide sufficient adhesion such that the pad 40 does not come loose or move laterally during wearing by the user , but the pad 40 is removable from the platform 10 for adjusting the position of the pad 40 on the platform 10 . in some embodiments , the adhesive backing 142 is such that the pad 40 is not removable from the platform 10 . the platform 10 is preferably made from a stiff material such as plastic or metal to provide proper support for the pad 40 and proper adhesion with the adhesive backing 142 . equivalent elements can be substituted for the ones set forth above such that they perform in substantially the same manner in substantially the same way for achieving substantially the same result . it is believed that the system and method of the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description . it is also believed that it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form , construction and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention or without sacrificing all of its material advantages . the form herein before described being merely exemplary and explanatory embodiment thereof . it is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes . | 0 |
reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the invention , an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings . referring now to fig1 to 4 , a wheel brake cylinder 2 is secured to a backing plate 1 , and brake shoes 3 , 3 &# 39 ; having rim surfaces faced with linings 4 , 4 &# 39 ; are slidingly attached to the backing plate 1 by means of pins 5 , 5 &# 39 ; and springs 6 , 6 &# 39 ; as known in the art . the brake shoes 3 , 3 &# 39 ; are coupled at their top ends to the wheel cylinder 2 , and abut an anchor block 9 at their lower ends under the action of a spring 8 . a strut 20 extends between the upper portions of the brake shoes 3 , 3 &# 39 ;, and return spring 7 is anchored at its opposite ends to the brake shoes 3 , 3 &# 39 ; for normally biasing the brake shoes against the ends of the strut 20 . in accordance with the invention , the strut 20 includes a shoe - supporting member 15 at one end and a nut member 18 at the other end interconnected by a bolt member 17 . the shoe - supporting member 15 and the nut member 18 have respective recess portions 15c , 18b , for receiving in a tight fit cut - out portions 3a &# 39 ; 3a of the brake shoes 3 &# 39 ;, 3 under the action of the spring 7 . a threaded portion 17c of the bolt member 17 is threaded into a threaded aperture 18a in the nut member 18 . the head portion 17a of the bolt member 17 is slidingly fitted in an aperture 15b of the shoe - supporting member 15 . a star wheel 17b is rigidly fixed on the bolt member 17 between the shoe - supporting member 15 and the nut - member 18 and is separated from the shoe - supporting member 15 by a washer 16 . as embodied herein , the bias of the spring 7 , pressing the brake shoes 3 , 3a against the nut member 18 and the shoe - supporting member 15 , respectively , normally provides a resistance against rotation by the star wheel 17b by the friction of the washer 16 against the star wheel . however , when the brake shoes are forced apart in the actuation of the main brake the shoe - supporting member 15 slides outwardly on the head 17a of the bolt member 17 removing the frictional action on the washer 16 and the star wheel 17b , permitting the star wheel to rotate freely in either direction , if not otherwise restrained . in accordance with the invention , an adjusting lever 13 is pivoted to the brake shoe 3 &# 39 ; by means of a pin 11 and has a star wheel - engaging portion 13a overlying the teeth of the star wheel 17b . the portion 13a of the adjusting lever either engages the teeth of the star wheel 17b by the edge of the portion 13a , or rides on the outer edges of the teeth by the width of the portion 13a depending on the position of the lever 13a with respect to the star wheel and the amount of movement of the lever . a return spring 19 interconnects the outer end 13b of the adjusting lever 12 with the brake shoe 13 &# 39 ; for constantly urging the star wheel - engaging portion 13a of the adjusting lever into the teeth of the star wheel . as embodied herein , an adjusting lever drive member in the form of a pin 21 has a portion 21c threaded into an aperture 15a in the shoe - supporting member 15 . the head 21a of the pin 21 slidingly fits in an arcuate slot 13c in the adjusting lever 13 . also rotatably supported on the brake shoe 3 &# 39 ; by the pin 11 is a parking lever 10 , actuated at the outer end 10a thereof by a parking brake member ( not shown ), to drive the outer end of the parking lever away from the brake shoe 3 &# 39 ; as shown by the arrow d . the adjusting lever 13 and the parking lever 10 are slightly spaced apart for independent action and are held on the pin 11 by the washer 12 . an edge portion 10b of the parking lever 10 engages a cut - out portion of the shoe - supporting member 15 with tolerance to allow the parking lever to move in the cut - out portion ( fig3 ). as a general result of this arrangement , the operation of the parking brake presses the edge 10b of the parking lever 10 into the cut - out portion of shoe - supporting member 15 urging the strut 20 to the left . the pin 21 carried by the member 15 engages the arcuate slot 13c in the adjusting lever 13 pivoting the lever around the pin 11 and tending to disengage the engaging portion 13a from the teeth of the star wheel 17b against the bias of the return spring 19 . when the parking brake is released , the force of the return spring 19 pivots the adjusting lever in the opposite direction to advance the star wheel 17b and lengthen the strut 20 . in accordance with the invention , means have been provided for preventing the reverse rotation of the star wheel when the parking lever is pivoted by the actuation of the parking brake . in one embodiment , as shown in fig3 and 4 , an elongated , resilient arm 14 is rigidly fixed to the shoe - supporting member 15 of the strut 20 by the adjusting lever driving pin 21 . the pin 21 is inserted through an aperture 14b in one end of the arm 14 and a shoulder 21b on the pin 21 interacts with a spring washer 22 to fasten the arm securely . the pin 21 may have a slot , for example , in the head portion 21a for applying a tightening force . the other end of the arm 14 interacts with the teeth of the star wheel 17b to form a ratchet for preventing the reverse movement of the star wheel . the star - wheel - reverse - rotation - preventive member 14 is located almost in alignment with the engaging portion 13a of the adjusting lever 13 but in opposite engagement with the star wheel 17b . furthermore , the reverse - rotation - preventive member 14 may be slightly urged against the teeth of the star wheel 17b by means of a spring ( not shown ), thereby insuring its positive engagement with one of the teeth of the star wheel 17b . in operation , if a foot brake ( not shown ) is operated , then both brake shoes 3 , 3 &# 39 ; are forced in opposite directions by means of a piston ( not shown ) mounted in the wheel cylinder 2 , so that linings 4 , 4 &# 39 ; contact the inner surface of a drum ( not shown ), thus decelerating a motor vehicle for the eventual stoppage . at this time , the shoe 3 &# 39 ; moves to the right carrying the pin 11 anchored thereon along with the upper ends of the adjusting lever 13 and the parking lever 10 . the lower end 13b of the adjusting lever 13 also moves to the right , under the action of the return spring 19 anchored in the shoe 3 &# 39 ;. since the arcuate slot 13c in the adjusting lever 13 moves to the right , the lever drive pin 21 engaged therein also moves to the right , carrying with it the shoe - supporting member 15 of the strut 20 . as a result , there is produced a gap between the shoe - supporting member 15 and the star wheel 17b , i . e ., between the washer 16 and the star wheel 17b . accordingly , the star wheel 17b is freed from the force being exerted on the brake shoes by the spring 7 , so that the wheel 17b may rotate with ease . at this time , if the parking brake ( not shown ) is operated , the lower end 10a of the parking lever 10 is pulled to the left , in the arrow direction d , whereupon the parking lever 10 is pivotally moved about the pin 11 , so that the cut - out portion 10b of the parking lever 10 abuts the shoe - supporting member 15 . as a result , the strut 20 will move to the left , so that the recessed portion 18b of the strut is urged against the cut - out portion 3a of the shoe 3 . in this case , if the force of the parking brake urging the shoe is higher than a hydraulic pressure produced due to the operation of a foot brake , then the brake shoe 3 is forced farther to the left . due to the interaction of the brake shoes 3 , 3 &# 39 ; and the block 9 , the brake shoe 3 &# 39 ; is also forced farther outwardly , i . e ., to the right , carrying the pin 11 , the adjusting lever 13 and the shoe - supporting member 15 of the strut 20 . the extent of the movements of the strut 20 and pin 11 is proportional to the extent of the movements of the brake shoes 3 , 3 &# 39 ;. for this reason , when the parking lever 10 is pivoted so as to move the strut 20 , the adjusting - lever - drive member 21 anchored to the shoe - supporting member 15 of the strut 20 rotates the adjusting lever 13 about the pin 11 , due to the interaction of the adjusting - lever - drive - member 21 and the arcuate slot 13c in the adjusting lever 13 . as long as a gap is maintained between the shoe - supporting member 15 and the star wheel 17b secured on the bolt member , and the star wheel is free to move , the engaging portion 13a of the adjusting lever 13 , when pivoted clockwise , as seen in fig1 and 2 , tends to rotate the star wheel in the direction opposite to lengthening the strut 20 . however , such rotation of the star wheel 17b is prevented by means of the reverse - rotation - preventive member 14 , secured to the shoe - supporting member 15 by means of the drive member 21 , so that the engaging portion 13a of the adjusting lever 13 will only slide on the surface of the star wheel . counterclockwise movements of the engaging portion 13a will , however , advance the star wheel 17b . if the parking brake is released under the aforesaid condition , the adjusting lever 13 , the parking lever 10 , strut 20 and brake shoes 3 , 3 &# 39 ; are returned simultaneously to their home positions under the actions of the return springs 7 and 19 , so that the engaging portion 13a of the adjusting lever 13 rotates the star wheel 17b so as to extend the strut 20 and adjust the clearance between the brake shoe and the drum . although the force of the star - wheel - reverse - rotation - preventive member 14 being urged against the star wheel 17b results in an increase in the rotational resistance of the star wheel 17b , such resistance may be neutralized by increasing a preset load of the return spring 19 . on the other hand , even if the tension of the return spring is not sufficient to return the adjusting lever 13 to its home position , when the rotational resistance of the star wheel 17b is at its maximum , upon the subsequent operation of a foot brake , the adjusting lever 13 may be rotated with ease under the tension of the return spring 19 , so that the clearance between the brake shoe and the drum may be positively adjusted . fig5 and 6 show another embodiment of the present invention . according to this embodiment , the return spring 7 , which extends substantially in parallel with the strut 20 , engages the teeth of the star wheel 17b , exerting a force in the radially inward direction of the wheel 17b . as a result , the star wheel 17b may be prevented from reverse rotation , with the achievement of a desired adjustment of the clearance between the brake shoe and the drum . as is apparent from the foregoing description of the device for adjusting the clearance between the shoe and the drum according to the present invention , even in case a driver of a motor vehicle uses a foot brake and a parking brake at the same time , the clearance between the brake shoe and brake drum may be automatically adjusted . thus , as brake lining wear occurs during the use of the brake , with a resulting increase in the clearance between the brake shoe and the drum , desired functions of the brake may be satisfactorily retained by maintaining the brake shoe - brake - drum clearance to a optimum value at all times . particularly , the embodiment , which utilizes the return spring as a reverse - rotation - preventive - member , provides a simple construction and hence is less expensive . furthermore , both of the embodiments allow manual adjustment of the clearance of the brake shoes and brake drum without dismantling the drum , by making access to the interior of the brake drum for a screw driver or a special tool through the backing plate . while the present invention has been described by referring to a so - called leading - trailing - type brake , in which a parking brake is used for adjusting the clearance between the brake shoe and the drum , as far as the prevention of the reverse rotation of the star wheel by means of a reverse - rotation - preventive - member is utilized , devices for adjusting the clearance between the shoe and the drum fall within the scope of the present invention , irrespective of the methods for operating the adjusting lever . | 5 |
previous bicycle trainers provide some features to enhance the training they achieve . there is still room for improvement , however , in bicycle training devices . for example , previous approaches did not allow for the simulation of decline hill training and body positioning without the need for additional components to raise the bicycle off the ground . the presently - disclosed systems and methods provide for the simulation of hill training addressing resistance , incline , decline , and body positioning . embodiments disclosed herein allow a rider to simulate the biomechanical orientation characteristic of incline and decline outdoor hill cycling using a bicycle trainer while maintaining a fixed pedal position in relation to the bicycle frame . the bicycle trainer allows for automatic or manual incline and decline adjustment . embodiments described herein can also allow for seated or standing training , incorporate extreme degrees of inclination and declination , allow for the cyclist to use their personal bicycles , and can be portable and require minimal effort to install , assemble , and use . systems and methods disclosed herein achieve these benefits by raising or lowering the front of a bicycle using a rod &# 39 ; s movement in a direction that does not match the directional movement of the front of the bicycle . accordingly , no additional components are required to achieve the desired downhill positioning and the mechanisms to achieve this positioning do not interfere with the front of the bicycle . the following non - limiting and exemplary embodiments are provided . one embodiment of the systems and methods disclosed herein is depicted in fig1 a with the corresponding kinematic structure is shown in fig1 b . in this embodiment , link 1 is the ground ( k ), link 2 is the bicycle frame ( he ), link 3 is the connecting rod ( el ), and link 4 is the slider ( m ). this embodiment has one degree of freedom . the orientation of the bicycle frame ( he ) can be manipulated by applying a horizontal force to the slider ( m ). such a force will cause the connecting rod ( el ) to move and thus effect a change in the orientation of the bicycle frame ( he ). particularly , movement of the slider ( m ) towards the back of the bicycle lowers the front of the bicycle . movement of the slider ( m ) towards the front of the bicycle raises the front of the bicycle . this movement is achieved because slider ( m ) is connected to sufficiently rigid connecting rod ( el ). as can be seen , in this embodiment , no additional components are required to elevate the bicycle to achieve this downhill position and the mechanism to achieve it does not unduly limit the downhill angle that can be achieved . this embodiment can be referred to as an r - r - r - p implementation . another embodiment , referred to as an r - r - r - r mechanism , is shown in fig2 a ( schematic ) and 2 b ( kinematic ). fig2 depicts a ‘ four - bar ’ ( four link ) mechanism . in this embodiment , the ground is link 1 , the bicycle frame ( he ) is link 2 , the coupler ( en ) is link 3 , and the crank ( o ) is link 4 . this mechanism also has one degree of freedom . one approach to manipulating the orientation of the bicycle frame is to control the angle of the crank ( o ). for example , a torque applied to the crank ( o ) will cause a change in the orientation of the bicycle frame ( he ). in particular exemplary embodiments adjusting the crank ( o ) towards the front of the bicycle brings coupler ( en ) forward raising the front of the bicycle , while adjusting the crank ( o ) towards the back of the bicycle brings coupler ( en ) backwards , lowering the front of the bicycle . again , in this embodiment , no additional components are required to elevate the bicycle to achieve this downhill position and the mechanism to achieve it does not unduly limit the downhill angle that can be achieved . yet another embodiment , referred to herein as the r - r - p - r mechanism , is shown in fig3 a ( schematic ) and 3 b ( kinematic ). in this embodiment , link 1 is the ground ( k ), link 2 is the bicycle frame ( he ), link 3 is the slider ( j ), and the rod ( q ) is link 4 . this embodiment has one degree of freedom . the manipulation of the bicycle frame ( he ) can be accomplished by applying a torque to the rod ( q ) about the pivot ( s ). such a torque will cause the rotation of the rod ( q ) and as a result the orientation of the bicycle frame ( he ) must change so as to satisfy the loop closure condition . while the previous exemplary embodiments require no additional components to elevate the bicycle to achieve the described downhill positions and the mechanisms to achieve these positions do not unduly limit the downhill angle that can be achieved , it should be understood that the embodiments described above can also be used in combination with previously - used approaches . an example is depicted in fig4 a - 4e . in this example , the entire hill training apparatus rests on the ground ( k ). the figure shows the bicycle in the level position ( i . e ., neither up hill nor down hill ). in this schematic the bicycle &# 39 ; s front wheel ( c ) is removed , and hence is represented by the dashed circle . the bicycle &# 39 ; s front fork ( e ) is attached to an apparatus ( f ) via slider ( j ). the apparatus ( f ) is used to raise and lower the front fork ( e ) of the bicycle so as to simulate cycling up or down a hill . fig4 b shows the bicycle trainer of fig4 a in the downhill position . to obtain this configuration the apparatus ( f ) translates downwards , ( i . e . in the − y direction ) and the slider ( j ) translates backwards , ( i . e . in the − x direction ). fig4 c shows the bicycle trainer of fig4 a in an uphill position . to obtain this configuration the apparatus ( f ) translates upwards , ( i . e . in the + y direction ) and the slider ( j ) translates backwards , ( i . e . in the − x direction ). the +/− y direction motion generated by the apparatus ( f ) can be realized using previously - known devices including , without limitation : telescoping hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders ; direct drive linear translation motors ; a rack and pinion system driven by a rotational motor ; or a scotch yoke mechanism . as described above , the apparatus ( f ), in conjunction with the slider ( j ), allows the bicycle frame to rotate about the hub ( h ). while this embodiment allows for inclination and declination of the bicycle to simulate the biomechanical orientation characteristic of outdoor hill cycling using a bicycle trainer , the kinematic behavior can be realized more effectively using the alternate kinematic structures above in fig1 - 3 . fig4 a - 4e describe additional features that can also be used with the embodiments disclosed in fig1 - 3 . for example , fig4 a depicts a rear mounting apparatus ( a ) attached to the rear wheel of the cyclist &# 39 ; s bicycle ( b ). a computer control panel ( i ) is connected to the rear mounting apparatus ( a ) and to the apparatus ( f ). notwithstanding fig4 , in certain embodiments , the computer control panel ( i ) can be mounted on the bicycle handle bar . in some embodiments , the rear mounting apparatus ( a ) can attach to the hub ( h ) of the cyclist &# 39 ; s bicycle . embodiments disclosed herein can also be modified so that the rear wheel ( b ) and / or the hub ( h ) is raised and lowered by apparatus ( f ) or according to the embodiments depicted in fig1 - 3 above rather than the front wheel ( c ). those of ordinary skill in the art understand these modifications and they are not discussed in detail herein . as the cyclist pedals the back wheel ( b ) rotates about the hub ( h ). the rear mounting apparatus ( a ) can provide several functions including , without limitation : ensuring that the hub ( h ) does not translate in the horizontal direction ( x ), or the vertical direction ( y ), relative to the ground ( k ); measuring the angular velocity of the back wheel , which can be used to determine the effective translational speed of the cyclist ; measuring the cadence of the cyclist ; and providing resistance to the back wheel ( b ) and / or hub ( h ). the computer control panel ( i ) can be used to perform various tasks , including , without limitation : sensing and recording the angular velocity of the back wheel ( b ); sensing and recording the cadence of the cyclist ; computing the effective translational velocity of the cyclist ; sensing and recording the height of apparatus ( f ); and regulating the height of apparatus ( f ) so as to put the cyclist in an uphill , level , or downhill orientation . in addition , using the effective translational velocity of the cyclist , the computer control panel can be used to determine the instantaneous height of the apparatus ( f ) so as to simulate cycling on a specific hill . to begin a kinematic analysis for a hill training apparatus as described herein , note that in all orientations of the bicycle the hub ( h ) does not translate significantly or at all . that is , the hub ( h ) does not substantially move in the horizontal or vertical direction relative to the ground ( k ). hence , the hub ( h ) can be treated as a stationary point ( affixed to the ground ( k )). moreover , the bicycle frame is assumed to be sufficiently rigid , thus the distance between the hub ( h ) and the fork ( e ) is functionally constant in all orientations of the bicycle in the hill training apparatus . embodiments disclosed herein can be modified , however , such that the hub ( h ) translates to move vertically and / or horizontally relative to the ground ( k ). in such modified embodiments , the front fork ( e ) would not substantially translate and would therefore be treated as a stationary point . fig4 e is a kinematic representation of a hill training apparatus under the assumptions stated above . this is a four link mechanism that forms a closed kinematic chain . the links that make up the mechanism are as follows . link 1 is the ground ( k ), link 2 is the bicycle frame , represented by he , link 3 is the slider ( j ), and link 4 is the apparatus ( f ). based on this diagram , one of ordinary skill in the art will note that links 1 and 2 are connected via a revolute ( or turning ) pair ( r ). see fabien , b . c ., analytical system dynamics : modeling and simulation , springer , 2009 : 64 - 73 ). this is because link 2 ( the bicycle frame ( he )) can rotate relative to the link 1 ( the ground ( k )) about the hub ( h ). links 2 and 3 are connected by a revolute pair ( r ). this is because link 2 ( the bicycle frame ( he )) can rotate relative to the slider ( j ) about the front fork ( e ). links 3 and 4 are connected by a prismatic ( or sliding ) pair ( p ). this is because link 3 ( the slider ( j )) can only translate in the horizontal direction relative to link 4 ( apparatus ( f )). finally , links 4 and 1 are connected by a prismatic pair ( p ). this is because link 4 ( apparatus ( f )) can only translate in the vertical direction relative to the ground ( k ). thus , in this realization the hill training apparatus is called an r - r - p - p mechanism . the mobility of this mechanism can be established using gruebler &# 39 ; s equation ([ 1 ], pp . 70 ). specifically , the number of degrees of freedom ( dof ) for this mechanism is given by where λ = 3 for motion in a plane , i is the number of links in the mechanism , j is the number of joints in the mechanism , and fi is the number of degrees of freedom allowed at the i - th joint . therefore , the r - r - p - p mechanism shown in fig4 d and 4e have that is , the mechanism has one degree of freedom . by regulating any one of the degrees of freedom at the joints the bicycle frame ( he ) can be placed in an arbitrary orientation . for example , the height of the apparatus ( f ) can be controlled to manipulate the orientation of the bicycle frame ( he ). if apparatus ( f ) is a hydraulic cylinder , applying a force via the cylinder will cause the front fork ( e ) to be raised ( or lowered ). unless otherwise indicated , all numbers expressing numerical values and so forth used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “ about .” accordingly , unless indicated to the contrary , the numerical parameters set forth in the specification and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the present invention . at the very least , and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims , each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques . notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the invention are approximations , the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible . any numerical value , however , inherently contains certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements . the terms “ a ,” “ an ,” “ the ” and similar referents used in the context of describing the invention ( especially in the context of the following claims ) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural , unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context . recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range . unless otherwise indicated herein , each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein . all methods disclosed herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context . the use of any and all examples , or exemplary language ( e . g ., “ such as ”) provided herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed . no language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non - claimed element essential to the practice of the invention . groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations . each group member may be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein . it is anticipated that one or more members of a group may be included in , or deleted from , a group for reasons of convenience and / or patentability . when any such inclusion or deletion occurs , the specification is deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all markush groups used in the appended claims . certain embodiments of this invention are disclosed herein , including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention . of course , variations on these described embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description . the inventor expects skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate , and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than specifically disclosed herein . accordingly , this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law . moreover , any combination of the above - described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context . specific embodiments disclosed herein may be further limited in the claims using consisting of or and consisting essentially of language . when used in the claims , whether as filed or added per amendment , the transition term “ consisting of ” excludes any element , step , or ingredient not specified in the claims . the transition term “ consisting essentially of ” limits the scope of a claim to the specified materials or steps and those that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristic ( s ). embodiments of the invention so claimed are inherently or expressly described and enabled herein . in closing , it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are illustrative of the principles of the present invention . other modifications that may be employed are within the scope of the invention . thus , by way of example , but not of limitation , alternative configurations of the present invention may be utilized in accordance with the teachings herein . accordingly , the present invention is not limited to that precisely as shown and described . | 0 |
fig1 shows an exemplary network system 100 that supports pon , such as poe , and provides network connectivity to end - user devices 116 - 126 ( e . g ., voice over ip telephones , computers , etc . ), one or more element management systems ( emss ) 112 and 114 , and a network management system ( nms ) 110 via a network 104 and local area networks ( lans ) 106 and 108 . lans 106 and 108 may be connected to network 104 via links 134 and 136 , respectively ; emss 112 and 114 may be connected to lans 106 and 108 via links 130 and 132 , respectively ; and nms 110 may be connected to network 104 via link 128 . pon may be implemented by providing power insertion units such as ppps in lans 106 and 108 , for example . in a building installation , ppps may be disposed in racks such as 19 ″ racks together with other lan equipment such as switches , hubs , patch panels , etc . the racks may be placed in an equipment closet where an external network feed enters a building , and lan switches may be connected to the network feed via a network switch , for example . fig2 shows an exemplary equipment closet 206 of a building floor plan 200 of building 202 for floor area 204 . in this example , lan 106 serves floor 2 of building 202 and lan 108 serves floor 3 which includes work areas 210 - 214 . lan 108 may be connected to network 104 via a network switch 208 that may provide connections to network 104 for all lans of building 202 . lan 108 may be coupled to end - user devices 122 - 126 by horizontal cabling 216 via wall jacks 218 - 222 and may deliver power to end - user devices 122 - 126 through jacks 218 - 222 . lans may have many configurations such as an ethernet star configuration , for example , that includes an ethernet switch ( switch ) that permits communication between end - user devices and / or other networks . in the star configuration , end - user devices may be connected to the switch in a cross - connect configuration or an interconnect configuration . fig3 a shows a first conventional lan cross - connect configuration that uses two conventional patch panels . as shown in fig3 a , using lan 106 as an example , all ports of a switch 230 are connected to a conventional patch panel 232 via cables connected from switch ports on switch 230 to punch - down blocks on the back side of conventional patch panel 232 . end - user devices 116 - 120 may be directly or indirectly connected to the patch panel 234 via horizontal cabling and punch - down blocks ( not shown ) on the rear face of patch panel 234 . connections between patch panel 232 and patch panel 234 may be easily established and / or modified by changing patch cord connections between the front face ports of patch panel 232 and the front face ports of patch panel 234 . such a cross - connect configuration optimizes the ease and flexibility with which connections between the horizontal cable plant may be established , rerouted , or removed . fig3 b shows a second conventional lan cross - connect configuration that uses a power hub and a conventional patch panel . as shown in fig3 b , using lan 106 as an example , all ports of a switch 230 are connected to a conventional power hub 233 via cables connected from switch ports on switch 230 to a top row of ports on power hub 233 . end - user devices 116 - 120 may be directly or indirectly connected to a conventional patch panel 234 via horizontal cabling and punch - down blocks ( not shown ) on the rear face of patch panel 234 . connections between power hub 233 and patch panel 234 may be easily established and / or modified by changing patch cord connections between the lower front face ports of power hub 233 and the front face ports of patch panel 234 . as addressed above with respect to fig3 a , such a cross - connect configuration optimizes the ease and flexibility with which connections between the horizontal cable plant may be established , rerouted or removed . by including power hub 233 , the cross - connect configuration depicted in fig3 b is able to insert pon power over the respective horizontal cable network connections . however , because both the input ports and the output ports are on the front face of the power hub , the power hub requires twice the vertical space requirements in a standard equipment rack than a conventional patch panel . therefore , the space requirements of a large network that uses power hubs in a cross - connect configuration are significantly greater than the space requirements of a patch panel - based cross - connect configuration . the majority of deployed , large scale network infrastructure layouts were designed prior to the widespread acceptance of pon . therefore , the majority of deployed cross - connect configurations and the equipment rooms which accommodate those configurations were based upon equipment rack counts and internal equipment rack layouts based upon the use of a cross - connect configuration that uses standard equipment racks and single - height conventional patch panels , as shown in fig3 a . theoretically , a network administrator should be able to introduce pon service to a network by replacing a conventional patch panel ( e . g ., patch panel 232 ) as shown in the configuration shown in fig3 a with a power hub ( e . g ., power hub 233 ) to obtain the configuration shown in fig3 b . however , the increased vertical height requirements of the power hubs typically prevent implementation of such a simple approach . due to the increased vertical rack space requirements of a power hub , insertion of pon within a deployed cross - connect - based network infrastructure using power hubs can result in significant added expenses by requiring : 1 . changes to internal rack configurations and cable configurations ; 2 . equipment racks to be added to equipment rooms ; 3 . expansion of equipment rooms to accommodate an increased number of equipment racks ; 4 . rearrangement of existing cabling and cable tray configurations to accommodate changes in equipment rack layouts . the ppp supports insertion of pon service without increasing , or otherwise adversely impacting , equipment rack space requirements as the ppp may have substantially the same dimensions as a conventional patch panel . therefore , the ppp allows a new equipment room that uses ppps for pon insertion to be designed with a reduced number of equipment racks and reduced overall floor space requirements over a new equipment room design that uses power hubs for pon insertion . further , the ppp allows pon service to be seamlessly inserted within any deployed network that uses conventional patch panels without affecting existing equipment rack or cable configurations , thereby greatly reducing the total cost of inserting pon into an existing network , and allowing pon service to be inserted within existing networks for which similar pon insertion using power hubs would have been cost prohibitive . fig4 a shows an exemplary ppp - based lan cross - connect configuration that supports pon service . as shown in fig4 a , using lan 108 as an example , all ports of a switch 230 are connected to a conventional patch panel 232 via cables connected from switch ports on switch 230 to punch - down blocks on the back side of conventional patch panel 232 . end - user devices 122 - 126 may be directly or indirectly connected to a ppp 242 via horizontal cabling and punch - down blocks ( not shown ) on the rear face of ppp 242 . connections between patch panel 232 and ppp 242 may be easily established and / or modified by changing patch cord connections between the front face ports of patch panel 232 and the front face ports of ppp 242 . please note that the position of patch panel 232 and ppp 242 could be interchanged , without affecting the capabilities of the lan cross - connect configuration shown in fig4 a . further , additional patch panels may be inserted between either of the configurations described above and the building horizontal cabling . fig4 b shows an exemplary ppp - based lan interconnect configuration that supports pon service . as shown in fig4 b , using lan 108 as an example , end - user devices 122 - 126 may be directly or indirectly connected to a ppp 242 via horizontal cabling and punch - down blocks ( not shown ) on the rear face of ppp 242 . connections between switch 230 and ppp 242 may be easily established and / or modified by changing patch cord connections between the front face ports of switch 230 and the front face ports of ppp 242 . in an interconnect configuration , as shown in fig4 b , technicians responsible for establishing and / or removing and / or changing connections between end - users ( via the horizontal cabling plant ) and the switch require access to switch 230 . therefore , such a configuration is considered less secure than the equivalent cross - connect configurations shown in fig4 a and 4b . such an interconnect configuration is typically installed in networks in which securing configuration and security control over switch 230 is not required . as demonstrated above , the ppp is capable of inserting pon service into a new or existing lan by simply being substituted for and replacing a conventional patch panel . as such , the ppp is capable of supporting both cross - connect configurations ( as shown in fig4 a ) and interconnect configurations ( as shown in fig4 b ). building horizontal cable plants typically terminate at one or more equipment room patch panels that serve as horizontal cabling demarcation points . such demarcation patch panels provide a clean physical termination of the horizontal cable plant cables . in addition , a patch panel - based demarcation point allows the respective network cables within the horizontal cable plant to be easily tested for tia category 5e and 6 compliance and certified as compliant prior to hand - off of responsibility for the horizontal cable plant from , for example , a cable installer to , for example , the network engineers responsible for connecting equipment to the horizontal cable plant . under current industry practices , the rear punch - down blocks of a patch panel are considered to be a sufficiently reliable and stable termination point for a horizontal network cable . however , under current industry standards , rj - 45 jacks on the front face of a hub are not considered a sufficiently reliable and stable termination point for a horizontal network cable . accordingly , although the ppp is capable of supporting both cross - connect configurations and interconnect configurations , a power hub is only capable of supporting a cross - connect configuration . further , use of ppp 242 in a cross - connect configuration ( e . g ., by replacing patch panel 232 or patch panel 234 in fig3 a ) allows poe service to be introduced to an existing cross - connect configuration without adversely impacting equipment rack and existing cable plant / facility layouts . use of ppp 242 in a cross - connect configuration ( e . g ., by replacing power hub 233 in fig3 b ) allows poe service to be maintained and results in a rack space savings for each power hub replaced with a ppp . use of ppp 242 in an interconnect configuration ( as shown in fig4 b ) to replace an existing or planned cross - connect configuration results in an overall space savings of nearly 50 % over an equivalent cross - connect configuration . this savings may be significant to rack space management when upgrading non - powered networks to poe networks . additionally , the interconnect configuration eliminates the need for patch cords between a power hub and a conventional patch panel , thereby reducing the number of cables required , reducing cable congestion within lan equipment rooms , and reducing the likelihood of cable - related network connection faults . the power hub , on the other hand , as addressed above , cannot be substituted within an existing cross - connect configuration without adversely affecting existing facility equipment rack space requirements and in some cases may adversely affect equipment room equipment rack counts , facility layouts , and cable plant layouts . further , for reasons addressed above , a power hub is not capable of supporting an interconnect configuration and , therefore , does not allow facilities to capitalize upon the space savings that can be achieved by using an interconnect configuration in those facilities for which an interconnect configuration is acceptable . in summary , regardless of whether an existing equipment room is configured in a cross - connect or interconnect configuration , poe may be inserted using a ppp - based approach without impacting equipment room space requirements . the ppp approach may avoid significant infrastructure planning and / or infrastructure upgrades that may be associated with a power hub - based approach . an exemplary nms is described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 209 , 817 , filed on aug . 24 , 2005 and entitled “ systems and methods for network management ,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety including all references cited therein . an ems may be an nms that is tailored to provide at least a subset of nms features , but may include all the features of an nms . the ems may be configured to meet the needs of a specific set of intelligent network devices . the nms / ems such as nms 110 and emss 112 - 114 ( fig1 ) may maintain a database of device information that may be retrieved from intelligent network devices ( e . g ., ppps ) through network system 100 . the nms / ems may further maintain within its database logical and physical topology information that describes the connectivity of devices within network system 100 . physical topology information may include unique identifiers for each network device , physical locations of network devices such as building / floor / room number identifier , rack identification , position in the identified rack , horizontal cabling work area identification , and position relative to equipment racks , ppps , ppp ports , ppp power sources , etc . logical topology information may include network device connectivity such as ppp identification , ppp port number , jack identification , horizontal cable and work area jack identification , power source identification , etc . the database may also contain key cable performance measurements . the ppp may serve as the primary repository of physical location information relative to the location of the ppp and the location of work areas supported by each of the ports within the ppp . for example , at the time of installation , a ppp may be configured with logical and physical location information ( e . g ., building , floor , room , gps coordinates , ip address , ip mask , default ip gateway , etc .). the ppp may provide such information to the nms / ems , thus assuring that the logical and physical location information stored within the nms / ems is consistent with the actual network status . further , at the time that each ppp port is wired via a punch - down block to an incoming cable , the location served by that cable may be entered into the ppp . for example , if the ppp is configured as a horizontal cabling demarcation patch panel , information such as the work area supported by the cable ( e . g ., building / floor / work area / wall jack , etc .) may be entered into the ppp and stored in a non - volatile memory . if the ppp is configured as a switch patch panel interface , information relating to the switch port supported by the cable ( e . g ., building / floor / equipment room / switched / port , etc .) may be entered and stored in the ppp . such location information may be stored in a data structure specified by a definition interface file ( dif ). in simple network management protocol ( snmp ), a dif corresponds to a management information base ( mib ). when the nms / ems requests information stored within a ppp &# 39 ; s dif data structure , the ppp may respond to the request by transmitting data stored within the data structure to the nms / ems , which may store the data within corresponding data structures in the nms / ems . for example , the nms / ems may have a dif with data structures that include data structures that are identical to data structures defined by the ppp dif so that information in a ppp &# 39 ; s data structure may be retrieved and stored within a corresponding data structure within the nms / ems . further , the nms / ems may send ppp control parameters to control the ppp . the control parameters may be stored according to a dif common to the ppp and the nms / ems so that efficient data transfer may be achieved . each network device may have a unique dif . thus , the nms / ems stores all the unique difs within the network system 100 or within the subnet that it is configured to control and / or monitor . fig5 - 8 show exemplary configurations of a ppp 400 . fig5 shows an exemplary ppp front panel 402 that may include a system status led 410 , a plurality of ports 404 , a plurality of port status leds 406 where each led 406 corresponds to one port 404 , a plurality of port labels 408 , which may be tia - 606 - a compliant , and two rack mounting brackets 412 for mounting onto a rack , for example . fig6 shows a rear view of an exemplary ppp back panel 420 that may include two power input ports 422 and 424 , a network management input port 426 , a network management output port 428 , two status leds 430 and 432 that correspond to the network management input and output ports 426 and 428 , respectively , a plurality of punch - down blocks 434 that are grouped into eight groups of three punch - down blocks 434 per group , and a pair of plates 436 and 438 that extend from side panels of ppp 400 . plates 436 and 438 protect punch - down blocks 434 from physical damage . for example , plates 436 and 438 allow ppp 400 to be rested rear face down on a flat surface without damaging punch - down blocks 434 . as shown in fig7 , punch - down blocks 434 provide wire connections to ppp 400 for cables such as the horizontal cabling 216 . damage to punch - down blocks 434 may render a ppp unusable . thus , plates 436 and 438 reduce the risk of losing ppp 400 due to damage to punch - down block 434 . each of plates 436 and 438 may include a hole that may serve as a grounding point 440 . as shown in fig8 , ppp 400 may be securely grounded to a rack by connecting a ground strap 442 between the grounding point 440 and a point on the rack . fig9 shows an example of three ppps 500 a , 500 b , and 500 c and a power supply 602 mounted onto a rack 600 . power supply 602 may be a single power supply or may be a combination of multiple power supplies . for example , if power supply 602 includes two power supplies , then each of the power supplies may be independently connected to each of the ppps 500 a - 500 c in a redundant power supply configuration to provide fault tolerance . power supply 602 may include power output ports 604 a , 604 b , and 604 c , and , optionally , power output ports 606 a , 606 b , and 606 c if the redundant configuration is implemented . for example , power connections 608 a , 608 b and 608 c may connect power output ports 604 a - 604 c to power input ports 422 of ppps 500 a - 500 c , and power connections 610 a , 610 b , and 610 c may connect power output ports 606 a - 606 c to power input ports 424 of ppps 500 a - 500 c if the redundant power supply configuration is used . fig1 shows a diode “ or ” circuit 441 that may be included in each ppp 500 a - 500 c that combines power from two power supplies in a redundant power supply configuration . power supply 602 may provide dc power having 48 volts , for example , and each of the power connections 608 a - 608 c ( or 942 of fig1 ) and 610 a - 610 c ( or 944 of fig1 ) may include two wires , one positive and one negative . a 48 volt dc power based approach avoids including an internal 110 ac - to - dc power supply , thereby precluding the need for an internal fan in a ppp , so that a ppp may replace , in a one - for - one manner , an existing conventional patch panel . each of the power input ports 422 and 424 may include two connection points , one positive and one negative , so that the wires of the power connections 608 a - 608 c and 610 a - 610 c connect to corresponding ones of the connection points of the power input ports 422 and 424 , positive to positive and negative to negative . diode circuit 441 may include two diodes 442 and 444 or equivalent circuitry that models the functions of these diodes . cathode terminals of diodes 442 - 444 may be electrically connected to negative connection points of respective power input ports 422 and 424 and anode terminals of diodes 442 and 444 may be electrically connected together at a node 446 . positive connection points may be electrically connected to a node 448 . nodes 446 and 448 provide power to the ppps 500 a - 500 c . diodes 442 and 444 prevent power from one of the power supplies from flowing into the other power supply . returning to fig9 , power supply 602 may include a network port 612 for connection to lan 108 , for example , so that it may be controlled by nms 110 , ems 112 and / or ems 114 . network port 612 may be connected to an end of a daisy chain connecting all ppps 500 a - 500 c of rack 600 , for example . fig9 shows network management input port 426 of ppp 500 a connected to a port of switch 230 of lan 108 and network management output port 428 of ppp 500 a connected to network management input port 426 of ppp 500 b . network management output port 428 of ppp 500 b may be connected to network management input port 426 of ppp 500 c , and so on if there are other ppps on rack 600 until the last ppp of the daisy chain . network management output port 428 of the last ppp may be connected to network port 612 of power supply 602 . in this way , all the ppps 500 a - 500 c and power supply 602 of rack 600 may connect to the lan 108 using only one port of switch 230 , for example . fig1 shows a ppp internal ethernet switch 450 that supports daisy chaining of network management input and output ports 426 and 428 and interface with internal ppp circuitry . the status of the network management input and output ports 426 and 428 may be indicated by status leds 430 and 432 , respectively ( as shown in fig6 ). table 1 below shows example indications of status leds and corresponding conditions associated with network management input and output ports 426 and 428 . fig1 shows a block diagram of circuitry in an exemplary ppp 900 that includes diode circuit 441 , an in - line current manager 910 , an analog - to - digital converter 948 , power - planes 904 and 908 , a common circuit 902 and a port circuit 906 . assuming that two power supplies are used to provide fault tolerance , analog - to - digital converter 948 may monitor voltages of the two power supplies , nodes of diode circuit 441 , and output voltages generated by in - line current manager 910 , and provide digital values of the monitored voltages to processor 924 of common circuit 902 via optical coupler 918 ( also called optical isolator ). processor 924 may also receive a value of current passing through in - line current manager 910 . these voltage and current values may be processed by processor 924 for processes such as : 1 . determining an input power consumption for the ppp ; 2 . calculating threshold values for low current and high current conditions based upon past and current use ; 3 . generating an event notification to nms 110 , ems 112 and / or ems 114 containing voltage , current and calculated power measurements ; 4 . generating an event notification to nms 110 , ems 112 and / or ems 114 when voltage values monitored in diode circuit 441 are below or above predetermined thresholds ; 5 . generating an event notification to nms 110 , ems 112 and / or ems 114 when the current passing through in - line current manager 910 is below or above predetermined thresholds ; and 6 . generating event notification to nms 110 , ems 112 and / or ems 114 when the power consumption of the ppp is below or above predetermined thresholds . these and other event notifications may be logged by nms 110 , ems 112 and / or ems 114 by storing data associated with the event notification , for example . an operator may view the logged event notifications on a per - port or per - ppp basis using a gui for maintaining network system 100 . as shown in fig1 , in - line current manager 910 separately outputs current - managed power to common circuit 902 and port circuit 906 via separately fused ( by fuses 912 and 914 , respectively ) power - planes 904 and 908 . signal lines between in - line current manager 910 , common circuit 902 and port circuit 906 are isolated by optical couplers 918 and 922 and / or capacitive coupling 919 . in this manner , power failure in one of the power - planes 904 and 908 may be prevented from affecting power supplied to the other plane 904 or 908 . thus , operation of the common circuit 902 may continue if power to power - plane 908 of port circuit 906 fails , or operation of port circuit 906 may continue if power to power - plane 904 of common circuit 902 fails . for example , damage to port circuit 906 due to an accidental connection of a high voltage source to a cable connected to a ppp port could be prevented from affecting operations of common circuit 902 . thus , common circuit 902 may continue to communicate with nms 110 , ems 112 and / or ems 114 such as reporting status despite failure of port circuit 906 . damage to common circuit 902 would be similarly prevented from affecting operations of port circuit 906 . thus , poe service may continue to be supplied to the ppp ports despite damage to common circuit 902 . ppp embodiments may include any number of port circuits 906 . each port circuit 906 may receive power from an isolated power plane 908 and each port circuit 906 may support a designated number of ports , as described herein . in this manner , an individual port circuit 906 may fail ( e . g ., due to a power surge or some other cause ) and the remaining port circuits 906 may continue to operate normally . processor 924 may control system status led 410 to indicate various ppp conditions as discussed above . additionally , conditions such as listed below may be indicated by system status led states : 1 . dhcp addressing ( dynamic address ); 2 . power supply noise out - of - limit ; 3 . firmware update ; 4 . firmware compatibility ; 5 . loss of power for a power - plane which may indicate conditions such as a blown fuse ; 6 . input power not received ; 7 . processor initializing ; 8 . port circuit working properly ; and 9 . port circuit failed but common circuit working properly . led states such as single or multiple colors and toggling between colors , sequencing led colors or blink rates , coded pulsing , and / or intensity variations may be used for indications of particular ppp conditions . additionally , a blinking rate may be used instead of setting the led to an on state to save power . table 2 below shows other examples of possible system status led states for different conditions of ppp 900 . as shown in fig1 , port circuit 906 may include a current manager 934 , a poe manager 936 , an led manager 938 , and a legacy detection support circuit 940 for each port of ppp 900 . current manager 934 may include control logic such as a state machine that may control and monitor current flowing via each port to a connected end - user device . for example , current manager 934 may include current limiting circuitry that limits current flow based on values set in a register . fig1 shows an example of current manager 934 that includes a state machine 802 , a registers 804 , and a current limiter and switch 806 . processor 924 may set control values in registers 804 . state machine 802 may control current limiter and switch 806 based on the values in registers 804 . for example , processor 924 may define thresholds in registers 804 . a first threshold may be an absolute current limit and a second threshold may set a current limit that may be exceeded for a first controlled period of time . when a port has exceeded the first threshold , state machine 802 may immediately command the current limiter and switch 806 to stop supplying current by opening a switch , for example . additionally , the state machine 802 may update values in registers 804 ( change state ) and generate an alarm signal ( an event ) to processor 924 to indicate that the first threshold has been exceeded for the associated port . when the second threshold is exceeded , state machine 802 may change state by updating registers 804 to set off a timer . if the current falls below the second threshold before the timer expires , then state machine 802 may return to its earlier state ; otherwise , state machine 802 may enter a third state and switch off the port for a second control period of time before turning the port on again . state machine 802 may also set values in registers 804 to record a number of times the second threshold has been exceeded , for example , so that processor 924 may retrieve the values in registers 804 for reporting to nms 110 , ems 112 , and / or ems 114 . processor 924 may monitor the current value measured by in - line current manager 910 over time ( historical power use ). processor 924 may periodically use these measurements to calculate new current thresholds for use in monitoring current flow to ppp 900 . current thresholds based on the historical power use may be better indictors of abnormal current use . poe manager 936 monitors each ppp port to detect the presence and characteristics of a poe powered device ( pd ). as shown in fig1 , poe manager 936 may include control logic such as a state machine 812 , registers 814 , and a pd interrogator 816 . any number of state machines 812 , registers 814 , and pd interrogators 816 may be used , as may be dictated by implementation requirements , for example . if a poe pd is detected , state machine 812 may change state by updating registers 814 and proceed to determine the poe class of the poe pd ( classification ). once the class is determined , poe manager 936 provides power to the pd based upon the pd &# 39 ; s poe class such as defined in ieee 802 . 3af , for example . poe manager 936 may also perform functions such as : 1 . determining which ethernet cable pairs to distribute poe power over ; 2 . controlling the types of poe equipment to be detected ( i . e ., ieee 802 . 3af equipment only , legacy equipment and / or other variations ); 3 . activating or deactivating poe service on a per - port basis ; 4 . setting pd poe priority and / or maximum power level , on a per - port basis ; 5 . controlling poe priority on a per - port basis by setting a control parameter that controls port power priority to one of critical , high and low . in a low power event , pds with higher power priorities should be disconnected only after power has been disconnected to ports with a lower power priority ; 6 . controlling poe detection techniques on a per - port basis ; and 7 . controlling poe pd power classification on a per - port basis . pd power classification indicates an amount of power the pd may be expected to consume . state machine 812 may be controlled by control parameters stored by processor 924 in registers 814 . for example , processor 924 may force a port to stop supplying power by setting a “ stop bit ” in registers 814 . the “ stop bit ” may change the state of state machine 814 which may respond by opening a switch disconnecting power to the pd , for example . state machine 812 may report port status changes to processor 924 by sending one or more alert messages ( events ) to processor 924 or by updating registers 814 with new status information . processor 924 may obtain the status information by reading the contents of registers 814 . status updates provided by poe manager 936 to processor 924 may indicate conditions such as : 1 . no pd is attached to the ppp port ; 2 . no power is being delivered over a ppp port ; 3 . power is being delivered over a ppp port ; and 4 . a pd has been detected but its power requirements cannot be determined . processor 924 may relay such status updates from poe manager 936 via an event notification to nms 110 , ems 112 , and / or ems 114 . in this manner , nms 110 , ems 112 , and / or ems 114 may maintain accurate port - level connection and poe - related information . led manager 938 controls port leds 406 and may include control logic such as a state machine 822 , a registers 824 , and an led drive circuit 826 , as shown in fig1 . state machine 822 controls led drive circuit 826 based on values in registers 824 which may be set by processor 924 . for example , processor 924 may force led 406 of a specific port to blink at a specified rate by setting values in registers 824 in response to move / add / change requests received from nms 110 , ems 112 , and / or ems 114 . other led states such as single or multiple colors , toggling between colors , sequencing led colors or blink rates , coded pulsing , and / or intensity variations may be used for indications of particular port conditions . state machine 822 may control led drive circuit 826 based on the values in registers 824 set by processor 924 . state machine 822 may change values in registers 824 based on current led functions being performed reflecting the status of the associated port so that processor 924 may read the status when performing monitoring functions . port conditions such as the following may be indicated using leds 406 : 1 . power level indicator for power classification of connected pd ; 2 . power removed from the port ( lockdown ), over - current for all ports per classification ; 3 . over - current conditions for a particular port ( administrative restriction ); 4 . backing off supplying power because connected device is a powered switch ; 5 . pd voltage incompatibility ; 6 . port power interface failure ; 7 . power classification fault ; and 8 . port power noise outside of limits . additionally , leds 406 may be used to assist an operator for patch cord tracing and / or direct patch cord removal / change . other led functions may be similarly set by processor 924 , such as color , for example . additionally , state machine 822 may control the led 406 via led drive circuit 826 to perform a specific function based on conditions of the associated port . examples of this type of control are shown in table 3 , below . legacy detection support circuit 940 together with poe manager 936 and processor 924 executes an exemplary process 1500 shown in fig1 that determines whether an end - user pd connected to a port is a first type of poe device such as an ieee 802 . 3af compatible device or a second type of poe device such as a legacy device . in step 1502 , the process determines whether a port is connected to a first type pd . for example , if a first type pd is an ieee 802 . 3af poe device , then it may be detected by procedures specified in the ieee 802 . 3af standards . if a first type pd is detected , then the process goes to step 1504 ; otherwise , the detection process , at step 1502 , may be repeated after a predetermined delay . in step 1504 , the process may classify the poe pd ( determining power requirements by interrogating the poe device ) and the process goes to step 1510 . in step 1510 , the process may provide power to the poe pd according to the determined classification , may set the led associated with the port to a state as specified by contents of registers 824 , and may optionally update a state field in registers 824 . next , the process goes to step 1512 . in step 1512 , the process determines whether there is a change in the status of the port , e . g ., whether the connected pd has been disconnected . if there is a change , the process returns to step 1502 ; otherwise , the process goes to step 1514 . in step 1514 , the process determines whether the ppp is turned off . if the ppp is turned off , the process goes to step 1516 and ends ; otherwise the process returns to step 1512 . while process 1500 is executing , another process 1550 , as shown in fig1 , may be executing based on a timer to determine whether a first type device is connected . if a first type of device is not connected , the process executes a second type detection process . in step 1552 , the process determines whether the timer has expired . if expired , the process goes to step 1554 ; otherwise , the process returns to step 1552 . in step 1554 , the process determines whether the port is supplying power to a first type or a second type poe pd . if the port is supplying power , the process goes to step 1556 ; otherwise the process goes to step 1558 . in step 1556 , the timer is set and the process returns to step 1552 . in step 1558 , the process determines whether the port is connected to a second type device such as a legacy device ( legacy relative to ieee 802 . 3af poe pds ). an example of how such a determination may be made is shown in fig1 a , which shows an exemplary ppp legacy detection support circuit 940 connected via a 4 - pair twisted - pair cable to an exemplary legacy pd configured to receive pon power over wire - pairs 4 / 5 and 7 / 8 . legacy detection support circuit 940 may include an oscillating signal generator 1202 that transmits an oscillating signal on wire - pair wires 4 , 5 via transmission driver 1204 and transformer 1206 . a legacy pd may be configured such that when a cable is inserted into the pd , physical switch 1210 is moved from an open to a closed position . therefore , if the pd is a legacy device , the oscillating signal emitted by oscillating signal generator 1202 on wire - pair wires 4 , 5 will be transmitted via transformer 1208 and 1212 to wire - pair 7 / 8 , and detected by detection circuit 1218 , via receiver 1216 and transformer 1214 . if the pd is not a legacy device , physical switch 1210 remains in the open position and detection circuit 1218 does not receive a corresponding signal in response to the oscillating signal output . if no signal is received detection circuit 1218 determines that the pd is not a legacy device . if detection circuit 1218 determines that the connected pd is a legacy device , detection circuit 1218 communicates ( via connection lines not shown in fig1 a ) with polarity reverse switch 1220 to place a negative voltage across leads 1222 and 1224 , as shown in fig1 b . if detection circuit 1218 determines that the connected pd is not a legacy device , detection circuit 1218 communicates with polarity reverse switch 1220 to place a positive voltage across leads 1222 and 1224 . in this manner , an appropriate voltage is placed upon leads 1222 and 1224 and power is transmitted via wiretaps in transformers 1206 and 1214 and via wire - pairs 4 / 5 and 7 / 8 , respectively , to wire taps on transformers 1208 and 1212 in the pd device . power received by the pd device at wire taps on transformers 1208 and 1212 is delivered via pd circuit 1226 with diode circuit 1228 to drive pd load 1230 . returning to fig1 , if a second type poe pd is detected , the process goes to step 1560 ; otherwise , the process goes to step 1556 . in step 1560 , the process determines the power requirements of the second type device , provides the required power , and goes to step 1562 . in step 1562 , the process determines whether the ppp has been turned off . if turned off , the process goes to step 1564 and ends ; otherwise , the process goes to step 1556 . the managers within port circuit 906 ( i . e ., current manager 934 , poe manager 936 , and led manager 938 ) may operate as independent state machines that interact with processor 924 to receive control parameter updates from processor 924 and to provide status updates to processor 924 . as noted above , the port circuit 906 may operate independently of processor 924 . for example , in the event that the ppp is powered down , reset or in self - test , either intentionally ( e . g ., to field - update newly downloaded processor code ) or unintentionally ( due to a power failure or internal fault - generated reset ) port circuit processing may be unaffected and port circuit 906 may continue to support poe - based services to the ppp ports based on the latest parameters received from processor 924 . once processor 924 is again operational , normal communications between processor 924 and the port circuit 906 may resume . returning to fig1 , common circuit 902 may include processor 924 , a memory 926 which may include random access memory ( ram ) 928 and non - volatile memory 930 , and a two - port ethernet switch 932 . if ppp control parameters and configuration data such as location and connection information and associated difs are stored in non - volatile memory 930 , ppp 900 may return to the stored ppp configuration if power was accidentally lost causing ppp 900 to restart , for example . control and configuration parameters that may be stored in non - volatile memory 930 may include : 1 . ppp configuration parameters ; 2 . ppp and poe - related current and voltage thresholds ; 3 . ppp network ip configuration data ; 4 . event notification ( e . g ., snmp trap ) recipients ; and 5 . ppp identity , ppp physical location information and associated power supply identification and location information . processor 924 may control operations of ppp 900 based on control parameters and data stored in memory 926 , and may communicate with other devices via ethernet switch 932 . memory 926 may be used to store software that may be executed by processor 924 . processor 924 may control port circuit 906 to perform its functions by setting the registers 804 , 814 , and 824 based on received control parameters . additionally , processor 924 may perform the following functions : 1 . controlling a port based on whether the poe pd may receive ac / dc poe detection or dc only detection ; 2 . controlling whether control / administration of port - level values by an nms / ems may be accepted by the ppp ; and 3 . controlling whether wire assignments for transmitting power may be changed . nms 110 , ems 112 , and ems 114 may interface with a gui that permits an operator to maintain and control the network and administer desired policies . for example , such a gui may permit the operator to graphically view monitored power and one or more failure statuses of devices such as ppps and devices connected to the ppps . the gui may provide a graphical display of the topology of network system 100 which may be organized into trees , and each branch of the tree may form a sub - network ( subnet ) of network system 100 . the gui may display a subnet in relation to actual physical locations such as , for example , a floor plan detailing physical aspects of the building where ppps may be disposed , such as equipment closet 206 and racks 600 . the gui may provide displays such as : 1 . a hierarchical view of all ppps ; 2 . a listing of ppps ; 3 . information for each ppp of a selected rack including logged event notifications ; and 4 . detailed configuration , control and status information for a specifically selected ppp , including : a . a message log of event notifications generated by the ppp ; b . current and historical power usage values for each ppp ; and c . physical location and logical connection information . the gui may provide capabilities to support functions such as searching for panels of a selected subnet across a range of ip addresses , viewing and / or changing information on a per - port basis of each ppp , etc . the network topology may be derived from ppps by either explicitly requesting needed information or receiving unsolicited notifications from ppps resulting from local monitoring functions . for example , data that may be received from ppps may include : 1 . physical location information such as room identification , rack identification , horizontal cabling work room identification ; 2 . connection information such as ppp and port identification , switch port identification , power supply source identification ; 3 . whether or not powered devices are connected to a port ; 4 . an amount of current consumption . this is especially relevant to intelligent network devices such as a ppp because ppps supply power to their ports and the total amount of power supplied through a ppp may be monitored for network power budget purposes ; 5 . information ( e . g ., a pd identifier and / or a ppp port identifier ) related to an abnormal termination of power to a powered pd and which , based upon the ppp &# 39 ; s pd interrogation techniques , appears to have been disconnected ; 6 . non - compliant pds such as pds whose power consumption is over specified limits ; 7 . ppp power consumption has dropped below a threshold ; 8 . ppp power consumption has exceeded a threshold ; 9 . ppp physical location has been changed ; 10 . ppp incoming voltage is outside desired range ( e . g ., too high or too low ); 11 . ppp power fuse has blown ; 12 . the amount of incoming power to a ppp ; 13 . ppp - detected management port connections ; and 14 . ppp - detected management port disconnections . an operator may use the gui to control network system 100 by setting various parameters of ppps . for example , an operator may : 1 . perform maintenance by monitoring any ppps ( e . g ., verify port connections by sending test signals , confirm connection to a ppp , etc . ); 2 . designate priority for output power for any port of a ppp . for example , a port may be designated as low , high or critical priority ; 3 . set thresholds for power consumption for a ppp or any of its ports . for example , such thresholds may be set in the form of current and / or voltage values ; 4 . perform real - time monitoring and setting thresholds of current and voltage of power inputs for a ppp , for example . thresholds may be set for detection of alarm conditions ; 5 . monitor a parameter , such as a voltage or current , of a first power supply , a parameter of a second power supply and a parameter at a summation point when a ppp is supplied by two power supplies , for example ; 6 . command outputting full power for all ports of a ppp ; 7 . detect and display power consumption for a ppp or one or more ports of the ppp ; 8 . assign dynamic ( dhcp ) or static ip address to a ppp at installation , for example ; 9 . selectively deactivate / re - activate power service to a ppp port ; 10 . control operation of leds of a ppp ( e . g ., blinking rate , on / off , etc . ); and 11 . assign power mode ( e . g ., normal , forced or forced with device check ) for each port of a ppp . for example , in ‘ normal ’ power mode , the ppp may manage the application of poe power to a port based upon whether a device is connected to a port and / or the type of device connected to the port and / or power consumption monitoring ; in ‘ forced with device check ’ power mode , the ppp may apply poe power to a port when a device is connected to the port , regardless of the type of device connected and / or without power consumption monitoring ; and in ‘ forced ’ power mode , the ppp may apply poe power to a port without checking for a device or any power consumption monitoring . 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 . for example , “ a ” may denote the use of one or more elements . the lists presented herein are intended to be exemplary rather than limiting . also , variations presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives , modifications , variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art , and are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims . | 7 |
this is a division of application ser . no . 337 , 477 filed feb . 28 , 1973 , now u . s . pat . no . 3 , 856 , 798 . the present invention pertains to bicyclic derivatives of 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine , to processes for their production and use and to pharmaceutical compositions containing such compounds and useful as antihypertensive agents and coronary vessel dilators . in particular , the present invention pertains to compounds of the formula : ## spc1 ## each of r 2 and r 4 , independent of the other , is lower alkyl of the group -- or &# 39 ;, in which r &# 39 ; is a straight - chain , branched or cyclic , saturated or unsaturated , aliphatic hydrocarbyl or oxyhydrocarbyl , the carbon chain of which is optionally interrupted by one or two oxygen atoms ; r 3 is a saturated or unsaturated , straight - chain , branched or cyclic hydrocarbyl ; aryl optionally carrying 1 , 2 or 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of lower alkyl , lower alkoxy , azido , halogen , nitro , nitrile , trifluoromethyl , carbo ( lower alkoxy ), lower alkylsulfonyl , lower alkylsulfinyl or lower alkylthio ; or a member selected from the group consisting of naphthyl , quinolyl , isoquinolyl , pyridyl , pyrimidyl , thienyl , furyl and pyrryl , said member optionally carrying a lower alkyl , lower alkoxy or halogeno substituent ; x is -- ch 2 --, -- nr 5 -- in which r 5 is hydrogen or lower alkyl , -- s --, or -- o --; and a preferred class of the foregoing compounds are those of the formula : ## spc2 ## x is -- o --, -- s --, -- ch 2 -- or -- nr 5 --; each of r 2 and r 4 , independent of the other , is lower alkyl , lower alkoxy , lower alkoxy ( lower alkoxy ) or lower alkynyloxy preferably having 2 to 4 carbon atoms ; r 3 is lower alkyl , phenyl , phenyl substituted with from one to three substituents selected from the group consisting of lower alkyl , trifluoromethyl , cyano , halo , nitro and carbo ( lower alkoxy ); pyridyl ; furyl ; thienyl ; or naphthyl ; and the term lower alkyl denotes a univalent saturated branched or straight hydrocarbon chain containing from 1 to 6 carbon atoms . representative of such lower alkyl groups are thus methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , butyl , isobutyl , sec . butyl , tert . butyl , pentyl , isopentyl , neopentyl , tert . pentyl , hexyl , and the like . the term lower alkenyl denotes a univalent branched or straight hydrocarbon chain containing from 2 to 6 carbon atoms and nonterminal ethylenic unsaturation as , for example , vinyl , allyl , isopropenyl , 2 - butenyl , 3 - methyl - 2 - butenyl , 2 - pentenyl , 3 - pentenyl , 2 - hexenyl , 4 - hexenyl , and the like . the term lower alkynyl denotes a univalent branched or straight hydrocarbon chain containing from 2 to 6 carbon atoms and nonterminal acetylenic unsaturation as , for example , ethynyl , 2 - propynyl , 4 - pentynyl , and the like . the term lower alkoxy denotes a straight or branched hydrocarbon chain bound to the remainder of the molecule through an ethereal oxygen atom as , for example , methoxy , ethoxy , propoxy , isopropoxy , butoxy , isobutoxy , pentoxy and hexoxy . the term lower alkylthio denotes a branched or straight hydrocarbon chain bound to the remainder of the molecule through a divalent sulfur as , for example , methylthio , ethylthio , propylthio , isopropylthio , butylthio , and the like . the term halogen denotes the substituents fluoro , chloro , bromo and iodo . as indicated , the present invention also pertains to the physiologically acceptable non - toxic acid addition salts of these basic compounds . such salts include those derived from organic and inorganic acids such as , without limitation , hydrochloric acid , hydrobromic acid , phosphoric acid , sulfuric acid , methane sulphonic acid , acetic acid , tartaric acid , lactic acid , succinic acid , citric acid , malic acid , maleic acid , sorbic acid , aconitic acid , salicylic acid , phthalic acid , embonic acid , enanthic acid , and the like . according to the present invention , the foregoing compounds are prepared by reacting a dicarbonyl compound of the formula : ## equ1 ## wherein r 1 , r 2 and r 3 are as herein defined , with a cyclic enamino carbonyl compound of the formula : ## equ2 ## in which r 4 , x and m are as herein defined . the condensation proceeds smoothly in good yields simply by heating the two components , generally in the presence of an inert organic solvent such as methanol , ethanol , propanol and similar alkanols , ethers such as dioxane and diethyl ether , glacial acetic acid , pyridine , dimethylformamide , dimethylsulfoxide , acetonitrile and the like . the reaction is conducted at temperatures of from 20 ° to 250 ° c , conveniently at the boiling point of the solvent , and while elevated pressure may be utilized , normal atmospheric pressure is generally satisfactory . the reactants are employed in substantially equimolar amounts . the dicarbonyl reagent can be utilized as such or generated in situ by the reaction of an aldehyde of the formula r 3 cho and a β - dicarbonyl compound of the formula r 1 coch 2 cor 2 . many of the dicarbonyl compounds utilized as one of the reactants are known to the art and the others can either be generated in situ as herein described or prepared according to methods well known to the art , see for example org . reaction xv , 204 et seq . ( 1967 ). typical of this reactant are the following compounds : the cyclic enamino carbonyl reactants are similarly known or can be readily produced according to known methods , see for example barnikow et al ., chem . ber . 100 , 1661 ( 1967 ). typical of these reactants are the following : in addition to these mentioned in the examples , the following are also important new compounds : as noted above , the compounds of the present invention demonstrate the ability to reduce blood pressure and to effect a dilation of the coronary vessels . they can accordingly be used where either or both of these effects are desired . thus upon parenteral , oral or sublingual administration , the compounds produce a distinct and long lasting dilation of the coronary vessels which is intensified by a simultaneous nitrite - like effect of reducing the load on the heart . the effect on heart metabolism is thus one of energy saving . in addition , the compounds lower the blood pressure of normotonic and hypertonic animals and can thus be used as antihypertensive agents . these properties can be conveniently observed in well known laboratory models . thus for example the coronary vessel dilation effect can be observed by measuring the increase in oxygen saturation in the coronary sinus in the narcotized , heart catherterized dog , as shown in the following table : i . v . dose δ o . sub . 2 % return to normalcompounds ( mg / kg ) saturation o . sub . 2 values ( hours ) __________________________________________________________________________5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - methyl - 2 . 0 22 10phenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydro - thiazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylicacid diethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - cyano - 1 . 0 34 20phenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydro - thiazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxy - lic acid diethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - chloro - 2 . 0 27 20phenyl - 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydro - thiazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxy - lic acid diethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitro - 5 . 0 30 90phenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydro - thiazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxy - lic acid diethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - cyano - 0 . 5 29 30phenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydro - oxazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxy - lic acid diethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitro - 2 . 0 21 & gt ; 30phenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydro - oxazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic aciddiethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - methyl - 5 . 0 20 60phenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydro - oxazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxy - lic acid diethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - chloro - 2 . 0 31 20phenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydro - oxazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic aciddiethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitro - 5 . 0 47 45phenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetra - hydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylicacid 6 -( β - methoxyethyl )- ester 8 - ethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 - phenyl - 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - 3 . 0 11 3tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylicacid diethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitro - 3 . 0 20 45phenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetra - hydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylicacid diethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - trifluoro - 2 . 0 13 & gt ; 180methylphenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetra - hydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylicacid diethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 -( α - pyridyl )- 5 . 0 34 201 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydro - imidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic aciddiethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - nitro - 2 . 0 18 30phenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetra - hydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylicacid 6 - methyl ester 8 - ethyl ester4 , 6 - dimethyl - 1 , 2 - penta - 5 . 0 15 & gt ; 60methylene - 1 , 4 - dihydro - pyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylicacid 3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 2 . 0 28 & gt ; 1801 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicar - boxylic acid dimethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - nitro - 0 . 5 22 150phenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethyl - ene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - nitro - 2 . 0 30 & gt ; 180phenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethyl - ene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - ethyl ester 5 - methyl ester6 - methyl - 5 - acetyl - 4 - 3 . 0 30 90 ( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydro - pyridine - 3 - carboxylic acidethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - cyano - 1 . 0 17 90phenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethyl - ene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - cyano - 1 . 0 21 & gt ; 120phenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethyl - ene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic aciddiethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - chloro - 5 . 0 34 120phenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethyl - ene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - methyl - 5 . 0 13 & gt ; 90phenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethyl - ene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - chloro - 3 . 0 30 150phenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethyl - ene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic aciddiethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - trifluoro - 0 . 3 26 90methylphenyl )- 1 , 2 - penta - methylene - 1 , 4 - dihydro - pyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylicacid 3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - trifluoro - 0 . 2 26 90methylphenyl )- 1 , 2 - penta - methylene - 1 , 4 - dihydro - pyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylicacid diethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitro - 3 . 0 20 3phenyl )- 8 - acetyl - 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroindolizine - 6 - carboxylic acid ethylester5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitro - 2 . 0 16 90phenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetra - hydroindolizine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid 6 - methyl ester 8 - ethylester5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - methyl - 5 . 0 21 90phenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetra - hydroindolizine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic aciddiethyl ester6 - methyl - 8 -( 2 - cyano - 0 . 5 23 & gt ; 60phenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 8 - penta - hydroquinolizine - 7 , 9 - dicarboxylic aciddiethyl ester5 - methyl - 6 - acetyl - 7 - 2 . 0 30 20 ( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydrothiazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyridine - 8 - carboxylicacid ethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitro - 5 . 0 35 & gt ; 90phenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetra - hydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxy - lic acid 6 - isopropylester 8 - ethyl ester5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitro - 5 . 0 34 & gt ; 30phenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetra - hydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxy - lic acid 6 - propargylester 8 - ethyl ester__________________________________________________________________________ the foregoing values do not necessarily correspond to the lowest dose at which a clearly detectable rise is observed in the oxygen saturation in the coronary sinus . thus 6 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid , 6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - trifluoromethylphenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - methyl ester - 5 - ethyl ester , and 6 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - ethyl ester - 5 - methyl ester produce such a rise at i . v . doses as low as 0 . 2 , 0 . 3 and 0 . 5 mg / kg , respectively . the hypotensive activity of the present compounds can be observed by measuring the blood pressure of hypertensive rats following peoral administration of the compounds . the following table demonstrates the dose which results in at least a 15 mm hg reduction in blood pressure of such animals : dose compound ( mg / kg ) ______________________________________5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - cyanophenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydrooxazolo - 1 . 0 [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethylester5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - trifluoromethylphenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - 3 . 1tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 3 . 11 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 . 01 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - ethyl ester 5 - methyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - cyanophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 3 . 01 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - trifluoromethylphenyl )- 1 , 2 - penta - 3 . 1methylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylicacid diethyl ester5 - methyl - 8 - acetyl - 7 -( 2 - cyanophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - 3 . 1tetrahydroindolizine - 6 - carboxylic acid ethylester6 - methyl - 8 -( 2 - cyanophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 8 - pentahydro - 0 . 3quinolizine - 7 , 9 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester______________________________________ the toxicity of the compounds is remarkably low , as can be seen from the following toxicities measured in the mouse upon oral administration . ______________________________________ dose compound ( mg / kg ) ______________________________________5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - trifluoromethylphenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - & lt ; 3 , 000tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - & lt ; 3 , 0001 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - & lt ; 3 , 0001 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - ethyl ester 5 - methyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - cyanophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - & lt ; 3 , 0001 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - trifluoromethylphenyl )- 1 , 2 - penta - & lt ; 3 , 000methylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylicacid diethyl ester5 - methyl - 8 - acetyl - 7 -( 2 - cyanophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - & lt ; 3 , 000tetrahydroindolizine - 6 - carboxylic acid ethylester______________________________________ in addition to the effect on blood pressure and coronary vessels , the compounds also lower the excitability of the stimulus formation and excitation conduction system within the heart so that an antifibrillation action is observed at therapeutic doses . the tone of the smooth muscle of the vessels is also greatly reduced . this vascular - spasmolytic action can be observed in the entire vascular system as well as in more or less isolated and circumscribed vascular regions such as the central nervous system . in addition , a strong muscular - spasmolytic action is manifested in the smooth muscle of the stomach , the intestinal tract , the urogenital tract and the respiratory system . finally , there is some evidence that the compounds influence the cholesterol level and lipid level of the blood . these effects complement one another and the compounds are thus highly desirable as pharmaceutical agents to be used in the treatment of hypertension and conditions characterized by a constriction of the coronary blood vessels . pharmaceutical compositions for effecting such treatment will contain a major or minor amount , e . g . from 95 to 0 . 5 %, of at least one 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine as herein defined in combination with a pharmaceutical carrier , the carrier comprising one or more solid , semi - solid or liquid diluent , filler and formulation adjuvant which is non - toxic , inert and pharmaceutically acceptable . such pharmaceutical compositions are preferably in dosage unit form ; i . e . physically discrete units containing a predetermined amount of the drug corresponding to a fraction or multiple of the dose which is calculated to produce the desired therapeutic response . the dosage units can contain one , two , three , four or more single doses or , alternatively , one - half , third or fourth of a single dose . a single dose preferably contains an amount sufficient to produce the desired therapeutic effect upon administration of one application of one or more dosage units according to a predetermined dosage regimen , usually a whole , half , third or quarter of the daily dosage administred once , twice , three or four times a day . other therapeutic agents can also be present . although the dosage and dosage regimen must in each case be carefully adjusted , utilizing sound professional judgement and considering the age , weight and condition of the recipient , the route of administration and the nature and gravity of the illness , generally the daily dose will be from about 0 . 05 to about 10 mg / kg , preferably 0 . 1 to 5 . 0 mg / kg , when administered parenterally and from about 1 to about 100 mg / kg , preferably 5 to 50 mg / kg , when administered orally . in some instances a sufficient therapeutic effect can be obtained at lower doses while in others , larger doses will be required . oral administration can be effected utilizing solid and liquid dosage unit forms such as powders , tablets , dragees , capsules , granulates , suspensions , solutions and the like . powders are prepared by comminuting the compound to a suitable fine size and mixing with a similarly comminuted pharmaceutical carrier such as an edible carbohydrate as for example starch , lactose , sucrose , glucose or mannitol . sweetening , flavoring , preservative , dispersing and coloring agents can also be present . capsules are made by preparing a powder mixture as described above and filling formed gelatin sheaths . glidants and lubricants such as colloidal silica , talc , magnesium stearate , calcium stearate or solid polyethylene glycol can be added to the powder mixture before the filling operation . a disintegrating or solubilizing agent such as agar - agar , calcium carbonate or sodium carbonate can also be added to imprve the availability of the medicament when the capsule is ingested . tablets are formulated for example by preparing a powder mixture , granulating or slugging , adding a lubricant and disintegrant and pressing into tablets . a powder mixture is prepared by mixing the compound , suitably comminuted , with a diluent or base as described above , and optionally with a binder such as carboxymethyl cellulose , an alginate , gelatin , or polyvinyl pyrrolidone , a solution retardant such as paraffin , a resorption accelerator such as a quaternary salt and / or an absorption agent such as bentonite , kaolin or dicalcium phosphate . the powder mixture can be granulated by wetting with a binder such as syrup , starch paste , acacia mucilage or solutions of cellulosic or polymeric materials and forcing through a screen . as an alternative to granulating , the powder mixture can be run through the tablet machine and the resulting imperfectly formed slugs broken into granules . the granules can be lubricated to prevent sticking to the tablet forming dies by means of the addition of stearic acid , a stearate salt , talc or mineral oil . the lubricated mixture is then compressed into tablets . the midicaments can also be combined with free flowing inert carriers and compressed into tablets directly without going through the granulating or slugging steps . a clear or opaque protective coating consisting of a sealing coat of shellac , a coating of sugar or polymeric material and a polish coating of wax can be provided . dyestuffs can be added to these coatings to distinguish different unit dosages . oral fluids such as solutions , syrups and elixirs can be prepared in dosage unit form so that a given quantity contains a predetermined amount of the compound . syrups can be prepared by dissolving the compound in a suitably flavored aqueous sucrose solution while elixirs are prepared through the use of a nontoxic alcoholic vehicle . suspensions can be formulated by dispersing the compound in a nontoxic vehicle . solubilizers and emulsifiers such as ethoxylated isostearyl alcohols and polyoxyethylene sorbitol esters , preservatives , flavor additives such as peppermint oil or saccharin , and the like can also be added . where appropriate , dosage unit formulations for oral administration can be microencapsulated . the formulation can also be prepared to prolong or sustain the release as for example by coating or embedding particulate material in polymers , wax or the like . parenteral administration can be effected utilizing liquid dosage unit forms such as sterile solutions and suspensions intended for subcutaneous , intramuscular or intravenous injection . there are prepared by suspending or dissolving a measured amount of the compound in a nontoxic liquid vehicle suitable for injection such as an aqueous or oleaginous medium and sterilizing the suspension or solution . alternatively a measured amount of the compound is placed in a vial and the vial and its contents are sterilized and sealed . an accompanying vial or vehicle can be provided for mixing prior to administration . nontoxic salts and salt solutions can be added to render the injection isotonic . stabilizers , preservatives and emulsifiers can also be added . the following examples will serve to further typify the nature of the present invention through the presentation of specific embodiments . these examples should not be construed as a limitation on the scope of the invention since the subject matter regarded as the invention is set forth in the appended claims . upon boiling a solution of 9 . 5 g of 2 - trifluoromethylbenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 6 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylidenethiazolidine in 60 ml of ethanol for 8 hours , 5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - trifluoromethylphenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydrothiazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ]- pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 107 ° ( ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ) is obtained . upon heating a solution of 7 . 8 of 2 - methylbenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 , 8 g . of 2 - carbethoxymethylidenethiazolidine in 50 ml of isopropanol for 10 hours , 5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - methylphenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydrothiazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 158 ° ( alcohol ) is obtained . heating a solution of 8 . 1 g . of 2 - cyanobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 7 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylidenethiazolidine in 60 ml of ethanol for 6 hours yields 5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - cyanophenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydrothiazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 206 ° ( ethanol ). upon heating a solution of 8 . 4 g of 3 - chlorobenzylideneacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 7 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylidenethiazolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 6 hours , 5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - chlorophenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydrothiazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 109 ° ( ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ) is obtained . boiling a solution of 8 . 8 g of 3 - nitrobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 7 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylidenethiazolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 6 hours yields 5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydrothiazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 143 ° ( ethanol ). heating a solution of 8 . 1 g of 2 - cyanobenzylidineacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneoxazolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 8 hours yields 5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - cyanophenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydrooxazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 199 °( alcohol ). upon boiling a solution of 8 . 8 g of 3 - nitrobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneoxazolidine in 60 ml of glacial acetic acid for 6 hours , 5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydrooxazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 179 ° ( ethanol ) is obtained . upon heating a solution of 7 . 7 g of 2 - methylbenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneoxazolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 8 hours , 5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - methylphenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydrooxazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 145 ° ( ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ) is obtained . boiling a solution of 8 . 4 g of 3 - chlorobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneoxazolidine in 50 ml of glacial acetic acid for 8 hours yields 5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - chlorophenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydrooxazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 110 ° ( ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ). upon heating a solution of 6 g of ethylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 6 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 10 hours , 5 , 7 - dimethyl - 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 138 ° ( ethanol ) is obtained . upon heating a solution of 9 . 8 g of 3 - nitrobenzylideneacetoacetic acid β - methoxyethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 60 ml of alcohol for 6 hours , 5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid 6 -( β - methoxyethyl ) ester 8 - ethyl ester of melting point 126 °- 127 ° ( alcohol ) is obtained . upon heating a solution of 5 . 3 g of benzaldehyde , 6 . 5 g of acetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 7 . 8 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 6 hours , 5 - methyl - 7 - phenyl - 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 165 ° ( alcohol ) is obtained . heating a solution of 8 . 8 g of 3 - nitrobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 50 ml of alcohol for 6 hours yields 5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 159 °- 60 ° ( alcohol / dimethylformamide ). boiling a solution of 7 . 8 g of 3 - nitrobenzylideneacetylacetone and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 50 ml of glacial acetic acid for 6 hours yields 5 - methyl - 6 - acetyl - 7 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 8 - carboxylic acid ethyl ester of melting point 155 ° ( ethanol ). upon heating a solution of 9 . 5 g of 2 - trifluoromethylbenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 6 hours , 5 - methyl7 -( 2 - trifluoromethylphenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 137 ° ( alcohol ) is obtained . boiling a solution of 7 . 7 g of 2 - methylbenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 10 hours yields 5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - methylphenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 202 ° ( alcohol ). boiling a solution of 8 . 4 g of 2 - chlorobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 8 hours yields 5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - chlorophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 198 % ( alcohol ). upon heating a solution of 8 . 4 g of 3 - chlorobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 8 hours , 5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - chlorophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 137 ° ( alcohol ) is obtained . boiling a solution of 6 . 9 g of 2 - furfurylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 8 hours yields 5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - furyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 164 ° ( ethanol ). upon heating a solution of 5 . 4 g of pyridin - 2 - aldehyde , 6 . 5 g of acetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 6 hours , 5 - methyl - 7 -( α - pyridyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 191 ° ( isopropanol ) is obtained . boiling a solution of 8 . 7 g of 3 - nitrobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylidene - 1 - methylimidazolidine in 50 ml of alcohol for 6 hours yields 1 , 5 - dimethyl - 7 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester ( oil ). upon heating a solution of 7 . 1 g of 3 - nitro - 6 - chlorobenzylideneacetoacetic acid methyl ester and 3 . 9 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 8 hours , 5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitro - 6 - chlorophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid 6 - methyl ester 8 - ethyl ester of melting point 182 ° ( alcohol ) is obtained . upon boiling a solution of 8 . 3 g of 2 - nitrobenzylideneacetoacetic acid methyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 6 hours , 5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid 6 - methyl ester 8 - ethyl ester of melting point 185 ° is obtained . upon boiling a solution of 7 . 8 g of ethylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 8 . 5 g of 2 - carbomethoxymethylidenehexahydroazepine in 50 ml of alcohol for 6 hours , 4 , 6 - dimethyl - 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester of melting point 70 ° ( ethyl acetate / petroleum ) is obtained . upon boiling a solution of 8 . 3 g of 3 - nitrobenzylideneacetoacetic acid methyl ester and 5 . 7 g of 2 - carbomethoxymethylidenehexahydroazepine in 50 ml of glacial acetic acid for 8 hours , 6 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid dimethyl ester of melting point 98 ° ( ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ) is obtained . heating a solution of 8 . 8 g of 3 - nitrobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 6 g of 2 - carbomethoxymethylidenehexahydroazepine in 50 ml of ethanol for 6 hours yields 6 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester of melting point 75 ° ( ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ). after boiling a solution of 8 . 3 g of 3 - nitrobenzylideneacetoacetic acid methyl ester and 6 . 1 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylidenehexahydroazepine in 50 ml of alcohol for 8 hours , 6 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - ethyl ester 5 - methyl ester of melting point 85 ° c ( ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ) is obtained . upon heating a solution of 7 . 6 g of 3 - nitrobenzaldehyde , 5 . 0 g of acetylacetone and 9 . 1 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylidenehexahydroazepine in 50 ml of ethanol for 8 hours , 6 - methyl - 5 - acetyl - 4 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 - carboxylic acid ethyl ester of melting point 91 ° ( alcohol / water ) is obtained . upon boiling a solution of 8 . 1 g of 2 - cyanobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 6 g of 2 - carbomethoxymethylidenehexahydroazepine in 50 ml of ethanol for 8 hours , 6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - cyanophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester of melting point 154 ° ( alcohol ) is obtained . boiling a solution of 8 . 1 g of 2 - cyanobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 6 . 1 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylidenehexahydroazepine in 50 ml of ethanol for 6 hours yields 6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - cyanophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 134 ° ( ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ). upon boiling a solution of 8 . 4 g of 2 - chlorobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 6 g of 2 - carbomethoxymethylidenehexahydroazepine in 50 ml of ethanol for 6 hours , 6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - chlorophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester of melting point 123 ° ( ethanol ) is obtained . upon heating a solution of 7 . 7 g of 2 - methylbenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 6 g of 2 - carbomethoxymethylidenehexahydroazepine in 50 ml of ethanol for 8 hours , 6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - methylphenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester of melting point 130 ° ( alcohol ) is obtained . boiling a solution of 8 . 4 g of 3 - chlorobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 6 . 1 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylidenehexahydroazepine in 50 ml of glacial acetic acid for 6 hours yields 6 - methyl - 4 -( 3 - chlorophenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 100 ° ( ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ). after boiling a solution of 9 . 1 g of 2 - trifluoromethylbenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 6 g of 2 - carbomethoxymethylidenehexahydroazepine in 50 ml of ethanol for 8 hours , 6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - trifluoromethylphenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid 3 - methyl ester 5 - ethyl ester of melting point 111 ° ( ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ) is obtained . heating a solution of 9 . 1 g of 2 - trifluoromethylbenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 6 . 1 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylidenehexahydroazepine in 50 ml of ethanol for 10 hours yields 6 - methyl - 4 -( 2 - trifluoromethylphenyl )- 1 , 2 - pentamethylene - 1 , 4 - dihydropyridine - 3 , 5 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 104 ° ( alcohol / water ). boiling a solution of 8 . 8 g of 3 - nitrobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 4 . 6 g of 2 - acetylmethylidenepyrrolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 6 hours yields 5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 8 - acetyl - 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroindolizine - 6 - carboxylic acid ethyl ester of melting point 161 ° ( isopropanol ). upon heating a solution of 9 . 4 g of 2 - trifluoromethylbenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 4 . 6 g of 2 - acetylmethylidenepyrrolidine in 50 ml of glacial acetic acid for 8 hours , 5 - methyl - 8 - acetyl - 7 -( 2 - trifluoromethylphenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroindolizine - 6 - carboxylic acid ethyl ester of melting point 126 ° ( ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ) is obtained . upon boiling a solution of 8 . 1 g of 2 - cyanobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 4 . 6 g of acetylmethylidenepyrrolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 6 hours , 5 - methyl - 8 - acetyl - 7 -( 2 - cyanophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroindolizine - 6 - carboxylic acid ethyl ester of melting point 167 ° ( ethanol ) is obtained . upon boiling a solution of 8 . 3 g of 3 - nitrobenzylideneacetoacetic acid methyl ester and 5 . 6 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylidenepyrrolidine in 50 ml of glacial acetic acid for 8 hours , 5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroindolizine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid 6 - methyl ester 8 - ethyl ester of melting point 120 ° ( ethanol ) is obtained . upon boiling a solution of 7 . 7 g of 2 - methylbenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 6 g of carbethoxymethylidenepyrrolidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 8 hours , 5 - methyl - 7 -( 2 - methylphenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroindolizine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 148 ° ( alcohol ) is obtained . upon heating a solution of 8 . 1 g of 2 - cyanobenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 6 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylidenepiperidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 6 hours , 6 - methyl - 8 -( 2 - cyanophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 8 - pentahydroquinolizine - 7 , 9 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 142 ° ( ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ) is obtained . boiling a solution of 7 . 7 g of 2 - methylbenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 6 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylidenepiperidine in 50 ml of ethanol for 12 hours yields 6 - methyl - 8 -( 2 - methylphenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 8 - pentahydroquinolizine - 7 , 9 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 106 ° ( ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ). upon boiling a solution of 7 . 8 g of 3 - nitrobenzylideneacetylacetone and 5 . 7 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylidenethiazolidine in 60 ml of ethanol for 7 hours , 5 - methyl - 6 - acetyl - 7 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 2 , 3 , 7 - trihydrothiazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 8 - carboxylic acid ethyl ester of melting point 152 ° ( ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ) is obtained . boiling a solution of 9 . 2 g of 3 - nitrobenzylideneacetoacetic acid isopropyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 60 ml of ethanol for 2 hours yields 5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid 6 - isopropyl ester 8 - ethyl ester of melting point 136 ° ( ethanol ). heating a solution of 9 . 1 g of 3 - nitrobenzylideneacetoacetic acid propargyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 60 ml of ethanol for 6 hours yields 5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - nitrophenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid 6 - propargyl ester 8 - ethyl ester of melting point 153 ° ( ethanol ). heating a solution of 9 . 7 g of 3 - carbethoxybenzylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 60 ml of ethanol for 6 hours yields 5 - methyl - 7 -( 3 - carbethoxyphenyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 149 ° c ( ethanol ). boiling a solution of 7 . 4 g of then - 2 - ylideneacetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 60 ml of ethanol for 6 hours yields 5 - methyl - 7 -( then - 2 - yl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 134 ° c ( ethanol ). heating a solution of 9 . 0 g of ( naphth - 1 - ylidene ) acetoacetic acid ethyl ester and 5 . 2 g of 2 - carbethoxymethylideneimidazolidine in 60 ml of ethanol for 6 hours yields 5 - methyl - 7 -( naphth - 1 - yl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 - tetrahydroimidazolo [ 1 , 2 - a ] pyridine - 6 , 8 - dicarboxylic acid diethyl ester of melting point 169 °- 170 ° c ( ethanol ). | 8 |
referring in more detail to the drawings , fig1 and 2 illustrate a pair of rotary die cylinders 10 , 12 embodying this invention and received in a die stand 14 . when co - rotating , cutting blades 16 and 17 on cylinders 10 , 12 cut blanks or workpieces and usually some associated scrap pieces from a web of thin material ( not shown ) passing through the nip 18 of the die cylinders 10 , 12 . for carrying the cylinders , the die stand 14 has a pair of spaced apart uprights 20 fixed to a base 22 . each die cylinder 10 , 12 is journalled for rotation by a pair of arbor assemblies 24 , 26 and 28 , 30 removably connected to an associated cylinder by a draw bar 32 , 34 and removably received in guide ways or slots 36 , 38 in the uprights 20 of the stand 14 . the arbors 24 - 30 are releasably clamped in the stand 14 by threaded screws 40 carried by cross bars 42 secured by cap screws 44 to the upper ends of the uprights 20 . the lower cylinder 10 is driven through the arbor assemblies 24 and 26 which have separate spindles 46 , 48 journalled for rotation by preferably a roller bearing ( not shown ) and received in mounting blocks 50 , 52 . to support the lower cylinder 10 and coaxially align the spindles 46 , 48 with it , the spindles 46 , 48 have frustoconical nose portions 54 , 56 slidably received in complementary frustoconical recesses in opposed ends of the cylinder 10 . to drive the cylinder 10 for co - rotation with the spindles 46 , 48 , the spindles 46 , 48 have a key ( not shown ) constructed to be received in complementary grooves in the cylinder . the spindles 46 , 48 are drawn into firm engagement with the recesses in the cylinder 10 by the draw bar 32 which has a threaded end portion removably received in a complementary threaded blind bore 58 in the nose end 54 of the spindle 46 . the upper cylinder 12 is driven through the arbor assemblies 28 and 30 which have separate spindles 60 , 62 journalled for rotation by bearings received in mounting blocks 64 , 66 . the spindles 60 , 62 are coaxially aligned with and support the upper cylinder 12 by the cooperation of a frustoconical nose portions 68 , 70 received in a complementary recesses in the opposed ends of the cylinder 12 . in assembly , to ensure that the spindles 60 , 62 and cylinder 12 rotate in unison , a key of the spindle ( not shown ) is slidably received in a complementary groove in the cylinder . the spindles 60 , 62 are releasably drawn into engagement with the cylinder 12 by rotation of the draw bar 34 which extends through one arbor assembly 30 and the cylinder 12 and has a threaded end portion received in a complementary threaded bore 72 in the nose 68 of the spindle 60 of the other arbor assembly 28 . to the extent thus far described , the cylinders 10 and 12 , arbor assemblies 24 - 30 and the die stand 14 are substantially as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 842 , 399 issued dec . 1 , 1998 , the disclosure of which describes in greater detail the arbor assemblies and cylinders and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . in assembly , the cylinders 10 , 12 are preferably driven by an electric motor 74 with a pinion gear 76 on its output shaft 78 which meshes with a driven gear 80 releasably coupled to the spindle 46 associated with the lower cylinder 10 . the driven gear 80 in turn meshes with a gear 82 releasably coupled to the spindle 60 associated with the upper cylinder 12 so that the lower and upper cylinders 10 , 12 co - rotate at the same speed . as shown in fig6 to facilitate engaging and disengaging the gears 80 , 82 from the spindles 46 , 60 , a removable locking gear assembly 90 is provided for each gear 80 , 82 . each gear assembly 90 has a gear release nut 92 , a gear 80 or 82 and a gear mounting nut 94 all removably received on the spindle 46 or 60 . the gears 80 , 82 have a tapered bore 96 constructed to engage a complementary tapered portion 98 of the spindle 46 or 60 . the gear mounting nut 94 is received on a threaded portion 100 of the spindle 46 , 60 and is advanced to urge the gears 80 , 82 into firm engagement with the tapered portion 98 of their spindles 46 , 60 for co - rotation of the gears 80 , 82 and spindles 46 , 60 . the gear release nut 92 is disposed on the opposite side of the gears 80 , 82 from the gearing mounting nut 94 and is advanced when the gear mounting nut 94 is backed off the gears 80 , 82 to disengage the gears 80 , 82 from their spindles 46 , 60 . preferably , to maintain the gears 80 , 82 essentially coaxial with their spindles 46 , 60 , both the gear release nut 92 and the gear mounting nut 94 have annular gear support ribs or projections 102 , 104 , respectively , which are received in generally complementary grooves 106 , 108 formed in the gears 80 , 82 . also preferably , to ensure the gears 80 , 82 remain mounted on their spindles 46 , 60 , a locking body 110 is provided adjacent the gear mounting nut 94 to prevent the nut 94 from loosening in use . the locking body 110 is preferably generally cup - shaped or c - shaped , is received over the end of the spindle 46 , 60 and is connected thereto by a cap screw 112 extending through a bore 114 in the body 110 and received in a threaded bore 116 in the spindle 46 , 60 . according to the present invention , both the lower and upper die cylinders 10 , 12 preferably have axially and generally radially outwardly extending and generally circumferentially continuous lands or bearer areas 118 adjacent each end . preferably , conventional cutting tools are used to remove the material inboard of the bearer areas 118 to define the cutting blades 16 on each cylinder 10 , 12 inboard of the bearer areas 118 . the bearer areas 118 preferably have a radius equal to or greater than the radius of the cutting blades 16 to prevent the cutting blades 16 from radially overlapping and interfering with each other . after the material surrounding the cutting blades 16 is removed , the cutting blades 16 may be heat treated to harden them as desired . one or more alignment slots 120 are formed in each cylinder 10 , 12 and are preferably formed in each bearer area 118 of each cylinder 10 , 12 . the alignment slots 120 preferably extend essentially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the cylinders 10 , 12 and are preferably semi - circular in cross section although other shapes of alignment slots 120 may also be used . the alignment slots 120 formed in the bearer areas 118 of the lower cylinder 10 are complementary to the alignment slots 120 formed in the bearer areas 118 of the upper cylinder 12 . when the alignment slots 120 of t he lower cylinder 10 are aligned with the slots 120 of the upper cylinder 12 , a circular opening or a cylindrical passage 122 ( fig3 ) is defined between the cylinders 10 , 12 . alternatively , as shown in fig7 modified alignment sots 120 &# 39 ; may be provided on the upper and lower cylinders 10 &# 39 ; and 12 &# 39 ; which define a generally rectangular opening 122 &# 39 ; between them when the cylinders 10 &# 39 ;, 12 &# 39 ; are aligned . to ensure proper orientation of the cutting blades 16 , 17 the alignment slots 120 of each cylinder 10 , 12 are formed such that when they are aligned , the cutting blades 16 , 17 of cylinders 10 , 12 are properly aligned both axially and in rotational phase with one another and with their axes of rotation being parallel . desirably , to ensure proper alignment of the cylinder 10 , 12 and cutting blades 16 , 17 , the alignment slots 120 are formed generally at the same time and preferably on the same cnc machine as the cutting blades 16 , 17 . when the alignment slots 120 are essentially perfectly aligned thereby ensuring alignment of the cutting blades 16 , 17 of the cylinders 10 , 12 , a cylindrical dowel or alignment pin 124 ( or an alignment pin generally rectangular in cross - section may be used with the alignment slots 120 &# 39 ; defining opening 122 &# 39 ;) may be inserted into each opening 122 defined by the alignment slots 120 to hold the cylinders 10 , 12 in their aligned position . the alignment pins have essentially the same diameter as the slots 120 and may be lapped therein . thus , with the alignment pins 124 received between the cylinders 10 , 12 , the arbor assemblies 24 - 30 may be engaged with the cylinders 10 , 12 to firmly hold the cylinders 10 , 12 in the parallel axes , rotary phase and axially aligned position defined by the cooperation of the alignment slots 120 and pins 124 . to accommodate for wear of the cutting blades 16 and to permit the cylinders 10 , 12 to be indexed into sequential cutting positions with parallel axes , rotary phase and axial alignment , as shown in fig3 a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart alignment slots 120 may be formed in the bearer areas 118 of both cylinders 10 , 12 to facilitate properly aligning the die cylinders 10 , 12 after their worn blades 16 , 17 have been resharpened . in assembly , the lower cylinder 10 is first inserted into the die stand 14 followed by the upper cylinder 12 . to facilitate alignment of the cylinders 10 , 12 , both cylinders 10 , 12 are free to move axially , to rotate relative to each other and for their axes to shift when initially received on the stand 14 . to permit the cylinders 10 , 12 to freely rotate , the gears 80 , 82 are not intermeshed and are not firmly engaged with the tapered portion 98 of their spindles 46 , 60 . a pair of alignment grooves 120 in the lower cylinder 10 are generally aligned with the corresponding pair of alignment grooves 120 in the upper cylinder 12 and the alignment pins 124 are inserted in the openings 122 defined by the aligned alignment grooves 120 . the relatively free movement of the cylinders 10 , 12 allows them to substantially fully engage the alignment pins 124 received between the cutting blades 16 , 17 cylinders 10 , 12 to ensure that the cylinders 10 , 12 are properly aligned both axially and in rotary phase with respect to each other and to also ensure that the axes of rotation of the cylinders 10 , 12 are parallel to prevent skewing of the cylinders . with the alignment pins 124 received between the die cylinders 10 , 12 , the draw bars 32 , 34 may be rotated to firmly engage the arbor assemblies 24 - 30 with their respective cylinders 10 , 12 to firmly hold the cylinders in place on the die stand 14 . with the cylinders 10 , 12 accurately aligned and secured on the die stand 14 , the gears 80 , 82 can be engaged with their spindles 46 , 60 and meshed with each other to be driven by the pinion gear 76 for co - rotation of the cylinders 10 , 12 in opposed directions . to engage each gear 80 , 82 with its spindle 46 , 60 , the gear release nut 92 of the gear assembly 90 is backed off from the gear 80 , 82 and the gear mounting nut 94 is advanced to urge the gear 80 , 82 into firm engagement with the tapered portion 98 of its spindle 46 , 60 to firmly hold the gear 80 , 82 on its spindle 46 , 60 . the cap screw 112 is then firmly tightened to engage the locking body 110 with the gear mounting nut 94 to prevent the nut 84 from loosening or rotating in use . although only the gear 80 associated with the lower cylinder 10 needs to be released from its spindle 46 to permit free rotation of the cylinders 10 , 12 when aligning them , it may be desirable to release both gears 80 , 82 from their spindles 46 , 60 to ensure free rotation of their cylinders 10 , 12 when aligning them . with the gears 80 , 82 firmly mounted on their spindles 46 , 60 and intermeshed with each other , they may be driven in unison by the motor 74 through the pinion gear 76 to cause co - rotation of the cylinders 10 , 12 for cutting a web of material . with rotary die cylinders 10 , 12 having the alignment slots 120 or 120 &# 39 ; and associated alignment pins 124 , according to this invention , a pair of die cylinders 10 , 12 may be quickly and easily aligned without the necessity for manually adjusting the cylinders based on empirical experiments to determine the alignment of the cylinders . this reduces the downtime of the cutting machine and facilitates replacing worn cylinders 10 , 12 or interchanging different cylinders on a cutting machine to cut different parts or webs of material . thus , the productivity and efficiency of the rotary die cutting machine is improved . | 8 |
reference is made first to fig1 and 3 . a base frame 10 is positioned vertically below a bird feeder 2 that is suspended from a tree limb , structure , etc by a bird feeder suspension device 4 . the base frame 10 has a bottom 11 and a rim 12 to which a suspension system 20 is attached . the suspension system 20 hangs below the bird feeder 2 and attaches to the bird feeder suspension device 4 . the base frame 10 can be sized , shaped and structured for use in a variety of locations . it can be round , rectangular or have a desired plurality of sides to which rim 12 can be attached . the base frame 10 is generally convex in form to allow moisture to run off toward the rim 12 . the base frame may be fabricated out of screen , mesh , plastic , or any other material suitable to hold bird seed and feed 3 and maintain desired shape . the base frame 10 may have at least one aperture ( 14 ) to allow moisture to drain from the bottom 11 . the bird feeder 2 can be a conventional item with which this bird - feed catcher is used . the suspension system 20 is made up of a at least one leg 24 and a suspension apparatus 27 which has an aperture 40 which removably attaches to the bird feeder suspension device 4 . the suspension system preferably has a pair of legs , 23 and 24 which are positioned diametrically opposite one another on the base frame 10 and positioned diametrically opposite one another on the suspension apparatus 27 . the legs 23 and 24 are identical and have a fastener end 21 and a fastening receiver end 26 which has an aperture 41 able to receive the fastener end 21 or the apparatus fastener 42 . the suspension apparatus 27 has an apparatus fastener 42 which connects to the fastening receiver end 26 of a leg 23 or 24 . the fastener end 21 can attach to the longitudinal legs 32 and 32 at a node 30 or directly to the rim 12 which has a rim fastener 13 . ( fig2 ) legs 23 , 24 are attached to longitudinal legs 31 , 32 at node 30 , by a top end aperture 36 of longitudinal legs 31 , 32 to the fastener end 21 of leg 23 , 24 . ( fig3 a ) the bottom end aperture 33 of longitudinal legs 31 , 32 is attached to rim fasteners 13 which are spaced at a predetermined distance to maximize stability of the base frame 10 when suspended beneath a bird feeder 2 . ( fig3 b ) the spacing between the rim fasteners 13 will determine the measurement of the angle formed at node 30 . longitudinal legs 31 , 32 and legs 23 , 24 are of a predetermined length so as to suspend below any bird feeder 2 and attach to the bird feeder suspension device 4 via the suspension apparatus 20 . a wide selection of fasteners are foreseeable . a simple nodule is shown on fastener end 21 , rim fastener 13 , and apparatus fastener 42 . the fasteners shown are formed onto the member and this depiction is only intended to be representative of fasteners that may be used . types of fasteners employed can be selected as appropriate for different types of bird - feeder suspension mechanisms and different sizes and shapes of base frames 10 . the legs are of materials such as a rope , chain , plastic rod , etc . in the absence of a bird feeder 2 , the bird - feed catcher can be used as a pan holding bird seed and feed 3 to enable bird to feed directly from this invention . bird seed and feed 3 can be placed directly on the base frame 10 so that birds can land on the rim 12 on the bird - feed catcher and feed as desired . a new and useful bird - feed catcher having been described , all such modifications , adaptations , substitutions of equivalents , mathematical possibilities of combinations of parts , pluralities of parts , applications and forms thereof as described by the following claims are included in this invention . | 0 |
fig1 sets forth the block diagram of an arrangement for use with a substantially air - tight testing structure for monitoring evaporative emissions from vehicles while in a non - running condition . the vehicle under test ( not shown ) is placed within the testing structure having a wall 169 through which periodic air sampling is performed . a heated air sampling line or conduit 173 extends via valve 106 through testing structure wall 169 and then through another control valve 103 c to a sampling probe for inside ambient air of the testing structure . additional specific locations associated with the vehicle under test may be sampled via probes 102 and 101 respectively coupled to the sampling conduit via control valves 103 b and 103 a . a source 133 of substantially zero hydrocarbon containing air is coupled to the interior of the testing structure via wall 169 through regulator valve 107 , ball valve 109 and control valves 104 and 105 . the pressure of this zero hc air is monitored via gauge 108 . as will be explained in more detail below , zero hydrocarbon air is introduced into the testing structure via wall 169 whenever inside ambient air has been bled off to bring the pressure differential between the outside atmosphere and the interior of the testing structure substantially to zero . heated sampling conduit 173 terminates at a micro - metering needle valve 114 and a bellows pump 115 , in turn coupled to a flame ionization detector ( fid ) 116 which measures the total hydrocarbon content of a sample . heated conduit 173 additionally is coupled to a gas analyzer 127 for analysis of the specific types of hydrocarbons present in the sample . analyzer 127 preferably comprises an innova model 3433 photoacoustic gas analyzer . fid 116 is coupled to a fuel source 123 via a regulator valve 122 and the pressure in the fuel line is monitored by gauge 121 . additionally , fid 116 is coupled via path 118 to a flow meter 119 and then via valve 120 to a return - to - shed line 124 and a dump 125 . analyzer 127 is coupled via path 128 and flow meter 126 to control valve 120 for access to dump 125 or rts 124 . an air input 129 of analyzer 127 feeds a source of zero hydrocarbon air 133 via regulator 132 and flow meter 130 to analyzer 127 for providing purge air thereto . a front panel access air source 134 is also provided for diagnostic purposes . zero hydrocarbon air is input to fid 116 via path 117 for enabling the combustion process of the flame of fid 116 . arrangement 100 advantageously utilizes a spill - over cal - through sampling system . a sample is taken every predetermined period , for example ten minutes , and the hydrocarbon content of emissions within testing structure defined by wall 169 is then periodically updated . fid 116 is likewise periodically calibrated via a spill - over arrangement comprising conduit 168 flowing through a control valve 113 past an end of heated conduit 173 , then through control valve 110 and flow meter 174 to dump 112 . a preselected level of hydrocarbon content is derived from various supplies of propane for calibration purposes . these supplies 156 , 158 , 160 , 162 , and 164 respectively provide propane with known levels of hydrocarbon content for the calibration procedure . additionally , a source of zero hydrocarbon air 166 is made available to the calibration spillover pathway . the calibration gas sources are controlled via solenoid valves 155 , 157 , 159 , 161 , 163 and 165 . the calibration source then proceeds through regulator valve 153 and control valve 152 through a flow meter 151 to path 168 . control valves 110 and 113 are closed during the normal sampling routine but are open for the calibration . valve 106 would then be closed during calibration . back - flow and contamination of the calibration gas sources are prevented via check valves 167 a - f associated respectively with the zero hydrocarbon air source 165 and propane sources control valves 163 , 161 , 159 , 157 and 155 . the pressure differential between the outside atmosphere and the inside ambient air of the testing structure is determined by a dwyer magnahelic water column gauge 149 with an electrical output which is utilized to actuate valve 142 to enable the testing structure to “ exhale ” so as to bring the pressure differential down substantially to zero . barometer 148 also monitors ambient atmosphere external to the testing structure and pressure transducer 150 is used to monitor pressure of fuel tank 172 . the volume of interior ambient air which is exhaled via ball valve 142 is determined using a laminar flow element 138 with pressure probes 183 and 184 at opposite ends thereof . the pressure differential across the laminar flow element is then monitored via pressure transducer 139 coupled via leads 140 and 141 to probes 183 and 184 . a processor based controller 180 is coupled to the various elements of fig1 via a data distribution and collection bus 182 and via a control bus 181 . when the amount of exhaled air is to be determined by controller 180 , the controller 180 uses transducer 139 to determine the pressure differential across the laminar flow element 138 which in turn enables the computer to derive the flow rate at the time of exhale . the hydrocarbon content in the ambient air sample from the latest sample times the volume of air exhaled is used to derive the hydrocarbon content of the air which was exhaled . this amount is then used to adjust the running total being maintained at controller 180 . when a predetermined unacceptable pressure differential is detected by gauge 149 , valve 144 is opened and shop air at supply 147 via regulator valve 145 is directed to ball valve 142 to open same for enabling air to exit from the interior of the testing structure via wall 169 . blocks 135 , 136 and 137 of fig1 set forth three alternative approaches to performing “ retention testing ” of the test structure , which basically is a measurement of the air tightness of that structure . in a retention test , a known quantity of propane is introduced into the sealed test structure . after a cycle time , for example , twenty - four hours , the introduced hydrocarbons are measured and a preordained amount of hydrocarbon must remain within the testing structure for it to be certified . the known amount of hydrocarbons is introduced via one of the three approaches set forth in blocks 135 , 136 , and 137 . blocks 135 and 137 present alternate approaches to gravimetric propane injection for retention testing — a preferred injection method for this invention . a gravimetric hydrocarbon injection device is basically a small cylinder hooked up to pure propane and coupled to a hole in the side of the wall 169 . once the propane is injected , the cylinder is weighed to determine precisely how much propane was injected . block 135 injects gravimetrically via a manually operated valve , while block 137 utilizes a quick - connect coupling . of course , the injection hole is capped when not in use . alternatively , to gravimetric coupling , one could use a critical flow orifice in wall 169 , as represented by block 136 . an advantage of the previously discussed periodic calibration of fid 116 is that , since the calibration gas from sources 156 , 158 , 160 , 162 , 164 or 166 is introduced past an end of conduit 173 , the calibration gas also flows through heated conduit 173 . therefore , any contamination in sample conduit 173 or the valves associated therewith is taken into account when calibrating fid 116 . an additional improvement attained with the invention is the use of substantially zero hydrocarbon air as an “ inhale ” source whenever the pressure of the outside atmosphere exceeds that of the interior ambient air of the testing structure by a predetermined margin . introducing zero hydrocarbon air enables the evaporation monitoring to proceed without the necessity of altering the running count of hydrocarbons within the testing structure when such air is introduced to overcome the unacceptable pressure difference . as with prior approaches to evaporative emission monitoring , fid 116 is used to determine total hydrocarbon content of any given sample . an advantage of this invention is the addition of the gas analyzer 127 which is capable of determining up to six different specific types of hydrocarbons in the sample being emitted . this helps determine which vehicle systems are contributing to the evaporative emissions . for example , with the use of analyzer 127 , one can test a flexible fuel system , the refrigerant system of the vehicle , or even the tire inflation of the vehicle . the goal is to certify that the vehicle emissions are based only on the fueling system . such isolation of emission problems to specific systems are speeded further by the optional probes 101 or 102 placed at specific locations on the vehicle . these probes were used in the prior art in a manner which caused delay time due to the long paths to the sampling equipment . with the use of a single heated sampling conduit 173 for both sampling of the interior ambient air of the testing structure as well as from probes 101 and 102 under the control of their respective control valves , the sampling time delays are considerably diminished . fig2 sets forth a method 200 of conducting the evaporative testing with the apparatus described above in accordance with the principles of the invention . after starting the method at step 201 , pretest information is gathered as step 203 . pre - test information may include , for example the test duration and the temperature profile to be used . flame ionization detector 116 is then calibrated at step 205 in accordance with the known propane sources discussed previously . next , at step 207 the test is initiated , wherein a vehicle under test is placed within the shed interior and an initial air sample is taken to determine the hydrocarbon content and the component parts of such hydrocarbon content by units 116 and 127 of fig1 . the temperature inside the testing structure is then controlled at step 209 in accordance with a preselected temperature profile by equipment not shown . pressure fluctuations within the testing structure which are initiated by temperature changes therewithin are controlled , and in accordance with periodic samples , the total grams of hydrocarbons exhaled due to the requirements of the pressure differential control are updated at step 211 . at step 213 , air samples are periodically taken via heated sample line 173 and the flame ionization detector 116 is also periodically calibrated . gas analyzer 127 is calibrated offline , and its periodic calibration is not a part of the overall method set forth in fig2 . at step 215 , the hydrocarbon and / or component part data are collected for each sample , and a running count of the emissions is maintained by controller 180 of fig1 . at decision block 217 , if the duration period which is a predefined time period has not expired , the routine loops back to step 209 to repeat steps 211 - 215 . if the test duration has ended , an additional sample of the ambient air within the testing structure is taken to determine the final value of hydrocarbons and optionally the component parts thereof at step 219 . at step 221 , controller 180 determines the net grams of hydrocarbon that have been emitted by the vehicle during the test cycle , and the routine then ends at step 223 . fig3 sets forth the method performed by controller 180 in monitoring the pressure differential between the outside atmosphere and the internal ambient air of the testing structure and for compensating the running total of emitted grams of hydrocarbons during the test interval . this method 300 begins at decision block 301 . if the pressure inside the testing structure is lower than the atmospheric pressure outside of the structure by a preselected tolerance , then the zero hydrocarbon air pathway of fig1 is opened at step 321 . if the pressure inside the testing structure is not below that of the outside atmosphere by a preselected tolerance , then the routine steps to decision block 303 . in decision block 303 , if the pressure of the ambient air within the testing structure is higher than the outside atmosphere by a preselected upper tolerance , then the shed is allowed to exhale at step 307 . if the pressure differential for both upper and lower tolerances has not been exceeded , then the routine loops back to decision block 301 . if the pressure of the internal ambient air of the testing structure exceeds the outside atmosphere by the preselected tolerance level , then an exhale timer and counter is initiated at step 305 , the shed outlet exhale port of fig1 is opened at step 307 and simultaneously the exhale pump is turned on at step 309 . if the testing structure has zero hydrocarbon air injected at step 321 or if the exhale initiation steps of 305 , 307 and 309 are initiated , then the routine enters decision block 311 . again , the pressure differential between the inside and outside of the testing structure is monitored and if it is within a tolerance level , the routine proceeds to decision block 313 . if the pressure differential is not within tolerance , then controller 180 of fig1 increments a counter for accumulating the total hydrocarbons being emitted within the testing structure , and the volume of emitted air is accumulated corrected to standard temperature and pressure ( stp ). at decision block 313 , controller 180 determines if the testing structure was inhaling ( i . e . being injected with zero hydrocarbon air ). if the testing structure was inhaling , then the zero air supply solenoid control valve is closed at step 325 and the routine returns to decision block 301 . if the testing structure was not inhaling at step 313 , then it must have been exhaling . the shed opening for exhaling is closed at step 315 and simultaneously at step 317 the amount of exhaled grams of hydrocarbons is calculated in accordance with the monitored flow rate and saved . at step 319 , the exhaled hydrocarbon grams are added to the emission running count , and the routine returns to step 301 . in this manner , a running count of emitted hydrocarbons ( and their constituent components ) is maintained via periodic sampling through conduit 173 and , if the interior of the testing structure exhaled air to overcome pressure differentials , this running count is compensated by adding hydrocarbons which were bled off from the testing structure during the routine . by using substantially zero hydrocarbon containing air as an injector into the testing structure to raise the pressure therein , no compensation is required . the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment , for the sake of example . the scope and spirit of the invention are to be determined by appropriately interpreting the appended claims . | 6 |
in the following description , reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof , and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced . these embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention , and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural , logical and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention . the following description is , therefore , not to be taken in a limited sense , and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims . an electrospray system is first described for creating nanofibers formed of various materials . a method for forming and supporting nanofiber membranes is then described , along with the resulting structure . the nanofiber membranes may be formed on microfiber membranes , and the resulting structure may be used as a filter in one embodiment . various methods of forming the nanofiber membranes other than the electrospray system may also be used . a microfluidic electrospray system is shown at 100 in fig1 . a microfluidic channel 110 is coupled at one end to a triangular tip 115 , acting as a source for formation of nanofibers . both are supported by a substrate 120 . a reservoir 125 provides a polymer solution in one embodiment to the channel 110 and to the tip 115 . another end of the microfluidic channel 110 is coupled to a reservoir 125 formed in the substrate 120 . the reservoir in one embodiment is coupled to a capillary tube 130 , or other plumbing to provide the polymer solution to the reservoir and channel . a conductor , such as a gold wire 135 is coupled to the reservoir for coupling the reservoir to a power supply 137 . the substrate is mounted on an x , y , z stage for moving the substrate laterally in a desired manner . in one embodiment , the substrate 120 is positioned between approximately 5 mm to 12 . 5 mm from holder 145 on which a silicon substrate 150 with aluminum coating 155 is supported . the substrate and aluminum coating 155 are coupled to a ground via a conductor 160 , forming a counter electrode . by applying a potential via power supply 137 with respect to the grounded substrate 150 , a taylor cone is established on tip 115 , resulting in a liquid jet 170 being formed at the tip and moving toward the substrate 150 . in one embodiment , the term taylor cone is used to refer to any type of structure that result in a thin stream of liquid moving toward the substrate 150 . by moving the substrate 120 by use of the x , y , z stage 140 , the liquid jet moves across the substrate 150 , creating nanofibers on the substrate in desired positions . z corresponds to the distance between the tip and the substrate . stage 140 may be moved to create a membrane of substantially randomly oriented fibers . in further embodiments , no x , y stage need be used , and the substrate may be positioned proximate the tip 115 to produce nanofibers in a desired position on the substrate . the term “ nanofibers ” is meant to cover fibers within the dimensions described herein , and smaller fibers . further the nanofibers may be larger than those described depending on multiple different parameters , including size of the triangle tip . the microfluidic coupling allows new possibilities for materials processing and nanostructure formation . the source allows for smaller source to substrate distances and permits operation at lower voltages than conventional sources . the shorter distance , referred to as a deposition distance , enables greater control of nanofiber morphology and more localized deposition of the fibers . in one embodiment , nanofibers are formed within a 5 mm diameter circle on the substrate 150 . in one example , the electrospray device substrate 120 is attached on the x , y , z stage 140 and adjusted to form a deposition distance between the tip 115 and counter electrode / substrate of approximately 0 . 5 cm to 1 . 5 cm . a 300 nl / minute flow rate is created by coupling a syringe pump to the capillary tube 130 . a potential is applied to the wire 135 of approximate 2000v to 8500v . approximately 500 nm of aluminum is optionally sputter - deposited on the silicon wafer and used as the counter electrode for nanofiber deposition . in one embodiment , the counter electrode is attached to a rotating optical chopper , with rotation rate varied between 40 rpm to 800 rpm . in a further embodiment , nanofibers are directly deposited on the silicon wafer without the need for the al layer . in this embodiment , the silicon wafer acts as the counter electrode . further detail of an electrospray device is shown at 200 in fig2 . in one embodiment , a top chip 210 has a microchannel 215 embossed therein . the device further comprises an emitter film 220 , having a triangular or trapezoidal shaped tip 230 . it should be noted that any type of source , such as commercially available electrospray sources may be used to provide an electrospray of desired materials in addition to the sources described herein . electrospray techniques involve the use of an applied voltage to extract material from a surface . in one embodiment , the emitter comprises a larger body portion that is rectangular , with the tip 230 extending from the rectangular portion . a bottom chip 240 is thermally bonded with the top chip 210 , sandwiching a portion of the emitter film to hold it firmly between the chips . in one embodiment , the film covers a portion of the length of the channel at one end of the bonded chips as indicated at 250 . the tip 230 extends laterally from the channel at end 250 . a reservoir 260 is coupled to the other end of the channel 215 . the triangle tip 230 is approximately 3 um thick , and acts like a nozzle or wick that prevents liquid from spreading laterally at the exit of the fluidic channel . in one embodiment , the tip has an apex with an approximately 90 degree angle , and the angles adjacent the channel are approximately 45 degrees . the angle of the apex may be varied , such as between 40 and 120 degrees . at smaller apex angles , liquid may spread at the base of the triangle contacting the microchannel chip , as the wetting angle of solutions in the channel may be smaller than the angles the base of the triangle makes with the chip . different apex angles may be optimal for solutions with different wetting angles . the base of the triangular tip is approximately 100 micrometers , and the height is approximately 50 micrometers . thus , the base extends well beyond both sides of the channel when centered approximately at the center of the channel . the shape of the tip 230 helps form and fix a position of a taylor cone , as shown in fig3 . when a difference in potential is applied to the device , a liquid droplet with a critical curvature for establishing a taylor cone is formed at the apex of the triangle . a liquid jet 320 is formed at the apex . highly charged small liquid droplets are made extending toward the counter electrode . excess electrostatic force extracts liquid from the apex of the taylor cone to establish the liquid jet . other shapes of emitter film may also be used , such as trapezoidal shaped emitter films . while an electrospray emitter is described as the source for nanofibers , other sources may also be used to create oriented nanofibers . polyethylene oxide was used as the nanofiber solution in one embodiment . it was prepared by dissolving peo monomer ( mw 100 , 000 ) at weight concentration of 6 % to 10 % in a mixture of 50 % deionized water and 50 % ethanol . other concentrations may also be used . peo polymeric solution is electrosprayed to the rotational counter electrode . the deposition distance is set at 2 cm and the position of the triangular tip was set at 2 . 0 cm laterally away from the center of the counter electrode . in addition to peo , there are many organic such as polyaniline , poly lactic acid or inorganic solutions like silica that may be used . for a spinning process , a flow rate of 300 nl / minute is maintained with the syringe pump . 7000v was applied to the gold wire at the fluid source with the metalized substrate at ground potential . a taylor cone is maintained at the apex of the triangle tip with a stable total ion current of 15 na . in various embodiments , nanofiber size and morphology depend on process parameters , which may be varied significantly . such parameters include the deposition distance , applied electric field strength , and rotational speed of the counter electrode . at smaller deposition distances , the polymer may arrive at the counter electrode as a solution , resulting in a structure resembling a membrane with holes , rather than fibers . in one embodiment , the deposition distance is set to 0 . 75 cm , and a taylor cone is established with 3500v applied to the gold electrode . this resulted in approximately 14 . 8 na of total ion current and columnar nanofibers with an average diameter of 200 nm . nanofibers appear to have partially dried while traveling to the counter electrode . with a distance of approximately 1 . 0 cm , a taylor cone is established at about 4000v , and an ion current of about 14 . 5 na . thinner nanofibers are formed in this case , with an average diameter of approximately 100 nm . with a distance of 1 . 5 cm , the taylor cone is also established at 4000v , resulting in columnar nanofibers with an average diameter of approximately 100 nm . from the above examples , the nanofiber size decreased from 200 nm to 100 nm while the deposition distance was increased from 0 . 5 cm to 1 . 0 cm . extension of the deposition distance to more than 1 . 0 cm may not influence the nanofiber diameter . once the fibers form in transit , the nanofiber size appears to be fixed , and the fibers are deposited on the surface as a solid . applied electric field strength was varied from 4000 v / cm to 8500 v / cm at a distance of 1 . 0 cm in one example embodiment . at 4000 v / cm , cylindrical nanofibers are formed with an average diameter of 100 nm . at 5500 v / cm , the diameter is almost the same , but branched nanofibers with small diameter of 30 to 60 nm may be fabricated between the main nanofibers . in one embodiment , various solutions of peo may be used . weight concentrations of 5 , 10 , 20 and 30 % of peo in a solvent of 50 % deionized water and 50 % ethanol may be utilized . other concentrations may also be used , as well as entirely different solutions that are capable of forming wires . polyaniline ( pani ) ( 48 mg , emeraldine base ; mw approximately 20 , 000 , purchased from aldrich , wis ., usa ) may be dissolved in chloroform ( 1 . 5 ml ) and doped with 10 - camphorsulfonic acid ( 122 mg ). peo ( 48 mg , mw approximately 900 , 000 purchased from aldrich ) may be added to the chloroform solution and stirred overnight . the concentration of peo / pani - hcsa may range from 0 . 5 to 2 . 0 wt . %. the amount of peo mixed with pa may be varied from 10 to 80 wt . % in one embodiment . in one embodiment , a taylor cone is established with a potential of 4500 v applied to a 20 ul dropet and the counter electrode . nanofibers may be generated for approximately 5 to 10 seconds . the length of the nanofiber is controlled by the volume of the droplet loaded on the tip . the length may also be controlled by controlling the potential . removing the potential at desired times results in removing the taylor cone , and hence stopping production of the nanofiber at a desired time and distance . nanofibers may be deposited immediately after the polymeric solution is loaded to reduce effects of evaporation . in addition to the arrow shaped tip , triangle - shaped and straight metal wire tips may be employed . it may be more difficult to establish a taylor cone with some tip shapes . diameters of nanofibers deposited from the various solutions may be in the 100 to 200 nm range for the 5 % solution , 200 - 300 nm range for 10 %, 300 - 500 nm for 20 % and 500 to 1800 nm range for 30 %. the polymer viscosity increases with concentration . the viscosity of a 30 % solution is very high . lower viscosity solutions appear to result in smaller diameter fibers . deposition distance may also be varied . in one embodiment , the distance is varied between 0 . 5 to 1 . 5 cm with a peo solution of 10 %. the counter electrode is not spun in this embodiment . changes may be observed in the nanofiber morphology . in the case of a 0 . 5 cm deposition distance , deposited polymer resembles a membrane . this may be the result of the short transit distance , in which the polymer may arrive at the counter electrode as a wet polymer , allowing them to merge to form larger fibers , or bond together to make a fibrous web . at a distance of 0 . 75 cm , cylindrical nanofibers may be formed of diameter 200 to 850 nm range . in this case , the nanofibers appear to have partially dried while traveling to the counter electrode . at 1 . 0 cm distances , thinner nanofibers appear to be created , having average diameters of approximately 153 nm . a 5 % solution resulted in nanofibers as small as 45 nm . in one embodiment , the tips may be reused after surface cleaning . a wide range of polymeric material , such as highly viscous polymeric solutions can be electrospun from the tip . the short deposition distance as compared to syringe based electrospinning provides for easy control of the orientation of the nanofibers . the tips also provide the capability of electrospinning of colloidal suspensions mixed with a polymer solution to fabricate nanofibers composite materials . in addition to the formation of nanofibers , tips may be used to electrospray liquids , chemicals and for particulate deposition on a surface . in still further embodiments , a solution of poly ( methyl methacrylate ) ( pmma ) is used for fiber formation . 4 wt . % and 5 . 5 wt . % pmma solutions may be prepared by dissolving 67 . 2 mg and 92 . 4 mg of pmma ( mw 495 , 000 ) in 2 ml of anisole ( phenyl methyl ether ), respectively . a pipette or other type of applicator may be utilized to provide 30 ul of solution on the silicon tip . a voltage of 4000 to 7000 v may be applied between the tip and counter electrode to establish the taylor cone and extract a liquid jet from its apex . target substrates may include many different materials , such as silicon , aluminum , thin film aluminum on silicon , and non - conducting substrates , such as silicon dioxide , silicon nitride , glass slides , cover slips and others . such non - conductive substrates are mounted on the counter electrode in the path of the extracted liquid jet . with highly volatile solvents in the solution used to form a taylor cone may be stable only for several seconds prior to evaporation . a side effect of such volatile solvents appears to be the formation of more than one polymer liquid jet being extracted from a silicon tip per deposition cycle . this may lead to fibers of different sizes being deposited on the same substrate . when multiple polymer jets are extracted , the diameters of such jets may have very small diameters . reducing the size of the microfabricated tip may also consistently create nanofibers with very small diameters . in one embodiment , using the 4 wt . % solution of pmma in anisole , fibers were produced having an average diameter of approximately 85 . 2 nm . fibers deposited using 4 wt . % solution of pmma range from 81 . 4 to 326 . 5 nm with an average of 190 nm . fibers deposited using 5 . 5 wt . % solution of pmma range from 88 . 5 to 346 nm with an average of 206 nm . the smallest diameter fibers extracted from the solutions were deposited when more than one polymer jet was extracted from the silicon tip . the multiple jets produced fibers of various sizes , instead of a single jet producing fibers of approximately the same size . in one embodiment , a microfiber membrane or filter 410 in fig4 may be supported on the counter electrode . the nanofibers are then formed directly onto the microfiber membrane 410 to form a nanofiber membrane 420 . in one embodiment , the nanofibers arrive at the microfiber membrane 410 at least partially wet . this state provides a tight bonding with the microfiber and also helps the nanofibers bond together to form a membrane with increased structural integrity . the microfiber membrane provides mechanical strength for the resulting microfiber supported nanofiber membrane 420 . in one embodiment , an integration region 430 is formed where the nanofibers penetrate into the microfibers various distances . the distances are a function of the relative diameters of the fibers , and the force at which the nanofibers are projected towards the microfiber membrane 410 . whether or not the nanofibers are not completely dried , the penetration also provides a bond between the resulting microfiber and nanofiber membranes . if the nanofibers are at least partially wet on arrival , a spun thermal bond may result , and provide good adhesion of the nanafibers to the microfibers . in one embodiment , the microfiber membrane may be formed directly on the counterelectrode or a substrate coupled to the counterelectrode . the nanofibers may then be spun onto the microfiber membrane . in various embodiments , different materials may be interposed between the membranes , or the nanofiber membrane may be formed directly onto the microfiber membrane . in further embodiments , the nanofiber membrane may be produced independently of the microfiber membrane , and then placed onto it . the membranes may then be held together by suitable adhesive , or mechanical frame or other means of coupling the membranes . a second microfiber membrane 440 may be placed over the nanofiber membrane to provide a filter type structure that has support for the nanofiber membrane from both sides . this second microfiber membrane 440 may be held in place may many different means as described above , or may be formed directly onto the nanofiber membrane using known microfiber deposition processes . if applied in a partially wet manner , the adhesion may be increased . in one embodiment , the microfiber membranes may have diameters in the um range , or may be larger if desired . in further embodiments , other filter type substrates may be used to support nanofiber membranes , such as ceramic filters , nano porous membrane filter or ion exchange membrane filter . fig5 is a scanning electron microscope image of a nanofiber membrane 500 according to an example embodiment of the invention . a scale bar 510 indicates 5 um . a conventional membrane type filter typically consists of fibers of 20 - 50 micrometer in diameter . the mean pore size is approximately 50 um . on the other hand , the mean pore size of nanofiber membrane is much smaller as illustrated at 500 . the average pore size in one embodiment is less than 100 nm . ( pore size is usually described as the diameter of pore .) this is very suitable for capturing ultra fine particles or molecules , and also provides a significant difference of surface to volume ratio over microfiber membranes . the weak point of nanofibers with average diameters of less than 100 nm was the mechanical resistibility for the air or liquid flow . because of this weakness , it was difficult to commercialize the nanofiber based filtration product , although it has vast potential . by direct electrospinning of nanofibers onto the microfiber substrates as well as the construction of another layer of microfibers on the surface of nanofiber membrane a mechanically stable filtration membrane is created . because of the high surface to volume ratio , the nanofiber membrane can significantly improve the filtration performance , such as the capture of nicotine molecules in tobacco smoke . in one embodiment , the nanofibers are blown or formed to provide a membrane that is between approximately 20 nm to 1 um thick , with nanofiber diameters of approximately 100 to 200 um . the microfiber membrane may be approximately 10 um to 100 um or thicker in various embodiments , depending on the amount of structural support desired . in one embodiment , the diameter of the nanofibers and thickness of the nanofiber layers are selected as a function of molecule size to be filtered . for smaller molecule sizes , smaller diameter nanofibers may be used to decrease the resulting pore size in the membrane . the thickness of the membrane may also be increased . for larger molecule sizes , larger diameter nanofiber may be used in a thinner layer if desired . one layer of nanofibers may be sufficient for many air filter applications . liquid applications may require a microfiber layer on both sides of the nanofiber membrane . in still further embodiments , a second nanofiber membrane may be formed on top of the second microfiber membrane as illustrated in fig6 at 600 . still further layers of nanofibers and microfibers may be added to form a stacked sandwich of microfiber and nanofiber membranes . four microfiber membranes , 610 , 615 , 620 and 625 sandwich three nanofiber membranes 630 , 635 and 640 in one embodiment . still further layers may be added if desired . as previously mentioned , the microfiber membranes may be formed in many different manners , such as by deposition . the nanofiber membranes may be formed using the above described electrospray device , or by other means , that may not include the use of a tip as described . the diameter of the fibers and thicknesses of the resulting membranes may be varied for different applications . further , the number of layers of nanofiber membranes and microfiber membranes may also be varied . | 8 |
the preferred embodiment of the apparatus of this disclosure is seen in fig1 through fig4 illustrating colorimeter ( 1 ) showing a colorimeter body ( 100 ) having a sample chamber ( 110 ), first side ( 140 ), a second side ( 150 ), a front ( 160 ), a back ( 170 ), a top ( 180 ) and a bottom ( 190 ). the sample chamber ( 110 ) is generally a cylinder , closed at the bottom ( 190 ) and open at the top ( 180 ) shaped having an upwardly directed sample chamber axis ( 120 ) which is generally orthogonal to the bottom ( 190 ) and centrally positioned within the sample chamber ( 110 ). a person of ordinary skill in sample and measurement arts will recognize that the shape and size of the sample chamber ( 110 ) accommodates the size and shape of sample vessels ( 200 ) purposed for the particular testing to be accomplished . such sample vessels ( 200 ) may generally be cylindrical in shape . in the preferred embodiment the sample vessel ( 200 ) is transparent . fig1 through 4 also illustrate a first light tunnel bore ( 500 ) extending from the first side ( 140 ) through the second side ( 150 ) having an axis of first light tunnel bore ( 510 ) generally centrally positioned within the first light tunnel bore ( 500 ) and intersects and is generally orthogonal to the sample chamber axis ( 120 ). a second light tunnel bore ( 800 ), having an axis of second light tunnel bore ( 810 ) generally centrally positioned within the second light tunnel bore ( 800 ), extends from the front ( 160 ) and into the sample chamber ( 110 ). the axis of second light tunnel bore ( 810 ) transits the second light tunnel bore ( 800 ), the sample vessel ( 200 ) and the contents of the sample vessel ( 200 ) and is intersects the sample chamber axis ( 120 ). the contents of the sample vessel ( 200 ) is primarily water , for the purpose of measurement of hexavalent chromium in water , and the sample vessel ( 200 ) is generally glass . the second light tunnel bore ( 800 ) is generally filled with air . the scattered light path ( 130 ) at scattered light path angle α ( 135 ) is refracted upon leaving the sample vessel ( 200 ) and entering air . the light tunnel bore angle ω ( 900 ) is generally equal to the angle of the path through air of the refracted light exiting the sample vessel ( 200 ), and the axis of the second light tunnel bore ( 810 ) is generally coincident with the path through air of the refracted light . the axis of the second light tunnel bore ( 810 ) intersects the sample chamber axis ( 120 ) at the point of intersection ( 700 ) only when light tunnel bore angle ω ( 900 ) and scattered light path angle α ( 135 ) are equal to 0 °. when second light tunnel bore angle ω ( 900 ) is 30 ° and the radius of the sample vessel ( 200 ) is 12 . 5 mm , the scattered light path angle alpha is approximately 22 ° and the axis of second light tunnel bore ( 810 ) intersects the sample chamber axis ( 120 ) at a point shifted approximately 2 mm from the point of intersection ( 700 ). those of ordinary skills in these measurement arts will recognize that samples other than primarily water will have different refraction characteristics . the dimensions and angular relationships of the colorimeter body ( 100 ), the first tunnel bore ( 500 ), the axis of first tunnel bore ( 510 ), the second tunnel bore ( 800 ), the axis of second tunnel bore ( 810 ), sample chamber ( 110 ), the sample chamber axis ( 120 ) and the sample vessel ( 200 ) are such that the axis of first light tunnel bore ( 510 ), sample chamber axis ( 120 ) and scattered light path ( 130 ) are co - incident at a point of intersection ( 700 ). in the preferred embodiment the axis of second light tunnel bore ( 810 ) intersects the sample chamber axis ( 120 ) at an angle of between 45 ° and 90 °. a light source ( 300 ) shines a beam of nearly - monochromatic ultraviolet light through a sample vessel ( 200 ) to a photodetector ( 400 ) via a first light tunnel bore ( 500 ). the light source ( 300 ) light or beam or incident beam is co - incident with a centrally positioned first light tunnel bore axis ( 510 ). the first light tunnel bore ( 500 ) also serves to collimate the light beam . the method of having light from the light source ( 300 ) passing through a sample vessel ( 200 ) to a first light detector ( 400 ) will be immediately familiar to the practitioner of colorimetry , and it is understood that the colorimeter ( 1 ) and colorimeter shown in fig1 through fig4 must be shielded , such as with a light tight box , from external light sources during operation . that is , the body ( 100 ), circuit board from fig5 and other components will normally be contained within a light tight box . to correct for the effect of turbidity , the present invention uses a second photodetector ( 600 ) which measures the fraction of the incident light beam that is scattered by the suspended particulate matter in the sample vessel ( 200 ) and which reaches second photodetector ( 600 ) via the second light tunnel bore ( 800 ). the relationship of the light transmitted via the second light tunnel ( 800 ) to the second photodetector ( 600 ) will be immediately familiar to the practitioner of nephelometry . the axis of second light tunnel bore ( 810 ) extends to the second photodetector ( 600 ) from a point on the sample chamber axis ( 120 ) at or near the point of intersection ( 700 ) which lies along the light path from the light source ( 300 ) to the first photodetector ( 400 ) and is at the approximate mid - point of the sample vessel . in fig1 , the axis of first light tunnel bore ( 510 ) is seen to lie within the sectional plane of the figure . however , while the axis of second light tunnel bore ( 810 ) is preferably , but not necessarily , normal to the axis of first light tunnel bore ( 510 ) it is not required to lie within the sectional plane of fig1 . fig4 is a cross - sectional view from fig3 and normal to the axis of first light tunnel bore ( 500 ) of fig1 , and which represents the plane that includes the axis of the second light tunnel bore ( 810 ) of fig1 . in fig4 , the axis of second light tunnel bore ( 810 ) has been raised 30 ° from the sample chamber axis ( 120 ), but is positioned to intercept light from point of intersection ( 700 ) of fig1 through 4 . the purpose of positioning the second light tunnel bore ( 800 ) at an angle as shown in fig4 is to minimize reflection of stray light from the walls of sample chamber ( 110 ) or sample vessel ( 200 ) to the second photodetector ( 600 ). note that in fig4 , the axis of second light tunnel bore ( 810 ) has been shifted downward by approximately 2 mm to account for the index of refraction of water . the amount of shift is specific to the angle ( 30 °) and to the dimensions of the colorimeter ( 1 ) described herein relative to the preferred embodiment for the measurement of hexavalent chromium in water . the interior surfaces of the colorimeter sample chamber ( 110 ), but not of transparent sample vessel ( 200 ), should be non - reflective . the configuration of the first light tunnel bore ( 500 ) and second light tunnel bore ( 800 ) of the colorimeter ( 1 ) are the preferred embodiment representing a simple means to shield the second photodetector ( 600 ) from the light from the light source ( 300 ). fig7 and 8 represent the results of calibrating the invention using solutions containing known concentrations of chromate ion , as hexavalent chromium ( cr + 6 ) within the ranges 0 to 7 mg / l and 0 to 0 . 7 mg / l , respectively . technical specifications of the prototype used to generate the performance data and its individual components are discussed as follows , and represent a preferred embodiment of the invention , with the second light tunnel bore ( 800 ) elevated 30 ° as shown in fig4 . in the preferred embodiment the first light tunnel bore ( 500 ) and the second light tunnel bore ( 800 ) are bored 5 mm in diameter . the second light tunnel ( 800 ) is approximately 38 mm long . the first light tunnel bore ( 500 ) from the first side ( 140 ) to the point of intersection ( 700 ) and from the second side ( 150 ) to the point of intersection ( 700 ) are each approximately 33 mm long . the sample chamber ( 110 ) is approximately 28 mm in diameter , and the outer and inner diameters of the sample vessel are approximately 27 mm and 25 mm , respectively . the peak wavelength of the nichia ® # nspu510cs light - emitting diode used as the light source ( 300 ) and to produce the an incident beam was 375 nm according to the manufacturer &# 39 ; s specifications , and it was operated at 18 ma for testing . the first photodetector ( 400 ) and the second photodetector ( 600 ), used for measuring the intensity of both the transmitted and scattered light , were radio shack ® infrared phototransistors , part # rs 276 - 145a , biased at 3 volts for use as photoconductive sensors . fig5 is the complete electronic circuit used in the prototype instrument . a stabilized voltage of 5 . 3 v was provided by the lm317t adjustable voltage regulator , radio shack ® part # rs 276 - 1778 . a tl082 dual jfet input operational amplifier ( radio shack ® part # rs 276 - 1715 ) was used in the circuit with both inputs used as voltage followers as shown in fig5 . a red led ( 1100 ) is used to indicate that power is switched on . digital voltmeters with input resistance of at least 10 megaohms were used to measure the output signals . the intensity of light from the incident beam that reaches the first photodetector ( 400 ) is attenuated by absorption as well as by the light scattering caused by suspended particulate matter , and both absorption and scattering contribute to the measured apparent absorbance . in contrast , the intensity of light scattered towards the second photodetector ( 600 ) increases with increased turbidity , but is decreased by absorption . it is this relationship between light absorption and light scattering in the optical paths of the colorimeter ( 1 ) that is basis of the method for correcting measurements for turbidity . fig6 includes two graphed plots where percent transmittance , determined from the electronic signal measured at the first photodetector ( 400 ), is shown plotted against the scattered light signal measured at the second photodetector ( 600 ). each plot represents a series of measurements made on samples that have a constant hexavalent chromium concentration but with progressively increased turbidity . the upper plot has a chromium concentration of 0 mg / l , and the lower plot has a concentration of 1 . 17 mg / l . inspection of the fig6 shows that the two sets of plotted data are linear and parallel within the ranges shown . the mean slope of the plots of fig6 multiplied by the signal from second photodetector ( 600 ) yields a correction to be added to the signal from the first photodetector ( 400 ). while various embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described , it should be understood that other modifications , substitutions and alternatives are apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art . such modifications , substitutions and alternatives can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , which should be determined from the appended claims . various features of the invention are set forth in the appended claims . | 6 |
the invention relates to a method and apparatus for cleansing , disinfecting and purifying water circulated in a cooling tower having a sump , reservoir or water basin and fill elements thereabove . in accordance with this invention , water is removed , preferably from the sump , of the cooling tower and treated with ozone which acts as a biocide while cleansing the water of dissolved organisms or other components . the treated water is thereafter returned to the water cooling tower , preferably to the top of the fill elements . the invention seeks to purify the water by injecting ozone gas into water side lines or passages , keeping the water turbulent by agitating shearing actions where the ozone remains as a gas , at least partially , and is most active . reference is now made to fig1 of the drawings , which shows a prior art cooling tower . in fig1 a cooling tower 12 basically comprises a water basin or sump 14 , having a base 16 and side walls 18 . the tower 12 comprises almost vertical but somewhat inclined fill elements 20 and 22 , and a top deck tanks 24 to receive water from the chiller ( not shown ). holes in the tank bottom allow the water to drain through the fill for cooling . attached to the base 16 of the sump 14 is a pipe 28 , and a pump 30 located along the pipe . cooled water , identified by reference numeral 32 , is removed from the sump 14 and , by the action of the pump 30 , flows through the pipe 28 to a chiller or other machine requiring cool water for use in the cooling process . during the course thereof , the water is heated , and eventually this warm water , identified by reference numeral 34 , is returned through pipe 36 to the top deck tanks 24 of the cooling tower . using appropriate passages , the warm water runs downward through the fills 20 and 22 , where it is cooled . a fan 38 is located on the top deck 26 , and is designed such that , when rotating , causes air flow from outside of the fills 20 and 22 , through the fills as indicated by arrows 40 . the air passes through the top deck 26 , as indicated by arrows 42 and is expelled into the atmosphere . as the warm water passes through the fills 20 and 22 , it is cooled , facilitated by the flow of air through the fills as indicated by arrows 40 and 42 . the water cascading down the fills 20 and 22 at the lower ends thereof is therefore significantly cooled , and flows or falls back into the sump 14 , as indicated by arrows 44 , to become part of the cool water 32 . the cycle is repeated with the water acting as a cooling medium for the chiller or other apparatus . as has been described above , the water used in the cooling tower , and circulated to the chiller , becomes infected with algae , bacteria , as well as other microbial and dissolved minerals , and it is necessary to cleanse and purify this water in order to ensure the proper functioning of the system . reference is now made to fig2 of the drawings which shows a diagrammatic representation of one embodiment of the water treatment apparatus of the invention . in fig2 there is shown a cooling tower and water treatment system 50 comprising a water tower 52 and water treatment device 54 in association therewith . the water tower 52 is of generally conventional construction , and comprises a water basin or sump 56 having a base 58 and side walls 60 . the top 62 of the sump is generally open , and the base 58 and side walls define a water basin 64 which , in use , contains cooled water 66 . above the sump 56 are cooling tower fill elements 68 and 70 , which may be made up in a number of ways , and may consist of a singular circular configuration , four side panels , or some other configuration , whether open or closed . the fill elements 68 and 70 are of generally frusto - conical shape , tapering from the top end 72 , down to the lower end 74 , with the lower end 74 being positioned above or below the water level in the sump 56 so that water flowing or cascading down the fill elements 68 and 70 , described below , falls into the water basin 64 . the water tower 52 further comprises a top deck tank 76 over the fill elements 68 and 70 , creating a partially enclosed space 78 . the top deck tank 76 includes piping and passages as will be described below for conveying the circulating water to the fill elements 68 and 70 en route to the water basin 64 . suspended from a top deck 75 is a fan 82 , which , when activated , is configured so that upon rotation air is drawn into the space 78 from the outside , indicated by reference numeral 84 , the air passing through fill elements 68 and 70 into the space 78 and out through openings in the top deck 75 for discharge into the atmosphere as a plume 86 . the water treatment device 54 associated with the water tower 52 comprises a pipe 100 defining an exit passage 102 , ozone treatment apparatus 104 , and a pipe 106 defining a return passage 108 . the pipe 100 has an open end 110 which is in the water 66 of the water basin 64 so as to extract water therefrom , while the pipe 106 defines the return passage for conveying water from the ozone treatment apparatus to the top deck tanks 76 of the water tower 52 . the direction of water flow is from the water basin 64 , to the ozone treatment apparatus 104 , and through the return passage 108 to the top deck tanks 76 , where the water cascades down the fill elements 68 and 70 , back into the water basin 64 . this flow is facilitated by a pump 112 , located in pipe 100 in the embodiment shown , although a pump may be situated in any position which is suitable in the circumstances . the ozone treatment apparatus 104 , located between pipe 100 and pipe 106 , comprises a contactor device 120 , and an ozone generator 122 . the contactor / mixer device comprises an entry pipe 124 , a series of flow deflector pipes 126 , and an exit pipe 128 . the entry pipe 124 is connected with pipe 100 , and receives water therefrom , while the exit pipe 128 discharges water from the contactor device 120 into the pipe 106 . the ozone generator 122 is of a conventional type , the size , output and other characteristics and properties of which can be varied or adjusted either manually or in response to preset criteria . the ozone generated by the ozone generator 122 is conveyed through ozone passage 130 to a venturi injector 132 , so that ozone gas enters the water stream flowing through the entry pipe 124 . the ozone gas and water are therefore mixed , and the mixture is conveyed to the flow deflector pipes 126 of the contactor / mixer device 120 . reference is now made to fig3 of the drawings which shows one embodiment of the flow deflector pipes 126 in accordance with the invention . it is to be understood that the flow deflector pipe configuration 126 shown in fig3 is merely one example of the type of configuration which may be used , and variations in the length , number of pipes and vertical / horizontal distances between the pipes can be varied to best suit the circumstances , and to optimize the effect of the ozone gas within the water , as considered necessary . the flow deflector pipes 126 comprises six vertical pipes 136 , 138 , 140 , 142 , 144 , and 146 , connected , as will be described below , with six horizontal pipes 150 , 152 , 154 , 156 , 158 and 160 . further , the flow deflector pipes 126 include a water entry pipe 162 and a water exit pipe 164 by means of which water is respectively introduced into and exhausted from the flow deflector pipes 126 . the vertical and horizontal pipes are connected to each other by a series of substantially right - angled elbow connectors 166 so as to provide a continuous , helical , flow passage extending from the water entry pipe 162 to the water exit pipe 164 . it should be noted , of course , that the contactor / mixer can be stretched out and not helical , and be of any suitable shape such as zig - zag , squared and the like . a water and ozone gas mixture enters the water entry pipe 162 , flows through a first elbow joint 166 and into the horizontal pipe 150 . the horizontal pipe 150 is connected to vertical pipe 138 by an elbow joint 166 . by means of a series of elbow joints 166 , vertical pipe 138 connects to horizontal pipe 152 , which connects to vertical pipe 136 , connecting to horizontal pipe 154 , connecting to vertical pipe 142 , connecting to horizontal pipe 156 , connecting to vertical pipe 140 , connecting to horizontal pipe 158 , connecting to vertical pipe 146 , connecting to horizontal pipe 160 and finally to vertical pipe 144 . from the vertical pipe 144 , the water is conveyed to the water exit pipe 164 , which is connected to the exit pipe 128 of the contactor 104 . as has been described elsewhere in this specification , the ozone is most active and effective when in a gaseous state , and the flow deflector pipes 126 help to contain undissolved ozone gas in the ozone / water mixture . as the water with ozone passes through the various vertical and horizontal pipes , considerable turbulence is created by shear forces as the water passes through each of the elbow joints 166 , causing a change in flow direction . therefore , the system is designed so as to keep the ozone gas entrained within the water over the length of the flow deflector pipes , and thereby achieve considerable biocidal effects with only a minimal amount of ozone . since the system is a closed one , confined and under the effects of considerable turbulence , the water and its impurities are subjected to an intense level of ozone activity to thereby purify it . as shown in fig2 the exit pipe 128 receives a mixture of water and gaseous and dissolved ozone , which is conveyed through the pipe 106 to a distribution pipe 170 in or adjacent the top deck 75 . the distribution pipe 170 generally is located above the fill elements 68 and 70 , and conveys water from the pipe 106 through apertures or ports 172 as required , so that the water flows down through the fill elements 68 and 70 . it will be noted that most of the disinfection of the water occurs in the contactor device 120 so that water entering the pipe 106 and distribution pipe 170 has to a large extent , or completely , been disinfected . however , ozone still remains in the water as it passes through the pipe 106 , and enter the distribution pipe 170 . as the water runs down through the fill elements 68 and 70 , the fill elements surfaces are exposed to ozonated water , continuing the biocidal activity of the ozone . the fan 82 draws in air from the outside 84 into the space 78 and out into the atmosphere in a plume 86 containing air water vapor , water droplets and entrained microbiota and dissolved contaminants . the movement of air in this manner both cools the water as it passes through the fill elements 68 and 70 , and further subjects the ozonated water to air stripping to remove the remaining ozone . generally , an increase in air flow enhances the efficiency of the air stripping of ozone from the water cascading down in the fill elements 68 and 70 . the flow deflector pipes 126 in the present embodiment comprise vertical pipes of approximately 3 feet in length , with horizontal connecting sections of about 6 inches in length . each are connected by 90 ° elbows to produce a helical configuration , and thus able to pack considerable lengths of pipe into a small volume of space . the diameter of the pipes are approximately 2 . 5 inches . it will , of course , be appreciated that the number of vertical and horizontal pipes can be varied depending upon the system , and their relative length and number can be adjusted , as well as the diameter of the tube . while the system described above removes water from the sump 56 , treats it with ozone and then returns it to the water tower 52 , it should be appreciated that , while this method of purification is highly effective and substantially removes impurities from most of the water , there will be recesses or protected surfaces and areas in the sump where circulation is minimal and / or non - existent . in these areas , the effects of the purification process by circulating the water to the water treatment device 54 will therefore not be felt . therefore , and in accordance with another aspect of this invention , a mechanism for “ spot treating ” areas within the sump 56 , where bacterial and other impurity levels are likely to rise due to a lack of circulation , is provided . the spot treatment mechanism is a flexible one , with adjustments possible to direct its effect to the area ( s ) needed . the spot treatment mechanism comprises a support 178 or other movable mechanism which rests on the base 58 of the sump 56 . a flexible hose 180 extends from the pipe 106 , to which it is connected by an adjustable valve 182 located at a point along the pipe 106 near the distribution pipe 170 . the hose 180 extends from the valve 182 to a connector 184 by means of which it is secured to the support 178 . the support 178 has a jet nozzle or outlet 186 . on an as - needed basis , the ozone plus water mixture can be drawn off from pipe 106 through the valve 182 , flowing through the hose 180 and into the support 178 . the position of the sweeper can be varied , by moving it across the base 58 , or otherwise within the sump 56 , so that the jet nozzle 186 is located directly adjacent an area requiring spot treatment . by an appropriate pump mechanism within the support 178 , or simply by the force of the ozone and water moving through the hose 180 when the valve 182 is opened , ozonated water is discharged from the jet nozzle 186 directly onto an area where biocidal action is required . in one embodiment of the invention , the support 178 has a magnetic base , by means of which it remains in position on the base 58 , but can nevertheless be moved on an as - needed basis , depending upon the area which will require spot treatment . with reference to fig2 there is also shown a filtering device 190 ( such as a sand filter , bag , cartridge etc . ), comprising a filter or centrifugal separation system which is separate from the ozone treatment system . while the filtering system 190 is shown as a separate component in the embodiment of fig2 of the drawings , the ozone treatment system and the filtering device can , however , be combined into a single mechanism so as to use one pump . the filter device 190 extracts water from the sump 56 through pipe 192 by action of pump 194 . the water then passes to a filter 196 and , duly filtered , is returned to the sump 56 through return pipe 198 . [ 0050 ] fig4 shows an alternative embodiment of a contactor / mixer 210 having horizontal sections 212 a , 212 b etc . connected by elbow joints 216 to vertical sections 214 a , 214 b , 214 c etc . water / ozone turbulence is created in the non - linear passages defined by the sections 212 and 214 . representative examples of the application of the water treatment device of the invention will now be provided . a prototype or test water treatment system of the invention was installed on a 100 ton bac ( baltimore air coil ) cooling tower serving the theater at a performing arts building at a college in los angeles , calif . the water treatment system was installed in july 2000 , and has been running continuously since then . bacterial levels were monitored by heterotrophic plate counts using standard methods . since it is well documented that ozone is effective at killing the spectrum of microbes , including legionella and the protozoa that harbor this bacterium , it is considered that a simple heterotrophic plate count is a good indicator of overall bactericidal effect of the ozone when this disinfectant is used . prior to the installation of the system of the invention , the cooling tower had been treated using pool chlorine tablets as a disinfectant , with the tablets being contained in a perforated one gallon plastic jug located in the sump . at the commencement of the installation of the water treatment system of the invention , this chlorine and other chemical treatment methods were discontinued , the water drained , and thereafter replaced before ozonation in accordance with the invention began . samples for plate counts were collected in the approximate middle of the sump in order to detect the presence of planktonic bacteria which may be included in the aerosol plume produced by the tower . in addition , “ wipe down ” samples can be taken from surfaces of the sump in corners and circulation nodes , as determined by , for example , dye tracer techniques , to test the effectiveness at disinfecting the water and surface bound populations . measurements near the beginning of the operation resulted in planktonic plate counts “ too few to count ” as would be expected , since the sump had been filled with water of regulated drinking purity . thereafter , plate counts were made at regular intervals . all measurements resulted in “ too few to count ” results , most being actually zero or close to zero . generally , the standards methods require , to be statistically valid , a plate count should have at least 30 cfu ( colony forming units ). anything lower than this level is reported as “ too few to count ” or tftc . as a basis for comparison , regulated drinking water allows for 500 cfu as acceptable . in the present application of the invention , where measurements were taken , plate counts did not ever exceed 12 cfu , except during one portion of the experiment when the ozonator was turned off for four days . in this regard , it should be noted that towers with chemical treatment often reach plate counts nearing one million ( 1 , 000 , 000 ) cfu , and these are considered acceptable by the chemical water treatment companies . in conjunction with the plate counts , the ozone levels in the system were monitored on a regular basis . these measurements were made with a hach indigo ozone kit . the ozone levels were measured after the water samples were allowed to sit for long enough time for the entrained gas bubbles of ozone to clear , ensuring the measurement of dissolved ozone was not confounded with measurements of ozone in the gaseous phase . the ozone levels in the water exiting the contactor device averaged 0 . 28 mg / l , well into the concentration range for effective disinfection . at the same time , water in the sump which had passed through the fill elements and had been subject to the air stripping treatment over the fill elements showed no detectable ozone in all cases . this is consistent with expectations of ozone removal for prevention of corrosion in the heat exchange elements . copper , and soft iron corrosion coupons , exposed to the sump water for 5 months showed no visible evidence of corrosion . the results therefore confirm that excellent levels of disinfection were being provided , with minimal amounts of ozone entering the cooling tower and hardware which could result in corrosion and damage . bacterial colonization of surfaces was monitored by wiping a suspect surface with sterile gauze and agitating the gauze in 100 ml of water collected from the center of the sump . when this suspect surface was subjected to spot treatment in accordance with the invention as described above , the results were tftc . therefore , the spot treatment was shown in this example to be effective at eliminating “ hot spots ” missed by the treatment of the water by the circulation methods and ozone generator of the invention , as described above . dosing experiments were also conducted , since finding the optimal or appropriate dosage of ozone injection into a system is a problem for all ozone systems . in order to address and resolve this problem , an experiment was conducted whereby the ozonator was turned off for four days , and the plate counts measured daily until an unacceptable level of bacteria had developed in the sump water . at the beginning of the study , the plate counts were 700 cfu / ml . the experiment was , at least to some extent , influenced by the surroundings and use of the cooling tower and , since it was carried out at a college , the dosing experiments were conducted at times when classes were not in session , limiting the amount of time the tower could go untreated . further , the counts were not allowed to go too high , and about 700 cfu / ml was considered adequate for the test . the average water temperature during the study was 68 ° f . the ozonator was turned on in the morning at approximately 8 : 00 am , and plate count samples were collected at 2 hour intervals throughout the day for the first 8 hours , and at 24 hours . it was expected that the ozone would reduce the bacteria levels in a progressive manner , allowing development of a decay - curve from the data . this decay - curve would then be used to determine dosing in terms of how much time the ozonator should be operational each day in order to obtain acceptable disinfection . somewhat unexpectedly , the bacteria count was zero ( tftc ) in the first 2 - hour count , and stayed tftc from that point onward . since the system water volume in the example under discussion is 500 gallons , it was concluded that 2 hours operation per day was adequate dosing for 500 gallons of water . the ozone output during the study was 10 gms / hour , as measured by a spectrometric ozone analyzer , and confirmed by on site measurements , using “ precision gas defector tubes ” supplied by matheson safety products . the dosing experiments further consisted of the installation of a timer that limited ozone production to 2 hours per day from this point in the study . plate counts remained zero , or tftc , throughout the study . for the system tested , the dosing formula was therefore a simple 2 hours per day , per 500 gallons of water . this dosing can , however , be monitored and changed according to the seasons and the conditions . for example , in the warmer months , the dosage may be increased to 3 hours per day to provide a comfortable margin of error , considering the higher bacterial activity at warmer temperatures . this change can be easily achieved for larger systems by increasing the hours of operation , and / or using additional generators in parallel , if required , for really large systems . further effectiveness would be expected from lengthening the contactor device so that the tube length would be increased , which of course would allow the water to reside in contact with the ozone for longer periods of time before being air stripped . the results of the water treatment system of the invention indicate a high level of disinfection of both the water , sump , fill surfaces , and some disinfection of the aerial plume is an expected additional benefit . dosing is tailored by reducing ozone introduction to the water to a time of operation that can be fine - tuned at the particular site to obtain the desired level of microbial control . the corrosion problem is significantly reduced or even eliminated by sending only de - ozonated water to the corrodible components . the system is simple to manufacture , inexpensive and dependable . while invention has been described above mainly with reference to use on or with cooling towers , it has many other applications and these specifically form part of the invention . for example , water treatment system and device may be used in : aqua culture ( fish farms ); agriculture , to increase shelf life for example ; waste water treatment systems ; color removal ; toxin removal applications ; heavy metal removal ; hospital water treatment systems ; and hotel and big building water systems . in short , the water treatment system of the invention can be used to treat water in any system or device which generally requires or uses circulating water which must be maintained in a clean and disinfected condition . since the ozone does not enter the water in the sump ( or other part of any device to which it may be attached ), the sump can contain or be made of a material which may otherwise be damaged or rendered ineffective by ozone . examples of such materials are copper and silver . the invention is not limited to the precise details which are described herein . | 8 |
the invention herein provides a method and devices for treating a neuroendocrine disease that is caused or exacerbated by vascular compression of the brainstem and the associated cranial nerves . by initiating and maintaining decompression of the relevant neural tissue , the diminished neuroendocrine servomechanisms can be encouraged to regain sufficient functioning as to effect the elimination or long term amelioration of the target neuroendocrine disease , e . g ., niddm . in one embodiment of the present invention , it is preferred to treat niddm by effecting microvascular decompression of the right ventrolateral medulla oblongata , and the associated ninth and tenth cranial nerves ( cranial ix and cranial x . respectively ) using microsurgical techniques . access to a subject &# 39 ; s medulla and cranial nerves can be obtained by performing , for example , a retromastoid craniectomy , followed by a pericerebellar procedure which includes transection of the meninges and traversal of the cerebellum to the medulla oblongata . with the vertebral - basilar arteries thus visualized , the surgeon can perform a microvascular decompression of those pulsatile vessels which are compressing , or even grooving , the surfaces of the medulla and cranial nerves . fig1 is a basilar view of a brain 1 showing parallel views of the blood vessels at the base of the brain and the cranial nerves . visible from this view are medulla oblongata 2 , basilar artery 3 , and the bifurcated vertebral artery 4 . a relevant branch of basilar artery 3 is anterior inferior cerebellar artery ( aica ) 5 , and of vertebral artery 4 is posterior inferior cerebellar artery ( pica 6 ). the left portion of cerebellum 7 is shown , and the right portion is removed to show occipital lobe 8 . other visible neural structures include cranial ix , nerve 9 and cranial x , nerve 10 . fig1 shows that arteries 3 - 6 , and their branches , are quite proximate to , if not in contact with , medulla oblongata 2 . as an individual ages , and as heredity dictates , all arteries in the brain , including arteries 3 - 6 , tend to enlarge . in some cases , such as with neurogenic niddm , arteries 3 - 6 , alone or in combination , can compress the surface of the medulla oblongata 2 , near the root entry of nerves 9 and 10 , and may cause grooving of the medullary tissue . because of the pulsatile nature of the blood flow through arteries 3 - 6 , the compression tends to be pulsatile compression . it is believed that pulsatile compression of the right ventrolateral medulla oblongata 2 causes the degradation of the glucose regulatory mechanism that acts in concert with the subject &# 39 ; s internal milieu . fig2 is the top view of a cross - section of medulla oblongata 20 that is compressed by vertebral artery loop 22 near the root entry zone of the right branch 23 of cranial x . branch 23 provides the fibers of the vagus nerve which innervate the abdominal viscera , including the pancreas and the omentum . the compression of region 24 by pulsatile loop 22 can disrupt normal neuroendocrine activities and lead to aberrant glucose and insulin regulation . as the course of niddm progresses , loop 22 can enlarge further and become sclerotic , producing even greater compression of region 24 . eventually , such prolonged , progressive compression of region 24 can severely diminish , if not extinguish , the neuroendocrine activities of region 24 , and niddm can become advanced and , perhaps , irreversible . however , by microvascular decompression of region 24 , early in the development of niddm , glucose and insulin neuroendocrine dysfunction can be substantially improved , if not completely reversed . fig3 illustrates a top view of a cross - section of medulla oblongata 30 , in which microvascular decompression was effected . the vertebral artery loop 32 near the root entry zone of the right branch 34 of cranial x has been lifted away from contact with , and thus decompressing , region 44 . to maintain the decompression , at least one neurovascular bridge implant 45a - d is interposed between loop 42 and region 44 . bridge implants 45a - d , seen in cross - section , can be made of a soft , biocompatible material , for example , a shredded polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ) felt . where additional structural support is desirable , implants 45a - d instead can be made of a preconfigured thermoplastic material , that can be formed into a convenient shape for interposition by the surgeon . thermoplastic implants 45a - d would return to the preconfigured shape over time at the urging of the subject &# 39 ; s body temperature . implants 45a - d can be either ptfe felt , thermoplastic material , or a combination of both types . fig4 a - d illustrate some other possible configurations of vascular compression of the medulla and associated cranial nerves . fig4 a shows right lateral medulla oblongata 50 being compressed by artery 52 in the vicinity of the root entry zones of cranial ix 54 , cranial x 55 , and the spinal accessory nerve , cranial xi 56 . the pulsatile compression by artery 52 creates a depressed region , or groove , 53 in the right lateral medulla 50 . fig4 b shows anterior compression of right lateral medulla 50 by pica 57 . in fig4 c , pica 57 is shown coursing between middle fascicles 58a , b of cranial x 55 . fig4 d illustrates pica 57 grooving posteriorly from the cranial direction . fig4 e illustrates vertebral artery 58 pushing a loop of pica 57 into right lateral medulla oblongata 50 . fig4 f shows dolichoectatic vertebral artery 58 compressing right lateral medulla oblongata 50 , to cause groove 50 . fig5 is an illustration of a soft , biocompatible , shredded - plastic bridge implant 90 which can be composed of multiple fibers , or whiskers , of ptfe , and have a preselected shape . implant 90 may be , for example , cylinder -, box -, cigar - or wedge - shaped , flattened - ovoid - shaped , and the like . the smallest of implant 90 may consist of a few generally soft and unrolled fibers . implant 90 can be manufactured with a preselected shape , width , thickness and length , and packaged as a kit along with other ptfe implants having different preselected shapes , widths , thicknesses and lengths . table 1 describes exemplary lengths , widths , thicknesses , and preselected configurations for certain embodiments of implant 90 . table 1______________________________________size cigar box wedge * ______________________________________smalllength mm 5 mm 5 mm 5width mm 2 mm 2 mm 2 - 3thickness mm2 mm 1 mm 2 - 3mediumlength mm6 - 8 mm6 - 8 mm 6 - 8width mm 2 - 3 mm 3 mm 3 - 4thickness 2 - 3 mm mm1 - 2 mm 3 - 4largelength 7 - 10 mm mm - 10 mm7 - 10width mm 4 mm 4 mm 4 - 5thickness mm mm 2 mm 4 - 5extra largelength 10 - 15 mm mm0 - 15 mm 10 - 15width mm 4 - 5 mm 5 mm 5 - 6thickness 4 - 5 mm mm 5 mm 5 - 6______________________________________ * wedge width is measured at widest point of the implant . at midpoint , a wedge can be as wide as a cigarshaped implant of a comparable length . to enhance the tissue compatibility of the ptfe felt implants , at least a portion of the implant may be coated with silicon . each of the implants can be protectively packaged to protect against implant fiber compaction , which may tend to cause the in - situ implant to transmit arterial pulsations to the adjacent neural tissue . also , instead of a pre - cut implant , implant 90 may be derived from a longer , multi - stranded yarn of shredded ptfe of a preselected thickness . in the latter case , the surgeon could tear off the implant material at the preselected length prior to insertion into the subject . fig6 a - c illustrate the shape - memory function that is inherent in thermoplastic neurovascular bridge implant 92 . in fig6 a , implant 92 is formed into a preconfigured shape at a first temperature . it is preferred that implant 92 be soft and pliable at room temperature ( about 25 ° c .). during the microvascular compression procedure , the surgeon , or an assistant , can temporarily reform implant 92 , fig6 b , at a second temperature , such as room temperature , into a shape that is convenient for interposition into the subject &# 39 ; s brain between the offending blood vessel ( s ) and the brainstem . in time , as seen in fig6 c , the heat of the subject &# 39 ; s body ( e . g ., about 36 ° c . to about 37 . 5 ° c .) causes implant 92 to return substantially to the preconfigured shape given in fig6 a . to facilitate selection and placement , implant 92 can have a color - coded portion , which coding can indicate implant size , final shape , and orientation of the implant curvature . although implant 92 is shown to be generally arcuate in shape , other preselected configurations also can be used . one such biocompatible implant material is shape memory polymer ( smp ) by mitsubishi heavy industries , tokyo , japan . smp is a &# 34 ; smart &# 34 ; polyurethane - based material that can transform its shape and hardness , and be returned to its original shape . the material can be formed into a &# 34 ; learned &# 34 ; shape at a particular temperature and then cooled , thus forming the shape memory . implant 92 may be shaped into a configuration by the surgeon that facilitates insertion . when smp is reheated , implant 92 &# 34 ; remembers &# 34 ; the learned shape . the range of hardness to softness can be customized , and a broad range of transition temperatures can be chosen . softening can be made to occur at standard glass - transition temperatures of 25 ° c ., 35 ° c ., 45 ° c ., and 55 ° c . the transition band can be around 8 ° c . using smp , implant 92 can be formed by injection molding , extrusion , coating , casting , and the like . fig7 describes the overall method 100 according to the invention herein . in general , method 100 includes a preoperative preparation , step 102 , of the surgical subject which can include anesthetizing and positioning the subject for convenient access during surgery . for example , in one embodiment of the present invention , the subject can be brought to the operating room , given general anesthesia , and placed in the left lateral decubitus position , as seen in fig8 . the subject &# 39 ; s head can be immobilized in a 3 - point head holder . furthermore , the subject &# 39 ; s neck can be placed on the head holder stretch with the chin slightly flexed , the head rotated slightly to the ipsilataral side and lateral flexion slightly to the contralateral side . the right shoulder can be held out of the way . continuing in fig7 with the subject thus prepared , the surgeon can enter the cranium , step 104 . in one embodiment of the present invention , it is preferred that a retromastoid craniectomy be performed , although other approaches may be used . a retromastoid incision 200 can be made parallel to and behind the right ear 202 of subject 204 to length of approximately three to six centimeters , as seen in fig8 . the length of the incision can be depend upon the configuration , size of build , level of obesity , and degree of musculature of the patient . for certain brachycephalic subjects , a smaller bony opening close to the mastoid process may be indicated , because of the more medial - to - lateral presentation of the cranial nerves in such subjects . with the opening incision made , hemostasis can be secured in the soft tissues , and a right lateral retromastoid craniectomy can be performed , which goes down to the floor of the occipital plate . the opening into the cranial vault can be approximately 2 . 5 cm by 3 . 0 cm . also , the edge of the exposed cranial bone can waxed to achieve hemostasis , and seal off the bone air cells . next , in fig7 the surgeon can transect the meninges and traverse the subject &# 39 ; s cerebellum using a preselected pericerebellar procedure , step 106 , to gain access to the brainstem . it is important that the surgeon employ a substantial degree of gentleness , restraint , and patience to preserve the exquisitely sensitive cerebellar tissues . it also is important that no artery be torn or perforated . one embodiment of step 106 is described in greater detail in the context of fig9 . once the brainstem and the compressing arteries are exposed , the surgeon can perform microvascular decompression , step 108 , of the brainstem and the cranial nerves which affect the target neuroendocrine regulatory system . one embodiment of step 108 is described in the context of fig1 . once the surgeon has completed the microvascular decompression , step 108 , the subject &# 39 ; s incision can be closed in an accepted fashion . prior to closing the incision , gentle irrigation can be performed on the cerebellum using a balanced salt solution , after which the dura mater can be closed in a watertight fashion . next , the removed cranial bone chips can be replaced or a cranioplasty can be performed , and the exterior incision be closed in a typical way , such as , for example , with sutures . the subject can receive postoperative care , step 110 , of the type that is routinely provided to subjects undergoing a posterior fossa operation . fig9 describes one embodiment of the procedure 120 used to traverse the cerebellum , herein called the pericerebellar procedure , which corresponds to step 106 in fig7 . after opening the bone , the dura mater is opened , step 122 , low and laterally , and is sewn out of the way . next , the surgical microscope can be brought into place , and set at medium to high power for the remainder of the intradural part of the operation . a rubber dam and cottonoid can be placed over the cerebellum , also low and laterally . a self - retaining microsurgical retractor with a narrow blade can be used to elevate the cerebellum from the occipital plate , step 124 , and then move the cerebellar tissue laterally , without compressing it . access into the subarachnoid space can be obtained by sharply transecting the arachnoid membrane with a sharp microsurgical instrument or other cutting blade , step 126 . often , a bridging vein can be found over cranial x which can coagulated and divided , step 128 . to verify the effectiveness of the coagulation , the anesthesiologist , under the direction of the surgeon or an assistant , can perform a valsalva maneuver on the subject . next , while gently elevating the cerebellum , step 130 , the lower cranial nerves can be identified . when cranial ix and cranial x are located , the adjacent cerebellar tissue can be separated therefrom , and the pia - arachnoidal traebeculae , or chordae , can be sharply transected , step 132 . the separation of the cerebellar tissues from the cranial nerves is similar to opening a book , in that the cerebellar tissue should be gently lifted , and not compressed . the choroid plexus of the lateral recess of the fourth ventricle can be very vascular but , if it is necessary that it be coagulated , the heat transmitted to cranial ix and cranial x should be minimized . then , the surgeon can expose the right lateral medulla and the root entry zones of cranial ix and cranial x , step 134 . with the preselected portion of the brain step thus exposed , the surgeon can identify those blood vessels which impinge upon the preselected region . frequently , a loop of the vertebral artery , typically the posterior interior cerebellar artery ( pica ) and , occasionally , the anterior inferior cerebellar artery ( aica ), will be seen compressing and grooving the right lateral medulla in a subject with niddm . the aforementioned arteries are part of the vertebral - basilar artery system , and can alone , or in concert with others of this system , compress the surface of the brainstem , and deeply groove it . the process of microvascular decompression , method 150 in fig1 , generally corresponds to step 108 in fig7 . once the surgeon has visualized the offending arteries , step 152 , those portions of the blood vessels which are distal to the point of maximum compression are mobilized from the brainstem surface , step 154 . as each successive portion is mobilized , a shredded plastic felt neurovascular bridge implant can be interposed between the artery and the brain stem , step 156 . the mobilization of the blood vessels and the interposition of the felt implants are repeated , moving in the direction of the point of maximum compression , step 158 until sufficient decompression is achieved . multiple felt implants may be placed between the blood vessels and the medulla until the blood vessels start to move off of the medulla . however , in many situations , the offending blood vessels , especially if it is an artery of a large diameter , will continue to distort the medulla even though it is held off of the area of prior compression by the shredded plastic felt implants . in this situation , the surgeon can shape and interpose , step 160 , the preconfigured thermoplastic neurovascular bridge implants , which will reconfigure to the predetermined shape , upon exposure to body temperature for a predetermined time period . in general , the convex side of the implant is oriented away from the medulla . when the thermoplastic implant is put into place , it typically becomes loosely anchored by its shape anteriorly , ipsilaterally , and contralaterally , as it reconfigures in accordance with its shape - memory , thus holding the offending artery away from the medulla . in addition , the medulla is supported away from the heat - sensitive implant by the configuration of the implant . also , additional felt implants may be interposed , step 162 , if desired , to provide the desired degree of separation between the offending blood vessels and the brain stem . while specific embodiments of practicing the invention have been described in detail , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure . accordingly , the particular arrangements and methods disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting to the scope of the invention for which is to be given the full breadth of the following claims , and any and all embodiments thereof . | 0 |
the gaiter shown in fig1 comprises a one - piece moulded rubber tube 10 generally of frusto - conical form having a convoluted central portion 11 , a wider diameter end portion 12 , and a narrower diameter end portion 13 . the wider end portion 12 of the tube is stepped to define a number of annular fitting sections 14 , 15 , 16 of progressively increasing diameter each of which extends generally parallel to the tube axis 17 . three such sections 14 , 15 , 16 are shown in the drawing , these increasing in diameter towards the pertaining free end although any suitable member may be provided . at the narrower end 13 there is a short cylindrical section 18 and then a single , generally cylindrical fitting section 19 at the pertaining free end , such sections 18 , 19 extending parallel to the axis 17 . these sections 18 , 19 provide for attachment to different sizes of shafts ( by cutting away section 19 if necessary ) although alternatively a single section made from rubber of sufficient flexibility to be stretchable over different shaft sizes may be used . the end portion 12 is suitable configured and adapted such that a relatively large amount of flexibility is permitted therein both transversely of and parallel to the tube axis 17 . thus , each fitting section 14 - 16 of the wider end portion 12 has a seating channel 20 - 22 defined by a flat portion 23 ( as viewed in cross - section ) which extends parallel to the gaiter axis , linked by a reverse j - shaped intermediate fold 24 to the flat portion 23 of the next fitting section . each flat portion 23 has ridges 25 on its inner surface and its outer surface is bounded by an upstanding rib 26 and a bead 27 at that side which is further from the central portion 11 . at the opposite side the outer surface of the flat portion 23 is bounded by a small upwardly directed transition fold 28 which merges with the top of the longer limb of the adjacent j - shaped intermediate fold 24 . the top of the shorter limb of this fold 24 merges with the bead at the side of the next lower flat portion 23 . each flat portion 23 bounded by the respective upstanding rib 25 and bead 26 on one side and by the transition fold 28 on the other side , defines a seating channel 20 - 22 to receive a fixing strap or tie , as also does the single seating channel 29 at the narrow diameter end portion 13 of the gaiter . in use , as shown in fig1 the gaiter is fitted around a joint , such as a motor car constant velocity joint and is secured in position ( after filling with a suitable lubricant ) by clamping the wider end portion 12 around a large diameter joint member 30 and the narrower end portion 13 around a small diameter shaft 31 , by means of two fixing straps : one in the narrow end portion channel 29 , and the other in a selected one of the wider end portion channels 20 - 22 . as shown in the drawing , the larger of the three channels 20 is used for fixing purposes . in the case where the gaiter is used with a smaller diameter joint member 30 , one of the smaller channels 21 , 22 is used and the remaining larger fitting section ( or sections ) can be cut away . the ridges 25 engage grooves in the joint member 30 to ensure secure sealing . as indicated by broken lines 32 in fig1 the profile of the wider end portion 12 of the gaiter is effectively that of a concertina - type convoluted portion ( similar to the central portion 11 ) with tops of upwardly directed folds flattened to define the seating channels 20 - 22 . with this arrangement , when the shaft 31 moves in use causing rotation of the gaiter and pivoting about the joint at a position within the larger end portion 12 ( as shown by arrow 33 ), this movement is readily accommodated by easy flexing of the larger end portion 12 without tendency for folds to collapse . this is because flexing involves pivoting or bending , in the manner of a hinge joint , at the transition between the top of the longer limb of each j - shaped fold 24 and the adjacent seating channel 20 - 22 . in this way , good flexing with reduced wear in the context of a relatively compact construction can be achieved if desired , the seating channels 20 - 22 may be of reduced thickness to further facilitate flexibility . the profile shown in fig1 may be varied as desired and fig2 shows an enlarged detail of a simplified alternative embodiment with the notional tops of the upwardly directed folds again shown in broken lines 34 . reference numerals 35 and 36 refer respectively to the seating channels and the intermediate j - shaped folds . with the embodiment of fig3 - 5 , the gaiter illustrated is similar to that shown in fig1 and the same reference numerals are used to designate the same component parts . however , each fitting section 14 , 15 , 16 has a flat seating area 40 , 41 , 42 which is inclined towards the gaiter axis 17 instead of being parallel thereto , and each seating area 40 - 42 is linked to the next fitting section 14 - 16 by means of a generally flat , generally radially extending wall 43 - 45 , instead of the j - shaped fold 24 of fig1 . each seating area 41 , 42 is bounded by outer upstanding notches 46 , 47 , and on its inner face there are gripper serrations and a lip 25 as described in relation to fig1 . there is a cutting groove 48 adjacent to each seating area 41 - 42 . the inclined seating areas 41 - 42 are inclined inwardly in a direction towards the wider end portion of the gaiter 12 . the walls 43 - 45 are jointed to the seating areas 41 , 42 through acute angle junctions with little curvature thereto . one of the above mentioned notches 46 is located at the outermost acute angle junction on each wall 44 , 45 . the seating areas 41 , 42 bounded by the notches 46 , 47 are not of identical construction to the seating channels 21 of fig1 . they have flat outer surfaces between the notches 46 , 47 which are much longer than the corresponding dimension of the seating channels 21 of fig1 . they do not therefore form channels within which the usual fixing straps 49 are intended to fit closely . instead they provide fitting surfaces with the notches 46 , 47 acting to prevent displacement of the fixing strip 49 . fig3 shows the gaiter in use with all fitting sections 14 - 16 intact . fig5 shows the gaiter in use after it has been cut down ( to remove fitting section 14 ). the gaiter material has sufficient elasticity to allow the remaining end fitting section 15 to be opened out from its frustro conical shape shown in fig3 to a cylindrical shape shown in fig5 to enable this end fitting section 15 to fit over the cylindrical joint member 30 . the fitting sections 14 , 15 , 16 with the linking radial walls 43 - 45 define a series of z - shaped configurations which permit easy flexing of the gaiter particularly in a transverse direction as the shaft 31 pivots from side to side as indicated in fig3 . during this pivoting each seating area 41 - 42 pivots relative to the adjoining radial walls 43 - 45 at the acute angle junctions with these walls in the manner of a hinged lever . this occurs easily as a consequence of the inwardly inclined seating areas 41 , 42 which have the effect of increasing the lengths of rubber material in the fitting sections 15 , 16 without at the same time unduly increasing the axial length of the gaiter . it is possible to attain easy pivotal movement without undue tendency for crumpling or creasing to occur , with a simple and convenient construction . the arrangement of the inclined seating areas 41 , 42 and the use of the retaining notches 46 , 47 instead of close - fit channels , avoids the use of axially parallel or thickened sections which hinder flexing . moreover these advantages are attainable with all fitting sections 14 - 16 retained , or with one or more fitting sections 14 - 16 removed . essentially , the gaiter has excellent flexing properties throughout its entire length and particularly at its wider end portion . the invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiment which are described by way of example only . thus for example , fig3 shows provision of both notches 46 , 47 , and the cutting groove 48 , on the seating area 41 , 42 of the gaiter . as indicated in fig4 & amp ; 5 , one notch 47 and the cutting groove may alternatively be positioned at the start of the adjacent side wall 43 , 44 . as described the gaiter is a one - piece tube . however it may also be possible to form the gaiter with one or more longitudinal slits therealong so that the gaiter can be fitted without separating the joint members by wrapping the gaiter around the joint and then sealing the slit ( or slits ) in known manner . it is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiment which are described by way of example only . | 5 |
detailed description of the present invention will be described referring to the accompanying drawings . constituents identical to each other or those having functions identical will be referred to with numerals of letters identical to each other without repeating over lapping explanations . in drawings , thickness of respective epitaxial layers does not reflect their real thickness . axes shown in figures will involve their crystal graphical equivalence . fig1 ( a ) shows a plane view of the hbt according to the first embodiment , fig1 ( b ) is a cross sectional view along i — i line in fig1 ( a ) and fig1 ( c ) is also a cross section view along ii — ii line in fig1 ( a ). the hbt 1 has a semi - insulating substrate 2 , a buffer layer , a sub - collector layer 40 , a collector layer 80 , a base layer 90 , an emitter layer 100 , and an emitter contact layer 110 . the buffer layer 30 comprises an un - doped ingaas with a thickness around 300 nm . the sub - collector layer 40 is formed by an n - type ingaas with a thickness around 300 nm . the sub - collector layer is highly doped with si , the electron concentration of the sub - collector is preferable from 0 . 5 to 2 . 0 × 10 19 cm − 3 . this layer forms a mesa structure as shown in fig1 ( b ) and fig1 ( c ) with one edge is along [ 1 - 10 ] while the other edge is along [ 110 ]. the edge along [ 1 - 10 ] shows an inverse trapezium , while the edge along [ 110 ] shows a normal trapezium . the collector layer 80 is un - dope ingaas formed so as to cover the sub - collector layer 40 along [ 110 ], as shown in fig1 ( b ); thus the width of the collector layer 80 is wider than the sub - collector layer . the top surface of the collector layer is flat . the thickness of the layer 80 is about 400 nm on the sub - collector layer 40 and about 800 nm on the buffer layer . the base layer 90 is p - type ingaas with a thickness around 50 nm . the plane shape of the base layer 90 corresponds to that of the collector layer 80 . the base layer 90 is highly doped with zn , hole concentration of this layer is ( 1 . 0 ˜ 3 . 0 )× 10 19 [ cm − 3 ]. carbon ( c ) may be used for p - type dopant substitute for zn . the emitter layer 100 is n - type inp with a thickness around 10 nm . the top surface of the layer 100 is almost flat . the plane shape of the emitter layer 100 corresponds to that of the base layer 90 and the collector layer 100 so that the width along [ 110 ] of the emitter layer 100 is greater than that of the sub - collector layer 40 . this layer is doped with si , the electron concentration of the layer is about 4 . 0 × 10 18 [ cm − 3 ]. the thickness of the layer 100 is preferable to be greater than 5 nm and thinner than 20 nm . when the thickness is below 5 nm , the device would not show a transistor operation . on the other hand , the case that the thickness over 20 nm results on the decrease of the current multiplication coefficient . the emitter contact layer 110 is an n - type ingaas with a thickness around 250 nm . the cross sectional shape along [ 110 ] of the emitter contact layer shows the reverse trapezium , while it shows the normal trapezium along [ 1 - 10 ]. the edge along [ 1 - 10 ] of the emitter contact layer is apart from the edge of the emitter layer 100 . this layer comprises two portions based on the electron concentration , one is within 50 nm from the interface to the emitter layer 100 with the electron concentration is around 5 . 0 × 10 18 [ cm − 3 ], the other is above the former layer with the electron concentration around 2 . 0 × 10 19 [ cm − 3 ]. greater electron concentration of the latter layer enables to form a superior ohmic contact between the emitter contact layer 110 and an emitter electrode 15 described below . the hbt 1 has the emitter electrode 15 on the emitter contact layer 110 , a base electrode 16 on the emitter layer 100 , and a collector electrode 17 on the sub - collector layer 40 . these electrodes are made of composite metal of titanium ( ti ), platinum ( pt ), and gold ( au ) sequentially formed in this order . a emitter wiring 25 is formed on the emitter electrode 15 , a base wiring 26 is on the base electrode 16 , and a collector wiring 27 is on the collector electrode 17 . these wiring are typically made of aluminum ( al ). the hbt 1 has silicon nitride ( si 3 n 4 , hereinafter denoted by sin ) films ( 31 , 32 ) for insulating respective electrodes and for passivating the hbt 1 . next is an operation of the hbt 1 . when the device is operated in the grounded - emitter connection , carriers flow from the emitter to the collector through the following path . electrons are injected from the base electrode to the base layer 90 through the emitter layer 100 as minority carriers by the forward biasing between the base electrode and the emitter electrode . injected carriers into the baser layer 90 flow in the base layer , through the emitter layer 100 and arrive to the emitter electrode . the current from the collector to the emitter flows from the collector electrode 17 , the sub - collector layer 40 , the collector layer 40 , the base layer 90 , the emitter layer 100 , the emitter contact layer 110 , and finally arrives to the emitter electrode 15 . the portion of the collector layer through which the current passes contributes the current multiplication . namely , the sub - collector layer 40 defines the intrinsic collector . similarly , although the emitter layer extends to both sides of the emitter contact layer and overlaps with the base layer , the emitter contact layer defines the intrinsic emitter . the advantage of the hbt shown in fig1 is that the top surface of the collector layer 80 , the base layer 90 , and the emitter layer 100 are almost flat in spite of that these layers are formed on the sub - collector layer with an island shape . when these layer bend tracing the shape of the sub - collector layer 40 , numerous etching pits may occur at bending portions of respective layer , thus decreasing the yield of the device . in the present hbt 1 , since top surfaces of these layers are formed almost flat , it prevents the generation of etching pits , which results in the improvement of the performance and the yield of the hbt . further advantage of the present hbt is that the base layer 90 is fully covered by the emitter layer 100 . when the surface of the base layer 90 is exposed , numerous surface states may be introduced at the manufacturing process such as immersing in a chemical solvent and etching in a reactive gaseous . on the other hand , since the base layer 90 is fully protected by the emitter layer 100 of the present hbt , the leak current due the surface states decreases . moreover , since the emitter layer 100 can be grown continuously to the base layer 90 in a reactor chamber , it further decreases the surface states in the base layer 90 . the sin film deposited on the emitter layer 100 made of inp shows superior protective characteristics compared with that on the ingaas layer . this is due to the fact that the sin on inp layer shows smaller interface states on the surface of inp than that on the surface of ingaas . therefore , the emitter layer 100 covered by the sin film also decreases the base leak current . another advantage of the present hbt 1 is the improvement of the high frequency performance due to the decrease of the base - collector capacitance . the area of the highly doped sub - collector layer 40 defines the base - collector capacitance . in the present hbt 1 , since the sub - collector layer is fully covered by the moderately doped collector layer 80 and the are of the sub - collector layer 40 is smaller than the collector layer 80 , the base - collector capacitance decreases which enables to enhance the high frequency performance of the hbt . moreover , since the thickness of the base layer 90 is thinned to about 50 nm , this also decreases the base - collector capacitance . next is a manufacturing process of the present hbt referring from fig2 to fig9 that show the configuration at respective process steps . in respective figures , the drawing a shows a plane view , the drawing b shows the cross sectional view along i — i line , and the drawing c shows the cross sectional view along ii — ii line . in the process , the metal organized chemical vapor deposition ( mocvd ) technique is applicable to grow respective semiconductor films using various types of source materials , such as triethyl gallium ( tega ), trimethyl indium ( tmin ), arsine ( ash 3 ), and phosphine ( ph 3 ). to adjust the conduction type and the carrier concentration , silane ( sih 4 ) and diethyl zinc ( dezn ) are used for the n - type doping source and p - type doping source , respectively . tetrachloromethane ( ccl 4 ) is substitutable for the diethyl zinc as a dopant for p - conductive type . by supply these source materials into the reaction chamber , desired semiconductor films with the composition and the carrier concentration could be obtained . temperatures from 600 ° c . to 750 ° c . are prefer for respective semiconductor films to take the crystal quality into account . the buffer film 3 and the sub - collector film 4 are grown on the ( 001 ) surface of the semi - insulating inp substrate 2 by the mocvd method ( fig2 ( a )˜ fig2 ( c )). the buffer film 3 is made of un - dope ingaas with 300 nm thickness . the sub - collector film 4 is an n - type ingaas with 300 nm thickness . this film 4 contains si as n - type dopant with the concentration of 1 . 0 × 10 19 [ cm − 3 ]. an etching mask 5 with a photo resist 4 is formed on the sub - collector film 4 ( fig3 ( a )˜ fig3 ( c )). the mask 5 has two openings ( 5 a , 5 b ) expanding along [ 1 - 10 ] and width along [ 110 ] of openings are about 1 . 6 um . the sub - collector film 4 is etched by this mask 5 with a solution of sulfuric acid ( h 2 so 4 ): hydrogen peroxide ( h 2 o 2 ): water ( h 2 o )= 1 : 1 : 500 . this etching forms two depressions ( 6 a , 6 b ) on the sub - collector film 4 and the sub - collector layer 40 is formed between two depressions . the edges along [ 1 - 10 ] of the sub - collector layer 40 shapes a normal mesa , thus the cross section of the sub - collector layer 40 is a trapezium . the width w t of the opening at the top thereof is about 1 . 6 um and that w b at the bottom is about 0 . 8 um , respectively . next , the collector file 8 , the base film 9 , the emitter film 10 and the emitter contact film 11 are successively grown on the inp substrate 2 . films from the base 9 to the emitter contact 11 are contained respective dopant with predetermined concentration , which results on the electron or the hole concentration . the collector film is made of un - doped ingaas . as shown in fig5 ( b ), the collector film 8 has the flat top surface because depressions formed in the sub - collector film are filled with ingaas of the collector film 8 . the base film 9 , the emitter film 10 and the emitter contact film 11 also have flat top surfaces . the flatness of the top surface of the collector film 8 depends on the width of depressions in the cub - collector film 7 . between 1 . 0 um and 2 . 5 um are preferable for the width of the opening w t . below 1 . 0 um makes projections on depressions and over 2 . 5 um results on undulations . further , the bottom width w b of depressions is preferable to be greater than 0 . 5 um and smaller than 2 . 0 um . in the growth of the emitter contact film , the quantity of silane supply is increased , which divides the emitter contact film into the lower portion with the electron concentration about 1 . 0 × 10 18 [ cm − 3 ] and the upper portion with the concentration about 2 . 0 × 10 19 [ cm − 3 ]. the mask with a predetermined coverage is formed on the emitter contact film 11 . etching by using a solution of the sulfuric acid , the hydrogen peroxide and the water forms the emitter contact layer 110 . the emitter film 10 shows a function of etch - stopping layer because the etching of inp by this solution is by far smaller than ingaas . once exposed the emitter film made of inp , the etching substantially stops . the cross sectional shape of the emitter contact layer shows a reverse trapezium along [ 1 - 10 ] and a normal one along [ 110 ] ( fig6 ( a ) to fig6 ( c )). after the formation of the emitter contact layer 110 , another mask is formed so as to cover the primary portion of the device , which contains the emitter contact layer , the emitter layer , the base layer and the collector layer . this mask has a rectangle shape , one edge is along [ 110 ] and the other edge is along [ 1 - 10 ]. the etching for forming the primary mesa is similar to that for the device isolation . namely , the process comprises the first etching for the inp emitter by the hydrochloric acid solution and the second etching for the other layer by the sulfuric acid solution , which forms the base layer 90 , the collector layer 80 . the second etching is preferable to remove a portion of the sub - collector layer over 100 nm to expose the layer inevitably . thus , the primary mesa 120 of the collector layer 80 , the base layer 90 and the emitter layer 100 are formed ( fig7 ( a ) to fig7 ( c )). after the primary mesa formation , another mask for the device isolation covers an area where the hbt is formed . tow step etching is performed . first , a mixture of the hydrochloric acid and the water removes an area not covered by the mask . since this solution can not etch ingaas , the etching completely stops at the exposing of ingaas base film . secondly , another solution of the sulfuric acid , the hydrogen peroxide , and the water etches the area the base film 9 , the collector film 8 , and the buffer film 3 , they are not covered by the mask and the just etched inp emitter layer . this second etching isolates respective hbt devices ( fig8 ( a ) to fig8 ( c )). electrodes of the base , and the emitter are formed as follows by a self - alignment process : first , an insulating film of sin is deposited on the inp substrate 2 , which covers the whole primary mesa 120 . an etching mask if formed on the sin film by a chemical vapor deposition ( cvd ) technique . the mask has openings on the emitter layer 100 and on the emitter contact layer 110 . the reactive ion etching ( rie ) removes sin film within openings and exposes the surface of the emitter layer 100 and the emitter contact layer 110 . a combination of metals , such as platinum ( pt ), titanium ( ti ), platinum ( pt ) and gold ( au ) are successively deposited in openings . portions just aside the emitter contact layer 110 on the emitter layer 100 , which are hidden by eaves of the emitter contact layer 110 along [ 1 - 10 ], are escaped from the deposition of metals . this divides the emitter electrode on the emitter contact layer 110 and the base electrode on the emitter layer 100 . this self - alignment process enables to shorten the pass from the base electrode to the emitter electrode through the base layer , which reduces the base resistance of the hbt and enhances the high frequency performance of the device . the lift - off process removes surplus metals on the mask . namely , metals on the resist mask are lifted off with removing the resist by a solvent . a thermal treatment under the condition of 400 ° c . and 1 minute in an inactive atmosphere makes the emitter electrode 15 and the base electrode 16 with an ohmic characteristic to respective semiconductor layers . the similar process forms the collector electrode 17 with the emitter and the base electrode formation ( fig9 ( a ) to fig9 ( c )). finally , wiring for respective electrodes are formed . another insulating film made of sin is deposited so as to cover all electrodes and the primary mesa of the hbt . a resist mask is formed on the sin film , which has openings corresponding to via holes on respective electrodes . after etching the sin film on electrodes by rie technique and removing the resist , three - layered film of resist / sio 2 / resist is formed on the sin film again , which has openings so as to include openings just etched and regions corresponds to their respective wiring . wiring metal , such as aluminum , is deposited within openings and on the three - layered film , and removing surplus metals on the three - layered film forms wiring for respective electrode . the wiring contacts to electrodes through via holes . the similar process performs wiring for the emitter electrode with that for the base and the collector electrode depicted above . thus , hbt shown in fig1 ( a ) to fig1 ( c ) is competed . the hbt of the second embodiment has almost similar configuration with the first embodiment except that the hbt has not the sub - collector layer . fig1 ( a ) is a plane view of the hbt according to the second embodiment . fig1 ( b ) is a cross sectional view along iii — iii line and fig1 ( c ) is a cross sectional view along iv — iv line . the hbt 200 comprises the semi - insulating inp substrate 2 , the buffer layer 30 , the collector layer 800 , the base layer 900 , the emitter layer 100 , and the emitter contact layer 110 . the collector layer 800 is n - type ingaas with 400 nm thickness and has the electron concentration of 1 . 0 ˜ 10 . 0 × 10 18 [ cm − 3 ] by si doping . the plane shape of the collector layer is a rectangle , one edge is along [ 1 - 10 ] and the other edge is along [ 110 ]. the base layer 900 is p - type ingaas that covers the mesa - shaped collector layer 800 . the top surface of the base layer 900 is a flat surface . the thickness of the layer is about 100 nm on the collector 800 , while that is about 500 nm on the buffer layer 30 . the width of the emitter layer 100 along [ 110 ] is wider than the collector layer 800 . other configurations , such as the composition of indium in the emitter contact layer and the buffer layer , and the carrier concentration of the emitter contact layer , are same as that of the first embodiment but not restricted to those values . the hbt 200 has the collector electrode on the collector layer 800 , which is peculiar to the second embodiment . wiring to respective electrodes and the insulating film of sin are also same as case of the first embodiment . next describes the manufacturing method of the hbt 200 . first , the buffer film and the collector film are grown on ( 001 ) surface of the inp substrate . two depressions are formed in the collector film by etching described in the first embodiment . the shape and dimensions of depressions are same as those ( 6 a , 6 b ) formed in the first embodiment . regions between depressions operate as the collector layer 800 . after etching of depressions , the base film , the emitter film and the emitter contact film are successively grown on the substrate so as to cover depressions . since the flatness of the surface of the base film depends on the thickness of subsequently grown film as shown in the first embodiment , it is required to adjust the width of the depression . next , the emitter contact film is etched by a solution of phosphoric acid and hydrogen peroxide using an etching mask to form the emitter contact layer 110 . the plane shape of the emitter contact layer is rectangle with longer edge extending along [ 1 - 10 ], the cross section of which shows the reverse trapezium . after the formation of the emitter contact layer 110 , a serious of manufacturing process follows , such as the device isolation , the primary mesa formation , electrodes formation , and the wiring formation . finally , the hbt 200 of the second embodiment is completed . as described before , the thickness of the base layer 900 is about 100 nm on the collector layer 800 , while it is about 500 nm on the buffer layer 30 . this means that the cross section of the pass where the base current flows becomes large , which reduces the base resistance and enhances the high frequency performance of the hbt . from the invention thus described , it will be obvious that the invention may be varied in many ways . the composition of ingaas is selected so as to match the lattice constant of the material to that of the inp . where the lattice matching means the difference of the lattice constant between two materials is within ± 0 . 1 %. further , undoped means that the intentional doping has not fulfilled . although embodiments depicts the combination of the inp substrate and the ingaas layer for the collector , the base layer , the subject of the present invention is applicable to the combination of the gaas substrate and the algaas layers , and also the combination of the gaas substrate ant the ingap layers . moreover , though embodiments depict the specific solution for the formation of depressions in the sub - collector film , another solution is usable if only the solution makes the depression so as that the bottom is smaller than the opening of it . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended for inclusion within the scope of the following claims . | 7 |
referring to fig1 , grasper 100 includes top jaw member 102 and bottom jaw member 104 connected by joint member 106 . jaw members 102 , 104 open to receive a portion of tissue 105 , e . g ., a portion of rotator cuff tissue in a shoulder . joint member 106 allows jaw members 102 , 104 to engage and grasp the tissue located therebetween ( e . g . by articulating jaws 102 , 104 from an open position to a closed position , or simply by providing mechanical resistance as tissue is received between the jaw members ). as shown , the jaw members 102 , 104 are flat , paddle type jaws . jaw members 102 , 104 each include a pair of anchor target slots 108 . as described in further detail below , anchor target slots 108 can be used to easily and reliably provide desired positioning of suture anchors used to secure tissue 105 to bone 110 . paddle 100 may be constructed of any suitable material , e . g . biocompatible material including metal ( e . g . stainless steel ), plastic , polymers , and or other materials . fig2 shows a top down view of grasper 100 positioned to grasp tissue 105 . anchor target slots 108 are formed as aligned pair of , e . g ., semicircular apertures in the sides ( e . g . in the outer / perimeter edge 101 ) of the upper and lower jaw member paddles ( note that as used herein the term aperture indicates any open region through which a suture anchor may pass , and need not completely surround the anchor ). the position of target anchor slots are chosen to correspond to a desired position for a pair of suture anchors 112 . for example , as shown , target anchor slots 108 are placed such they are located a desired distance l from the edge of tissue 105 when the grasper has fully engaged the tissue . accordingly , anchors 112 inserted at the target anchor locations will be placed at the correct distance medial the edge of tissue 105 . further anchor targets 108 are positioned distance w apart from each other on either side of jaw members 102 , 104 accordingly , anchors 122 inserted at the target anchor locations will be placed at the correct distance relative to each other . of course , it is to be understood that other configurations may be used to provide any desired anchor placement . fig3 a - 3i illustrate the use of grasper 100 to secure rotator cuff tissue 105 to adjacent humerous head bone 110 . referring to fig3 a , grasper 100 receives tissue 105 between jaw members 102 , 104 such that bottom jaw member 104 is adjacent to bone 110 . the grasper is advanced as far as possible in the medial direction , filling the area between jaw members 102 , 104 with tissue to provide the desired tissue “ bite .” a portion of tissue 105 is thereby grasped between jaw members 102 , 104 . fig3 b shows a top down view of grasper 100 corresponding to the perspective view shown in fig3 a . referring to fig3 c , suture anchors 112 are positioned over anchor target slots 108 . suture anchors 112 each include a rigid ( e . g . metal or rigid plastic ) punch through portion 114 with a threaded tip 116 . a flexible suture portion 118 extends from the end 119 of punch through portion 114 opposite threaded tip 116 . suture portions 118 may be made from any suitable suture material , including weldable ( e . g . heat - or ultrasound - weldable ) material . the ends 119 of punch through portions 114 are engaged by anchor drivers 120 ( e . g . manual screw anchor driver , motorized anchor driver , etc .). fig3 d shows a top down view of grasper 100 corresponding to the perspective view shown in fig3 c . referring to fig3 e , drivers 120 have been used to drive anchors 112 through tissue 105 and into bone 110 , such that the rigid punch through portions 116 have penetrated ( e . g . bored , treaded , augured , etc ) into bone 110 . flexible suture portions 112 extend from the ends 119 of punch through portions 119 out through tissue 105 . in the interest of clarity , anchor drivers 120 are not shown , but remain engaged with ends 119 . in some embodiments , the driving of anchors 112 may be preceded by pre - drilling step when a drill is used to provide a guide hole into the tissue and bone . fig3 f shows a top down view of grasper 100 corresponding to the perspective view shown in fig3 e . arrows indicate the rotation of anchor 112 by driver 120 to auger through tissue 105 and thread into bone 110 . referring to fig3 g , grasper 100 has been removed , and anchor drivers 120 withdrawn from the treatment area . punch through portions 114 of anchors 112 are securely anchored at the desired position ( both relative to tissue 105 and each to each other ) in bone 110 . flexible suture portions 118 extend from ends 119 of punch through portions 114 , passing out through tissue 105 . referring to fig3 h , suture welder 122 engages flexible suture portions 118 extending from tissue 105 . welder 122 captures suture portions 118 in between welder jaws 124 . suture portions 118 are tensioned to secure tissue 105 to bone 110 ( e . g . with a mattress style stitch or other suitable stitch known in the art ). welder 122 brings areas of flexible suture portions 118 into proximity with each other and applies energy ( e . g . heat energy from a heating element , ultrasound energy from a ultrasound transducer , etc .) to fuse the areas together , thereby forming a knotless suture stitch connecting anchors 112 to each other to secure tissue 105 to bone 110 . for example , tensioner 123 may apply tension in opposing directions to suture portions 118 ( as indicated by dark arrows ). it is to be understood that any other suitable technique for attaching anchors 112 may be used , including , for example , performing a conventional knotted stitch with flexible suture portions 118 . in various embodiments , welder 122 may be any suitable welder , e . g . of the types available from axya medical , inc . of beverly , mass ., including those described in , u . s . pat . no . 7 , 090 , 111 , issued aug . 16 , 2006 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 923 , 824 , issued aug . 2 , 2005 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 669 , 705 , issued dec . 30 , 2003 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 666 , 877 , issued dec . 23 , 2003 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 409 , 743 , issued jun . 25 , 2002 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 358 , 271 , issued mar . 19 , 2002 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 286 , 746 , issued sep . 11 , 2001 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 217 , 591 , issued apr . 17 , 2001 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 174 , 324 , issued jan . 16 , 2001 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 106 , 545 , issued aug . 22 , 2000 , u . s . pat . no . 6 , 056 , 751 , issued may 2 , 2000 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 964 , 765 , issued oct . 12 , 1999 , and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 893 , 880 , issued apr . 13 , 1999 the contents of each of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety . fig3 i shows welder 122 retracted from the area after the formation of knotless stitch 126 . note that by employing grasper 120 , proper placement of anchors 112 was easily accomplished . the above steps may be repeated to deliver additional anchors . note that while the above examples show a grasper 100 featuring paddle type jaw members 102 , 014 each having a pair of anchor target slots 108 , any suitable jaw shape featuring and number of anchor target slots may be used . for a given embodiment , placement of the anchor target slots is determined by the desired positioning of the anchors to be implanted . referring to fig4 , in some embodiments grasper 100 is incorporated in endoscopic system 400 . endoscopic system 400 includes handle 402 with a controller 404 . stem 406 connects controller 404 to grasper 100 , allowing an operator to articulate grasper 100 ( e . g . to advance , retract , rotate , etc . grasper 100 , or to articulate jaws 102 , 104 to engage tissue 105 ). grasper 100 and stem 406 are contained in a surgical cannula 408 or other tube which can be inserted into the patient through a small incision . in various embodiments , endoscopic system 400 may include any of the various features or devices familiar in the art of endoscopic surgery . as illustrated in fig5 , in one embodiment , one suture anchor 112 includes an elongated rigid punch through portion 114 which extends along a longitudinal axis between end 119 and threaded tip end 116 . end 119 includes a drive head ( e . g . as shown a hexagonal drive head ) for engagement with driver 120 . end 116 includes a threaded portion 140 for auguring , boring , etc . through bone and tissue . anchor 112 includes flexible suture portion 118 extending from end 119 , and secured to punch through portion 114 . suture portion 118 may be made of a material amenable to bonding through the application of heat or energy thereto such as , for example , nylon ( polyamide ), polypropylene , dacron ® ( polyester ), polyglycolic acid ( pga ), polyglyconate , and polydioxanone . in some embodiments , rigid punch through portion 114 may also be made of such material . in such cases portion 114 may be bonded to portion 118 by the application by the application of heat or other energy ( e . g . ultrasound energy ). other suitable methods of bonding can be used if for example , portion 114 is made of another material , such as stainless steel , titanium , or some other durable , non - degradable , biocompatible material . the suture anchor 112 or parts thereof can be made of a bioresorbable material which will be resorbed after residing in a patient . fig6 a and 6b show an embodiment of suture welder 122 for creating fused stitch . the suture welder 122 includes a jaw assembly 618 having a first jaw 620 for receiving a first suture segment 622 in recess 640 , and a second jaw 624 for receiving a second suture segment 626 in recess 640 so that the second suture segment is adjacent the first suture segment . the suture welder 122 also includes a heater element 612 positioned between the suture segments 622 , 626 . the heater element 612 is adapted to melt at least adjacent surfaces of the overlapping first and second suture segments 622 , 626 . once melted , the suture segments 622 , 626 can be pressed together by the jaws 620 , 624 and allowed to cool to form a fused layer 28 to secure the suture segments 622 , 626 together . the suture welder 122 beneficially provides a fused stitch 14 an elongated material , such as a surgical suture 616 , wherein the stitch has at least comparable strength to knotted stitches or loops closed by other means . the fused stitch gains its comparable strength from the properties of the fused layer of the stitch , as detailed more fully in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 893 , 880 , which is assigned to the assignee of the present disclosure and incorporated herein by reference . in particular , the fused stitch is formed through a welding process in which portions of the suture segments are locally heated through the application of heat thereto until opposing portions melt . the melted portions are then pressed together in an overlapped joint and become fused . the joint includes a fused layer between and joining the first and second suture segments . the fused layer is fused material from the first and second suture segments and preferably is relatively thin and has a relatively large shear area compared to the suture segments . in some embodiments , the suture welder 122 facilitates the creation of such a fused portion by maximizing contact between the suture segments during welding . the fused stitch produced by the suture welder 122 comprises one or more pieces of an elongated material , such as a surgical suture , or other material which is amenable to bonding through the application of heat thereto . suitable materials for the elongated material include polymers , especially thermoplastic materials such as , for example , nylon ( polyamide ), polypropylene , dacron ®. ( polyester ), polyglycolic acid ( pga ), polyglyconate , and polydioxanone . the elongated material can be made of a single strand of a substantially monofilamentous material , or it can comprise multiple strands forming a single suture . the multi - strands can be twisted , braided or otherwise interlinked to increase the density , and thus the strength , of the composite strand . as noted above , in some embodiments , welder 122 may produce fused stitch 126 from suture portions 118 by applying other types of energy including ultrasound energy , radio frequency energy , chemical energy , optical energy , etc . the techniques and devices disclosed herein may be used to fixate any suitable tissue to bone , including , but not limited to , muscle tissue , tendons , and ligaments . the techniques and devices disclosed above may be used in treating human patients , veterinary patients , etc . in the event that any technical definitions presented in this application conflict with any documents incorporated by reference , the definition found in the present application should be understood to hold . while particular examples have been provided above , 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 claims . | 0 |
in the following description , numerous details are set forth . it will be apparent , however , to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well - known structures , devices , and techniques have not been shown in detail , in order to avoid obscuring the understanding of the description . the description is thus to be regarded as illustrative instead of limiting . reference in the specification to “ one embodiment ” or “ an embodiment ” means that a particular feature , structure , or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least an embodiment of the invention . the appearances of the phrase “ in one embodiment ” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment . fig2 illustrates an exemplarily cross - sectional view of a power grid 200 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the power grid 200 includes a first power bus 202 and a second power bus 206 each having wires 203 a - e and 207 a - e , respectively . in an embodiment , the wires within each set of wires ( 203 a - e and 207 a - e ) may be separated with any type of dielectric . as illustrated , in accordance with one embodiment , the wires ( e . g ., 203 a - e and 207 a - e ) may be electrically coupled by , for example , utilizing connectors 205 and 209 ( shown throughout wires 203 a - e and 207 a - e , respectively ). in an embodiment , it is envisioned that these connectors ( e . g ., 205 and / or 209 ) may be an integral part of the wires ( e . g ., 203 a - e and / or 207 a - e ), instead of a separate structure . in one embodiment , the wires ( e . g ., 203 a - e and / or 207 a - e ) and / or connectors ( e . g ., 205 and / or 209 ) may be constructed utilizing the same material . in an embodiment , the wires ( e . g ., 203 a - e and / or 207 a - e ) and / or connectors ( e . g ., 205 and / or 209 ) may be constructed by using material selected from a group including copper , aluminum , silver , gold , other types of conductive substances , and / or any combination thereof . the first and second power buses ( 202 and 206 ) each have bumps 204 a - b and 208 a - b , respectively . the power grid 200 further includes a first ground bus 210 and a second ground bus 214 each having bumps 212 a - c and 216 a - c , respectively . in one embodiment , any pair of adjacent power and ground buses may be as close to each other as possible without causing a short . it is envisioned that the distance between adjacent power and ground buses may depend on the technology utilized to implement the circuitry . for example , the minimum distance between adjacent power and ground buses may be 30 microns in one technology and 10 in another . additionally , in an embodiment , the present invention provides the flexibility of removing individual power and ground bumps without increasing voltage drops or modifying the overall power and ground bump structure . for instance , fig4 illustrates a cross - sectional view of another embodiment of power grid 200 where bumps 204 b and 216 b have been removed . this would be useful when an individual bump is , for example , over an alpha sensitive circuit . this is especially valuable because nearly all bumps may contain lead ( lead emits alpha particles ). in a further embodiment , a widened metal may be utilized to compensate for the voltage drop associated with removing a bump . in addition , lrlips , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention , does not impact the yield or the manufacturability of the vlsi chip . according , lrlips , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention , may allow an ic to perform faster , reduce the overall ic power consumption , and / or provide some combination of these performance and power benefits . l total = l 1 + l 2 −( 2 * l mutual ) ( formula 1 ) in formula 1 , l 1 and l 2 are the inductances associated with circuits 1 and 2 , l mutual is the mutual inductance of circuits 1 and 2 , and l total is the total inductance for circuits 1 and 2 ). in an embodiment , the circuits 1 and 2 may be adjacent power and ground buses , respectively . it is also envisioned that the total inductance may be reduced by lowering the inductance of each circuit . for example , in an embodiment , the power and / or ground buses may be made wider in width and / or shorter in length . however , depending on the available floor space and / or associate costs , it may be more desirable to reduce the total inductance ( l total ) by increasing the mutual inductance ( l mutual ). accordingly , in an embodiment , it is desirable to decrease the gap between paired power and ground buses without causing a short and / or negatively affecting the signal carrying capabilities of the adjacent buses ( for example , through varying electrical fields associated with the adjacent buses and the like ). in such an embodiment , it is envisioned that the inductance of a power and ground grid is lowered without changing the resistance associated therewith . as illustrated in fig2 , the bumps from different power buses may be substantially aligned ( for example , vertically ), in an embodiment . for example the bump 204 a of the first power bus 202 may be aligned with the bump 208 a of the second power bus 206 . similarly , in an embodiment , the bumps from the ground buses may be aligned . for example , the bump 212 b of the first ground bus 210 may be aligned with the bump 216 b of the second ground bus 214 . in an embodiment , the bumps of a power bus may be equidistance from bumps of an adjacent ground bus . for example , the distance from the bump 204 a to the bumps 212 a and 212 b may be substantially equal . similarly , in an embodiment , the bumps of a ground bus may be substantially equidistance from bumps of an adjacent power bus . for example , the distance from the bump 212 b to the bumps 204 a and 204 b may be substantially equal . fig3 illustrates an exemplarily cross - sectional view of an extended power grid 300 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . the power grid 300 includes a first power bus 202 having a bump 204 a and wires 203 a - e . the power grid 300 further includes a first ground bus 210 having a bump 212 a and wires 211 a - e . as illustrated , the bumps 204 a and 212 a may not be vertically aligned ( such as discussed with respect to fig2 ). in an embodiment , the wires within each set of wires ( 203 a - e and 211 a - e ) may be separated with any type of dielectric . as illustrated in fig3 , in accordance with one embodiment , the wires ( e . g ., 203 a - e and 211 a - e ) may be electrically coupled by , for example , utilizing connectors 205 and 213 ( shown throughout wires 203 a - e and 211 a - e , respectively ). in another embodiment , it is envisioned that the wires 203 a - e and 211 a - e may each be a single wire ( e . g ., 203 and 211 ). it is also envisioned that process limitations may require a set of wires instead of a single wire . in a further embodiment , it is envisioned that these connectors ( e . g ., 205 and / or 213 ) may be an integral part of the wires ( e . g ., 203 a - e and / or 211 a - e ), instead of a separate structure . in one embodiment , the wires ( e . g ., 203 a - e and / or 211 a - e ) and / or connectors ( e . g ., 205 and / or 213 ) may be constructed utilizing the same material . in an embodiment , the wires ( e . g ., 203 a - e and / or 211 a - e ) and / or connectors ( e . g ., 205 and / or 213 ) may be constructed by using material selected from a group including copper , aluminum , silver , gold , other types of conductive substances , and / or any combination thereof . the power grid 300 additionally includes extended wires 302 a - b and 304 a - b . as illustrated in fig3 , in accordance with one embodiment , the wires ( e . g ., 302 a - b and 203 a - e ) may be electrically coupled by , for example , utilizing connectors 303 ( shown throughout wires 302 a - b ). similarly , in accordance with one embodiment , the wires ( e . g ., 304 a - b and 211 a - e ) may be electrically coupled by , for example , utilizing connectors 305 ( shown throughout wires 304 a - b ). in an embodiment , it is envisioned that these connectors ( e . g ., 303 and / or 305 ) may be an integral part of the wires ( e . g ., 302 a - b and / or 304 a - b ), instead of a separate structure . in another embodiment , the wires ( e . g ., 302 a - b and / or 304 a - b ) and / or connectors ( e . g ., 303 and / or 305 ) may be constructed utilizing the same material . in yet another embodiment , the wires ( e . g ., 302 a - b and / or 304 a - b ) and / or connectors ( e . g ., 303 and / or 305 ) may be constructed by using material selected from a group including copper , aluminum , silver , gold , other types of conductive substances , and / or any combination thereof . it is envisioned that the set of wires 203 a - e of the first power bus 202 may be extended ( e . g ., utilizing the extended wires 302 a - b ) on an opposite side from the first ground bus 210 . and , the set of wires 211 a - e may be extended ( e . g ., utilizing the extended wires 304 a - b ) on an opposite side from the first power bus 202 . such extension of the wire sets 203 a - e and 211 a - e by , for example , the extended wires 302 a - b and 304 a - b , respectively , will not cause shorting in embodiments where the wire sets are brought as close to each other as possible , in part , to reduce the total inductance ( see , e . g ., the discussion with respect to fig2 ). the total inductance is reduced for one or both of the following two reasons : ( 1 ) the reduced self - inductance ( e . g ., by introducing wider conductance paths ), and / or ( 2 ) the increased mutual inductance ( see , e . g ., fig3 ). the effect is envisioned to provide a wider power and / or ground bus , depending on which bus ( es ) are widened by adding wires . also , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention , it is envisioned that the mutual inductance between , for example , the extended wires 304 a - b and an adjoining power grid ( not shown ) may be increased , whereas the mutual inductance between the set of wires 211 a - e and the adjoining power grid may be reduced . accordingly , in an embodiment of the present invention , wire sets may be extended by adding one or more wires on an opposite side of the wire set from the neighboring power / ground bus . for example , with respect to fig2 , if the second power bus 206 and the second ground bus 214 are considered as a pair of power and ground buses , then wire set 207 a - e may be extended by adding wires on the opposite side from the second ground bus 214 . similarly , wires 215 a - e may be extended by adding wires on the opposite side from the second power bus 206 . in one embodiment , the extension of the wire sets may result in reduction of resistance associated with the power and / or ground buses . the reduction in resistance may reduce the voltage variation due to dc , which is also known as the ir drop ( where i is for current and r is for resistance and the multiplication of the two result in voltage in accordance with the ohm &# 39 ; s law , i . e ., v = i * r ). an advantage of lrlips , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention , is that the power and ground grid has the ability to be adjusted to any resistance value without changing the bump pattern . for example , a power and ground grid with very little resistance may be designed , but such a design may leave very little room to route global signals . therefore , lrlips , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention , permits striking of a right balance of power and ground resistance and global signal tracking . in addition , in an embodiment , localized power and ground grids may be adjusted so as to tune a given ic to have the same ir drop in all transistors without changing the power and ground bumps . furthermore , reduction in inductance of a power grid reduces the voltage variations due to ac , which is also known as l *( di / dt ) ( where l stands for inductance and di / dt indicates the rate of change in current ( i ) over time ( t )). the di / dt is largely determined by the architecture , frequency , and power of an ic . the inductance , l , may be reduced with lrlips , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention , since the power and ground grids are so close and tightly coupled together ( see , e . g ., the discussion with respect to fig2 ). it is envisioned that , in an embodiment , having a lower inductance power and ground grid will reduce voltage variations due to variations of current with respect to time . these current variations may be difficult to predict and estimate in cases where they are dependant on instruction and data patterns . thus , by reducing the inductance ( l ) of a given power and ground grid , certain embodiments of the present invention dampen the effects of large current variations , thereby reducing large voltage variations , which in turn improves reliability and circuit performance . it is envisioned that in an embodiment having a stable and predictable voltage at all transistors is paramount in achieving maximum performance and minimum power consumption . in addition , having a stable and predictable voltage at all transistor will increase reliability of an ic ( e . g ., if not enough guard band was allotted for voltage variation in the power budget estimates ). additionally , in an embodiment , the present invention provides the flexibility of removing individual power and ground bumps without increasing voltage drops or modifying the overall power and ground bump structure . this would be useful when an individual bump is , for example , over an alpha sensitive circuit . this is especially valuable because nearly all bumps may contain lead ( lead emits alpha particles ). in a further embodiment , a widened metal may be utilized to compensate for the voltage drop associated with removing a bump . in addition , lrlips , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention , does not impact the yield or the manufacturability of the vlsi chip . according , lrlips , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention , may allow an ic to perform faster , reduce the overall ic power consumption , and / or provide some combination of these performance and power benefits . moreover , an ic may perform faster by having the minimum voltage at the transistors that is higher , so the transistor would switch faster at the low voltage corner . in particular , the minimum voltage would be higher since the budget for ac and dc voltage drops will be lower ( i . e ., vtran = vsupply − vac_drop − vdc_drop , where vtran is the voltage at the transistor , vsupply is the supply voltage , vac_drop is the voltage associated with an ac drop , and vdc_drop is the voltage associated with a dc drop ). alternately , in an embodiment , the voltage at the transistor may be left the same ( e . g ., resulting in the same performance ) and the vsupply lowered to reduce the overall power consumption . accordingly , in one embodiment , the bump pattern may be diagonal to reduce cheesing of package power planes . thus , reducing resistance ( r ) and inductance ( l ) on , for example , a ceramic package . such an embodiment is envisioned to also reduce the overall voltage drops . the foregoing description has been directed to specific embodiments . it will be apparent to those with ordinary skill in the art that modifications may be made to the described embodiments , with the attainment of all or some of the advantages . for example , the embodiments of the present invention may be applied equally well to any device with a power and / or ground grid . therefore , it is the object of the appended claims to cover all such variations and modifications as come within the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present invention . | 7 |
phosphonacetic acid has been known for many years , although its use as an antiviral agent has only been discovered in recent years . u . s . pat . no . 3 , 767 , 795 clearly demonstrates the high activity of phosphonacetic acid as a topical , intraperitoneal or oral agent effective in combating infections by herpes dermatitis , herpes genitalis , herpes keratitis , herpes encephalitis and vaccinia virus . however , oral products containing phosphonoacetic acid have not been tolerated by all animals in need of such treatment in that the nature of the active ingredient sometimes causes disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract such as heartburn , gastric lesions , and the like . the present invention is , therefore , directed to an antiviral compound that does not exhibit the above - named side affects , but otherwise exhibits the same beneficial results . the compounds are represented by the formula ## str1 ## wherein m is hydrogen or a pharmaceutically acceptable cation and r is an alkyl group of 1 - 17 carbon atoms which may optionally contain one or more carbon - to - carbon unsaturation . the triglycerides of structure i thus carry in the α - and γ - positions an acyl moiety derived from a saturated or unsaturated aliphatic or olefinic acid and can be depicted as ## str2 ## wherein x represents the acyl group of a saturated or unsaturated alkyl carboxylic acid . the saturated or unsaturated alkyl group just mentioned preferably contains an uneven number of carbon atoms , as acids of that configuration are more common and , thus , commercially easier available . the length of the alkyl group is almost of no significance except that it affects the molecular weight of the compound of structure i . the above r , therefore , is usually represented by methyl , propyl , pentyl , hexyl , nonyl , undecanyl , pentadecyl or heptadecyl , or x is the acyl moiety of the unsaturated series represented by acryloyl , crotonoyl , linoloyl , oleoyl or the corresponding polyunsaturated acyl moieties and the like . preferred m cations are hydrogen , sodium , ammonium or potassium . in a general embodiment of the present invention , the compounds of structure i are made by esterifying dihydroxy acetone with the desired acid of the formula rcooh , their anhydride or the corresponding acyl halide . the oxo group of the obtained 1 , 3 - diacylacetone is then reduced to produce the corresponding diglyceride ester . this reduction can be done catalytically when the r groups do not contain any unsaturated links that are to be maintained or , chemical means can be used to reduce the oxo group to a hydroxy group . in turn , the diacyl glyceride is then treated with chloroacetic acid chloride which forms the 1 , 3 - diacyl - 2 - chloroacetyl ester of glycerol . this is then treated with tris ( trimethylsilyl ) phosphite to produce 1 , 3 - diacyl - 2 -[ p , p - bis ( trimethylsilyl ) phosphonoacetyl ] glycerol . careful hydrolysis of the latter with aqueous sodium bicarbonate yields the desired triester of structure i . the new glycerol triester is not only less irritating to the gastrointestinal tract of animals to which said compound is administered , but it also has higher lipid solubility than the parent compound phosphonoacetic acid , and , therefore , is much better suited for topical application , penetrating the epidermis of the animal from an ointment base more rapidly than the parent compound . in order to illustrate the preparation and use of the new compound , reference is made to the following examples which , however , are not intended to limit the invention in any respect . a solution of 8 . 8 g of 1 , 3 - diacetylglycerol , and 4 . 4 g of pyridine in 100 ml of benzene is cooled in an icebath . a solution of 6 . 16 g of chloroacetyl chloride in 20 ml of benzene is dropwise added and the mixture is allowed to warm gradually to room temperature . it is filtered and the solvent is evaporated . the residual liquid is distilled : the first fraction boiling up to 90 ° c ./ 40μ is discarded ; the second fraction ( 105 ° c ./ 40μ ) represents 10 . 98 g of crude 1 , 3 - diacetyl - 2 - chloroacetyl glycerol . the material is chromatographed on 250 g of 100 - 200 mesh florisol ®, using 15 % acetone in petroleum ether ( boiling point 60 °- 80 ° c .) as eluant . the first six fractions are combined and distilled at 100 ° c ./ 20μ to give 7 . 38 g of the purified triglyceride . this material is combined with 18 g of tris ( trimethylsilyl ) phosphite and heated in a 165 ° c . oil bath for 1 hour and the material is then distilled . the yellow - green residue is distilled , and the fraction boiling at 150 ° c ./ 30μ is collected and identified as 12 . 11 g of 1 , 3 - diacetyl - 2 -[ p , p - bis ( trimethylsilyl ) phosphonoacetyl ] glycerol . to 4 . 77 g of this material is added a solution of 1 . 865 g of sodium bicarbonate in 20 ml of water . the solution is then evaporated whereby some material is lost due to frothing . the residue is dried by azeotropic distillation with ethanol and then placing the residue in a 1 mm vacuum overnight at 40 ° c ., producing 3 . 27 g of an amorphous flaky solid , analyzing properly as the disodium salt of 1 , 3 - diacetyl - 2 - phosphonoacetyl - glycerol of molecular weight 342 . 153 . using the procedure of the above example , but starting with an equimolar amount of 1 , 3 - dipalmitoyl glycerol , 1 , 3 - dipalmitoyl - 2 -[ p , p - bis ( trimethylsilylphosphonoacetyl )] glycerol is obtained . after the solvents are evaporated , the residue is dissolved in the necessary minimal amount of tetrahydrofuran and water is added to promote hydrolysis which takes place within a few minutes at room temperature to produce the free acid , 1 , 3 - dipalmitoyl - 2 - phosphonoacetyl glycerol . the material is purified by azeotropic distillation with benzene and crystallizing it from ether to produce the pure material melting at 84 °- 5 ° c . animal cells , after infection by herpes simplex virus , produce a new dna polymerase which has different physical - chemical properties to dna polymerases in normal animal cells . the replication of herpes virus depends on the virus - induced dna polymerase . inhibition of this virus - induced enzyme will stop the replication of herpes virus . an aqueous solution of the disodium salt of the triglyceride of example i and ii produce 68 % and 73 %, respectively , of such inhibition at a concentration of 166 μg / ml . the effectiveness of the triglyceride of example i ( disodium salt ) is determined in the following manner : female cf mice weighing about 20 g , are denuded on a 20 mm 2 area of their backs under light ether anesthesia . herpes virus ( 10 7 tcid 50 / ml ) is applied to the denuded skin and impregnated into the dermis with a 27 - gauge sterile hypodermic needle . herpes lesions or vesicles usually develop in 3 - 5 days . the test is allowed to continue for a total of 10 days . the mice that are treated topically have the drug applied to the site of the infection as a 2 % aqueous solution 2 hours after the virus is introduced into the skin and twice daily thereafter for five consecutive days . the drug is thus applied a total of 11 times . a single application of a 2 % drug solution delivers approximately 2 mg of the active material . the mice that are treated orally have drug delivered by gavage 2 hours after infection and twice daily for five consecutive days thereafter . the mann - whitney &# 34 ; u &# 34 ; test ( siegal ; non - parametric statistics for the behavioral science , mcgraw - hill , new york 1956 , page 116 ) is used to statistically analyze the herpes infection in mice by making paired comparisons between the virus treated and untreated control groups . those groups that show statistically significant differences from the virus - controlled group are defined as &# 34 ; active &# 34 ;. the results of this test are shown in the following table using the disodium salts of the triglyceride of example i as &# 34 ; test compound .&# 34 ; table i______________________________________ no . no . no . of of mice signifi - of mice para - canttreatment mice route dead lyzed level______________________________________normal control 10 -- 0 0 -- virus control 10 -- 9 1 -- test compound 10 2 %- topical 0 3 p & lt ;. 05test compound 10 oral 0 . 8g / kg 0 1 p & lt ;. 05 day______________________________________ by using the free acid of the compound shown in example ii , essentially the same results are obtained as shown in the above table . similar results as shown in example iv are obtained when using herpes keratitis , herpes encephalitis , herpes genitalis or herpes dermatitis cultures as the infectant . also , the compounds of structure ii wherein each r group represents the acyl group of hexanoic , octanoic , linoleic , crotonic or oleic acids produce results very closely analogous to those shown in examples iii and iv . in all instances , it appears to be immaterial whether the free acid , the monosodium , disodium , potassium or even ammonium salts are used in determining the inhibition level shown in example iii . in determining the required dosage for a daily treatment regimen , the above reference u . s . pat . no . 3 , 767 , 795 can be used for guidance . of course , the amount of i must be increased over the dose shown in the reference due to and depending on the molecular weight of the specific r selected . it is assumed that when the new triglyceride enters the blood stream it will be cleaved into free phosphonoacetic acid and for that reason , the dose should be adjusted on the basis of the phosphonoacetic moiety in i while otherwise being selected to levels shown in the reference . the compounds for structure i can easily be compounded into a dosage unit form for medicinal use . for instance , pharmaceutical tablets can be prepared by mixing the active material with the usual type of adjuvants , flavoring agents , fillers , buffers and / or coloring agents which together with a lubricant can be compressed into the usual tablets . also , a mixture of the above active compound with fillers and / or buffers or solid diluents can be processed into wafers , pills or just simply filled into gelatin capsules in dosages of suitable amounts . preferably , a dosage unit contains between 250 - 1250 mg of the active ingredients , and tablets of this type are preferrably prepared in disected form . the oral dosage forms of the type indicated above do not require any coating for the purpose of taste masking or protection against the acid environment of the stomach . the active ingredient i alone does not cause any gastrointestinal discomforts as it is absorbed as a glyceride . the new drug is lipid soluble and as such penetrates the cell membranes and will be found in the blood stream at sufficiently high doses to provide the antiviral effect . the same effect can be obtained , as shown above , by topically applying a salve , ointment , emulsion , suspension or solution of the glyceride topically to the affected skin area . the following is a typical formulation which may be used to incorporate the compound of the present invention into a tablet form . about one half of 52 g of cornstarch is milled together with 500 g of the active drug and 220 g of calcium phosphate dibasic dihydrate ; this blend is milled and passed through a 40 - mesh screen . the remaining portion of the cornstarch is granulated with water , heated and mixed with the above blend in a hot air over at 50 ° c . and sifted through a 16 - mesh screen . these granules are then mixed with 16 g of talcum powder and 4 g of magnesium stearate , the mixture is blended and subsequently passed through a 30 - mesh screen and blended for at least 15 minutes . in order to prepare tablets , this mixture is compressed using a 9 / 32 &# 34 ; standard convex punch producing a tablet of hardness 7 - 9 with each tablet weighing 800 mg and containing 500 mg of the active drug . a simple topical administration vehicle is made as follows : 2 - 15 parts of the above tri - ester is stirred into warm petrolatum in an amount to prepare 100 parts by weight of an ointment . when desired , the mixture may be milled to achieve a desirable particle size and , if desired , a sufficient amount of a pharmaceutically acceptable wax is added to achieve the chosen consistency of the ointment . | 2 |
the oxidation of thallium ( i ) to thallium ( iii ) is accomplished in a photoelectrochemical cell having an externally electrically interconnected semiconductor photoelectrode and counter electrode . in semiconductors , electronic orbitals are merged into bands of differing energy levels : a &# 34 ; valence band &# 34 ; which is nearly filled with electrons and a higher energy &# 34 ; conduction band &# 34 ; which is nearly vacant . the difference in energy between these bands is called the &# 34 ; band gap energy .&# 34 ; a photon which strikes the surface of the semiconductor immersed in an electrolyte solution will , if its energy exceeds the semiconductor band gap energy , be absorbed and impart sufficient energy to a valence band electron so that it enters the conduction band , resulting in the formation of an electron - hole pair at the semiconductor surface and thereby giving rise to an electric field . if the semiconductor is of the &# 34 ; n - type ,&# 34 ; that is , containing an electron donor species which causes some electrons to be in the conduction band , the electric field forms by electron shift toward the interior of the semiconductor and hole shift toward the surface . a p - type semiconductor , on the other hand , contains electron acceptor species and forms electric fields in the opposite direction : holes shift into the semiconductor and electrons shift toward the surface . the formed electric fields are unstable in conductive solutions and will rapidly disappear due to recombination of the electrons and holes , generally accompanied by the release of heat energy . however , if the electrolyte solution contains species which have suitable redox potentials ( that is , intermediate between the semiconductor valence band and conduction band potentials ), a photoelectrochemical cell can be formed by immersing an inert counter electrode in the electrolyte solution , and providing an electrical interconnection externally to the cell between the two electrodes . for an n - type semiconductor , irradiation of the semiconductor electrode now causes an electron flow toward the counter electrode , at which an available oxidized species can be reduced by accepting an electron while , essentially simultaneously , an available reduced species can be oxidized by transfer of an electron to the hole of the semiconductor electrode . for a p - type semiconductor , processes at the two electrodes are reversed . the irradiated photoelectrode can transfer reducing electrons to an oxidized species , while available reduced species transfer electrons to the counter electrode , becoming oxidized . as can be seen , the net result is a direct conversion of radiant energy to chemical species which can be stored or used for further chemical reactions . light can be used to promote photooxidation at an n - type semiconductor photoelectrode , or to promote photoreduction at a p - type photoelectrode . factors which must be considered in the selection of a semiconductor for photoelectrochemical application include the theoretical energy conversion efficiency and the stability of the semiconductor material in the proposed system . as noted , electronic transitions in a photoelectrode require that the energy of the absorbed photon be greater than the semiconductor band gap energy . solar radiation , however , is polychromatic , with most of its energy which is useful for chemical reactions reaching the surface of the earth at wavelengths between about 400 and about 900 nanometers ( nm ). wrighton , in a paper entitled &# 34 ; photochemistry ,&# 34 ; chemical and engineering news , sept . 3 , 1979 , pages 29 - 47 , ( which is incorporated herein by this reference ), has shown the theoretical efficiency for a range of wavelengths from infrared to ultraviolet , and describes a maximum efficiency of about 30 percent solar energy conversion at a wavelength of about 885 nm , equivalent to an energy of 1 . 4 electron volts ( ev ). for maximized solar energy efficiency , then , a semiconductor photoelectrode should have a band gap energy of about 1 . 4 ev . the paper by wrighton also discusses the stability problem which is exhibited by semiconducting photoanode materials , in that they are susceptible to oxidative decomposition when exposed to light . only oxide semiconductors , e . g ., ferric oxide or titanium dioxide , are described as useful in aqueous electrolytes without added stabilizers , but the band gap energies for these oxides ( 2 . 2 and 3 . 0 ev , respectively ) do not permit efficient use of solar energy . several photoanodes are available which have band gap energies at the ideal 1 . 4 ev level , but generally require nonaqueous electrolytes or the addition of electrode stabilizing agents . for the previously noted thallium oxidation and oxygen reduction couples ( equations 1 and 4 , respectively ), it can be seen that the narrow 1 . 4 ev band gap should be energetically sufficient to generate a current flow . assuming that the semiconductor material is not decomposed in the system , most of the currently used photoelectrode materials having band gap energies above about 1 . 4 ev are suitable for use in this invention . several of these materials are tabulated by wrighton in the previously noted paper at pages 37 and 43 . typically , the choice of a semiconductor photoelectrode material will also be strongly influenced by the nature and energy requirements of the desired reaction at the counter electrode . for example , if thallium oxidation is to occur at a semiconductor photoanode and hydrogen evolution is desired at an inert cathode , according to equation 12 , the over - potential required to overcome the kinetic inefficiencies of the reaction will make necessary a larger band gap energy semiconductor than is predicted from standard reduction potentials . in addition , hydrogen evolution in systems utilizing a titanium dioxide photoanode requires the addition of a 0 . 2 volt bias potential in series with the photoelectrochemical cell , since the conduction band potential for this semiconductor is about 0 . 2 volts positive of the hydrogen evolution potential . the problem is discussed by wrighton in &# 34 ; photoelectrochemical conversion of optical energy to electricity and fuels ,&# 34 ; in accounts of chemical research , vol . 12 , pages 303 - 310 ( 1979 ), which is incorporated herein by this reference . numerous reactions can be made to occur at a counter electrode , including the reduction of oxygen ( which concurrently results in the generation of electrical energy by the cell ) and the electroreduction of organic compounds , as exemplified by the formation of hydrocarbons from carboxylic acids . the reduction of carbon dioxide to form alcohols and / or aldehydes can be performed at the cathode of a photoelectrochemical cell of this invention having a semiconductor photoanode . it is also possible to practice the invention without a typical cell configuration having two electrodes . thallium ( iii ) is generated upon illumination of oxygen saturated solutions containing thallium ( i ) and a particulate semiconductor . any particulate semiconductor which meets the above - described stability and energy criteria can be used in this modification of the invention , the theoretical explanation for operation of such &# 34 ; short - circuited &# 34 ; photoelectrochemical cells being explained by bard in the previously noted paper from science , at pages 142 - 143 . since there are no electrodes in such a cell , it is not possible to apply bias potentials and , of course , there is no counter electrode reaction to be concerned with . this configuration , then , is useful primarily for the oxidation of thallium ( i ) and will not normally produce electrical energy or other products . it does offer the significant benefit of simplicity in both construction and operation of the cell . in particulate semiconductor cells , oxygen saturation of the electrolyte is desired to maximum efficiency , but lower levels of dissolved oxygen can be utilized . typically , this oxygen is supplied by bubbling the gas into the electrolyte . mixtures of oxygen and other gases ( e . g ., air ) can also be utilized in the practice of the invention . the electrolyte used in the electrode or particulate - type cells comprises a suitable aqueous or organic solution containing sufficient ionic species to impart high conductivity . it is desirable that the ionic strength in the electrolyte be maintained above about 0 . 1 molar , for example from about 0 . 1 to about 10 molar , to facilitate rapid and efficient charge transfer to and / or from the semiconductor material . criteria to be utilized in selecting a solvent include the lack of significant reactivity toward thallium ions , capacity for dissolving a desired amount of thallium and ionizable species , and the ease with which reaction products can be separated . many solvents known to the art of electrochemistry can be used , including water and diverse organic compounds , several of which are listed by j . o . headridge in electrochemical techniques for inorganic chemists , page 68 , academic press , new york ( 1969 ), which is incorporated herein by this reference . the organic solvents include such diverse compounds as acetonitrile , dimethylformamide , alcohols , and dimethyl sulfoxide . in addition , mixtures of water and miscible organic compounds , such as the water - acetic acidtetrahydrofuran solvent of kruse in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 641 , 067 , are useful in the practice of the invention . if water is used as the solvent , sufficient acid should be present so as to maintin a ph of less than about 2 . 5 , to prevent hydrolysis of the photogenerated thallium ( iii ). however , if the system is designed such that thallium ( iii ) is consumed by reaction as it is formed , the acid level requirement can be significantly decreased . hydrolysis problems will be encountered to a much greater extent in high - ph systems where reaction of the thallium ( iii ) occurs remotely in time or location from the photogeneration . ionic species in the electrolyte can be supplied by inorganic and organic salts which are highly ionized in solution , and are not reactive to any large extent with other components of the system . mixtures of salts are also useful . examples of these salts are perchlorates , acetates , sulfates , halides and the like . the cationic function of these salts can be alkali metals , hydrogen , ammonium , larger groups such as tetraethylammonium , and the like , including mixtures thereof . in aqueous solutions at low ph , it has been found that the normally quite stable titanium dioxide photoelectrode is subject to degradation in the photooxidation of thallium , unless an electron transfer mediator such as acetate or sulfate ion is present in the electrolyte . a possible but not limiting chemical mechanism for the photooxidation is as follows in equations 13 through 16 , where h vb + represents valence band holes and e cb - represents conduction band electrons in the semiconductor : ## str5 ## sulfate will mediate the reaction even when present at extremely low levels ( e . g ., less than about 10 - 7 molar ) and is apparently not significantly consumed . in aqueous media , therefore , an electrolyte of aqueous sulfuric acid , from about 0 . 01 to about 5 molar , or a mixture of an inert salt ( such as perchlorate ) and a sulfate salt , would be beneficial . acetate , in the form of acetic acid or a salt , also mediates the reaction but is at least partially consumed via the previously noted photo - kolbe reaction of equation 11 . the invention is further illustrated by the following examples which are illustrative of various aspects of the invention , and are not intended as limiting the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . the conversion of light to electrical energy is shown by operating a photoelectrochemical cell , based upon the thallium ( i )- thallium ( iii ) redox couple , in the photovoltaic mode . a cell is constructed by placing a platinum wire counter electrode and an n - type single crystal semiconductor photoanode in a quartz beaker , and interconnecting the electrodes through an instrument for making electrical measurements . the semiconductor material is mounted in a princeton applied research k0105 flat specimen holder , made of an inert polymer , which exposes a one square centimeter area of the material . the electrodes are immersed in a stirred aqueous electrolyte solution which comprises 0 . 1 molar thallium ( i ) acetate , 0 . 1 molar thallium ( iii ) perchlorate , and 0 . 5 molar acetic acid . upon irradiation of the photoanode with a xenon lamp , having an intensity of about 50 milliwatts per square centimeter ( mw / cm 2 ), the following currents and voltages are obtained for several semiconductor materials : ______________________________________semiconductor short - circuit open - circuitmaterial photocurrent ( ma / cm . sup . 2 ) photovoltage ( mv ) ______________________________________tio . sub . 2 0 . 40 530mos . sub . 2 1 . 2 190cds 2 . 3 800gaas 3 . 7 850______________________________________ stability of the photoelectrode is indicated by the maintenance of a short - circuit photocurrent for prolonged periods of time . under illumination with a xenon light having an intensity of about 140 mw / cm 2 , it is found that the electrode stability for the four semiconductor materials is an inverse function of the measured photocurrent . a titanium dioxide photoelectrode is the most stable , producing a short - circuit photocurrent of about 1 . 0 ma / cm 2 for more than eight hours , while the least stable gallium arsenide electrode photocurrent gradually declines from an initial 3 ma / cm 2 to about 1 . 8 ma / cm 2 in about sixty minutes , then sharply drops to about 0 . 25 ma / cm 2 . the efficiency of light conversion is determined using a photovoltaic cell , as in example 1 , but having an electrolyte solution comprising 1 molar thallium ( i ) acetate , 0 . 1 molar thallium ( iii ) perchlorate , and 1 molar perchloric acid . both unfiltered xenon light and light of a wavelength corresponding to the band gap energy of the photoelectrode ( produced by narrow band pass interference filters over the xenon lamp ) are used . efficiency of the conversion from thallium ( i ) to thallium ( iii ) is calculated ( as percent ) by dividing the product of the cell photovoltage and 100 times the cell current ( in ma / cm 2 ), by the light intensity ( in mw / cm 2 ). a point of maximum efficiency can be determined by controlling the cell voltage with various reverse bias potentials , measuring cell current at each voltage , and plotting the calculated efficiencies versus cell voltage . using this technique , the following maximum efficiencies are obtained : ______________________________________semiconductor light cell maximummaterial wavelength intensity volts efficiency , % ______________________________________tio . sub . 2 342 nm 0 . 31 1 . 5 1 . 8tio . sub . 2 xenon 53 1 . 5 0 . 13mos . sub . 2 700 nm 0 . 62 0 . 8 0 . 6mos . sub . 2 xenon 50 0 . 62 0 . 017______________________________________ a two - compartment cell , with a vycor frit separating the compartments , is used for the experiment . the cathode compartment contains 0 . 5 molar acetic acid , is saturated with nitrogen , and is provided with a platinum wire cathode . the anode compartment has a quartz window for light transmission , and contains an electrolyte comprising 0 . 1 molar thallium ( i ) acetate and 0 . 5 molar acetic acid . an n - type single crystal titanium dioxide photoanode , mounted as described in example 1 , is placed into the anode compartment behind the quartz window . a reference potential for measurements is provided by a princeton applied research k0077 saturated calomel electrode , placed in the anode compartment of the cell . the three electrodes are connected to a princeton applied research 173d potentiostat . under illumination with a xenon lamp producing an intensity of about 52 mw / cm 2 , thallium ( i ) oxidation at the photoanode begins at a potential of - 0 . 2 volts versus the reference electrode . with no light , the oxidation is initiated at a platinum electrode inserted into the anode compartment with an applied potential of + 0 . 6 volts versus the reference electrode . the difference between these potentials , 0 . 8 volts , represents the energy which is supplied by light . with the potentiostat used to maintain a photoanode potential of + 0 . 4 volts ( versus the reference electrode ), and with an illumination intensity of about 140 mw / cm 2 , thallium ( iii ) is produced at a rate of 0 . 058 millimoles per hour , as measured both spectrophotometrically by absorbance at 260 nm and also by polarographic analysis . under these conditions , hydrogen is produced at the cathode . a thin film titanium dioxide photoelectrode is prepared by heating a piece of titanium foil in air at about 700 ° c . for about two hours , and then continuing the heating in an atmosphere of hydrogen sulfide for about one hour . with this electrode substituted for the single crystal in the electrode holder , repeating the experiment of the preceding paragraph results in a similar production rate of thallium ( iii ), as shown below : ______________________________________species produced 10 . sup .- 3 equivalents / hour______________________________________coulombs 0 . 039 ± 0 . 001thallium ( iii ) 0 . 041 ± 0 . 002hydrogen 0 . 043 ± 0 . 002______________________________________ it should be noted that the current efficiency is approximately 100 percent , indicating that there are no other products , i . e ., no photooxidation of water . the photoelectrosynthetic generation of thallium ( iii ) is further demonstrated , using a photoanode of a different semiconductor material . experiments of the preceding example are repeated with the same cell configuration and solutions , but with an n - type single crystal molybdenum disulfide photoanode , mounted as previously described . all tests for this example using illumination employ the xenon lamp operating at an intensity of about 52 mw / cm 2 . without illumination , an applied potential of + 0 . 6 volts versus the reference electrode ( as reported in the preceding example ) is required to initiate the oxidation of thallium ( i ). under illumination , the oxidation using the molybdenum disulfide photoanode begins at about + 0 . 3 volt versus the reference electrode , giving an &# 34 ; underpotential &# 34 ; of about 0 . 3 volts . by controlling the cell potential at + 0 . 7 volts versus the reference electrode , the illuminated photoanode produces thallium ( iii ) at the rate of about 0 . 00083 millimoles per hour . a cell constructed as in example 1 is operated with an electrolyte comprising a solution of 0 . 1 molar thallium ( i ) acetate and 0 . 1 molar thallium ( iii ) nitrate in acetonitrile . with illumination from a xenon lamp of about 50 mw / cm 2 intensity on a single crystal n - type titanium dioxide photoanode , a short - circuit current of 0 . 13 ma / cm 2 and an open - circuit photovoltage of about 0 . 9 volts are obtained . the maximum energy conversion efficiency of the cell is about 0 . 0048 percent . similarly , using the same cell illumination and electrolyte , but with a single crystal molybdenum disulfide photoanode , a short - circuit current of 0 . 085 ma / cm 2 and an open - circuit photovoltage of 0 . 21 volts are found . this cell has a maximum conversion efficiency of about 0 . 014 percent . the effect of an electron transport mediator upon the stability of a photoelectrode is demonstrated . a photoelectrochemical cell is constructed in a quartz beaker , as described in preceding examples , using a platinum - wire cathode and a thin - film titanium dioxide photoanode ( prepared as described in example 3 ), with an aqueous electrolyte solution of 0 . 1 molar thallium ( i ) perchlorate , 1 molar sodium perchlorate , and sufficient perchloric acid to obtain a ph of about 2 . 6 . the potentiostat is used to maintain a photoanode potential of 0 . 4 volts versus a saturated calomel electrode , and the photoanode is illuminated with a xenon lamp operated at an intensity of about 140 mw / cm 2 . initially , the cell current is 0 . 15 ma / cm 2 , but this decreases to zero during operation , with a half - life of about one minute . the photoelectrode is destroyed , as evidenced by a large dark current . when the experiment is repeated using a replacement photoanode , and with sodium sulfate added to the electrolyte to a concentration of about 10 - 7 molar , an initial cell current of 0 . 3 ma / cm 2 is stable for at least 24 hours . since many more moles of thallium ( iii ) are produced than the moles of sulfate present , it does not appear that sulfate is consumed during the photooxidation . the thin - film titanium dioxide used in the acetate electrolyte experiment of example 3 yields a current of 0 . 3 ma / cm 2 which is stable for at least 22 hours . however , some carbon dioxide is evolved , indicating the possibility that acetate ion is being consumed via the photo - kolbe reaction . thallium ( iii ) is produced by photooxidation in a cell using semiconductor powders . a quartz beaker containing 250 milliliters of an aqueous solution , which is 0 . 1 molar thallium ( i ) acetate and 0 . 5 molar acetic acid , and 1 . 0 gram of semiconductor powder is saturated with oxygen by bubbling the gas through the solution . the beaker is illuminated with a xenon lamp having an intensity of about 140 mw / cm 2 , and the production of thallium ( iii ) is monitored by a spectrophotometric measurement of the increase in absorbance at a wavelength of 260 nm . results are as shown below for several semiconductors : ______________________________________semiconductor thallium ( iii ) productiontype band gap ( ev ) 10 . sup .- 3 molar / hour______________________________________tio . sub . 2 ( platinized ) 3 . 2 0 . 55tio . sub . 2 3 . 2 0 . 53zno 3 . 2 0 . 27wo . sub . 3 ( h . sub . 2 reduced ) 2 . 8 0 . 14wo . sub . 3 2 . 8 0 . 13ho . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 2 . 8 0 . 043sic 2 . 2 0 . 024y . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 -- 0 . 017ce . sub . 2 ( wo . sub . 4 ). sub . 3 -- 0 . 0072si . sub . 3 n . sub . 4 -- & lt ; 0 . 0001ruo . sub . 2 -- & lt ; 0 . 0001______________________________________ a photoelectrochemical process is used to generate thallium ( iii ), which is reacted with an olefin and then regenerated . into a 500 - milliliter flask is placed 250 milliliters of an aqueous solution of 0 . 1 molar thallium ( i ) acetate and 0 . 5 molar acetic acid . a 2 . 0 gram portion of powdered titanium dioxide is added to the flask , and oxygen is bubbled through the solution . a xenon lamp illuminates the flask with an intensity of about 140 mw / cm 2 , and polarographic analysis is used to monitor the production of thallium ( iii ), with results as follows : ______________________________________elapsed time thallium ( iii )( hours ) ( molar ) ______________________________________0 & lt ; 2 . 5 × 10 . sup .- 53 1 . 6 × 10 . sup .- 35 2 . 2 × 10 . sup .- 321 3 . 6 × 10 . sup .- 3______________________________________ the flask is removed to a hot water bath , maintained at 85 ° c ., and propylene ( humidified by bubbling through a heated 0 . 5 molar acetic acid solution ) is bubbled through the solution . gases exiting the flask are passed through a first collection flask maintained at about 0 ° c . ( in an ice bath ) and then through a second collection flask at about - 78 ° c . ( in an isopropyl alcohol - dry ice bath ). after about 1 . 5 hours , propylene flow is stopped , and polarographic analysis of the solution indicates a thallium ( iii ) concentration of 2 . 9 × 10 - 5 molar . contents of the collection flasks are identified by gas chromatography as acetone and propylene oxide , in approximately a 4 : 1 molar ratio . oxygen is again bubbled into the solution and illumination is resumed , giving thallium ( iii ) production as follows : ______________________________________elapsed time thallium ( iii )( hours ) ( molar ) ______________________________________0 2 . 9 × 10 . sup .- 53 1 . 5 × 10 . sup .- 35 2 . 1 × 10 . sup .- 321 3 . 6 × 10 . sup .- 3______________________________________ repeating the propylene oxidation experiment reduces the thallium ( iii ) concentration to 3 . 2 × 10 - 4 molar , and the subsequent thallium ( iii ) photoelectrochemical regeneration step proceeds as follows : ______________________________________elapsed time thallium ( iii )( hours ) ( molar ) ______________________________________0 3 . 2 × 10 . sup .- 43 1 . 7 × 10 . sup .- 35 2 . 1 × 10 . sup .- 321 3 . 6 × 10 . sup .- 3______________________________________ the produced thallium ( iii ) remains reactive to propylene , as shown by the decrease in concentration to 3 . 7 × 10 - 5 molar when the propylene oxidation experiment is again repeated . various embodiments , and modifications of this invention , have been described in the foregoing description and examples , and further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art . such modifications are included within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims . | 7 |
the motor - truck shown in fig1 to 5 is a mass - produced truck ( hereinafter termed standard truck ). in the factory this truck is provided with a frame 1 supported by steerable front wheels 2 and driven rear wheels 3 , while at each side of the frame 1 , two of the wheels 3 are arranged on a rear axle of the truck . at the front of the frame 1 a driver cabin 4 and a driving engine located inside the cabin 4 are provided . by means of an auxiliary shaft 5 and a differential 6 the rear wheels 3 on the rear axle are driven in known manner by the engine . the frame 1 comprises , as usual , two parallel frame beams 7 arranged symmetrically to a longitudinally extending vertical plane of substantial symmetry of the truck , said beams 7 extending , as required , over the substantially whole length of the truck . the frame beams 7 are interconnected at their rear ends by a transverse beam 8 ( fig2 and 3 ) rigidly secured to the former . a similar transverse beam is also secured to the front ends of the frame beams 7 . in order to adapt this comparatively inexpensive mass - produced truck to agricultural purposes , the standard truck is provided with a rear lift 9 , a front lift 10 and with a non - driven second set of rear wheels 11 . for this purpose a pair of ears 12 are welded to the top of the transverse beam 8 ( fig4 ), said ears holding a pivotal shaft about which a top arm 13 of the lift 9 is freely pivotable . near the rear end of each of the frame beams 7 , a pair of ears 14 are welded to the bottom of said beams , in which ears 14 a pipe 15 , covering the whole width of the frame 1 , is pivotally journalled . near each of the ends of the pipe 15 is welded a lower lifting arm 16 of the lift 9 . midway along the length of the pipe 15 , a downwardly extending arm 17 is rigidly secured to said pipe 15 , the end of the arm 17 remote from the pipe 15 carrying a pivotal shaft to which is pivoted the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder 18 . the hydraulic cylinder 18 itself is pivoted to a transverse beam 19 arranged in front of the transverse beam 8 , considered in the intended direction of forward travel a of the truck . the hydraulic cylinder 18 is inclined , in a central position , from the transverse beam 19 in a downward and rearward direction towards the arm 17 ( fig4 and 5 ). in order to fasten the additional sets of rear wheels 11 , located behind the rear wheels 3 , each of the two frame beams 7 is provided with a carrier 20 ( fig4 and 5 ), which is pivoted to the frame beam 7 concerned by means of a horizontal pivotal shaft 21 extending transversely of the direction of travel a . each carrier 20 extends downwards from the beam 7 . the end of each carrier 20 remote from the pivotal shaft 21 is provided with a clamping piece 22 . a shaft 23 is passed through the two clamping pieces 22 and through holes provided in the carriers 20 and extends beyond the outside of the carrier 20 . the shaft 23 is rigidly secured to the carriers 20 by the clamping pieces 22 . near each of the two ends of the shaft 23 , the pair of additional rear wheels 11 is secured so that each of these rear wheels is in line with and behind a corresponding rear wheel 3 , considered in the direction of forward travel a . at an area located , in side elevation , between the differential 6 and the carrier 20 , the bottom of each frame beam 7 has welded to it a downwardly extending , generally triangular plate - shaped carrier 24 . the lower ends of the two carriers 24 hold a pivotable pipe 25 extending horizontally perpendicular to the direction of travel a . each of the two clamping pieces 22 secured to the carriers 20 is provided with a pair of forwardly protruding ears 26 holding a pivotal shaft 27 , about which the rear end of a rod 28 is pivotable . each rod 28 extends to the front from the associated ears and is provided at a given distance from its foremost end with a plate 29 extending perpendicularly to the rod 28 and being welded to the inner side of the neighboring carrier 24 . each plate 29 has a hole for receiving associated rod 28 so that the rod 28 can slide through the plate 29 . near the ears 26 , each rod 28 is provided with a plate 30 also extending perpendicular to the rod 28 , which rod is also passed through a hole in the plate 30 . however , the rod 28 is immovably secured in place with respect to the plate 30 . the rod 28 is surrounded by a helical compression spring 31 , the ends of which engage the plates 29 and 30 . the free end of each rod 28 is provided with a stop ( not shown ), which prevents the rod 28 from slipping out of the plate 29 . the pipe 25 , which is pivotable with respect to the carriers 24 , has welded to it over its whole length one edge of a rigid pressure plate 32 extending rearwardly from the pipe 25 and , in the position shown in fig4 slightly downward , considered in the direction of forward travel a . in the elevation of fig4 the rear edge of the pressure plate 32 has a rim which is bent slightly upwards with respect to the front part joining the pipe 25 . near the front of said rear rim , ears 33 are secured to the top of the pressure plate 32 near each of its two side edges for holding a horizontal pivotal shaft 34 extending perpendicular to the direction a and having pivoted to it the end of the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder 35 . each of the two cylinders 35 is pivoted , near its end remote from the pivotal shaft 34 , to a pivotal shaft 36 which also extends horizontally perpendicular to the direction a and which is supported by the neighboring frame beam 7 . viewed in plan , the pressure plate 32 has a rectangular periphery , the width of which , measured perpendicular to the direction a , is approximately equal to the distance between the outer sides of the frame beams 7 , whereas the length of the pressure plate 32 , measured from the pivotal shaft 25 to its rear edge , is approximately equal to the diameter of one of the rear wheels 3 or 11 . in the elevational view of fig4 the pivotal axis of the pipe 25 is located approximately at the level of the foremost point of the non - drivable rear wheels 11 , whereas the rear edge of the pressure plate 32 is located at the hindmost point thereof . the truck may furthermore be provided with a loading platform 37 , which may be disposed , if desired , on the frame 1 by means of supports 38 so that the bottom of the leading platform 37 is located at a distance above the tops of the frame beams 7 . the loading platform 37 , or a loading trough , is preferably releasably fastened to the frame 1 . each of the two clamping pieces 22 is provided with rearwardly and upwardly inclined ears 39 holding a horizontal , transverse pivotal shaft about which the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder 40 is arranged to pivot . the cylinder 40 itself is turnably connected to the transverse beam 19 , located behind the pivotal shaft 21 , by means of a pivotal shaft extending parallel to the former . the truck is provided in known manner with an oil or other fluid pressure medium pump ( not shown ), which can be driven by the engine of the truck and with a hydraulic system communicating with the aforesaid hydraulic cylinders or arms . the hydraulic system can be controlled from the driver cabin 4 . the invention may furthermore be applied to mass - produced wagons ( fig6 and 7 ) for example , towed trailers or lorries . the wagon comprises a frame 41 having two parallel , relatively spaced frame beams 42 extending in the direction a and being interconnected at the front and rear ends by transverse beams . at the front , the frame beams 42 are provided with a drawbar 43 for attaching the wagon to a truck or to a tractor . the wagon comprises an axle 44 having on each side of the frame 41 two ground wheels 45 . the wagon may be provided with a loading platform 46 , which can be releasably connected by means of supports 47 to the top of the frame 41 . by means of carriers 48 extending downwards from the frame 41 and being pivoted to said frame 41 by horizontal pivotal shafts 49 extending perpendicular to the direction a , an additional axle 50 is arranged behind the axle 44 and parallel to the latter . the two carriers 48 again have forwardly extending ears 51 provided with rods 53 arranged to pivot about shafts 52 extending perpendicular of the direction a , said rods 53 extending forwardly from the carriers 48 . the rods 53 are each provided with plates 54 each embracing the associated rod and being rigidly secured thereto , and with plates 55 located at a distance in front of the plates 54 and being secured to carriers supporting the axle 44 , the plates 55 being installed in the factory . the rods 53 are slidable through holes in the plates 55 . the portion of each rod 53 which is located between the plates 54 and 55 is surrounded by a helical compression spring 56 which engages the plates 54 and 55 . the free end of each rod 53 is provided with a stop ( not shown ) which prevents the rod 53 from slipping out of the plate 55 . the additional axle 50 has , at each side of the frame , two tired wheels 57 disposed so that , considered in the direction a , one wheel of each set of two wheels 57 at one side of the frame is in line behind a wheel of the pair of ground wheels 45 located at the same side . the smallest distance between the wheels 45 and 57 is about ten centimeters ( four inches ) and the overall diameter of each of the wheels 45 and 57 is about one meter ( 391 / 2 inches ). each of the carriers 48 is provided at its rear with ears 58 holding a horizontal pivotal shaft 59 extending perpendicular to the direction of movement a and having pivoted to it , on each side of the frame 41 , the piston rod of a corresponding hydraulic cylinder 60 . the hydraulic cylinders 60 themselves are pivoted to the bottoms of the frame beams 42 by pivotal shafts 61 extending parallel to the pivotal shafts 59 . the hydraulic cylinders 60 are inclined rearwardly and upwardly from the associated ears 58 . at an area located in front of the standard ground wheels 45 , supports 62 are provided on the bottom of the two frame beams 42 , said supports 62 being provided near their bottoms with bearings in which a horizontal pipe 63 extending perpendicular to the direction a is arranged to pivot . the pipe 63 covers the whole width between the frame beams 42 . the pipe 63 has rigidly secured to it a pressure plate 64 extending , in the position shown in fig7 from the pipe 63 to the rear and in a slightly inclined position beneath the axle 44 . the plate 64 has a slightly bent up rear edge . the pressure plate 64 , like the pressure plate 32 , may be provided with profiles extending in , or transversely of the direction a for reinforcing the plate in a direction at right angles to its plane . viewed in plan , the plate 64 has a rectangular shape like the plate 32 . the front edge of the plate 64 is located in front of the standard wheels 45 whereas the rear edge of the plate , in the position thereof shown in fig7 and in the side elevation of that figure , lies midway between the front point of the wheels 57 and the axle 50 . near each of the two longitudinal edges of the plate 64 , it is provided with ears 65 located at a distance behind the pipe 63 and near the front of said rear edge . the ears 65 hold a horizontal pivotal shafts 66 extending perpendicular to the direction a and having pivoted to them the piston rods of corresponding hydraulic cylinders 67 . each of the cylinders 67 itself is pivoted at its end remote from the pivotal shaft 66 to a corresponding one of the frame beams 42 by a pivotal shaft 68 that is parallel to the pivotal shafts 66 . viewed in plan , the pivotal shafts 68 are located midway between the ground wheels 45 and 57 . the wagon comprises a plurality of hydraulic connections 69 ( fig6 ), by which the cylinders 60 and 67 can be coupled with the hydraulic system of the tractor or other vehicular prime mover . these cylinders 60 and 67 can thus be actuated from the driver seat of the prime mover . in order to adapt the truck of the first embodiment and the wagon of the second embodiment to agricultural purposes and particularly to travel with heavy loads on weak soil , the pairs of tires wheels 3 and 11 ( in the first embodiment ) and the pairs of tires wheels 45 and 57 ( in the second embodiment ), said pairs being provided on both sides of the vehicle concerned , can be provided with an endless tread type track 70 ( fig8 and 9 ) of flexible material , for example , synthetic resin or rubber - like material , if desired , provided with one or more nylon or canvas liners . the term &# 34 ; flexible type track &# 34 ; is to be understood to mean an endless tread type track or a crawler whose material is flexible and which does not include relatively pivotable parts . the caterpillar tracks arranged around said sets of wheels each comprise , in this embodiment , two halves interconnected so as not to be pivotable in a horizontal sense . tracks 70 may , of course , be composed in an analogous manner of more than two parts , but alternatively of a single part , the two ends of which latter can be fastened to one another . the or each track part comprises an elongated belt 71 of the aforesaid material having a thickness of at least ten millimeters ( 4 / 10 of an inch ), preferably about twenty - five millimeters ( one inch ), while the width measured in the installed state parallel to the wheel axles matches the overall width of the tires of the two neighboring wheels 3 , 11 , 45 , 57 . this width of the belt 71 amounts to about five hundred millimeters ( 197 / 10 inches ). each belt 71 is provided on the inner side ( the side facing the wheel axles in the installed state ) with a large number of teeth or cams 72 arranged in the center of the width of the belt in a row extending in the direction of length of the belt 71 . each of the cams 72 has the shape of a truncated pyramid , the larger end surface of which is located on the inner boundary surface of the belt 71 . the dimensions of the cams 72 , as shown in the elevational view of fig9 are adapted to the shapes of the sides of the tires of the wheels surrounded by tracks 70 and they are chosen so that the cams 72 are held with a clamping fit between two neighboring tires . viewed in the direction of length of the belt 71 , the cams 72 are spaced apart by a distance of about one hundred millimeters ( 4 inches ). on the outer side of the bolt 71 ( the side contacting the ground in the installed state ) transverse ribs 73 cover the whole width of the belt 71 ; as seen in side elevation ( fig8 ) they have a trapezoidal shape . the transverse ribs 73 are spaced apart by a distance of about one hundred millimeters ( 4 inches ). the pitches of the transverse ribs 73 and the cams 72 are equal to one another . the belt 71 , the cams 72 and the transverse ribs 73 are integral with one another . optionally , a liner 71a of nylon , canvas or the like may be included in the inner surface of belt 71 . near the two ends of each of the endless tread track parts , the belt 71 is provided , viewed in plan , with a rim which is milled so that the two ends of 70 track , or of two track parts , interengage as is shown in fig9 . the milled end rims of the two parts are formed by , viewed in plan , alternating rectangular extensions 74 and cavities 75 . viewed in side elevation , each extension 74 forms a thickened part of the belt 71 ( fig8 ) and has on the outer side also parts of a transverse rib 76 . each extension 74 has a square hole 77 in the flexible material , which hole extends at right angles to the direction of length of the belt 71 and passes right through the extension 74 so that , when the extensions 74 and the cavities 75 of two joined belt parts inter - engage , the registering holes 77 form substantially uninterrupted channel extending throughout the width of the belt parts . in each hole 77 is fastened a separate length of tubing 78 by vulcanization or casting of the material to cover the whole width of the extension 74 concerned . each tubing 78 has , in this embodiment , a sqaure cross - section and the outer surfaces of the tubing are in contact with the inner surfaces of the hole 77 concerned . when the extensions 74 and the cavities 75 are intermeshing in the manner shown in fig9 the tubings 78 form a substantially uninterrupted channel . through the tubings 78 is passed a spring steel rod 79 , the length of which is equal to the width of the belt parts 71 . the rod 79 is solid and has boundary surfaces which closely fit the inner surfaces of the hollow tubings 78 . the rod 79 is thus closely surrounded by the tubings 78 which , in turn , are rigidly secured to the belt parts 71 . a non - pivotable joint is thus provided between the belt parts 71 . the tubings 78 and the co - operating rod 79 may have a different cross - section , for example , they may be rectangular or hexagonal . in one of the walls of one of the tubings 78 , preferably the tubing in an extension 74 that is located on one side of a belt part 71 , a cavity 80 is provided on the inner side of the tubing for receiving , in the installed state , a locking pin 81 provided in the rod 79 . for this purpose the rod has a cylindrical cavity 82 holding a spring 83 , which urges the locking pin 81 outwardly through a bore communicating with the cavity 82 so that the tip of the locking pin can emerge from the rod 79 . the center lines of the locking pin 81 , the cavity 82 and the spring 83 are at right angles to the direction of length of the rod 79 . near the end thereof adjacent to the locking pin 81 , the rod 79 is provided with a rigidly secured pin 84 which projects from one side of the rod . the longitudinal axis of the pin 84 is at right angles to that of the locking pin 81 . in the corresponding tubing 78 , one of the walls has a v - shaped notch 85 starting from the end face of the tubing 78 located on the outer surface of the belt parts 71 . in the installed state , the end of the pin 84 snaps into the notch 85 of the tubing 78 . the parts 78 , 79 constitute a joint 86 between two endless tread track parts . track 70 in this embodiment comprises two parts interconnected in a non - pivotable , substantially rigid manner by two joints 86 but , as an alternative , track 70 may be formed by a single part the ends of which are interconnected by a single joint 86 and , as a further alternative , the track 70 may be formed by more than two parts which may be interconnected by more than two joints 86 . it should be noted that the track 70 of fig1 to 7 is shown surrounding the vehicle ground wheels so that these figures illustrate the track 70 in its operative position , but the vehicles shown may , of course , also be employed without the tracks 70 . an endless tread track according to the invention may , of course , also be employed in vehicles other than those mentioned above , which are equipped in the factory with pairs of tired wheels on each side of the vehicle , for example , motor cars , tractors or soil cultivating machines , the latter being equipped , for example , with grippers or cranes . in order to arrange an endless tread type track on such vehicles and also on those shown in fig1 to 7 , the hydraulic cylinders 35 ( fig1 to 5 ) and 67 ( fig6 and 7 ) are energized from the jriver seat so that the pressure plate 32 or 64 turns about the center line of the pipe 25 or 63 down to the ground . when the pressure plate 32 or 64 is pressed hard against the ground by means of the cylinders 35 or 67 so that part of the weight of the vehicle is evenly distributed across the comparatively large surface of the pressure plate , the rear part of the vehicle can be lifted from the ground . the two parts of each caterpillar track 70 will have been previously connected by means of one joint 86 . for this purpose the extensions 74 and the cavities 75 at the area of the joint 86 of the endless tread track parts are fitted to one another so that the tubings 78 form a single substantially uninterrupted hole through which the rod 79 is passed so that the caterpillar track parts become interconnected . the rod 79 is inserted in a given position into the tubings 78 so that the locking pin 81 projecting from the rod 79 slides along the inner wall of the tubing 78 where the cavity 80 is provided . when the pin 84 of the rod 79 snaps into the notch 85 , the locking pin 81 just snaps into the cavity 80 . since the pin 84 projects from only one side of the rod 79 and the notch 85 is provided in only one wall of the tubing 78 , the lockng pin 81 will snap with certainly into the cavity 80 when the pin 84 engages the notch 85 . in this way , the rod 79 is prevented from moving in an axial direction with respect to the two track parts during operation . the two endless track parts , having each a length of about 250 centimeters ( 981 / 2 inches ) and being intercoupled so far by only one joint 86 are put on the ground beneath the sets of raised wheels 3 , 11 or 45 , 57 so that at least a number of the row of teeth or cams 72 are located beneath the gap between two tires located side by side . this disposition of tracks 70 beneath the sets of consecutive wheels is , of course , performed on both sides of the vehicle . subsequently , the hydraulic cylinders 35 or 67 are actuated so that the pressure plates 32 or 64 are moved upwardly into the positions shown in the figures . the wheels 3 , 11 or 45 and 57 are lowered onto tracks 70 lying on the ground , while a number of the cams 72 penetrate in between two neighboring tires . the further parts of tracks 70 are then passed manually upwardly around the sets of wheels , the free ends being approached as closely as possible to one another . in the meantime , or beforehand , the hydraulic cylinders 40 or 60 are actuated so that the wheel axle 23 or 50 is moved towards the axle of the wheels 3 or 44 lying in front thereof . the rods 28 or 53 therefor slide forwardly through the plates 29 or 55 and the already compressed springs 31 or 56 are further compressed . since the wheel sets 11 or 57 are nearer the wheel sets 3 or 45 , the second joint 86 can be readily established manually because track 70 , in this position , has an excess of length . the second joint 86 is established in exactly the same manner as the first joint 86 . subsequently , the hydraulic fluid pressure in the cylinders 40 or 60 is eliminated so that the springs 31 or 56 urge the arms 20 or 48 , and hence the wheel sets 11 or 57 , back into the positions shown in fig4 and 7 so that track 70 is tensioned in the desired manner and is settled correctly with respect to the sets of wheels . during operation , tracks 70 are constantly kept taut by the springs 31 or 56 . if tracks 70 are no employed , they can be stored in a folded state at a place between two of the supports 38 or 47 as is illustrated in fig1 and 6 , the folded tracks 70 then extending transversely of the direction of movement a and bearing on the frame beams 7 or 42 . when the vehicle runs directly on the tires of the wheels 3 , 11 or 45 , 57 , the aforesaid stops on the free ends of the rods 28 or 53 come into contact with the plates 29 or 55 so that the springs 31 or 56 cannot urge the rods out of the holes in said plates . the additional wheels 11 or 57 are then connected with the frame so as to be bodily pivotable against resilient opposition . it will be obvious tracks 7o according to the invention may also be arranged on wheels of dissimilar diameters . the flexible tread type tracks of the construction described above can always be applied or removed easily owing to their low weight . owing to the combination of the flexible caterpillar tracks with tires , a vehicle equipped with such tracks may be used on roads without causing damage thereto . tracks 70 according to the invention may also be employed as members to replace snow and other non - skid chains . owing to the provision of the caterpillar tracks , the driven wheels have a high tractive force as a result of the large ground contact surface and of the large number of transverse ribs 73 while , at the same time the ground contact pressure is reduced to a low value so that the risk of sinkage of the vehicle is very slight . since the flexible type endless tread tracks are free of hinges , the wear is very slight , whereas the lifetime is long . if desired , tires normally having a low rolling resistance on the road or on solid soil may be employed . in conjunction with tracks 70 the rolling resistance on weak soil is also slight . since standard trucks are mass - produced in large numbers and their cost of manufacture is , therefore , comparatively low , it is economically satisfactory to equip them with readily removable and storable tracks 70 according to the invention , since the field of use can thus be extended to agriculture . the truck shown in fig3 may be equipped by means of the foremost lift 10 with , for example , a rotary harrow 87 and by means of the hindmost lift 9 with for example seed drill 88 . if desired , when the loading trough 37 is removed , another tool , for example , a fertilizer distributor 89 may be mounted on the tops of the frame beams 7 , which may be provided with coupling means about midway along the length of the vehicle . the invention is not necessarily limited to the statements made in the foregoing description or in the following claims or both , but also may be directed to details of the figures whether described or not described . | 1 |
a process is discovered for fabricating photomask blanks that produces phase shifting films having tunable optical characteristics (% t , n and k ) ( t is the transmission ; n is the index of refraction ; and k is the extinction coefficient ) with 180 ° phase shift at 193 nm and with significantly enhanced exceptional stability against laser irradiation and chemical treatment . the phase shifting films comprise of silicon and a metal and nitrogen and / or oxygen . the metal can be an element from the groups ii , iv , v , transition metals , lanthanides and actinides . an example will be given for titanium as the metal . the invention comprises a thin phase shifting film ( si w ti x n y or si w ti x n y o z , where w is in the range 0 . 1 to 0 . 6 , x is in the range 0 . 01 to 0 . 2 , y is in the range 0 to 0 . 6 , z is in the range 0 to 0 . 7 .) deposited on a substrate ( quartz , al 2 o 3 , etc ) with a thin oxygen rich layer on the surface and the methods for forming the films and enhancing their characteristics . the initial thin film can be deposited by sputter deposition ( rf , dc magnetron , ac magnetron , pulsed bipolar dc magnetron , rf diode sputtering , or other sputter deposition methods familiar to those skilled in the art ) from either a single target of a composite material ( si 1 − x ti x , with x in the range 0 . 01 to 0 . 5 ) or two or more targets of different compositions ( for example , si 3 n 4 and ti targets , or si 1 − x ti x and ti targets ). variation in composition of the composite targets or individual variation of power and deposition time of the pure targets produces changes in film composition . reactive sputtering with nitrogen and oxygen provides further capability to adjust the relative compositions of si , ti , and n and o , and thus the optical characteristics of the film . the substrate stage can be either stationary or planetary for the single target , and planetary for the multitarget with rotation speed adjusted accordingly . specifically , a rf magnetron sputtering was used for a single target ( si 0 . 7 ( tisi 2 ) 0 . 1 ) deposition and a rf and dc magnetron co - deposition was used for dual target ( si 3 n 4 and ti ) deposition . the surface layer of the deposited film becomes oxygen rich when exposed to air but is still unstable against radiation and chemical treatment . subsequent heat treatment ( air annealing ) produces a much enhanced stability . x - ray photoelectron spectroscopy ( xps ) results show about 2 % increase in the oxygen concentration of the surface after annealing at 225 ° c . in air atmosphere . this surface enhancement can be accomplished by either air annealing at elevated temperature or other gas mixtures or plasma treatment in an oxidizing environment . the enhanced stability can be attributed to the fact that the change of optical properties during irradiation is due to the photon induced oxidation under oxidizing atmosphere . thus , by pre - oxidizing the surface with the described methods , the optical properties of the deposited film show an enhanced stability against irradiation . details of the post - deposition modification is described in section 5 ( a ). the optical properties ( index of refraction ( n ), and extinction coefficient ( k )) were determined using an n & amp ; k spectrophotometer in the range of 190 to 900 nm . the transmission at 180 ° phase shift was calculated by using these n and k values . 4 . fabrication process of the si 0 . 7 ( tisi 2 ) 0 . 1 target a special target for the composite cathode is utilized . instead of mixing ti and si elements , a mixture of tisi 2 and si was used . it was reported , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 686 , 206 , paragraph 6 , line 56 - 67 , that the discharge during sputter deposition becomes unstable as the silicon to metal ratio increases . in particular , for mo and si , the discharge became unstable for targets with si larger than 95 mol percent . the problem is due to low conductivity at the target surface since sin x , which is an insulator , is formed during the process . by utilizing the described process , we were able to increase the metal to silicon ratio increased from 1 / 9 to 1 / 7 ( i . e ., 28 % increase of the metal to silicon ratio ), thereby decreasing the amount of sin x layer . the target consists of 10 atomic percent of ti in the form of si 0 . 7 ( tisi 2 ) 0 . 1 instead of ti 0 . 1 si 0 . 9 . also , to reduce the particulate formation during the deposition , the target can be made using a hip ( hot isostatic pressing ) process . the hip process typically yields an increase in the density of the target as compared to the conventional hot pressing process . the improved densification varies with material properties but generally leads to , a reduction of particulate levels in the sputter deposited films which reduces the defects and surface roughness , as well as improving the target machinablility and strength . hot pressed targets of this material exhibited a density of 2 . 085 which is 75 % of the theoretical density of 2 . 78 . hip targets of this material possess densities of 96 - 98 % of theoretical values without interconnecting voids , resulting in significant improvements to the strength and particulate levels of the target . to demonstrate the improvement of the surface roughness , the atomic force mircroscope data is shown in fig1 . the rms roughness was taken over 2000 å × 2000 å area for three different deposition conditions . the first was the dual target deposition ( hot pressed target ( si 0 . 7 ( tisi 2 ) 0 . 1 ) in rf with hot pressed ti target in dc ), the second was the conventional hot pressed target ( si 0 . 7 ( tisi 2 ) 0 . 1 ), the third was a hip processed target ( si 0 . 7 ( tisi 2 ) 0 . 1 ). the thickness of the film was 670 å for all three samples . the dual target deposition was the roughest ( 0 . 8 nm ), then the hot pressed target ( 0 . 39 nm ), and the hip processed target gave smoothest surface rms roughness ( 0 . 20 nm ) with 15 % uncertainty of the measurement . ( a ). si w ti x n y or si w ti x n y o z photomask blanks prepared by single target thin films composed of si w ti x n y or si w ti x n y o z by using a si 0 . 7 ( tisi 2 ) 0 . 1 target were deposited , with the substrate in a rotating holder with planetary motion or positioned under the target without planetary motion . sputtering was carried out in an argon / nitrogen mixture with 1 . 0 ˜ 5 . 0 mt ar partial pressure . ultra high purity gases were used for both ar and n 2 ( 99 . 999 %) and the background pressure of the chamber was & lt ; 9 . 0 × 10 − 7 torr . the thin film was deposited by rf magnetron sputtering from a five inch diameter target with a power of 450 w . under the above conditions , the deposition rate was typically 0 . 6 to 1 . 6 å / sec . prior to sputtering , the target was presputtered in 5 mt ar for 5 min at 450 w . then 5 min of presputtering was performed under the deposition condition of the thin film to precondition the surface of the target . after presputtering , the substrates were immediately loaded through a load lock chamber into the deposition chamber and deposition was carried out . the film thickness ranged between 400 to 2000 å depending on the deposition conditions . fig2 summarizes the film deposition conditions and the resulting composition obtained from rbs analysis . fig3 a . summarizes the % t calculated for films at 180 ° phase shift versus the n 2 flow . the % t increases with increasing n 2 flow from 6 - 9 sccm , beyond which little change is observed with higher n 2 flow . the rbs result shows that the amount of n 2 incorporated into the film increases with n 2 flow until about 9 sccm , then changes little with further increase of n 2 flow . fig3 b and 3c summarize the n and k values as a function of n 2 flow and deposition pressure , respectively . the rbs analysis shows an increasing oxygen concentration in the film as the deposition pressure increases . the optical properties , n and k are dependent on the n and o concentration of the film and the density of the film . higher deposition pressure reduces the film density and reduces the n value . the reason for increasing o incorporation as the deposition pressure increases is thought to be the following . the increasing pressure reduces the kinetic energy of the ions and radicals in the plasma ( shorter mean free path ), and thus makes background oxygen easier to stick to the surface as materials are being deposited . fig4 is an example of the transmission and reflectivity curves measured from the n & amp ; k analyzer . the sample was deposited at 1 mt , ar flow 15 sccm , n 2 flow 9 sccm , thickness 679 å , followed by an air anneal at 225 ° c . for 15 min . for this thickness , the phase shift calculated from the n and k value at 193 nm is 183 . 1 degrees . the transmission at 193 nm was measured as 5 . 72 %. the film composition measured by rbs is si 39 atomic %, ti 3 . 3 atomic %, n 57 atomic %, o & lt ; 1 atomic %. fig5 ( a ) is an xps analysis of the surface and bulk concentration of two embodiments before and after post - deposition process . deposition condition for embodiment 9 is 1 mt , n 2 flow — 9 sccm , and rf power — 450 w , film thickness 679 å . deposition condition for embodiment 10 was 5 mt , n 2 flow — 9 sccm , and rf power — 450 w , film thickness 890 å . in this example , the process involves 225 ° c . annealing in air atmosphere for 15 minutes . the oxygen concentration of the surface increases about 2 % after the annealing for both embodiments . while the oxygen concentration increase of the bulk film was not detected , it is possible a small amount ( below the xps detection limit , & lt ; 1 %) bulk oxygen increase could have occurred and affect the optical property . fig5 ( b ) is a depth profile of the chemical concentration of embodiment 9 . the sputter time increase corresponds to the film thickness increase . fig6 summarizes the change of % t at 193 nm as a function of ar - f laser at 193 nm ( lambda physik lpx 120 ) irradiation with and without the post - deposition process . the samples were prepared at deposition pressure 1 mt of ar with n 2 at 9 sccm , rf power of 450 w . the film thickness corresponded to 679 å . in order to perform irradiation studies , two films under the identical conditions were deposited on the substrate . the second film was annealed in air atmosphere at 225 ° c . for 15 minutes . these films were both irradiated with laser power density of 1 . 75 mj / cm 2 / pulse at 100 hz frequency . the unannealed film shows significant radiation instability (& gt ; 0 . 5 % increase in transmission ) especially during the first kj of irradiation . the huge transmission increase after the first kj is no longer present in the annealed sample . the total transmission change at a dose of 5 . 4 kj / cm 2 is 0 . 27 %. note that there is transmission change caused by annealing ( 0 . 42 %). other examples of post - deposition process include oxygen plasma treatment and annealing under nitrogen atmosphere . the comparison of the two with air anneal is shown in fig7 . the increase of the % t after oxygen plasma treatment is comparable to the air annealing at 225 ° c . for 15 minute . the % t increase is smaller for the n 2 annealing at 225 ° c . for 15 min . compared to the other two processes . also , the n 2 annealing improves the stability of the film to some degree due to the finite amount of oxygen background pressure . however , the stability is inferior to the air annealed result . for example , in fig7 the % t of the air annealed sample increased 0 . 27 % over laser dosage of 5 . 4 kj / cm 2 , while the % t of the n 2 annealed sample increased 0 . 32 % over dosage of 2 . 2 kj / cm 2 , already exceeding the % t for the air annealed sample at less than half of the laser dose . fig8 summarizes the change of % t at 193 nm as a function of immersion time in a cleaning solution of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide ( h 2 so 4 : h 2 o 2 = 10 : 1 , 95 ° c . ), this solution is typically used for stripping photoresists in manufacturing line , also known as piranha solution . the deposition and post - deposition process is identical to the film described in fig6 . the total change of % t is 0 . 19 % over 60 min of immersion . this excellent stability ensures a compatibility of the material with the standard photomask manufacturing process . thin films composed of si w ti x n y o z by using a si 0 . 7 ( tisi 2 ) 0 . 1 target were deposited , with the substrate in a rotating holder with planetary motion or positioned under the target without planetary motion . sputtering was carried out in an argon / nitrogen / oxygen mixture processing gas with 1 . 0 mt ar partial pressure ( ar flow at 15 sccm ) and 0 . 30 mt n 2 partial pressure ( n 2 flow at 5 . 55 sccm ). oxygen was leaked in with a gransville - phillips precision leak valve to maintain a constant o 2 partial pressure ranging from 0 . 10 to 0 . 20 mt . the thin film was deposited by rf magnetron sputtering from a five inch diameter target with a power of 450 w . under the above conditions , the deposition rate was typically 0 . 75 to 1 . 6 å / sec . prior to sputtering , the target was presputtered in 5 mt ar for 5 min at 450 w . then 5 min of presputtering was performed under the deposition condition of the thin film to precondition the surface of the target . after presputtering , the substrates were immediately loaded through a load lock chamber into the deposition chamber and deposition was carried out . the film thickness ranged between 400 to 2000 å depending on the deposition conditions . by adjusting the oxygen to nitrogen , transmission as high as 20 % can be achieved at 193 nm for film thickness corresponding to 180 degree phase shift . such wide transmission window provides the possibility of extending the operation wavelength down to 157 nm . fig9 summarizes the film deposition conditions , optical properties (% t at 180 degree phase shift , n , and k ), and the resulting composition obtained from rbs analysis . b . si w ti x n y where as w = 0 . 1 ˜ 0 . 6 , x = 0 . 01 ˜ 0 . 2 , y = 0 . 3 ˜ 0 . 6 and si w ti x n y o z where as w = 0 . 1 ˜ 0 . 6 , x = 0 . 01 ˜ 0 . 2 , y = 0 ˜ 0 . 6 , and z = 0 ˜ 0 . 7 photomask blanks prepared by multitarget . thin films composed of si w ti x n y and si w ti x n y o z by using si 3 n 4 and ti targets were deposited , with the substrate in a rotating holder with planetary motion . sputtering was carried out in an argon / nitrogen gas mixture at 1 - 2 mt deposition pressure with ar flow at 15 sccm and n 2 flow at 6 sccm . the si 3 n 4 target was sputtered with an rf magnetron at a fixed power of 900 w and the ti target was sputtered with a dc magnetron using power ranging from 0 to 200 w . both targets were 5 inch in diameter . under the above conditions , the deposition rate was typically 1 . 7 to 2 . 1 å / sec . prior to sputtering , both targets were simultaneously presputtered in 5 mt ar for 5 min at 900 w and 400 w for the rf and dc cathodes respectively . then 5 min of presputtering was performed under the deposition conditions of the thin film to precondition the surface of the targets . after the presputtering , immediately the substrates were loaded through a load lock chamber into the deposition chamber and deposition was carried out . the film thickness ranged from 400 to 2000 å depending on the deposition parameters . fig1 summarizes the film deposition conditions and the resulting composition obtained from rbs analysis . fig1 a summarizes the % t calculated for films at 180 ° phase shift versus the ti target power . the % t decreases as the ti target power increases . the increase of ti power incorporates more ti into the film ( see fig1 ) which reduces the % t . the % t is tunable by varying the ti concentration . fig1 b and fig1 c summarize the n and k values as a function of ti target power respectively . while this invention has been described in terms of certain embodiment thereof , it is not intended that it be limited to the above description , but rather only to the extent set forth in the following claims . the embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined in the appended claims . the teaching of all references cited herein , are incorporated herein by reference . | 6 |
reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . fig7 is a schematic plan view of an exemplary driving circuit of an lcd device according to the present invention , fig8 is a schematic plan view of an exemplary switching of a driving circuit of an lcd device according to the present invention , and fig9 is a cross sectional view along i - i ′ of fig8 according to the present invention . in fig7 , a driving circuit may include a gate line 152 , a first drain line 153 , and a source line 140 formed with the gate line 152 in a side - by - side configuration , and switching devices 185 having a plurality of tfts may beconnected in parallel . in fig8 and 9 , a switching device 185 may include a gate electrode 156 connected to the gate line 152 formed on a lower substrate 102 , a plurality of source electrodes 160 commonly connected to a second source line 164 extending from a first source line 140 , a plurality of drain electrodes 172 that face the source electrodes 160 and may be commonly connected to the second drain electrode 173 that extends from the first drain line 153 , and a semiconductor layer 168 formed to overlap with the gate electrodes 156 with a gate insulating film disposed therebetween . accordingly , the semiconductor layer 168 may include a plurality of channels formed between the source electrode 160 and the drain electrode 172 . in addition , the semiconductor layer 168 may include an active layer 114 and an ohmic contact layer 148 . accordingly , although one of the switching devices 185 may be damaged due to overcurrents flowing through any one of the tfts and / or sparks created during fabrication processes , remaining ones of the switching device 185 may be normally driven . thus , the switching device 185 formed in the driving circuit may have a configuration in which a plurality of tfts may be electrically independent and mutually connected in parallel , thereby increasing stability of the switching devices 185 . fig1 a to 10 d are cross sectional views of an exemplary method of fabricating the switching device of fig9 according to the present invention . in fig1 a , a gate metal layer may be deposited onto a lower substrate 102 by a sputtering method . then , the gate metal layer may be patterned by photolithographic processes using an etching process including an etch mask , thereby forming a gate electrode 156 on the lower substrate 102 . the gate metal may include chrome cr , molybdenum mo , or aluminum - based metals formed as a single layer or formed as a double layer configuration . in fig1 b , a gate insulating film 144 may be formed along an entire surface of the lower substrate 102 having the gate electrode 156 . the gate insulating film 144 may include an inorganic insulating material , such as silicon oxide siox or silicon nitride sinx . then , an amorphous silicon layer and a n + amorphous silicon layer may be sequentially formed on the lower substrate 102 having the gate insulating film 144 using a depositing method , such as pecvd and sputtering . next , the amorphous silicon layer and the n + amorphous silicon layer may be patterned by photolithographic processes and an etching process using a mask . then , a semiconductor pattern 168 may be formed to have a number of narrow channel widths , wherein the semiconductor pattern 168 may have a double layer configuration comprising an active layer 114 and an ohmic contact layer 148 . in fig1 c , a source / drain metal layer may be formed along the entire surface of the lower substrate 102 having the semiconductor pattern 168 by a depositing method , such as pecvd and sputtering . next , a photoresist pattern may be formed on the source / drain metal layer by photolithographic processes using a mask . then , the source / drain metal layer may be patterned by a wet etching process using the photoresist pattern . accordingly , the source / drain patterns may be formed to include a plurality of source electrodes 160 and a plurality of drain electrodes 172 connected to a data line . in fig1 c , the ohmic contact layer 148 corresponding to channel region may be removed by etching using the source electrode 160 and the drain electrode 172 as masks to expose the channel region of the active layer 114 . a metal for forming the source / drain electrodes may include mo , ti , ta , and mo alloys . in fig1 d , a passivation layer 150 may be formed along the entire surface of the lower substrate 102 having the source / drain patterns using an etching method , such as pecvd . fig1 is a schematic plan view of another exemplary switching device of a driving circuit of an lcd device according to the present invention . since the components shown in fig8 and 9 may be similar to the components shown in fig1 , explanation of the similar components has been omitted for the sake of brevity . however , similar components shown in fig1 may have the same referenced number . in fig1 , each of the semiconductor patterns of the switching device may be formed to have a channel between any one of a plurality of the source electrodes 160 and the drain electrode 172 arranged in opposition to the source electrode 160 . for example , the semiconductor patterns may be formed such that the summation of the channel widths w2 of the respective semiconductor patterns 168 may be equal to a single channel width of a tft . accordingly , a tft device may be formed having multiple channels having the channel width w2 formed in parallel with each other . thus , benefits of a wide channel width tft device may be achieved by a combination of each of the channel widths w2 . furthermore , since each of the channels 195 may be electrically separated from each other , each of the tfts may not affect each other during operation . since the deterioration of current efficiency reduced by widening of the channel widths w2 , electric charge mobility may be increased , thereby enhancing response speed of the tft device . fig1 is a schematic plan view of another exemplary switching device of a driving circuit of an lcd device according to the present invention . the switching device of fig1 may have similar components as those shown in fig8 , except for configurations of the source / drain electrodes . accordingly , components similar to those shown in fig8 may be given the same reference numerals , wherein detailed description therefore have been omitted . in fig1 , a plurality of holes 190 may be formed within a semiconductor pattern 168 , and a channel 195 may be formed at an area provided between the holes 190 . in addition , the area between a second source line 164 and a drain line 173 may be formed to be relatively narrow , wherein the source electrodes 164 and 164 may be formed to have a concave - convex configuration and may both be commonly connected to the second source line 164 . similarly , the drain electrodes 172 and 172 may be formed to have a concave - convex configuration and may both be commonly connected to the second drain line 173 . for example , the channels 195 may be formed between a convex portion of the source electrode 164 formed on the second source line 164 and a concave portion of the drain electrode 172 formed on the second drain line 173 , and between a concave portion of the source electrode 16 a formed on the second source line 164 and a convex portion of the drain electrode 172 , respectively . an effective channel width of the semiconductor pattern 168 may be formed as a summation of each of the channel width w2 of the plurality of narrow channels 195 formed on the semiconductor pattern 168 . accordingly , each of the switching devices in a driving circuit of an lcd panel may be electrically separated and connected in parallel . thus , effects of a wide channel width may be obtained by adding each of the narrow channel widths w2 . furthermore , since each of the channels 195 may be electrically separated from each other , each of the tfts may not affect each other during operation . since deterioration of current efficiency may be reduced by widening of the channel widths , electric charge mobility may increase , thereby enhancing response speed . in addition , since each of the switching devices may be formed to be electrically independent from each other , damaged ones of the tfts may not affect normal driving of an lcd panel . moreover , since the space between the second source line 164 and the second drain line 173 is formed relatively narrow , an overall size of the switching device may be reduced , thereby reducing fabrication costs . fig1 is a schematic plan view of another exemplary switching device of a driving circuit of an lcd device according to the present invention . in fig1 , a channel region may be formed between the source electrode 164 and the drain electrode 172 , although the source and drain metal layers of the switching device may not be properly formed due to processing variations . in other words , since the channel may be formed between the source electrode and the drain electrode , although the source and drain electrodes may not be properly formed , the switching device may still be driven normally . fig1 is a block diagram of an exemplary data driving circuit according to the present invention . in fig1 , a data driving circuit may include a data driving ic 300 including a shift register 271 for sampling a dot clock of a data control signal , first and second latches 272 and 273 , which may be responsive to a clock signal from the shift register , for storing data on a line - by - line basis and simultaneously outputting the stored data on a line - by - line basis , a level shifter 274 for level - shifting a digital data voltage from the second latch 273 , and a digital / analog converter 275 for selecting a positive / negative gamma voltage corresponding to the digital data . the data driving circuit also may include a multiplexer 280 for selecting a data line 255 to which an analogue data converted by the positive / negative gamma voltage is supplied , and an output buffer 276 connected between the multiplexer 208 and the data line 255 . fig1 is a schematic circuit diagram of an exemplary multiplexer of fig1 according to the present invention . in fig1 , each of the multiplexers 280 ( in fig1 ) may be connected to a plurality of data lines dlk 1 to dlk 3 . accordingly , each of the multiplexers 280 may sequentially supply video signals from the data driving ic 300 to the three data lines dlk 1 to dlk 3 . thus , each of the multiplexers 280 may include three switching devices sw 1 to sw 3 connected between the data driving ic 300 and the three data lines dlk 1 to dlk 3 . in addition , switching devices included in each of the multiplexers 280 may be applicable to a configuration in which a plurality of tfts , which may be electrically separated from each other , may be connected in parallel . for example , the exemplary switching devices shown in fig7 - 13 may be used as the switching devices sw 1 , sw 2 , and sw 3 in fig1 . alternatively , combinations of the exemplary switching devices shown in fig7 - 13 may be used as the switching devices sw 1 , sw 2 , and sw 3 in fig1 . furthermore , the exemplary switching devices shown in fig7 - 13 may be used as the switching devices of a gate driving part including shift registers . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the lcd device and method of fabricating an lcd device of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . thus , it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . | 7 |
a cylinder head according to of the invention as shown in fig1 is generally the same as the conventional cylinder head 10 shown in fig8 except for the arrangement of the slits . the cylinder head 10 generally comprises an upper wall 12 , side walls 14 , and a bottom wall 16 . these walls 12 , 14 and 16 define a waterjacket through which coolant for cooling the cylinder head 10 flows . the bottom wall 16 has spaced recessed wall portions 18 and a bottom wall portion 20 formed between the recessed wall portions 18 . the recessed wall portions 18 have lower faces 22 defining upper spaces 24 of adjacent combustion chambers 25 . each of the recessed wall portions 18 has an intake valve port opening 26 and an exhaust valve port opening 28 . the intake valve port openings 26 are arranged on one side of a plane including axes of cylinders 31 and the exhaust valve port openings 28 are arranged on the other side of the plane including axes of the cylinders 31 . the bottom wall portion 20 divides the upper spaces 24 of the adjacent combustion chambers 25 . the cylinder head 10 is attached to an engine body block 27 via a bracket 29 by screwing a bolt or the like into each bolt hole 30 provided in the bottom wall 16 . the bracket 29 serves to maintain a sealing between the cylinder head 10 and the engine body block 27 . referring to fig1 and 2 , the first embodiment of a slit of the invention is shown . in this embodiment , the slit 42 is formed on the upper face 44 of the bottom wall portion 20 . the slit 42 extends within the bottom wall portion 20 toward a lower face 36 of the bottom wall portion 20 and extends in the transverse direction of the multi - cylinder engine . the slit 42 is defined by inner faces 46 of the bottom wall portion 20 . the length of the slit 42 in the transverse direction of the multi - cylinder engine is generally equal to the width of the upper spaces 24 defined by the recessed wall portions 18 in the transverse direction of the multi - cylinder engine . the cross section of the slit 42 , taken along the plane including axes of the cylinders 31 , has a generally rectangular shape . during the operation of the engine , the recessed wall portion 18 tends to expand outwardly from the center of the recessed wall portion 18 by the heat from the combustion chamber 25 . consequently , the upper edge portions 48 of the inner faces 46 of the bottom wall portion 20 are moved toward each other by the effect of the opposed longitudinal expansions of the recessed wall portions 18 . according to this embodiment , the opposed longitudinal expansions of the recessed wall portions 18 are absorbed by the slit 42 . therefore , this embodiment limits the production of the thermal stress derived from the opposed longitudinal expansions , and accordingly , limits the production of cracks in the recessed and bottom wall portion due to the thermal stress . fig3 is a cross sectional view of the second embodiment of the slit of the invention . the extent of the longitudinal expansion of a portion of the recessed wall portion 18 , which is positioned near the exhaust valve port openings 28 , is larger than that of a portion of the recessed wall portion 18 , which is positioned near the intake valve port openings 26 since the temperature of the portions positioned near the exhaust valve port openings 28 is greater than that of the portions positioned near the intake valve port openings 26 . in this embodiment , in consideration of the above difference of the extent of the longitudinal expansions depending on the temperature , the depth of a portion of the slit 42 , which is positioned near the exhaust valve port openings 28 , is greater than that of a portion of the slit 42 which is positioned near the intake valve port openings 26 . the greater the distance between the upper and lower edges 48 and 50 of the inner face 46 is , the larger the possible extent of the movement of the upper edge 48 of the inner face 46 is . according to this embodiment , the larger longitudinal expansion can be sufficiently absorbed by providing the slit 42 with a portion having a greater depth . therefore , this embodiment better limits production of the thermal stress derived from the opposed longitudinal expansions of the recessed and bottom wall portions than does the first embodiment . fig4 is a cross sectional view of the third embodiment of the slit of the invention . the extent of the movement of the upper edge 48 of the inner face 46 of the bottom wall portion 20 by the effect of the longitudinal expansion of the recessed wall portion 18 is larger than that of the lower edge 50 of the inner face 46 . in this embodiment , in consideration of the above difference of the extent of the movements depending on the edges 48 and 50 of the inner face 46 , the cross section of the slit 42 , taken along the plane including axes of the cylinders 31 has an inverted trapezoidal shape . according to this embodiment , the possible extent of the movement of the upper edge 48 of the inner face 46 is longer than that of the lower edge 50 of the inner face 46 . therefore , this embodiment provides the better limited production of the thermal stress derived from the opposed longitudinal expansion of the recessed and bottom wall portions than the first embodiment . fig5 is a top view of the bottom wall of the cylinder head including the forth embodiment of the slit of the invention . for the reason described above , the extent of the longitudinal expansion of a portion of the recessed wall portion 18 , which is positioned near the exhaust valve port openings 28 , is larger than that of a portion of the recessed wall portion 18 , which is positioned near the intake valve port openings 26 . in this embodiment , the width of a portion of the slit 42 , which is positioned near the exhaust valve port openings 28 is greater than that of a portion of the slit 42 , which is positioned near the intake valve port openings 26 . according to this embodiment , the larger longitudinal expansion can be sufficiently absorbed by providing the slit 42 with a portion having a greater width . therefore , this embodiment better limits the production of the thermal stress derived from the opposed longitudinal expansion of the recessed and bottom wall portions than does the first embodiment . fig6 is a cross sectional view of the fifth embodiment of the slit of the invention . in this embodiment , an upwardly projecting rib 52 is formed on the upper face 44 of the bottom wall portion 20 . the rib 52 reinforces the cylinder head 10 . the slit 42 extends through the rib 52 in the up - and - down direction . therefore , this embodiment better limits the production of the thermal stress derived from the opposed longitudinal expansion of the recessed and bottom wall portions , and the enhances the rigidity of the cylinder head 10 . fig7 is a cross sectional view of the sixth embodiment of the slit of the invention . in this embodiment , the slit 42 extends through the bottom wall portion 20 of the cylinder head 10 . sealing between the waterjacket 40 and combustion chamber 25 is accomplished by a bracket 29 which is positioned between the cylinder head 10 and the engine body block 27 . according to this embodiment , the possible longitudinal movement of the bottom wall portion 20 is easier than in the first embodiment . therefore , this embodiment better limits the production of the thermal stress derived from the opposed longitudinal expansion of the recessed and bottom wall portions than the first embodiment . while the invention has been described by reference to specific embodiments chosen for purposes of illustration , it should be apparent that numerous modifications can be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the basic concept and scope of the invention . | 5 |
an embodiment of the air cleaning system ( acs ) is designed to be in constant operation while providing a high level of air cleaning at all times , with other functions such as atomic particle filters that are not applied until contaminants are detected . fortunately , the detection of nuclear and chemical contaminants is almost instantaneous , so leaving these filters off line until contamination is detected is not likely to pose a threat to building occupants . constant use of these special filters , on the other hand as discussed above , would create / untenable maintenance requirements and expenses . the acs is capable of protecting a facility against both contamination of the air supply from outside and from contaminants hand carried into the building in concealed packages , envelopes or briefcases . an embodiment of the acs system 100 shown in fig1 , comprises four major elements in defined zones with various components integrated within each element . a contaminant detection element 110 monitors and detects contaminants carried within the air stream 101 and signals full power operation of the irradiation element 120 in the irradiation zone 121 , initiation of operation of the hydroscopic element 130 in the saturation zone and the initiation of the precipitating element 140 in the precipitation or condensate zone 141 . the contaminant detector element contains a processor that also signals operation of additional elements present in other embodiments discussed later . the irradiation element 120 subjects the airflow within the confined and controlled space within the irradiation zone 121 to levels of electromagnetic wavelength sufficient to be lethal to known biological agents within the time of exposure . the irradiation is provided by electromagnetic wave generators 122 , which can include uv or infrared ( ir ) lamps or in an alternative embodiment by electron beam generators ( not shown ). depending upon the airflow , the irradiation section can vary in length from 60 inches to 84 inches long . the irradiation element includes sensors that monitor the levels of irradiation continuously . the hydroscopic element 130 saturates the air stream 101 in the saturation zone 131 with a nearly atomized water curtain that adsorbs particulate , dead biological material and various hydroscopic vapors . the hydroscopic element 130 includes a water tank 132 with water or a water based solution . the hydroscopic element 130 injects water into the air stream using atomizer nozzles . the number of nozzles is dependant upon the airflow and cross section of the duct section in which the nozzles are installed . the water supply may also incorporate a germicidal injection or chlorination to ensure adequate decontamination and adequate decontamination of residual captured waste safety . when activated , a high pressure fluid pump 133 provides water to the manifolds supplying the injectors . nozzles atomize the water in a flat fan shaped pattern . the injectors are positioned to enable full airflow saturation . a control logic built into the hydroscopic element enables spray cessation if the airflow is stopped through feedback from the air handling unit and a velocitometer . cessation is achieved using an electrically energized valve . the precipitation element 140 is a refrigeration loop that forces condensation of the saturated airflow within the precipitation zone 141 upon a condenser plate or coils . upon energization , the compressor / pump 143 initiates refrigerant circulation through the evaporator 145 and condensing coils / plates . the evaporator coil is mounted externally and dumps heat into the space outside of the hvac ducting or exterior of the building , depending upon the design . the condensing coil / plate is coated with a low friction material , preferably a fluoropolymer , which facilitates the enablement of fluid to run downward to a catch basin at the base of the coil where it is siphoned away for disposal . the contaminant detection element 110 , in an embodiment , also includes detectors that enable the near instantaneous identification of chemical agents and vapors and provides identification of the biological agents after sampling . analysis of biological agents may require from twenty minutes to two hours time , depending upon the technology used . in some embodiments a bypass filter 150 in a bypass zone 151 provides a deep bed by which chemical and biologic agents may be captured within deep bed activated charcoal filters 155 for later disposal . when in operation , the bypass filter 150 shunts the airflow through a separate system prior to the irradiation zone 121 with air flow diverters 152 controlled by the contamination detection element 110 . embodiments of the system are operable in two or three stages . the first stage , normal operation , provides irradiation of the air stream 101 at all times . the irradiation level ( radiation intensity ) is less than that during a detected incident to extend lamp life and reduce energy consumption . normal operation ( stage one ) routes all return air through an irradiation chamber that exposes the molecular content to full spectrum radiation , including ultraviolet , visible , near infrared and far infrared electromagnetic waves . the intensity of radiation is that which is found in medical institutions to kill common airborne bacterial and viral contaminants . the intensity is directly correlated to exposure of the volume over time . the second stage , enhanced operation , provides high intensity irradiation of the air stream with operation of saturation and precipitation zones 131 and 141 , respectively , to capture particulate and soluble chemical vapors from the air stream . enhanced operation ( stage two ) initiates operation of the saturation and precipitation zones 131 and 141 , respectively , and increases the radiation intensity level of the irradiation zone 121 to a level that is identified as deadly to known biological agents . the levels of radiation are such that 99 . 9 % of the following are rendered impotent : bacterial agrobacterium turnafaciens ; bacillus anthraccis ; bacillus megateriurn ( vegetative and spores ); bacillus subtilis ( vegetative and spores ); clostridium corynebacterium ; escherichia coli ; legionella bozemanii ; legionella dumofffi ; legionella gormanii ; legionella micdadei ; legionella pneumophilia ; leptospera interrogans ( infectious jaundice ); mycobacterium ; tuberculosis proteus vulgaris ; pseudomonas aeruginosa ( laboratory and environmental strains ); rhodosperillium rubrum ; salmonella enteritidis ( enteric fever ); salmonella paratyphi ; salmonella typhimurium ; salmonella typhosa ( typhoid fever ); shigella dysenteriae ( dysentery ); shigella flexneri ( dysentery ); staphylococcus epidermidas ; staphylococcus aureus ; streptococcus faecalis ; and , the following viruses : bacteriophage ( e . coli ); hepatitis virus ; influenza virus ; poliovirus ; rotavirus . the third stage , agent threat operation , diverts the air stream to particulate and catalytic filters especially designed for the capture of nuclear and chemical contaminants . embodiments with the third stage capability integrate a bypass filter 150 upon an alarm condition which causes the airflow to be rerouted to an auxiliary air handler 153 ( high speed blower ) that pressurizes the air and forces it through deep bed activated charcoal filters . the filters remove the contaminant from the airflow . the cleansed air is then routed back to the normal path . this bypass filter system is operable in conjunction with the stage two levels of irradiation and the saturation / precipitation zone . sensors 320 shown in fig3 are incorporated to measure the differential pressure across the filter ( s ) 151 and 155 to determine the remaining useful life of the filter before requiring change and disposal . the functional diagram of the embodiment in fig1 is shown in fig2 with like components having the same reference numerals . fig2 - 4 contain functional representations of embodiments of the acs in operational connection with a facility hvac . the facility hvac 200 includes filters 201 , air handlers 202 , heating elements 203 , an evaporator coil 204 in direct contact with the air stream . the evaporator coil of the hvac also includes a compressor 205 and a condensing coil 206 in contact with ambient air . these elements are common to hvac systems . the air stream is taken by the hvac system from outside air or indoor air and is filtered and conditioned ( heated or cooled ) by the components of the hvac system . the acs is interposed within a plenum of the hvac . normal operation of the system 100 permits minimal power consumption . when in normal operation , the irradiation group is operated at less than full power and the contaminant detection element 110 is in full operation with the other elements essentially dormant . upon sensing contaminants by a change in the reflection or refraction of the air stream as determined by a light source and sensors , the contaminant detection element 110 initiates closures of multiple relays . upon relay initiation , full power is provided to the irradiation element 120 , the hydroscopic element 130 , and the precipitating element 140 . the activation of these elements also initiates an alarm signal . upon activation of the normally dormant elements , the system is in an active mitigation mode ( amm ). the amm mode of operation continues until the system is manually reset for an amount of time in which the contaminant may be identified and a pronounced not harmful . the amm may also be controlled through predefined parameters and computer interface or preset timer operation . the amm may also include the activation of other systems . fig3 shows an embodiment where the contamination detection element 110 includes a contaminant assessment and alarm suite 310 , enabling additional computer automated control . the assessment and alarm suite contains display and control functions such as a microcomputer , lap top , or circuit board with an lcd or crt display . the assessment and alarm suite also contains an analyzer capable of determining the type of contaminants . the assessment and alarm suite controls the operation of the acs and receives constant information from the sensors 330 in the nuclear , biological , and chemical ( nbc ) detector . in the contaminant assessment and alarm suite 310 , sampling of the air stream is initiated upon an alarm condition from the sensors 330 . separate chemical and biological agent sensors 330 are employed . the identification of known chemical warfare agents may be near instantaneous . identification of known biological warfare agents may require from twenty minutes to two hours of elapsed time . sampling cycles may be preprogrammed and automatic or may be manually initiated . depending upon the programming and sophistication of the sensors employed , the system may revert to normal operation if no known contaminant is identified or it may continue to operate while additional assets are utilized to determine the exact nature of the alarm . the acs process begins with the intake of outside air through large particle filters common to building air handling systems . a sample of this air is diverted to a suite of nbc detectors 330 . each of these devices perform its design function and reports the assessment to the assessment and alarm suite ( aas ) 310 in a continuous manner . the aas continually evaluates the quality of air taken in to assess whether there has been any increase in one or more potential contaminants . the aas discerns between the many natural sources and levels of natural contamination ( background nuclear radiation , for example ) by establishing a baseline for each of these materials in routine operation . the protective measures of the aas , irradiation , hydroscopic spray and bypass filters are employed only when the level of a particular contaminant rises significantly above the baseline or allowable levels . in the event the acs system detects the presence of an unacceptably high level of one or more contaminants entering the air system from outside air , the control mechanism 311 triggers both visual and acoustic alarms 313 to the security staff ( if certain contaminants or overwhelming amounts of any contaminant are detected the entire facility is instantly alerted ). the system would normally cause the air flow control 207 of the facility hvac system to close off the intake of outside air and limit the air supply to that already within the facility . the air flow control 207 also moderates the flow of return and outside air sources by floor , sector , or room . all air to be used in the building is directed through the acs . in the event atomic particles in significant quantities have been detected , additional filters and cleaners specifically designed for the purpose are introduced into the system as the bypass filter which is controlled by the contaiminate detection element 110 . an incidental benefit of this system is that , at all times , air in the facility will be pure to breath and will not contain common environmental irritants or allergenic substances . air flowing from the acs system enters the existing facility hvac system 200 for heating , cooling , and humidifying as appropriate for the season . air returning to the cleaning system from circulation in the building is treated very much like the manner just described for outside air . a sample of the return air is passed through an identical suite of detectors and into the aas . detection of contaminants from the return air , but not the outside air intake reveals an attack condition of the second type ( hand carried into the building ). in this instance , the air flow control 207 will close off the return air supply 211 and depend entirely upon outside air for the building , venting return air directly out of the building and not back into recirculation . the aas 310 moderates complicated conflicts in which various types and levels of contamination are detected from both outside and return air sources , thereby selecting a mix of outside and return air most likely to result in minimal overall contamination of the most lethal types . the alarm subsystem 313 of the aas 310 broadcasts appropriate instructions and information throughout the facility and to the facility air flow control 207 . an embodiment of the disclosure is shown in fig4 as a plenum augmentation to combat unintended distribution of chemical and / or biological agents . the plenum augmentation is located in the major return duct ( s ) to negate the effect of biological and chemical agent insertion . the air is collected within a primary plenum system ( ducts and vents ) that collects all the return air , adds makeup air and provides the source of supply to the air handling unit ( fans / blowers ) 202 . by installing , within this plenum section , a combination of high intensity uv radiation sources , water curtains , and condenser / precipitation coils , described in detail with reference to previous embodiments , the agent ( chemical or biological ) may be rendered impotent . biological contaminants are killed when exposed to identifiable levels of uv radiation in the irradiation zone 121 . chemical contaminants are captured by the water flow in the saturation zone 131 and precipitated out the air stream by specially designed water curtains and condensing coils 140 of the acs . in addition , the water curtain and condenser set also remove the irradiated biological debris . sensors , biological and chemical weapons detectors , augment the installation to ensure adequate levels of contaminant removal . the precipitation element 140 cycles the precipitant ( water and contaminants ) through micro - filtration elements ( not shown ) thereby collecting the particulate contaminants and the residue for distillation or catalytic conversion . plenum augmentation with the acs system may also be external to the plenum in the form of emergency sets , semi - mobile , and stand alone modules that may be plumbed into an existing system in single or multiple sets adequate to meet the air flow requirements until more permanent installations may be accomplished . the schematic in fig5 depicts an embodiment of plenum augmentation acs system of fig3 with the addition of the bypass filter described in fig2 , designed to detect , analyze , and respond to a various degrees of severity of an event . while preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described , it is to be understood that the embodiments described are illustrative only and that the scope of the invention is to be defined solely by the appended claims when accorded a full range of equivalence , many variations and modifications naturally occurring to those of skill in the art from a perusal hereof . | 1 |
in fig1 the improved locknut 10 of the present invention is shown in mounted relationship within depression 11 of rim 12 which also has conventional rim mounting nuts 13 mounted in other like depressions 11 . the locknut 10 and nuts 13 are threaded onto studs , such as 14 , which are secured in the conventional manner to vehicle axle 15 . the improved locknut 10 includes a body portion 16 having a substantially frustoconical entry portion or nose 17 at one end for engaging annular rim portion 19 to aid in retaining rim 12 in mounted position . body portion 16 also includes a threaded portion 20 at the opposite end of body portion 16 from nose portion 17 . a central portion 22 is located between portions 17 and 20 . it will be appreciated , however , that the axial length of a particular nut , such as 10 , may vary in that central portion 22 may be longer or shorter or may be eliminated entirely , the latter being shown in fig1 . extending centrally through body portion 16 is a tapped or internally threaded bore 23 which receives the threaded stud 14 which is mounted on axle 15 . locknut 10 is for the purpose of preventing the unauthorized removal of rim 12 because locknut 10 cannot be removed by a conventional lug wrench or a conventional pipe wrench or for that matter any other wrench . it can only be removed and installed by the use of special key 24 . only one locknut 10 need be used on each wheel in addition to the conventional nuts 13 inasmuch as rim 12 cannot be removed unless all of the nuts holding it in position are removed . however , if desired , more than one locknut 10 may be used with each wheel . locknut 10 in this instance is relatively small and it is approximately 3 / 4 of an inch long and has a maximum diameter of approximately 1 inch . as shown in fig3 the various parts of the locknut are essentially drawn to scale . portion 20 of the locknut has a relatively short axial length . this results in the use of less material than heretofore , which has the advantage that the weight of locknut 10 can be made substantially equal to the weight of conventional nuts 13 which are normally used so that locknut 10 will not create an unbalance in the mounted rim . locknut 10 includes a face 25 in which an irregular curvilinear groove 26 is formed . groove 26 can be made approximately one - half the depth of grooves in conventional locknuts of the type shown in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 241 , 408 , issued mar . 22 , 1966 , and can be made narrower than conventional grooves because of the fact that the face 25 is of greater diameter than locknuts which were fabricated in the past . the depth of groove 26 may be between about 0 . 060 and 0 . 070 inches . the width may be as low as about 1 / 16 of an inch . the peripheral portion 27 of locknut 10 is located on an end portion 20 of body portion 16 and it includes a helical thread 29 . the outer contour of helical thread 29 may best be seen from fig3 and 7 . in this respect , thread 29 is formed on locknut blank 30 ( fig6 ) which shows the configuration of the portion 27 before it is threaded . end portion 20 consists of cylindrical part 31 proximate central nut portion 22 and frustoconical or tapered lead - in nut portion 32 adjacent to cylindrical nut portion 31 as shown . frustoconical nut portion 32 has a taper of 15 ° as shown . the thread 29 is started immediately adjacent face 25 and extends throughout nut portions 32 and 31 . this thread is thus formed on the tapered surface which extends for the axial length of locknut portion 32 , and it continues on for the axial length of cylindrical nut portion 31 . the entire length of thread 29 from its very beginning to its very end is approximately 800 °, that is , approximately , 21 / 4 turns . however , the actual length of the portion of thread 29 on cylindrical nut portion 30 is between about 360 ° and 450 °, so that in essence therefore the cylindrical portion of thread 29 is more than one complete turn but less than two , that is , between 360 ° and 720 °. the practical significance of the foregoing is that if an attempt should be made to turn locknut 10 by means of applying a pipe wrench in certain instances , the attempt will be unsuccessful because there will be only a little more than one thread which can be gripped by the pipe wrench . furthermore , since the thread itself in the specific embodiment shown has a width of only about 3 / 64 of an inch , there will be pitifully little surface contact between the pipe wrench and the thread . this is because the entire thread 29 from beginning to end has essentially been formed on a frustoconical surface which extends between nut face 25 and annular shoulder 35 , and , as is known from prior locknuts of the general type shown in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 241 , 408 , a pipe wrench cannot grip a frustoconical surface . the inability for a pipe wrench to grip the outer surface of thread 29 is enhanced by the fact that the locknut is hardened to a hardness of rockwell c58 - 60 which is as hard as or harder than the jaws of most pipe wrenches . while the gripping of thread 29 by a pipe wrench is not a problem when the locknut is used in conjunction with a rim having a recess , such as 11 , because access cannot be had to the thread 29 by the pipe wrench , the taper on locknut portion 20 becomes significant against gripping by a pipe wrench when it is used with a rim 12 &# 39 ; of fig9 - 12 which does not have such a recess . furthermore , the flat surface of the thread 29 ( fig8 ) cannot be jimmied or marred , as would be the case with a conventional thread which comes to a point . the cross sectional contour of thread 29 is shown in fig8 and it has been especially designed so that it can take a very great axial loading even though only slightly more than one thread provides in full depth engagement with a mating thread 37 of key 24 . however , it is to be noted that the root diameter of thread 29 is constant throughout its entire length , that is , throughout both the lead - in portion and cylindrical portion . therefore , thread 29 has partial engagement with cylindrical thread 37 of housing 39 throughout the length of axial distance 33 of the frustoconical portion , and it has full depth engagement throughout the length of axial distance 34 at the cylindrical portion . special key 24 is used for mounting and demounting locknut 10 from stud 14 . key 24 includes a housing 39 having a relatively small annular portion 40 which merges into larger intermediate annular portion 41 which merges into a still larger annular end portion 42 in which internal helical thread 37 is located . thread 37 is uniform throughout its length . key 24 includes a body portion 43 which is essentially a key head having a substantially cylindrical outer surface 44 and a face 45 on which is formed a flange or ridge 46 ( fig3 and 5 ) of a curvilinear configuration for reception in and mating engagement with groove 26 ( fig4 ). key head or body portion 43 has a central bore 47 into which the end of stud 14 can fit . key head 43 also includes an annular shoulder 49 which is abutted by the end 50 of cylindrical annular shank 51 , the end 52 of which is pressfitted into cylindrical bore 53 after housing 39 has been mounted on shank 51 with helical spring 54 having one end bearing on annular surface 55 of key head 43 and the other end bearing on annular shoulder 56 within housing 39 . a hexagonal head 57 is formed integrally with shank 51 for receiving a suitable wrench for turning shank 51 and thus turning key head 43 . a bore 59 extends completely throughout the length of shank 51 to accommodate any length of stud 14 . an annular knurled portion 60 is located on housing portion 40 to facilitate grasping of the housing for turning it . there is a rectilinear sliding fit between shank 51 and internal surface 58 of housing 39 . hexagonal head 57 abuts housing end 48 to limit the movement of shank 51 to the left under the bias of spring 54 . the steps which are followed in using key 24 are depicted in fig9 - 12 . the first step is to press curvilinear ridge or flange 46 against face 25 of nut 10 , as shown in fig9 . thereafter , housing 39 is moved to the left in the direction of arrow 61 ( fig1 ) so that tapered lead - in portion 32 of nut 10 enters the end portion 62 of key housing portion 42 . the entry is facilitated by the fact that lead - in portion 32 is tapered . during this portion of the mounting operation , the housing 39 may be grasped at annular shoulder 63 or annular shoulder 64 or on knurled portion 60 . when the housing 39 has moved as far to the left as it can in fig1 , spring 54 will be compressed to the condition of fig1 from its normal expanded condition of fig9 . thereafter , housing 39 is rotated in a clockwise direction , when viewed from the right of fig1 , and this will cause threads 37 of the housing to move into threaded engagement with thread 29 . during the initial portion of the rotation , the outer surface of flange 46 may still be bearing against face 25 of locknut 10 . however , as housing 39 is rotated , there will be frictional engagement between the right end of spring 54 and shoulder 56 , and there also will be frictional engagement between the left end of spring 54 and face 55 of head 43 . this will cause head 43 to rotate with housing 39 and thus flange 46 will be biased into mating engagement with groove 26 , as shown in fig1 , by the expansion of spring 54 . continued rotation of housing 39 will cause housing portion 42 to move to the position shown in fig1 wherein annular shoulder 66 bears against surface 55 of key head 43 to thereby maintain curvilinear flange 46 in good tight locking engagement in groove 26 . thereafter , a suitable wrench can be applied to hexagonal head 57 to turn shank 51 and head 43 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the right of fig1 to thereby unscrew locknut 10 from stud 14 . after nut 10 has been completely unthreaded from stud 14 , it can be removed from locking engagement with key 24 by merely rotating the housing and the locknut relative to each other in an unthreading direction . in order to install nut 10 onto a stud 14 , all that is necessary is to mount the nut 10 onto the stud with the fingers and thereafter mount the key onto the nut in the same manner as described above relative to fig9 and 11 and thereafter continue turning housing 39 in a locknut tightening direction and thereafter apply a wrench to hexagonal head 57 . key 24 can then be removed from locking engagement with locknut 10 by merely rotating housing 39 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the right in fig1 . it is to be noted that the thickness of housing portion 42 is such that it can easily fit within depression 11 , in the event that a rim , such as 12 , is used . a decorative cap 69 ( fig2 a and 2b ) of molded plastic may be provided to cover locknut 10 . decorative cap 69 includes an annular cylindrical internally threaded portion 70 for mating engagement with thread 29 , a cylindrical central portion 71 , and a hexagonal head 72 attached to central portion 71 . decorative cap 69 is in the shape of the lug nuts 13 which are conventionally used with the wheel , so that decorative cap 69 looks exactly like the lug nuts 13 . cap 69 may be silvered or may have any other suitable color applied thereto as desired . cap 69 can be removed by means of a wrench or by means of the fingers of a person , if it is sufficiently loose , to permit access to nut 10 for loosening purposes . in fig1 a further modified embodiment of the present invention is shown which may be identical in all respects to locknut 10 described above except that the outer portion 32 &# 39 ; of frustoconical end 20 &# 39 ; adjacent face 25 &# 39 ; is unthreaded for the axial distance 33 &# 39 ; and the thread 29 &# 39 ; starts on the frustoconical portion 20 &# 39 ; and extends for the axial distance 33 &# 34 ; and then continues onto the cylindrical portion 31 &# 39 ; for the axial distance 34 &# 39 ;. in other words , the main difference between the embodiment of fig1 and locknut 10 is the unthreaded extreme outer frustoconical end portion 32 &# 39 ; of fig1 . while preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed , it will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited thereto , but may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims . | 5 |
the present invention is based upon the initial identification and characterization of a n - terminally truncated her - 2 / neu protein ( p95her - 2 or simply p95 ) and a subsequent examination and correlation with ecd shedding and association with breast cancer pathologic factors . the present invention identified an n - terminally truncated her - 2 / neu product of about 95 kda , which was detected by western blotting and by immunoprecipitation with anti - peptide antibodies against the c - terminus , but did not react with monoclonal antibodies against the n - terminus of p185her - 2 / neu . p95her - 2 has kinase activity evidenced by its self - phosphorylation when p185her - 2 was cleared from the cell extract prior to immunoprecipitation with anti - neu ( c ) ( fig1 ). several controls and extraction procedures were conducted to rule out that p95 was created by an in vitro degradation artifact . cells extracted with protease inhibitors had only two major cytoplasmic her - 2 / neu proteins , p95her - 2 and p185her - 2 , with no indication of smaller degradation products . p95her - 2 levels were not affected by procedures that would eliminate the activity of proteases including direct extraction of cells in boiling 10 % sds - containing buffers . one mechanism previously described for generation of n - terminally truncated receptor tyrosine kinases is by proteolytic release of their ecd ( downing et al ., mol . cell biol . 9 : 2890 - 2896 , 1989 ; cabrera et al ., j . cell . biol . 132 427 - 436 , 1996 ; o &# 39 ; bryan et al ., j . biol . chem ., 270 : 551 - 557 , 1995 ; and vecchi et al ., j . biol . chem . 271 : 18989 - 18995 , 1996 ). production of p95her - 2 in cultured cells occurs by endoproteolytic processing . the presence of p95her - 2 in 17 - 3 - 1 cells transfected with her - 2 / neu cdna indicates that p95her - 2 is a proteolytic product rather than the product of an alternative transcript . furthermore , the levels of p95her - 2 and soluble her - 2 ecd released from cultured cells were correlated . first , both p95her - 2 and ecd levels were low in skov3 cells compared to bt474 cells ( fig4 ). secondly , augmentation of both p95her - 2 and ecd by long term ( 24 hr ) treatment with tpa and chloroquine ( fig4 ) further indicated that the truncated her - 2 products were generated through a common pathway . although the mechanism for this stimulation was not examined directly , long term exposure of cells to tpa has been found to enhance internalization of rtks ( receptor tyrosine kinases ) ( seedorf et al . j . biol . chem . 270 : 18953 - 18960 , 1995 ). moreover , chloroquine , an agent that alters ph in cellular endosomes and lysosomes , inhibited complete proteolytic breakdown or altered rtk trafficking ( marshall , j . biol . chem 260 : 4136 - 4144 , 1985 ). finally , both p95her - 2 and ecd levels from intact cells were inhibited by the hydroxamate compound , tapi . inhibition was maximal at a tapi concentration of 10 μm or less ( fig5 ). the strong inhibition by tapi indicates that most of the ecd and p95her - 2 in bt474 cells were generated by a metalloprotease ( mcgeehan et al ., nature 370 : 561 , 1994 ; and mohler et al ., nature 370 : 218 - 220 , 1994 ) and that this class of protease inhibitors is effective in controlling shedding in breast cancer patients . although p95her - 2 and shedding were modulated under several different conditions , changes in cellular p185her - 2 levels could not be detected . unlike several transmembrane proteins that only shed when induced by tpa , proteolytic shedding of p185her - 2 occurs continually at a low basal level ( lin and clinton , oncogene 6 : 639 - 643 , 1991 ; and zabrecky et al ., j . biol . chem . 266 : 1716 - 1720 , 1991 ) with only about 20 % converted into soluble ecd in 2 hrs ( pupa et al ., oncogene , 8 : 2917 - 2923 , 1993 ). the truncated cell protein of about 95 kda described herein was somewhat larger than the expected 75 - 80 kda for the cytoplasmic remnant of the 105 - 110 kda ecd . ecd is a glycosylated protein with multiple bands on gel migraton . p95her - 2 or the ecd might migrate anomalously in gels , since the site of cleavage for ecd shedding is not known . the ecd and p95her - 2 are coordinately produced in culture by proteolytic activity that is sensitive to a metalloprotease inhibitor . a her - 2 / neu product of the same size , 95 kda , in transfected 3t3 cells , cultured breast carcinoma cells , breast cancer tissue , and ovarian cancer tissue indicates that a similar proteolytic processing event occurs in the different cells . however p95her - 2 was not detected in all cells and tumor tissue that contain p185her - 2 . two nontumorigenic breast epithelial cell lines had no detectable p95her - 2 ( fig2 ). in addition , the skov3 ovarian carcinoma cells , which overexpress p185her - 2 , had a disproportionately low amount of p95her - 2 ( fig4 ). these observations indicate that production of p95her - 2 is regulated . the cells with variable levels of truncated her - 2 / neu products may differ in the amount of the relevant protease activity or the protein substrate may have an altered conformation affecting sensitivity to proteolytic cleavage . p95her - 2 / neu has kinase enzymatic activity . it is tyrosine phosphorylated and it is truncated from its n - terminus . oncogenic signaling by her - 2 / neu depends upon its level of kinase activity ( difiore et al ., science 237 : 178 - 182 , 1987 ; hudziak et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 84 : 7159 - 7163 , 1987 ; and segatto et al ., mol . cell . biol . 8 : 5570 - 5574 , 1988 ). since p95her - 2 was at 100 % of p185her - 2 in some breast cancer samples , it may impact the amplitude of the kinase signal . moreover , an n - terminally truncated kinase domain , such as p95her - 2 , is expected to emit a constitutive signal by analogy to results with engineered deletions of the ecd from the her - 2 / neu product ( vecchi et al ., j . cell biol . 139 : 995 - 1003 , 1997 ; difiore et al ., science 237 : 178 - 182 , 1987 ; hudziak et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 84 : 7159 - 7163 , 1987 ; segatto et al ., mol . cell . biol . 8 : 5570 - 5574 , 1988 ; and bargmann and weinberg , embo j . 7 : 2043 - 2052 , 1988 ). taken together these data provided herein indicate that p95her - 2 will elevate the kinase signal in some patients and is thereby associated with more aggressive tumor growth . cancer tissues were analyzed by western blotting and scored for p95her - 2 and for p185her - 2 / neu expression . breast and ovarian cancer tissues were both found to express p95her - 2 in addition to p185her - 2 / neu . of 161 breast cancer tissues studied , 22 . 4 % expressed p95her - 2 , 21 . 7 % overexpressed p185her - 2 , and 14 . 3 % were both p95her - 2 positive and overexpressed p185her - 2 . a higher proportion of node positive patients ( 23 of 78 ) than node negative patients ( 9 of 63 ) expressed p95her - 2 in all tumors combined ( p = 0 . 032 ). in the group that overexpressed p185her - 2 , those that contained p95her - 2 were associated with node positive patients ( 15 of 21 ) whereas those that were p95 negative were associated with node negative patients ( 8 of 11 ) ( p = 0 . 017 ). neither p95her - 2 nor p185her - 2 - rich patients significantly correlated with tumor size or with hormone receptor status in this study . these data indicate that breast cancers , which express the her - 2 / neu oncogene , are heterogeneous with respect to her - 2 / neu protein products . moreover , p95her - 2 / neu appeared to distinguish tumors that have metastasized to the lymph nodes from those in node negative patients . in the following examples , 161 breast cancer tissues were homogenized , fractionated and analyzed by western blotting , a technique that can distinguish p185her - 2 from its truncated cytoplasmic protein , p95her - 2 . a study conducted by tandon et al , ( tandon et al ., j . clin . oncol . 7 : 1120 - 1128 , 1989 ) also used western analysis of breast tissue extracts , but tandon et al . only evaluated the full length product , p185her - 2 . the data provided herein are consistent with the results reported in tandon et al . the data in the examples also found p185her - 2 to be expressed frequently in breast tumors with a subpopulation of 21 . 7 %, compared to tandon et al &# 39 ; s 16 % that was scored as highly positive . these results are consistent . the data in the examples herein show that breast cancers , which express her - 2 / neu , are heterogeneous with respect to protein products . the distinct products , p95her - 2 and p185her - 2 , were differentially associated with node status . while the group that overexpressed p185her - 2 did not associate with node status ( table 1 ), those that were p185 - rich and contained p95her - 2 were significantly associated with lymph node metastasis ( table 2 ). this may help explain why several previous studies , which have attempted to show association with lymph node metastasis based on assays of p185her - 2 protein overexpression or her - 2 / neu gene amplification , have yielded inconsistent results ( see , for example , singleton and strickler , pathol . annual 27 pt 1 : 165 - 198 , 1992 ). without being bound by theory , a biological explanation for these data is that loss of the ecd regulatory region from the p95her - 2 kinase , combined with amplified p185her - 2 signal in primary breast tumor cells , promotes their metastasis , such as to the lymph nodes . p95her - 2 positive or p185her - 2 highly positive samples did not correlate with other prognostic markers in these data , including tumor size or hormone receptor status . while no consistent correlation with tumor size has been detected , other studies have reported association of her - 2 / neu overexpression with er and pr negativity ( singleton and strickler , pathol . annual 27 pt 1 : 165 - 198 , 1992 ; tandon et al ., j . clin . oncol . 7 : 1120 - 1128 , 1989 ; and carlomagno et al ., j . clin . oncol ., 14 : 2702 - 2708 , 1996 ). moreover , in contrast to the data reported herein , the relationship between her - 2 overexpression and hormone receptor status was examined in a subgroup of high - risk patients or in groups that were stratified by levels of hormone receptors ( tandon et al ., j . clin . oncol . 7 : 1120 - 1128 , 1989 ; and carlomagno et al . ; and j . clin . oncol ., 14 : 2702 - 2708 , 1996 ). in conclusion , her - 2 / neu overexpression in tumor tissue is a strong prognostic marker only in node positive patients ( slamon et al ., science 244 : 707 - 712 , 1989 ; singleton and strickler , pathol . annual 27 pt 1 : 165 - 198 , 1992 ; slamon et al ., science 235 : 177 - 182 , 1987 ; press et al ., progress in clinical & amp ; biological research 354 : 209 - 221 , 1990 ; hynes et al ., biochem . biophys . acta 1198 : 165 - 184 , 1994 ; and tandon et al ., j . clin . oncol . 7 : 1120 - 1128 , 1989 ). the data presented herein indicate that p95 - 2 is preferentially found in her - 2 / neu positive patients with lymph node involvement . higher expression of p95her - 2 is a critical factor that helps explain the increased prognostic significance of her - 2 / neu in node positive patients . both ecd and p95 were at about 20 fold lower levels in skov3 ovarian carcinoma cells compared to bt474 breast carcinoma cells . both were stimulated by treatment of cells with the phorbol ester tumor promoter ( tpa ) and the lysosomotrophic agent , chloroquine . the hydroxamate inhibitor of metalloproteases , tapi , suppressed both p95 and ecd ( her - 2 / neu extracellular domain ) in a dose - dependent fashion with maximal inhibition at 10 μm or less in bt474 cells . proteolytic release of the ecd is expected to create an n - terminally truncated , membrane - associated fragment with kinase activity . p95her - 2 is the c - terminal polypeptide fragment of p185her - 2 , whose complete sequence was first published in coussens et al ., science 230 : 1132 - 1139 , 1985 . p185her - 2 is a 1255 amino acid polypeptide ending in val residue at position 1255 . the n - terminus of p95her - 2 begins from about asp at position 639 to about the glu residue at position 645 . most likely , the n - terminal residue is pro from position 643 . the present invention further provides a method for treating carcinomas that overexpress her - 2 , comprising administering a hydroximate compound , wherein the hydroximate compound is described in formula 1 : wherein : x is hydroxamic acid , thiol , phosphoryl or carboxyl ; m is 0 , 1 or 2 ; r 1 , r 2 , and r 3 is independently hydrogen , alkylene ( cycloalkyl ), or 4 , sr 4 , n ( r 4 )( r 5 ), halogen , a substituted or unsubstituted c 1 to c 6 , alkyl , c 1 to c 6 alkylenearyl , aryl , a protected or unprotected side chain of a naturally occurring α - amino acid ; or the group r 6 r 7 , wherein r 6 is substituted or unsubstituted c 1 to c 8 alkyl and r 7 is or 4 , sr 4 , n ( r 4 )( r 5 ) or halogen , wherein r 4 and r 5 are independently hydrogen or substituted or unsubstituted c 1 to c 8 alkyl ; wherein n is 0 , 1 or 2 ; with a first proviso that when n is 1 , a is a protected or an unprotected a - amino acid radical ; and with a second proviso that when n is 2 , a is the same or different protected or unprotected α - amino acid radical ; and wherein b is an unsubstituted or substituted c 2 to c 8 alkylene . methods for synthesizing compounds of formula 1 are disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 629 , 285 , the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein . pharmaceutical formulations are compositions are also disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 629 , 285 . this example illustrates the identification of n - terminally truncated her - 2 / neu protein with kinase activity . 3t3 cells were transfected with her - 2 / neu cdna ( 1 7 - 3 - 1 cells ) ( applied biotechnololgy , inc . cambridge , mass .) and release soluble ecd by proteolytic processing of p185her - 2 / neu ( zabrecky et al ., j . biol . chem . 266 : 1716 - 1720 , 1991 ). to detect truncated cytoplasmic products , 17 - 3 - 1 extracts were resolved in gels and immunoblotted with antibodies against the c - terminus of the her - 2 / neu product ( anti - neu ( c )). 17 - 3 - 1 cells , were cultured in dulbecco &# 39 ; s modified eagles medium ( dmem ) supplemented with 5 % fetal bovine serum containing 0 . 4 mg / ml geneticin ( g418 gibco - brl ). briefly , anti - neu ( c ) has been described ( lin et al ., mol . cell . endocrin . 69 : 111 - 119 , 1990 ). monoclonal antibody against the extracellular domain of her - 2 / neu was prepared as described ( mckenzie et al ., oncogene , 4 : 543 - 548 , 1989 ) and was provided by applied biotechnology inc . briefly , freshly prepared cell lysates in tedg buffer ( 50 mm tris , 1 . 5 mm edta , 0 . 5 mm dithiothreitol , 10 % glycerol ph 7 . 5 with 1 % aprotinin , 2 mm pmsf , and 2 mm vanadate ) containing 1 % nonidet p - 40 were immunoprecipitated by incubation with antibody for 2 hrs with continuous shaking at 4 ° c . as described ( lin et al ., mol . cell . endocrin . 69 : 111 - 119 , 1990 ). the immune complexes , bound to protein g sepharose ( pharmacia ), were washed twice with tedg buffer and incubated 10 min on ice in a kinase reaction mixture containing 20 mm hepes ph 8 . 0 , 2 mm dithiolithreitol , 25 μm vanadate , 0 . 5 % nonidet p - 40 , 10 mm mncl 2 , 1 μm atp , and 15 μci ( γ - 32 p ) atp ( new england nuclear ). the immune complexes were washed 3 times with buffer and the proteins were released by boiling for 2 min in sds - page sample buffer . two major protein products were detected in cell extracts ; the full length p185 her - 2 / neu and a truncated protein of about 95 kda ( fig1 , lane 1 ). the extracts were immunoprecipitated and the 95 kda protein , as well as p185her - 2 / neu , were phosphorylated in the immune complex with ( γ - 32 p ) atp ( fig1 , lane 2 ). a monoclonal antibody specific for the n - terminal region of p185her - 2 / neu ( anti - neu ( n )) did not immunoprecipitate p95her - 2 , indicating that the n - terminal region was missing ( fig1 , lane 3 ). therefore , p95her - 2 is a fragment of p185her - 2 and is no an n - terminal fragment . this example illustrates that p95her - 2 has self - phosphorylating activity and was not the substrate of the full length receptor tyrosine kinase . p185her - 2 was first removed from the cell lysate with anti - neu ( n ), and then p95her - 2 was immunoprecipitated with anti - neu ( c ) as described in example 1 . p95her - 2 was phosphorylated when p185her - 2 levels were greatly depleted ( fig1 lane 4 ). these data indicate that p95her - 2 has kinase enzymatic activity . moreover , p95her - 2 kinase activity is in human breast carcinoma cells but not in nontumorigenic breast epithelial cells . the human breast carcinoma cell line , bt474 , known to release soluble ecd ( lin and clinton , oncogene 6 : 639 - 643 , 1991 ) also contains two autophosphorylated her - 2 / neu products , p185her - 2 and p95her - 2 . the human breast carcinoma cell line bt474 was cultured in rpmi medium supplemented with 10 % fbs and 10 μg / ml insulin . both were found at elevated levels compared to the nontumorigenic breast epithelial cell line hbl - 100 ( fig2 ). it was possible that p95 could not be detected in the small amount of hbl - 100 cells , since they express low levels of p185her - 2 ( kraus et al ., embo j . 6 : 605 - 610 , 1987 ). to compensate for different levels of her - 2 / neu expression ( kraus et al ., embo j . 6 : 605 - 610 , 1987 ), the amounts of extract from hbl - 100 , human mammary epithelial cells , ( hmec ), and three breast carcinoma cell lines were adjusted and proteins were phosphorylated with ( γ − 32 p ) atp . p95her - 2 was detected in the low ( mda - mb - 453 ) and high ( bt474 and skbr3 ) her - 2 / neu expressing breast carcinoma cells , but not in the hbl - 100 nor hmec cells , despite a robust signal from the her - 2 / neu receptor which migrated as a slightly smaller protein in the breast epithelial cells ( fig2 ). this example illustrates that p95her - 2 is a tyrosine phosphorylated polypeptide with kinase enzymatic activity and is located in the membrane fraction from bt474 cells . tyrosine phosphorylation of tyrosine kinase receptors generally indicates their activation in signaling ( hynes et al ., biochem . biophys . acta 1198 : 165 - 184 , 1994 ; and dougall et al ., oncogene 9 : 2109 - 2123 , 1994 ). the tyrosine phosphorylation of p95her - 2 , and its subcellular location were examined by fractionation of bt474 cell extracts into a soluble fraction and a particulate fraction . each fraction was immunoprecipitated with anti - neu ( c ) and then subjected to western blot analysis using monoclonal antibodies against phosphotyrosine . briefly , following sds - page , cell lysates or proteins from concentrated , conditioned medium were electroblotted onto nitrocellulose ( trans - blot , bio - rad ) using a semi - dry transfer unit ( bio - rad ) at 15 volts for 20 min per mini gel of 0 . 75 mm thickness ( mini - protean ii electrophoresis cell , biorad ) equilibrated with 25 mm tris ph 8 . 3 , 192 mm glycine , 50 mm nacl , 20 % methanol . binding sites were blocked by incubating the membrane with 5 % nonfat dry milk . after incubation with the primary antibody , the blot was washed twice for 15 min and 4 times for 5 min with tris - buffered saline ( tbs ) containing 0 . 05 % tween and then incubated for 40 min with goat anti - rabbit or goat anti - mouse antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase ( hrp ) ( bio - rad ) diluted in tbs - tween . after incubation with secondary antibody , the blot was washed as described above with tbs - tween and developed with chemiluminescent reagent ( pierce ). fig3 illustrates that a tyrosine phosphorylated p95her - 2 fractionated with p185her - 2 in the particulate fraction . the particulate fraction contains the plasma membranes . p95her - 2 was further shown to be tyrosine phosphorylated by first immunoprecipitating with anti - phosphotyrosine antibodies and then probing the western blot with anti - neu ( c ) ( data not illustrated ). this example illustrates that p95her - 2 polypeptide intracellular levels corresponded to levels of soluble ecd released from different cells . to examine the relationship of p95her - 2 to soluble ecd , their levels were compared in different cells under varied conditions . the basal levels of ecd and cellular p95her - 2 / neu were first examined in two cell lines that overexpress her - 2 / neu , bt474 and the ovarian carcinoma cell line skov - 3 . both cell lines were reported to produce low levels of ecd ( pupa et al ., oncogene , 8 : 2917 - 2923 , 1993 ). the amount of p95her - 2 , relative to p185her - 2 and to cell protein , was greatly elevated in bt474 cells . correspondingly , the ecd in the extracellular medium from bt474 cells , detected with anti - neu ( n ), was enhanced by greater than 10 fold compared to the skov3 cells ( fig4 ). shedding of several membrane proteins is rapidly and transiently induced by phorbol ester tumor promoters ( ehlers and riordan , biochem . j . 321 : 265 - 279 , 1997 ). while short term treatment with tumor promoters does not induce her - 2 shedding ( vecchi et al ., j . biol . chem . 271 : 18989 - 18995 , 1996 ), chronic administration of the phorbol ester tpa synergized with chloroquine to stimulate release of soluble her - 2 . to determine whether p95her - 2 and ecd were coordinately regulated , tpa ( 500 nm ) and chloroquine ( 50 μm ) or the control vehicle were added to the culture media of bt474 and skov3 cells . skov3 cells were grown in dmem supplemented with 10 % fbs and the antibiotic gentamicin at 0 . 05 %. at 24 hrs , the ecd levels in the extracellular media and p95her - 2 levels in the cell extract were analyzed . soluble ecd was elevated several fold in the conditioned medium from stimulated bt474 cells and skov3 cells , while p95her - 2 was upregulated about three - fold in bt474 cells ( fig4 ). overexposure of the immunoblot revealed that p95her - 2 in skov3 cell extracts was also stimulated about three - fold by tpa and chloroquine ( data not illustrated in figures ). this example illustrates that a metalloprotease inhibitor depressed levels of p95her - 2 and ecd from bt474 cells . shedding of diverse transmembrane proteins is inhibited by hydroxamic acid - based compounds , which are potent metalloproteinase inhibitors ( mcgeehan et al ., nature 370 : 561 , 1994 ; mohler et al ., nature 370 : 218 - 220 , 1994 ; and arribas et al ., j . biol . chem . 271 : 11376 - 11382 , 1996 ). therefore , effects of different concentrations of the hydroxamic acid , tapi ( mohler et al ., nature 370 : 218 - 220 , 1994 ) was tested on shedding of her - 2 / neu ecd and on cell levels of p95 . tapi ( 0 to 40 μm ) was added to cultured bt474 cells for 24 hrs , the ecd in concentrated conditioned media was analyzed by immunoblotting with anti - neu ( n ), and p95her - 2 and p185her - 2 polypeptides were examined in cell extracts using an anti - neu ( c ) monoclonal antibody . the results in fig5 show that production of ecd was partially inhibited at a 1 μm tapi concentration and maximally inhibited at a 10 μm tapi concentration . a residual amount of about 10 % of the ecd resisted inhibition by even 40 μm tapi . the level of truncated p95her - 2 in the cytoplasm was also inhibited by tapi , with little or no effect at a 1 μm concentration and maximal inhibition at a 10 μm concentration ( fig5 ). these data were reproducible in another cell line . in three separate experiments , 1 μm tapi inhibited ecd and p95her - 2 levels by 50 % or less , and in all cases , maximum inhibition was achieved by a 10 μm concentration of tapi . no change in p185her - 2 / neu levels could be detected in cells treated with tapi or when shedding was stimulated by tpa and chloroquine ( fig4 ). without being bound by theory , but these results are because proteolytic processsing of p185her - 2 is constitutive and limited with about 20 % converted into soluble her - 2 / neu in 2 hrs ( pupa et al ., oncogene , 8 : 2917 - 2923 , 1993 ): tapi also increased p95her - 2 in a cell line , however different mechanisms of action may apply . this example illustrates the detection of p185her - 2 and p95her - 2 in breast cancer tissue . tumor tissues were homogenized , fractionated , and examined for her - 2 / neu proteins by western analysis . briefly , about 0 . 1 gm of tumor tissue , which had been fresh - frozen and stored at − 70 ° c ., was minced on dry ice and suspended in tedg buffer . tissues were homogenized using a brinkman polytron for 5 - 10 second bursts repeated 2 - 3 times with a chilled probe . homogenates were centrifuged at 1500 × g for 10 min at 4 ° c . the lipid layer was removed with a wooden stick and the supernatant was centrifuged for 20 min at 40 , 000 × g at 4 ° c . the lipid layer was collected with a wooden stick , the supernatant decanted , and the pellet containing the membranes was solubilized in tedg buffer containing 0 . 1 % sds for 20 min with intermittent vortexing and clarified by centrifugation at 15 , 000 × g for 15 min . the protein concentration in the supernatant was determined by the bio - rad protein assay reagent and aliquots were frozen at − 80 ° c . p95her - 2 and p185her - 2 in breast cancer tissue were analyzed according to the following method . about twenty μg of protein from the membrane fraction prepared from each tumor sample was resolved under denaturing and reducing conditions by sds - page in 10 % gels . each gel also contained 3 μg of protein from extracts of 17 - 3 - 1 cells to mark the migration of p185 and p95 and to provide a standard for the entire study . proteins were electrotransferred onto membranes as described above , which were incubated with anti - neu ( c ) diluted 1 : 10 , 000 in tbs - tween at 4 ° c . overnight with shaking and then incubated with a 1 : 10 , 000 dilution of goat anti - rabbit hrp conjugated antibody ( bio - rad ) for 40 min at room temperature . to develop the blot , the membranes were incubated with chemilumenescent reagent ( pierce ) for 5 min and then exposed to kodak x - omat ar film for 1 , 5 , 20 , and 120 min . to define the samples that overexpressed p 185her - 2 / neu , specimens with her - 2 immunoassay values that were considered her - 2 / neu - rich ( 400 units or greater ) compared to samples with low her - 2 / neu levels ( less than 400 units ) were characterized for their p185her - 2 signal relative to the control 17 - 3 - 1 cells by western analysis . those samples with a p185her - 2 signal that could be detected by 1 min exposure of the membrane to film and that was equal to or greater than the p185her - 2 levels found in 3 μg of 17 - 3 - 1 cells , as revealed by laser densitometric analysis of the film , were scored as highly positive . a her - 2 / neu tissue extract elisa assay was run on the extracted samples . briefly , aliquots of membrane - rich fractions prepared from breast cancer tissue as described above were assayed using the triton diagnostics c - erbb - 2 tissue extract eia kit ( ciba corning ) according to manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . this assay employs two monoclonal antibodies against the her - 2 / neu ecd . the her - 2 / neu units / mg protein in the specimens was calculated from a calibration curve generated by plotting the her - 2 / neu concentration of the calibration standards versus the absorbance obtained from the immunoassay . clinical information on tissue from each patient included information for age , nodal status , size of the primary tumor , age of the patient , stage of disease at diagnosis , estrogen receptor ( er ) levels and progesterone receptor ( pr ) receptor levels . specimens were considered er positive and pr positive if they contained at least 10 fmol specific binding sites per mg of cytosolic proteins . the stage of the specimens included 1 at stage 0 , 32 at stage i , 56 stage ii , 45 stage iii and 13 stage iv . fourteen specimens were of unknown stage . the average age of the patients was 60 . the 8 ovarian cancer tissues included 3 that were grade iii and 5 that were grade iv . using this method , 21 . 7 % of the samples overexpressed p185her - 2 . this proportion is comparable to the 15 - 30 % of breast cancers found to overexpress her - 2 / neu in numerous clinical studies . in the samples that had detectable p95her - 2 , its level ranged from 10 % to 100 % of p185 . in this study , specimens were scored as positive if p95her - 2 was detected at a 10 % or greater proportion of p185her - 2 by 2 hrs of exposure of the membrane to film . because of the high titer of the primary antibody , anti - neu ( c ), there were rarely any background bands , even when the immunoblots were exposed to film for 2 hrs . the membrane - enriched but not the soluble fraction ( data not shown ) from some tumor tissues contained the full - length product , p185her - 2 , and the truncated p95her - 2 / neu protein that comigrated with her - 2 / neu proteins from the control 17 - 3 - 1 cells ( fig6 ). in addition , p95her - 2 , along with p1 85her - 2 , was detected in 2 of 8 ovarian cancer tissues ( raw data not illustrated ). initial analyses of several breast cancer tissues revealed distinct expression patterns of p95her - 2 and p1 85her - 2 . one group had no detectable p185her - 2 or p95her - 2 ( see #&# 39 ; s 39 and 69 in fig6 ). a second category of tumor specimens expressed both p185her - 2 and p95her - 2 polypeptides (#&# 39 ; s 60 , 53 , 04 , and 22 ). an additional group contained p185her - 2 with relatively little or no p95her - 2 polypeptide expression (#&# 39 ; s 40 , 58 , 38 , 57 , 17 , and 75 ). as observed in previous studies by others , some samples were p185her - 2 - rich (#&# 39 ; s 04 , 22 , 57 , 17 , and 75 ). the samples that were characterized as highly positive for p185her - 2 were initially identified by immunoassay values of greater than 400 units . the results of the western analysis indicated that the tumors were heterogeneous with respect to her - 2 / neu protein products and that they can be subdivided based on the presence or absence of p95her - 2 . western analysis of 161 breast cancer samples revealed that 22 . 4 % were p95her - 2 positive . the p185her - 2 positive samples were further subdivided into “ highly positive ” or her - 2 - rich specimens based on comparisons with her - 2 / neu overexpressing samples identified by immunoassay and comparisons with the control 17 - 3 - 1 extract . the “ highly positive ” p185her - 2 tumor samples represented 21 . 7 % of the total . all of the tumor samples that expressed p95her - 2 were also positive for p185her - 2 , although 65 % of p185 positive tumor samples did not contain detectable levels of p95her - 2 polypeptide . of the p95her - 2 positive tumor samples , 63 . 9 % were also highly positive for p185her - 2 and 36 % had low p185her - 2 levels . therefore , intracellular p95her - 2 polypeptide detection appears to be a reliable prognosticator indicator . this example illustrates a relationship as between p95her - 2 positive tumor samples , p185her - 2 highly positive tumor samples , and other prognostic factors of breast or ovarian cancer . of 78 node - positive breast cancer patients , a higher proportion expressed p95her - 2 polypeptide in intracelluar tumor samples , than for the node negative patients ( p = 0 . 032 ). moreover , p185her - 2 rich samples had no significant association with node status ( table 1 ). neither p95her - 2 positive nor p185her - 2 rich samples correlated significantly with other factors known to predict poor prognosis ( mcguire et al ., n . engl . j . med . 326 : 1756 - 1761 , 1992 ) including estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor negativity or tumor size of 3 cm or greater ( table 1 ). this example illustrates an influence of p95her - 2 in the p185her - 2 highly positive group . this experiment began by asking the question why a similar percentage of node positive and node negative patients were p185her - 2 - rich ( 24 . 4 % versus 22 . 2 %, table 1 ), while p95her - 2 was associated with node positive patients , since 65 . 7 % of the p185her - 2 - rich samples contained p95her - 2 . the experiment examined whether the presence or absence of p95her - 2 in the specimens that overexpressed p185her - 2 / neu affected the relationship with lymph node status ( table 2 ). the p185her - 2 highly positive samples that contained p95her - 2 ( n = 21 ) had a significantly higher association with metastasis to the lymph nodes , while the p185her - 2 highly positive samples that were negative for p95her - 2 ( n = 11 ) were associated with lymph node negative patients ( p = 0 . 017 ). b the samples that contained p95 had a significantly higher association with node positive patients ( 15 of 21 ), and those that were p95 negative correlated with node negative patients ( 8 of 11 ) ( p = . 017 ). | 6 |
in order that the invention may be fully understood , preferred embodiments thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . [ 0037 ] fig6 depicts a block diagram of a digital broadcast receiver in which the present invention may be embodied . the digital broadcast receiver comprises a tuner 30 , a demultiplexer 31 , an audio buffer 32 , a video buffer 33 , a data buffer 34 , and a decoder 36 including the zero appending unit 11 , the k - coefficient multiplying unit 12 , and the idct unit 13 explained above with reference to fig1 . the digital broadcast receiver further comprises a macro block type converting unit 35 and a macro block type detecting unit 37 . the macro block type converting unit 35 converts the encoding type of macro blocks of the source image temporarily stored in the video buffer 33 after outputted by the demultiplexer 31 from a frame type to a field type or vice versa . the macro block type detecting unit 37 detects the encoding type of the macro blocks . also , the digital broadcast receiver further includes a control unit 38 that checks the encoding type of the source image using the information about the video data temporarily stored in the video buffer 34 , compares the encoding type of the source image and the encoding type of the macro blocks detected by the macro block type detecting unit 37 , and controls the operation of the macro block type converting unit 35 for making the encoding type of the macro blocks coincide with that of the source image . all the components of the digital broadcast receiver are operatively coupled . suppose that a digital broadcast stream transmitted in the form of a transport stream ( ts ) is received by the tuner 30 , and processed and outputted as a packetized elementary stream ( pes ) by the demultiplexer 31 . in this case , the control unit 38 scans picture coding extension information for the progressive_frame field to identify the encoding type of the source image of the received digital broadcast , as shown in fig7 . for instance , if a 1 - bit progressive_frame field in the picture coding extension information of the received ts is set to ‘ 1 ’, then the source image is determined to be frame - type encoded . if a progressive_frame field of the picture coding extension information is ‘ 0 ’ and a progressive_sequence field of sequence extension information in the received ts is ‘ 1 ’, the macro blocks are determined to be also frame - type encoded , as shown in fig8 . the value of the progressive_sequence field is not always set to ‘ 1 ’ even for frame - type source images . thus the control unit 38 checks the value of a picture_structure field in the picture coding extension information . because interlaced display is assumed in reality , frame - type images may be transported with relevant information set as if the images were of field type . film contents , which are representative frame - type images , need to go through 2 : 3 pull - down processes . such 2 : 3 pulled - down images sometimes have relevant information set as a field type . nonetheless , the exact encoding type can be easily identified by checking top_field_first and repeat_first_field fields in the picture coding extension information . the macro block type detecting unit 37 identifies the encoding type of a macro block by checking a dct_type field contained in the header of the macro block , as shown in fig9 . for example , if the 1 - bit dct_type field is set to ‘ 1 ’, the corresponding macro block is discrete cosine transformed as a field type . if not , the corresponding macro block is discrete cosine transformed as a frame type . in another example , the macro block type detecting unit 37 may be included in the control unit 38 . controlled by the control unit 38 , the macro block type converting unit 35 outputs macro blocks received through the video buffer 33 to the decoder 36 after converting the encoding type of the macro blocks or maintaining the original encoding type unchanged . the decoder 36 resizes the input macro blocks into arbitrary resolutions using the zero appending unit 11 , the k - coefficient multiplying unit 12 , and the idct unit 13 . this image resizing operation will be described in detail below . in the case where the data received from the demultiplexer 31 are frame - type pictures as illustrated in fig1 , the control unit 38 finds that the input images are frame - type pictures by checking the progressive_frame , progressive_sequence , and picture_structure information , as explained above with reference to fig7 and 8 . a macro block received by the macro block type converting unit 35 is either a frame - type macro block or a field - type macro block , as depicted in fig1 . if the 1 - bit dct_type field is verified to be ‘ 1 ’ by the macro block type detecting unit 37 , the control unit 38 finds that the corresponding macro block is discrete cosine transformed as a frame type . if both of the source picture and the macro block are of frame type , the macro block type converting unit 35 outputs the macro block to the decoder 36 with no converting operation , the operation being supervised by the control unit 38 . if the 1 - bit dct_type field is verified to be ‘ 0 ’ by the macro block type detecting unit 37 , the control unit 38 finds that the corresponding macro block is discrete cosine transformed as a field type , which indicates that the source image and the corresponding macro block have different encoding types . in this case , the control unit 38 makes the encoding type of the macro block identical to that of the source image by having the macro block type converting unit 35 convert the encoding type of the macro block into a frame type . as a result , a frame - type original image having 8 black horizontal lines alternate with 8 white horizontal lines becomes made up of discrete cosine transformed macro blocks each having 4 black horizontal lines alternate with 4 white horizontal lines , as shown in fig1 . the decoder 36 enlarges these macro blocks to macro blocks each having 16 lines wherein black , gray , white , and gray lines are displayed repeatedly in such order . if the enlarged macro blocks are merged into a frame - type picture , the enlarged picture contains 32 horizontal lines having repeated black , gray , white , and gray lines . as a result , if the enlarged picture is displayed by the progress scan scheme , a naturally enlarged image is obtained . on the other hand , in the case where the data received from the demultiplexer 31 are field - type pictures as illustrated in fig1 , the control unit 38 finds that an input picture is an even - field or an odd - field picture by checking the progressive_frame , progressive_sequence , and picture_structure information , as explained above with reference to fig7 and 8 . a macro block received by the macro block type converting unit 35 is either a frame - type macro block or a field - type macro block , as depicted in fig1 . if the 1 - bit dct_type field is verified to be ‘ 0 ’ by the macro block type detecting unit 37 , the control unit 38 finds that the corresponding macro block is discrete cosine transformed as a field type . if both of the source picture and the macro block are of field type , the macro block type converting unit 35 outputs the macro block to the decoder 36 with no converting operation , the operation being supervised by the control unit 38 . if the 1 - bit dct_type field is verified to be ‘ 1 ’ by the macro block type detecting unit 37 , the control unit 38 finds that the corresponding macro block is discrete cosine transformed as a frame type , which indicates that the source image and the corresponding macro block have different encoding types . in this case , the control unit 38 makes the encoding type of the macro block identical to that of the source image by having the macro block type converting unit 35 convert the encoding type of the - macro block into a field type . as a result , a frame - type original image having 8 black horizontal lines alternate with 8 white horizontal lines becomes made up of discrete cosine transformed macro blocks each having 8 black horizontal lines or 8 white horizontal lines , as shown in fig1 . the decoder 36 enlarges the macro blocks to macro blocks having 16 black horizontal lines or 16 white horizontal lines . if the enlarged macro blocks are merged into a field - type picture , the merged enlarged picture contains 16 black horizontal lines alternate with 16 white horizontal lines . as a result , if the enlarged picture is displayed by the interlaced scan scheme , black lines are displayed by the odd field and white lines are displayed by the even field , thereby presenting a naturally enlarged image . shown in fig1 is a block diagram of an optical disk apparatus such as a dvd player . the optical disk apparatus comprises an optical pickup 51 , a digital signal processing unit 52 , a parser 53 , an audio buffer 54 , a video buffer 55 , a data buffer 56 , and a decoder 58 including the zero appending unit 11 , the k - coefficient multiplying unit 12 , and the idct unit 13 . the optical disk apparatus further comprises a macro block type converting unit 57 , a macro block type detecting unit 59 , and a control unit 60 . all the components of the optical disk apparatus are operatively coupled . referring to fig1 , the optical pickup 51 reads signals recorded on an optical disk 50 ( or other recording medium ) and the digital signal processing unit 52 processes the signals received from the optical pickup 51 to produce a program stream ( ps ). the parser 53 converts the program stream into a packetized elementary stream ( pes ) and separates video , audio , and data from the packetized elementary stream . the video , audio , and data are provided to the video buffer 54 , the audio buffer 55 , and the data buffer 56 , respectively . the control unit 60 checks the progressive_frame , progressive_sequence , and picture_structure information to identify the encoding type of the source image stored on the optical disk 50 as discussed above , the information being reproduced from the optical disk 50 . the macro block type detecting unit 57 identifies the encoding type of a macro block by checking the dct_type field contained in the header of the macro block as discussed above . the macro block type converting unit 55 outputs macro blocks received through the video buffer 53 to the decoder 58 after converting the encoding type of the macro blocks or maintaining the original encoding type unchanged as discussed above . the decoder 58 resizes the input macro blocks into arbitrary resolutions using the zero appending unit 11 , the k - coefficient multiplying unit 12 , and the idct unit 13 . the macro block type converting unit 57 makes the encoding type of macro blocks identical to the encoding type of the original image as explained above with reference to fig1 and 11 , thereby producing an image normally enlarged by the discrete cosine transform . while the invention has been disclosed with respect to a limited number of embodiments , those skilled in the art , having the benefit of this disclosure , will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom . it is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
the proposed is a construction method to build with prefabricated masonry building blocks . the method reinforces the structure with conventional wood studs instead of rebar - reinforced cement . the wood studs form a skeleton that encloses and holds the masonry blocks around their entire perimeter . each studs of the skeleton are directly tied down to the foundation as seismic enforcement . the method leverage conventional carpentry skills to keep the overall building cost low . fig1 is a 3d overview of the design . an array of ω shape steel rails ( 2 ), made from metal , such as construction rebar , are embodied into the poured concrete foundation ( 1 ). the exposed parts of rail ( 2 ) along the foundation wall run in parallel with the foundation ( 1 ) throughout the entire foundation wall . they are positioned right under the edge of the prefabricated masonry panel blocks ( 5 ) so that the wood stud keys ( 4 ) can tied to it directly using metal strap - ties ( 3 ). an example of strap ( 3 ) is simpson strong - ties . in fig1 , straps ( 3 ) tie the studs ( 4 ) to the foundation ( 1 ) while straps ( 3 a ) tie the top rail ( 6 ) to the studs ( 4 ). so , blocks ( 5 ) are entirely under the hold - down enclosure . straps ( 3 b ) tie the roof truss or the second - floor wall to the top rail ( 6 ). straps ( 3 ), ( 3 a ), and ( 3 b ) are all nailed or bolted to the studs ( 4 ) using conventional carpentry method . in fig1 , strap ( 3 ) are threaded through under rail ( 2 ). it is easier to work with rail ( 2 ) than conventional anchor bolts and hold downs straps . it will not slip or break . it is also flexible to use . multiple strap ties can share one rail in all directions , like tying two boats on one cleat . strap ( 3 a ) and strap ( 3 b ) both are secured on one top rail ( 6 ). in fig1 , rails ( 2 ) are the anchors of the entire house throughout . they are cheaper , easier to work with , and stronger than conventional hold - down ties with the help of masonry blocks enclosing them . top rail ( 6 ) serves the same anchoring role to the second floor as rail ( 2 ) to the first floor . top rail ( 6 ) runs throughout the house wall perimeter on top of panel ( 5 ) to form a horizontal bound . rebar used for rail ( 6 ) is welded together . studs ( 4 ) can extend beyond the rail ( 6 ) from the first floor into second floor ( not shown in the drawing ). the extension of studs ( 4 ) will increase the binding across floor levels . in fig1 , the bottom of block ( 5 ) has a groove to receive rail ( 2 ). for aac construction , the groove can be carved out on - site . for cmu construction , the groove can be a knockout tab . during construction , a block ( 5 ) will sit onto foundation ( 1 ) surface , with moisture barrier and mortar cement ( not shown in drawing ) applied in between . fig1 shows how rails ( 2 ) serve as the anchor of the building . the same connection also applies to the traditional wood stick buildings , where each load - bearing stud is tied down to rails ( 2 ) with strap ( 3 ) ( not shown ) in the same way as shown in fig1 . fig2 - 1 is a front horizontal view from inside the house showing how wall blocks ( 5 ) are secured between foundation ( 1 ) and top rail ( 6 ) stud ( 4 ) and straps ( 3 ) and 3 a ). spacers ( 7 ) raise rail ( 6 ) so that straps ( 3 b ) can thread through under rail ( 6 ). the dashed line in fig2 - 1 represents a soft strip ( 2 - 1 - 1 ), such as rubber band , wrapped around the stud ( 4 ) every foot or two to create a gap between block ( 5 ) and the stud ( 4 ). strip ( 2 - 1 - 1 ) can also be foam tapes or pad to keep a gap in between , which is important to keep moisture away from entering the wood stud key ( 4 ). blocks ( 5 ) carry the dead load of the house and studs ( 4 ) carry the shake forces during earthquake and wind . however , wood and masonry materials have different properties . one important consideration of this design is to integrate the two and prevent wood stud key ( 4 ) from absorbing moisture from cement . the proposed solution utilize gaps between the two to absorb force spikes on wood and to block moisture penetration into wood . fig2 - 2 is a top sectional view of the join . a groove at the side of block ( 5 ) has two uneven shoulders . the exterior side has higher shoulder ( called primary shoulder ) that yields a smaller gap ( 9 ), which is filled by construction glue or caulking toward at the end of construction phase . the interior side has a much lower shoulder ( called secondary shoulder ) that exposes most of the wood stud ( 4 ) in gap ( 8 ). gap ( 8 ) renders space for nailing straps to the studs during framing . it also makes inspection easy . gap ( 8 ) can also be the channel for utility routing . importantly , gap ( 8 ) is the moisture escape route to keep the stud ( 4 ) dry . during finish , the cover of gap ( 8 ) must be breathable , like wood or drywall . fig2 - 3 is the detail of fig2 - 2 to show how gaps are made . the groove is tapered in toward the bottom to leave side gaps ( 12 ) on both side of stud ( 4 ). the corners at the bottom are rounded or slightly raised to retain gap ( 10 ) at the bottom . gaps ( 10 ) ensure the minimum contact between the stud ( 4 ) and blocks ( 5 ). gaps ( 10 ) and ( 12 ) are filled with soft based waterproofing construction sealant or glue during construction , optionally , with sheet of waterproofing membrane . therefore , gaps ( 10 ) and ( 12 ), with the waterproof agent , shield moisture from the stud ( 4 ). fig2 - 3 also shows toenails ( 11 ) applied to enhance the binding between stud ( 4 ) and block ( 5 ). toenails ( 11 ) are applied at an interval along the stud ( 4 ). in case of cmu , said toenail ( 11 ) is in fact a metal plate going into the seam of block ( 5 ) stack and nailed to the stud ( 4 ). in fig2 - 2 , the lower shoulder , could be reduced to 0 - height relying only on toenail ( 11 ) to secure the stud ( 4 ). optionally , add - on wedges are used in gap ( 8 ) to help secure the stud ( 4 ) ( not shown in the drawing .) at a 90 - degree corner turn , the groove shown in fig2 - 2 will not be on the ends , but on the inside of the turn . the adjacent block will join to that groove to form the 90 - degree turn . ( not shown in drawings .) building code specifies maximum spacing between wood floor joists (& lt ; 16 ″ in us ). if the width of block ( 5 ) is the same as the maximum spacing , all joists ( 41 ) will line up to and secure to the studs ( 4 ) with nailing or strap - ties . when the width of block ( 5 ) is wider than the joist spacing , fig2 - 7 and fig2 - 8 show how wood floor joists ( 41 ) integrate in the design . in this case , some joists ( 41 ) are off from studs ( 4 ) and run into block ( 5 ). a vertical groove ( 42 ) is needed at the bottom of the block ( 5 ) to receive joist ( 41 ) and hold it upright . groove ( 42 ) can be either pre - molded into panel ( 5 ) or cut on site . fig2 - 8 includes some sample dimensions for the 8 ″- thick block ( 5 ) to demonstrate feasibility of the profile with masonry materials . in other words , block ( 5 ) will not be too thin to break off easily . all joists ( 41 ) sit on foundation ( 1 ) with required waterproof application and are secured to rails ( 2 ) by strap ties ( not shown in the drawing ). the proposed design makes it easy to join wood building components with masonry building by anchoring on wood key studs ( 4 ). fig5 - 1 shows how to install a wood header ( 5 - 1 - 1 ), which is sit on a column of shorter trimmer block ( 5 - 1 - 2 ) and secured to stud ( 4 ). top rail ( 6 ) is immediately above the header ( 5 - 1 - 1 ). extra straps ( 3 a ) secure the header ( 5 - 1 - 1 ) to rail ( 6 ). the bottom of a trimmer key ( 5 - 1 - 3 ) is secured by a horizontal strap ( 5 - 1 - 4 ) anchored on the neighboring rail ( 2 ), and by a regular strap ( 3 ) to the rail ( 2 ) directly under it ( not repeated in the drawing ). the top of the trimmer key ( 5 - 1 - 3 ) connects to the header ( 5 - 1 - 1 ) in the typical wood - to - wood connection . the header beam can also be made of rebar - reinforcement masonry lintel ( not shown in drawings ), which is considered as a wider block ( 5 ), with the same profile at each end to connect to studs ( 5 ). fig5 - 2 shows how a wood roof truss ( 5 - 2 - 1 ) is secured by strap - tying to the rail ( 6 ). trusses ( 5 - 2 - 1 ) sit on the risers ( 5 - 2 - 2 ) and tied - down by strap ( 3 b ). fig6 shows how wall made of block ( 5 ) join with roof panels ( 22 ), which are often full - length aac panels . roof join key stud ( 6 - 1 - 1 ) is the same as stud ( 4 ) for walls is tied to rail ( 6 ) by strap ( 6 - 1 - 2 ) and ridge rail ( 6 - 1 - 3 ) by strap ( 6 - 1 - 4 ). starting from a corner , a column of block ( 5 ) is set . then , the stud ( 4 ) is attached to the column with applied glue , padding , and membrane . strap ( 3 ) is nailed to stud ( 4 ) looping over rail ( 2 ). then , repeat the step on the next column of blocks . once the first level wall is completed , install wood floor joists ( 41 ) resting on foundation ( 1 ) in gap ( 8 ) or in groove ( 41 ). then , secure them to the rail ( 2 ), or to rail ( 6 ) for higher floors . next , add the top rail ( 6 ) and secure to it with all studs ( 4 ) with strap ( 3 a ), followed by installing roof or upper floor . interior wood stud walls are anchored to studs ( 4 ) in gap ( 8 ). utility lines can also be routed in gap ( 8 ). every structure connection subject to inspection is exposed through gap ( 8 ). finally , gaps ( 8 ) and gaps ( 9 ) are covered during finish work . | 4 |
referring initially to fig1 a bicycle 10 is illustrated with a pair of bicycle wheels 12 and 13 in accordance with the present invention . the bicycle wheels 12 and 13 , as discussed below , are designed such that after assembly , the wheels 12 and 13 are more round than conventional wheels with similar spoking arrangements . the bicycle 10 basically has a frame 14 with front and rear wheels 12 and 13 rotatably coupled thereto . a conventional drive train 15 is operatively coupled the rear wheel 13 for propelling the bicycle 10 . a front fork 17 is coupled between the frame 14 and the front wheel 12 in a conventional manner . the front wheel 12 is turned by turning a handlebar 18 , which is fixedly coupled to the front fork 17 . the rear wheel 13 is rotatably coupled to a rear portion of the frame 14 . the frame 14 also has a seat 19 adjustably coupled to frame 14 . since the parts of the bicycle 10 are well known in the art , the parts of the bicycle 10 will not be discussed or illustrated in detail herein , except as they are modified in accordance with the present invention . moreover , various conventional bicycle parts such as brakes , derailleurs , additional sprockets , etc ., which are not illustrated and / or discussed in detail herein , can be used in conjunction with the present invention . turning now to fig2 - 8 , the front wheel 12 basically includes the front bicycle hub 20 , a plurality of outwardly extending spokes 22 and an annular rim 24 with a pneumatic tire 26 coupled thereto in a conventional manner . in the illustrated embodiment , the front wheel 12 has sixteen spokes 22 extending generally in a radial direction between the front hub 20 and the annular rim 24 . of course , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the front wheel 12 can have fewer or more spokes 22 than illustrated without departing from the present invention , if needed and / or desired . the rim 24 is constructed of a substantially rigid material , such as those materials , which are well known in the art . for example , the rim 24 can be constructed of any suitable metallic material , such as plated steel , stainless steel , aluminum , magnesium or titanium , as well as other non - metallic materials , such as a carbon fiber composite , which can be utilized for a bicycle wheel . the rim 24 is relatively conventional , except for their shape . as discussed below in more detail , the rim 24 has a generally octagonal shape prior to assembly as seen in fig5 . this octagonal shape of the rim 24 is design to improve the roundness of the wheel due to the deformation caused by the spokes 22 . basically , the spokes 22 are under placed under tension during assembly , which in turn causes the rim 24 to deform radially inwardly as explained below in more detail . still referring to fig2 - 4 and 6 - 8 , the general construction of the front wheel 12 will now be described in more detail to better understand the present invention . the front hub 20 is a well known hub in the art . thus , the hub 20 will not be discussed or illustrated in detail herein . moreover , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the construction of the hub 20 can be modified from the hub illustrated herein without departing from the scope of the present invention . moreover , the front hub 20 is designed to have sixteen tangentially arranged spokes 22 . however , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the hub 20 can be designed for tangential and / or radial spokes with more or fewer spokes as needed and / or desired . basically , the front hub 20 has a tubular body 30 with a pair of end mounting flanges 32 for mounting spokes 22 thereto . each end flange 32 has four spoke attachment points or members with a pair of spoke holes 34 formed in each of the spoke attachment members for coupling the spokes 22 thereto . the tubular body section 30 rotatably supports an axle 36 therein about a center axis of rotation a by a pair of bearing assemblies ( not shown ). each of the spoke holes 34 preferably has a step shaped configuration for attaching the spokes 22 thereto . as mentioned above , the number and shape of the spoke attachment points of the end flanges 32 will depend on the number of spokes and their shapes . accordingly , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that other types and shapes of hubs can be utilized in connection with the present invention . each of the spokes 22 has an outer end portion 40 , a center middle portion 42 and an inner end portion 44 . the outer end portions 40 are in the shape of spoke heads that are coupled to the rim 24 by reinforcement members or washers 48 . the reinforcement washers 48 are designed to disperse the stress applied to the rim 24 by the spokes 22 . of course , the present invention can be carried out without the use of reinforcement members as illustrated herein , as needed and / or desired . the straight center portion 42 of each spoke 22 is located radially inwardly of its respective outer end portion 40 , and its respective inner end portion 44 is located radially inwardly of its respective center portion 42 . the inner end portions 44 are coupled to the front hub 20 utilizing spoke nipples 46 in a conventional manner . preferably the outer end portion 40 , the center portion 42 and the inner end portion 44 are constructed as a unitary , one - piece member with the spoke nipples 46 threadedly coupled to the inner end portion 44 of each of the spokes 22 for connection to the hub 20 . as best seen in fig6 and 8 , the outer end portions 40 of the spokes 22 have a bent section 40 a with an enlarged head 40 b at the free end of the bent section 40 a . the bent section 40 a has a circular cross - section of a predetermined diameter or width . the head 40 a has a larger diameter or width to secure the spoke 22 to the rim 24 via the reinforcement washer 48 . the center portions 42 and the inner end portions 44 each have a circular or elliptical cross - section . of course , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the entire length of the spokes 22 can be substantially uniform along its entire cross - section , if needed and / or desired . it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that constant cross - section spokes can be utilized or spokes with varying cross - sections can be utilized as needed and / or desired . referring again to fig4 the inner end portions 44 of the spokes 22 are threaded for receiving the conventional spoke nipples 46 thereon . more specifically , the inner end portions 44 of the spokes 22 are inserted through one end of the bores 34 of the hub 20 , and then the spoke nipples 46 are inserted through the other end of the bores 34 . the headed or flanged portion of the spoke nipples 46 engage an internal abutment surface of the bore 34 to fixedly secure inner end portions 34 of the spokes 22 to the hub 20 . accordingly , the spokes 22 can be tightened in a substantially conventional manner between the hub 20 and the rim 24 such that the spokes 22 are placed under tension . in other words , when the spokes 22 are placed under tension , the spokes 22 apply a radially inwardly directed force on the rim 24 at various points on the rim 24 . these tension forces of the spokes 22 cause the rim 24 to deform inwardly at the points where the spokes 22 are coupled to the rim 24 as discussed below . referring now to fig5 and 8 , the rim 24 is a so - called deep rim in which the rim &# 39 ; s radial height is greater than the rim &# 39 ; s radial width . of course , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that other types of rims can be utilized in connection with the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention . the rim 24 is designed to secure the tire 26 thereto in a conventional manner . in particular , in this embodiment , the rim 24 is a “ clinchers ” type of rim . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the rim can be a “ tubular ” type of rim in which the tire 26 is fastened thereto by rim cement . in other words , the rim 24 can have other shapes to accommodate other types of tire arrangements as needed and / or desired without departing from the scope of the present invention . as seen in fig5 the rim 24 has a substantially octagonal shape . it should be noted that this substantially octagonal shape is exaggerated in fig5 for the purposes of illustration . of course , the precise shape of the outer periphery of the rim 24 will depend upon the number of spokes 22 being utilized and / or their arrangements . in this embodiment , there are eight pairs of spokes 22 such that tension from the spokes 22 is concentrated at eight points on the rim 24 . thus , the rim 24 can be divided into sixteen rim areas or sections 24 a and 24 b . more specifically , the rim 24 has eight spoke attachment areas 24 a and eight non - spoke attachment areas 24 b that are located between the spoke attachment areas 24 a . the outer peripheral edges of the spoke attachment areas 24 a have a first radii r 1 extending from the center axis a of the rim 24 , while the outer peripheral edges of the non - spoke attachment areas 24 b have second radii r 2 extending from the center axis of the rim . the first radii r 1 of the spoke attachment areas 24 a are larger than the second radii r 2 of the non - spoke attachment areas 24 b , since the tension from the spokes 22 deforms the spoke attachment areas 24 a in a generally radially inward direction . thus , the tension of the spokes 22 deforms the rim 24 such that the spoke attachment areas 24 a move radially inwardly so that the radii of the spoke attachment areas 24 a substantially match the non - spoke attachment areas 24 b as compared to a round conventional rim that has a circular outer peripheral edge prior to deformation by the tension of the spokes . for example , a round conventional rim ( circular prior to assembly ) will typical have the radii of the rim varying in length from about 0 . 4 mm to about 0 . 6 mm depending on the tension in the spokes . in the rim 24 of the present invention , the radii of the rim 24 will only vary about 16 mm in length to produce a more round wheel . in this preferred embodiment , the spoke attachment areas 24 a extend for approximately 20 °, while the non - spoke attachment areas 24 b extend along an arc of approximately 25 °. while the non - spoke attachment areas 24 b are shown as relatively straight tubular sections , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the non - spoke attachment portions can be slightly curved . in any event , the rim 24 is constructed such that its outer periphery has a non - circular outer periphery arranged about the center axis a of the rim 24 such that by tightening the spokes 22 the rim 24 is deformed inwardly in a generally radial direction to become more circular . more specifically , the tightening of the spokes 22 results in the rim 24 having first radii r 1 at the spoke attachment areas 24 a that are larger than second radii r 2 at the non - spoke attachment areas 24 b . in other words , the spoke attachment areas 24 a are areas of high deformation , while the non - spoke attachment areas 24 b are areas of low deformation . in contrast , a conventional rim is initially substantially circular , and thus , the spoke attachment areas will be deformed inwardly in a generally radial direction to become less circular . in other words , in a conventional rim , the spoke attachment areas have smaller radii than the radii of the non - spoke attachment areas . referring again to fig7 and 8 , the rim 24 is an annular member that has an outer annular outer tire attachment portion 50 , a pair of annular spoke attachment or side portions 52 and an inner annular portion 54 . the outer annular portion 50 extends between the annular spoke attachment portions 52 and is adapted to receive a pneumatic tire 26 thereon . the general shape of the cross - sectional profile of the rim is illustrated and discussed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 283 , 557 , issued on sep . 4 , 2001 and assigned to shimano , inc . thus , the cross - sectional profile of the rim 24 will not be discussed and / or illustrated in detail herein . preferably , the outer annular portion 50 of the rim 24 has a substantially “ u - shaped ” cross - section adapted to receive a clincher type pneumatic tire 26 . the outer annular portion 50 of the rim includes first and second clincher attachment flanges 56 with first and second annular beads 57 . the outer peripheral edges of the beads 57 define the outer peripheral edges of the rim 24 . the inner radially facing surfaces of the beads 57 have an annular contour that is identical to the outer peripheral edge of the rim 24 , except that the inner radially facing surfaces of the beads 57 have smaller radii than the outer peripheral edges of the rim 24 . the rim 24 is preferably constructed utilizing conventional manufacturing techniques for producing bicycle rims . more specifically , the rim 24 of the illustrated embodiment is initially formed as an extruded tube that is shaped to form a somewhat octagon shape as seen in fig5 . the ends of the tube are welded together along a weld or seam 53 to form a continuous annular , tubular member . in this embodiment , the annular spoke attachment portions 52 face in substantially opposite axial directions , and include a plurality of spoke openings 58 . in this illustrated embodiment , eight spoke openings 58 are formed on each of the annular spoke attachment portions 52 to form first and second sets of spoke openings 58 . more specifically , the first spoke openings 58 on the first annular spoke attachment portions 52 are equally space apart in the circumferential direction . likewise , the second spoke openings 58 on the second annular spoke attachment portion 52 are evenly spaced apart in the circumferential direction . in this embodiment , the first spoke openings 58 are circumferentially offset by a few degrees from the second spoke openings 58 . thus , the spoke openings 58 are located in the spoke attachment areas 24 a of the rim 24 . turning now to fig9 - 11 , the rear wheel 13 is basically identical to the front wheel 12 , except for the rear bicycle hub 20 ′. thus , the parts of the rear wheel 13 that are identical to the parts of the front wheel 12 will be given the same reference numerals as the parts of front wheel 12 . in other words , the rear wheel 13 includes the identical rim 24 as the front wheel 12 with sixteen spokes 22 extending generally in a radial direction between the rear hub 20 ′ and the annular rim 24 . in view of the similarity between the front and rear wheels 12 and 13 , the descriptions of the parts of the rear wheel 13 that are identical to the parts of the front wheel 12 have been omitted for the sake of brevity . the rear hub 20 ′ is a well known hub in the art . thus , the rear hub 20 ′ will not be discussed or illustrated in detail herein . moreover , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the construction of the rear hub 20 ′ can be modified from the hub illustrated herein without departing from the scope of the present invention . moreover , the rear hub 20 ′ is designed to have sixteen tangentially arranged spokes 22 . however , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the rear hub 20 ′ can be designed for tangential and / or radial spokes with more or fewer spokes as needed and / or desired . basically , the rear hub 20 ′ has a tubular body 30 ′ with a pair of end mounting flanges 32 ′ for mounting spokes 22 thereto . each end flange 32 ′ has four spoke attachment points or members with a pair of spoke holes 34 ′ formed in each of the spoke attachment members for coupling the spokes 22 thereto . the tubular body section 30 ′ rotatably supports an axle 36 ′ therein about a center axis of rotation a by a pair of bearing assemblies ( not shown ). each of the spoke holes 34 ′ preferably has a step shaped configuration for attaching the spokes 22 thereto . the axle 36 ′ has a freewheel 38 ′ that supports a sprocket assembly 39 ′ ( fig1 ). it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the number and shape of the spoke attachment points of the end flanges 32 ′ will depend on the number of spokes 22 and their shapes . accordingly , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that other types and shapes of hubs can be utilized in connection with the present invention . referring now to fig1 - 14 , a rim 124 is illustrated in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention . the rim 124 can be utilized with spokes 22 and either the front hub 20 or the rear hub 20 ′ to form either a front wheel or a rear wheel as needed and / or desired . the rim 124 is a tubular type of rim . the rim 124 is substantially identical to rim 24 , discussed above , except that rim 124 does not include clincher attachment flanges . in view of the similarities between the first embodiment and the second embodiment , the second embodiment will not be discussed or illustrated in detail herein . rather , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the description of the first embodiment applies to the description of the second embodiment , except for the attachment of the tire thereto . as seen in fig1 , the rim 124 has a substantially octagonal shape that is the same as the rim 24 , discussed above . it should be noted that this substantially octagonal shape is exaggerated in fig1 for the purposes of illustration . of course , the precise shape of the outer periphery of the rim 124 will depend upon the number of spokes being utilized and / or their arrangements . in this embodiment , there are eight pairs of spokes such that tension from the spokes is concentrated at eight points on the rim 124 , similar to the first embodiment . thus , the rim 124 can be divided into sixteen rim areas or sections 124 a and 124 b . more specifically , the rim 124 has eight spoke attachment areas 124 a and eight non - spoke attachment areas 124 b that are located between the spoke attachment areas 124 a . the outer peripheral edges of the spoke attachment areas 124 a have a first radii r 1 extending from the center axis a of the rim 124 , while the outer peripheral edges of the non - spoke attachment areas 124 b have second radii r 2 extending from the center axis of the rim 124 . the first radii r 1 of the spoke attachment areas 124 a are larger than the second radii r 2 of the non - spoke attachment areas 124 b , since the tension from the spokes 122 deforms the spoke attachment areas 124 a inwardly in a generally radially direction . thus , the tension of the spokes deforms the rim 124 such that the spoke attachment areas 124 a move radially inwardly so that the radii of the spoke attachment areas 124 a substantially match the non - spoke attachment areas 124 b as compared to a conventional rim that has a circular outer peripheral edge prior to deformation by the tension of the spokes . in any event , the rim 124 is constructed such that its outer periphery has a non - circular outer periphery arranged about the center axis a of the rim 124 such that by tightening the spokes the rim 124 is deformed inwardly in a generally radial direction to become more circular . more specifically , the tightening of the spokes results in the rim 124 having first radii r 1 at the spoke attachment areas 124 a that are larger than second radii r 2 at the non - spoke attachment areas 124 b . in other words , the spoke attachment areas 124 a are areas of high deformation , while the non - spoke attachment areas 124 b are areas of low deformation . in contrast , a conventional rim is initially substantially circular , and thus , the spoke attachment areas will be deformed inwardly in a generally radial direction to become less circular . in other words , in a conventional rim , the spoke attachment areas have smaller radii than the radii of the non - spoke attachment areas . referring to fig1 and 14 , the rim 124 is an annular member that has an outer annular outer tire attachment portion 150 , a pair of annular spoke attachment or side portions 152 and an inner annular portion 154 . the outer annular portion 150 is adapted to receive a pneumatic tire thereon . the general shape of the cross - sectional profile of the rim is illustrated and discussed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 234 , 580 , issued on may 22 , 2001 and assigned to shimano , inc . thus , the cross - sectional profile of the rim 124 will not be discussed and / or illustrated in detail herein . preferably , the outer annular portion 150 of the rim 124 portion is an axially curved tire cementing surface as viewed in cross section that is adapted to receive a pneumatic tire . the outer peripheral edges of the annular spoke attachment portions 152 define the outer peripheral edges of the rim 124 . the outer annular portion 150 and the annular spoke attachment portions 152 have an annular contour that is identical to the outer peripheral edge of the rim 24 , except that the outer annular portion 150 has smaller radii than the outer peripheral edges of the rim 24 . referring now to fig1 and 16 , a rear wheel 213 is illustrated in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention . in view of the similarities between this third embodiment and the prior embodiments , this third embodiment will not be discussed or illustrated herein . the rear wheel 213 utilizes a rim 224 that has an octagonal shape similar to fig5 prior to placing the spokes 22 under tension to deform the rim 224 . thus , the rim 224 is constructed to deform in the same manner as the first embodiment . however , the spoking arrangement of the rear wheel 213 has been changed to have radially arranged spokes on the freewheel side of the hub 220 and tangential spokes on the opposite ( non - freewheel ) side of the hub 220 . thus , the rim 224 is identical to the rim 24 , discussed above , except that the spacing of the spoke holes 258 have been changed to accommodate the different spoking arrangement . specifically , the first and second sets of spoke openings 258 are axially aligned in the rear wheel 213 . in other words , the first and second spoke openings 258 on the opposite sides of the spoke attachment portions 252 are coincident . as seen in fig1 , the rim 224 has an octagonal shape similar to the first and second embodiment , prior to assembly . the cross - sectional profile of the rim 224 has the same profile as the first embodiment . of course , the rim 224 can have the same profile as the second embodiment as needed and / or desired . moreover , while the rim 224 is designed to have sixteen tension spokes 22 . however , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the rim 224 can be designed with more or fewer spokes as needed and / or desired . also the rear wheel 213 can be designed with radially arranged spokes on the non - freewheel side of the hub 220 and tangential spokes the freewheel side of the hub 220 . in this embodiment , there are eight pairs of spokes such that tension from the spokes is concentrated at eight points on the rim 224 , similar to the first embodiment . thus , the rim 224 can be divided into sixteen rim areas or sections 224 a and 224 b . more specifically , the rim 214 has eight spoke attachment areas 224 a and eight non - spoke attachment areas 224 b that are located between the spoke attachment areas 224 a . the outer peripheral edges of the spoke attachment areas 224 a have a first radii r 1 extending from the center axis a of the rim 224 , while the outer peripheral edges of the non - spoke attachment areas 224 b have second radii r 2 extending from the center axis of the rim 224 . the first radii r 1 of the spoke attachment areas 224 a are larger than the second radii r 2 of the non - spoke attachment areas 224 b , since the tension from the spokes 222 deforms the spoke attachment areas 224 a inwardly in a generally radially direction . thus , the tension of the spokes deforms the rim 224 such that the spoke attachment areas 224 a move radially inwardly so that the radii of the spoke attachment areas 224 a substantially match the non - spoke attachment areas 224 b as compared to a conventional rim that has a circular outer peripheral edge prior to deformation by the tension of the spokes . in any event , the rim 224 is constructed such that its outer periphery has a non - circular outer periphery arranged about the center axis a of the rim 224 such that by tightening the spokes the rim 224 is deformed inwardly in a generally radial direction to become more circular . more specifically , the tightening of the spokes results in the rim 224 having first radii r 1 at the spoke attachment areas 224 a that are larger than second radii r 2 at the non - spoke attachment areas 224 b . in other words , the spoke attachment areas 224 a are areas of high deformation , while the non - spoke attachment areas 224 b are areas of low deformation . in contrast , a conventional rim is initially substantially circular , and thus , the spoke attachment areas will be deformed inwardly in a generally radial direction to become less circular . in other words , in a conventional rim , the spoke attachment areas have smaller radii than the radii of the non - spoke attachment areas . referring now to fig1 and 18 , a rear wheel 313 is illustrated in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention . in view of the similarities between this fourth embodiment and the prior embodiments , this fourth embodiment will not be discussed or illustrated herein . the rear wheel 313 utilizes a rim 324 that has an octagonal shape similar to fig5 prior to placing the spokes 22 under tension to deform the rim 324 . thus , the rim 324 is constructed to deform in the same manner as the first embodiment . however , the spoking arrangement of the rear wheel 313 has been changed to have radially arranged spokes on the freewheel side of the hub 320 and tangential spokes on the opposite ( non - freewheel ) side of the hub 320 . thus , the rim 324 is identical to the rim 24 , discussed above , except that the spacing of the spoke holes 358 have been changed to accommodate the different spoking arrangement . specifically , the first and second sets of spoke openings 358 are arranged in groupings of three in the rear wheel 313 . as seen in fig1 , the rim 324 has an octagonal shape similar to the first and second embodiment , prior to assembly . the cross - sectional profile of the rim 324 has the same profile as the first embodiment . of course , the rim 324 can have the same profile as the second embodiment as needed and / or desired . moreover , while the rim 324 is designed to have twenty - four tension spokes 22 . however , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the rim 324 can be designed with more or fewer spokes as needed and / or desired . also the rear wheel 313 can be designed with radially arranged spokes on the non - freewheel side of the hub 320 and tangential spokes the freewheel side of the hub 320 . in this embodiment , there are eight groupings of three spokes such that tension from the spokes is concentrated at eight points on the rim 324 , similar to the first embodiment . thus , the rim 324 can be divided into sixteen rim areas or sections 324 a and 324 b . more specifically , the rim 324 has eight spoke attachment areas 324 a and eight non - spoke attachment areas 324 b that are located between the spoke attachment areas 324 a . the outer peripheral edges of the spoke attachment areas 324 a have a first radii r 1 extending from the center axis a of the rim 324 , while the outer peripheral edges of the non - spoke attachment areas 324 b have second radii r 2 extending from the center axis of the rim 324 . the first radii r 1 of the spoke attachment areas 324 a are larger than the second radii r 2 of the non - spoke attachment areas 324 b , since the tension from the spokes 322 deforms the spoke attachment areas 24 a inwardly in a generally radially direction . thus , the tension of the spokes deforms the rim 324 such that the spoke attachment areas 324 a move radially inwardly so that the radii of the spoke attachment areas 324 a substantially match the non - spoke attachment areas 324 b as compared to a conventional rim that has a circular outer peripheral edge prior to deformation by the tension of the spokes . in any event , the rim 24 is constructed such that its outer periphery has a non - circular outer periphery arranged about the center axis a of the rim 324 such that by tightening the spokes the rim 324 is deformed inwardly in a generally radial direction to become more circular . more specifically , the tightening of the spokes results in the rim 324 having first radii r 1 at the spoke attachment areas 324 a that are larger than second radii r 2 at the non - spoke attachment areas 324 b . in other words , the spoke attachment areas 324 a are areas of high deformation , while the non - spoke attachment areas 324 b are areas of low deformation . in contrast , a conventional rim is initially substantially circular , and thus , the spoke attachment areas will be deformed inwardly in a generally radial direction to become less circular . in other words , in a conventional rim , the spoke attachment areas have smaller radii than the radii of the non - spoke attachment areas . the terms of degree such as “ substantially ”, “ generally ”, “ about ” and “ approximately ” as used herein mean a reasonable amount of deviation of the modified term such that the end result is not significantly changed . these terms should be construed as including a deviation of at least ± 5 % of the modified term if this deviation would not negate the meaning of the word it modifies . while only selected embodiments have been chosen to illustrate the present invention , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that various changes and modifications can be made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . furthermore , the foregoing description of the embodiments according to the present invention are provided for illustration only , and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents . | 1 |
the ensuing description provides embodiments only , and is not intended to limit the scope , applicability , or configuration of the claims . rather , the ensuing description will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing the described embodiments . it being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims . fig1 shows an illustrative embodiment of a communication system 100 . the system 100 may include a reader 104 that is configured to read and analyze credentials 112 . in some embodiments , the reader 104 corresponds to an access control reader and the reader 104 is configured to secure one or more physical or logical assets unless a valid credential 112 is presented to the reader 104 . in some embodiments , the reader 104 comprises a credential interface 140 which enables the reader 104 to exchange commands and / or messages with the credential 112 . in some embodiments , the credential interface 140 includes one or more of an antenna , an array of antennas , and / or a near field communications ( nfc ) interface . as will be discussed in greater detail below , the credential interface 140 may correspond to a wireless communication interface which includes at least one antenna that enables the reader 104 to generate an rf field that energizes the credential 112 when the credential is within a predetermined range of the reader 104 . in response to receiving rf energy from the reader 104 , the credential 112 may generate one or more messages containing authentication data which are transmitted back to the reader 104 . the reader 104 receives the messages via the credential interface 140 and utilizes reader functionality 128 within the reader core 124 to process the received messages . the reader 104 may be adapted to communicate with the credential 112 via contactless communication protocol . examples of communication protocols employed by the reader 104 to communicate with a credential 112 include one or more known rf - based communications ( e . g ., iso 14443a , iso14443b , iso 15693 , nfc , bluetooth , rubee , zigbee , wifi , and any other type of communication protocol that utilizes an rf field at 125 khz or 13 . 56 mhz , for example ) as well as other known or yet to be developed communication protocols . one exemplary type of credential interface 140 allows the reader 104 to exchange messages with the credential 112 using 13 . 56 mhz carrier waves . the reader core 124 may correspond to a controller , processor , microprocessor , memory , application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), firmware , virtual machine , combinations thereof , and / or other hardware devices which enable the reader 104 to execute certain reader functions . in some embodiments , the reader functionality 124 comprises processor - executable instructions that , when executed by a processor , enable the reader 104 to exchange messages with the credential 112 , analyze authentication data received from the credential 112 , analyze any other inputs ( e . g ., user inputs and / or biometric inputs ) received at the reader 104 , and determine if a holder of the credential 112 is entitled to gain access to the one or more assets secured by the reader 104 . in addition to the credential interface 140 , the reader 104 may also be provided with a user interface 144 . the user interface allows a user to interact directly with the reader 104 . the user interface 144 may include one or more user inputs , one or more user outputs , or a combination user input / output . exemplary user inputs include , without limitation , keypads , buttons , switches , microphones , fingerprint scanners , retinal scanners , cameras , and the like . exemplary user outputs include , without limitation , lights , display screens ( projection , lcd , led array , plasma , etc . ), individual led , speakers , buzzers , etc . exemplary combination user input / outputs may include a touch - screen interface or any other type of interface which is capable of simultaneously displaying a user output and receiving a user input . in some embodiments , the credential interface 140 and user interface 144 are in communication with the reader core 124 and have the operations thereof controlled by the modules contained within the reader core 124 . in some embodiments , the communication system 100 may enable a customer to access a reader 104 via their computing device 116 . in particular , the reader 104 may be configured to exchange one or more messages with the computing device 116 via a communication network 120 . the communication network 120 may comprise any type of known communication network including wired and wireless or combinations of communication networks and may span long or small distances . the protocols used by the communication network 120 to facilitate computing device 116 / reader 104 communications may include , but is not limited to , the tcp / ip protocol , simple network management protocol ( snmp ), power of ethernet ( poe ), wiegand protocol , lon , bacnet , s - net , hadp , osdp , rs 232 , rs 485 , current loop , bluetooth , zigbee , gsm , sms , wifi , and combinations thereof . in some embodiments , the communication network 120 corresponds to a wide area network ( wan ), such as the internet . in some embodiments , the communication network 120 corresponds to a local area network ( lan ) or a simple cable ( e . g ., universal serial bus ( usb ) cable , ethernet cable , etc .) which connects the reader 104 and computing device 116 . in some embodiments , the computing device 148 comprises an operating system 148 , a web browser application 152 , and a user interface 156 . the operating system 148 , in some embodiments , is a high - level application that facilitates interactions between various other applications stored on the computing device 116 and hardware components of the reader 104 . exemplary types of operating systems 148 include a windows ® operating system , a mac os operating system , a linux operating system , or a virtual machine running a version thereof . the user interface 156 represents one type of hardware component on the computing device 116 . in some embodiments , the user interface 156 provides a user with the ability to view and interact with the various applications stored on the computing device 116 . in particular , the user interface 156 enables the user to provide user inputs to the computing device 116 as well as view and / or hear user outputs generated by the operating system 148 and / or web browser application 152 . although an operating system 148 is depicted in fig1 , one skilled in the art will appreciate that the operating system 148 may not be necessary to execute the desired functions of the computing device 116 . in particular , the web browser 152 may be dual - purposed to also act as the operating system of the computing device 116 . the web browser 152 enables the computing device 116 to interact with a web server 132 provided in the reader core 124 . the web browser 152 may correspond to any type of known web browser application such as internet explorer , firefox , safari , google chrome , opera , etc . the web browser 152 is configured to exchange messages with the web server 132 using a hypertext markup language ( html ), secured html , a file transfer protocol ( ftp ), or any other known protocol used to exchange web content between networked devices . in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure , the web browser 152 enables a user of the computing device 116 to access one or more antenna calculation pages 136 provided by the web server 132 . in some embodiments , the antenna calculation pages 136 describe methods of optimizing the credential interface 140 of the reader 104 . more specifically , the antenna calculation pages 136 may provide detailed instructions which guide a user of the reader 104 in optimizing a tuning network of the credential interface 140 that interacts with an antenna of the credential interface 140 . in some embodiments , the antenna calculation pages 136 provide the ability to automatically calculate optimal parameters of a tuning network that should be implemented at the reader 104 so as to accommodate the type and configuration of antenna that has been incorporated in the credential interface 140 . stated another way , the antenna calculation pages 136 may provide instructions for measuring certain properties of an antenna that is to be or has been incorporated into the credential interface 140 , algorithms for calculating an optimal tuning network to operate in conjunction with the antenna that is to be or has been incorporated into the credential interface 140 . the antenna calculation pages 136 may also provide richer content that enables a user to visually see how the antenna is to be configured in the credential interface 140 , what values were assumed in optimizing the tuning network of the credential interface 140 , and / or see an exemplary optimized tuning network and the parameters associated therewith . the antenna calculation pages 136 are intended to minimize the difficulty previously encountered by purchasers of readers 104 that are not necessarily capable of properly optimizing a tuning network of the credential interface 140 on their own . the antenna calculation pages 136 are useful to provide users with a quick and easy way of determining an optimized tuning network for a reader and antenna . in some embodiments , the antenna calculation pages 136 are run in java script or some other known web - development language . moreover , the antenna calculation pages 136 may be configured to provide the reader functionality with information related to an optimized tuning network and the reader functionality 128 may comprise the ability to automatically tune the reader 104 based on calculations obtained via the antenna calculation pages 136 . as one example , an auto - tuning reader 104 utilizing the various auto - tuning mechanisms described in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 439 , 860 to andresky , the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference , may be implemented by the reader functionality 128 based on inputs received from the execution of the antenna calculation pages 136 . with reference now to fig2 - 9 exemplary issues solved by the antenna calculation pages 136 will be described in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure . as noted above , the antenna calculation pages 136 may be provided to support rf design issues for the reader core 124 . fig2 depicts additional details of an exemplary reader core 124 that includes a microcontroller configured to interact with a usb port , uart port , and / or user interface 144 . in some embodiments , an ethernet connection may be established over the usb port . the microcontroller may be in communication with a contact interface controller and rf interface ( i . e ., a portion of credential interface 140 ). the contact interface controller may have one or more i / o ports to one or more contact card interfaces . in some embodiments , one contact card interface is reserved for permanently populated sams as a tamper - proof key storage . others of the contact card interfaces may be made available for general purpose use . all of the contact card interfaces may be fully compliant with iso / iec 7816 - 3 and / or emv2000 standards . the rf interface may support one or more of iso / iec 14443 type a standards , iso / iec 14443 type b standards , iso / iec 15694 standards , hid iclass ® standards where both iso / iec 14443 and iso / iec 15693 modes are supported , sony felica , and nfc . the reader core 124 may also include a power supply / regulation component that provides power to the various other components of the reader 104 in a controlled manner . in some embodiments , the power regulator receives an external power supply ( e . g ., usb bus powered , 3 . 3v , 5v , and high voltage inputs ) and conditions the received power supply for use by the various components of the reader 104 . in some embodiments , the power supply includes one or more batteries and / or capacitors which provide power to the components of the reader 104 . the rf interface may also be connected to an antenna switch which has two or more i / o ports thereby enabling the reader core 124 to connect with two or more different types of antennas . in some embodiments , the antenna switch comprises one or more of a booster circuit , an impedance matching circuit , a tuning circuit , and switches for connecting the rf interface to the antennas . in embodiments where multiple antennas are attached to the antenna switch , separate tuning circuits may be provided for each antenna . accordingly , a first antenna may have a corresponding first tuning circuit between the antenna switch and the first antenna . likewise , a second antenna may have a corresponding second tuning circuit between the antenna switch and the second antenna . switching the antenna switch from a first state to a second state may enable the reader core 124 to switch between utilizing the first and second antennas . in some embodiments , more than two antennas may be connected to the reader core 124 though an antenna switch . with reference now to fig3 - 9 , the following terms , abbreviations , and notations will be used in referring to the various antennas and tuning circuit configurations that are possible . embodiments of the present disclosure provide a reader core 124 that is capable of offering two single ended rf interfaces , which are optimized to work with 50ω - tuned antennas , such as those depicted in fig3 . this makes the optimization process somewhat easier for the antenna calculation pages 136 to design remote antennas using 50ω coaxial cables , such as can be seen in fig4 . a simple antenna tuning network can be realized by invoking the antenna calculation pages 136 which selects two capacitor values for the tuning circuit ( one series capacitor and one parallel capacitor ) based on a measured resistance and inductance of the antenna to be connected to the reader core 124 . such an antenna tuning network is depicted in fig5 , where the following abbreviations are used : as can be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art , cs and cp may consist of several parallel capacitors to achieve better granularity and more accurate capacitance values in the tuning circuit . in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention , when a user begins viewing the antenna calculation pages 136 , the antenna calculation pages 136 take the user through an antenna design process which may contain one or more of the following steps : ( 1 ) antenna design step ; ( 2 ) antenna parameter measurement step where antenna resistance and inductance are measured by the user ; ( 3 ) q - factor calculation / determination of damping resistor ; ( 4 ) tuning network calculation / determination of serial and parallel capacitor values for the tuning network ; and ( 5 ) fine tuning of the capacitors which may involve iteratively re - performing one or more of steps 1 - 4 . designing an antenna , such as a 13 . 56 mhz rfid antenna , usually involves a number of design and measurement iterations , primarily because there are some compromises to be made . in particular , a number of different variables and environmental factors have an effect on the antenna &# 39 ; s performance . one such variable is antenna assembly shape and size . the shape and size of the space available for the whole antenna assembly should be determined as well as the actual regions in which the antenna conductors themselves will be placed . the space for the whole assembly is generally determined by the intended enclosure but the space for the antenna conductors is also influenced by the type of credential 112 . because antennas for use at 13 . 56 mhz have a low inductance ( i . e ., on the order of 1 uh ), only a few turns are generally required in the loop and they may conveniently be made from tracks printed on a circuit board . wire loops may also be used and these tend to be preferred for use at lower frequencies like 125 khz . if the loop area of a printed circuit antenna needs to be maximized , the tracks may be stacked on board layers to as to produce a co - axial coil , rather than forming a single - layer co - planar spiral , which has a smaller equivalent area . in certain embodiments a reader 104 is enabled to operate with either a high frequency antenna or a low frequency antenna . in some embodiments , the reader 104 may be configured with an antenna array such as one of the antenna arrays disclosed and described in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 439 , 862 to quan , the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference . the compromise is that multi - layer bards are more expensive and have higher parasitic capacitances of the antenna . another such variable is antenna construction , which may be dependent upon one or more of drive arrangement , existence of an e - shield , credential 112 characteristics , and environment ( e . g ., whether metal objects are within the antenna &# 39 ; s field , whether any wires pass through the antenna &# 39 ; s field , and / or whether the antenna &# 39 ; s field cuts across any printed circuit boards ). with respect to drive arrangement , two possible drive arrangements ( i . e ., a single - ended antenna and a double - ended antenna ) are depicted side - by - side in fig6 . one skilled in the art will appreciate that antennas may be driven by single - or double - ended antennas and this determines the number of feed connections required . in the case of a single - ended antenna , one connection should be ground and this connection should also be kept short and of low impedance . double - ended antennas , on the other hand , have two identical end connections but may or may not have a center - tap connected to ground . the center - tap should be made at the true center of the conductor , measured along its length . if the antenna has an odd number of turns , then the center - tap must necessarily be at the opposite side from the feed connections . a grounded center - tap is optional and is used if this results in lower spurious radiated rf emissions . whether or not the antenna is to be center - tapped , it is better if the two halves are made symmetrically by crossing the tracks over , so as to share inner and outer turns , because this shares the parasitic capacitances equally between the two sides of the antenna , thereby helping to reduce radiated emissions . still another important variable to consider in optimizing the tuning network is the parameters of the antenna , namely inductance and resistance of the antenna . within the shape and size constraints imposed on the antenna , the only remaining variable is the number of turns , which ultimately determines final antenna inductance . in theory , an antenna of any inductance may be tuned , but there are practical limitations . high values of inductance ( e . g ., greater than 2 uh ) mean low values of tuning capacitance , which are easily swamped by parasitic effects and are , therefore , unreliable . low values of inductance ( e . g ., less than 1 . 5 uh ) mean high values of tuning capacitance , which are easier to achieve . however , capacitors having a higher capacitance tend to have less - strict tolerances . in some embodiments , the capacitors chosen for the tuning network should be within plus or minus 2 % or better of the stated capacitance value . reader performance can tend to be affected by the reader &# 39 ; s antenna inductance and the best choice is often in the range of 0 . 5 to 2 . 0 uh at 13 . 56 mhz . similar to inductance , resistance of a given antenna ( as measured from end to end of the antenna ) has an effect on the tuning network . calculation of an antenna &# 39 ; s resistance can be obtained with the following equation : where ρ is the resistivity of the conductor , l is the length of the conductor and a is the cross - sectional area . resistance or an antenna can be actually measured by a customer or it may be computed according to the above - noted formula . quality factor , or q - factor , is another variable which affects an antenna &# 39 ; s performance and will influence the tuning network that is selected as optimal for the antenna . while tuning component values may be calculated using inductances and resistance formulaes described above , the values obtained thereby are seldom accurate enough for the final design of a tuning network . furthermore , they do not take into account real - world second - order and environmental effects . while it is possible to optimize a tuning network with these calculations , it is generally not the most preferred method . accordingly , the antenna calculation pages 136 take a user through a more preferred process whereby the actual inductance and resistance of the antenna is measured as follows . as can be seen in fig7 , it is generally desirable to measure antenna parameters after the reader 104 has been installed ( i . e ., in situ ). the parameters should be measured end - to - end , for both single - and double - ended antennas . for a single - ended antenna , measurement between connections a and ground provide the value of the inductance , la , and self - resistance , ra , as expected . for the double - ended antenna , measurement should be made between connections a and b to give ht evalues la and ra , rather than from a or b to ground . the reason is that while the resistances will sum correctly , the inductances do not . such information can be provided from the antenna calculation pages 136 to the user . in addition to inductance and resistance , a real antenna also has parasitic capacitance , cpar , which affects the measured values of ra and la . if the impedance measuring equipment uses a three - component model , then la , ra and the parallel capacitance can be determined directly at the frequency at which the antenna will be used . if the equipment has a two - component model ( e . g ., inductance and series resistance ), then it can be helpful to take measurements as several frequencies . for a 13 . 56 mhz reader , a measurement at a low frequency of around 100 khz to 1 mhz will measure the inductance without too much effect from the parasitic capacitance . a second measurement at 13 . 56 mhz will give a better idea of the self - resistance , ra , since the skin effect will then act . in some embodiments , the antenna calculation pages 136 queries the user as to whether they are using a two - component or three - component model to measure the parameters of the antenna . depending upon the user &# 39 ; s response , the appropriate antenna calculation pages 136 can be provided to the user to help them make accurate parameter measurements . with respect to q - factor , the antenna calculation pages 136 may be configured to either select a predetermined q - factor value . selection of a q - factor value can be bounded based on modulation waveform fall times . in some embodiments , the antenna calculation pages 136 select a default q - factor value of q = 30 , which is nominal for iso / iec 14443 type a . generally , an external series or parallel damping resistor can be used to control the q - factor of the antenna . if series resistance , rs , is used , then the values will tend to be around 1 to 2ω . it can be difficult to obtain the required value in this range , so a parallel resistance may be used instead . here , the calculated valued tend to be in the low k ω range and there is often more choice . rp and rs have an equivalent effect on the q - factor ; but a single parallel resistor is a simpler and cheaper option in most cases . when the reader is operating in free air , all of the power delivered to the antenna from the driver will be dissipated in the damping resistors and appropriate power ratings should be chosen for these components . the following equation may be inverted to calculate rp or rs : in some embodiments of the present disclosure , the reader core 124 may be configured to be used with 50ω tuned antennas . with a value for the antenna impedance , za , given ( 50ω ), the antenna tuning components required to give this may be calculated . the schematic depicted in fig8 shows the tuning network with the antenna shown in full with its self - resistance , ra , and parasitic capacitance , cpar . for calculation purposes , cpar may be ignored to a first order approximation because it is generally smaller ( a few pf ). in practice , when the parallel tuning capacitor , cp , is calculated it can be considered to include cpar and so the calculated value is generally high by a few pf . ignoring cpar here , the antenna impedance is calculated by the antenna calculation pages 136 with the following equation : where rs is a resistance added in series with the antenna whilst rp is added in parallel and cp and cs are the parallel and series tuning capacitors , respectively . the aim of the antenna calculation pages 136 is to choose cp and cs such that : with rp and rs already fixed , the simultaneous equations can be solved for cp according to the following : the above - described calculations for cp and cs in the tuning network have been made for a single - ended antenna . if a double - ended antenna with balun should be designed , then a simple transformation is applied at this point to arrive at the corresponding values depicted in fig9 . the antenna &# 39 ; s parameters can be measured across the whole antenna , la and ra , but the calculation for the tuning capacitors cp and cs is made for an antenna impedance twice that required by the matching network ( i . e ., zareq = 2za ). it is useful to choose zareq in a way that the load presented to the reader core 124 by the balun used is the predetermined load ( e . g ., 50ω ). a parallel damping resistor is usually connected across the whole antenna , so its value is the same . the series capacitor and the series damping resistor are invariable divided into two , one each side to preserve symmetry , so if the parallel capacitor is split into two halves , then cph = 2cp . but it should be noted that a single parallel capacitor across the whole antenna may be used instead and the antenna center - tap to ground connection is optional . after the initial values of the tuning capacitors have been selected , then a fine tuning step may be executed by the antenna calculation pages 136 . calculated values of capacitors cp , cs ( or their equivalents cph , csh ) and rs / rp are generally within a few percent of the correct value , but these correct values can only be found by measurement and adjustment . the measurement and adjustment phase is the fine tuning step . in this step , the impedance za may be measured using either an impedance meter or a network analyzer at 13 . 56 mhz . by dynamically adjusted cs and cp while za is measured , the antenna impedance can be tuned to exactly to the predetermined impedance ( e . g ., 50ω ). after the fine tuning step is complete , the antenna should be configured and the reader 104 should be reader for operation . optimal tuning capacitance values may be provided to the user via the user interface 156 of the computing device 116 . an exemplary screen - shot of a user interface is depicted in fig1 . as can be seen in fig1 , the user interface provided by the antenna calculation pages 136 includes instructions by measuring certain parameters of the antenna as well as the predetermined values ( e . g ., q - factor value , parallel dumping resistance , etc .) used as inputs to the equations discussed above . once the user is done viewing the antenna calculation pages 136 , the user may discontinue the session with the web server 132 and log out of the web browser 152 . with reference now to fig1 , the method of optimizing a tuning network for a reader core 124 will be discussed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention . the method begins when the reader 104 is powered up ( step 1004 ) and connected to the communication network 120 . the method continues when a user desires to connect with the web server 132 in the reader 104 and determines an ip address of the web server 132 in the reader core 124 ( step 1008 ). in some embodiments , the ip address of the web server 132 may correspond to a traditional ip address format ( e . g ., xxx . xxx . xxx . xxx ). alternatively , the web server 132 may be reachable as readername . local from any application or from any web browser 152 . the precise manner in which the web server 132 is accessed by the client device 116 may depend upon the type of operating system 148 running on the client device 116 as well as the type of web browser 152 being used to access the web server 132 . in most instances , however , the user is allowed to access the web server 132 in the reader core 124 by inputting the determined ip address into the web browser 152 address bar ( step 1012 ). this causes the client device 116 to send an html request to the web server 132 . upon receiving the html request , the web server 132 provides content from one or more of its web pages back to the client device 116 in an html response . the request and response exchange allows the user to eventually interact with the antenna calculation pages 136 via the web browser 152 ( step 1016 ). once the user begins interacting with the antenna calculation pages 136 , the user will eventually receive instructions to measure properties or parameters of an antenna that is desired to be connected to the reader platform 124 ( i . e ., included in the credential interface 140 ) ( step 1020 ). in some embodiments , the user is instructed to measure an impedance and resistance of the antenna across its entire length . after the user has obtained the requested measurements , the user provides the measurement results to the antenna calculation pages 136 ( step 1024 ). the antenna calculation pages 136 then take the receive inputs and determine parameters for an optimal tuning network . the determined parameters may be provided back to the user as another instance of the antenna calculation pages 136 ( step 1028 ). thereby allowing the user to implement the optimized tuning network ( step 1032 ). in some embodiments , the method may continue with a fine - tuning step where the user performs additional measurements to fine tune the tuning network to account for tolerances in the capacitors and other variables . in some embodiments , the implementation of the optimized tuning network may be automated by utilizing an auto - tuning reader that can dynamically configure its tuning network according to the parameters determined by the antenna calculation pages 136 . with reference now to fig1 , an exemplary reader configuration method will be described in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention . the method is initiated when a reader 104 is delivered to a customer ( step 1104 ). the delivered reader 104 may comprise a driver that supports one or more functions related to enabling a user to access a web server 132 on the reader 104 with a computing device 116 . in some embodiments , the driver is used to enable the reader 104 to connect with the web server 132 of the reader 104 . since this function is specific to the reader 104 , it is most likely that the computing device 116 is not initially provisioned with the necessary driver . accordingly , it becomes necessary to utilize the reader 104 to load the driver on the computing device 116 as a prerequisite to allowing the computing device 116 to access the web server 132 . one way of allowing the reader 104 to load its driver on the computing device 116 is to have the reader emulate a mass storage device ( step 1108 ). this causes the reader 104 to automatically install the driver on any computing device to which it is connected for the first time ( i . e ., when the computing device 116 does not have the necessary drivers to support communications with the reader 104 and , therefore , does not recognize the reader 104 the first time that it is connected to the computing device 116 ). accordingly , the method continues when a first - time connection is established between the reader 104 and the computing device 116 ( step 1112 ). this connection may be established with a wired connection ( e . g ., via a usb or ethernet port ) or a wireless connection ( e . g ., via a bluetooth connection ). after the reader 104 has been connected with the computing device 116 , the reader begins installing the driver on the computing device 116 because the reader 104 is acting as a mass storage device ( something natively recognized by the computing device 116 ) instead of acting like a reader 104 ( step 1116 ). the connection is maintained until it is determined that the driver installation process is complete and the computing device 116 is not equipped with the driver ( s ) which enable it to recognize and communicate with the reader 104 ( step 1120 ). thereafter , the behavior of the reader 104 is switched from acting like a mass storage device to actually behaving like a reader 104 . thus , the next time the computing device 116 establishes a connection with the reader 104 , the computing device 116 has the necessary drivers to exchange communications with the reader 104 and is capable of immediately recognizing the reader 104 ( step 1124 ). after this point , the reader 104 is allowed to operate in its normal fashion . in the foregoing description , for the purposes of illustration , methods were described in a particular order . it should be appreciated that in alternate embodiments , the methods may be performed in a different order than that described . it should also be appreciated that the methods described above may be performed by hardware components or may be embodied in sequences of machine - executable instructions , which may be used to cause a machine , such as a general - purpose or special - purpose processor or logic circuits programmed with the instructions to perform the methods . these machine - executable instructions may be stored on one or more machine readable mediums , such as cd - roms or other type of optical disks , floppy diskettes , roms , rams , eproms , eeproms , magnetic or optical cards , flash memory , or other types of machine - readable mediums suitable for storing electronic instructions . alternatively , the methods may be performed by a combination of hardware and software . specific details were given in the description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments . however , it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details . for example , circuits may be shown in block diagrams in order not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail . in other instances , well - known circuits , processes , algorithms , structures , and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the embodiments . also , it is noted that the embodiments were described as a process which is depicted as a flowchart , a flow diagram , a data flow diagram , a structure diagram , or a block diagram . although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process , many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently . in addition , the order of the operations may be re - arranged . a process is terminated when its operations are completed , but could have additional steps not included in the figure . a process may correspond to a method , a function , a procedure , a subroutine , a subprogram , etc . when a process corresponds to a function , its termination corresponds to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function . furthermore , embodiments may be implemented by hardware , software , firmware , middleware , microcode , hardware description languages , or any combination thereof . when implemented in software , firmware , middleware or microcode , the program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a machine readable medium such as storage medium . a processor ( s ) may perform the necessary tasks . a code segment may represent a procedure , a function , a subprogram , a program , a routine , a subroutine , a module , a software package , a class , or any combination of instructions , data structures , or program statements . a code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and / or receiving information , data , arguments , parameters , or memory contents . information , arguments , parameters , data , etc . may be passed , forwarded , or transmitted via any suitable means including memory sharing , message passing , token passing , network transmission , etc . while illustrative embodiments of the disclosure have been described in detail herein , it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed , and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations , except as limited by the prior art . | 6 |
a new pwm contouring artifact mitigation technique has been developed that mitigates the perceptual artifacts created by pwm display systems without introducing spatial and temporal artifacts of earlier techniques . earlier techniques dithered the intensity value of a given pixel over time in an attempt to break up or spread the pwm artifact over time and space . the technique taught herein takes advantage of the ability of non - binary bit weighting schemes to produce a given intensity value by two or more sequences . these sequences are selected and utilized to smooth the transition from one intensity code to the next . particularly , the sequences are selected to gradually turn on the major bits . the term major bits means the more significant bits of an intensity word that are of the logic state used to illuminate a pixel . for the purposes of this disclosure it will be assumed that a logic “ 1 ” illuminates a pixel during a given bit period , whether the illumination is caused by display device generating light at that pixel or by selectively reflecting or transmitting light to the pixel , although the opposite logic convention is intended to be interchangeable . likewise , terms such as illuminating a pixel are not intended to be exclusive , but rather should be interpreted to include all applicable means of forming an image , whether by using a separate light source and spatial light modulator or by using a display device , such as a field emission device or plasma panel , that is capable of generating lighted image pixels . the terms displaying a bit pattern and displaying a non - binary bit pattern refer to the generation of an image representative of an image word created by using pulse with modulation to illuminate a pixel for a period representative of the bit weight assigned to each bit in the bit pattern and the logic level of that bit in the image word . the discussion of the various embodiments contained herein will describe a monochromatic display system — that is , one in which there is only one intensity word for each pixel . it should be understood that all of the teachings and claims are applicable to full - color display systems as well . full color systems merely display pixels created by three separate image intensity words — one for each of the primary colors . full color display systems create the three primary pixels either simultaneously , in the case of three panel displays , or sequentially as in the case of single panel displays that use color wheels , color filters , separate colored light sources , or other means of generating sequential color beams . the description of the novel technique described herein makes extensive use of non - binary bit weighting . for the purposes of this disclosure , the term non - binary refers to the use of intensity data words whose bit display periods are not all even powers of two . the use of non - binary bit periods enables the reduction of temporal pwm artifacts through bit splitting while limiting the impact of the bit splitting on system bandwidth requirements . unlike binary weighted bits , there are many possible non - binary weighting schemes that can produce varying results . the examples of non - binary weighting contained herein are for purposes of illustration and should not be considered limitations to the techniques taught herein or to the claims appended hereto . table 1 details an entire sequence of non - binary bit patterns chosen to implement the improved boundary dispersion technique , also referred to as noiseless boundary dispersion . in table 1 , only the even intensity words are listed . this is because when using relatively large input words , such as an eight - bit input word , the boundary dispersion technique provides the advantages sought without having to dither or alter the lsb . since the lsb is not needed to implement the algorithm , the complexity of the processing hardware is reduced . when reading table 1 , the odd intensity values produce the same output bit words as the preceding even intensity value , but with the lsb set to a logic 1 . for example , intensity word 15 is generated using bit weights 1 , 4 , and 10 , while intensity word 21 uses either bit weights 1 , 4 , 6 , and 10 , or bit weights 1 , 2 , and 18 . the odd intensity words have the same number and distribution of alternatives as the preceding even intensity words . the choice between alternate patterns and where each of the alternate patterns is used will be discussed in more detail below . a very simple implementation of the boundary dispersion technique uses only two intensity steps to transition a most significant active bit on . one example of a simple implementation uses bit weights of 1 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 10 , 18 , 32 , 48 , 50 , and 84 times the lsb value . in this example , an input intensity word of 34 is displayed using bit weights 2 , 4 , 10 , and 18 , and the input intensity word of 36 is displayed using bit weights 4 and 32 . because the display of an intensity of 36 uses bit weight 32 , intensity word 35 is used to gradually transition to the use of the most significant active bit . this transition is accomplished by using two of the possible combinations of bit weights to achieve an intensity value of 35 . the first pattern , referred to as pattern ‘ a ’ for the duration of this example , uses bit weights 1 , 2 , 4 , 10 , and 18 . the second pattern , referred to as pattern ‘ b ’ for the duration of this example , uses bit weights 1 , 2 , and 32 . these two patterns are used in a 50 / 50 checkerboard pattern shown in fig1 a . the pattern is reversed each frame period so that during a second frame the pattern shown in fig1 b is used . while the bit weights used are listed by magnitude , the actual order in which they are displayed , and even whether they are displayed as a contiguous bit period or split across two or more bit periods depends on the design of the display system . fig2 a and 2b show a mixed array of pixel values and patterns . in fig2 a and 2b , intensity value 36 is displayed using bit weights 4 and 32 in each frame period . likewise , intensity value 34 is displayed using bit weights 2 , 4 , 10 , and 18 . the intermediate value , 35 , is displayed using an alternating grid of patterns a and b as described above . one of the major differences between the boundary dispersion techniques taught herein and previous boundary dispersion techniques is that the proper intensity values are always used . previous techniques dithered the intensity values to create the checkerboard patterns and feather - in the major bits . maintaining a constant and accurate intensity for all pixels at all times prevents artifacts from being created when the viewer &# 39 ; s eye moves , or when the input intensity data changes . changing pixel intensity from one frame period ( 3 a ) to the next ( 3 b ), such as the left - most pixel in the middle row and the two left - most pixels in the bottom row , does not result in inaccurate intensity levels for any integration period equal to or longer than a single frame period . maintaining a constant and accurate intensity for all pixels at all times allows the technique to use only a spatial dither , only a temporal dither , or a combination of spatial and temporal dithering without introducing artifacts in the displayed image . although the term frame period will be used throughout this description to describe how often the various alternate patterns are alternated , the term frame period should be interpreted to include any other repeating period — whether sub - frame period , color sub - frame period , or a period of more than one frame . the selection of the term “ frame period ” merely describes the most general and easily explained period at which to alternate patterns . likewise , although the description of the boundary dispersion technique uses only two alternate patterns , certain non - binary code sequences permit the use of more than two alternate patterns . the use of more than two alternate patterns is envisioned and does not depart from the teachings and claims hereof . while the example described above used a strict translation between input intensity value and output bit patterns , more advanced implementations of the boundary dispersion technique vary the bit pattern depending on the values of nearby pixels . fig3 shows but one representative example of a pixel grid used to illustrate the adaptive selection of intensity codes . according to one embodiment , boundary dispersion is used on any pixel n when one of the 24 neighboring pixels shown in fig3 ( p 1 - p 24 ) has a value different than pixel n . this form of adaptive boundary dispersion only uses boundary dispersion when it is needed — that is when nearby pixels have different intensity values and image or eye motion could create artifacts . when a large region of pixels all have the same intensity there is no need for boundary dispersion and the boundary dispersion is turned off to eliminate the possibility of creating artifacts through the boundary dispersion technique itself . there are numerous strategies for implementing adaptive boundary dispersion . in a very simple case , boundary dispersion is turned on anytime a pixel is within a predetermined distance or intensity value from a boundary at which a major bit is turned on . for example , if a major bit is turned on at intensity value 35 , boundary dispersion is applied to pixels with an intensity value of 35 +/− 2 . alternatively , boundary dispersion is applied to all pixels with intensities less ( greater ) than 35 that are within a predetermined distance from pixels with intensities greater ( less ) than 35 . yet another alternative applies boundary dispersion to all pixels within a predetermined distance from a pixel having an intensity value of 35 . yet another implementation of the boundary dispersion further disperses the pwm contouring artifacts . this implementation uses not just a 50 / 50 checkerboard , but also 25 / 75 and 75 / 25 patterns as well . fig4 a and 4b each show an array of pixels having the 75 / 25 pattern applied . as with fig2 a and 2b , the patterns of fig4 a and 4b are alternated each frame period . the 25 / 75 pattern is not shown , but is implemented by exchanging the positions of patterns ‘ a ’ and ‘ b ’ so that 75 % of each array is pattern ‘ b .’ the additional patterns are used to gradually spatially phase in the transitions to the higher - ordered bits . table 2 shows bit weight data that is used with the checkerboard patterns shown in fig2 a , 2 b , 4 a , and 4 b as the input intensity value increases from a value of 30 to 42 . table 2 contains a portion of the data from table 1 , but in a slightly different format . in table 2 , pattern b uses bit weight 32 for all values above 32 , while pattern a does not use bit weight 32 except for input intensity value 42 . as indicated by the duty cycle , intensity words 30 and 31 do not use bit weight 32 at all . once the input intensity word reaches 32 , bit weight 32 is used 25 % of the time until the input intensity word reaches 36 . once the input intensity word reaches 36 , bit weight 32 is used 50 % of the time . input intensity words 40 and 41 resulting bit weight 32 being used 75 % of the time , after which it is used 100 % of the time for input intensity words 42 and above . returning to table 1 , it is evident that not only is the most major bit , that is the most significant active bit , being smoothly transitioned on , other major bits are also being transitioned to minimize the artifacts created by any of the code transitions . the bit patterns in table 1 were created to turn each new major bit on over a period , where possible , of twelve intensity codes . the four codes turn the new major bit on only 25 % of the time . for example , the codes for intensity values 62 - 65 only use bit weight 48 25 % of the time . the next four codes , for example intensity values 66 - 69 , use bit weight 48 half of the time . the last four codes in the translation , 70 - 73 use bit weight 48 75 % of the time . code 74 and higher all use bit weight 48 all of the time . once a smooth transition to a new major bit is obtained , the alternate non - binary codes are used to obtain smooth transitions on the lesser major bits . for example , codes 80 through 89 implement a smooth transition for bit weight 32 while bit weight 48 is always on . often there are not enough alternative non - binary output codes , or enough input intensity words available to use twelve separate input intensity words to effect the transition to a new major bit . when there are insufficient steps available , the 50 / 50 patterns take precedence over the 25 / 75 patterns , which take precedence over the 75 / 25 patterns . fig6 shows one embodiment of a system of implementing the pwm contouring technique . in fig6 , 24 bits of rgb image data , 8 bits per color , is received from a video source . a degamma circuit 602 linearizes the image data , if necessary , to compensate for the response of the display device being used . in the system of fig6 , the output of the degamma block is only 8 bits per color — the same as the input . since the input and output word sizes are the same , a spatial contouring filter is typically included to diffuse the quantization errors that occur , especially for low intensity pixels . the most significant 7 bits of each color of the linearized rgb image data from the spatial contouring filter are input into the boundary dispersion logic 604 . as described above , the lsb of each color is not necessary in the embodiment described above in relation to table 1 and bypasses the boundary dispersion logic 604 . fig7 is a block diagram of the boundary dispersion logic circuit 604 for one of the color paths in the boundary dispersion logic circuit 604 . sequential color systems only require one color path . in fig7 , the single - color image data is received by a color lookup table 702 and used to generate a 2 bit pattern select signal . the row and column information , rowcnt and colcnt are used , along with the 2 bit pattern select signal , to create a pattern toggle signal that selects whether the ‘ a ’ or ‘ b ’ pattern will be produced by the boundary dispersion lookup table 704 . the color lookup table 702 is only necessary to enable the use of 75 / 25 and 25 / 75 patterns . the rowcnt and colcnt signal are toggled each frame period to implement the odd / even frame toggling that switches between the frame 1 and frame 2 patterns . the pattern toggle signal from the pattern toggle logic block 706 is used by the boundary dispersion lookup table 704 to select one of two sets of output data for each possible input data word . returning to fig6 , the 21 most significant image data bits , which have now expanded to 27 bits , are recombined with the 3 least significant image data bits and input to an optional rgbw processing circuit 606 . as described in u . s . patent application 60 / 174 , 106 and other pending and issued patents , sequential color systems sometimes separate the white component of a video signal from the rgb data and display the white component during a clear color wheel segment or during the spoke periods in which the light filtered by the color wheel changes colors . although shown after the boundary dispersion logic 604 , the optional rgbw processing logic 606 can also be located in front of the boundary dispersion logic 604 in the signal path . the formatted image data , which now consists of ten bits for each of the three primary colors and eight bits for white , is driven to a data formatting logic circuit 608 where it is reformatted for display on a micromirror device 610 . micromirror devices typically receive data in bit planes , or portions thereof , in which a given bit weight for each pixel of a group of pixels is transferred to the micromirror . the reformatter receives data in a bit - parallel pixel - serial format and outputs data to the micromirror device in a bit - serial pixel - parallel format . the reformatting logic alternately uses the two memory banks in ping - pong fashion — writing to one while data is read from the other . reset driver 612 provides various voltage waveforms necessary to set and reset the mirrors of the micromirror device 610 . control logic 614 synchronizes the operation of the entire system . fig8 is a schematic view of an image projection system 800 using the boundary dispersion techniques described herein . in fig8 , light from light source 804 is focused on a micromirror 802 by lens 806 . although shown as a single lens , lens 806 is typically a group of lenses and mirrors which together focus and direct light from the light source 804 onto the surface of the micromirror device 802 . controller 814 performs the boundary dispersion processing and provides image data and control signals to the micromirror 802 to cause some mirrors to rotate to an on position and others to rotate to an off position . mirrors on the micromirror device that are rotated to an off position reflect light to a light trap 808 while mirrors rotated to an on position reflect light to projection lens 810 , which is shown as a single lens for simplicity . projection lens 810 focuses the light modulated by the micromirror device 802 onto an image plane or screen 812 . thus , although there has been disclosed to this point a particular embodiment and method for boundary dispersion that reduces pwm contouring artifacts , it is not intended that such specific references be considered as limitations upon the scope of this invention except insofar as set forth in the following claims . furthermore , having described the invention in connection with certain specific embodiments thereof , it is to be understood that further modifications may now suggest themselves to those skilled in the art , it is intended to cover all such modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
the preferred embodiments of the present invention relate to the use of a mineral additive to manufacture and improve the properties of a cementitious slurry . more preferably , one or both of the following mineral components are added to the slurry : i ) fly ash having a predominant particle size of up to about 10 microns , and ii ) aluminous material having a predominant particle size of up to about 150 microns . the fly ash in the mineral additive refers to fly ash with a predominant particle size of up to about 10 microns . as will be clear to persons skilled in the art , fly ash is a solid powder having a chemical composition similar to or the same as the composition of material that is produced during the combustion of powdered coal . the composition typically comprises about 25 to 60 % silica , about 10 to 30 % al 2 o 3 , about 5 to 25 % fe 2 o 3 , up to about 20 % cao and up to about 5 % mgo . fly ash particles are typically spherical and range in diameter from about 1 to 100 microns . it is the smaller size fraction of fly ash particles with a predominant size below about 10 microns that has surprising water reduction properties . the fly ash preferably makes up about 30 - 100 % based on weight of cement . preferably , the fly ash is between about 40 and 90 % and most preferably about 50 to 70 % based on weight of cement . larger size fly ash particles have been known in the past to provide a water reduction effect . smaller size particles , however , have always been considered unsuitable for water reduction for a few reasons . firstly , it is expected in the art that the smaller the particle size , the more reactive the particle . fly ash is a reactive pozzalan and accordingly , smaller size fraction fly ash was considered inappropriately reactive to act as a water reducer . in addition , due to the high specific surface area of the smaller size fraction fly ash , it was expected that this material would in fact increase water demand . the applicants have surprisingly found that the opposite is in fact the case . the smaller size fraction fly ash boosts the water reducing properties of conventional water reduction agents by a substantial extent . the aluminous material in the mineral additive preferably has a predominant particle size less than about 150 microns . the reference to “ aluminous material ” should not be taken literally but refers to alumina type materials including hydrated , partially hydrated and unhydrated alumina . preferably , the alumina content of aluminous material based on the weight of cement is between about 5 and 30 %, preferably about 10 to 25 % and most preferably about 15 to 20 %. if a blend of hydrated alumina and fly ash is used in the mineral additive , the ratio of hydrated alumina : fly ash is preferably between about 1 : 1 to 1 : 10 . the term “ hydraulic or cementitious binder ” as used herein , means all inorganic materials which comprise compounds of calcium , aluminum , silicon , oxygen , and / or sulfur which exhibit “ hydraulic activity ” that is , which set solid and harden in the presence of water . cements of this type include common portland cements , fast setting or extra fast setting , sulphate resisting cements , modified cements , alumina cements , high alumina cements , calcium aluminate cements and cements which contain secondary components such as fly ash , slag and the like . the amount of cement present in the composition of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has a lower limit of about 10 weight percent based on the total dry ingredients , preferably about 15 weight percent , more preferably about 20 weight percent , the upper limit of the amount of the cement is about 50 weight percent , preferably about 40 weight percent , more preferably about 30 weight percent . the cementitious composition may optionally but preferably include at least one filler material , e . g . graded and ungraded aggregate such as washed river gravel , crushed igneous rock or limestone , lightweight aggregate , crushed hard - burnt clay bricks or air - cooled blast furnace slag , sand , calcium carbonate , silica flour , vermiculite , perlite , gypsum , etc . the amount of filler present in the cementitious composition preferably has a lower limit of about 5 weight percent based on the total dry ingredients , preferably about 10 weight percent , more preferably about 15 weight percent ; the upper limit being about 30 weight percent , preferably about 25 weight percent , more preferably about 20 weight percent . the cementitious composition may optionally contain other additives including : cement plasticising agents such as melamine sulphonate - formaldehyde condensates , naphthalene sulphonate - formaldehyde condensates , naphthalene sulphonates , calcium lignosulphonates , sodium lignosulphonates , saccharose , sodium gluconate , sulphonic acids , carbohydrates , amino carboxylic acids , polyhydroxy carboxylic acids , sulphonated melamine , and the like . the amount of conventional plasticiser used in the dry cement composition will vary , depending on the fluidising ability of the particular cement plasticiser selected . generally , the amount of cement plasticiser is preferably in the range of about 0 . 3 to about 3 wt %, and more preferably about 0 . 5 to about 2 wt %, based on the weight of the dry cement composition . preferred plasticisers include melment . f - 10 , a melamine - formaldehyde - sodium bisulphite polymer dispersant , marketed by skw - trostberg in the form of a fine white powder . another suitable plasticiser is neosyn , a condensed sodium salt of sulphonated naphthalene formaldehyde , available from hodgson chemicals . thickener may also be used in the cementitious composition including one or more of the polysaccharide rheology modifiers which can be further subdivided into cellulose based materials and derivatives thereof , starch based materials and derivatives thereof , and other polysaccharides . suitable cellulose based rheology - modifying agents include , for example , methylhydroxyethylcellulose , hydroxymethylethylcellulose , carboxymethylcellulose , methylcellulose , ethylcellulose , hydroxyethylcellulose , hydroxyethylpropylcellulose , etc . the entire range of suitable rheology modifiers will not be listed here , nevertheless , many other cellulose materials have the same or similar properties as these and are equivalent . suitable starch based materials include , for example , amylopectin , amylose , sea - gel , starch acetates , starch hydroxyethyl ethers , ionic starches , long - chain alkylstarches , dextrins , amine starches , phosphate starches , and dialdehyde starches . other natural polysaccharide based rheology - modifying agents include , for example , alginic acid , phycocolloids , agar , gum arabic , guar gum , welan gum , locust bean gum , gum karaya , and gum tragacanth . the thickener addition rate in the cementitious composition may range between 0 . 0001 and 0 . 5 % based on the weight of the dry cement composition . latex addition of at least one latex selected from the group consisting of : an acrylic latex , a styrene latex , and a butadiene latex is also preferred . this component improves adherence , elasticity , stability and impermeability of the cementitious compositions containing it , and also favours formation of flexible films . the latex may be used in solid amounts of about 0 . 5 to about 20 wt %, based on the weight of the dry cement composition . preferably , it is present in an amount of about 1 to about 15 wt %, and more preferably about 10 wt %, based on the weight of the dry cement composition . the cementitious composition may optionally incorporate as a substitute to the latex emulsion a proportion of a powdered vinyl polymer or other equivalent polymeric material , to enhance the adhesion ; resilience and flexural strength ; and abrasion resistance of the composition . the powdered vinyl polymer is preferably polyvinyl acetate or a copolymer of vinyl acetate with another monomer , such as ethylene . a preferred vinyl acetate resin is vinnapas ll5044 thermoplastic resin powder , containing a vinyl acetate - ethylene copolymer , available from wacker . the powdered vinyl polymer may be used in amounts of about 0 . 5 to about 20 wt %, based on the weight of the dry cement composition . preferably , it is present in an amount of about 1 to about 15 wt %, and more preferably about 10 wt %, based on the weight of the dry cement composition . the cementitious composition may optionally contain about 0 - 40 wt % of other fillers / additives such as mineral oxides , hydroxides and clays , metal oxides and hydroxides , fire retardants such as magnesite , thickeners , silica fume or amorphous silica , colorants , pigments , water sealing agents , water reducing agents , setting rate modifiers , hardeners , filtering aids , plasticisers , dispersants , foaming agents or flocculating agents , water - proofing agents , density modifiers or other processing aids so that the present invention may be more clearly understood it will now be described by way of example only with reference to the following embodiments . effect of water reducer and small size fraction fly ash addition on % water reduction in a cement : fly ash mixture three mixes ( total weight of solids = 1000 gm each ) were mixed with water to achieve a mix viscosity of 4 - 3 seconds cup drainage time . the details of the mixes are shown in table 1 below . it can be seen that the addition of 1 % water reducer by weight in cement resulted in 36 % reduction in mix water . this level of water reduction is , according to literature , about the limit of what can be achieved at such high water reducer dose . using higher doses would result in excessively delayed setting time and reduction in the compressive strength in cementitious mixes . when part of the large size fraction fly ash was substituted with smaller size fraction ( predominant particle size less that 10 microns ) in mix 3 , further water reduction was achieved , bringing total water reduction to 41 %. this result is quite surprising , as the finer fly ash was expected to in fact increase the water demand in the mix due to its high surface area . although the water reducing effect of fly ash in cementitious mixes is well documented in literature , the plasticity enhancing effect of the smaller size fraction in an already plasticised cement : fly ash mixture is considered surprising given the universal rule that finer material exhibit larger surface area , leading to an increase in the water demand , needed as mechanical water coating the finer particles . example 1 demonstrates a means of enhancing the water reduction effect in plasticised mixes using a mineral additive with a specified size range , namely the small size fraction fly ash , without resorting to overdosing with water reducer . the result is a more durable mix with higher strength and reduced shrinkage . water reduction in plasticised mixes substituting large size fraction fly ash for smaller size fraction fly ash two mixes ( total weight of solids = 1000 gm each ) were mixed with water to achieve a mix viscosity in the range of 6 - 10 poise . the details of the two mixes are shown in table 2 below . it can be seen that mix 1 which was comprised of cement , fly ash and cenospheres ( ceramic hollow spheres ) required 400 ml of water to achieve the required viscosity ( in the presence of 1 % addition of melment f15 water reducer ). the % solids in this case is 71 . 4 %. mix 2 , however , required only 325 ml of water to achieve a similar flowability . such water reduction ( around 20 %) was enabled by substituting part of the larger fly ash particles with a smaller size fraction ( minus 10 microns in size , average size = 4 microns ). the % solids in this case was increased to 75 . 5 %. two mixes ( total weight of solids = 1000 gm ) were mixed with water to achieve a mix viscosity of 4 - 3 seconds cup drainage time . the details of the two mixes are shown in table 3 below . it can be seen that mix 1 which was comprised of cement , fly ash and silica required 400 ml of water to achieve the required viscosity ( in the presence of 1 % water reducer addition ). the % solids in this case is 71 . 4 %. mix 2 , however , required only 325 ml of water to achieve a similar flowability . such water reduction ( around 20 %) was enabled by substituting the silica with ultra fine fraction ( minus 10 microns in size , average size = 4 microns ). the % solids in this case was increased to 75 . 5 %. water reduction in plasticised mixes incorporating combination of hydrated alumina and fly ash in table 4 , the water requirements for two mixes containing 1 . 0 % addition ( by weight of cement ) of a water reducer , ie sulphonated naphthalene formaldehyde , are compared . it can be seen that the addition of 2000 gm of hydrated alumina in mix 2 ( in substitution of calcium carbonate ), resulted in a significant reduction in the water demand , ie from 16500 to 12500 ml , for the same viscosity level . this level of water reduction ( around 25 % in an already heavily plasticised mix ) is quite unexpected . it is also contrary to conventional water reduction trends presented in cement chemistry literature which suggest that the amount of water reduction ranges generally between 15 % to 35 %, and that ( beyond a particular dosage ) further water reduction is not possible ( concrete admixtures handbook by , ramachandran , 2 nd edition , page 447 ). from the examples outlined above it can be seen that using a mineral additive comprising small size fraction fly ash and / or aluminous materials provide water reduction in non - plasticised cementitious mixes or additional / enhanced water reduction in plasticised cementitious mixes containing a conventional water reducing agent . such significant increase in water reduction between 20 % and 40 % will enable production of high performance cementitious mixes ( lower shrinkage , higher strength , more durable ), without the disadvantages of overdosing with conventional organic water reducers , ie delayed setting time , strength reduction , excessive aeration . etc . it will be understood that the modifications or variations can be made to the aforementioned embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention . in particular , it will be appreciated that the formulations , coatings , additives , methods and composite products of the present invention are suitable or may be adapted for use in conjunction with the methods and apparatus as described in the various priority documents . | 8 |
fig1 shows one embodiment of the control device as claimed in the invention . the configuration of control devices , such as for example engine control devices , has been known for a long time from the prior art , so that this is detailed only to the extent necessary for an understanding of the invention . the control device 1 in this embodiment comprises a microcomputer μc , a flash memory 2 and an eeprom ( e 2 prom ) 3 . the flash memory 2 and the e 2 prom 3 each have an otp area 21 , 31 . the latter are preferably configured not to be read - protected . there is also an otp area 11 in the μc . furthermore , an authentication unit 12 is contained in the μc . it may constitute an electronic circuit or a program in the μc . the memory modules flash 2 , e 2 prom 3 , in this embodiment are provided with identification numbers id which are specific to the module . they are generally written at the manufacturer of the module and are stored in the otp area 21 , 31 of the individual modules . fig2 shows a flow chart which represents one embodiment of the process as claimed in the invention using the embodiment of the control device shown in fig1 . in the process of manufacturing the control device as claimed in the invention , when the control device is started up for the first time the ids of the individual memory modules 2 , 3 are read out by the microcomputer μc and stored in the otp area 11 of the μc , which area is writable only once . starting from this time , operation of the control device 1 is only possible in conjunction with the ids of the external memory modules 2 , 3 , which ids are known to the μc . with each additional start - up of the control device 1 , the μc again reads out the id of all of the memory modules 2 , 3 connected to it . in a comparison unit these current ids may then be compared to the original identifiers which are stored in the otp area 11 of the μc . if it is established in this comparison that one of the ids does not agree with one of the original ids , the control device is prevented from operating or at least the change is diagnosed and optionally displayed . fig3 shows another embodiment of the control device 1 as claimed in the invention . the configuration is essentially identical to the configuration of the embodiment of fig1 , however , in this embodiment the code for operating the control device is divided into a master code ( mc ) and a sub - code ( sc ). the master code mc contains elementary , essential functionalities for operating the control device , for example the program for generating signals for the connected actuators ( not shown ) of the control device or the program for computing the actuating variables and outputs . the master code mc can furthermore comprise data . in the sub - code sc additional programs and data are contained . the control device can only operate using both codes , mc and sc . in the illustrated embodiment the sub - code sc is contained in a rewritable area of the flash memory 2 . the master code mc is contained in the otp area 11 of the microcomputer μc . the master code is preferably protected against read - out by way of contact - making . this can be achieved for example either physically by failure of a transistor channel or by circuit engineering . the sub - code sc in contrast to the master code mc can be modified or overwritten . this allows updating of the sub - code or reprogramming . furthermore , the μc has an identification number μc - id . it is also stored in the read - protected otp area of the μc . in the e 2 prom other data for operating the control device are stored in a rewritable area . these data may for example constitute adaptation values and idle rpm for an engine control device . when the control device is initialized , the microcomputer μc learns the identification numbers which have been stored in the otp area 21 , 31 of the memory modules 2 , 3 and which thus cannot be changed , and stores them in the otp area of the microcomputer μc which can also optionally be configured as read - protected . from this time on , the memory modules 2 , 3 which are connected to the microcomputer are known to the microcomputer μc via their id . in addition , the ids of the memory modules stored in the microcomputer can also be used for encryption of data or programs . thus , the data stored on the e 2 prom can be encoded for example by a symmetrical encryption process in which the key comprises at least part of the id of at least one of the memory modules 2 , 3 . in an engine control device the e 2 prom can store for example learned values , production data , adaptation values and the like . basically all symmetrical encryption processes which allow incorporation of an identifier which is specific to the control device are suited for encryption . preferably the data of the e 2 prom are encrypted by a key which in addition or as an alternative to the id of the external memory modules comprises the id of the microcomputer μc . this effects encryption which is specific to the control device and which makes it impossible to replace the e 2 prom or overwrite the data stored on it or prevents operation of the control device after such manipulation . the key is preferably stored in the ram of the microcomputer μc . in this way the key is generated each time the control device boots up with the incorporation of an identifier which is specific to the control device ( for example the id of the μc and optionally the ids of the memory modules ) and thus the key is specific to the control device . furthermore , the sub - code sc can be stored wholly or partially encrypted on the flash memory 2 . for this encryption the id of the individual memory modules or of the microcomputer or part of this id can also be integrated into the key . the decryption of the data in the sub - code is effected by the master code . since the latter is stored in a read - protected area of the microcomputer , read - out of the program and thus copying of the software can be prevented . monitoring of the sub - code relative to manipulation which is ensured by the μc in the master code can also take place by way of processes other than encryption . thus , as an alternative or in addition , linear / crc checksum formation or hash value formation may be used . to detect completed manipulation of the data and optionally parts of the sub - code , linear checksums are formed for example over selected areas and the result which is encrypted as a fingerprint is placed in the sub - code . the master code in control device operation , for example when there is a signal on the terminal 15 , over the same predefined area computes the comparison value ( for example , linear checksum ) and checks it against the decrypted reference value which has been stored encrypted in the sub - code . the type of manipulation detection may be selected arbitrarily . after detecting manipulation , the master code initiates measures which may lead to control device failure . fig4 shows another embodiment of the control device as claimed in the invention . in this embodiment the memory modules 2 and 3 are integrated into the microcomputer μc . the μc here has an embedded flash memory , the e 2 prom being emulated . this configuration of the control device does have the advantage that replacement of the memory modules can be reliably prevented , however , the data in the emulation of the e 2 prom can be overwritten only block by block . the process for protection against manipulation takes place in this control device with an internal memory essentially analogous to the one described in the foregoing for control devices with external memories . here in particular the data of the emulated e 2 prom can be stored encrypted and can be decrypted by a key which comprises at least an individual identifier of the control device , such as the μc - id and / or the flash id . likewise the encrypted data or fingerprints contained in the sub - code which is stored in the flash memory of the μc may be decrypted by the master code . in this instance preferably an identifier which is specific to the control device is also integrated in the key . the invention is not limited to the described embodiments . thus the identifier of the individual memory modules may be for example the date of manufacture of the control device . this may prevent manipulation during the warranty period . furthermore it is for example also possible to store the code which is necessary for operation of the control device entirely in the read - protected otp area of the μc instead of assembling it from a master code and a sub - code . the control device for the purposes of this invention may constitute for example an engine control device , a transmission control device or a combination instrument . a large number of advantages can be achieved compared to conventional control devices with the process as claimed in the invention and the control device as claimed in the invention . with the control device as claimed in the invention , replacement of one or more modules can be reliably prevented since operation of the control device can be prevented by this replacement . it is not possible to read out a part of the program or data which is essential for operation of the control if this part is stored in a read - protected otp area . thus , copying of the software can be prevented . access to confidential data via contact - making with the module is not possible either if they are stored in the read - protected otp area of the μc . the control device can be protected against manipulation especially reliably by its being able to run only in the combination of the master code and sub - code . changing the sub - code which is stored in the reprogrammable , optionally external memory , for example the flash memory , without adapting the master code leads to control device failure . furthermore , data , which are stored for example on an e 2 prom , can be encrypted in a manner specific to the control device . the decryption of these data can also be made dependent on the identifier of the control device . additional security can be achieved by the encryption and decryption being made dependent on the combination of the individual modules with the ids which are known to the μc . in summary it can therefore be stated that by storing an unalterable identifier of the memory modules of a control device , the manipulation of control devices , such as for example chip tuning in engine control devices , can be reliably prevented . | 6 |
reference throughout this specification to “ one embodiment ,” “ an embodiment ,” or similar language means that a particular feature , structure , or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention . thus , appearances of the phrases “ in one embodiment ,” “ in an embodiment ,” and similar language throughout this specification may , but do not necessarily , all refer to the same embodiment . furthermore , the described features , structures , or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments . one skilled in the relevant art will recognize , however , that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details , or with other methods , components , materials , and so forth . in other instances , well - known structures , materials , or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention . fig2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 200 for uninterrupted storage configuration . in the depicted embodiment , the system 200 includes a storage manager 202 . the storage manager 202 may include a storage configuration process 204 . additionally , the system 200 may include a virtual configuration apparatus 206 . in a further embodiment , the system 200 includes a logical hierarchy of storage media . the logical hierarchy may include a rank 208 divided into a plurality of arrays 210 , 212 . the arrays 210 , 212 may include one or more hard disks 214 - 218 . as depicted in fig2 , the storage manager 202 also includes a virtual configuration apparatus 206 . however , alternative embodiments of the system 200 may exist wherein the virtual configuration apparatus 206 is a separate device housed in an individual housing . alternatively , the virtual configuration apparatus 206 may include an electronic circuit card housed within the housing of the storage manager 202 . in yet another embodiment , the virtual configuration apparatus 206 may include a signal bearing medium which holds machine - readable instructions . the instructions may be executable by a digital processor of the storage manager 202 , and configured to perform an operation for uninterrupted storage configuration . in one embodiment , the virtual configuration apparatus 206 is configured to generate a temporary location for storage configuration information , save the storage configuration information to the temporary location , and copy the storage configuration information from the temporary location to a storage medium in response to a determination that the storage medium is physically configurable . structurally , the virtual configuration apparatus 206 is in communication with the storage manager 202 . in a particular embodiment , the virtual configuration apparatus 206 is in communication with a processor of the storage manager 202 configured to carry out a storage configuration process 204 . additionally , the virtual configuration apparatus 206 may be in communication with a storage medium . as illustrated in fig2 , the virtual configuration apparatus is in communication with a storage medium . in the depicted embodiment , the storage medium includes hard disks 214 - 218 . in one embodiment , the virtual configuration apparatus 206 may be in communication with the storage medium through a data bus . for example , the virtual configuration apparatus 206 may be in communication with hard disks 214 - 218 using small computer system interface (“ scsi ”) cables , fiber optic data cables , ethernet cables , or out of band rs - 232 component interface cables . the virtual configuration apparatus 206 maybe in communication with the storage manager 202 in like manner . the hard disks 214 - 218 may be incorporated into a logical storage hierarchy . for example , a first hard disk 214 and a second hard disk 216 may be organized into a first array 210 . a third hard disk 218 may be included in a second array 212 . the first array 210 and the second array 212 may be included in a storage rank 208 . in certain embodiments , this logical hierarchy of storage media may be presented to a user of the storage system as a grouping of directories and subdirectories . alternatively , the second array 212 may be mirrored to the first array 210 in order to generate a backup copy of the data stored on the first array 210 . various logical topologies may be established and configured by a system administrator using the storage configuration process 204 on the storage manager 202 . in one embodiment , the storage configuration process 204 may include an executable file of compiled instructions . the executable file may be coded in various computer coding languages including c , c ++, basic , java , and the like . in one embodiment , the storage configuration process 204 is run on a processor of the storage manager 202 . in certain further embodiments , the storage configuration process 204 may include operations for interacting with a storage system administrator . for example , the storage system administrator may load configuration requirements into the storage configuration process 204 . the storage configuration process 204 may then create configuration information , which is temporarily stored in a temporary location by the virtual configuration apparatus 206 . in response to a determination that the hard disks 214 - 216 are configurable , the virtual configuration apparatus 206 may copy the configuration information from the temporary location to the hard disks 214 - 218 . in such an example , the configuration process 204 may be uninterrupted in completing the configuration job when the virtual configuration apparatus 206 is employed . fig3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of an apparatus 300 for uninterrupted storage configuration . in the depicted embodiment , the apparatus 300 is a virtual configuration apparatus 206 described in relation to the system 200 of fig2 . in one embodiment , the virtual configuration apparatus 206 includes an initialization module 302 , a storage manager interface 304 , and a storage medium interface 306 . the initialization module 302 may be in communication with the storage manager 202 . in such an embodiment , the initialization module may generate a temporary location for storage configuration information . the storage configuration process 204 on the storage manager 202 may generate the storage configuration information . in an alternative embodiment , the initialization module 302 may also be in communication with the storage manager interface 304 and the storage medium interface 306 . in such an embodiment , the initialization module 302 may also initialize or trigger the storage manager interface 304 and the storage medium interface 306 to perform various operations . in one embodiment , the storage manager interface 304 is in communication with the initialization module 302 . alternatively , the storage manager interface 304 may be in communication with the storage manager 202 , and specifically to the storage configuration process 204 on the storage manager 202 . the storage manager interface 304 may be configured to save storage configuration information generated by the storage manager 202 to the temporary storage location created by the initialization module 302 . specific embodiments of these modules and processes are discussed further with relation to fig4 below . once the configuration information is stored in the temporary location , and in response to a determination that the storage medium is configurable , the storage medium interface 306 may copy the configuration information to the storage medium . for example , in response to a determination that the hard disks 214 - 218 have been successfully reformatted , the storage medium interface 306 may copy configuration information generated by the storage configuration process 204 on the storage manager from the temporary location to the hard disks 214 - 218 . fig4 is a detailed schematic block diagram illustrating a detailed embodiment of a virtual configuration apparatus 206 . in the depicted embodiment , the virtual configuration apparatus 206 includes the initialization module 302 , the storage manager interface 304 and the storage medium interface 306 as described above with relation to fig3 . additionally , the virtual configuration apparatus 206 may include a memory device 404 . in a further embodiment , the initialization module 302 may include a memory manager 402 . the memory manager 402 may be in communication with the memory device 404 . the memory manager 402 may be configured to create a first temporary storage location 406 in the memory device 404 to store the configuration information obtained by the storage manager interface 304 from the storage manager 202 . in a further embodiment , the memory manager 402 may additionally create a second location 408 in the memory device 404 to store a virtual image of the storage medium . the virtual image of the storage medium is discussed in further detail with regard to detailed embodiments of the storage medium interface 306 below . in one embodiment , the first location 406 and the second location 408 are list data structures created in the memory 404 of the virtual configuration apparatus 206 . in an alternative embodiment , the first and second locations 406 , 408 may be created in a memory device 404 located on the storage manager 202 . in various embodiments , the first location 406 and the second location 408 may include a data array , a hash table , a table of pointers to strings or arrays of data , a portable data object , or other various forms of tables , arrays , and data structures . for example , the first location 406 may include pre - allocated space in a memory device 404 located on the storage manager 202 . the first location 406 may contain a list of data structures , wherein each member of the list represents a hard disk 214 - 218 , and each data structure contains the configuration information for the given hard disk 214 - 218 . in such an example , the first data structure in the list may contain configuration information for the first hard disk 214 . the second data structure in the list may contain configuration information for the second hard disk 216 , etc . in such an exemplary embodiment , the first location 406 temporarily holds the configuration information in the list of data structures until it is determined that the hard disks 214 - 218 are configurable . when it is determined that the hard disks 214 - 218 are configurable , the configuration information is copied to the hard disks 214 - 218 respectively . additionally , the memory manager 402 may create a second temporary location 408 in the memory device 404 to store a virtual image of the storage medium . for example , the storage medium interface module 306 may include a parameter collection module 414 . in this exemplary embodiment , the parameter collection module 414 may collect physical parameters from the hard disks 214 - 218 . the physical parameters may include the disk &# 39 ; s rotation speed , the classification or model of the disk , the disk capacity , and the disk interface type ( e . g ., fibre channel arbitrated loop (“ fc - al ”), serial attached scsi (“ sas ”), advanced technology attachment (“ ata ”), serial ata (“ sata ”), etc .) these physical parameters may be required by the storage configuration process 204 in order to carry out the configuration process . the typically , the storage configuration process 204 would be unable to obtain the parameters when the hard disks 214 - 218 are unavailable for configuration changes . however , the parameter collection module 414 may either collect the physical parameters prior to the hard disks 214 - 218 becoming unavailable to optimize performance , or the parameter collection module 414 may start collecting the physical parameters after the hard disks 214 - 218 are already unavailable . a virtual builder 416 may create a virtual image of the hard disks 214 - 218 using the physical parameters collected by the parameter collection module 414 . in one embodiment , the virtual builder 416 may organize the physical parameters collected by the parameter collection module 414 into lists and data structures . the order of the list corresponds to the individual hard disks 214 - 218 , and the data structures contain the physical parameters . this virtual image may be stored in the second temporary location 408 on the memory device 404 . in a particular embodiment , the lists and data structures of the first temporary location 406 are tied to the lists and data structures of the second temporary location 408 so that the configuration information accurately corresponds to the physical parameters . the temporary locations 406 , 408 may be tied using registry pointers or the like . once the virtual image of the storage medium and the first temporary location 406 for storing configuration information have been generated , the configuration process can continue regardless of whether the storage medium is physically configurable . in one embodiment , the storage manager interface 304 may include a status module 412 . the status module 412 may indicate to the storage manager 202 that the storage medium is available for configuration , even though the storage medium is not physically available for configuration . for example , the status module 412 may return a value indicating that the hard disks 214 - 218 are available for configuration to the storage configuration process 204 . the value may include a boolean value , or some other flag , indicator , or like signal for indicating the availability of the hard disks 214 - 218 . in such an example , the storage configuration process 204 is tricked into continuing with the configuration procedure , even though it would not ordinarily do so . the storage manager interface 304 may additionally include a configuration collection module 410 . the configuration collection module 410 may be in communication with the configuration manager 202 , and receive configuration information form the storage configuration process 204 . in a typical system , the storage information would be written directly to the storage medium . however , in the depicted embodiment , the configuration collection module 410 collects the configuration information and stores it in the first temporary location 406 . meanwhile , the storage monitor 418 may concurrently check the storage medium to determine whether the storage medium is physically configurable . in an alternative embodiment , the two operations may not be concurrent , but queued for execution in series . in one exemplary embodiment , the storage monitor 418 may include a daemon process , or some other background process , or processing thread . in a further embodiment , the storage monitor 418 may be triggered by the initialization module 302 upon initialization of the virtual configuration apparatus 206 . when the storage monitor 418 determines that the storage medium is configurable , the storage medium interface 306 may copy the configuration information from the first temporary location 406 to the storage medium . in a further embodiment , the first temporary location 406 and the second temporary location 408 may be deleted . a detailed example of one embodiment of a method for operating the modules of fig4 is described below with relation to the method of fig6 . the schematic flow chart diagrams that follow are generally set forth as logical flow chart diagrams . as such , the depicted order and labeled steps are indicative of one embodiment of the presented method . other steps and methods may be conceived that are equivalent in function , logic , or effect to one or more steps , or portions thereof , of the illustrated method . additionally , the format and symbols employed are provided to explain the logical steps of the method and are understood not to limit the scope of the method . although various arrow types and line types may be employed in the flow chart diagrams , they are understood not to limit the scope of the corresponding method . indeed , some arrows or other connectors may be used to indicate only the logical flow of the method . for instance , an arrow may indicate a waiting or monitoring period of unspecified duration between enumerated steps of the depicted method . additionally , the order in which a particular method occurs may or may not strictly adhere to the order of the corresponding steps shown . fig5 is a schematic flow chart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method 500 for uninterrupted storage configuration . in one embodiment , the method starts when the initialization module 302 generates 502 a temporary location 406 for storage configuration information . the storage manager interface 304 may then save 504 the storage configuration information generated by the storage manager 202 to the temporary location 406 . the apparatus 300 may continue to monitor the storage medium until it is determined 506 that the storage medium is configurable . if it is determined 506 that the storage medium is configurable , then the storage medium interface 306 copies 508 the configuration information from the temporary location 408 to the storage medium and the method 500 ends . for example , the configuration process 204 on the storage manager 202 may delete a rank 208 . each of the hard disks 214 - 218 within the rank 208 will be unavailable for configuration while they are being reformatted . however , the initialization module 302 may generate 502 a temporary location 408 for configuration information . the configuration manager interface 304 may then save 504 the configuration information to the temporary location 408 while the hard disks 214 - 218 are being reformatted . in response to a determination 506 that the hard disks 214 - 216 are configurable , the storage medium interface 306 may then copy 508 the configuration information from the temporary location 408 to the hard disks 214 - 218 . fig6 is a detailed schematic flow chart diagram illustrating a detailed embodiment of a method 600 for uninterrupted storage configuration . in one embodiment , the method 600 includes operations of the virtual configuration apparatus 206 . the method 600 may also include receiving data or information generated by certain responses from other components of the system 200 , such as the storage manager 202 . in one embodiment , the method 600 starts when the storage manager initiates 602 a storage configuration process 204 . the storage configuration process 204 may trigger 604 a storage reconfiguration event . for example , the storage configuration process 204 may delete a rank 208 . in response to the delete operation , the hard disks 214 - 218 may become unavailable while being reformatted . the storage configuration process 204 may then invoke 606 the virtual configuration apparatus 206 . alternatively , the virtual configuration apparatus 206 may be invoked 606 by the storage manager 202 at the same time as initiating 602 the storage configuration process . in another alternative embodiment , the virtual configuration apparatus 206 is invoked 606 by a user or another process within the storage manager 202 . the initialization module 302 may initialize 608 a temporary storage location for the configuration information . in a further embodiment , the initialization module 302 may also initialize 608 a temporary storage location for a virtual image of the storage medium . the parameter collection module 414 may then retrieve 610 the physical parameters of the storage medium . the virtual builder 416 may then generate 612 a virtual image of the storage medium using the physical parameters retrieved 610 by the parameter collection module 414 . the status module 412 may then trigger 614 the storage configuration process 204 to continue 616 with configuration tasks . in one embodiment , the configuration process 204 may then continue 616 configuring the storage medium based on the virtual image of the storage medium stored in the second temporary location 408 . the storage configuration process 204 may send 618 the configuration information to the configuration collection module 410 of the virtual configuration apparatus 206 . the configuration collection module 410 may store 620 the configuration information in the first temporary location 406 . the storage monitor 418 may continuously monitor 622 the storage medium to determine 624 whether the storage medium is available . if the storage monitor determines 624 that the storage medium is available for configuration , the storage medium interface 306 may copy 626 the configuration information stored in the first temporary location 406 to the storage medium , and the method 600 ends . in another exemplary embodiment , the storage manager 202 may initiate 602 the configuration process 204 . the configuration process 204 may trigger 604 a reconfiguration event on the hard disks 214 - 218 by deleting the rank 208 . in response to deleting the rank 208 the hard disks 214 - 218 are reformatted and unavailable for further configuration until the reformatting process is complete . however , the storage manager 202 may invoke 606 the virtual configuration apparatus 206 , so that the configuration process 204 may continue uninterrupted . the initialization module 302 of the virtual configuration apparatus 206 may then initialize 608 a temporary location for configuration information . in such an example , the memory manager 402 may generate a first temporary location 406 and a second temporary location 408 on the memory device 404 locate in the virtual configuration apparatus 206 . the initialization module 302 may additionally trigger the storage monitor 418 to monitor 622 the hard disks 214 - 218 to determine 624 whether the reformatting process is complete . the parameter collection module 414 of the storage medium interface 306 may then retrieve 610 the physical parameters from the hard disks 214 - 218 . in an alternative example , the parameter collection module 414 may have retrieved 610 the physical parameters prior to triggering 604 the storage reconfiguration event . the virtual builder 416 may then generate 612 a virtual image of the hard disks 214 , which includes physical parameters such as the rotation speed , and capacity of the hard disks 214 - 218 . the virtual builder may store the virtual image in the second temporary location 408 in the memory device 404 . the configuration manager interface 304 may then trigger 614 continuation 616 of the configuration process 204 . in an alternative embodiment , the trigger 614 may include a signal from the status module 412 indicating that the hard disks 214 - 218 are available for further configuration . the storage configuration process 204 may then continue the configuration process 616 uninterrupted by the reformatting event . the storage manager may then send 618 configuration information 618 generated by the storage configuration process 204 to the virtual configuration apparatus 206 . the configuration collection module 410 may store the configuration information in the first temporary location 406 . for example , the configuration collection module 410 may store an identifier indicating which rank 208 and array 210 the first hard disk 214 is assigned to operate within . when the storage monitor 418 determines 624 that the first hard disk 214 is available for configuration , the storage medium interface 306 may copy the configuration information from the first temporary location 406 to the first hard disk 214 . in a further embodiment , the virtual configuration apparatus 206 may delete the configuration information and virtual image corresponding to the first hard disk 214 when the configuration information has been successfully copied to the first hard disk 214 . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics . the described embodiments 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 . all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope . | 6 |
in accordance with the present invention , a getter body molding composition , and the getter bodies moldable therefrom , each comprise on an overall 100 weight percent total basis in uniform combination : ( a ) from about 20 to 40 weight percent of getter material , ( b ) from about 20 to 40 weight percent of polyamide , and ( c ) from about 20 to 40 weight percent of polyethylene wax . in preferred embodiments of the invention , approximately equal respective portions of one - third each of the above materials are utilized ( same basis ). the method of producing the molded getter bodies of the invention proceeds in such a manner that , first , the getter material , for example activated carbon powder , zeolite powder , zirconium powder , or the like , is directly mixed with the polyamide in a finely divided powder form . then , the polyethylene wax in the form of a water dispersion is added to this mixture and is uniformly distributed and mixed therewith so as to attain a uniform mass . this mass is then dried , granulated or ground , and formed into a moldable particulate or granular composition which is pressed ( molded ) into the desired shaped getter bodies of this invention . the dried granulated mass can be screened to remove therefrom any coarse fractions , which fraction so removed can then be regranulated or reground and then recycled into admixture with the product molding composition . a further advantage of the moldable getter body composition of the invention is that a high proportion of free - flowing granular material is attainable for use as a molding composition as a result of drying and granulating so that such granular material can then be directly molded . if desired , any oversized particles or agglomerations can be reground in a simple matter into the moldable granular mass which preferably has particle sizes of a selected size range . in preferred embodiments of the invention , the moldable granular mass is composed of particles having an average grain or particle size of less than about 0 . 5 mm diameter , particularly when such mass is to be used for the production of molded getter bodies for use in electrical components , such as relays , which getter bodies are designed to have a uniform interior dimension or diameter of not greater than about approximately 3 mm . in order to provide increased stability for the molded getter bodies of the invention , the compressed molded getter bodies formed from such a molded granular composition are optionally hardened or cured by a thermal treatment in air at a temperature of preferably approximately 200 ° c ., and broadly from about 160 ° to 240 ° c ., although higher and lower temperatures may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention . the getter materials employed in the practice of this invention preferably initially have average particle size which are less than about 140 microns , and more preferably are less than about 75 microns . also , such a getter material preferably initially has a surface area which is at least about 200 square meters per gram , and more preferably is at least about 800 square meters per gram . the presently most preferred getter material comprises activated carbon powder . smaller and larger such particle sizes and surface areas can be used if desired . the polyamide employed in the practice of this invention can be of any particular moldable type , such as a copolymer of a diamine and a dicarboxylic acid , like the polyamide based on hexamethylene diamine and adipic acid , or a polylactam polymer , like the polyamide based on caprolactam , or the like . polyamides which thermoset readily at temperatures above about 160 ° c . can be used and are preferred , but polyamides having higher and lower thermosetting temperatures can be used . the polyamide used in the practice of this invention is initially in a powdered form . preferably , the polyamide has an average particle size which is less than about 400 microns and more preferably such polyamide has an average particle size in the range from about 100 to 200 microns . if desired , a starting polyamide can be purchased in the form of conventionally sized molding pellets , and such pellets can be passed through a so - called micronizer or the like to produce the powdered forms desired . higher and lower particle sizes for the polyamide can be used if desired . the polyethylene employed in the practice of the invention is characterized by being initially at least water dispersable , and preferably is water emulsifiable . it is also film forming , as when an aqueous colloidal dispersion of such a polyethylene wax is applied to a solid substrate surface and then is dried to remove residual water . such a polyethylene wax itself is not oxidized , so that carbonyl , hydroxyl , and carbonyl , hydroxyl , and carboxyl groups are characteristically not present therein . suitable polyethylene waxes are well known and available commercially . a presently preferred polyethylene wax for use in this invention is a nonionic polyethylene wax which is capable of being formed into an aqueous wax - in - water emulsion . such a polyethylene wax can incorporate into its molecular structure during polymerization at least one alkyl polyglycol ether chain per molecule . another suitable polyethylene wax is an anionic polyethylene wax which is capable of being formed into an aqueous wax - in - water emulsion . such a polyethylene wax can incorporate pendant sulfonic acid groups in its molecular structure . such an incorporation can be accomplished by polymerizing ethylene in the presence of ethylene sulfonic acid , for example . the structure and preparation of colloidally dispersable polyethylene waxes is well known to those skilled in the art . as utilized in the practice of the present invention , the colloidally dispersable polyethylene wax is initially in the form of a colloidal aqueous dispersion . the preparation of such dispersions is well known in the art and is described , for example , in the publication no . w258 by hoechst aktiengesellschaft ( verkauf kunststoffe , gruppe wachse and kunststoff - additive , gersthofen , postfach 101567 , d - 8900 augsburg 1 , west germany ), and elsewhere . typically such water emulsions are prepared either in ambient pressures or in low pressure autoclaves . for example , to prepare a wax - in - water emulsion , a polyethylene wax and emulsifier are heated in a melting pot at about 120 °- 130 ° c . in a second vessel , the chosen amount of water for a particular formulation is warmed to the specified emulsification temperature . the melted polyethylene wax in a thin stream with emulsifier is charged into the so prepared water . after the addition of the polyethylene wax is completed , the emulsion is cooled to room temperature and filtered . such aqueous colloidal dispersions of polyethylene wax are available commercially , and , for reasons of cost and manufacturing convenience , it is preferred to employ such commercially - prepared dispersions as starting materials for use in the practice of this invention . for example , the above indicated preferred nonionic polyethylene wax is available commercially as a 40 weight percent aqueous emulsion from hoechst in the united states under the trademark &# 34 ; hordamer pe 03 &# 34 ;. this emulsion has a ph ranging from about 6 . 0 to 8 . 0 , a viscosity at 25 ° c . by astm d 445 - 65 of not less than 50 , a density at 20 ° c . of from 0 . 96 to 0 . 98 by astm d 1298 - 67 , and a minimum film forming temperature of not less than 10 by din 53 787 . this emulsion constitutes a presently most preferred starting material for use in the practice of this invention . for another example , the above indicated anionic polyethylene wax is available commercially as a 40 weight percent aqueous emulsion from hoechst in the untied states under the trademark &# 34 ; hordamer pe 02 &# 34 ;. this emulsion has a ph ranging from about 10 . 5 to 11 . 5 , a viscosity at 25 ° c . by astm d 445 - 65 of not less than 50 , a density of 20 ° c . of from 0 . 96 to 0 . 98 by astm d 1298 - 67 , and a minimum film forming temperature of not less than 10 by din 53 787 . this emulsion is a presently preferred starting material for use in the practice of this invention . in general , for use in the present invention , such an aqueous colloidal dispersion can have , on a total 100 weight percent basis , a polyethylene wax solids content ranging from about 20 to 55 weight percent , although lower and higher solids contents can be employed if desired and if obtainable . also , in general , the polyethylene wax particle size in such a colloidal dispersion is less than about 200 millimicrons , and more preferably is in the range from about 75 to 100 millimicrons . small and larger such particle sizes can be used . it is presently preferred to dry a composite intermediate uniform blend of powdered getter material , powdered polyamide , and aqueous colloidal dispersion of polyethylene wax under atmospheric conditions at an elevated temperature which temperature is below the melt softening temperatures , respectively , of the polyethylene wax and the polyamide . typically suitable drying temperatures are below about 200 ° c . more preferably , the drying temperature ranges from about 80 ° to 135 ° c . which preferably is applied inversely for a time of from about 3 to 0 . 2 hours . after such drying , it is presently preferred to grind the dried product to an extent sufficient to produce a powdered moldable product composition having an average particle size which is less than about 1 millimeter and more preferably which is less than about 0 . 5 millimeter . coarse particles are preferably removed by screening , and separated coarse particles are reground to a desired such particle size , and then admixed with powdered product moldable composition . in mixing together the powdered getter material and the powdered polyamide resin , it is convenient to employ from about 40 to 60 weight percent of each on a total 100 weight percent mixture basis . preferably about equal quantities of such respective substances are employed . the effect of the mixing of the aqueous dispersion of polyethylene wax with the particulate polyamide and particulate getter material is to provide a layer or film of the polyethylene wax about individual such particles or small clusters of such particles . while the presently described method for preparation of a powdered molding composition of this invention is preferred , those skilled in the art will appreciate that other preparation methods can be employed so that the molding compositions of this invention can be prepared by more than one method . examples of other methods of preparation include ( a ) spray coating particulate polyamide and getter materials in a tower with an aqueous dispersion of polyethylene wax , ( b ) preliminarily separately batch coating particulate polyamide powder and getter material powder drying , granulating , and thereafter admixing together the separately so prepared batches , and the like . regardless of preparation procedure , the molding compositions of this invention preferably have a particle size as above indicated . typically , a compression molded getter body of this invention produced from a molding composition of this invention has a structure wherein the polyethylene wax is a continuous phase with said polyamide particles and said getter material particles being distributed therein as respective discrete phases . in the drawings , fig1 illustrates the basic steps utilized in producing the molded getter bodies of the invention . fig1 is believed to be self explanatory . fig2 a illustrates a circular or cylindrical getter body producable in accordance with the principles of the invention . fig2 b illustrates a rectangular or square getter body 12 producable in accordance with the principles of the invention . of course , other geometrical shapes can also be readily produced as desired in a getter body of this invention . the present invention is further illustrated by reference to the following examples . those skilled in the art will appreciate that other and further embodiments are obvious and within the spirit and scope of this invention from the teachings of these present examples taken with the accompanying specification . in producing certain molded getter bodies , activated carbon powder having particles of an average size ( diameter ) less than about 60 μm was selected as the getter material and such was uniformly admixed with an approximately equal amount by weight of polyamide powder having a particle size of less than about 160 μm . this mixing step can occur in a commercially available or standard mixing device , such as a biconial mixer , a bifurcated mixer , a paddle mixer , or the like . polyethylene wax emulsified in water (&# 34 ; hordamer pe 03 &# 34 ;) was then added to the above mixture and uniformly blended in . overall , the respective dry weight proportions of getter material , polyamide powder , and polyethylene wax solids were approximately equal in the resulting composition . the mixture produced in the above described manner was then dried on a drying plate in air while maintained at a temperature below about 90 ° c . subsequently , the dried mixture was put through a grinder and then passed through a screening device so that granular particles having a size of less than 0 . 5 mm were removed while coarser particles were reground and recycled until all particles attained a particle size of less than 0 . 5 mm . the grinding and size separation occurred in a conventional toothed plate mill . next , with an automatic dry press machine , the relatively fine sized dry particles were molded into cylindrical getter bodies having a diameter of 3 . 4 mm and a height of 1 . 5 mm . the dimensional accuracy of the molded parts so automatically pressed ( molded ) in this manner amounted to approximately ± 3 %. the so - produced molded getter bodies were carefully examined and exhibited no visible cracks . these bodies were then hardened into shape - stable bodies by a thermal treatment in air at about 200 ° c . for 20 minutes . in order to determine their mechanical strength , these hardened bodies were radially loaded with 35 n ( newtons ) between flat plates without breakage . accordingly , such bodies exhibited sufficient stability to be pressed into slot - shaped mounts or to be placed in receiving areas of electrical components without fracturing , as desired . the getter effect of the above - produced molded getter bodies was next checked . a larger number of the above described hardened getter bodies were weighed and subsequently placed in a vacuum chamber at 110 ° c . thereafter , these getter bodies were stored with styrol in a closable metal container . after 22 hours of storage time at room temperatures , the increase in weight of each of the bodies was determined . in this manner , the relative getter capacity of bodies , which initally has an individual weight of 11 mg , was determined to be 0 . 3 mg . with activated carbon getter bodies of equal size , but of a traditional prior art composition , this relative getter capacity amounted to only 0 . 2 mg per tablet . the getter rate , i . e ., the weight increase after a specific time , was also greater with the getter tablets of the invention in comparison to such similarly shaped tablets produced in accordance with the prior art . as is apparent from the foregoing specification , the present invention is susceptible of being embodied with various alterations and modifications which may differ particularly from those that have been described in the preceding specification and description . for this reason , it is to be fully understood that all the foregoing description is intended to be merely illustrative , and it is not to be construed or interpreted as being restrictive or otherwise limiting of the present invention , excepting as it is set forth and defined in the hereto - appended claims . | 7 |
in order to achieve the above mentioned aspects and in accordance with the purpose of the invention as embodied and described herein , there are provided processes for the syntheses of compounds of formulae ia , 1b , ii and iii , wherein r , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 , x , y , x 1 , y 1 , x 2 , y 2 , z and b are the same as defined earlier . the compounds of formulae ia , 1b , ii and iii of the present invention may be prepared by following the reaction sequences as depicted below in schemes ia , ib to ix . in scheme ia there is provided a process for preparing a compound of formula ia , as shown above , wherein x is selected from the group consisting ch 2 , co , cs , so 2 and — n ═ n —, r is selected from the group consisting of ( 1 ) c 1 - c 4 alkyl which is unsubstituted or substituted with 1 - 3 substituents each independently selected from the group consisting of halogen , hydroxy , c 1 - c 4 alkoxy and amino ( 2 ) c 1 - c 4 alkoxy , ( 3 ) halogen ( 4 ) formyl ( 5 ) carboxyl ( 6 ) c 1 - c 4 acyloxy ( 7 ) phenyl or substituted phenyl ( 8 ) hydroxy ( 9 ) nitro ( 10 ) amino ( 11 ) furyl ( 12 ) triazolyl ( 13 ) thienyl ( 14 ) piperazinyl ( 15 ) morpholinyl ( 16 ) thiomorpholinyl ( 17 ) imidazolyl ( 18 ) oxazolyl and ( 19 ) triazolone - yl , r 1 and r 2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of ( 1 ) hydrogen , ( 2 ) c 1 - c 4 alkyl group which is unsubstituted or substituted by 1 - 3 substituents each independently selected from the group consisting of halogen , hydroxy , c 1 - c 4 alkoxy and amino ( 3 ) nitro ( 4 ) amino ( 5 ) cyano ( 6 ) carboxyl or protected carboxyl ( 7 ) so 2 r ′ wherein r ′ is hydrogen , alkyl or aryl and ( 8 ) c 1 - c 4 alkoxy , y is a phenyl group which is unsubstituted or substituted by substituents each independently selected from the group consisting of ( 1 ) halogen ( 2 ) nitro ( 3 ) amino ( 4 ) cyano ( 5 ) carboxyl or protected carboxyl ( 6 ) hydroxy ( 7 ) c 1 - c 4 alkoxy and ( 8 ) so 2 r ′ wherein r ′ is hydrogen , alkyl or aryl , r 3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen . c 1 - c 4 alkyl group , halogen , hydroxy , c 1 - c 4 alkoxy , nitro , amino , cyano , carboxyl and so 2 r ′ wherein r ′ is hydrogen , alkyl or aryl ; and x 1 , x 2 , y 1 , y 2 and z are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , halogen , nitro , cyano , amino , sulphonyl , aryl or substituted aryl , c 1 - c 4 alkyl , c 1 - c 4 alkoxy , carboxyl or protected carboxyl . also , when r 1 is other than hydrogen , formula i has two asymmetric centres and there are four possible enantiomers i . e . rr , rs , sr and ss , this invention relates to the mixture of enantiomers as well as individual isomers and the most preferred isomer in this situation is rr , which comprises reacting 1 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - disubstituted phenyl )- 2 , 3 - epoxy derivative of 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole of formula iv , wherein x , r and r 1 , are the same as defined above , with triazol - 3 - one derivatives of formula v , wherein r 2 , r 3 , x 1 , x 2 , y , y 1 , y 2 and z have the same meanings , as defined above , in the presence of sodium hydride to afford the desired compound of formula ia , wherein x , x 1 , x 2 , y 1 , y 2 , z , r , r 1 , r 2 and r 3 have the same meanings as defined above . in scheme ib there is provided a process for preparing a compound of formula ib , wherein x , r , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and y are the same as defined above , r 4 is selected from the group hydrogen , c 1 - c 4 alkyl group which is unsubstituted or substituted , b is selected from oxygen and sulphur atoms , r 5 is selected from the group ( 1 ) hydrogen , ( 2 ) c 1 - c 4 alkyl group which is unsubstituted or substituted by 1 - 3 substituents each independently selected from the group consisting of halogen , hydroxy , c 1 - c 4 alkoxy and amino , ( 3 ) phenyl which is unsubstituted or substituted with 1 - 3 substituents each independently selected from the group consisting of ( a ) c 1 - c 4 alkyl which is unsubstituted or substituted with 1 - 3 substituents each independently selected from the group consisting of halogen , hydroxy , c 1 - c 4 alkoxy and amino ( b ) c 1 - c 4 alkoxy , ( c ) halogen , ( d ) formyl ( e ) carboxyl ( f ) c 1 - c 4 acyloxy ( g ) c 1 - c 4 alkoxycarbonyl amino ( h ) phenyl or naphthyl - oxy carbonylamino ( i ) semicarbazido ( j ) formamido ( k ) thioformamido ( l ) hydroxy ( m ) nitro ( n ) amino ( o ) furyl ( p ) triazolyl ( q ) thienyl ( r ) oxazolyl ( s ) imidazolyl ( t ) cf 2 and ( u ) ocf 3 ( 4 ) naphthyl or naphthyl ( c 1 - c 4 alkyl ) which may be substituted with 1 - 6 substituents selected from ( a ) c 1 - c 5 alkyl which is unsubstituted or substituted with 1 - 3 substituents each independently selected from the group consisting of halogen , hydroxy , c 1 - c 4 alkoxy and amino , ( b ) halogen ( c ) ( c 1 - c 4 alkyl ) halo , ( d ) c 1 - c 4 alkoxy ( e ) hydroxy ( f ) amino ( g ) carboxyl ( h ) trifluoromethoxyl ( i ) trifluoromethyl ( j ) tetrafluoroethyl ( k ) tetrafluoroethoxyl ( l ) tetrafluoropropyl and ( m ) tetrafluoropropoxyl . also , when r 1 is other than hydrogen , formula i has two asymmetric centres and there are four possible enantiomers i . e . rr , rs , sr and ss , this invention relates to the mixture of enantiomers as well as individual isomers and the most preferred isomer in this situation is rr , which comprises reacting a compound of formula id wherein x , r , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and y have the same meanings as defined earlier , with a compound of formula r 5 — n ═ c ═ b wherein r 5 and b are the same as defined earlier to give a compound of formula ic , which on reaction with r 4 z wherein r 4 is the same as defined above and z is any halogen atom , gives a compound of formula ib wherein x , r , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 , y and b have the same meanings as defined earlier . in scheme ii , there is provided a process for preparing a compound of formula ia , wherein x , r , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , y , x 1 , x 2 , y 1 , y 2 and z are the same as defined above , also when r 1 is other than hydrogen , formula i has two asymmertric centres and there are four possible enantiomers i . e . rr , rs , sr and ss , this invention relates to the mixture of enantiomers as well as individual isomers and the most preferred isomer in this situation is rr , which comprises reacting epoxide derivative of formula vi , wherein x , r , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , x 1 , x 2 , y , y 1 , y 2 and z are the same as defined above with 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole to afford a compound of formula ia . there is provided a process for preparing a compound of formula ii , wherein x , r , r 1 , r 4 , r 5 , y and b have the same meanings as defined earlier , also when r 1 is other than hydrogen , formula ii has two asymmetric centres and there are four possible enantiomers i . e . rr , rs , sr and ss , this invention relates to the mixture of enantiomers as well as individual isomers and the most preferred isomer in this situation is rr , which comprises reacting a compound of formula vii , wherein r , r 1 , x and y are same as defined earlier with a compound r 5 — n ═ b ═ b , wherein r 5 and b are the same defined earlier to give a compound of formula viii , wherein r , r 1 , r 5 , x , y and b have the same meanings as defined earlier . the compound of formula viii , on reaction with r 4 z , wherein r 4 is c 1 - c 4 alkyl and z is any halogen atom , gives a compound of formula ii , wherein r , r 1 , r 4 , r 5 , x , y and b are the same as defined earlier . in scheme iv there is provided a process for the preparation of a compound of formula iii , wherein r , r 1 , r 5 , x , y and b are the same as defined above , also when r 1 is other than hydrogen , formula iii has two asymmetric centres and there are four possible enantiomers i . e . rr , rs , sr and ss , this invention relates to the mixture of enantiomers as well as individual isomers and the most preferred isomer in this situation is rr , which comprises reacting a compound of formula ix with a compound of formula b ═ c ═ n — r 5 wherein b and r 5 are the same as defined earlier , to give the desired compound of formula iii . in scheme v 1 , 3 - difluorobenzene of formula x , on treatment with chloroacetyl chloride of formula xi , in the presence of a lewis acid catalyst such as aluminium trichloride gives α - chloro - 2 , 4 - difluoroacetophenone of formula xii . this compound of formula xii is further reacted with 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole to obtain 2 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl )- 2 ′- 4 ′- difluoroacetophenone of formula xiii . this compound of formula xiii is further reacted with trimethyl sulphoxonium iodide ( tmsi ) to afford 1 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 , 3 - epoxypropyl ]- 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole of formula iv ( r = f , x = ch 2 , r 1 = h ). the procedure as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 404 , 216 is followed to prepare compound of formula iv . the triazol - 3 - one derivatives of formula v ( r 3 = h , y = c 6 h 4 —), wherein r 2 , x 1 , x 2 , y 1 , y 2 and z are the same as defined earlier , are prepared by reacting substituted phenyl piperazine of formula xiv , wherein x 1 , x 2 , y 1 , y 2 and z are the same as defined earlier , is reacted with 4 - chloronitrobenzene to give the corresponding nitroaryl compound of formula xv , which on catalytic reduction affords the anilino derivative of formula xvi . the compound of formula xvi , is acylated with phenyl chloroformate to afford phenyl carbamate derivatives of formula xvii . reaction of these carbamate derivative of formula xvii , with hydrazine hydrate yields semicarbazide derivative of formula xviii , which on cyclization with formamidine derivatives gives the triazol - 3 - one derivatives of formula v ( r 3 = h , y = c 6 h 4 —). the reaction of compound of formula v , with the compound of formula iv ( r = f , r 1 = h , x = ch2 ) is carried out in the presence of sodium hydride to afford the desired compound of formula ia ( x = ch 2 , r = f , r 1 = h , y = c 6 h 4 —, r 3 = h ), wherein r 2 , x 1 , x 2 , y 1 , y 2 and z are the same as defined earlier . the compounds of formula ia ( x = ch 2 , r = f , r 1 = ch 3 , y = c 6 h 4 —, r 3 = h ) wherein r 2 , x 1 , y 1 , x 2 , y 2 and z have the same meanings as defined earlier , are synthesized following the reaction sequence embodied in scheme vi . thus , 1 , 3 - difluorobenzene of formula x is reacted with racemic (±) 2 - chloropropionyl chloride of formula xix to give a compound (±) 2 - chloro - 2 - methyl - 2 ′, 4 ′- difluoroaceto - phenone of formula xx . the intermediate of formula v which in turn is prepared by following the reaction sequence as described in scheme v wherein r 2 , x 1 , x 2 , y 1 , y 2 and z have the same usual meanings , is condensed with (±) 2 - chloro - 2 - methyl - 2 ′, 4 ′- difluoroacetophenone of formula xx in the presence of sodium hydride to afford compound of formula xxi , wherein r 2 , x 1 , x 2 , y 1 , y 2 and z have the same meanings as defined earlier . the compound of formula xxi is epoxidized with trimethyl - sulphoxonium iodide ( tmsi ) in dimethylsulfoxide ( dmso ) to give an epoxide derivative of formula vi ( x = ch 2 , r = f , r 1 = ch 3 , y = c 6 h 4 —, r 3 = h ), which is then condensed with 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole to give a compound of formula ia ( x = ch 2 , r = f , r 1 = ch 3 , y = c 6 h 4 —, r 3 = h ), wherein r 2 , x 1 , y 1 , x 2 , y 2 and z are the same as defined earlier . the compounds of formula ii ( x = ch 2 , r = f , r 1 = h , y = c 6 h 4 — wherein r 4 , r 5 , and b have the same meanings as defined earlier , are synthesized by following the reaction sequence as depicted above in scheme vii . thus , 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolyl )- 1 -[ 4 -( piprazinyl ) phenoxy ]- propan - 2 - ol of formula vii ( x = ch 2 , r = f , r 1 = h , y = c 6 h 4 —) ( prepared by the process as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 023 , 258 , assigned to pfizer ) on treatment with the compound of formula b = c = n — r 5 , wherein b and r 5 are the same as defined earlier gives a compound of formula vii ( x = ch 2 , r = f , r 1 = h , y = c 6 h 4 —) wherein r 5 and b are the same as defined earlier . this compound of formula vii ( x = ch 2 , r = f , r 1 = h , y = c 6 h 4 —) is further reacted with r 4 z in the presence of sodium hydride gives the required compound of formula ii ( x = ch 2 , r = f , r 1 = h , y = c 6 h 4 —, wherein r 4 , r 5 and b are the same as defined earlier . in scheme vii , 2 - chloro - methyl - 2 ′, 4 ′- difluoroacetophenone of formula xxii , on treatment with 1 - acetyl - 4 - hydroxyphenylpiperazine of formula xxiii , gives 2 -[ 4 -( 4 - acetylpiperazine ) phenoxy ]- 2 - methyl - 2 ′, 4 ′- difluoroacetophenone of formula xxiv in the presence of potassium carbonate in dimethylformamide , which on treatment with trimethyl sulphoxonium iodide ( tmsi ) in dmso gives the corresponding epoxide of formula xxv . this compound of formula xxv is reacted with 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole to yield a compound of formula xxvi , which in turn on hydrolysis with sodium hydroxide in dioxane gives a compound of formula vii ( x = ch 2 , r = f , r 1 = ch 3 , y = c 6 h 4 —). the compound of formula vii on reaction with r 5 — n = b = b gives a compound of formula ii ( x = ch 2 , r = f , r 1 = ch 3 , r 4 = h ) wherein r 5 and b have the same meanings as defined earlier . in scheme ix 1 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 , 3 - epoxypropyl ]- 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole of formula iv ( r = f , x = ch 2 , r 1 = h ) on treatment with n - methyl - 4 - nitroaniline of formula xxvii gives 3 -[ n - methyl - n -( 4 - nitrophenyl )]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 1 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolyl )- propan - 3 - amino - 2 - ol of formula xxviii which on reduction with palladium on charcoal gives 3 -[ n - methyl - n -( 4 - aminophenyl )]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 1 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolyl )- propane - 3 - amino - 2 - ol of formula ix , ( x = ch 2 , r = f , r 1 = h , y = c 6 h 4 —) which on reaction with b = c = n — r 5 gives a compound of formula iii ( x = ch 2 , r = f , r 1 = h , y = c 6 h 4 —) wherein b and r 5 are the same as defined earlier . in the above schemes where specific acids , bases , solvents , catalysts , oxidising agents , reducing agents etc . are mentioned , it is to be understood that the other acids , bases , solvents , catalysts , oxidising agents , reducing agents etc . may be used . similarly , the reaction temperature and duration of the reaction may be adjusted according to the need . an illustrative list of particular compounds according to the invention and capable of being produced by schemes ia , ib to ix include : preferred group of compounds belonging to the compounds of formulae ia , ib , ii and iii of the present invention are exemplified in table i to table iv though the present invention is not limited to the compounds given there . formula ia ( x = ch 2 , r = f , y = c 6 h 4 − , r 3 = h ) ( x = ch 2 , r = f , y = c 6 h 4 —) ( x = ch 2 , r = f , y = c 6 h 4 —) ( x = ch 2 , r = f , y = c 6 h 4 —, r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and r 4 = h ) all compounds mentioned in the above list as well as the compounds mentioned in formulae ia , ib , ii and iii with a variety of substituents were prepared using the methods described earlier depending upon whether they are mixtures of α - methylated isomers , mixtures of non α - methylated isomers or pure rr isomers . the examples mentioned below demonstrate the general synthetic procedure as well as the specific preparation for the preferred compound . the examples are given to illustrate the details of the invention and should not be constrained to limit the scope of the present invention . most of the compounds were characterized using nmr , ir and were purified by chromatography . crude products were subjected to column chromatographic purification using silica gel ( 100 - 200 or 60 - 120 mesh ) as stationary phase . into the solution of 1 , 3 - difluorobenzene in 1 , 2 - dicholoroethane ( dce ) was added anhydrous aluminium chloride ( 1 . 2 molar equivalent of 1 , 3 - difluorobenzene ) at 25 - 30 ° c . and stirred for 30 minutes . the reaction mixture was then cooled to 0 ° c . and chloroacetyl chloride ( 1 . 1 molar equivalent of 1 , 3 - difluorobenzene ), in dce , was then added into it over a period of 30 - 60 min keeping the reaction temperature below 20 ° c . after the addition was over , the reaction mixture was stirred at 25 - 30 ° c . for 5 - 7 hours . the reaction mixture was then diluted with dce and poured into dil . hydrochloric acid ( 5 %) at 0 - 5 ° c . the mixture was then extracted with dce . the combined organic layer was washed successively with 5 % aq . sodium bicarbonate solution and water . evaporating dce from the organic layer under reduced pressure gave an oil which on triturating with n - hexane gave the title compound as white crystalline material ( yield 75 % of theory ). the product obtained in step - 1 was reacted with 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( 1 . 2 molar equivalent ) in the presence of sodium bicarbonate as base and toluene as solvent under refluxing condition . after the reaction was over , the reaction mixture was poured into crushed ice and extracted with toluene . the combined organic layer was then washed with water and concentrated under reduced pressure to give brown semisolid compound which was recrystallized from ethyl acetate — hexane mixture to give light yellow solid compound which was then used as such in the next step . step 2 product was dissolved in toluene , followed by the addition of trimethylsulfoxonium iodide ( tmsi ), cetramide and 20 % aq . sodium hydroxide solution . this mixture was then heated at 60 ° c . for 4 hrs . after the reaction was over , it was diluted with toluene and poured into chilled water . the organic layer was washed with water and concentrated under reduced pressure to give light brown oil which was used after column chromatographic purification ( silica gel ) in the next step . substituted phenyl piperazine was reacted with 4 - chloronitrobenzene ( 1 . 1 molar equivalent of phenyl piperazine ) in dimethylsulphoxide [ dmso ] ( 5 times ) using anhydrous potassium carbonate ( 1 . 5 molar equivalent ) at a temperature 135 - 140 ° c . for 6 to 8 hrs . the reaction mixture was poured into crushed ice and the compound was isolated either as a solid or by extracting with chlorinated organic solvent . after drying under vacuum at 30 - 35 ° c . for 6 - 8 hrs , the compound was used as such for next step . the nitro compound was then reduced to amine by two methods : method 1 : the compound of step 4 was dissolved in methanol and palladium on charcoal ( wet , 10 % w / w ) was added under nitrogen followed by the addition of ammonium formate ( 5 molar equivalent ). the reaction mixture was then stirred at a temperature ranging from 45 to 70 ° c . until the reaction went to completion . after the reaction was over , the reaction mixture was then cooled to 25 - 30 ° c . and filtered . the filtrate was then concentrated under reduced pressure to give a residue which was again dissolved in dichloroethane and washed with water . the organic layer on concentration gave the desired product . method 2 : the compound of step 4 was refluxed in ethyl acetate in the presence of 5 . 0 molar equivalent stannous chloride dihydrate for 6 - 8 hrs . after completion of the reaction , the reaction mixture was poured into 10 % aq . sodium bicarbonate and extracted with ethyl acetate . the combined organic layer was then washed with water dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and concentrated under reduced pressure to give the desired product . the amine obtained from step 5 was dissolved in a mixture of dichloroethane ( dce ) and pyridine and cooled to 5 ° c . a solution of phenylchloroformate ( 1 . 4 molar equivalent ) in dce was added into the solution of amine at such a rate that reaction temperature remained below 35 ° c . after the addition was over , reaction mixture was stirred at 25 - 30 ° c . for 3 - 5 hours . solvent was evaporated off under reduced pressure to give brownish residue which on triturating with n - hexane gave brown solid . it was then obtained was washed with 5 % aq . solution of sodium bicarbonate and water . it was then dried under vacuum at 40 ° c . for 3 to 5 hrs to give the corresponding carbamate . the carbamate obtained in step 6 was stirred in 1 , 4 - dioxane followed by the addition of hydrazine hydrate ( 2 . 5 molar equivalent 98 %) at room temperature . after refluxing the reaction mixture for 4 to 6 hrs , solvent was evaporated off to give solid residue which was triturated with 10 % methanol in diethyl ether , filtered the separated solid and dried under vacuum at 35 - 40 ° c . for 4 to 6 hrs to give corresponding semicarbazide . the semicarbazide so obtained was dissolved in dry dimethylformamide ( dmf ) followed by the addition of formamidine acetate ( 4 . 5 molar equivalent ). after heating at 120 - 130 ° c . for 3 to 5 hrs , reaction mixture was poured into chilled saturated aq . solution of sodium bicarbonate with stirring . solid so obtained was filtered , washed with water and dried under vacuum at 40 ° c . for 7 hrs . to give corresponding triazolone . hexane washed sodium hydride ( 0 . 015 mg , 1 . 0 mmol ) was added into a stirred solution of compound obtained from step - 8 ( 0 . 4 g , 1 . 12 mmol ) in dimethyl formamide ( dmf ) ( 10 ml ) maintaining nitrogen atmosphere . after stirring at 25 - 30 ° c ., a solution of the compound obtained from step 3 ( 1 . 68 mmol ) in dmf was added drop - wise into the reaction mixture at 40 ° c ., temperature was raised to 80 ° c . and maintained at this temperature for about 4 hr . after the reaction was over , reaction mixture was cooled to 35 - 40 ° c ., poured it into chilled water ( 50 ml ) and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 100 ml ). the combined organic layer was washed with water ( 4 × 50 ml ), dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate and concentrated under vacuum to give an oily residue ( 0 . 3 gm ). the oil was purified by column chromatography ( silica gel 100 - 200 mesh ) using hexane - ethyl acetate ( 1 : 1 ) followed by ethyl acetate or by crystallisation from suitable solvent to give the required compound . into the solution of 1 , 3 - difluorobenzene in 1 , 2 - dicholoroethane ( dce ) was added anhydrous aluminium chloride ( 1 . 2 mol eqnt .) at 25 - 30 ° c . and stirred for 30 minutes . the reaction mixture was then cooled to 0 ° c . and (±) 2 - chloropropionyl chloride ( 1 . 1 molar equivalent ), diluted in dce , was then added into it over a period of 30 - 60 min keeping the reaction temperature below 20 ° c . after the addition was over , reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 5 - 7 hours . for workup , reaction mixture was diluted with dce and poured into chilled aq . hydrochloric acid solution ( 5 %). the mixture was extracted with dce and the combined organic layer was washed with 5 % aq . sodium bicarbonate solution and water . the solvent was evaporated off under reduced pressure to afford an oil . hexane washed sodium hydride ( 1 . 2 molar equivalent ) was added into a stirred solution of compound of formula xii ( 1 . 0 molar equivalent ) in dimethylsulphoxide ( dmso ) maintained under nitrogen atmosphere . after stirring at 25 - 30 ° c . for 1 hr , a solution of the compound of formula xiv ( 2 molar equivalent ) in dmso was added dropwise into the reaction mixture at about 152 ° c . the reaction mixture was then stirred at 25 - 30 ° c . for 2 hrs and slowly the temperature was raised to 60 ° c . and maintained this temperature for 3 - 4 hrs . after the reaction was over , reaction mixture was cooled to 25 - 30 ° c ., poured into chilled water and extracted with ethyl acetate . the combined organic layer was washed with water , dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate and concentrated to give an oily residue under vacuum . the crude product was purified by column chromatography ( silica gel 100 - 200 mesh ) using hexane - ethyl acetate ( 1 : 1 ) followed by using ethyl acetate to give the required compound . hexane washed sodium hydride was stirred in dmso followed by the addition of trimethylsulfoxonium iodide ( tmsi ) at 15 ° c . the reaction mixture was stirred at 25 - 30 ° c . under nitrogen atmosphere for 1 - 2 hrs . a solution of the compound obtained in step 2 in dmso was added into the above mixture at 25 - 30 ° c . and then heated to 80 to 90 ° c . for 1 - 2 hrs . due to the generation of second chiral center in the molecules two pairs of diasteromers were formed which were detected both by tlc as well as by hplc methods . after the reaction was over the reaction mixture was cooled to 25 - 30 ° c ., poured into chilled brine and extracted with ethyl acetate . the combined organic layer was washed with water , dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated under vacuum to give either an oil or a fluffy solid which was then used as such for the next step . 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole was stirred with sodium hydride in dimethylformamide ( dmf ) at 25 - 30 ° c . for about 1 hr . the solution of epoxide obtained from step - 3 in dmf was then added into this reaction mixture at 25 - 30 ° c . and stirred the reaction mixture at 100 ° c . after the reaction was over the reaction mixture was cooled to 25 - 30 ° c ., poured into chilled brine and extracted with ethyl acetate . the combined organic layer was washed with water , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and concentrated under vacuum to give either an oil or a fluffy solid . compound so obtained was actually a mixture of four isomers showing two spots on tlc . the mixtures of diastereomers was then separated by preparative hplc . 5 - chloro - 2 - methyl - phenylpiperazine ( 20 . 0 g ) was reacted with 4 - chloronitrobenzene ( 16 . 0 g ) in dimethylsulphoxide ( dmso ) ( 110 ml ) in the presence of anhydrous potassium carbonate ( 19 . 9 g ) at a temperature of 135 - 140 ° c . for 8 hours . after the reaction was over ( tlc monitoring ), the reaction mixture was poured into crushed ice and the compound was isolated as an orange solid . after drying under vacuum at 25 - 30 ° c . for 6 - 8 hours , the nitro compound ( 29 . 0 g , orange solid ; m . p . 146 - 150 ° c .) was used as such for the next step . the nitro compound ( 18 . 0 g ) was refluxed in ethyl acetate ( 150 ml ) in the presence of stannous chloride dihydrate ( 55 . 5 g ) for 8 hours . after completion of the reaction , the reaction mixture was poured into 10 % aqueous sodium bicarbonate ( 500 ml ) and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 150 ml ). the combined organic layer was washed with water ( 3 × 100 ml ) and then dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate . the organic layer was concentrated under vacuum to give the desired amine ( 15 . 3 g , brown oil ; yield : 93 %). the amine ( 15 . 0 g ) was dissolved in a mixture of dichloroethane ( dce ) ( 80 ml ) and pyridine ( 30 ml ). the reaction mixture was cooled to about 152 ° c . a solution of phenylchloroformate ( 11 . 67 g ) in dce ( 10 ml ) was added into the solution of amine at such a rate that reaction temperature remained below 20 ° c . after the addition was over , reaction mixture was stirred at 25 - 30 ° c . for about 3 hours . solvent was evaporated off under reduced pressure to give brownish residue which on triturating with n - hexane ( 150 ml ) gave brown solid . solid was washed with n - hexane ( 2 × 100 ml ), 5 % aq . solution of sodium bicarbonate ( 2 × 100 ml ) and distilled water ( 2 × 150 ml ) followed by drying under vacuum at 40 ° c . for 5 hours to give 10 gm of corresponding carbamate ( yield 86 %) m . p . 201 - 205 ° c . the carbamate ( 18 . 0 g ) was stirred in 1 , 4 - dioxane ( 130 ml ) followed by the addition of hydrazine hydrate ( 98 %) ( 5 . 32 g ) at 25 - 30 ° c . after refluxing the reaction mixture for 4 hours , solvent was evaporated off to give solid residue which was triturated with 10 % methanol in diethyl ether ( 150 ml ). the separated solid was filtered , washed and dried under vacuum at 35 ° c . for 4 to 6 hours to give corresponding semicarbazide ( 15 . 5 g ) mp 177 - 182 ° c . the semicarbazide ( 5 . 0 g ) was stirred in dry dmf ( 25 ml ) followed by the addition of formamidine acetate ( 6 . 5 g ). after heating at 120 ° c . for 3 to 5 hours , the reaction mixture was poured into a chilled saturated aq . solution of sodium bicarbonate ( 100 ml ) with stirring . solid so obtained was filtered , washed with water ( 3 × 50 ml ) and dried under vacuum at 40 ° c . for 5 hours to give corresponding triazolone derivative ( 4 . 3 g , 84 %) as a brown amorphous solid ; mp 258 - 262 ° c . hexane washed sodium hydride ( 0 . 057 g , 60 % suspension in oil ) was added into a stirred suspension of the above triazolone intermediate ( 0 . 5 g ) in dmf ( 10 ml ) maintained under nitrogen atmorphere . after stirring at 25 - 30 ° c ., a solution of the epoxide interemdiate ( 0 . 481 gm ) in dmf ( 5 ml ) was added dropwise into the reaction mixture at 40 ° c . temperature was then raised to 80 ° c . and maintained for about 4 hr . reaction mixture then was cooled to 25 - 30 ° c ., poured into chilled water ( 50 ml ) and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 100 ml ). the combined organic layer was washed with water ( 4 × 50 ml ), dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate and concentrated under vacuum to give an oily residue ( 0 . 3 gm ). the oily residue was subjected to column chromatography ( silica gel 100 - 200 mesh ) using hexane - ethyl acetate ( 1 : 1 , 300 ml ) followed by ethyl acetate ( 500 ml ) to give the required compound . ( 0 . 481 gm , 57 %) mp 82 - 91 ° c . hexane washed sodium hydride ( 0 . 311 g ) was added into a stirred solution of triazolone intermediate ( 4 -[ 4 -( 2 - methyl - 5 - chlorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl - 1 -( 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 triazolone ( 2 . 5 g ) in dmso ( 25 ml ) maintained under nitrogen atmosphere . after stirring at 25 - 30 ° c . for 1 hour , a solution of the intermediate of formula xiv ( 2 . 77 g ) in dmso ( 5 ml ) was added dropwise into the above reaction mixture at 15 ° c . the reaction mixture was then stirred at 25 - 30 ° c . for 2 hours , slowly the temperature was raised to 60 ° c . and maintained for 3 - 4 hours . reaction mixture was cooled to 25 - 30 ° c ., poured into chilled brine ( 150 ml ) and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 100 ml ). the combined organic layer was washed with water ( 4 × 50 ml ), dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate and concentrated to an oily residue under vacuum . the crude oil was subjected to column chromatography ( silica gel 100 - 200 mesh ) using hexane - ethyl acetate ( 1 : 1 ) followed by ethyl acetate to give required compound in pure form ( 2 . 6 gm ; 71 %) mp 125 - 128 ° c . hexane washed sodium hydride ( 0 . 128 g ) was stirred in dmso ( 15 ml ) followed by the addition of trimethylsulfoxonium iodide ( tmsi ) ( 0 . 736 g ) at 15 ° c . the reaction mixture was stirred at 25 - 30 ° c . under nitrogen atmosphere for 1 hr . a solution of step 1 product ( 0 . 9 g ) in dmso ( 5 ml ) was added into the above reaction mixture at 25 - 30 ° c . and then heated to 80 to 90 ° c . for about 1 hr . due to generation of second chiral centre in the molecule , two pairs of diastereomers were formed which were detected by the tlc and by hplc analyses . after the reaction was over , the reaction mixture was cooled to 25 - 30 ° c ., poured into chilled brine and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 75 ml ). the combined organic layer was the washed with water ( 2 × 50 ml ), dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated under vacuum to give an oil ( 0 . 93 gm , 100 %) which was then used as such immediately for next step . 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( 0 . 232 g ) was stirred with anhydrous potassium carbonate ( 0 . 465 g ) in dmf ( 10 ml ) at 25 - 30 ° c . for 1 - 2 hours . a solution of epoxide obtained from step - 2 ( 0 . 925 g ) in dmf ( 3 . 0 ml ) was then added into the above mixture at 25 - 30 ° c . followed by heating the reaction mixture at 90 to 100 ° c . for 1 hr . after the reaction was over , reaction mixture was cooled to 25 - 302 ° c ., poured into chilled brine ( 70 . 0 ml ) and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 75 ml ). the combined organic layer was washed with water ( 2 × 250 ml ), dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated under vacuum to give an oil . compound obtained actually was a mixture of two pairs of diastereomers showing two spots on tlc ( ethyl acetate ). the mixture of diastereomers ( 0 . 613 g , 59 %) was then separated by column chromatography to get compound no . 21 ) ( faster moving spot on tlc ) ( 35 mg ), compound no . 22 ( slower moving spot on tlc ) and 550 mg of mixture of the two spots . into a stirred suspension of sodium hydride ( 42 mg ) in dry dimethylformamide ( dmf ) ( 5 . 0 ml ) was added n - methyl - p - nitroaniline ( 1 . 5 gm ) at 5 - 10 ° c . the resulting suspension was stirred at 30 ° c . for 1 hour followed by the addition of a solution of epoxide ( formula iv ) in dmf ( 2 . 0 ml ) at 5 - 10 ° c . reaction mixture was then stirred at 30 ° c . for 30 min , heated to 60 - 65 ° c . for 12 hrs and was cooled to 30 ° c . poured the reaction mixture into ice - water mixture and extracted with dichloromethane ( 3 × 100 ml ). the combined organic layer was washed with dm water ( 2 × 70 ml ), dried over sodium sulphate and concentrated under reduced pressure to give a yellow solid ( 2 . 1 g , m . p . 248 - 50 ° c .). into a stirred solution of step 1 product in methanol was added palladium on carbon ( 10 %) ( 50 % w / w ) ( 0 . 5 g ) under nitrogen atmosphere . the suspension was then cooled to 10 ° c . followed by the addition of ammonium formate ( 1 . 2 g ) in portions over a period of 15 min . the reaction mixture was then heated to reflux and stirred at reflux for 5 hours . reaction mixture was cooled to 30 ° c . and filtered through a celite pad . the combined filtrate was concentrated under vacuum to give a yellow semi - solid which was redissolved in dichloromethane ( 200 ml ). the organic layer was washed with dm water ( 3 × 100 ml ), dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated under reduced pressure to give semi - solid amine which was subjected to next step without further purification . dissolved the amine ( step - ii product ) ( 400 mg ) in anhydrous acetonitrile ( 5 ml ) and added p - chlorophenyl isothiocyanate ( 227 mg , 1 . 2 eqm ) to it . stirred for 4 hours at 25 - 30 ° c . and the solvent was evaporated off to afford residue which was purified using column chromatography ( yield : 200 mg , 34 %). dissolved the amine of formula vii ( prepared by following the process as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 023 , 258 ) ( 9 g ) in anhydrous acetonitrile ( 50 ml ) and added p - chlorophenyl isocyanate ( 4 g ) to it . stirred the reaction mixture for 1 hr at 25 - 30 ° c . and evaporated the solvent to afford crude oil which was purified using column chromatography ( yield : 8 . 3 g , 75 %). a solution of 2 - chloro - 2 ( r / s )- methyl - 2 , 4 - difluoroacetophenone ( 10 . 5 g ) ( 1 . 5 molar equivalent ) in dry dimethylformamide ( dmf ) was added into a stirred suspension of 1 - acetyl - 4 - hydroxyphenylpiperazine ( 8 . 0 g ) and potassium carbonate ( 12 . 16 g ) in dimethylformamide ( dmf ) at 5 - 100 ° c . reaction mixture was then stirred at 30 ° c . for 20 min , heated to 60 ° c . and stirred at 60 ° c . for about 5 hrs . reaction mixture then was cooled to 25 - 30 ° c ., poured into ice - water mixture and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 200 ml ). the combined organic layer was washed with water ( 3 × 100 ml ), dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated under reduced pressure to get foamy product ( 8 . 0 g ; 71 %). into a stirred suspension of sodium hydride ( 1 . 97 g ) in dry dimethylsulphoxide ( dmso ) under nitrogen atmosphere was added trimethylsulfoxomium iodide ( 9 . 075 g ) at 10 - 15 ° c . the foaming suspension was stirred at 30 ° c . for 1 hr followed by the addition of a solution of step - i product ( 8 . 0 g ) in dmso at 10 - 15 ° c . over a period of 10 min . reaction mixture was then heated to 90 ° c . and stirred at 90 ° c . for about 4 hours . cooled the reaction mixture , poured it into ice - water mixture and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 200 ml ). the combined organic layer was then washed with water ( 3 × 150 ml ), dried over sodium sulphate and concentrated under reduced pressure to give foamy product ( 7 . 0 g ; 85 %). into a stirred suspension of sodium hydride ( 1 . 67 g ) in dry dimethylformamide ( dmf ), was added 1 , 2 , 4 - triazole ( 2 . 4 g ) under nitrogen atmosphere and stirred at 30 ° c . for 1 hour . a solution of step 2 product ( 7 . 0 g ) in dmf was then added into the above suspension at 30 ° c . followed by heating to 80 - 850 ° c . and stirred at 80 - 85 ° c . for 8 hrs . reaction mixture was then cooled to 30 ° c ., poured into ice - water mixture and the suspension was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 3 × 200 ml ). the combined organic extract was washed with dm water ( 3 × 150 ml ), dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated under reduced pressure to give semisolid compound ( 6 . 0 g , 73 %). step 3 product ( 6 . 0 g ) was dissolved in 1 , 4 - dioxane ( 50 ml ) followed by the addition of a solution of sodium hydroxide ( 1 . 0 g ) in water ( 50 ml ). heated the reaction mixture to reflux , stirred it at reflux for about 5 hrs and concentrated under reduced pressure to give a brown semi - solid residue . this brown semi solid was redissolved in ethyl acetate ( 200 ml ), washed with dm water ( 2 × 100 ml ), dried over sodium sulphate and concentrated to get a pure brown semi - solid ( 4 . 5 g ; 81 %). dissolved the amine obtained as step 4 product ( formula vii ) ( 800 mg ) in anhydrous acetonitrile ( 5 ml ) followed by the addition of p - chlorophenyl isocyanate ( 3 . 44 mg ). the reaction mixture so obtained was stirred for 1 hour at room temperature and after the reaction was over , the solvent was evaporated off to give brown semi solid residue which was purified using column chromatography . the two spots observed on tlc were separated by preparative hplc ( upper spot , 50 mg , 30 %, compound no . 77 ; lower spot , 25 mg , 20 %, compound no . 78 ) dissolved the starting amine of formula vii ( following the method as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 371 , 101 ) in anhydrous acetonitrile and added p - chlorophenyl isocyanate ( 1 . 2 moler equivalent ) to it and stirred for 1 hr at 25 - 30 ° c . after completion of the reaction , the solvent was evaporated off to obtain a crude product which was purified using column chromatography . assignment of rr / ss was done on the basis of 1 hnmr analysis . an illustrative list of some of the compounds of the invention which were synthesized by one or more of the above described methods is given below along with their 1 hnmr data . all 1 hnmr spectra were recorded on brucker amx 300 nmr machines ( 300 mhz ) using cdcl 3 as a solvent and tms as an internal standard unless otherwise specified . all values are given in ppm . symbols in the examples have the following meanings . thus , s singlet ; d : doublet ; t : triplet ; q : quartet ; dd : double doublet ; m : multiplet ; br : broad ; j : coupling constant : 2 -{[ 1r2r / 1s2s ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - chlorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 7 . 96 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 72 - 7 . 67 ( d , 2h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; ar — h ), 7 . 60 - 7 . 52 ( q , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 45 - 7 . 42 ( d , 2h ; j = 9 . 0 hz ; ar — h ), 7 . 26 - 7 . 23 ( d , 2h ; j = 9 . 0 hz ; ar — h ), 7 . 06 - 7 . 03 ( d , 2h ; j = 9 . 0 hz ; ar — h ), 6 . 91 - 6 . 88 ( d , 2h ; j = 9 . 0 hz ; ar — h ), 6 . 83 - 6 . 77 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 5 . 56 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 12 - 5 . 05 ( q , 1h ; — ch . ch 3 ), 5 . 03 - 4 . 98 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 38 - 4 . 33 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 39 - 3 . 37 ( d , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 1 . 31 - 1 . 28 ( d , 3h ; j = 7 . 2 hz ; — ch . ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2s / 1s2r ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - chlorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 09 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 68 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 39 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 36 - 7 . 30 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 26 - 7 . 22 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 7 . 16 - 7 . 13 ( d , 2h ; j = 9 . 0 hz ; ar — h ), 6 . 97 - 6 . 94 ( d , 2h ; j = 9 . 0 hz ; ar — h ), 6 . 89 - 6 . 87 ( d , 2h ; j = 9 . 0 hz ; ar — h ), 6 . 77 - 6 . 63 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 04 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 5 . 29 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 11 - 5 . 04 ( q , 1h ; — ch . ch 3 ), 4 . 92 - 4 . 88 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 63 - 4 . 59 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 34 - 3 . 28 ( q , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 1 . 64 - 1 . 61 ( d , 3h ; j = 7 . 2 hz ; — ch . ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2r / 1s2s ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 ( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 4 - dinitrophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 81 - 8 . 80 ( d , 1h ; ar — h ), 8 . 40 - 8 . 36 ( dd , 1h ; ar — h ), 8 . 03 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 79 - 7 . 75 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 65 - 7 . 62 ( q , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 54 - 7 . 51 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 25 - 7 . 22 ( d , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 09 - 7 . 07 ( d , 2h ; j = 9 . 0 hz ; ar — h ), 6 . 91 - 6 . 85 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 5 . 60 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 17 - 5 . 05 ( qd , 2h ; — ch . ch 3 & amp ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 46 - 4 . 41 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 54 - 3 . 53 ( d , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 1 . 37 - 1 . 35 ( d , 3h ; j = 7 . 2 hz ; — ch . ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2s / 1s2r ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 4 - dinitrophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 73 - 8 . 72 ( d , 1h ; ar — h ), 8 . 32 - 8 . 28 ( dd , 1h ; ar — h ), 8 . 08 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 68 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 41 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 35 - 7 . 32 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 18 - 7 . 13 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 6 . 76 - 6 . 74 ( d , 2h ; j = 9 . 0 hz ; ar — h ), 6 . 73 - 6 . 63 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 5 . 99 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 09 - 5 . 07 ( q , 1h ; — ch . ch 3 ), 4 . 93 - 4 . 88 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 64 - 4 . 59 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 46 - 3 . 39 ( q , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 1 . 64 - 1 . 61 ( d , 3h ; j = 7 . 2 hz ; — ch . ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2r / 1s2s ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -[ 4 -( 1 - phenylpiperazinyl ) phenyl ]- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 7 . 96 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 72 - 7 . 67 ( d , 2h ; j = 13 . 5 hz ; ar — h ), 7 . 60 - 7 . 52 ( q , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 44 - 7 . 41 ( d , 2h ; j = 9 . 0 hz ; ar — h ), 7 . 33 - 7 . 26 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 7 . 07 - 6 . 97 ( m , 4h ; ar — h ), 6 . 93 - 6 . 88 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 6 . 84 - 6 . 77 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 5 . 56 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 12 - 4 . 98 ( qd , 2h ; — ch . ch 3 triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 38 - 4 . 33 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 38 - 3 . 37 ( d , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 1 . 30 - 1 . 28 ( d , 3h ; j = 6 . 9 hz ; — ch . ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2s / 1s2r ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -[ 4 -( 1 - phenylpiperazinyl ) phenyl ]- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 09 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 68 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 39 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 36 - 7 . 26 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 7 . 15 - 7 . 12 ( d , 2h ; j = 9 . 0 hz ; ar — h ), 6 . 97 - 6 . 87 ( m , 5h ; ar — h ), 6 . 77 - 6 . 64 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 05 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 09 - 5 . 07 ( q , 2h ; — ch . ch 3 triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 91 - 4 . 87 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 63 - 4 . 58 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 34 ( s , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 1 . 63 - 1 . 61 ( d , 3h ; j = 6 . 9 hz ; — ch . ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2r / 1s2s ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 3 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 1 - piperzinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 7 . 96 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 71 - 7 . 67 ( d , 2h ; j = 13 . 5 hz ; ar — h ), 7 . 61 - 7 . 52 ( q , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 45 - 7 . 42 ( d , 2h ; j = 9 . 0 hz ; ar — h ), 7 . 33 - 7 . 30 ( d , 1h ; j = 8 . 7 hz ; ar — h ), 7 . 06 - 7 . 01 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 6 . 84 - 6 . 77 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 5 . 56 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 12 - 5 . 05 ( q , 1h ; — ch . ch 3 ), 5 . 03 - 4 . 98 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 38 - 4 . 34 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 39 - 3 . 37 ( d , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 1 . 30 - 1 . 28 ( d , 3h ; j = 7 . 2 hz ; — ch . ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2s / 1s2r ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 3 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 08 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 67 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 39 - 7 . 25 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 7 . 15 - 7 . 12 ( d , 2h ; j = 9 . 0 hz ; ar — h ), 6 . 99 - 6 . 93 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 6 . 79 - 6 . 65 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 6 . 01 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 10 - 5 . 05 ( q , 1h ; — ch . ch 3 ), 4 . 91 - 4 . 87 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 62 - 4 . 58 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 31 ( s , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 1 . 63 - 1 . 60 ( d , 3h ; j = 7 . 2 hz ; — ch . ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2r / 1s2s ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 3 - trifluoromethylphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- . . . 7 . 99 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 74 - 7 . 70 ( d , 2h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; ar — h ), 7 . 62 - 7 . 54 ( q , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 48 - 7 . 39 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 7 . 19 - 7 . 07 ( m , 5h ; ar — h ), 6 . 85 - 6 . 79 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 5 . 59 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 15 - 5 . 01 ( qd , 1h ; — ch . ch 3 & amp ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 40 - 4 . 35 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 43 ( s , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 1 . 32 - 1 . 30 ( d , 3h ; j = 7 . 2 hz ; — ch . ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2s / 1s2r ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 3 - trifluoromethylphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - trazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 12 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 71 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 43 - 7 . 32 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 7 . 15 - 7 . 11 ( m , 5h ; ar — h ), 7 . 00 - 6 . 97 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 78 - 6 . 66 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 06 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 13 - 5 . 07 ( q , 1h ; — ch . ch 3 ), 4 . 95 - 4 . 90 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 65 - 4 . 61 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 39 ( s , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 1 . 66 - 1 . 64 ( d , 3h ; j = 9 . 6 hz ; — ch . ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2r / 1s2s ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):-. 7 . 96 . 09 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 72 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 67 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 55 - 7 . 57 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 41 - 7 . 44 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 77 - 7 . 07 ( m , 8h ; ar — h ), 5 . 57 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 10 - 5 . 17 ( q , 1h ; j = 7 hz ; — ch ), 4 . 98 - 5 . 03 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz , — ch ), 4 . 33 - 4 . 37 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 38 - 3 . 40 ( m , 4h ; 2 ×— ch 2 ), 3 . 25 - 3 . 29 ( m , 4h ; 2 × ch 2 —) & amp ; 1 . 28 ( d , j = 7 hz ; 3h ; ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2s / 1s2r ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 09 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 68 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 6 . 60 - 7 . 40 ( m , 12h ; ar — h ), 6 . 02 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 04 - 5 . 11 ( q , 1h ; j = 7 hz ; — ch ), 4 . 87 - 4 . 92 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz , — ch ), 4 . 58 - 4 . 63 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 33 - 3 . 44 ( m , 4h ; 2 ×— ch 2 ), 3 . 23 - 3 . 25 ( m , 4h ; 2 × ch 2 —) & amp ; 1 . 28 ( d , j = 7 hz ; 3h ; ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2r / 1s2s ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 7 . 97 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 74 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 67 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 60 - 7 . 51 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 44 - 7 . 41 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 28 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 07 - 7 . 04 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 98 - 6 . 95 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 89 - 6 . 86 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 82 - 6 . 77 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 5 . 59 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 10 - 4 . 99 ( q , 1h ; j = 7 hz ; — ch ), 4 . 37 - 4 . 33 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz , — ch ), 3 . 79 ( s , 3h ; och3 ), 3 . 41 - 3 . 38 ( t , 4h ; 2 ×— ch 2 ), 3 . 25 - 3 . 22 ( t , 4h ; 2 × ch 2 —) & amp ; 1 . 30 - 1 . 25 ( d , j = 7 hz ; 3h ; ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2r / 1s2s ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 3 - chloro - 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- . . . ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 73 - 7 . 69 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 62 - 7 . 53 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 46 - 7 . 43 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 10 - 7 . 05 ( t , 3h ; ar — h ), 7 . 00 - 6 . 98 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 6 . 85 - 6 . 79 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 5 . 57 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 14 - 5 . 00 ( m , 2h ; j = 7 hz ; — ch ), 4 . 39 - 4 . 35 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz , — ch ), 3 . 40 - 3 . 38 ( d , 4h ; 2 ×— ch 2 ), 3 . 30 - 3 . 29 ( d , 4h ; 2 × ch 2 —) & amp ; 1 . 32 - 1 . 30 ( d , j = 7 hz ; 3h ; ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2s / 1s2r ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 3 - chloro - 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 02 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 61 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 37 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 33 - 7 . 23 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 09 - 7 . 06 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 98 - 6 . 956 ( t , 1h ; ar — h ), 6 . 90 - 6 . 87 ( d , 3h ; ar — h ), 6 . 76 - 6 . 57 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 5 . 96 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 05 - 4 . 98 ( q , 1h ; j = 7 hz ; — ch — ch 3 ), 4 . 87 - 4 . 81 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz , — ch ), 4 . 57 - 4 . 52 ( d , 1h ; j = 7 hz , — ch ), 3 . 27 - 3 . 25 ( t , 4h ; 2 ×— ch 2 ), 3 . 19 - 3 . 18 ( t , 4h ; 2 × ch 2 —) & amp ; 1 . 57 - 1 . 55 ( d , j = 7 hz ; 3h ; ch 3 ) 2 -{[ 1r2r / 1s2s ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 3 - chloro - 4 - methylphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):-. 7 . 98 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 74 - 7 . 69 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 62 - 7 . 53 ( q , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 46 - 7 . 43 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 16 - 7 . 13 ( d , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 08 - 7 . 05 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 98 - 7 . 97 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 6 . 86 - 7 . 98 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 5 . 59 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 14 - 5 . 00 ( m , 2h ; j = 7 hz ; — ch ), 4 . 39 - 4 . 35 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz , — ch ), 3 . 40 - 3 . 38 ( d , 4h ; 2 ×— ch 2 ), 3 . 33 - 3 . 32 ( d , 4h ; 2 × ch 2 —), 2 . 31 ( s , 3h ; ar - ch 3 ) & amp ; 1 . 32 - 1 . 29 ( d , j = 7 hz ; 3h ; ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2r / 1s2s ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 4 - dimethylphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 7 . 48 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 74 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 69 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 53 - 7 . 61 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 42 - 7 . 45 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 47 - 7 . 08 ( m , 5h ; ar — h ), 6 . 78 - 6 . 85 ( m , 2h , ar — h ), 5 . 60 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 07 - 5 . 14 ( q , 1h ; j = 7 hz ; — ch ), 5 . 00 - 5 . 05 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 hz , — ch ), 4 . 34 - 4 . 39 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 37 - 3 . 40 ( m , 4h ; 2 ×— ch 2 ), 3 . 05 - 3 . 09 ( m , 4h ; 2 × ch 2 —), 2 . 33 ( s , 3h , ch 3 ), 2 . 30 ( s , 3h , ch 3 ) & amp ; 1 . 29 - 1 . 32 ( d , j = 7 hz ; 3h ; ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2s / 1s2r ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 4 - dimethylphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 08 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 67 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 31 - 7 . 39 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 94 - 7 . 14 ( m , 7h ; ar — h ), 6 . 63 - 6 . 76 ( m , 2h , ar — h ), 6 . 06 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 04 - 5 . 11 ( q , 1h ; j = 7 hz ; — ch ), 4 . 87 - 4 . 92 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 hz , — ch ), 4 . 58 - 4 . 63 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 31 - 3 . 34 ( m , 4h ; 2 ×— ch 2 ), 3 . 02 - 3 . 03 ( m , 4h ; 2 × ch 2 —), 2 . 29 ( s , 3h , — ch 3 ), 2 . 28 ( s , 3h , ch 3 ) & amp ; 1 . 61 - 1 . 63 ( d , j = 7 hz ; 3h ; ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2r / 1s2s ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 5 - chloro - 2 - methylphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 03 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 78 - 7 . 73 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 62 - 7 . 60 ( q , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 50 - 7 . 47 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 19 - 7 . 03 ( m , 5h ; ar — h ), 6 . 89 - 6 . 82 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 5 . 58 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 16 - 5 . 04 ( m , 2h ; j = 7 hz ; — ch ), 4 . 43 - 4 . 39 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz , — ch ), 3 . 45 - 3 . 41 ( d , 4h ; 2x - ch 2 ), 3 . 13 - 3 . 10 ( d , 4h ; 2 × ch 2 —), 2 . 35 ( s , 3h ; ar — ch 3 ) & amp ; 1 . 36 - 1 . 33 ( d , j = 7 hz ; 3h ; ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -{[ 1r2s / 1s2r ]- 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methyl - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl }- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 5 - chloro - 2 - methylphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 15 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 74 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 46 - 7 . 39 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 31 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 21 - 7 . 15 ( t , 3h ; ar — h ), 7 . 05 - 6 . 99 ( m , 4h ; ar — h ), 6 . 79 - 7 . 72 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 12 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 5 . 15 - 5 . 13 ( q , 1h ; j = 7 hz ; — ch — ch 3 ), 4 . 98 - 4 . 93 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz , — ch ), 4 . 69 - 4 . 64 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz , — ch ), 3 . 40 - 3 . 37 ( t , 4h ; 2 ×— ch 2 ), 3 . 10 - 3 . 07 ( d , 4h ; 2 × ch 2 —), 2 . 33 ( s , 3h ; ar — ch 3 ) & amp ; 1 . 69 - 1 . 67 ( d , j = 7 hz ; 3h ; ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 2 - methoxyphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 5 - methyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 16 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 81 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 60 - 7 . 57 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 02 - 6 . 79 ( m , 9h ; ar — h ), 6 . 10 ( s , 1h ; oh ; d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 70 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 55 - 4 . 50 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 18 - 4 . 13 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 89 ( s , 3h ; o - och 3 —), 3 . 41 ( s , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —), 3 . 21 ( s , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 2 . 04 ( s , 3h ; triazolone - ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 5 - methyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 - dmso - d 6 ):- δ 8 . 19 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 77 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 60 - 7 . 52 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 42 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 32 - 7 . 30 ( d , 1h ; j = 8 . 7 hz ; ar — h ), 7 . 08 - 7 . 29 ( m , 9h ; ar — h ), 6 . 86 - 6 . 79 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 09 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 72 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 50 - 4 . 60 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 19 - 4 . 15 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 39 - 3 . 33 ( br , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —), 3 . 26 ( s , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 2 . 04 ( s , 3h ; triazolne - ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 3 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 16 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 83 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 59 - 7 . 56 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 49 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 32 - 7 . 26 ( m , 4h ; ar — h ), 6 . 99 - 6 . 97 ( d , 3h ; ar — h ), 6 . 85 - 6 . 76 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 4 . 70 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 63 - 4 . 58 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 21 - 4 . 16 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), & amp ; 3 . 33 ( s , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 4 - diaminophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 19 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 85 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 63 - 7 . 55 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 51 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 28 - 7 . 25 ( d , 3h ; ar — h ), 7 . 01 - 6 . 98 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 89 - 6 . 80 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 6 . 15 - 6 . 10 ( m , br , 2h ; ar — h ), 4 . 72 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 65 - 4 . 60 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 23 - 4 . 18 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 34 ( s , br , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —), & amp ; 3 . 02 - 3 . 00 ( d , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - methylphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 18 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 85 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 64 - 7 . 55 ( q , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 5 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 29 - 7 . 27 ( t , 3h ; ar — h ), 7 . 14 - 7 . 11 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 03 - 6 . 99 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 93 - 6 . 80 ( m , 4h ; ar — h ), 5 . 95 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 72 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 66 - 4 . 61 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 23 - 4 . 17 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 38 - 3 . 36 ( d , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —), 3 . 31 - 3 . 29 ( d , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 2 . 31 ( s , 3h ; triazolne - ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 4 - dinitrophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 74 - 8 . 73 ( d , 1h ; ar — h ), 8 . 33 - 8 . 29 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 8 . 17 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 82 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 60 - 7 . 53 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 32 - 7 . 29 ( d , 3h ; ar — h ), 7 . 19 - 7 . 16 ( d , 1h ; ar — h ), 6 . 98 - 6 . 95 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 85 - 6 . 79 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 5 . 90 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 72 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 62 - 4 . 57 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 22 - 4 . 18 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 46 - 3 . 43 ( d , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 19 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 86 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 65 - 7 . 57 ( q , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 51 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 31 - 7 . 28 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 04 - 6 . 81 ( m , 8h ; ar — h ), 5 . 96 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 73 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 66 - 4 . 61 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 24 - 4 . 19 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 81 ( s , 3h , — och 3 ), 3 . 40 - 3 . 37 ( d , 4h ; j piperazine - ch 2 —), & amp ; 3 . 26 - 3 . 23 ( d , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 2 - methoxyphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 19 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 85 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 64 - 7 . 55 ( q , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 50 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 29 - 7 . 26 ( t , 2h , ar — h ), 7 . 09 - 6 . 80 ( m , 8h ; ar — h ), 4 . 72 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 66 - 4 . 61 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 . 0 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 23 - 4 . 18 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 91 ( s , 3h , — och 3 ), 3 . 43 - 3 . 39 ( t , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —), & amp ; 3 . 25 - 3 . 22 ( t , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 17 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 84 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 59 - 7 . 57 ( q , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 49 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 29 - 7 . 26 ( t , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 03 - 6 . 79 ( s , 8h ; ar — h ), 5 . 93 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 71 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 64 - 4 . 59 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 21 - 4 . 17 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 38 - 3 . 34 ( t , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —), & amp ; 3 . 27 - 3 . 24 ( t , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 86 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 8 . 32 - 8 . 27 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 72 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 44 - 7 . 41 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 33 - 7 . 30 ( q , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 18 - 7 . 14 ( t , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 10 - 7 . 07 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 94 - 6 . 84 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 6 . 69 - 6 . 66 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 19 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex ), 4 . 83 - 4 . 77 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 4 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 66 - 4 . 62 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 4 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 20 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 3 . 35 - 3 . 32 ( merging with dmso - d 6 signal )( s , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —), & amp ; 3 . 11 - 3 . 09 ( d , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 1 - phenyl - 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 19 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 85 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 64 - 7 . 56 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 50 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 35 - 7 . 27 ( m , 5h : ar — h ), 7 . 03 - 6 . 80 ( m , 7h ; ar — h ), 5 . 95 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 72 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 66 - 4 . 61 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 23 - 4 . 18 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), & amp ; 3 . 37 ( s , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - chlorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 5 - methyl - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 17 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 81 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 58 - 7 . 55 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 32 - 7 . 26 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 06 - 6 . 78 ( m , 9h ; ar — h ), 6 . 06 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 70 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 54 - 4 . 49 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 19 - 4 . 14 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 37 - 3 . 33 ( t , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —), & amp ; 2 . 03 ( s , 3h ; triazolone - ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 4 - chlorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 17 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 83 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 62 - 7 . 54 , ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 50 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 29 - 7 . 23 ( m , 4h ; ar — h ), 7 . 01 - 6 . 98 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 91 - 6 . 79 ( m , 8h ; r — h ), 5 . 96 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 72 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 63 - 4 . 59 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), & amp ; 4 . 22 - 4 . 17 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), & amp ; 3 . 37 - 3 . 30 ( q , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 5 - chloro - 2 - methylphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 28 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 90 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 66 - 7 . 58 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 53 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 32 - 7 . 29 ( t , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 29 - 7 . 26 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 16 - 7 . 14 ( d , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 04 - 7 . 02 ( d , 4h , ar — h ), 6 . 89 - 6 . 82 ( m , 2h , ar — h ), 5 . 96 ( br , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 74 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 67 - 4 . 62 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), & amp ; 4 . 26 - 4 . 20 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 40 - 3 . 33 ( m , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —), 3 . 10 - 3 . 07 ( m , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 3 - chloro - 4 - methylphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 20 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 87 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 65 - 7 . 58 ( q , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 52 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 31 - 7 . 29 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 16 - 7 . 14 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 04 - 6 . 98 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 6 . 88 - 6 . 80 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 5 . 96 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 74 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 67 - 4 . 62 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), & amp ; 4 . 24 - 4 . 17 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), & amp ; 3 . 3 - 3 . 33 ( m , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 4 - dichlorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- . . . 8 . 19 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 86 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 65 - 7 . 56 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 51 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 43 - 7 . 42 ( d , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 31 - 7 . 23 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 7 . 03 - 7 . 01 ( d , 3h ; ar — h ), 6 . 88 - 6 . 81 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 5 . 93 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 73 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 66 - 4 . 61 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), & amp ; 4 . 24 - 4 . 19 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 42 - 3 . 39 ( m , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —), 3 . 22 - 3 . 18 ( m , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 3 - trifluoromethylphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 16 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 83 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 62 - 7 . 57 ( q , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 49 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 40 - 7 . 35 ( t , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 29 - 7 . 26 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 15 - 7 . 09 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 7 . 01 - 6 . 98 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 84 - 6 . 78 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 5 . 90 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 70 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 63 - 4 . 58 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), & amp ; 4 . 21 - 4 . 16 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), & amp ; 3 . 37 ( s , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- . . . 8 . 16 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 83 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 62 - 6 . 78 ( m , 11h ; ar — h ), 5 . 90 ( s , 1h , oh ), 4 . 70 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 63 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 9 hz ; triazole - ch 2 —), 4 . 19 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 9 hz ; triazole - ch 2 —), 3 . 35 ( bm , 4h ; piperazine - ch 2 ), 3 . 16 ( bm , 4h ; piperazine — ch 2 ) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 3 - chloro - 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- . . . 8 . 17 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 84 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 62 - 7 . 54 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 49 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 29 - 7 . 26 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 08 - 6 . 95 ( m , 4h ; ar — h ), 6 . 83 - 6 . 98 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 5 . 90 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 71 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 63 - 4 . 59 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 8 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 21 - 4 . 16 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 8 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 35 - 3 . 34 ( d , 4h ; 2 × piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 3 . 27 - 3 . 26 ( d , 4h ; 2 × piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 2 , 4 - dimethylphenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- . . . 8 . 16 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 82 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 59 - 7 . 57 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 48 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 24 - 7 . 27 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 7 . 02 - 6 . 78 ( m , 7h ; ar — h ), 5 . 93 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 63 - 4 . 70 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 47 - 4 . 58 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 21 - 4 . 16 ( d , 1h ; j = 15 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 35 - 3 . 32 ( m , 4h ; 2 × piperazine - ch 2 —), 3 . 04 - 3 . 01 ( m , 4h ; 2 × piperazine - ch 2 —) 2 . 30 ( s , 3h ; ch 3 ) & amp ; 2 . 28 ( s , 3h , ch 3 ) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 3 - chlorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- . . . 8 . 16 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 83 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 59 - 7 . 57 ( q , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 49 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 29 - 7 . 26 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 7 . 22 - 7 . 17 ( t , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 00 - 6 . 97 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 92 - 6 . 91 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 6 . 87 - 6 . 78 ( m , 4h ; ar — h ), 5 . 90 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 70 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 63 - 4 . 58 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), & amp ; 4 . 21 - 4 . 16 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 7 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), & amp ; 3 . 34 ( s , 8h ; piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 2 - chloro - 4 - fluorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 18 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 84 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 59 - 7 . 57 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 49 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 29 - 6 . 79 ( m , 9h ; ar — h ), 5 . 92 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 71 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 64 - 4 . 59 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 8 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 22 - 4 . 17 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 8 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 38 - 3 . 35 ( t , 4h ; 2 × piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 3 . 23 - 3 . 20 ( t , 4h ; 2 × piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . 2 -[ 2 -( 2 , 4 - difluorophenyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 3 -( 1h - 1 , 2 , 4 - triazol - 1 - yl ) propyl ]- 4 -{ 4 -[ 4 -( 2 - methoxy - 5 - fluorophenyl )- 1 - piperazinyl ] phenyl }- 3 -( 2h , 4h )- 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolone nmr ( cdcl 3 ):- δ 8 . 19 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 85 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 60 - 7 . 57 ( m , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 50 ( s , 1h ; ar — h ), 7 . 29 - 7 . 26 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 7 . 02 - 6 . 99 ( d , 2h ; ar — h ), 6 . 85 - 6 . 78 ( m , 3h ; ar — h ), 6 . 72 - 6 . 68 ( m , 2h ; ar — h ), 5 . 95 ( s , 1h ; oh , d 2 o ex . ), 4 . 72 ( s , 2h ; triazolone - ch 2 ), 4 . 65 - 4 . 60 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 8 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 4 . 22 - 4 . 17 ( d , 1h ; j = 14 . 8 hz ; triazole - ch 2 ), 3 . 87 ( s , 3h ; och 3 ), 3 . 41 - 3 . 38 ( d , 4h ; 2 × piperazine - ch 2 —) & amp ; 3 . 22 - 3 . 21 × piperazine - ch 2 —) ppm . compounds of the formulae ia , ib , ii and iii as shown herein , and their salts are useful in the curative or prophylactic treatment of fungal infections in animals , to including humans . for example , they are useful in treating topical fungal infection in man caused by , among other organisms , species of candida , trichophyton , microsporum or epidermophyton in mucosal infections caused by c . albicans ( e . g ., thrush and vaginal candidiasis ). they can also be used in the treatment of systemic fungal infections caused by , for example , species of candida ( e . g ., candida albicans ), cryptococcus neoformans or aspergillus fumigatus . the compounds of the present invention have been found to have unexpectedly good activity against clinically important aspergillus species fungi . the in vitro evaluation of the antifungal activity of the compounds can be performed by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration ( mic ) which is the concentration of the test compound in rosewell park memorial institute ( rpmi ) 1640 liquid medium buffered with ( 3 -[ morpholino ] propanesulphonic acid ) mops to ph7 , at which there is significant inhibition of the particular fungi in practice the national committee for clinical laboratory standard ( nccls ) m27a document for candida and cryptococcus and m38p for aspergillus was used to determine the mic against yeast and filamentous fungi with suitable modifications for dermatophytes . two quality control strains were included each time the mic were determined and readings recorded only when the qc results fell into the acceptable range . after mic results had been recorded , 100 μl from each of the well showing no growth was spread over sabouraud dextrose agvar ( sda ) to determine the minimum fungicidal concentration . the in vivo evaluation of the compound can be carried out at a series of dose levels by oral or i . v . injection to mice which are inoculated i . v . with the minimum lethal dose of candida albicans , cryptococcus neoformans or aspergillus fumigatus by the tail vein . activity is based on the survival of a treated group of mice after the death of an untreated group of mice . for aspergillus and cryptococcus infections target organs were cultured after treatment to document the number of mice cured of the infection for further assessment of activity . for human use , the antifungal compounds of the formula and their salts can be administered alone , but will generally be administered in admixture with a pharmaceutical carrier selected with regard to the intended route of administration and standard pharmaceutical practice . for example , they can be administered orally in the form of tablets containing such excipients as starch or lactose , or in capsules or ovules either alone or in admixture with excipients , or in the form of elixirs , solutions or suspensions containing flavouring or colouring agents . they can be injected parenterally , for example , intravenously , intramuscularly or subcutaneously . for parenteral administration , they are best used in the form of a sterile aqueous solution which may contain other substances , for example , enough salts or glucose to make the solution isotonic with blood . the solubility of a compound of the formulae ia , ib , ii and iiii in an aqueous medium may be improved by complexation with a hydroxyalkyl derivative of a cyclodextrin in the preparation of an appropriate pharmaceutical composition . for oral and parenteral administration to human patients , the daily dosage level of the antifungal compounds of the formulae ia , ib , ii and iii and their salts will be from 0 . 01 to 20 mg / kg ( in single or divided doses ) when administered by either the oral or parenteral routes . thus tablets or capsules of the compound will contain from 5 mg to 0 . 5 gm of active compound for administration one , two or more at a time , as appropriate . the physician in any event will determine the actual dosage which will be most suitable for an individual patient and it will vary with age , weight and response of the particular patient . the above dosages are exemplary of the average case , there can , of course , be individual instances , where higher or lower dosage ranges are required and such are within the scope of this invention . alternatively , the antifungal compound or formulae ia , ib , ii and iii can be administered in the form of a suppository or pessary , or they may be applied topically in the form of a lotion , solution , cream , ointment or dusting powder . for example , they can be incorporated into a cream consisting of an aqueous emulsion of polyethylene glycols or liquid paraffin , or they can be incorporated , at a concentration between 1 and 10 % into an ointment consisting of a white wax or white soft paraffin base together with such stabilizers and preservatives as may be required . cryptococcosis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among aids patients . in many patients cryptococcosis is the first indication of aids . the incidences of life - threatening cryptococcal infection among patients with aids has been estimated to vary from 10 - 30 %. during initial therapy , 10 - 20 % of these patients die and 30 - 60 % patients succumb within 12 months ( powderly wg : cryptococcus meningitis and aids clin . infect . dis . 1993 ; 17 : 837 - 842 ). amphotericin b has changed disseminated cryptococcosis from uniformly fatal infection to curable infection , but since amphotericin b penetrates the central nervous system poorly , intraventricular injection may have to be administered for successful management of severe cases of cryptococcal meningitis . fluconazole has excellent pharmacokinetics in csf and performs equally well in patients with cryptococcal meningitis . however , there is a trend towards earlier deaths and longer period before sterilisation of the csf ( niaid [ national institute of allergy and infection disease ] mycoses study group and aids clinical trials group : comparison 4z of amphotericin b and fluconazole in the treatment of acute aids associated cryptococcus meningitis ( n engl j med 1992 ; 326 : 83 - 89 ). invasive aspergillosis has become a leading cause of death , mainly among patients suffering from acute leukaemia or after allogenic bone marrow transfusion and after cytotoxic treatment of these conditions . it also occurs in patients with conditions such as aids and chronic granulomatous disease . at present , only amphotericin b and itraconazole are available for treatment of aspergillosis . in spite of their activity in vitro , the effect of these drugs in vivo against aspergillus fumigatus remains low and as a consequence mortality from invasive aspergillosis remains high . compounds of this invention have potent in vitro activity against a wide range of fungal pathogens tested . they are active against all species of candida , histoplasma capsulatum , cryptococcus neoformans , dermatophytes , aspergillus fumigatus and a . flavus . the action on many of these strains , especially against cryptococcus and aspergillus is fungicidal in vitro . compounds of this invention have enhanced antifungal activity against the important fungal pathogens of men and animals . a single oral dose of 12 . 5 mg / kg bw . ( 0 . 25 mg per mouse ) is adequate to offer significant protection to mice infected via the tail vein by lethal dose of c . albicans a - 26 . summary of single dose studies with azoles in systemic infection with candida albicans a - 26 the compounds of this invention cross the blood brain barrier to excert their potent anti cryptococcal activity in the brain . in an animal model where lethal infection ( 1 mlllion cells of c . neoformans ) were injected into the cranium of the animal , oral dosing with 25 mg / kg bw . bid for 8 days reduced the count by 4 logs , causing 99 . 99 % reduction in the fungal load . doses as low as 6 . 25 mg / kg bw . significantly increased the survival of mice infected via the tail vein with lethal dose of aspergillus fumigatus conidia . single local application of the drug had significant effect on trichophyton mentagrophyte infection of guinea pig skin . | 2 |
[ 0036 ] fig2 is a schematic diagram of a first embodiment of an image projection device according to the invention . as shown in fig2 the device includes : a light source module 10 , a first polarizing beam splitter 20 , a reflective display panel 30 and a projection module 40 , wherein module 10 uses a semiconductor led array 11 as a light source . as shown in fig2 module 10 further includes a second polarizing beam splitter 12 , a reflector 13 and a wave - retardation ( half - wave ) plate 14 . the array 11 generates a generally straight light beam a which is unpolarized . the beam a incident on the splitter 12 is split by an interface 12 a of the splitter 12 into a p - polarized light beam b and an s - polarized light beam c , wherein the beam b is directly propagated through the interface 12 a and the beam c is reflected by the interface 12 a . the beam a is further propagated through the plate 14 and converted as an s - polarized light beam d while the beam c is reflected by the reflector 13 . the reflector 13 can be , for example , a prism or a reflective mirror . as shown in fig2 the beams c , d are propagated into and further reflected by the splitter 20 to the panel 30 . the panel 30 can be an lcos display . next , the beams c , d are reflected and converted by the panel 30 into a p - polarized image light beam e . finally , the beam e is propagated through the splitter 20 and projected by the module 40 on a viewing plane . [ 0040 ] fig3 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the image projection device according to the invention . as shown in fig3 the device includes : a light source module 10 , a first polarizing beam splitter 20 , a reflective display panel 30 and a projection module 40 , wherein module 10 uses two semiconductor led arrays 11 , 15 as the light source . as shown in fig3 module 10 further includes a second polarizing beam splitter 12 and a reflector 13 . the arrays 11 , 15 generate generally straight light beams a 1 , a 2 which are unpolarized . the beam a 1 incident on the splitter 12 is split by an interface 12 a of the splitter 12 into a p - polarized light beam b 1 and an s - polarized light beam c 1 . the beam b 1 is directly propagated through the interface 12 a and the splitter 20 . the beam c 1 is reflected by the interface 12 a and the reflector 13 . the reflector 13 can be , for example , a prism or a reflective mirror . also , the beam a 2 incident on the splitter 12 is split by the interface 12 a of the splitter 12 into a p - polarized light beam b 2 and an s - polarized light beam c 2 . the beam b 2 is directly propagated through the interface 12 a and reflected by the reflector 13 so as to pass through the splitter 20 . the beam c 2 is reflected by the interface 12 a . as shown in fig3 the beams c 1 , c 2 are propagated into and further reflected by the splitter 20 to the panel 30 . the panel 30 can be an lcos display . next , the beams c 1 , c 2 are reflected and converted by the panel 30 into a p - polarized image light beam e . finally , the beam e is propagated through the splitter 20 and projected by the module 40 on a viewing plane . [ third embodiment ] [ 0042 ] fig4 is a schematic diagram of a third embodiment of the image projection device according to the invention . as shown in fig4 the device includes : a light source module 10 , a first polarizing beam splitter 20 , a reflective display panel 30 and a projection module 40 , wherein module 10 uses two semiconductor led arrays 11 , 15 as the light source . as shown in fig4 module 10 further includes a prism 16 and a polarizer 17 . the arrays 11 , 15 generate generally straight light beams a 1 , a 2 which are unpolarized . additionally , the arrays 11 , 15 are respectively displaced on two sides of the prism 16 . the beam a 1 incident on the prism 16 generates full reflection and the beam a 2 incident on the prism 16 at a specific angle generates a propagation direction the same as that of the beam a 1 . next , the beams a 1 , a 2 are polarized by the polarizer 17 as an s - polarized light beam c . as shown in fig4 the beam c is propagated into and further reflected by the splitter 20 to the panel 30 . the panel 30 can be an lcos display . next , the beam c is reflected and converted by the panel 30 into a p - polarized image light beam e . finally , the beam e is propagated through the splitter 20 and projected by the module 40 on a viewing plane . [ 0044 ] fig5 is a schematic diagram of another form of the third embodiment of the image projection device according to the invention . this example is identical to fig4 except that two light source modules are used to increase the projection luminance . [ 0046 ] fig6 is a schematic diagram of a fourth embodiment of the image projection device according to the invention . as shown in fig6 the device includes : a light source module 10 , a first polarizing beam splitter 20 , a reflective display panel 30 and a projection module 40 , wherein module 10 uses a semiconductor led array 11 as a light source . as shown in fig6 module 10 further includes a photoguider 18 . the photoguider 18 can be a hollow mirror cuboid consisting of four reflective mirrors or a solid glass cube . the array 11 generates an unpolarized light beam a . the beam a incident on the photoguider 18 forms a uniformly unpolarized light beam a . as shown in fig6 the beam a ′ is propagated into the splitter 20 and generates a p - polarized light beam b and an s - polarized light beam c . the beam b is propagated directly through an interface of the splitter 20 and the beam c is reflected by the interface . next , the beam c is reflected by the splitter 20 to the panel 30 . the panel 30 can be an lcos display . next , the beam c is reflected and converted by the panel 30 into a p - polarized image light beam e . finally , the beam e is propagated through the splitter 20 and projected by the module 40 on a viewing plane . in the first to third embodiments of the invention , the first polarizing beam splitter 20 is used to separate the sand p - polarized beams . further , the splitter 20 guides the s - polarized beam to illuminate on the panel 30 . in all cited embodiments , the arrays are controlled by a light control circuit to emit r , g , b in turn under a stable frequency . [ 0053 ] fig7 is a schematic diagram of a fifth embodiment of the image projection device according to the invention . as shown in fig7 the device includes : a light source module 10 , a light control circuit 19 , a first polarizing beam splitter 20 , a reflective display panel 30 and a projection module 40 , wherein module 10 uses an illuminating unit 11 ′ as the light source . the unit 11 ′ has plural photodiodes 101 ( described in fig1 to 14 later ) as the required light source , and a shade 102 to collect the intensity of light from the photodiodes 101 . the photodiodes can be leds . the light source is controlled by the circuit 19 ( described in fig1 a to 16 ). as shown in fig7 module 10 further includes a second polarizing beam splitter 12 , a reflector 13 and a wave - retardation ( half - wave ) plate 14 . the plural photodiodes 101 generate a generally straight unpolarized light beam a through the shade 102 . the beam a incident on the splitter 12 is split by an interface 12 a of the splitter 12 into a p - polarized light beam b and an s - polarized light beam c , wherein the beam b is directly propagated through the interface 12 a and the beam c is reflected by the interface 12 a . the beam a is further propagated through the plate 14 and converted as an s - polarized light beam d while the beam c is reflected by the reflector 13 . the reflector 13 can be , for example , a photoguider ( described in fig1 ), a prism ( described in fig9 ) or a reflective mirror . as shown in fig7 the beams c , d are propagated into and further reflected by the splitter 20 to the panel 30 . the panel 30 can be a tft - lcd , an lcos display or an mem display , wherein the lcos display is preferred in view of current technique and cost . next , the beams c , d are reflected and converted by the panel 30 in to a p - polarized image light beame . finally , the beam e is propagated through the splitter 20 and projected by the module 40 on a viewing plane . [ 0056 ] fig8 is a schematic diagram of a sixth embodiment of the image projection device according to the invention . as shown in fig8 the device includes : a light source module 10 , a light control circuit 19 , a first polarizing beam splitter 20 , a reflective display panel 30 and a projection module 40 , wherein module 10 uses two illuminating units 11 ′, 15 ′ in a right - angled configuration as the light source . each unit 11 ′ or 15 ′ includes plural photodiodes 101 ( described in fig1 - 14 ) as the required light source , and a shade 102 to collect the intensity of light from the photodiodes 101 . the photodiodes can be leds . the light source is controlled by the circuit 19 ( described in fig1 a to 16 ). as shown in fig8 module 10 further includes a second polarizing beam splitter l 2 and a reflector 13 . the photodiodes 101 generate generally straight unpolarized light beams a 1 , a 2 through the shade 102 . the beam a 1 incident on the splitter 12 is split by an interface 12 a of the splitter 12 into a p - polarized light beam b 1 and an s - polarized light beam c 1 . the beam b 1 is directly propagated through the interface 12 a and the splitter 20 . the beam c 1 is reflected by the interface 12 a and the reflector 13 . the reflector 13 can be , for example , a photoguider ( described in fig1 ), a prism ( described in fig9 ) or a reflective mirror . also , the beam a 2 incident on the splitter 12 is split by the interface 12 a of the splitter 12 into a p - polarized light beam b 2 and an s - polarized light beam c 2 . the beam b 2 is directly propagated through the interface 12 a and reflected by the reflector 13 so as to pass through the splitter 20 . the beam c 2 is reflected by the interface 12 a . as shown in fig8 the beams c 1 , c 2 are propagated into and further reflected by the splitter 20 to the panel 30 . the panel 30 can be a tft - lcd , an lcos display or an mem display , wherein the lcos display is preferred in view of current technique and cost . next , the beams c 1 , c 2 are reflected and converted by the panel 30 into a p - polarized image light beam e . finally , the beam e is propagated through the splitter 20 and projected by the module 40 on a viewing plane . [ 0060 ] fig9 is a schematic diagram of a third embodiment of the image projection device according to the invention . as shown in fig9 the device includes : a light source module 10 , a light control circuit 19 , a first polarizing beam splitter 20 , a reflective display panel 30 and a projection module 40 , wherein module 10 uses two illuminating units 11 ′, 15 ′ in an acute angle configuration as the light source . each unit 11 ′ or 15 ′ includes plural photodiodes 101 ( described in fig1 - 14 ) as the required light source , and a shade 102 to collect the intensity of light from the photodiodes 101 . the photodiodes can be leds . the light source is controlled by the circuit 19 ( described in fig1 a to 16 ). as shown in fig9 module 10 further includes a prism 16 as a reflective and refractive device , and a polarizer 17 with the use of the prism 16 . the photodiodes 101 generate generally straight unpolarized light beams a 1 , a 2 through the shade 102 . additionally , the units 11 ′, 15 ′ are respectively displaced on two sides of the prism 16 . the beam a 1 incident on the prism 16 generates full reflection and the beam a 2 incident on the prism 16 in a specific angle generates a propagation direction the same as that of the beam a 1 . next , the beams a 1 , a 2 are polarized by the polarizer 17 as an s - polarized light beam c . as shown in fig9 the beam c is propagated into and further reflected by the splitter 20 to the panel 30 . the panel 30 can be a tft - lcd , an lcos display or an mem display , wherein the lcos display is preferred in view of current technique and cost . next , the beam c is reflected and converted by the panel 30 into a p - polarized image light beam e . finally , the beam e is propagated through the splitter 20 and projected by the module 40 on a viewing plane . [ 0063 ] fig1 is a schematic diagram of another form of the seventh embodiment of the image projection device according to the invention . this example is identical to fig9 except that two light source modules are used to increase the projection luminance . the two light source modules represent four illuminating units as configured in fig1 . [ 0065 ] fig1 is a schematic diagram of an eighth embodiment of the image projection device according to the invention . as shown in fig1 , the device includes : a light source module 10 , a light control circuit 19 , a first polarizing beam splitter 20 , a reflective display panel 30 and a projection module 40 , wherein module 10 uses an illuminating unit 11 ′ as the light source . the unit 11 ′ has plural photodiodes 101 ( described in fig1 to 14 later ) as the required light source , and a shade 102 to collect the intensity of light from the photodiodes 101 . the photodiodes can be leds . the light source is controlled by the circuit 19 ( described in fig1 a to 16 ). as shown in fig1 , module 10 further includes a photoguider 18 as the reflector . the photoguider 18 can be a hollow mirror cuboid consisting of four reflective mirrors , or a solid glass cube . the photodiodes 101 generate an unpolarized light beam a through the shade 102 . the beam a incident on the photoguider 18 forms a uniformly unpolarized light beam a ′. as shown in fig1 , the beam a ′ is propagated into the splitter 20 and generates a p - polarized light beam b and an s - polarized light beam c . the beam b is propagated directly through an interface of the splitter 20 and the beam c is reflected by the interface . next , the beam c is reflected by the splitter 20 to the panel 30 . the panel 30 can be a tft - lcd , an lcos display or an mem display , wherein the lcos display is preferred in view of current technique and cost . next , the beam c is reflected and converted by the panel 30 into a p - polarized image light beam e . finally , the beam e is propagated through the splitter 20 and projected by the module 40 on a viewing plane . in the fifth to seventh embodiments of the invention , the first polarizing beam splitter 20 is used to separate the sand p - polarized beams . further , the splitter 20 guides the s - polarized beam to illuminate on the panel 30 . [ 0070 ] fig1 is a schematic diagram of an illuminating unit according to the invention . for the illuminating units 11 ′ or 15 ′ used to the embodiments , the photodiodes are implemented on one or two sides of a circuit board 103 . as shown in fig1 , for example , the circuit board 103 has two photodiode groups 112 l , 112 r and four metallization pads r , g , b , gnd coupled between the groups 112 l , 112 r and the light control circuit 19 ( fig1 a - 16 ). the group 112 l is implemented on one side of the circuit board 103 and the group 112 r is implemented on the other side opposite to the group 112 l . additionally , the pad r is for the photodiodes with red light , the pad g is for the photodiodes with green light , the pad b is for the photodiodes with blue light and the pad gnd is commonly for the ground . an example of the group 112 l is described in detail for simplicity in view of symmetric configuration of the illuminating units . [ 0072 ] fig1 and 14 are two embodiments of the group 112 l in fig1 according to the invention . in practice , red - light , blue - light and green - light dies 101 are implemented on the board 103 in any arrangement that can illuminate uniformly integrated red , blue and green light , as shown in fig1 and 14 . as shown in fig1 and 14 , the group 112 l was symmetrically arranged in the board 103 with a length of 22 mm , a width of 8 . 5 mm and a thickness of 0 . 8 mm . occupied area of the group 112 l can be varied as desired and with physical room , for example , the occupied area is different in fig1 and 14 . additionally , for current fabricating technique , the side of the splitter 20 can obtain a lateral length of about 13 mm , the size of the panel 30 is up to 12 . 5 mm and the module 40 can obtain a length of about 25 mm and a width of about 15 mm . as cited , the inventive device can achieve space requirements . as shown in fig1 , in this embodiment , when two 2 × 7 photodiode arrays are in the top and the bottom and one 2 × 10 photodiode array is in the middle , a like - lateral t profile is formed . as shown in fig1 , in this embodiment , when two 2 × 6 photodiode arrays are in the top and the bottom and one 2 × 9 photodiode array is in the middle , a like - lateral t profile is also formed . the red , green and blue photodiodes respectively adopted dl - av0001 leds , dl - av0002 and dl - av0003 zener diodes sold by delta electronics inc ., based on cost and photo - utility . as shown in fig1 , in this embodiment , the same color light photodiodes are electrically connected in series as a group by a wire to the respective pad ( described in fig1 a and 15b ). for example , the connected red photodiodes are connected to the pad r , the connected green photodiodes are connected to the pad g , and the connected blue photodiodes are connected to the pad b . additionally , all photodiodes are connected in series to the pad gnd to avoid circuit errors . all pads are connected to the circuit 19 for light control , which is described in detail in fig7 - 11 . [ 0077 ] fig1 a is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the light control circuit 19 in conjunction with fig1 according to the invention . as shown in fig1 a , the circuit 19 essentially includes : three discontinuous pulse generators ( 80 , 82 , 84 ) and three driving circuits ( 800 , 820 , 840 ). the light control circuit 19 drives and control rgb photodiode groups ( red photodiode group 801 , green photodiode group 821 , blue photodiode group 841 ) for illumination . the discontinuous pulse generators ( 80 , 82 , 84 ) generate pulses in turn . the outputs of the generators ( 80 , 82 , 84 ) are electrically connected to the driving circuits ( 800 , 820 , 840 ), respectively . the outputs of the driving circuits ( 800 , 820 , 840 ) are electrically connected to the rgb groups ( 801 , 821 , 841 ) in order to sequentially illumination of red , green , blue photodiodes as an image . the image is projected on a viewing plane to form a color image due to persistence of vision when viewed . [ 0078 ] fig1 b is a schematic diagram of another form of the embodiment of the light control circuit in conjunction with fig1 according to the invention . as shown in fig1 b , the light control circuit essentially includes : three dc - dc voltage converter 71 - 73 , an rgb field - sequential color microdisplay 75 ( this can be cmd8x6ddi field sequential control asic produced by three five system , inc .) and three mosfet switches q 1 - q 3 . the circuit 19 can further include an illumination controller 74 in front of the microdisplay 75 to control the luminance of the photodiodes 101 . [ 0079 ] fig1 is a timing diagram of fig1 b according to the invention . as shown in fig1 with reference to fig1 b , the microdisplay 75 outputs red , green , blue pulses . the pulses are electrically connected to gates of the switches q 1 - q 3 one to one . sources of the switches q 1 - q 3 are grounded . drains of the switches q 1 - q 3 are respectively connected to one side of at least one resistor r 1 . the other side of the resistor r 1 is connected to the reverse side of a relative cascade photodiode group . for example , the switch q 1 is connected to the reverse side of the red photodiode group 801 through the relative resistor r 1 ; the switch q 2 is connected to the reverse side of the green photodiode group 821 through the relative resistor r 1 ; and the switch q 3 is connected to the reverse side of the blue photodiode group 841 through the relative resistor r 1 . every group is connected to a specific dc - dc voltage converter . in this embodiment , the group 801 is connected to the converter 71 , the group 821 is connected to the converter 72 , and the group 841 is connected to the converter 73 . the converters 71 - 73 consistent with the relative rgb pulses drive the corresponding photodiode groups 801 , 821 , 841 to sequentially illuminate . a dc voltage vin is supplied to the converters 71 - 73 and the controller 74 . the output of the controller 74 ( adopted cmd3xlb illumination controller produced by three five system , inc .) is electrically connected to the input of the microdisplay 75 . as shown in fig1 b , an explanation is given with reference to fig1 . each of the groups 801 , 821 and 841 has a separate operating voltage provided by the connected converters 71 - 73 , as cited above . additionally , the controller 74 connected to the microdisplay 75 sequentially controls the luminance of the rgb photodiodes 101 using the prior pulse width modulation ( pwm ) technique and the resulting pulses are output to the microdisplay 75 . the microdisplay 75 changes the output frequency clk according to the received pulses with different pulse widths to adjust a rate of data bus data to the switches q 1 - q 3 . therefore , the photodiode groups 801 , 821 , 841 continuously and sequentially illuminate lights red , green , blue as desired . the switches can be mosfets . the cited photodiodes 101 are wired with same color photodiodes ( i . e ., leds ) as a group with plural cascade rows even though the same color photodiodes are not arranged adjacent to each other in the light source modules or illuminating units . for example , the first row in fig1 includes the group 801 of red leds d 11 , d 13 , d 15 , . . . , the group 821 of blue leds d 12 , . . . , and the group 841 of green leds d 11 , . . . d 1n ; the second row includes the group 801 of red leds d 22 , . . . , the group 821 of blue leds d 24 , . . . , d 22 , and the group 841 of green leds d 21 , d 23 d 25 , . . . ; and so on . all photodiodes are connected commonly to the pad gnd for the ground . all the same color rows are connected in parallel as a color group . therefore , the rgb groups are formed as shown in the circuits 801 , 821 , 841 of fig1 b . as shown in fig1 b , the dc - dc voltage converters 71 - 73 provide the operating voltage by converting a cell voltage of 5v into the desired voltage of 12v . instead of the converters 71 - 73 , ac - dc converters ( not shown ) can be used to provide the groups 801 , 821 , 841 with the operating voltage as required . these modifications can be made to the invention in light of the above detailed description . the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiment disclosed in the specification and the claims . rather , the scope of the invention is to be determined entirely by the following claims , which are to be construed in accordance with established doctrines of claim interpretation . | 7 |
referring now in detail to fig1 - 9 , a paperboard blank for an upper unit 10 in accordance with the present invention is shown in fig1 and a paperboard blank for the lower unit 12 is shown in fig2 . these blanks can be set up as seen in fig3 with the lower unit 12 being slidably engaged into the upper unit 10 , as seen in fig6 . in the configuration shown in fig3 the carton formed by the two units can have a solid material such as an insecticide inside the two units . referring now specifically to fig1 the interior surface of the upper unit 10 is shown comprising a regular polygonal central panel or wall 14 , a rectangular panel 16 hingedly coupled along a longitudinal edge thereof to each edge of the central panel 14 , side flaps 18 hingedly coupled to both lateral edges of alternate ones of the rectangular panels 16 and locking flaps 20 hingedly coupled to alternate ones of the rectangular panels along the distal longitudinal edges thereof via fold lines 22 . each of the rectangular side panels 16 is hingedly coupled to the central panel along fold lines 24 and each of the side flaps is hingedly coupled to the lateral edges of the alternate ones of the rectangular panels along fold lines 26 and 27 . the side flaps 18 are in the nature of glue flaps having adhesive spots 29 on the interior surface thereof seen in fig1 . the regular polygonal central panel 14 is shown as a hexagon in fig1 ; although it could be any desirable regular polygon . the locking flaps 20 are isosceles trapezoids , the sides thereof having angles with fold line 22 of about 45 °. the lateral dimension of the locking flaps 20 is less than the lateral dimension of the rectangular side panels 16 and the longitudinal dimension of the locking flaps is less than the longitudinal dimension of such side panels 16 . the larger base of the trapezoidal locking flaps coincides with the fold line 22 and is thus hingedly coupled to the rectangular panel . each of the locking flaps 20 has a substantially straight distal edge 30 which provides the locking characteristic thereto as will be described in more detail hereinafter . in order to set up the upper unit 10 into the configuration shown in fig3 the side panels 16 are folded along fold lines 24 inwardly as seen in fig1 so that they are substantially perpendicular to central panel 14 , which forms a top wall , these side panels 16 thereby forming side walls , the side flaps 18 with the adhesive 29 thereon being placed against the inside surface of the adjacent side panels 16 . then , in order to make the upper unit 10 ready for sliding over and telescopically receiving the lower unit 12 , the locking flaps 20 are pivoted about fold lines 22 from the position shown in fig1 through substantially 180 ° to the position shown in fig3 and 5 in which the locking flaps 20 are substantially against the interior surfaces of the side panels 16 . referring now to fig2 the lower unit 12 is shown comprising a central panel 34 , a rectangular side panel 36 hingedly coupled along a longitudinal edge thereof to each edge of the central panel , and side flaps 38 hingedly and integrally coupled along fold lines 40 to both lateral edges of alternate ones of the rectangular panels . each of the side flaps 38 are in the nature of glue flaps having adhesive spots 42 on the interior surface thereof , as seen in fig2 . preferably , the adhesive extends over substantially all of the surface of the side flaps 38 . the rectangular side panels 36 are hingedly coupled to the central panel by means of fold lines 44 at the edges of the panel and on one of the longitudinal edges of each rectangular side panel . selected ones of the rectangular side panels 36 have openings 46 therein to allow air to pass therethrough . each of the side flaps 38 has a substantially right triangular base portion 48 which is hingedly coupled along fold line 40 to the rectangular side panel 36 and which has an outer edge 50 at an angle of less than 90 ° and advantageously of about 60 ° to the fold line 40 . extending outwardly from the base portion 48 is a substantially rectangular tab 52 which is substantially perpendicular to fold line 40 . in order to set up the lower unit 12 the rectangular side panels 36 are pivoted 90 ° from the position shown in fig2 along fold lines 44 so that they are substantially perpendicular to central panel 34 and thereby form side walls , the central panel 34 forming a bottom wall . the side flaps 38 are also folded along fold lines 40 so that the adhesive 42 rigidly connects the side flaps 38 to the rectangular side panel 36 which is adjacent thereto . this is seen in fig3 where two side flaps 38 are rigidly connected via adhesive 42 to the adjacent side panel 36 , these side flaps 38 being integrally formed and extending from alternate and adjacent side panels 36 . referring now to fig4 as seen therein , the adjacent opposed side flaps 38 rigidly coupled to one of the side panels 36 define a trapezoidal recess 54 comprising the bottom sides of the two tabs 52 , which are preferably parallel to the central panel 34 , and the two facing outer edges 50 on the adjacent side flaps 38 . once the upper unit 10 is aligned with the lower unit 12 so that each of the three folded - in locking flaps 20 is above a corresponding trapezoidal recess 54 , and the material to be contained inside the carton formed by the two units is placed inside , the upper unit 10 is moved downwardly from a position shown in fig4 and 5 so that the side panels 16 slidably engage and receive therein the side panels 36 of the lower unit . this is shown in fig6 and 7 with the upper unit 10 resting on the lower unit 12 and the carton thereby formed being closed . the openings 46 are also closed - off by outer side panels 16 . in this position , the locking flaps 20 because of the memory of the paperboard of which they are formed tend to spring away from the side panels 16 into a frictional engagement with the exterior surface of side panels 36 as best seen in fig7 . in moving from the position shown in fig4 and 5 to that shown in fig6 and 7 , the inwardly folded locking flaps 20 slide over the tabs 52 at the top of the trapezoidal recess 54 . in all events , in the position shown in fig6 and 7 , the locking flaps 20 lie below the tabs 52 and against side panels 36 of the lower unit 12 in the trapezoidal recesses . in order to selectively open the openings 46 , the upper and lower units can be slidably moved relative to one another along their common longitudinal axis . they will tend to stay in the separated position to which they are pulled because of the frictional engagement of the locking flaps 20 against the exterior surfaces of the rectangular side panels 36 . there is a limit to the relative movement therebetween and separation is precluded by engagement of the distal edge 30 on each locking flap 20 with the bottom of the tabs 52 , as seen in fig8 and 9 . in this position , the openings 46 are fully opened so that air can pass therethrough . the embodiment shown in fig1 and 11 of the present invention is particularly useful as an air freshener . the upper unit 10 &# 39 ; shown therein is the same as the upper unit shown in fig1 except that six substantially equally spaced substantially triangular openings 56 are formed through the central panel 14 &# 39 ;. the remaining parts of the upper unit 10 &# 39 ; are the same as that shown in fig1 and described above and are therefore given the same reference numerals . as seen in fig1 , the modified lower unit 12 &# 39 ; is the same as the lower unit 12 seen in fig2 and described in detail above except there are no openings 46 on the side panels but each side panel 36 has a triangular flap 58 extending from the distal longitudinal edge thereof hingedly along a fold line 60 . the remaining parts are the same as that shown in fig2 and are given the same reference numerals . as seen in fig1 , the modified upper and lower units 10 &# 39 ; and 12 &# 39 ; are set up substantially the same way as units 10 and 12 except that in addition the triangular flaps 58 are folded inwardly of the lower unit 12 &# 39 ;. this folding is along fold line 60 and results in the triangular flaps 58 assuming a substantially parallel configuration to the bottom central panel 34 of the lower unit 12 &# 39 ;, as seen in fig1 . as is evident from fig1 , the upper and lower units 10 &# 39 ; and 12 &# 39 ; are connected and slidably related as are units 10 and 12 . as seen in fig1 , the openings 56 in the upper unit 10 &# 39 ; overlie the central portion of the triangular flaps 59 so that air can flow through and into or out of the formed carton from units 10 &# 39 ; and 12 &# 39 ; via openings 56 and the spaces between the triangular flaps 58 oriented in a position shown in fig1 . while various advantageous embodiments have been chosen to illustrate the invention , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 0 |
fig1 is a schematic view of the structure of a lcd panel 100 . the structure of the lcd panel 100 mainly comprises a color filter substrate 1 and an array substrate 2 that are bonded together with a liquid crystal layer 3 sandwiched therebetween , and the outer surfaces of the color filter substrate 1 and the array substrate 2 are provided with a polarization film 4 , respectively . a black matrix and rgb color resin may be provided on the color filter substrate 1 , and a plurality of gate lines , a plurality of data lines , thin film transistors and pixel electrodes may be provided on the array substrate 2 . twist nematic ( tn ) liquid crystal may be used for the liquid crystal layer 3 , the fundamental physical characteristics of which has a refractive anisotropy of δn =+ 0 . 7 ˜+ 1 . 3 and a permittivity anisotropy of δc =+ 4 . 0 ˜+ 12 . the polarization film 4 is used to adjust the intensity and the direction of the light output from a backlight module . as shown in fig1 , along a direction outward from the surfaces of the color filter substrate 1 and the array substrate 2 , the polarization film 4 comprises an adhesive layer ( psa ) 41 , a liquid crystal compensation layer ( dlc ) 42 , a first support layer ( tac ) 43 , a polarization layer ( pva ) 44 , a second support layer ( tac ) 45 , and a surface treatment layer 46 . the adhesive layer 41 is used to affix the polarization films 4 onto the outer surfaces of the color filter substrate 1 and the array substrate 2 ; the liquid crystal compensate layer 42 is used to compensate the smaller view angle when a black picture is displayed ; the polarization layer 44 is used to selectively transmit the light output from the backlight module ; the first support layer 43 and the second support layer 45 are disposed on and under the polarization layer 44 for supporting the polarization layer 44 , and the first support layer 43 and the second support layer 45 generally adopts a colorless material with higher transmissivity ; the surface treatment layer 46 is used to deal with the problems such as surface reflection through an anti - glare treatment and the like . the base which the polarization film according to the embodiment is affixed to is not limited to the color filter substrate and the array substrate and may be other kind of bases . fig2 is a schematic view of the structure of the adhesive layer according to the first embodiment of the invention . as shown in fig2 , the adhesive layer 41 according to the embodiment is formed with a plurality of rectangular holes 411 which are used as non - adhesive regions . the plurality of rectangular holes 411 are arranged in parallel with each other , and the long axis of each of the rectangular holes 411 is perpendicular to the laminating direction c of the polarization layer . the regions other than the plurality of rectangular holes 411 of the adhesive layer 41 are used as adhesive regions , by which the polarization film is affixed onto the outer surface of the color filter substrate or the array substrate . thus , a structure of the adhesive layer in which the adhesive regions and the non - adhesive regions are alternately arranged with a predetermined interval between the neighboring ones along the laminating direction of the polarization layer is formed . the above mentioned structure with alternately arranged adhesive regions and non - adhesive regions enables the adhesive layer to have a maximum shrink resistance along the laminating direction of the polarization layer . since the adhesive layer 41 is provided as the outmost layer of the polarization film , the surface of the polarization film is provided with a plurality of rectangular grooves when the adhesive layer and the other layers are combined to form the polarization film . when the polarization film is used , the surface of the adhesive regions of the adhesive layer is affixed onto the surface of the color filter substrate or the array substrate , and at the non - adhesive regions on the adhesive layer are formed a plurality of rectangular air layer between the surfaces of the polarization film and the color filter substrate or the array substrate ; therefore , obtained is an alternately affixing structure , in which the adhesive layer is partially affixed to the surface of the color filter substrate or the array substrate . since the polarization layer ( pva ) is formed of a high molecular material and subject to laminating treatment along a predetermined laminating direction , it suffers from distortion corresponding to varying environment , particularly in a condition of high temperature and high humidity . the polarization film tends to rebound along a direction opposite to the original laminating direction and produces a shrinking force . although the polarization layer is also subject to shrinkage in the directions other than the laminating direction , but the shrinkage is relatively smaller than that in the laminating direction , thus giving rise to the non - uniform shrinkage . at the same time , since the laminating direction of the polarization layer on the color filter substrate is perpendicular to that of the polarization layer on the array substrate , the different distortion of the two polarization films changes the orthogonal relationship between the absorption axes of the two polarization layers , which causes the phenomenon of non - uniform luminance when displaying a black picture , leading to a poor quality picture . in the embodiment , the adhesive regions and the non - adhesive regions whose longitudinal directions are perpendicular to the laminating direction of the polarization layer are alternatively arranged with the predetermined interval at the interface between the adhesive layer and the base ( the color filter substrate or the array substrate ). with such configuration of the adhesive layer , the defect of the different shrinkage extent between the laminating direction of the polarization layer and the other directions can be avoided effectively . when such a polarization film is used in a lcd panel , the problem that the orthogonal relationship is changed by the distortion of the polarization layers on the color filter substrate and the array substrate can be overcome effectively . specifically , when the polarization layer shrinks along the direction opposite to the laminating direction , the affixing portions between the adhesive layer and the color filter substrate or the array substrate act to increase resistance , which reduces the shrinkage of the polarization layer in the direction . when the polarization layer shrinks in the directions other than the laminating direction , the non - adhesive regions between the adhesive layer and the color filter substrate or the array substrate decrease the resistance against the shrinkage in these directions , in other words , the shrinkage extent in these directions is relatively increased , thus it enables the shrinkage extent of the polarization layer in the laminating direction and that in the directions other than the laminating direction to become closer to each other . in the embodiment , the rectangular holes are only a specific exemplary structure of the elongated hole according to the embodiment . the elongated hole may also be ellipse shaped hole , the strip shaped hole and the like . fig3 is the schematic view of the shrinkage extent of the polarization film according to the first embodiment of the invention , in which the real line represents the shape of the polarization film after shrinkage in the embodiment , and the broken line represents the shape of a conventional polarization film after shrinkage without the elongated holes . as shown in fig3 , in the laminating direction c of the polarization layer , the shrinkage extent of the polarization film according to the embodiment is substantially the same as the case without the elongated holes , while in the direction d other than the laminating direction c of the polarization layer , the shrinkage extent of the polarization film according to the embodiment is larger than the case without the elongated holes , which enables the shrinkage extent of the polarization film in the laminating direction and in other directions to become closer to each other , so that the shrinkage extent becomes uniform . further , when such a polarization film is used in a liquid crystal display , since both the polarization film on the color filter substrate and on the array substrate shrink uniformly , the orthogonal relationship between the absorption axes of the two polarization films after shrinkage can be maintained so that a black picture can be formed with uniform luminance and high picture quality . fig4 is a schematic view of the structure of the adhesive layer according to a second embodiment of the invention . as shown in fig4 , the adhesive layer 41 of the embodiment is formed with a plurality of hole groups 412 that are used as non - adhesive regions , and each group in the hole groups 412 comprises a plurality of round holes arranged successively . the plurality of hole groups 412 are arranged in parallel to each other , and the extending direction of each group of the hole groups 412 is perpendicular to the laminating direction of the polarization layer . the regions on the adhesive layer other than the plurality of hole groups 412 are used as adhesive regions that are used to affix the polarization film onto the surfaces of the color filter substrate and the array substrate . thus , such a adhesive layer structure is formed , in which the adhesive regions and the non - adhesive regions are alternatively arranged with a predetermined interval between the neighboring ones along the laminating direction of the polarization layer , and the adhesive regions and the non - adhesive regions are alternatively arranged with a predetermined interval between the neighboring ones along the direction perpendicular to the laminating direction of the polarization layer . at the same time , the number of holes in each group decreases gradually along the laminating direction of the polarization layer , and the alternating times of the adhesive regions and the non - adhesive regions decrease gradually along the direction perpendicular to the laminating direction of the polarization layer . the above mentioned structure of the alternatively arranged adhesive regions and non - adhesive regions enables the polarization layer to have a maximum shrinkage resistance in the laminating direction and a minimum shrinkage resistance in the direction perpendicular to the laminating direction . it has been found through careful research that , under the same surface condition , the resistance to be overcome is largest when the shrinkage of the polarization layer starts . if the surface is discontinuous , larger resistance is to be overcome for forming a distortion . therefore , in the embodiment of the invention , the adhesive regions and the non - adhesive regions are formed alternatively along the laminating direction of the polarization layer ( i . e ., discontinuous ), which can increase the resistance to the shrinkage ; and the adhesive regions and the non - adhesive regions are alternatively formed along the direction perpendicular to the laminating direction of the polarization layer , which enables the polarization layer to have the minimum shrinkage resistance along the direction in contrast with other directions . therefore , when the polarization film in the structure according to the embodiment is affixed onto surface of the color filter substrate or the array substrate , a plurality of round shaped air layers are formed at the interface between the polarization film and the color filter substrate or the array substrate , which enables the shrinkage extent of the polarization film in the laminating direction and that in the directions other than the laminating direction to become closer to each other . in the embodiment , the hole groups may also be ellipse shaped holes , quadrangle shaped holes , polygon shaped holes or the holes with other regulated shapes . the technical shortcomings of light leakage and non - uniform luminance can be also avoided according to the embodiment . the invention being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such modifications as would be obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be comprised within the scope of the following claims . | 6 |
embodiments of the present application are directed to a nid cabinet . those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following detailed description of the nid cabinet is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting . other embodiments of the nid cabinet will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure . reference will now be made in detail to implementations of the nid cabinet as illustrated in the accompanying drawings . the same reference indicators will be used throughout the drawings and the following detailed description to refer to the same or like parts . in the interest of clarity , not all of the routine features of the implementations described herein are shown and described . it will , of course , be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation , numerous implementation - specific decisions must be made in order to achieve the developer &# 39 ; s specific goals , such as compliance with application and business related constraints , and that these specific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from one developer to another . moreover , it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time - consuming , but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure . fig1 illustrates a front perspective view of a nid cabinet according to some embodiments . the nid cabinet 2 includes a base 4 and lid 6 coupled to the base 4 . within an interior of the base 4 are positioned multiple cable spools . in this exemplary embodiment , the nid cabinet 2 is configured to hold two cable spools , a cable spool 8 and a cable spool 10 . it is understood that alternative configurations can hold a single cable spool or more than two cable spools . each cable spool is configured to hold spooled cable ( not shown ). as used herein , “ cable ” refers to any electrical transmission line having an interior transmission signal medium and an outer insulating layer . in some embodiments , the electrical transmission line is a network communications line such as coaxial cable or optical fiber used in cable television , internet and / or telephone networks . a cable has a first end and a second end , each end terminated by a cable connector . the base 4 also includes a network interconnection junction 5 having multiple network interface connectors . each network interface connector is configured to mate with a cable connector of cable spooled on one of the cable spools . in the exemplary configuration where the base 4 is configured to house two cable spools , such as in fig1 , the network interconnection junction 5 includes two network interface connectors , one network interface connector for mating with a cable connecter on a first end of cable spooled around cable spool 8 and another network interface connector for mating with a cable connecter on a first end of cable spooled around cable spool 10 . each cable spool is either fixedly mounted or removably mounted within the base 4 depending on the types of mounting features fabricated on a back wall of the base 4 and on the cable spool . there are two different types of mounting features on the back wall , fixed mounting features and removable mounting features . each type of mounting feature is permanently fabricated as part of the back wall of the base 4 . in some embodiments , each cable spool is assembled from multiple disparate parts that can be repeatedly assembled and disassembled ., as described later in relation to fig7 - 9 . as used herein “ fixedly mounted ” refers to the cable spool being assembled and fixed to the back wall of the nid cabinet . while in the assembled state , the cable spool is interlocked with the fixed mounting features and locked in position against the back wall of the nid cabinet . only by disassembling the cable spool into its constituent parts can the cable spool parts be removed from the mounted position against the nid back wall . spooling cable around the fixedly mounted cable spool prevents the assembled cable spool from being disassembled . as such , in order to disassemble the fixedly mounted cable spool for dismounting , any spooled cable must first be removed . as used herein “ removably mounted ” refers to the cable spool being assembled and attached to the removable mounting features . while in the assembled state , the cable spool is interlocked with the removable mounting features and locked in position against the back wall of the nid cabinet . however , a cable spool that is removably mounted can be dismounted while fully assembled , either with or without spooled cable still wrapped around the cable spool . fig2 illustrates a front perspective view of the nid cabinet 2 from fig1 with the lid 6 and cable spools 8 , 10 removed . the base 4 includes an opening 12 through which passes cable spooled on cable spool 8 , and an opening 14 through which passes cable spooled on cable spool 10 . on the back wall 16 are removable mounting features 18 and fixed mounting features 44 . fig3 illustrates the removable mounting features 18 from fig2 in greater detail . the removable mounting features 18 include a radius 20 , interlocking fingers 22 , detent protrusions 24 and stop protrusions 26 . the radius 20 includes a trapping radius 31 that rests against the back wall 16 ( fig2 ) of the base 4 , and radius lip 28 positioned away from the back wall 16 . multiple gussets 30 extend from the radius lip 28 . fig4 illustrates a left back perspective view of the cable spool 10 . fig5 illustrates a right back perspective view of the cable spool 10 . the cable spool 10 is formed from two parts , a spool part 72 and a spool part 74 , which are mated together . in some embodiments , such as that shown in fig4 and 5 , the two spool parts 72 , 74 are identical . the two spool parts 72 , 74 are shown assembled in fig4 and 5 . the two spool parts 72 , 74 each include mating features for mating together . in some embodiments , the two spool parts 72 , 74 include similar interconnect mating features as the two spool parts 76 , 78 of the cable spool 8 shown in fig7 - 9 . the cable spool 10 includes a front plate 32 and a rear plate 34 . each of the front plate 32 and the rear plate 34 has a radius 36 , interlocking fingers 38 , detent fingers 40 and a radius 42 . the cable spool 10 is retained in the nid cabinet 2 by first lifting the cable spool 10 such that radius 36 of the rear plate 34 is directly above the radius 20 on the back wall 16 of the base 4 ( fig2 and 3 ) and such that the centers of radius 36 of the rear plate 34 and radius 42 of the rear plate 34 in fig4 and 5 are in the same vertical plane . second , insuring that the height of the cable spool allows interlocking fingers 38 on rear plate 34 to clear the interlocking fingers 22 ( fig2 and 3 ) on the back wall 16 . third , pushing the cable spool 10 inward towards the back wall 16 of the base 4 until the rear plate 34 of the cable spool 10 contacts the back wall 16 of the base 4 . fourth , sliding the cable spool 10 downward until the interlocking fingers 38 on the rear plate 34 are guided into and trapped in the interlocking fingers 22 on the back wall 16 , and a lip of the radius 36 on the rear plate 34 is wedged behind the radius lip 28 of the radius 20 ( fig3 ). fifth , continuing to slide the cable spool 10 downward until the detent fingers 40 on the rear plate 34 snap onto the detent protrusions 24 on the back wall 16 , and the detent fingers 40 on the rear plate 34 rest against the stop protrusions 26 on the back wall 16 . the cable spool 10 can be removed by reversing the steps 1 - 5 above . the architecture could be modified for more robust retention by the detent protrusion . such an implementation would require an extension of the cable spool detent finger that would allow it to be accessed and pulled outwards towards the front of the nid cabinet . fig6 illustrates the fixed mounting features 44 from fig2 . the fixed mounting features 44 include a radius 46 and a radius 54 . the radius 46 includes a trapping radius 48 that rests against the back wall 16 ( fig2 ) of the base 4 , and radius lip 50 positioned away from the back wall 16 . multiple gussets 52 extend from the radius lip 50 . radius 54 has the same configuration as radius 46 , but is aligned upside down relative to the radius 46 . fig7 illustrates the cable spool 8 assembled . the cable spool 8 is formed from two parts , a spool part 76 and a spool part 78 , which are mated together . in some embodiments , such as that shown in fig7 , the two spool parts 76 , 78 are identical . the cable spool 8 includes a front plate 56 and a rear plate 58 . both the front plate 56 and the rear plate 58 have a radius 70 and a radius 80 . fig8 illustrates the two spool parts 76 , 78 disassembled . fig7 - 10 show various interconnect mating features for the two spool parts 76 , 78 including snap pair 60 , mate pair 62 , mate pair 64 , mate pair 66 and mate pair 68 . the interconnect mating features restrain the two spool parts 76 , 78 in all directions as they are guided together for a positive locking snap . the two spool parts 76 , 78 are initially separated and placed at the back wall 16 of the base 4 ( fig2 and 6 ) such that radius 70 of spool part 76 is positioned above radius 46 ( fig6 ) and radius 80 of spool part 78 is positioned below radius 54 ( fig6 ). the separated spool parts 76 , 78 are then snapped together such that radius 70 ( fig1 ) is trapped behind radius lip 50 ( fig6 ) and in contact with trapping radius 48 ( fig6 ), and radius 80 is trapped behind radius lip of radius 54 ( fig6 ) and in contact with trapping radius of radius 54 ( fig6 ). the spool parts 76 , 78 are dimensioned such that they snap together just before the two trapping radii of radii 46 , 54 ( fig6 ) interfere with the corresponding radii 70 , 80 . when cable is spooled around the cable spool 8 , the spool parts 76 , 78 are prevented from separating and therefore the cable spool 8 is prevented from being removed from the fixed mounting features 44 . in this manner , the cable spool 8 is fixedly assembled in the nid cabinet 2 without the use of fasteners . note that the full gravitational load of the cable is transferred to the upper spool part 76 and does not stress the interconnect mating features which connect the upper and lower spool parts 76 , 78 since the cable hangs free off the lower spool part 78 . in some embodiments , the cable spool 10 has exactly the same radii features and size as the cable spool 8 , and the radius 46 of the fixed mounting features 44 is the same as the radius 20 of the removable mounting features 18 , which enables the cable spool 10 to be mounted on either the removable mounting feature 18 or the fixed mounting features 44 . in some embodiments , the cable spool 8 has the same interconnect mating features as the cable spool 10 , and the radius 46 of the fixed mounting features 44 is the same as the radius 20 of the removable mounting features 18 , which enables the cable spool 8 to be mounted on either the removable mounting feature 18 or the fixed mounting features 44 . in some embodiments , the outer edges of the rear plate and the front plate are smaller for cable spool 8 than for cable spool 10 . this embodiment is shown in fig1 . different sized rear plates and front plates of the cable spool can be used to accommodate spooling of different sized cables . for example , the last line cable used to connect the nid cabinet to a junction box is typically thicker than the inside wiring cable used to connect the nid cabinet to the inside wire in the end user location . larger sized rear and front plates provide a larger volume within which to spool the larger sized cable . in some embodiments , the cable spool is symmetrical from top to bottom ( vertically symmetrical ), from side to side ( horizontally symmetrical ) and from front to back . being symmetrical , the cable spool can be installed upside down and / or front - side back relative to the aforementioned embodiments . in the exemplary embodiments shown in fig1 - 10 , the base 4 is configured with removable mounting features 18 for removably mounting cable spool 10 and is configured with fixed mounting features 44 for fixedly mounting cable spool 8 . it is understood that the base can be alternatively configured with the types of mounting features reversed such that the cable spool 8 is removably mounted and the cable spool 10 is fixedly mounted . it is also understood that the base can be alternatively configured with only fixed mounting features such that both cable spools 8 and 10 are fixedly mounted , or the base can be alternatively configured with only removable mounting features such that both cable spools 8 and 10 are removably mounted . in either of these alternative base embodiments , the cable spools are configured with the appropriate mounting features . the openings 12 and 14 ( fig2 ) in the base 4 are shown as enclosed openings , which requires cable to be threaded through the openings . alternatively , the openings can be configured as laterally open - ended slots that enable the cable to simply be slid into the slot . the slot enables the cable spool to be mounted into the base while the cable is externally connected . in this manner , cable can be more easily installed from the junction box to the nid cabinet . for example , the cable spool can be used as a transport device between the factory and on - site . when on - site , one end of the cable spooled to the cable spool is connected to the junction box . as the installer then walks from the junction box to the nid cabinet , cable is un - spooled from cable spool . once the installer reaches the nid cabinet , the cable un - spooled from the cable spool is slid through the slot in the base , the second end of the cable is connected to the network interface connector and the cable spool is mounted to the removable mounting features . in this manner , the cable spool protects the cable during shipping , and also aids the installer in running cable between the junction box and the nid cabinet . the present application has been described in terms of specific embodiments incorporating details to facilitate the understanding of the principles of construction and operation of the nid cabinet . many of the components shown and described in the various figures can be interchanged to achieve the results necessary , and this description should be read to encompass such interchange as well . as such , references herein to specific embodiments and details thereof are not intended to limit the scope of the claims appended hereto . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications can be made to the embodiments chosen for illustration without departing from the spirit and scope of the application . | 6 |
in general , throughout this description , if an item is described as implemented in software , it can equally well be implemented as hardware . as used herein , “ data ” is either singular or plural , as the context requires . as further used herein , “ class ,” “ class property ,” “ class event ,” and “ class method ” are given their ordinary meanings as will be familiar to those of ordinary skill in the object oriented software programming arts . “ class method ” is used herein to distinguish between a “ method ,” as that term is common to patent claims , and invocable software executing in a computer and associated with a class . a “ class process ” is equivalent , as used herein , to a “ class .” referring now to fig1 in an exemplary embodiment , as will be familiar to those of ordinary skill in the computer arts , files may be distributed , e . g . file 4 and file 5 . first processor 10 may have access to one or more files , e . g . file 4 , resident on file storage 16 . similarly , second processor 20 may have access to one or more files , e . g . file 5 resident on file storage 26 . client 12 , client 22 , file system class 13 , file system class 23 , file handler class 14 , and file handler class 24 are all compliant with the joint tactical radio system ( jtrs ) software component architecture ( sca ). client 12 , client 22 , file system class 13 , file system class 23 , file handler class 14 , and file handler class 24 , in this example , may be either a class or a class method , as the context requires . a client method or client process executing in a processor , e . g . client 12 executing in first processor 10 , may desire access to a file , e . g . file 4 or file 5 . in an exemplary embodiment , client 12 may invoke a file server service of a jtrs sca server of which client 12 is aware , e . g . file system class 13 . client 12 may pass a reference or other identifier which identifies the file that client 12 is requesting , e . g . file 4 , to a jtrs sca class method such as a class method of file system class 13 . in a first exemplary scenario , client 12 may request access to file 5 . as file 5 is remote to client 12 , i . e . resident on data store 26 local to processor 20 , file 5 will need to be accessed through jtrs sca file system class 23 and / or file handler class 24 , such as via operating corba methods accessed via the internet 100 . access to files using corba is indicated by dashed lines in fig1 . in a second exemplary scenario , client 12 may request access to file 4 . in this second scenario , file 4 is resident on data store 16 which is local to processor 10 . accessing file 4 through jtrs sca file system class 13 and / or file handler class 14 may add complexities and overhead not needed by client 12 as client 12 is executing in the same processor as file system class 13 and / or file handler class 14 , i . e . first processor 10 . in this second exemplary scenario , access to file 4 by client 12 may be faster and more efficient if client 12 is allowed to access file 4 more directly , such as by using file access system calls native to operating system 17 executing on first processor 10 . access to files using native operating system calls is indicated by solid lines in fig1 . referring now to fig2 file system class 13 is an instance of a base jtrs sca file access class . in an embodiment , when invoked , file system class 13 may create an instance of a jtrs sca compliant file handler class , e . g . file handler class 14 . as will be familiar to those of ordinary skill in object oriented software programming arts , file system class 13 and file handler class 14 may each comprise properties , events , and methods ( pem ), some of which may be exposed and some of which may be private . as file system class 13 and file handler class 14 are instances of a base jtrs sca class , file system class 13 and file handler class 14 may each further present a jtrs sca standard application programming interface ( api ) that is compliant with a jtrs sca file access api for their class . additionally , local file class 18 may be added to file handler class 14 as an extension to file handler class 14 . local file class 18 may be added to file handler class 14 as a class method of a base file handler class 14 or may be a class instance based on file handler class 14 which has its own class methods and / or properties . as a class instance based on file handler class 14 , local file class 18 will inherit file handler class 14 properties , events , and methods , allowing local file class 18 to use those inherited properties , events , and methods as defaults . local class 18 may further comprise determination class method 18 a operable to determine if a process such as client 12 which is invoking local class 18 , directly or indirectly , is on a same processor , e . g . 10 , as a file to which access has been requested , e . g . file 4 . referring now to fig3 client 12 may further comprise one or more class methods . in an exemplary embodiment , client 12 comprises local file access class method 420 , which may be usable , e . g . able to be invoked , to access a file local to processor 10 ( fig1 ) in which client 12 is resident , such as file 4 ( fig1 ) and a default class method 422 usable to access a file not local to processor 10 , e . g . file 5 , where default class method 422 may default to class method 45 of file access class 40 . access to non - local files such as file 5 may be accomplished through a file server class on the remote processor where the non - local file resides , e . g . file system class 23 on processor 20 . as used herein , local file access class method 420 may comprise one or more individual class methods to provide functionality to access file 4 ( fig1 ). in an embodiment , functionality for local file access class method 420 resides in individual class methods such as file manipulation method 420 a , file name manipulation method 420 b , file pointer method 420 c , content manipulation method 420 d , file properties method 420 e , exception handler 420 f , or the like , or a combination thereof . file manipulation class method 420 a may comprise one or more class methods to accomplish reading , writing , opening , closing , creating , or deleting functions , or the like , or a combination thereof . file name manipulation method 420 b may comprise one or more class methods to accomplish file name retrieval , file name modification , or the like , or a combination thereof . file name retrieval may be invoked to return a file name associated with file 4 ( fig1 ) where the file name is obtained from an interface to operating system 17 executing in processor 10 . file pointer method 420 c may comprise one or more class methods to accomplish file pointer retrieval or file pointer modification . in the jtrs sca , a file interface comprises class 40 ( fig3 ) that provides the ability to read and write files residing within a jtrs cf - compliant , distributed file system wherein a file can be thought of conceptually as a sequence of octets with a current filepointer describing where the next read or write will occur . this filepointer points to the beginning of the file upon construction of the file object . content manipulation method 420 d may comprise one or more class methods to accomplish accessing content of file 4 ( fig1 ), e . g . reading content , writing content , or the like , or a combination thereof . file properties method 420 e may be used to obtain a property of file 4 ( fig1 ), e . g . a read - only status of file 4 , a physical size of file 4 , a filename of file 4 , time of file creation , date of file creation , time of the last access to the file , date of the last access to the file , time of the last modification of the file , date of the last modification of the file , or the like , or a combination thereof . in the operation of an exemplary embodiment , referring now to fig4 and fig5 in a typical jtrs sca system , file system class 13 ( fig1 ) is created and initialized and handles at least a portion of access to local files , e . g . file 4 ( fig1 ). file system class 13 may further export an object reference back to a client process , e . g . 12 ( fig1 ), for use in accessing files . typically , file system class 13 will cause an instance of file handler class 14 ( fig1 ) to be created to handle at least a portion of access to a local file , e . g . 4 . an existing jtrs sca system may be expanded by use of local file class 18 ( fig2 ). in an exemplary embodiment , file 4 ( fig1 ) may be accessed using a file access interface provided by file system class 13 and / or file handler class 14 . an invocable file access class such as local file class 18 may be added to an existing joint tactical radio system ( jtrs ) software component architecture ( sca ) file handler class 14 ( fig2 ) such as by creating local file class 18 as a class based on file handler class 14 ( step 200 ). a client process such as client 12 ( fig1 ) may request access to file 4 using the jtrs sca file access api . ( step 210 ) accessing file 4 may comprise requesting a determination of a file name of file 4 , a determination of a file attribute of file 4 , manipulating content of file 4 , or the like . the file name may be a fully qualified , native operating system file name , e . g . one comprising a path to the file , the file name , and the file extension . as will be familiar to one of ordinary skill in the software arts , one or more methods in file system class 13 and / or file handler class 14 may be used to accomplish these functions . once it receives a request or message from client 12 , 22 , local file class 18 may determine if file 4 is local to the same processor , e . g . 10 ( fig1 ), as client 12 , 22 . ( step 220 ) for example , clients 12 , 22 ( fig1 ) may issue a request by invoking an appropriate method in local file class 18 ( fig2 ) such as by passing a first identifier local to client 12 , 22 , e . g . a cpu id , to local file class 18 . a class method in local file class 18 may then identify a second identifier where the second identifier is local to local file class 18 , e . g . a cpu id . a class method in local file class 18 may then compare the first identifier to the second identifier . file 4 may be found to be local when the first identifier equals the second identifier . if file 4 ( fig1 ) is local to the same processor , e . g . as may occur if client 12 ( fig1 ) desires access to file 4 ( fig1 ), the requesting client 12 , upon determining that file 4 is local to the same processor , 10 , may then use operating system calls native to operating system 17 ( fig1 ) to effect further access to file 4 , bypassing file system class 13 and file handler class 14 . ( step 230 ) if file 4 is not local , such as if client 12 is the requesting client needing further access to file 5 , file access to file 5 may be accomplished by using jtrs sca default class methods such as over the internet 100 ( fig1 ), e . g . using file system class 23 and corba . in certain embodiments , client 12 , 22 may access a file object reference ( step 300 in fig5 ) and invoke a class method to obtain a current host name of a current host in which client 12 , 22 is executing ( step 310 in fig5 ). a class method such as in file handler 14 , 24 may be invoked to determine if a file , e . g . 4 or 5 , which is associated with the file object reference is a local file with respect to the current host name ( step 320 in fig5 ). in a currently envisioned embodiment , file handler 14 , 24 is closed after the determination is made . if the requested file is local , client 12 , 22 may use operating system calls native to the current host for accessing the file ( step 330 in fig5 ). otherwise , client 12 , 22 may obtain a copy of a non - local file , e . g . file 5 requested by client 12 , such as by writing a copy of file 5 to data store 16 local to the current host 10 and then closing the copied , non - local file 5 ( step 340 in fig5 ). the copy may be obtained using file system class 23 , 24 . this may be advantageous when the file desired is an executable file , e . g . a dynamically linked library file . once copied , client 12 may use operating system calls native to the current host for accessing the copy of file 5 . in a preferred embodiment , once access to file 5 is no longer required , client 12 may delete the copied , local file . it will be understood that various changes in the details , materials , and arrangements of the parts which have been described and illustrated above in order to explain the nature of this invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the principle and scope of the invention as recited in the appended claims . | 8 |
referring to fig2 the present invention is made up of a control valve body 40 , a check valve block 50 , a pair of positioning pins 60 , two seal rings 70 , a pair check valve sets and a valve mount 90 . the control valve body 40 has a control handle 41 at one end and the other end is provided with an externally threaded junction 42 in which a pair of symmetric cold / hot water mixing outlet 43 are defined at the upper and lower position thereof . in communication with the cold / hot water mixing outlet 43 are disposed cold / hot water inlets 44 . to the left side of the center line of the mixing outlet 43 are disposed retaining columns 45 at the upper and lower portion . the check valve block 50 is provided with a pair of ring recesses 51 at the front side thereof with a pivot retaining hole 52 of a proper depth defined at the center of each ring recesses 51 . a smaller limiting through hole 53 is in communication with each retaining hole 52 . at the front side of the check valve block 50 are also disposed a pair of retaining cavities 54 each located at the summit and bottom of the left ring recess 51 . at the rear side of the check valve block 50 is disposed a water outlet 55 . there are two water inlets 56 disposed on the rear side and communicating with the pivot retaining hole 52 and the limiting through hole 53 . the water inlets 56 operate in match with the cold / hot water inlets 44 of the control valve body 40 . on the rear side and to the left portion thereof are disposed a pair of symmetric retaining holes 57 of a proper depth which match in position with the retaining columns 45 of the control valve body 40 . a water outlet 58 is located at the upper portion of the rear side of the control valve body 40 and matches in position with the mixing outlet 43 of the control valve body 40 . the positioning pins 60 are a two - staged rod . the seal ring 70 is fit to the ring recesses 51 of the check valve block 50 . each check valve set 80 is made up of a sleeve mount 81 , a spring 82 , a valve stick 83 and a sleeve 84 . the sleeve mount 81 is a hollow tube with a stop flange 811 of a proper size at one end having a central through hole 812 for the passage of the distal end of the valve stick 83 . a plurality of axial ribs 813 are disposed around the central through hole 812 with a small retaining section 814 extending at the end of the sleeve mount 81 . the spring 82 is registered with the central through hole 812 and the valve stick 83 which has an axially extended rod 831 and an abutment disc 832 . a seal ring 833 is attached to the abutment disc 832 . at the front end of the sleeve 84 is disposed a sealing section 841 and a closure hole 842 of a smaller diameter for the limiting of the abutment disc 832 of the valve stick 83 . at the opposite end of the sleeve 84 is disposed a snap means ( not shown ) in correspondence to the retaining section 814 of the sleeve mount 81 . the valve mount 90 has an extended duct 91 at the front with an internally threaded section 92 and a receiving interior 93 in the duct 91 for housing the check valve block 50 . on the inner end wall of the receiving interior 93 is defined a pair of positioning holes 94 in alignment with the retaining cavities 54 of the check valve block 50 and a pair of cold and hot water inlet holes 95 are located at the central portion of the end wall in match with the pivot retaining holes 52 of the check valve block 50 . at the summit of the round inner end wall is disposed a cold and hot mixing water outlet hole 96 in alignment with the water outlet 58 of the check valve block 50 . to each side of the extended duct 91 are symmetrically disposed a horizontal cold and hot water inlet duct 97 which are in communication with the cold and hot water inlet holes 95 respectively . to the upper and lower side of the extended duct 91 are connected a cold and hot mixing water connecting duct 98 both in communication with the cold and hot mixing water outlet hole 96 . referring to fig3 in the assembly , the spring 82 of each check valve set 80 is engaged with the rod 831 of the valve stick 83 and the end of the rod 831 is registered with the through hole 812 of the sleeve mount 81 . at then the spring 82 abuts against the axial ribs 813 of the sleeve mount 81 and is retained between the valve stick 83 and the sleeve mount 81 . afterwards , the sleeve 84 is tightly registered with the retaining section 814 of the sleeve mount 81 with the end of the sleeve 84 in sealing contact against the abutment flange 811 of the sleeve mount 81 . accordingly , the abutment disc 832 of the valve stick 83 and the seal ring 833 are retained in the retaining hole 842 of the sleeve 84 . next , the assembled check valve sets 80 are respectively housed in the pivot retaining hole 52 of the check valve block 50 and are pushed against the end surface of the limiting through hole 53 . the sealing section 841 of the sleeve 84 is in sealing engagement with the pivot retaining hole 52 respectively . afterwards , the positioning pins 60 are respectively housed in the retaining cavities 54 and the seal rings 70 are placed in the ring recessed cavities 51 of the check valve block 50 which is then registered with the extended duct 91 of the valve mount 90 . the positioning pins 60 disposed on the check valve block 50 are engaged with the positioning holes 94 of the receiving interior 93 of the valve mount 90 after the check valve block 50 is located in place . then the control valve body 40 is locked to the valve mount 90 by way of the externally threaded junction 42 of the valve body 40 and the internally threaded section 92 of the valve mount 90 . the two retaining columns 45 of the control valve body 40 register with the two retaining holes 57 of the check valve block 50 . then the cold and hot water pipes 31 are coupled to the cold and hot water inlet duct 97 of the valve body 90 . to the upper or lower connecting duct 98 of the valve body 90 are respectively coupled a shower head and a faucet . finally , the cold and hot water inlet ducts 97 and the control valve body 40 are covered by concrete in the wall 30 to complete the installation . referring to fig4 as the control handle 41 of the control valve body 40 is set in the cold / hot water mixture position , cold and hot water are respectively led into the cold and hot water inlet duct 97 of the valve body 90 via the cold and hot water connecting pipe 31 and flow further via the cold and hot water inlet holes 95 of the valve mount receiving interior 93 of the valve body 90 . at then , the cold and hot water respectively push the rods 831 of the valve stick 83 of the two check valve sets 80 fixed to the retaining holes 52 of the valve block 50 to move against the springs 82 and stick out of the through holes 812 of the sleeve mount 81 . accordingly , the abutment disc 832 of each valve stick 83 will lean against the surface around the through hole 812 of each sleeve mount 81 . at then , the seal ring 833 on the abutment disc 832 of each valve stick 83 separates from the closure hole 842 of the sleeve 84 so as to produce an opened space a to permit cold and hot water to flow out of the opened space a . subject to the flush of the cold and hot water , the sleeve mount 81 is forced to rotate by the flush - in cold and hot water respectively and helps the cold and hot water speedily flow through the ribs 813 separately into the cold and hot water inlets 44 of the control valve body 40 . after the cold and hot water are intermixed in whirlpool in the control valve body 40 and are discharged via the cold and hot water outlets 43 , it further flows into the water outlet 55 of the check valve block 50 via the water outlet 58 and discharges via the cold and hot mixing water outlet 96 of the valve body 90 . moreover , the discharged water is controlled by a user to flow out of the upper or lower connecting duct 98 of the valve body 90 . so , once the cold and hot water produce a reverse flow in the sleeve mount 81 , the valve stick 83 is subject to the force of the spring 82 and the reversed flow of the cold and hot water , resulting in the abutment disc 832 of the valve stick 83 to be forced against the closure hole 842 of the sleeve 84 . at the same time , the seal ring 833 of the valve stick 83 can effectively prevent cold and hot water from flowing reversely whereby the cold and water pressures can be kept in balance with the temperature thereof kept constant . | 5 |
in a preferred embodiment , the protective gas with an ether additive liquid at room temperature is prepared by allowing at least one component of the protective gas to flow through a preparatory liquid , which consists of the ether protective gas additive . however , it is also possible to apply this preparation for ether that is gaseous at ambient temperature by cooling the ether protective gas additive , so that it is present in a liquid form . slight cooling will be advantageous even for highly volatile compounds , such as diethyl ether . it is also possible to dissolve the ether protective gas additive in a solvent that exhibits a lower vapor pressure than the ether , for example in higher hydrocarbons or water , and use this solution as the preparatory liquid . at least one component of the protective gas is now guided into this preparatory liquid . argon , carbon dioxide or helium are advantageously introduced , but the other possible components or a mixture thereof can also be guided into the preparatory liquid . when flowing through the preparatory liquid , the gas takes up the ether protective gas additive , and a gas mixture comes about , which contains the ether protective gas additive in the desired concentration , either directly or after mixing with additional components , or even after diluted , and now is used as a protective gas with ether additive for thermal spraying , cutting , joining , deposition welding and / or surface treatment by means of arcs , plasma and / or lasers . in order to be able to reproducibly and reliably set a specific concentration , the preparatory liquid is advantageously temperature controlled . keeping the preparatory liquid at a constant temperature ensures that the concentration of the ether in the gas will remain uniform . since the concentration with which the ether is present in the gas after enrichment depends on the temperature , it is possible to set the concentration of the ether in the gas via temperature control . temperature control may advantageously involve selecting a temperature both above and below the ambient temperature . in particular given highly volatile ethers or ethers with boiling points close to the ambient temperature , it is advantageous to select a temperature below the ambient temperature , while a temperature above the ambient temperature may be advantageous for higher boiling ethers , so that enough particles are converted into the gas . as a consequence , temperature control makes it possible to set the concentration of ethers in the gas by selecting the temperature . in an alternative , advantageous embodiment of the method according to the invention , the ether protective gas additive is mixed as a gas with the other component ( s ) to yield the welding protective gas mixture . if necessary , the ether protective gas additive is converted into the gas phase through heating to this end , if the ether protective gas additive is already present in gaseous form , heating does not take place . the gaseous ether protective gas additive is mixed with the other component ( s ) to yield the finished protective gas mixture with ether additive . this method is especially recommended for ether protective gas additives that are already present in gaseous form at an ambient temperature , or exhibit a boiling point close to the ambient temperature . in both cases , it is possible to either blend the ether protective gas additive with the individual other components or the otherwise finished protective gas mixture , or to first just blend the ether protective gas additive with one component , and then dilute it or add the remaining components . for example , apart from these two preferred methods of preparation , it is also possible to extract vapor by way of a preparatory liquid , or mix the liquid ether protective gas additive with another component of the protective gas present in liquid form , e . g ., with liquid argon or liquid carbon dioxide , so as to obtain the protective gas . however , it is here most often harder to set the concentration of the ether protective gas additive in the protective gas . in an advantageous embodiment of the invention , the protective gas is manufactured on site . during on - site manufacture , the components of the protective gas can be provided by the gas supplier in gaseous or liquid form . however , the finished protective gas mixture can also be filled into gas cylinders at the gas manufacturer , and then delivered . during thermal spraying , cutting , joining , deposition welding and / or surface treatment by means of arcs , plasma and / or lasers ( a plasma also arises in the arc and usually also in the laser ), the objective of the plasma is to convey heat to the material in a controlled manner . since the theory of plasmas is exceedingly difficult , the exact processes in the plasmas generated during the cited method are not well known and hard to predict . without being tied to a theory , it is assumed that , in the case of noble gas plasmas , heat is generated by virtue of the fact that electrons and positively charged ions recombine into atoms on the one hand , and the atoms release energy through collision on the other . in plasmas involving the participation of h 2 or n 2 molecules , it is assumed that energy can further be released by combining atoms into molecules . it was surprisingly found that the ether protective gas additives used according to the invention increase the energy of the gas mixtures in particular . the percentage level of respective energy that causes the material to heat up here depends on the special conditions of the plasma , and is hard to predict . doping gas mixtures with small quantities of co 2 , no , n 2 o and o 2 in particular during arc joining is known in the art ( e . g ., see ep 0 544 187 32 , ep 0 639 423 b1 and ep 0 640 431 b1 ). among other things , doing so stabilizes the arc , improves energy introduction with a laser , and generally improves the quality . this is surprisingly also observed in the presence of small quantities of the ether protective gas additive used according to the invention . for example , co 2 , nd - yag , diode , disk or fiber lasers are used for laser processing . the thermal spraying methods involving the use of the gas mixtures according to the invention break down into arc spraying , plasma spraying and laser spraying . in arc spraying , two wire - shaped , electrically conductive spray materials are continuously fed toward each other at a specific angle . after ignition , an arc burns between the two spray wires ( electrodes ) at a high temperature , and melts away the spray material . a strong gas stream atomizes the melt , and accelerates the spray particles toward the workpiece surface , where they form a coating . for process - related reasons , only metallically conductive , wire - shaped spray materials can be processed . air can be used as the atomizer gas , but nitrogen and / or argon are commonly used . layers applied in the arc method are distinguished by a very good adhesion . the spray particles become tottered with the base material . the method is especially suited for applications that require thick coatings or involve large surfaces . for example , the applied layers can be used as insulation , wear protection , and slide bearings . it has now been surprisingly discovered that the spraying speed can be further increased by adding ether to the atomizer gas , in particular dimethyl ether , ethyl methyl ether and / or diethyl ether , or that the application rate is increased , i . e ., thicker layers can be deposited . the quality of the coating is also improved . plasma spraying is another thermal spraying process . in this method , an anode and up to three cathodes are separated by a narrow gap in a plasma torch . a direct voltage generates an arc between the anode and cathode . the gas or gas mixture flowing through the plasma torch is guided through the arc , and dissociated and ionized in the process . the dissociation and ionization generate a highly heated , electrically conductive plasma ( gas comprised of positive ions and electrons ). a powder is introduced into this plasma jet through a nozzle , and melted by the high plasma temperature . the process gas stream ( plasma gas stream ) entrains the powder particles , and throws them against the workpiece to be coated . the extremely high temperature ( up to 30 , 000 ° c .) makes it possible to process nearly all materials , even refractory materials . ( e . g ., ceramics ). for example , plasma spray layers can be very hard , wear resistant , nearly dense layers with a very good chemical stability . the gas mixture in the plasma coating can simultaneously serve as a transport gas and protective gas . as a rule , the gases used are argon , nitrogen , hydrogen or helium and mixtures thereof . it has now been surprisingly discovered that adding ethers , in particular dimethyl ether , ethyl methyl ether and / or diethyl ether , to the gas mixture ( s ) can elevate the spraying speed or increase the application rate , i . e ., allow the deposition of thicker layers . the quality of the coating is also improved . adding ethers , in particular dimethyl ether , also makes it possible to positively influence the carbon content in coatings , which in turn improves the properties of the layer material or sprayed on layer from a mechanical and tribological standpoint . laser spraying is another thermal spraying process . in laser spraying , a spray additive present in powder form is introduced into the laser beam focused on the workpiece through a nozzle , and thrown onto the material surface with the help of a gas . a plasma forms in the focal spot of the laser , which both fuses the powder and a minimal portion of the material surface , and metallurgically bonds the supplied spray additive with the material . it has now been surprisingly discovered that adding ethers , in particular dimethyl ether , ethyl methyl ether and / or diethyl ether , to the gas mixture as in the preceding thermal spraying processes can elevate the spraying speed or increase the application rate , i . e ., enable the deposition of thicker layers , while at the same time improving the quality of the coating . thermal separation or cutting here refers to plasma cutting and laser beam cutting . plasma cutting is a thermal separation process , in which the plasma arc melts and / or evaporates and even partially burns the base material . plasma arc is a term used to denote an ionized and dissociated gas jet that has been constricted by a cooled nozzle . constriction yields a plasma jet with a high energy density . the base material interacts with the plasma jet , and is expelled from the arising kerf by the plasma gas . the cooling of the nozzle required for constriction usually takes place either by means of water and / or by means of a gas mixture , which is referred to as a secondary gas , protective gas or enveloping gas , which envelops the plasma jet . one variant of plasma cutting is fine jet - plasma cutting , in which the plasma jet is very strongly constricted . the molten material is expelled by the high kinetic energy of the gas mixture forming the plasma ( also referred to as plasma gas ). when using a gas mixture that serves as a secondary gas or protective gas , the latter also blows out the liquid material . argon , nitrogen , hydrogen and sometimes even helium along with mixtures thereof are used as gas mixtures for generating the plasma . in many cases , oxygen is also added to this gas mixture , wherein the oxygen can lead to an oxidation reaction with the material , and thereby introduce additional energy . compressed air is also used as the gas . carbon dioxide is sometimes also added . if another gas mixture is used , i . e ., a secondary gas , a gas or a gas mixture comprised of the gases just mentioned is also used for the latter . the selection of gas or gas composition is determined by the procedural variant , and primarily by the thickness and type of the material to be cut . it has now been discovered that the cutting speed can be significantly increased in cases where an ether , in particular dimethyl ether , ethyl methyl ether and / or diethyl ether , is further added to one of the aforementioned gas mixtures ( plasma gas , secondary gas ) comprised of argon , helium , nitrogen or hydrogen or a mixture thereof . in addition , the quality of the kerf is improved . in laser beam cutting , a laser beam is used as the cutting tool . to this end , the laser beam is guided toward the processing site . when laser cutting with inert or weakly reacting gases as the cutting gases , no or virtually no chemical reaction takes place with the base material . the melted material is expelled from the kerf with the cutting gas during laser beam cutting . as a consequence , nitrogen , argon and / or helium are most often used as the cutting gas . compressed air is also used . the laser beam is an ideal tool for cutting metal and nonmetal materials with smaller thicknesses . however , the cutting speed of the laser beam drops off greatly as material thickness increases . it has now been surprisingly discovered that an added ether , in particular dimethyl ether , ethyl methyl ether and / or diethyl ether , breaks down in the kerf , thereby introducing more energy into the joint . as a result , the cutting speed of the laser beam is significantly increased . in addition , it is also possible to separate thicker materials at cutting rates that are economically satisfactory . the composition of the kerf is also improved , and there is even less of a need for post - processing . in other words , productivity increases , welding for materially bonding metal workpieces has been practiced for a long time . the workpieces to be joined together are melted in the welding process . during metal - protective gas welding , an arc burns in a protective gas coating . arc welding with a fusing electrode includes metal - inert gas welding ( mig welding ) and metal - active gas welding ( mac welding ), and without a fusing electrode includes tungsten - inert gas welding ( wig welding ). tungsten - plasma welding ( wp welding ) further represents an additional procedural variant of arc welding under a protective gas with a non - fusing electrode . also known are hybrid methods and welding with several electrodes , and in particular tandem welding . protective gas mixtures for welding with arcs exist in numerous different mixtures , wherein the individual mixtures are optimized for the respective welding method and material . the focus is here placed on a stable arc , a high - quality welded seam , the avoidance of pores and weld spatters , and a high processing rate . the most common protective gases are argon , helium , nitrogen and hydrogen , along with mixtures thereof . soldering refers to a thermal process for materially bonding materials in which a liquid phase is produced by melting a solder ( solder filler metal ). as opposed to welding , soldering does not yield the solidus temperature of the workpieces to be joined . to be mentioned in this regard are the various arc soldering methods mig , mag , wig along with plasma and plasma - mig soldering and hybrid soldering processes . in the hard soldering process , which takes place with arcs and under a protective gas , the soldered joint is normally generated with the use of protective gas welding tools . however , the base material is here not fused in the process , but rather only the so - called hard and high temperature solders used as filler metals . the used solder materials have comparatively low melting points on the order of about 1000 ° c . often used as solder materials are bronze wires , which consist of copper - based alloys with different alloying elements , such as aluminum , silicon or tin . the used protective gases are the same as during arc welding . soldering can also be used to fabricate bonds out of different types of materials , wherein the advantages to soldering enumerated above apply here as well . given different types of materials , a mixture of welding and soldering is also possible , in which the weld pool is formed by the material with a lower melting point and solder filler metal , and the material with the higher melting point is only heated , but not melted . it has now been surprisingly discovered that the joining speed and quality of the welded or soldered seam can be significantly improved by adding an ether to the protective gas , in particular dimethyl ether , ethyl methyl ether and / or diethyl ether . in addition , the energy input into the weld / solder pool is improved by the ether . in plasma joining ( welding and soldering ), a plasma jet serves as the heat source . the plasma jet is generated by ionizing and constricting an arc . the latter burns between a non - fusing negative ( tungsten ) electrode and the workpiece as a so - called primary arc ( directly transferred arc ). in addition , a pilot arc can be used for the ignition process between a non - fusing negative ( tungsten ) electrode and an anode designed as a nozzle . for example , the so - called primary arc ( plasma jet ) used for welding can be moved along a desired welded seam progression . a plasma torch is used to supply up to three gases or gas mixtures , specifically the so - called plasma gas , if necessary a so - called secondary gas or focusing gas for constricting the plasma jet , and the so - called protective gas , which envelops the plasma jet or plasma jet and secondary gas as the protective gas coating , keyhole plasma welding is a variant of plasma welding . keyhole plasma welding is used for thinner metal sheets . this method is predominantly employed in container and apparatus construction , and in pipeline construction . in keyhole plasma welding , the plasma jet penetrates through the entire workpiece thickness at the start of the welding process . the weld pool produced by fusing the workpiece is here pressed to the side by the plasma jet . the surface tension of the melt prevents a fall through the keyhole . instead , the melt converges once again behind the forming welding eye , and solidifies into the welded seam . microplasma welding is used in particular for thin and thinnest metal sheet thicknesses . it has now been surprisingly discovered that adding an ether to one or more of the mentioned gas mixtures ( plasma and / or secondary and / or protective gas ) leads to a remarkable rise in the welding / soldering speed , as well as to an improved welded / soldered seam . it has also been surprisingly found that already small quantities of ether , and in particular of dimethyl ether , ethyl methyl ether and / or diethyl ether , ranging from about 10 vpm to about 5000 vpm , preferably from about 100 vpm to about 1000 vpm , exhibit the inventive advantages , and that a more stable process is achieved and higher joining speeds are enabled in particular when arc joining , but also when plasma joining . there are combined arc / laser joining methods , so - called hybrid methods . here as well , it is advantageous to add an ether , in particular dimethyl ether , ethyl methyl ether and / or diethyl ether . surface treatment includes surface treatment with plasma , such as surface activation , surface pretreatment , surface treatment , surface functionalization and surface cleaning . the plasma can be an open plasma as in a wig torch , a constricted plasma as in a plasma torch , or a plasma in a plasma chamber . adding an ether , in particular dimethyl ether , ethyl methyl ether and / or diethyl ether , also strongly improves the efficiency in these latter two methods . it is advantageous to use the method according to the invention for unalloyed , low - alloyed and high - alloyed steels , nickel - based materials and aluminum and aluminum alloys . however , it can also be used for other materials , such as magnesium and magnesium alloys and cast iron . the present invention offers an entire range of advantages , only a handful of which can be mentioned below . the energy input into the material can be advantageously reduced in arc joining , for example . the metal vapors arising in most of the mentioned processes are diminished , since using the gas mixture according to the invention inhibits their formation . | 1 |
fig1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a keyboard according to the invention . keyboard 100 comprises , inter alia , array 110 of keys 101 , each key 101 associated with a switch for providing one or more signals relating to the state of the switch ; protective grills 102 covering a plurality of speakers mounted to the keyboard ; microphone 103 mounted to the keyboard and proximately located visual indicator device 109 ; telephone handset 104 and cradle 105 mounted to the keyboard ; display 106 and a plurality switches 107 coupled to the display ; biometric access control device 111 ; and cable 113 as means for passing telephony and audio signals and other input , output , and / or commands to a computer coupled to the keyboard . keyboard 100 is suitable for coupling to and for use in controlling and operating a wide variety of computers , including , for example , general - purpose computers and any other automatic data processing machines . for example , fig2 shows a plurality of keyboards 100 coupled to a variety of computers , including stand - alone personal computer system 215 , workstations 206 of local area network 250 , local area network ( lan ) server 208 , and server or host system 201 and processor 220 , all linked by communications links comprising , for example , network 210 , which may include the internet or any type or combination of public , private , and / or secure communications networks . one use of keyboards 100 is to provide input to computers coupled to the keyboards . one way in which this may be accomplished is through the operation of keys 101 and their associated switches . pressing keys 101 in various sequences and combinations may be used to send commands , data , and other information to computer ( s ) coupled to the keyboard , for processing either by the computer ( s ) coupled directly to the keyboard or by other computers linked to the keyboard through such computer ( s ). for example , a user of keyboard 100 coupled to computer 206 at system 215 in fig2 may use the keyboard to provide input to and process data or commands received from computer 206 of system 215 , or via communications links 216 , 210 , to / from any of the other computers 201 , 250 . preferred keyboards according to the invention provide arrays of alphanumeric keys , with or without additional numeric , mathematical calculation , and symbol and functional keys , special purpose keys or key groups provided for use in controlling computers in special functions , and any other keys and / or switches consistent with the disclosure herein . keys may be used to activate their corresponding switches by pressing . the invention may be implemented with a wide variety of key arrangements , including qwerty , the dvorak scheme , and others . for example , keyboard 100 of fig1 and 3 comprises a full qwerty alphanumeric array 301 , with punctuation , formatting , and control keys ; special function key group 302 , the keys being assignable to perform specified functions by users , administrators , etc ., of the keyboard or computers and / or systems coupled thereto ; numeric / mathematical calculation keypad 303 ; and communications and keyboard control keypads 304 , 305 . keypad 304 may comprise keys used to control e - mail and other computer communications , while keypad 305 may comprise keys used to control speaker volume , squawk functions , and other audio and / or telephony functions . for example , activation of “ message ” key 356 at a time when indicator light 357 is illuminated retrieves new e - mail messages addressed to the user logged in at keyboard 100 , indicator light 357 being illuminated on command of processor 401 or other processor upon receipt of a new e - mail . the volume of speakers mounted on or coupled to keyboard 100 may be increased by activating key 358 , and decreased by activating key 359 . keyboard 100 of fig3 further comprises , inter alia , infrared sensor 306 , for use in wireless communications between the keyboard and pointing or other 15 devices supported by the keyboard . fig4 is a schematic functional diagram of a keyboard according to the invention . keyboard 100 comprises controller 400 , processing unit 401 ( which may comprise one or more processors ); usb hub 410 ; audio mixer 404 ; a plurality of amplifiers 405 ; biometric access control device 430 ; and connections 423 for coupling the keyboard to a computer to facilitate data and control input between the computer and the keyboard . controller 400 is coupled to switches for keys 101 ( fig1 , 3 ) in groups 301 , 303 , 304 , 305 , to provide signals relating to the state of the switches to processors 401 , 402 , to any computer ( s ) coupled to the keyboard , and to any other desired devices . as will be understood by those skilled in the art of designing and / or implementing such systems , any combination or arrays of keys , switches , and controllers suitable for the purposes described and / or intended for the systems used will serve . a large number of key - switch - controller combinations suitable for incorporation in keyboards for controlling computers according to the invention are available commercially , from sources such as , for example , advanced input devices of coeur d &# 39 ; alene , id . ( www . advanced - input . com ). as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , such combinations may also be made specially for the purpose , incorporating technologies such as application - specific integrated circuits ( asics ). the identification , design , and / or integration of suitable key - switch - matrix combinations will not trouble those of ordinary skill in the art once they have been made familiar with this disclosure . processing unit 401 comprises one or more processors or combinations of processors 412 , 413 to provide functions for controlling and providing input and / or output to devices coupled to the processor ( s ) and / or keyboard , including for example telephones , biometric access devices , speakers , microphones ; and other telephony and / or audio processes ; and peripherals such as pointer and other 1 / 0 devices ; and are programmed , designed , or otherwise adapted to receive input from and provide output for the keypad ( s ) and from other devices coupled thereto , such as for example touchpads , pointers , and other 1 / 0 devices . in the embodiment shown in fig4 , a plurality of general - and special - purpose processors 412 , 413 provide functions related to general process controls and telephony , including providing audio signals to the audio circuit from telephony signals provided by the computer , and providing telephony signals for output to the computer from audio signals provided by a microphone , and providing audio signals from telephony signals provided by the computer . preferably , one or more processors 412 , 413 provide full support for audio and computer telephony functions , including all input , output , and control functions required for facilitating sound recording , transmission , and reproduction , and communications , including all signal processing , according to computer network protocols , particularly packet - switched communications according to , for example , internet protocol ( ip ) telephony such as voice over internet protocol ( voip ) individual processors incorporated within keyboards according to the invention may provide a wide variety of generalized and / or special functions , and may comprise one or more integrated circuits , including asics . a suitable processor 412 for use in supporting telephony functions in keyboards according to the invention comprises a combination of a t8301 internet protocol ( ip ) telephone digital signal processor ( dsp ) available from lucent technologies of allentown , pa . ( www . lucent . com ) and a t8302 internet protocol ( ip ) telephone advanced reduced instruction set computer machine ( arm ) available from agere systems ( www . agere . com ), to form an internet protocol telephone . fig5 a and 5 b is a schematic diagram of such a processor . further descriptions an diagrams of such a processor are given in the 78301 / t8302 phone - on a - chip ™ ip solution ” product brief , document pn00 - 0661pt , published march 2000 by lucent technologies of allentown , pa . in such a processor the t8301 provides functions such as an audio processing engine for voice compression and decompression , speaker - phone echo cancellation , digital - to - analog and analog - to - digital converters , low - pass filters , and amplifiers to drive standard business - class telephone and speakerphone hardware . functional descriptions and diagrams of the t8301 telephone dsp are given in the “ t8301 internet protocol telephone phone on a chip ™ ip solution dsp ° advanced data sheet , document ds01 - 025 ipt , published december 2000 by lucent technologies of allentown , pa . the t8302 provides general - purpose functions such as input / output and command processing , for example via ethernet , usb , infrared devices , etc ., and provides general telephone control features such as display control , input switch scanning , lcd and other module interfaces , and the like . functional descriptions and diagrams of the t8302 processor are given in the “ t8302 internet protocol telephone advanced risc machine ( arm )” data sheet , document ds01 - 213 ipt , published july 2001 by agere systems , inc ., of allentown , pa . optionally , processor 412 and / or processing unit 401 comprise memory for use in controlling various functions within the keyboard and devices coupled thereto . for example , processor 412 comprises memory 500 ( fig6 ), coupled to the processor by couplings 501 ( fig5 , 6 ). among other functions , processor 412 receives telephony signals from a computer 206 , processor 220 , or other source , and outputs received signals to an audio circuit comprising one or more speakers 402 ; and receives signals from a microphone 103 , 403 via an audio circuit , and provides them to a computer 206 , 220 , for delivery to an intended recipient . a suitable processor 413 for controlling keyboard audio and other functions comprises a dsp1627 digital signal processor available from lucent technologies . the dsp1627 is optimized for digital cellular or other packet - switched telephony processes and provides , among other processes , digital - to - analog and analog - to - digital audio signal conversions , for example converting digital audio signals received from a computer coupled to the keyboard ( e . g ., multi - media sound signals generated by the microsoft windows ™ operating system ) to analog electrical signals for driving one or more speakers 402 coupled to the keyboard . functional descriptions and diagrams of the dsp1627 processor are given in the “ dsp1627 digital signal processor ” data sheet , document ds00 - 205 wtec , published march 2000 by lucent technologies of allentown , pa . optionally , processing unit or processor 401 comprises one or more suitable processors and serves the functions of controller 400 for the key - switch matrix of the keyboard . that is , processor 401 comprises the controller , and is coupled to the switches to perform the controller function of providing signals relating to the state of the switches . keyboards according to the invention may provide telephony functions to support any type of computer - supported telephony . for example , in regular ip telephony functions , processor 401 provides for standard addressing ( i . e ., “ dialing ”), ringing or other call - received notification functions , and communications functions , using addresses stored locally in the keyboard , in a computer coupled to the keyboard , or in a remote computer coupled to such a computer via a network . for example , a user wishing to place a call picks up handset 104 , dials a number using a dialer incorporated within the handset , and the number is provided to processor 401 , which translates the dialed number to a network address and sends a call - received ( e . g ., a “ ring ”) notification to the addressee . upon receipt by processor 401 of a call - answered indication sent , for example , by the addressee &# 39 ; s computer or telephone upon picking up of a corresponding handset or entry of a suitable computer command by the addressee , processor 401 activates handset microphone 403 . as the calling user speaks into microphone 403 , audio signals produced by microphone 403 are processed by processor 401 into telephony signals and provided to a the user &# 39 ; s computer , with an address supplied by processor 401 . upon receipt of telephony signals from the computer , processor 401 provides corresponding audio signals to a handset speaker 402 . replacing handset 104 in handset cradle 105 activates a switch , generating a call terminated signal which is provided to the computer and forwarded to the addressee . alternatively , or in addition , keyboards and processors 401 according to the invention may support such telephony functions as “ squawk ” communications , which are similar to standard telephony , but without some features such as , for example , call - received ( or “ ringing ” functions ), and in some cases simplified or abbreviated addressing or dialing functions . in such a case a user is enabled to select a call addressee by , for example , looking up and selecting a user name or addressee from a listing of system users using a virtual “ rolodex ” or other index feature accessed via display / touchscreen 106 and switches 107 , by using up and down arrow buttons 107 or touching corresponding regions on touchscreen / display 106 . address lists accessed by display / touchscreen 106 in displaying address information may be stored in memory located in keyboard 100 or in any computer coupled to the keyboard , either directly or via a network . upon selection of an address and entry of an execution command entered by the user at the keyboard , as for example by activation of a switch 107 or “ sqwk ” button 355 in fig3 , processor 401 activates a microphone 103 mounted to keyboard 100 , and , optionally , an indicator 108 , indicating that microphone 103 is active and showing the user its location . when the user speaks into microphone 103 , a corresponding audio signal is provided by the microphone to processor 401 , which generates a corresponding telephony signal . the generated telephony signal is provided , with a suitable address tag , to the computer and forwarded to the addressee &# 39 ; s system , where it is provided to the addressee &# 39 ; s processor , converted back into a corresponding audio signal , and provided to a speaker on the addressee &# 39 ; s system , optionally without waiting for an acknowledgement or authorization by the addressee . in systems supporting two - way squawk functions , responsive telephony signals provided by the addressee are provided by the computer coupled to the keyboard , converted to corresponding audio signals by processor 401 , and provided to speaker ( s ) 402 . display 106 comprises a liquid crystal diode ( lcd ) screen , with touch pad input device or other digitizer and switches 107 , programmed or otherwise adapted to provide input , output , and / or control functions for controlling processors 412 , 413 , and optionally other devices coupled to the keyboard , such as for example key and switch arrays when processor 401 controls the key and switch processes ; and any speakers and / or microphones mounted on or otherwise coupled to the display . display 106 may be programmed and controlled using processor 412 to provide multiple user interface menus for controlling , input to , and / or output from a variety of functions performed by keyboard processors . a suitable lcd display screen for use with the invention is the f - 51320gny - ly - aa lcd module available from optrex corporation , coupled to gunze 25 - 138 4 - wire resistive touch screen available from gunze . the lcd screen is described in the type no . f - 5132ogny - ly - aa lcd module technical specification published 16 mar . 2001 by optrex corporation . interfaces for lcd display and touchscreen 106 are shown in fig8 and 9 . usb hub 410 provides input / output and communications pathways for communications between devices mounted to or coupled to keyboard 100 , including processor 401 and key and switch arrays 301 , 302 , 303 , and 304 . a suitable usb hub for use in keyboards according to the invention is the tusb2077a 7 - port universal serial bus available from texas instruments of dallas , tex . this hub is described in the tusb2077a data sheet , document no . slls414 , published march 2000 by texas instruments . fig7 is a schematic diagram of a usb host interface suitable for use with usb hub 410 . usb host interface 700 comprises couplings 450 for external usb ports , for coupling external devices to keyboard 100 , and couplings for external pointing device 112 , biometric access device 111 , and key switch controller 400 . usb hub 410 also serves as an alternate coupling between an external pointing device such as mouse 212 and a computer coupled to the keyboard 100 . external pointing device 212 may also be coupled through coupling 420 , including optional autoswitch 421 , which provides optional paths for input to keyboard 100 and a computer coupled thereto . mixer 404 processes audio signals from processor 401 and , via coupling 422 , audio signals provided from a computer coupled to keyboard 100 . mixer 404 mixes audio signals in any desired manner , for example by amplifying one or more sets relative to others , or by interrupting one set during processing of another , or by mixing them as received , without amplification . in some operating modes , as commanded by processor 401 , audio signals such as music provided by a computer via coupling 422 are interrupted while audio signals such as telephony signals processed by processor 401 are received from processor 401 . where one or more signal sets are amplified by mixer 404 , any desired ratio may be used . in one embodiment it has been found advantageous to mix signals corresponding to telephony signals processed by processor 401 at an amplification of three times that used for audio signals received from a computer via coupling 422 . one or more amplifier ( s ) 405 may be provided to provide any further desired amplification , such as via speaker volume controls implemented by a user of display 106 and associated switches 107 or a key array such as array 305 . amplifier ( s ) 405 may be comprised by mixer 404 . microphones and speakers 103 , 104 , 403 , and 402 are connected via couplings , including optional switches 425 and interrupt switches for interrupting audio signal input / output when external microphones and speakers such as gooseneck devices and / or headsets are coupled to the keyboard 100 . optionally , a microphone 103 mounted to the keyboard ( fig1 ) is mounted in proximity to a visual indicator device such as a light - emitting diode ( led ) controlled by processor 401 for providing a visual indication when audio signals from the microphone will be processed by the processor to provide the at least one function , that is , when the microphone is ready to receive audio input from a user . in addition to providing an indication of microphone and processor readiness , the visual indicator device may be used to provide a convenient locator reference for a user of the microphone . for example , by placing the indicator device close to or at least partially surrounding the microphone , a user may be guided to peaking into the microphone while sending telephony messages . a suitable microphone for mounting to a keyboard or use in an external stand , according to the invention , is the omnidirectional electret condenser microphone , wm093413 , db , c , or d , available from panasonic . suitable speakers for mounting or external use comprise card type speakers wm - r30b and wmr57a and general speakers eas4p15sa , eas45p30s , eas5p13s , eas6p22s , eas8p29sg , eas8p36s , eas4d02c0 , eas4d05a , easg7d504a2 , easg9d550132 , easg9d541a2 , and easg12d531e2 , all available from panasonic . schematic diagrams of mixer 404 , amplifier ( s ) 405 , and an interface for handset 104 are shown in fig1 . connections 423 for coupling the keyboard to a computer to facilitate data input / output and control functions between the computer and the keyboard may comprise any combination of cables and / or wireless connections suitable for accomplishing the purposes herein . infrared data reception device ( irda ) 475 is shown schematically in fig4 . biometric access control device 111 , 430 is used to control access to a computer and / or any other devices coupled to keyboard 100 . processes for controlling biometric access device 430 , and authorizing access to a computer and / or any other devices by a user of device 430 , may be controlled by processor 401 or by any computer accessible by the keyboard , as for example via coupling . 431 . an example of a biometric access device suitable for use with the invention is the aes4000 fingerprint sensor available from authentec , inc ., of melbourne , fla . the aes4000 comprises a fingerprint - scanning device , including a scanning surface 121 ( fig3 ), which comprises principal axes 122 , 123 . principal axis 122 is oriented at an angle 125 of about 65 degrees from edge 124 of keyboard 100 , in order to facilitate comfortable and effective scanning of an image of a user &# 39 ; s right thumb . during a login process to access a computer coupled to keyboard 100 , the user is prompted to place the ball of his / her right thumb on scanning surface 121 . due to the orientation of device 111 , 430 on the upper surface of keyboard 100 , the user is able to do so in a manner , which promotes fast and effective image scanning , at minimal discomfort and inconvenience to the user . keyboard 100 further comprises visual indicator device 126 to display a first indication when access to a computer has been granted to a user based upon a comparison of previously - acquired fingerprint data to data acquired from the user by the fingerprint sampling device , and to display a second indication when said access has been denied . for example , indicator 126 comprises an led adapted to glow red when access is denied , and green when access is authorized . biometric access control device 111 is optionally comprised within a docking unit , or token , removably attachable to keyboard 100 , with electrical coupling 465 comprising a serial , parallel , or other suitable electrical connector . in some embodiments , keyboard 100 comprises one or more portions 140 ( fig1 ) fabricated at least partially from electrically conductive material such as chrome or many other metals , the electrically conductive material being electrically coupled to the biometric sampling device 111 so as to improve an electrical connection between the fingerprint sampling system and at least a portion of a user &# 39 ; s body when the user is in contact with the keyboard . for example , in fig3 a surface trimwork at edge 124 of keyboard 100 is coated with or constructed of chrome or other suitable conductor , so that when a user places his / her thumb or other digit on device 111 , as for example by laying his / her arm or hand alongside edge 124 , with his / her forearm substantially parallel thereto , at least a portion of his / her hand or arm is in contact with portion 140 . this electrical contact thus established between the user and device 111 has been found , for example , to improve the efficiency and reliability of access device 111 . while the invention has been described and illustrated in connection with preferred embodiments , many variations and modifications as will be evident to those skilled in this art may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , and the invention is thus not to be limited to the precise details of methodology or construction set forth above as such variations and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention . except to the extent necessary or inherent in the processes themselves , no particular order to steps or stages of methods or processes described in this disclosure , including the figures , is implied . in many cases the order of process steps may be varied without changing the purpose , effect , or import of the methods described . | 6 |
a cam device 1 according to an embodiment of the invention includes a cam holder 2 , a cam slider 3 , and a cam driver 4 . the cam holder 2 has a sliding contact surface 2 a . the cam slider 3 is freely movable on a sliding contact surface 3 a that comes into sliding contact with the sliding contact surface 2 a of the cam holder 2 , and is moved on a cam surface 3 b in a predetermined process direction . the cam driver 4 has a cam surface 4 a , which comes into contact with the cam surface 3 b of the cam slider 3 , and is configured to forcedly move the cam slider 3 in the predetermined process direction . the cam slider 3 includes an extension rod 5 a projecting from one side thereof in the direction of sliding movement , and includes a returning resilient member 5 formed of a gas - pressure cylinder around the outer periphery of the proximal portion thereof . the returning resilient member 5 is configured to cause the extension rod 5 a to be inserted into a front wall of the cam holder 2 to bring the cam slider 3 to its initial position using a resilient force thereof . the cam holder 2 is provided at one end thereof with a stopper 6 for preventing disconnection , which is configured to be freely secured with bolts , and on both side walls are provided with slide keepers 7 configured to slidably suspend the cam slider 3 . the cam slider 3 is also provided with a forcedly returning follower 8 mounted thereon . the returning resilient member may be another member such as a coil spring . the stopper 6 is a wall , which prevents the cam slider 3 suspended at a neck portion with the slide keepers 7 from coming off toward the rear . the slide keepers 7 are fixed to both side walls of the cam holder 2 to clamp the neck portion of the cam slider 3 with their l - shaped locking portions provided on lower sides thereof , thereby suspending the cam slider 3 so as to be slidable in the fore - and - aft direction . the forcedly returning follower 8 is configured to engage a guide groove on the side of the cam driver 4 to forcedly move the cam slider 3 to the initial position when the process tool of the cam slider 3 is caught by the workpiece and hence can hardly come out . assuming that the surface pressure generated at the sliding portion is constant , the abrasion properties of the sliding portion , which is made up of sliding contact surfaces 2 a and 3 a of the cam holder 2 and the cam slider 3 , depend on respective combinations of materials , process methods , heat treatments of a sliding member 2 b and sliding portion 3 c of the cam slider 3 , and arrangement of multiple recessed pockets filled with solid lubricants and filled amounts of the solid lubricants . in the same manner , assuming that the surface pressure generated at the sliding portion is constant , the abrasion properties of the sliding surface , which is made up of cam surfaces 4 a and 3 b of the cam driver 4 and the cam slider 3 , depend on respective combinations of materials , process methods , heat treatments of a cam member 4 b of the cam driver 4 and the sliding portion 3 d of the cam slider 3 , and arrangement of multiple recessed pockets filled with solid lubricants and filling density of the solid lubricants . accordingly , by selecting the material and the process method of the sliding portion and the cam width which is a basic dimension of the cam device according to the object , the process abilities and the progress of abrasion of the cam devices having the same outside shape size can be determined , and the maximum process ability in the same grade can be set to be higher than the minimum process ability of the cam device in the grade one rank higher . fig2 shows examples of the combinations , and other combinations are also applicable . although not shown in fig2 , controlling the speed of the progress of abrasion also includes methods other than the combination of the materials . for example , it includes increasing the initial abrasion by changing the process method , for example , by increasing the surface roughness of a surface to be processed or increasing the filling density of the solid lubricant , thereby securing stable abrasion properties in order to avoid destructive damage such as burning with the sacrifice of the retardation of abrasion . therefore , as a measure for improving the process ability of the cam device on the basis of the replacement of parts alter operation , the sliding member 2 b is formed as a separate member from the cam holder 2 , which is a member on the side of the main body , and is configured to be detachably attached to a mounting surface of the cam holder 2 with bolts or the like as shown in fig1 in order to avoid the necessity of replacement of the cam slider which requires adjustment of mounting accuracy of the process tool such as a pierce punch for making holes . as shown in fig1 , the cam driver 4 is also configured in the same manner . that is , the cam member 4 b having the cam surface 4 a is detachably attached to a cam driver base portion 4 c to allow easy replacement using the bolts . therefore , cost increase is avoided . the process tool is attached to the cam slider 3 , and the relative positional accuracy between the process tool and a workpiece ( object to be processed ) requires a high degree of accuracy by means of adjustment or the like . therefore , abrasion of the sliding portion made up of the cam surface 4 a of the cam driver 4 and the cam surface 3 b of the cam slider 3 needs to be low . in contrast , since the cam surface 4 a of the cam driver 4 is formed into an inverted v - shape in cross section , the positional relationship between the cam slider 3 and the cam driver 4 is regulated so as not to be deviated in the direction orthogonal to the direction of movement of the cam slider . therefore , the sliding surface made up of the sliding contact surface 3 a of the cam slider 3 and the sliding contact surface 2 a of the cam holder 2 is affected by an error corresponding to a mounting error of the cam device and a process error of the mold , and hence a so called uneven contact occurs . in order to eliminate the uneven contact , it is necessary to prevent an excess of contact surface pressure by the enlargement of the contact surface due to the conformity during the initial abrasion period . in order to satisfy the above - described requirement , if the combinations of the materials are the same between the sliding surface made up of the sliding contact surface 3 a of the cam slider 3 and the sliding contact surface 2 a of the cam holder 2 , and the sliding portion made up of the cam surface 4 a of the cam driver 4 and the cam surface 3 b of the cam slider 3 , the surface roughness of the sliding surface after finishing is increased or the arrangement of multiple recessed pockets to be filled with the solid lubricant is changed . changing the combinations of the sliding materials is also effective in order to achieve this object . the process ability of the cam device 1 may be selected from small , normal , slightly large , and large depending on the combination of the materials of the sliding portion ( for example , low surface pressure , normal surface pressure , slightly high surface pressure , and high surface pressure ) for each width ( for example , smallest , small , medium , slightly large , large , largest ) of the cam device as shown in table 1 . as regards the selection of the width of the cam device , between the cam devices being in the adjacent grades in width , the widths of the adjacent cam devices are set in such a manner that the maximum process ability of a group of the cam devices having a certain width is larger than the minimum process ability of an adjacent group of the cam devices having a next larger width for compensating with respect to each other . in this manner , the widths of the cam devices being in the adjacent grades in width are set in such a manner that , for example , the process ability of the cam device having a specification “ large ” among the cam devices a having a medium width is larger than the process ability of the cam device having a specification “ small ” among the cam devices b having a slightly larger width as shown in fig2 , so that the compatibility is secured between the cam devices being in the adjacent grades in width . according to the cam device 1 in the embodiment of the invention , the cam holder 2 reciprocates from a top dead center to a bottom dead center in the vertical direction together with the upper mold , such that the cam slider 3 reciprocates along the fore - and - aft direction in the process direction . accordingly , abrasion due to the sliding movement occurs to some extent at the sliding portion made up of the sliding contact surface 2 a and the sliding contact surface 3 a , and the sliding portion made up of the cam surface 3 b and the cam surface 4 a . however , according to the embodiment of the invention , abrasion at the sliding portion made up of the sliding contact surface 2 a and the sliding contact surface 3 a makes progress early to solve the uneven contact between both sliding portions between the sliding contact surface 2 a and the sliding contact surface 3 a due to the process of the mold and the assembly error in an initial stage , so that the process ability of the cam device can be exerted as specified . in addition , since the abrasion loss at the sliding portion made up of the cam surface 3 b and the cam surface 4 a which defines the relative positional relationship in movement of the process tool with respect to a workpiece ( the object to be processed ) can be set to be smaller than the abrasion loss of the sliding portion made up of the sliding contact surface 2 a and the sliding contact surface 3 a , adverse effects caused by the uneven contact in the initial stage of operation can be eliminated and , simultaneously , fluctuations in positional accuracy of the process tool can also be reduced . when the abrasion of the sliding contact surface beyond the scope of the supposition made at first at the time of the mold design occurs alter the operation of the mold , the sliding member 2 b or the cam member 4 b is replaced with parts having the same shape but being formed of a material different from that selected at first at the time of design so as to achieve the combination causing less abrasion , so that the abrasion beyond the supposition is accommodated . also , the replacing workpiece is easily achieved by attaching and detaching using the bolts , so that the process accuracy of the cam device 1 is maintained constant . since the process abilities of the adjacent cam devices are set to overlap with each other for each width of the cam device , replacement of the entire cam device can also be done easily . with the cam device according to the embodiment of the invention , reduction of time required for designing in the stage of the mold design and reduction of burden in design are achieved , and the number of steps of the mold maintenance can be reduced by avoiding the problem which occurs after the operation of the device due to the lowering of performance of the cam device caused by minute error in process or assembly of the mold , which is inevitable for the mold , while maintaining the process accuracy at a high degree of accuracy . in addition , the improvement of the performance can easily be achieved by the replacement of the part and hence the process accuracy can be maintained at a high degree of accuracy . therefore , the cam device according to the embodiment of the invention can be used for a variety of process tools . | 1 |
throughout the following description specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the invention . however , the invention may be practiced without these particulars . in other instances , well known elements have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention . accordingly , the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative , rather than a restrictive , sense . fig1 shows the basic components of a prior art aps circuit 10 as it is typically implemented . aps circuit 10 comprises a photodiode p 1 , plus reset , readout and row - select transistors ( respectively , m 1 , m 2 , m 3 ). in a typical digital imaging system ( not shown ), a plurality of aps circuits having components similar to those of aps circuit 10 are arranged in a matrix of rows and columns . each aps circuit 10 represents a particular pixel . because of this relationship between aps circuits and their corresponding pixels , aps circuits are referred to throughout this description and the accompanying claims interchangeably as “ aps circuits ”, “ aps cells ”, “ aps pixel cells ” and simply “ pixels ”. as aps circuit 10 is relatively simple , its operation will be described in detail . for a typical digital imaging system comprising a matrix of pixels arranged in columns and rows , an operational cycle is performed on all of the pixels of a given row at one time and all of the rows of the matrix are accessed sequentially until the entire matrix is covered . however , those skilled in the art will recognize that other operational sequences and / or cycles are possible . aps circuit 10 comprises reset transistor m 1 , which facilitates an optional pre - charging process prior to capturing image data . in the pre - charging process , reset transistor m 1 is activated , so that photodiode p 1 and the gate of readout transistor m 2 are reset to the v_pix_reset line voltage . in the illustrated embodiment , the pre - charging process will typically remove charge from the gate of readout transistor m 2 . resetting the gate of readout transistor m 2 to the v_pix_reset line voltage provides aps circuit 10 with increased image sensitivity by biasing readout transistor m 2 such that its operation is in a linear output region . again , all the of the aps circuits in a particular row are typically pre - charged at the same time and to the same v_pix_reset line voltage . those skilled in the art will recognize that some aps - based digital imaging systems may not incorporate a pre - charging process and that some aps circuits may not include the corresponding pre - charging circuitry . after resetting all of the aps circuits in the digital imaging system , the matrix of pixels is exposed to the light being detected . in each aps circuit 10 , the light impinging on photodiode p 1 creates current which charges the combined capacitance of photodiode p 1 and the gate of readout transistor m 2 . this charge creates a voltage ( referred to as the “ photovoltage ”) at the gate of readout transistor m 2 . the photovoltage at the gate of readout transistor m 2 is proportional to the illumination intensity - exposure time product and is retained during the subsequent readout cycle . the readout cycle involves extracting information from each aps circuit 10 by activating its corresponding row - select transistor m 3 . when row - select transistor m 3 is activated , the photovoltage at the gate of readout transistor m 2 causes a current to flow down the col_output line . this current , which is related in a predictable manner to the photovoltage at the gate of readout transistor m 2 , flows through the col_output line to a sense amplifier ( not shown ) and then through other circuitry ( not shown ) which converts the output of the col_output line to a digital image output value . in the context of a digital imaging system , the readout cycle typically involves simultaneously “ reading out ” information from all of the aps circuits in a given row of the pixel matrix by simultaneously activating the row - select transistors m 3 for all of the aps circuits in that row . each aps circuit in that row then outputs to its corresponding col_output line in parallel . after sequentially reading out all of the rows of pixels in this manner , the digital imaging system resets itself in preparation for another image by resetting the gate of readout transistor m 2 back down to the v_pix_reset line voltage in the pre - charging process described above . fig2 depicts a partial schematic representation of a split aps circuit 20 according to a particular embodiment of the present invention . as will be explained in further detail below , split aps circuit 20 comprises two independent portions , which provide redundancy and which allow for correction of some types of defects that may occur either at fabrication time or over the operational lifetime of the imaging device . split aps circuit 20 comprises a pair of independently operable photodiodes p 1 , p 2 configured in parallel and a corresponding pair of readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 . preferably , photodiodes p 1 , p 2 are fabricated to have activation regions that are approximately the same size . the size of the activation regions of the photodiodes p 1 , p 2 of split aps circuit 20 may be approximately half of the size of the activation region of the photodiode p 1 of conventional aps circuit 10 ( fig1 ). the size of readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 may be similarly reduced . digital imaging systems incorporating the concepts of the invention ( not shown ) comprise a plurality of split aps circuits arranged in a matrix of rows and columns , with each split aps circuit having components similar to those of split aps circuit 20 . each split aps circuit 20 represent a particular pixel . as in the case of prior art aps - based digital imaging systems , operational cycles for digital imaging systems incorporating the concepts of the present invention are preferably performed on all of the pixels of a given row at one time and all of the rows of the matrix are accessed sequentially until the entire matrix is covered . however , those skilled in the art will recognize that other operational sequences and / or cycles are possible . for example , a particular operational cycle may occur simultaneously for all of the individual aps circuits of the aps matrix or for various groups of proximate aps circuits within the aps matrix . the operation of split aps circuit 20 and digital imaging systems incorporating split aps circuit 20 is generally similar to that of conventional aps circuit 10 ( fig1 ). in split aps circuit 20 , however , each photodiode p 1 , p 2 separately directs current in parallel to the gate of its corresponding readout transistor m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 . split aps circuit 20 incorporates reset transistor m 1 , which facilitates an optional pre - charging process prior to capturing image data . in the pre - charging process , reset transistor m 1 is activated to reset photodiodes p 1 , p 2 and the gates of their corresponding readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 to the v_pix_reset line voltage . in the illustrated embodiment , the pre - charging will typically remove charge from the gate of readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 . resetting the gates of readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 to the v_pix_reset line voltage provides split aps circuit 20 with increased image sensitivity by biasing readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 such that their operation is in a linear output region . again , all of the aps circuits in a particular row are preferably pre - charged at the same time and to the same v_pix_reset line voltage . those skilled in the art will recognize that some aps - based digital imaging systems may not incorporate a pre - charging process and that some aps circuits may not include the corresponding pre - charging circuitry . after pre - charging all of the aps circuits in the digital device , the matrix of pixels is exposed to the light or other radiation to be detected . in each aps circuit 20 , the light impinging on photodiodes p 1 , p 2 creates current . the current created in photodiode p 1 charges the combined capacitance of photodiode p 1 and the gate of readout transistor m 2 . 1 . similarly , the current created in photodiode p 2 charges the combined capacitance of photodiode p 2 and the gate of readout transistor m 2 . 2 . the currents create photovoltages on the gates of readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 which are proportional to the illumination intensity - exposure time product . after exposure , the photovoltages at the gates of readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 are retained during the subsequent readout cycle . the readout cycle involves extracting information from each aps circuit 20 by activating its corresponding row - select transistor m 3 . when row - select transistor m 3 is activated , the photovoltages at the gates of readout diodes m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 cause parallel current flow through readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 which is claimed to provide a current in the col_output line . the current through each readout transistor m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 is related in a predictable manner to the photovoltage at the gate of that transistor and , since row - select transistor m 3 is in series with each readout transistor m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 , the current in the col_output line is the sum of the currents through readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 . the current in the col_output line typically flows to a sense amplifier ( not shown ) and then through other circuitry ( not shown ) which converts the output of each column to a digital image value . in the context of a digital imaging system , the readout cycle typically involves simultaneously “ reading out ” information from all of the split aps circuits in a given row of the pixel matrix by simultaneously activating the row - select transistors m 3 for all of the aps circuits in that row . each split aps circuit in that row then outputs to its corresponding col_output line in parallel . after sequentially reading out all of the row of pixels in this manner , the digital imaging system resets itself in preparation for another image by resetting the gates of readout . transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 back down to the the v_pix_reset line voltage in the pre - charging process described above . preferably , as discussed above photodiodes p 1 , p 2 and readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 are reduced in size as compared to photodiode p 1 and readout transistor m 2 or the conventional aps circuit 10 ( fig1 ). the size and / or other parameters of the component devices of split aps circuit 20 may be designed , such that the combination of current produced by photodiodes p 1 , p 2 and readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 in the col_output line will be approximately the same as that generated in the conventional aps circuit 10 . for example , this condition may be achieved approximately when photodiodes p 1 , p 2 and readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 are about half the size of the corresponding devices ( i . e . photodiode p 1 and readout transistor m 2 ) of conventional aps circuit 10 ( fig1 ). photodiode p 1 functions together with readout transistor m 2 . 1 and photodiode p 2 functions together with readout transistor m 2 . 2 . photodiode p 1 with readout transistor m 2 . 1 and photodiode p 2 with readout transistor m 2 . 2 are referred to in this description as the two “ portions ” of split aps circuit 20 . the above description of the operation of digital imaging systems incorporating split aps circuit 20 assumes that all of the component devices for both portions are working properly . however , since each portion of split aps circuit 20 operates independently , the failure of any or all of the component devices of one portion does not affect the operation of the other portion . for example , if photodiode p 1 is defective and outputs no signal , then the combination of photodiode p 2 and readout transistor m 2 . 2 will still generate a current signal in the col - output line , although this current signal will be somewhat reduced . in preferred embodiments , the sizes and other parameters of the component devices in each portion of aps circuit 20 ( i . e . photodiodes p 1 , p 2 and readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 ) are substantially the same . in such embodiments , if one portion of split aps circuit 20 is completely defective and generates no signal , then the current generated by the functioning portion of aps circuit 20 will be approximately half of what the current would be if split aps circuit 20 was completely functional . in practice , the current from one functional portion of a split aps circuit 20 may not be exactly half of what is expected from a fully functional aps circuit 20 , because the illumination of each photodiode p 1 , p 2 may not be identical or the parameters of the component devices in each portion of the aps circuit 20 may not be identical . because of variations in parameters of component devices , the output current of each individual split aps circuit 20 may differ from other split aps circuits for the same light input . as such , digital imaging systems incorporating split aps circuit 20 must be calibrated , such that the output value for each pixel ( i . e . each split aps circuit 20 ) will be substantially equal for a given light input . this process is commonly referred to as “ normalization ”. it is assumed for the purpose of this explanation , that normalization calibration is performed on the output values of each aps circuit after they have been digitized . those skilled in the art will appreciate that certain aspects of the normalization calibration process may be performed in the analog domain . normalization calibration is performed using two procedures referred to a “ darkfield image ” and a “ lightfield image ”. in the darkfield image , the entire pixel matrix is located in an environment without any light or radiation and the output value for each aps circuit is recorded . the expected darkfield image output value of a functional aps circuit is near zero , with the only output created by noise . the darkfield image output value for each aps circuit provides a normalization offset for that aps circuit . for example , if the darkfield image output value for a particular aps circuit is 0 . 024 , then the normalization offset for that aps circuit will be 0 . 024 . in subsequent operation of the imaging system , when a desired image is obtained , the normalization offset for each aps circuit is subtracted from its image output value to remove the contribution of noise from the resultant image data for that aps circuit . in the lightfield image , the entire pixel matrix is located in an environment where the imaging system is fully illuminated to light levels which should provide a maximum output current for the average aps circuit . the lightfield image output value of each aps circuit is recorded and provides an indication of the sensitivity of the particular aps circuit to illumination . the expected lightfield image output value is near the maximum output value for a given aps circuit , which may reflect the saturation currents of the component devices , for example . when the lightfield image output value is obtained , the normalization offset is first subtracted to remove the effect of noise and then a normalization scaling factor is determined which will bring the lightfield output image value to a predefined maximum output level . for example , if the predefined maximum output level is 1 . 0 , but that the lightfield image output value for a particular aps circuit ( after subtraction of the normalization offset ) is only 0 . 9 , then the normalization scaling factor for that particular aps circuit will be 1 . 111 . similarly , if the lightfield image output value for a particular aps circuit ( after subtracting of the darkfield image output value ) is only 0 . 85 , then the normalization scaling factor for that particular aps circuit will be 1 . 176 . in subsequent operation of the imaging system , when a desired image is obtained , the image output values for each aps circuit are normalized with a two step procedure , which involves : ( i ) subtracting , from the image output value , the normalization offset associated with that particular aps circuit ( as determined from the darkfield image ); and then ( ii ) scaling the resultant image output value by multiplying the resultant image output value by the normalization scaling factor associated with that particular aps circuit ( as determined from the lightfield image ). most of the space occupied by aps circuits is taken up by their photodiodes and their readout transistors ( see fig1 and 2 ). consequently , their photodiodes and readout transistors represent the most likely failure areas for these aps circuits . as will be explained in greater detail below , information obtained from the darkfield and lightfield images may be used to identify failed photodiodes and / or readout transistors . where defects are detected in a split aps circuit 20 ( fig2 ), information obtained from the darkfield and lightfield images may also be used as the basis for a hardware correction method which remedies the defect . three common failure modes exist for aps circuits which comprise a photodiode combined with a readout transistor : ( 1 ) reduced ( or otherwise changed ) sensitivity and / or low output signal — this failure mode may occur , for example , because of something covering part of the photodiode , leakage in the photodiode , poor readout transistor transfer characteristics , or radiation induced changes in local readout transistor characteristics . ( 2 ) stuck low — this failure mode occurs when the readout transistor passes no current . this failure mode may be caused , for example , by a short circuited photodiode , a cut in the current path between the photodiode and the gate of the readout transistor or a non - functional readout transistor . ( 3 ) stuck high — this failure mode represent a pixel that is always stuck at some value above zero . this failure mode occurs , for example , when the readout transistor is always on . reduced sensitivity and / or low output signal ( i . e . failure mode ( 1 )) is similar to the general problem of pixel sensitivity variation over the matrix of aps circuits contained in a digital imaging system . as such , digital imaging systems comprising conventional aps circuits 10 ( fig1 ) or split aps circuits 20 ( fig2 ) may be able to overcome defects in failure mode ( 1 ) using an offset detected from the darkfield image and a scaling factor determined from the lightfield image . however , when a conventional aps circuit 10 is stuck high or low ( failure modes ( 2 ) and ( 3 )), it will provide no useful information . as such , digital imaging systems comprising conventional aps circuits 10 must rely on relatively inaccurate software correction methods based on the output values of the nearest neighboring pixels to overcome defects in failure modes ( 2 ) and ( 3 ). on the other hand , split aps circuit 20 has an important advantage in that if only one portion of the circuit suffers a defect , the remaining functional portion will continue to provide useful data . thus , digital imaging systems comprising split aps circuits 20 may also be able to overcome defects in failure modes ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) without resorting to inaccurate software correction methods . assuming that both portions of split aps circuit 20 are fabricated from substantially similar devices and that when both portions of split aps circuit 20 are functional , the minimum circuit output is 0 . 0 and the maximum output circuit output is 1 . 0 , then there are 6 possible cases : ( 1 ) both pixels active and functioning normally — this case represents normal operation with full pixel sensitivity over an output range of 0 . 0 - 1 . 0 ; ( 2 ) one portion stuck low — in this case , one portion of split aps circuit 20 is producing no output current and there is only half pixel sensitivity with an output range of 0 . 0 - 0 . 5 ; ( 3 ) one portion stuck high 13 in this case , one portion of split aps circuit 20 is always outputting the maximum current and there is only half pixel sensitivity with an output range of 0 . 5 - 1 . 0 ; ( 4 ) both portions stuck low — this case is a dead pixel with a constant output near 0 . 0 ; ( 5 ) both portions stuck high — this case is a dead pixel with a constant output near 1 . 0 ; and ( 6 ) one portion stuck low , one portion stuck high — this case is a dead pixel with a constant output near 0 . 5 . all of these cases may be recognized and identified using the lightfield and darkfield images . when a split aps circuit 20 is determined to be defective , its location ( row and column position ) may be recorded for further correction by hardware or software techniques as described in more detail below . where both portions of a split aps circuit 20 are working normally , the output value of the split aps circuit 20 will be near 0 . 0 during the darkfield image , and near 1 . 0 during the lightfield image . such fully functional aps circuits require no further processing other than normal normalization corrections described above . the lightfield image may identify split aps circuits 20 having one portion stuck low ( case ( 2 )). where one portion of a split aps circuit 20 is stuck low , a lightfield test will result in an output current of approximately half of the expected lightfield illumination value . as explained in more detail below , the inherent redundancy of split aps circuit 20 allows for hardware - based correction of defects where only one portion of a split aps circuit 20 is stuck low . the lightfield image may also identify split aps circuits 20 having both portions stuck low ( case ( 4 )). where both portions of a split aps circuit 20 are stuck low , the output current will be near zero even during the lightfield image . such pixels are dead pixels which cannot be remedied using hardware correction techniques . as discussed in greater detail below , some aspects of the invention provide improved software correction methods which may be used to estimate values for pixels where both portions of the split aps circuit are stuck low . the darkfield image may identify split aps circuits 20 having one portion stuck high ( case ( 3 )). in a darkfield image , the expected output of a functional split aps circuit 20 is near zero , with the only output being created by noise . where one portion of a split aps circuit 20 is stuck high , however , a darkfield test will result in an output current that is significantly higher than zero . as explained in more detail below , the inherent redundancy of split aps circuit 20 allows for hardware - based correction of defects where only one portion of a split aps circuit 20 is stuck high . the darkfield image may also identify split aps circuits 20 having both portions stuck high ( case ( 5 )). where both portions of a split aps circuit 20 are stuck high , the output current will be near 1 . 0 even during the darkfield image . such pixels cannot be remedied by hardware correction techniques . however , it is preferable to identify aps circuits suffering from this defect and to record their darkfield output values . later , during operation , these darkfield output values may be subtracted fromt he image output values for these aps circuits to bring there image output down to zero . an non - functional pixel having an output value of zero is preferable to a non - functional pixel having an output value near 1 . 0 . as discussed in greater detail below , some aspects of the invention provide improved software correction methods which may be used to estimate values for pixels where both portions of the split aps circuit are stuck high . together , the lightfield image and the darkfield image may identify split aps circuits 20 where one portion is stuck high and the other portion is stuck low ( case ( 6 )). in such cases , the output of the aps circuit will be approximately 0 . 5 for both the lightfield image and the darkfield image . this output level is too high for the darkfield image output of a normally operating aps circuit and too low for the lightfield image output of normally operating aps circuit . pixels having this type of defect cannot be remedied by hardware correction methods . as with the case of pixels where both portions of the aps circuit 20 are stuck high ( case ( 5 )), it is preferable to measure and record the darkfield output level of aps circuits 20 where one portion is stuck high and the other portion stuck low . later , during operation , the darkfield output level may be subtracted as an offset to bring the image output value of the defective aps circuit to zero . as discussed in greater detail below , some aspects of the invention provide improved software correction methods which may be used to estimate values for pixels where one portion of the split aps circuit is stuck high and the other portion is stuck low . the inherent redundancy of split aps circuit 20 allows for hardware - based correction methods in the cases where one portion of an aps circuit is stuck low ( case ( 2 )) or where one portion of an aps circuit is stuck high ( case ( 3 )). the simplest case for hardware correction is where both portions of a split aps circuit are identical and one of the portions of the aps circuit is stuck low ( case ( 2 )), such that it provides no current . in such a case , the corrected output value for the defective split aps circuit 20 may be obtained by simply multiplying the actual output value by a scaling correcting factor of 2 . in practice , however , the two portions of the split aps circuit 20 are not likely to be exactly identical , so the scaling correction factor will be close to but not exactly 2 . in addition , there may be some offset correction parameter ( i . e . determined from the darkfield test ) that must be subtracted from the actual output value prior to scaling . in general , hardware - based correction for a split aps circuit 20 with one portion stuck low ( case ( 2 )) is really a special case of the aps circuit normalization calibration described above . an offset correction parameter is determined for the split aps circuit 20 by recording the output of the circuit during a darkfield image . this offset correction parameter may result from noise and / or leakage from the defective portion of the split aps circuit 20 . during subsequent use , this offset calibration parameter is subtracted from output image data . a scaling correction parameter is determined for the split aps circuit 20 by recording the circuit &# 39 ; s lightfield output , subtracting the offset correction parameter and then determining the scaling correction parameter required to scale the output of the split aps circuit 20 to its maximum value . typically , where one portion of the split aps circuit 20 is stuck low , the scaling correction parameter will be greater than the scaling normalization factor of a fully functional aps circuit . correction of a split aps circuit 20 having one portion stuck high ( case ( 3 )) involves substantially the same procedure as where one portion of the split aps circuit 20 is stuck low . however , in the case of a split aps circuit 20 where one portion is stuck high , the offset correction parameter ( determined during the darkfield image ) will be relatively high because of the output from the portion of the split aps circuit 20 that is stuck high . the scaling correction parameter is determined by recording the circuit &# 39 ; s lightfield output , subtracting the offset correction parameter and then determining the scaling correction parameter required to scale the output of the split aps circuit 20 to its maximum value . once again , the scaling correction parameter will typically be greater than the scaling normalization factor of a fully functional aps circuit . in subsequent operation of the imaging system , when a desired image is obtained , the image output values for the split aps circuit 20 having one defective portion ( i . e . one portion stuck low ( case ( 2 )) or one portion stuck high ( case ( 3 ))) are corrected with a two step procedure , which involves : ( i ) subtracting the offset correction parameter from the image output value ; and then ( ii ) scaling the resultant image output value by multiplying the resultant image output value by the scaling correction parameter . where split aps circuits have one defective portion , correction of the image output values ( i . e . subtraction of the offset parameter and multiplication by the scaling correction parameter ) is preferably performed on digital image output values . such correction is preferably applied to the digital image output values by a controller , which may comprise , for example , an embedded microprocessor , a stand alone programmable controller , a dsp chip , a computer or the like . in alternative embodiments , subtraction of the offset parameter and multiplication by the scaling correction parameter may be performed on analog image output values using appropriate analog circuitry . for these reasons , correction of the image output values of split aps circuits having one defective portion by offset subtraction and scaling is referred to in this description and in the accompanying claims as “ hardware correction ” or “ hardware - based correction ”. in further alternative embodiments , hardware - based correction of split aps circuits having one defective portion may be performed using specialized hardware components . for example , scaling by a scaling correction parameter may be performed in a shift register . where a split aps circuit comprises two identical portions and one of the portions is completely defective , then the resulting image output signal ( after offset correction ) would be approximately one half of the image output signal of a fully functional split aps circuit . in such a case , scaling correction may be preformed in a shift register by shifting the digital image output value of the half - defective aps circuit to one bit higher ( i . e . a shift of one bit to the left ). a leftward shift of one bit is effectively the same as a multiplication by 2 . it should be noted that scaling in this manner results in a reduction in accuracy of the digital image output value , because the resultant digital image output value ( i . e . after scaling ) has an uncertainty in its least significant bit . however , where the number of bits used to digitized the digital image output value is greater , the reduction in accuracy caused by scaling will be reduced . in general , the correction scaling and / or correction offset parameters used for hardware - based correction of split aps circuits having one defective portion may vary to some degree with device or circuit parameters . in such cases , knowledge of the variation of the correction scaling and / or correction offset parameters may be obtained by comprehensive calibration and measurement over a range of operating conditions or by circuit simulation and the correction parameter ( s ) may be suitably adjusted . for example , the inventors have determined that the correction scaling parameter may vary as a weak function of the photodiode current in the functional portion of the split aps circuit . although typically the correction scaling parameter varies with the photodiode current over a range of approximately 3 - 7 %, the variation may be a larger or smaller percentage . the inventors have also determined that the variation of the correction scaling and / or correction offset parameters with device or circuit parameters ( e . g . photodiode current ) may differ between the one portion stuck low condition ( case ( 2 )) and the one portion stuck high condition ( case ( 3 )). in one particular experimental embodiment , a cmos 0 . 35 micron split aps circuit was designed with each portion having identical component devices fabricated in an n - doped well . with a split aps circuit having identical component devices in each portion , the expected correction scaling parameter would be approximately 2 . the correction scaling parameter for the one portion stuck low condition ( case ( 2 )) was found to vary from 1 . 98 for low photodiode currents to 2 . 01 for photodiode currents near the saturation limit ( i . e . a range of approximately 1 . 5 %). by comparison , for the one portion stuck high condition ( case ( 3 )), the correction scaling parameter varied from 1 . 85 for low photodiode currents to 1 . 92 for photodiode currents near the saturation limit ( i . e . a range of approximately 3 . 7 %). simulations have shown that the correction scaling parameter also varies modestly with variations in the threshold voltage of the readout transistors . for example , in the above - discussed cmos 0 . 35 micron split aps circuit comprising portions with identical component devices fabricated in an n - doped well , simulations have shown variations in the correction scaling parameter of about 20 - 35 % of the variation in the readout transistor threshold voltage . the hardware - based correction methods discussed above can be varied to accommodate these types of variations in the correction scaling and / or the correction offset parameters . for example , each failure mode can be represented in a formula or lookup table , which relates the image output value of the surviving portion of the split aps circuit to the expected correction scaling parameter . the relationships between the image output value of the surviving portion of the aps circuit and the expected correction scaling parameter may be obtained , for example , by circuit simulation or by measurements on actual circuits over a range of image output values . the examples presented above relate to the variation of the correction scaling parameter with photodiode current or readout transistor threshold voltage . those skilled in the art will appreciate that other device and / or circuit parameters may cause variation in the correction scaling parameter and that these variations may also be accommodated using lookup tables or formulas similar to those discussed above . the examples presented above also relate to variations in the correction scaling factor with device and / or circuit parameters . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the correction offset factor may also vary with device and / or circuit parameters and that variation of the correction offset parameter may be accommodated using lookup tables or formulas similar to those discussed above . split aps circuit 20 together with the hardware correction methods discussed above provide a functional pixel for three cases ( i ) where split aps circuit is fully functional ( case ( 1 )); ( ii ) where a portion of split aps circuit 20 is stuck low ( case ( 2 )); and ( iii ) where a portion of split aps circuit 20 is struck high ( case ( 3 )). however , even with hardware correction , split aps circuit 20 cannot , by itself , correct for cases where there are defects in both portions of split aps circuit 20 ( i . e . cases ( 4 ), ( 5 ) and ( 6 )). the component devices in each portion of a split aps circuit 20 are preferably fabricated to be small in comparison to the component devices of a conventional aps circuit 10 ( fig1 ). as such , the component devices of a split aps circuit 20 are less prone to failure that the corresponding component devices in a conventional aps circuit 10 . the failure of a single portion of a split aps circuit 20 ( i . e cases ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) above ) is a relatively rare event . the probability of failure in both portions of the same split aps circuit 20 ( i . e . cases ( 4 ), ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) is significantly smaller . for a fully random process , the statistical probability of failure in both portions of a split aps circuit 20 would be approximately the square of the probability of a failure in a single portion . computation of the exact statistics may be more complex than described above , but simulations clearly demonstrate that failure of both portions of a split aps circuit 20 is an extremely rare event . fig3 schematically depicts an alternative split aps circuit 30 , which may help to prevent and / or reduce the frequency of error cases ( 4 ), ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) where both portions of the aps circuit are defective . split aps circuit 30 comprises two completely independent “ portions ” by providing a pair of independent reset transistors m 1 . 1 , m 1 . 2 and a pair of independent row select transistors m 3 . 1 , m 3 . 2 . the first “ portion ” of split aps circuit 30 comprises photodiode p 1 , readout transistor m 2 . 1 , reset transistor m 1 . 1 and row - select transistor m 3 . 1 . similarly , the second “ portion ” of split aps circuit 30 comprises photodiode p 2 , readout transistor m 2 . 2 , reset transistor m 1 . 2 and row - select transistor m 3 . 2 . in operation , reset transistors m 1 . 1 , m 1 . 2 independently reset / pre - charge their corresponding photodiodes p 1 , p 2 and the gates of their corresponding readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 to the v_pix_reset voltage level . imaging is performed in the same manner is in split aps circuit 20 , with photodiodes p 1 , p 2 receiving radiation from the environment being imaged and creating corresponding photovoltages on the gates of readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 . after imaging , row - select transistors m 3 . 1 , m 3 . 2 are independently activated to cause current flow through their respective readout transistors m 2 . 1 , m 2 . 2 which is combined in the col_output line . the provision of independent reset transistors m 1 . 1 , m 1 . 2 and independent row - select transistors m 3 . 1 , m 3 . 2 is advantageous because , if a defect occurs in any one reset transistor m 1 . 1 , m 1 . 2 or in any one row - select transistor m 3 . 1 , m 3 . 2 , the other portion of aps circuit 30 will still function to provide useful image output values as discussed above . a second advantage of having two independent reset transistors m 1 . 1 , m 1 . 2 is that each photodiode p 1 , p 2 may be separately reset and pre - charged . despite the redundant nature of split aps circuits 20 , 30 and the hardware correction methods discussed above , there may still be circumstances where there is a failure of both portions of a split aps circuit ( i . e . cases ( 4 ), ( 5 ) and ( 6 )). in these cases , the image output value of the defective pixel is estimated using software correction methods , typically based on the neighboring pixels . fig4 schematically depicts a 3 by 3 pixel square 40 , wherein a failed pixel 41 is surrounded by its eight nearest neighbor pixels 42 - 49 . fig4 incorporates a coordinate system where pixels 41 - 49 are assigned x and y coordinates , with failed pixel 41 having coordinate x = 0 , y = 0 and neighbor pixels 42 - 49 having x and y coordinates ranging from − 1 to + 1 . estimates of the output value for failed pixel 41 may be computed by simply averaging values of neighboring pixels 42 - 49 . for example if f ( x , y ) is the output value of the pixel with coordinates x , y , then an estimate of the output value of failed pixel 41 using a simple average of the eight nearest neighbors would be f ( 0 , 0 )˜[ f (− 1 ,− 1 )+ f (− 1 , 0 )+ f (− 1 , 1 )+ f ( 0 ,− 1 )+ f ( 0 , 1 )+ f ( 1 ,− 1 )= f ( 1 , 0 )+ f ( 1 , 1 )]/ 8 equation ( 1 ) those skilled in the art will appreciate that other averages can may be performed with other numbers of neighboring pixels ( e . g . the 4 and 24 nearest neighboring pixels ). software correction involving averaging techniques similar to that of equation ( 1 ) or more sophisticated averaging techniques , such as weighted averaging , works well when the spatial variation of image intensity varies relatively smoothly and slowly ; however , such software correction generates relatively poor estimates when the image intensity charges rapidly from pixel to pixel . more importantly , software correction produces a poor result in the case where there are two failed pixels adjacent to each other . one aspect of the invention involves a superior software correction method which provides generally better estimates for defective pixels than software correction based on averaging . in accordance with a particular embodiment of the software correction method , defective pixel 41 and its neighboring pixels 42 - 49 are assumed to follow a second order equation . recalling the coordinate system used in fig4 , the he software correction method starts with a taylor series expansion of f ( x , y ), with all of the terms higher than second order removed , to provide : f ( x , y )= a ( 00 )+ a ( 10 ) x + a ( 01 ) y + a ( 20 ) x 2 + a ( 11 ) xy + a ( 02 ) y 2 + a ( 21 ) x 2 y + a ( 12 ) xy 2 + a ( 22 ) x 2 y 2 equation ( 2 ) where the a &# 39 ; s are the coefficients of the taylor series expansion . the software correction method involves obtaining these taylor series coefficients by fitting equation ( 2 ) to the 9 pixel values , forming 9 equations in 9 unknowns . in the case where pixel 41 is completely defective , however , there is no information about pixel 41 ( i . e . f ( 0 , 0 )). accordingly , there is 8 equations and 9 unknowns and one of the taylor the coefficients cannot be calculated precisely . in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the software correction method , the coefficient a ( 22 ) is estimated . several possibilities exist for estimating the relationship between the central a ( 22 ) coefficient and the other coefficients . studies have shown that one effective method is to assume the a ( 22 ) coefficient is zero . such an assumption is equivalent to assuming a second order equation on each edge of the 3 × 3 pixel square 40 whose second order terms vary linearly from one side to the other . when a ( 22 )= 0 , is substituted into equation ( 1 ) and the other taylor series coefficients are solved for in terms of the pixel output values ( f ( x , y )), it can be shown that an accurate estimate for the missing central pixel f ( 0 , 0 ) is provided by : extensive experimentation on many real images has shown that the approximation formula of equation ( 3 ) almost always provides a significantly better estimate for the output value of the missing central pixel ( f ( 0 , 0 )) than the simple averaging technique of equation ( 1 ). those skilled in the art will appreciate that the software correction algorithm involving taylor series expansion ( i . e . equations ( 2 ) and ( 3 )) may be extended or varied . for example , equation ( 3 ) may be altered by making other choices about the relationship of the value a ( 22 ) to the other coefficients . equations ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) may also be expanded to include more neighbors ( e . g ,. a 5 × 5 pixel set ). also , equation ( 3 ) may be rewritten for the case where the defective pixel is an edge pixel rather than the central pixel . such a variation of equation ( 3 ) may be useful for correcting adjacent failed pixels by using 3 × 3 neighbors to the left , right , above and below the pixels . simple averaging of the form of equation ( 1 ) does not provide a solution for the case where a pair of adjacent pixels are defective . software correction algorithm having the form of equation ( 3 ) may be applied to conventional aps circuits 10 ( fig1 ) or to split aps circuits 20 , 30 ( fig2 , 3 ). fig6 depicts a method 100 of obtaining image data from a particular pixel in accordance with a particular embodiment of the invention . blocks 110 and 112 involve obtaining darkfield and lightfield images . as discussed above , the darkfield and lightfield images allow a decision to be made as to whether any portion of the aps circuit is defective ( block 114 ). if the aps circuit is functioning normally , then the method proceeds to block 116 , where the offset and scaling normalization information is determined from the darkfield and lightfield image as discussed above . an image is then obtained in block 118 and the image data is normalized in block 120 . after normalization , the normalized image data is output in block 122 . the image data output in block 122 may be output to memory or to a display of some type , for example . after the image data is output in block 122 , the process may loop back to block 118 where another image may be obtained . if , after the darkfield and lightfield images of blocks 110 , 112 , it is determined ( in blocks 114 and 124 ) that one portion of the aps circuit is functioning , but that the other portion of the aps circuit is defective , then the correction offset and correction scaling parameters required for hardware correction are determined in block 126 . the correction offset and correction scaling parameters are determined from the lightfield and darkfield images as discussed above . an image is then obtained in block 128 and the hardware correction is applied to the image data in block 130 . the application of the hardware correction may involve subtracting the correction offset parameter and multiplying by the correction scaling parameter . the correction offset and correction scaling parameters may be modified using formulas or lookup tables to compensate for any variation of the correction parameter ( s ) with device and / or circuit parameters . after hardware correction , the corrected image data is output in block 132 . the process may then loop back to block 128 where another image may be obtained . if , after the darkfield and lightfield images of blocks 110 , 112 , it is determined ( in blocks 114 and 124 ) that both portions of the aps circuit are defective , then an image is obtained in block 134 and software correction is applied to the image data in block 136 . preferably , the software correction of block 136 is based on the output image data from the pixels neighboring the defective aps circuit and is performed according to an algorithm having the form of equation ( 3 ). the software correction of block 136 may also be performed by a simple averaging algorithm having the form of equation ( 1 ) or a weighted averaging algorithm . the corrected image data is then output in block 138 . the process may then loop back to block 134 where another image may be obtained . the description provided above has focused on monochrome or gray scale digital imaging systems ( i . e . black and white imaging systems ). one common method of providing a color digital imaging system involves partitioning each pixel into red ( r ), green ( g ) and blue ( b ) subpixels . fig5 a schematically depicts a common method of providing a color digital imaging system , wherein each pixel 50 comprises four subpixels 51 , 53 , 52 , 54 having colors r , g , b , g respectively . those skilled in the art will appreciate color pixels may be formed from a variety of layouts of different colored subpixels and that fig5 and the color software correction methods described herein may be modified to apply to these alternative color pixel layouts . when a subpixel of a certain color is defective , the software correction methods described above may be applied by considering only subpixels of colors corresponding to that of the defective subpixel . for example , referring to fig5 b , where a r subpixel 56 is defective , then the software correction schemes discussed above may be applied using data from the 8 nearest neighboring r colored subpixels 58 a - 58 h . such software correction may generally involve a simple averaging algorithm having the form of equation ( 1 ), a weighted averaging algorithm , or a more sophisticated software correction method having the form of equation ( 3 ). another aspect of the present invention involves superior color software correction methods which take advantage of two principles : ( i ) all of the subpixels are independent from one another , where a subpixel corresponding to a particular color is defective , information may still be obtained from the subpixels corresponding to the other colors ; and ( ii ) in most image scenes , the spatial variation in color is relatively slow in comparison to the spatial variation in luminosity . usually , all of the colored subpixels of a color digital imaging system are independent from one another . when a failure occurs , it is most likely to affect only one color ( i . e . one particular subpixel ) and not the immediately adjacent subpixels of the other colors . accordingly , incorporating data from the functional subpixels of the other colors may provide significant advantages for color software correction interpolation , as explained further below . in most imaging applications , the luminosity or brightness of an image changes much faster than its color . fox example , for a typical image , the spatial variation of the color is near uniform or changes relatively smoothly and slowly , but the spatial variation of the luminosity changes relatively quickly . although there will be boundaries between objects in the image where the variation in color is sharp , these rapid variations in color will be much less common than similarly rapid variations in luminosity . prior to explaining the color software correction methods of the present invention , it is useful to briefly explain some aspects of color theory . these aspects of color theory are explained comprehensively in wyszecki and stiles , color science : concepts and methods , quantitative data and formula ( 2nd edition ), john wiley & amp ; sons , 1982 , which is hereby incorporated by reference . numerical parameters may be specified for the colors of a digital imaging system . those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are many techniques for assigning numerical parameters to the colors of a digital imaging system . for the purpose of explanation of this particular example embodiment , the cie ( commission intenationale de l &# 39 ; eclairage ) 1931 standard color model is used . cie 1931 standard color model has the advantageous characteristic that the luminosity and color may be separately specified using the tristimulus and chromaticity color coordinates . the cie 1931 standard color standard starts by taking the rgb colors from the digital imaging system and relating these colors to tristimulus values x , y , z . the tristimulus values x , y , z contain both color and luminosity information . in accordance with the cie 1931 color standard system , the relationship between the rgb colors and the tristimulus values x , y , z involves the system of equations ( 4 ) shown below and a set of conversion parameters t , also called a “ tristimulus matrix ” or a “ t matrix ”. x + y + z = t ( rt ) r + t ( gt ) g + t ( bt ) b equation ( 4 ) the elements of the t matrix depend on the color filters used in a particular color imaging system . as such , the elements of the t matrix for a particular color imaging system are best obtained by measurements of the optical characteristics of the spectral response for the particular color imaging system being used . the rgb colors may also be related to the tristimulus values x , y , z by the “ color coefficients matrix ” c , as shown in equation ( 5 ). the color coefficients matrix c is simply the inverse of the t matrix . r + g + b = c ( tx ) x + c ( ty ) y + c ( tz ) z equation ( 5 ) for the purposes of illustrating this example embodiment , the standard cie color filters are used , where the red filter is 700 nm , the green filter is 546 . 1 and the blue filter is 435 . 8 nm . table 1 sets out the elements of the t matrix which result from this selection of color filters and the corresponding elements of the color coefficient matrix c are set out in table 2 . the data in tables 1 and 2 , which is taken from clulow ( 1972 ), relates to the particular example described herein where the standard cie filters are used . the elements of the t matrix will vary depending on the color filters used in a particular digital imaging system . those skilled in the art will recognize ( from equations ( 4 ) and ( 5 ) and from the matrix representations of tables 1 and 2 ), that for the standard cie color filters , the tristimulus values x , y , z do not represent pure rgb colors , but rather comprise combinations of all colors . the tristimulus values x , y , z exhibit this characteristic because almost all real colors comprise a mixture of more than one of the rgb colors . the tristimulus values x , y , z contain information related to both color and luminosity . in particular , the tristimulus value y contains luminosity information . to accurately compare colors alone , a coordinate system that does not include luminosity information is required . the cie chromaticity coordinate system has such a characteristic . the cie chromaticity coordinate system was created such that chromaticity coordinates x , y , z represent pure color values . in cie chromaticity coordinates , ideal pure white is x = y = z = 0 . 3333 . the chromaticity coordinates x , y , z are related to the tristimulus values x , y , z via the relationship of equation ( 6 ). the chromaticity coordinates x , y , z specify specific colors and are independent of luminosity . for example , as mentioned above , the color white has the chromaticity coordinates x = y = z = 0 . 3333 . other shades of white ( i . e . from pure white , to shades of gray to black ) will have the same chromaticity coordinates . the same is true for the chromaticity coordinates for color other than white . however , the same color under different luminosity intensities will have different tristimulus values x , y , z and also different rgb parameters . while there are many actual colors that exist which lie outside of the rgb relationship , the cie system 1931 color standard system defines all possible colors , and makes them easy to relate . fig7 schematically depicts a particular embodiment of a correction method 200 for estimating the values of defective subpixels in a color digital imaging system . correction method 200 assumes that each pixel has the layout of pixel 50 ( fig5 a ), with r , g 1 , b and g 2 subpixels 51 , 53 , 52 and 54 respectively . defective subpixels are identified using a darkfield image in block 210 and one or more lightfield images in block 212 . lightfield image ( s ) for color imaging systems ( block 212 ) may be different than the monochromatic lightfield images discussed above . a separate lightfield image may be applied for each of the rgb subpixels . alternatively , a color balanced lightfield image may be applied to yield maximum output values for each of the rgb subpixels . those skilled in the art will appreciate that color lightfield images of this nature will yield the same information as the monochromatic lightfield images discussed above , except that the color lightfield images provide information about individual colors ( i . e . individual subpixels ). a pixel is identified as faulty in block 214 if any one or more of its subpixels is defective . if none of the subpixels are defective , then the pixel is processed normally in block 216 . a defective g subpixel represents a special case , because it is assumed that each pixel 50 comprises two g subpixels 53 , 54 ( see fig5 a ). if it is determined ( in blocks 214 and 218 ) that there is a defective g subpixel , then the correct g value for the defective subpixel is recovered using a hardware - based correction technique in block 220 . depending on how the circuit is designed , output from both g subpixels may be separately available , or the output from the two g subpixels may be combined . if output from both g subpixels is separately available , then a failure in a particular g subpixel may be overcome by using only data from the function g subpixel . in such cases , correction method 200 is complete for that pixel , provided that there are no defects in the other subpixels . if the output from both g subpixels is combined in the circuit , then an offset and scaling hardware correction method similar to that used for hardware correction of the split aps circuit may be used to correct for the defective g subpixel . for example , if a g lightfield image indicates that the output level is only 50 % of what is expected ( i . e . because one of the g subpixels is defective ), then the pixel output may be remedied by scaling the g output by a factor of 2 . once again , a correction method 200 is complete for the pixel , unless there are defects in the other subpixels . if it is determined ( in block 214 ) that there is a defective subpixel and it is determined ( in block 218 ) that the defective subpixel is not a g subpixel , then a color software correction method is performed in blocks 222 , 224 and 226 to estimate the value of the defective subpixel . a particular example is used for the purpose of explaining the color software correction methods of the present invention . it is assumed that there is a defective r subpixel 56 contained within an otherwise functional pixel 57 ( see fig5 b ). pixel 57 is surrounded by its 8 nearest neighboring pixels . in block 222 , the chromaticity coordinates x , y , z ( and / or the tristimulus values x , y , z ) are obtained for the pixels which are the nearest neighbors of defective pixel 57 . it is assumed for the purposes of explanation , that the pixels neighboring defective pixel 57 are functional and have known rgb values . the tristimulus values x , y , z for the neighboring pixels may then be obtained from the known rgb values of the neighboring pixels and the t matrix using equation ( 4 ). the chromaticity coordinates x , y , z for the neighboring pixels may be obtained from the tristimulus values x , y , z using equation ( 6 ). in this example embodiment , the 8 nearest neighbor pixels are used . larger or smaller numbers of neighboring pixels may also be used . after determining the chromaticity coordinates x , y , z ( and / or the tristimulus values x , y , z ) for the neighboring pixels in block 222 , the chromaticity coordinates x , y , z ( or the tristimulus values x , y , z ) are interpolated ( in block 224 ) to estimate the chromaticity coordinates x , y , z ( or the tristimulus values x , y , z ) for defective pixel 57 . such interpolation is performed separately for two of the chromaticity coordinates ( for example x , y ) or for two of the tristimulus values ( for example x , y ). the third chromaticity coordinate ( or the third tristimulus value ) may be calculated using equation ( 6 ), if required . interpolation of the chromaticity coordinates ( or the tristimulus values ) may involve any of the interpolation techniques described above for the monochrome device ( e . g . simple averaging of the form of equation ( 1 ), weighted averaging or taylor series interpolation of the form of equation ( 3 )). the taylor series interpolation method having the form of equation ( 3 ) has been found to be particularly effective where the f values are replaced by the chromaticity coordinate ( or the tristimulus value ) of interest . once the chromaticity coordinates ( or the tristimulus values ) have been interpolated for the defective pixel 57 , the output value for defective r subpixel 56 may be accurately estimated in block 226 using the interpolated chromaticity coordinates ( or the interpolated tristimulus values ), the elements of the t matrix and the known g and b output values for the functional subpixels of the defective pixel 57 . the estimated value for defective r subpixel 56 may be determined , for example , by substitution of equation ( 4 ) into equation ( 7 ) yielding . similar equations may be derived from the cases where there are defective g or b subpixels . for example , an estimate of the value of the g subpixel may be obtained from equations ( 4 ) and ( 7 ) by solving for g in terms of the r and b values , the chromaticity coordinates and the elements of the t matrix ( equation ( 8a )), and the value of the b subpixel may be obtained by solving for a b in terms of the r and g values , the chromaticity coordinates and the elements of the t matrix ( equation ( 8b )). equations similar to equations ( 8 ), ( 8a ) and ( 8b ) may be easily derived using the tristimulus values x , y in place of the chromaticity coordinates x , y . other formulas for estimating the value of the defective r subpixel 56 may be derived from equations ( 4 )-( 7 ). in particular , similar equations may be derived wherein the value of the defective r subpixel may be estimated from only one other subpixel value ( e . g . the g subpixel value ). such techniques ( i . e . where the defective subpixel value is estimated using only one other subpixel value ) are useful in cases where the value of a particular pixel is low . for example , table 1 suggests that for colors that are mostly pure r , the b color has only a low value . in such cases , it may be preferable to estimate the value of a defective r subpixel on the basis of the g subpixel value alone . techniques where a defective subpixel value may be estimated using only one other subpixel value may also be useful in cases where a particular pixel contains more than one defective subpixel . method 200 only considers one pixel and assumes that there is , at most , only one defective subpixel . those skilled in the art will appreciate that method 200 may be modified to involve looping , which may allow consideration of defects in other pixels and / or pixels having more than one defective subpixel . two special cases should be noted in the example method described above . assuming once again , that there is a defective r subpixel 56 ( fig5 b ), any solutions that yield r & lt ; 0 should be replaced with r = 0 . secondly , any solution that yield r & gt ; max ( e . g . 255 for 8 bit digital resolution ) should be replaced with r = max . both of these corrections come from the possibility of the interpolation ( in block 224 ) yielding chromaticity coordinates ( or tristimulus values ) that are not exact . simulations show that the color software correction method described above can recover highly accurate estimates of defective subpixel values , even under conditions where the luminosity is rapidly changing . estimations of defective subpixel values obtained using this color software correction method have significantly improved accuracy over estimations obtained using averaging - based interpolation methods on the neighboring subpixels having the same color as the defective subpixel . simulations also demonstrate that the use of the taylor series interpolation techniques described above ( i . e . interpolation having the form of equation ( 3 )) on the chromaticity coordinates ( or the tristimulus values ) produced improved results over the use of conventional averaging - based interpolation ( i . e . equation ( 1 )). in several cases , these simulations indicated that defective subpixel estimations based on tristimulus values gave slightly better results than the those using the chromaticity coordinates . thus , it is preferable to test each imaging system to determine the correct t matrix and whether to use the tristimulus values or chromaticity coordinates . those skilled in the art will recognize the calibration methods required to obtain this information . such testing may not be required for each individual imaging system . if a number of imaging systems incorporate the imaging sensor , then the tests may be performed once and incorporated into a number of image systems . similar algorithms may be developed which use other relationships between the pixel colors . for example , if the ratio cr ( x , y ), cg ( x , y ) and / or cb ( x , y ) between the missing color and the luminosity l = r + g + b can be defined as then the color software correction method described above may be modified by calculating these cr ( x , y ), cg ( x , y ) and cb ( x , y ) ratios ( in place of the tristimulus values or chromaticity coordinates ) for the pixels neighboring the defective pixel a by interpolating to estimate cr ( 0 , 0 ), cg ( 0 , 0 ) and cb ( 0 , 0 ) ( i . e . the cr ( x , y ), cg ( x , y ) and cb ( x , y ) ratios for the defective pixel ). by substituting the estimated cr ( 0 , 0 ), cg ( 0 , 0 ) and cb ( 0 , 0 ) into equation ( 9 ), estimates for defective r , g or b subpixel values may be determined according to : simulations have shown that estimates based on the tristimulus values and / or chromaticity coordinates provide better estimates than results based on equations ( 9 ) and ( 10 ). however , equations ( 9 ) and ( 10 ) provide acceptable results using significantly reduced calculation resources . accordingly , there may be implementations where it would be preferable to accept marginally inferior estimation in exchange for simpler computation . there are other possible relationships between the defective subpixel values and other parameters ( such as the non - defective subpixel values , or the hue and saturation , for example ). these relationships may be calculated in the neighboring pixels and then interpolated in the defective pixel to recover defective subpixel values in the defective pixel . as will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure , many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the scope thereof . for example : the invention includes aps circuits comprising other radiation detectors ( i . e . other than photodiodes ). for example , gated mos phototransistors may be used in place of the photodiodes . similarly , if a bicmos fabrication technology is used , the sensor may employ a bipolar phototransistors instead of the photodiodes . other similar photosensitive devices may also be used . these alterative sensors offer tradeoffs in circuit complexity and sensitivity to illumination ; the invention includes aps circuits designed to operate in a manner opposite that described above . such aps circuits operate by adding charge to the gate ( s ) of the readout transistor ( s ) during the pre - charging process . during the subsequent imaging process , the photodiode ( s ), which conduct current when exposed to radiation , remove the charge from the gate ( s ) of the readout transistor ( s ); individual split aps circuits may comprise more than two “ portions ”. for example , a split aps circuit may comprise three or more photodiodes and three or more corresponding readout transistors ; the component devices in the two portions of a split aps circuit may be of different sizes ; the hardware correction methods described above involving correction scaling and correction offset may be performed on the analog aps circuit output prior to digitization ; the hardware correction methods described above may be performed without subtracting a correction offset parameter or with a correction offset parameter of 0 ; the hardware and software correction methods described above ( including the example methods 100 and 200 ) are preferably performed by a controller , which may comprise , for example , an embedded microprocessor , a stand - alone programmable controller , a dsp chip , a computer or the like or a plurality of such devices ; other possible failure modes exist , most of which are variations of the six failure modes set out above . the hardware and / or software correction methods described above may be altered to compensate for these other types of defects . for example , one portion of a split aps circuit 20 may be stuck at an intermediate output level because of trapped charges induced from external sources . such a defect may be corrected with the hardware - based correction described above by appropriate selection of a correction offset parameter and a correction scaling parameter ; the color software correction methods described above may be used together with the split aps circuits and the hardware - based correction methods described above to obtain even better performance ; those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are many alternative color coordinate systems and color representation schemes , other than the cie 1931 standard color model . most of these other color coordinate systems and / or color representation schemes comprise variations or transformations of the t - matrix algorithm . these other formulations may provide improved results in some circumstances . the concepts of the color software correction methods described above may be extended to these alternative color coordinate systems and color representation schemes ; and , color imaging system may be implemented using other techniques than those described above . for example , an image may be split into separate spectral bands ( e . g . r , g and b ), each of which may be directed to a separate pixel array . in such a case , the same pixel location on each array may be combined to form the color pixel . this embodiment may allow the imaging system to have a higher density of pixels . in other color digital imaging systems , images may be time multiplexed . in such systems , the same pixel array is used for all colors , but the pixel array is sequentially exposed to a time sequence of color filtered images . the split aps circuits and the hardware and software correction techniques described above may be easily modified for use in such color imaging systems . accordingly , the scope of the invention is to be construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following claims . | 7 |
the positive - acting no - process printing plates of the present invention comprise a substrate coated with a photosensitive composition comprising a photoinitiator which generates a strong acid upon exposure to radiation , a polymer having acid - labile groups pendant from the polymer backbone , and a dye capable of being irreversibly bleached by acid to form a visible image . polymers having acid - labile groups pendant from the polymer backbone are disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 102 , 771 and 5 , 225 , 316 , incorporated herein by reference . preferred polymers of the present invention are represented by the formula : ## str9 ## wherein : r 6 and r 7 each represent h or an alkyl group with 1 to 18 carbon atoms with the proviso that at least one of r 6 and r 7 must be hydrogen ; r 8 represents an alkyl group with 1 to 18 carbon atoms ; or any two of r 6 , r 7 , and r 8 may together form a substituted or unsubstituted ring having from 3 to 36 carbon atoms ; and t represents an optional divalent linking group bonded to the polymer backbone selected from the group consisting of o , nh , s , and an alkylene group containing from 1 to about 18 carbon atoms , where one or more carbon atoms may be replaced by oxygen , nitrogen , sulfur atoms , or chemically reasonable combinations thereof . the photoinitiator used herein is one which generates a strong acid upon exposure to radiation . many such substances are known in the photoimaging art including , but not limited to , various onium compounds ( e . g ., sulfonium , iodonium , diazonium , etc . ; particularly aryl derivatives thereof ), and various organic compounds with photolabile halogen atoms ( α - halo - p - nitrotoluenes , halomethyl - s - triazines , carbon tetrabromide , etc .) while the choice of photoinitiator is not critical , it is desirable that the photoinitiator have limited solubility in water in order to provide maximal inkability . in a preferred embodiment , the photoinitiator is a substituted or unsubstituted diaryliodonium salt . non - limiting examples of suitable iodonium salts are salts of diphenyliodonium , ditolyliodonium , dinaphthyliodonium , di ( 4 - chlorophenyl ) iodonium , tolyl ( dodecylphenyl ) iodonium , naphthylpheyliodonium , 4 -( trifluoromethylphenyl ) phenyliodonium , 4 - ethylphenylphenyliodonium , di ( 4 - acetylphenyl ) iodonium , tolylphenyliodonium , di ( 4 - phenylphenyl ) iodonium , di ( carbomethoxyphenyl ) iodonium , and the like . diphenyliodonium salts and substituted derivatives thereof ( e . g ., ditolyliodonium , 4 - t - butylphenylphenyliodonium , etc .) are preferred . the iodonium salts may be made with any anion capable of forming a stable salt with diphenyliodonium cation at room temperature , i . e ., the anion must have a pka less than about 16 , and an oxidation potential of greater than about 0 . 7 v . preferred anions are complex halogenated metal anions such as hexafluorophosphate , hexafluoroantimonate , hexafluoroarsenate ; borates such as tetrafluoroborate and tetraphenylborate ; and sulfonates such as p - toluenesulfonate . particularly preferred anions are hexafluorophosphate , hexafluoroantimonate , and p - toluenesulfonate . the photolyzable organic halogen compounds which are useful in the present invention are those that upon exposure to radiation dissociate at one or more carbon - halogen bonds to form free radicals . the carbon - halogen bond dissociation energy should be between about 40 and 70 kcal / mole as taught in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 515 , 552 . preferred photolyzable organic halogen compounds have from 1 to 40 carbon atoms , are non - gaseous at room temperature , and have a polarographic half - wave reduction potential greater than about - 0 . 9 v as described in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 640 , 718 and 3 , 617 , 288 . examples of photolyzable organic halogen compounds are hexabromoethane , α , α , α &# 39 ;, α &# 39 ;- tetrabromoxylene , carbon tetrabromide , m - nitro ( tribromoacetyl ) benzene , α , α , α - trichloroacetanilide , trichloromethylsulfonylbenzene , α , α , α - tribromoquinaldine , bis ( pentachlorocyclopentadiene ), tribromomethylquinoxaline , α , α - dibromo - p - nitrotoluene , α , α , α , α &# 39 ;, α &# 39 ;, α &# 39 ;- hexachloro - p - xylene , dibromotetrachloroethane , pentabromoethane , dibromodibenzoylmethane , carbon tetraiodide , halomethyl - s - triazines such as 2 , 4 - bis ( trichloromethyl )- 6 - methyl - s - triazine , 2 , 4 , 6 - tris ( trichloromethyl )- s - triazine , and 2 , 4 - bis ( trichloromethyl )- 6 -( p - methoxystyryl )- s - triazine , etc . the iodonium salts or photolyzable organic halogen compounds employed in the present invention may be either exposed to ultraviolet radiation or , when appropriately sensitized , to radiation in the visible or infrared spectrum . wavelengths between 250 nm and 1200 nm inclusive may be used . compounds useful as sensitizing dyes for this invention include , but are not limited to , substituted or unsubstituted anthracenes , aryl nitrones , xanthenes , anthraquinones , substituted diaryl - and triarylmethanes , methines , merocyanines , and polymethines , thiazoles , substituted and unsubstituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons , and pyrylium dyes . the photosensitive compositions of the present invention are generally coated onto a substrate prior to use in an imaging application . coating may be achieved by many methods well known in the imaging art ( e . g ., solvent casting , knife coating , extrusion , etc .). the coating weight of the photosensitive layer applied to the substrate will depend on the specific application and the desired processing requirements ( e . g ., light source , exposure time , etc .). however , typical dry coat weights will range from about 0 . 4 g / m 2 ( 40 mg / ft 2 ) to about 5 . 4 g / m 2 ( 500 mg / ft 2 ), preferably from about 0 . 6 g / m 2 ( 60 mg / ft 2 ) to about 1 . 1 g / m 2 ( 100 mg / ft 2 ). in some instances it is desirable to add a non - photosensitive hydrophilic topcoat over the photosensitive layer as described in copending u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 311 , 510 , filed sep . 23 , 1994 . the topcoat remains over the photosensitive layer after exposure until it is removed on press . the topcoat may improve the press performance ( e . g ., shorter roll - up time ) of the resulting no - process positive - acting printing plate . suitable substrates on which the photosensitive composition may be coated include , but are not limited to , metals or metal alloys , for example steel and aluminum plates , sheets or foils including aluminum treated with hydrophilic agents , such as silicates or polyacrylic acid and its derivatives ; films or plates composed of various film - forming synthetic or natural based ( e . g ., cellulose acetate , gelatin , etc .) polymers including addition polymers ( e . g ., poly ( vinylidene chloride ), poly ( vinyl chloride ), poly ( vinyl acetate ), polystyrene , polyisobutylene polymers and copolymers ), and linear condensation polymers ( e . g ., poly ( ethylene terephthalate ), poly ( hexamethylene adipate ), poly ( hexamethylene adipamide / adipate )); paper or paper laminates . aluminum and aluminum alloys are preferred substrates . aluminum or aluminum alloys which have been electrochemically grained and anodized are particularly preferred . the photosensitive compositions of the present invention may contain various materials in combination with the essential ingredients of the present invention . for example , plasticizers , coating aids , antioxidants , surfactants , antistatic agents , waxes , ultraviolet radiation absorbers , and brighteners may be used without adversely affecting the practice of the invention . the various materials preferably should not contain significant levels of functional groups ( e . g ., free amines , alkoxides , sulfides , amides , urethanes , imides , etc .) which are more basic than the alkoxyalkyl ester employed in the present invention as defined above . preferred dyes of the present invention capable of being irreversibly bleached by acid upon exposure of the printing plate to radiation have a central nucleus selected from the group of formulas consisting of : ## str10 ## wherein r is independently an alkyl , cycloalkyl , alkaryl , or alkanoyl group having from 1 to 16 carbon atoms , or each r together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached represents the necessary atoms to form a five - or six - membered ring ; r 1 is independently hydrogen , halogen , cyano , or an alkyl , cycloalkyl , or alkoxy group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms ; or r and r 1 together with the nitrogen and two carbon atoms by which they are connected represent the necessary atoms to form a five - or six - membered ring ; r 2 is ar or an alkyl , cycloalkyl , or alkaryl group having from 1 to 16 carbon atoms ; ar is a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group , preferably a substituted or unsubstituted phenyl or naphthyl group ; e is independently an electron withdrawing group selected from the group consisting of cn , so 2 r 3 , c ( o ) r 3 , and no 2 ; and r 3 is independently an alkyl , cycloalkyl , or alkaryl group having from 1 to 16 carbon atoms , or each r 3 taken together with the atoms to which they are attached represent the necessary atoms to form a five - or six - membered ring ; ## str11 ## wherein x is n or cr 1 ; r 4 is h , ch 3 , nhr 2 , nhc ( o ) r 2 , or nr 2 ; and r , r 1 and r 2 are as previously defined ; ## str12 ## wherein y is o or s ; n is 0 or 1 ; and r , r 1 , and x are as previously defined with the proviso that when y is s , then x is n ; ## str13 ## wherein r and r 1 are as previously defined ; r 5 is r 1 , or r 5 and r 1 taken together with the two carbon atoms by which they are connected represent the necessary atoms to form a five - or six - membered carbocyclic or heterocyclic , non - aromatic or aromatic ring ; ## str14 ## wherein r , r 1 , and e are as previously defined ; and ## str15 ## wherein r , r 1 , and e are as previously defined . dyes may be incorporated into the photosensitive coating formulation at any level desired , typically from about 0 . 1 % to about 10 % by weight based on the dry photosensitive coating weight , preferably from about 0 . 5 % to about 5 %, more preferably from about 1 % to about 2 . 5 %. the materials employed below were obtained from aldrich chemical co . ( milwaukee , wis .) unless otherwise specified . materials were analyzed and purity established by one or more of the following techniques : 1 h nmr , 13 c nmr , infrared spectroscopy , and melting point . the following dyes were prepared to evaluate their utility as irreversibly bleachable dyes in no - process positive - acting printing plate applications : ## str16 ## to 47 . 1 grams ( 264 mmol , 1 eq ) of n , n - diethyl - 4 - nitrosoaniline dissolved in 1500 ml ethanol at room temperature , 31 . 0 grams ( 264 mmol , 1 . 0 eq ) of benzyl cyanide was added followed by 35 ml of a 10 % aqueous sodium hydroxide solution . the green color dissipated and the solution became dark yellow . after 10 minutes 900 grams of ice was added and the mixture was stirred until the ice had melted ( about one hour ). the product precipitated upon addition of the ice and was collected by filtration and air dried to afford a bright orange solid . the sample was recrystallized from 1 l of ethanol to give the desired product . n , n - dibutyl - 4 - nitrosoaniline was prepared by following the procedure of vogel &# 39 ; s textbook of practical organic chemistry fourth edition , logman ( london ) 1978 p723 . to 300 grams ( 7 . 50 mol , 2 . 5 eq , 180 grams of active nah ) 60 wt % sodium hydride in oil was added 492 grams ( 630 ml , 12 . 0 mol , 4 eq ) of acetonitrile followed by 680 ml of toluene and 408 grams ( 370 ml , 3 . 00 mol , 1 eq ) of methyl benzoate . the reaction mixture was heated and after 1 . 5 hours the reaction temperature reached 75 ° c . and was maintained there for 2 . 5 hours and was cooled . the mixture was stirred overnight at room temperature and 600 ml of toluene was added followed by the careful addition of 800 ml of water with cooling . once the reaction mixture consisted of two phases , the toluene layer was separated and the aqueous layer was washed twice with 600 ml of toluene . the aqueous layer was acidified with cooling with approximately 850 ml of 12m hcl to a ph of 1 . an additional 500 ml of water was added to this mixture to help dissolve inorganic salts that tend to precipitate at this point . a solid precipitated and was collected and washed with water followed by stirring with 1200 ml of ether . the solid was collected and again stirred with 500 ml of ether . this gave approximately 250 grams of solid . the ether filtrates were concentrated to give more product . the solid isolated from the ether triturations was dissolved in 1000 ml of acetone and filtered to remove a dark brown insoluble material . the acetone solution was concentrated in vacuo . the concentrated acetone solution gave 196 grams of pure product . the ether triturates were concentrated to give an additional 55 grams for a total of 251 grams ( 58 % yield ) of benzoylacetonitrile , mp 86 °- 87 ° c . a mixture of 250 grams ( 1722 mmol , 1 eq ) of benzoylacetonitrile , 284 grams ( 270 ml , 4306 mmol , 2 . 5 eq ) of malononitrile and 138 grams ( 1784 mmol , 1 . 04 eq ) of ammonium acetate in 2500 ml of ethanol was heated to reflux for 1 . 5 hours and then cooled to room temperature . to this mixture was added 190 ml of 12m hydrochloric acid dropwise with cooling ( ice / water bath ). the mixture was placed in a separate flask and a solid formed and filled the flask . to this mixture was added 3300 ml of water with stirring . the solid was collected and washed with 2 liters of water and triturated with 1200 ml of ethanol to give 203 . 3 grams ( 61 % yield ) of pure 2 - phenyl - 1 , 1 , 3 - tricyanopropylene , mp 105 °- 107 ° c . a solution of 65 . 3 grams ( 338 mmol , 1 eq ) of 2 - phenyl - 1 , 1 , 3 - tricyanopropylene in 1100 ml of methanol was prepared with slight heating to approximately 25 ° c . to this solution was added a solution of 79 . 2 grams ( 338 mmol , 1 eq ) of n , n - dibutyl - 4 - nitrosoaniline in 260 ml of methanol . a solid precipitated after a few minutes . the reaction mixture was maintained at 26 ° c . with slight cooling throughout the addition which took 1 hour . the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 hour and then stirred at 7 ° c . for 2 hours . the solid was isolated by filtration , washed with 500 ml of methanol , and air dried to give 88 . 5 grams ( 64 % yield ) of 3 -[[ 4 -( dibutylamino ) phenyl ] imino ]- 2 - phenyl - 1 - propene - 1 , 1 , 3 - tricarbonitrile , mp 126 °- 128 ° c . dyes 5a and 5b were prepared as described for 5c except n , n - dimethyl - 4 - nitrosoaniline and n , n - diethyl - 4 - nitrosoaniline were used instead of n , n - dibutyl - 4 - nitrosoaniline . to 88 . 5 grams ( 1 . 02 moles , 4 . 45 eq ) of morpholine in a one liter flask was added slowly 300 ml of acetic acid . the reaction was exothermic and a solid formed which mostly dissolved once all the acetic acid was added . to this mixture was added 40 . 0 grams ( 228 . 3 mmol , 1 . 0 eq ) of 3 - amino - 1 - phenyl - 2 - pyrazolin - 5 - one followed by heating at reflux overnight . the mixture was cooled to room temperature , the acetic acid was removed in vacuo and the residue was extracted with ethyl acetate . the organic phase was washed 2 times with brine , dried over magnesium sulfate and the solvent was removed in vacuo to give a brown solid that was dried in vacuo . the product was recrystallized from ethyl acetate with a small amount of hexane to give 22 grams of the desired product . to a solution of 0 . 50 grams ( 2 . 81 mmol , 1 eq ) of n , n - diethylaminonitrosoaniline was dissolved in 10 ml etoh at room temperature was added 0 . 688 grams ( 2 . 81 mmol , 1 eq ) of 3 -( n - morpholino )- 1 - phenyl - 2 - pyrazolin - 5 - one followed by 1 . 12 g ( 2 . 81 mmol , 1 eq ) 10 % aqueous sodium hydroxide solution . an additional 0 . 44 g ( 1 . 79 mmol , 0 . 64 eq ) of 3 -( n - morpholino )- 1 - phenyl - 2 - pyrazolin - 5 - one was added and the mixture was stirred 10 min at 50 ° c . and then at reflux for one hour . the mixture was cooled to room temperature and added to 12 grams of ice and stirred for one hour until the ice melted . the gummy solid was collected and dissolved in etoac , extracted with brine , dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered and the solvent was removed in vacuo . a modification of the procedure from j . het . chem . 1987 , 24 , 149 ( methyl derivative ) was used . a solution of 20 grams ( 126 mmol , 20 ml ) of methyl 4 , 4 - dimethyl - 3 - oxopentanone and 13 . 7 grams ( 126 mmol , 12 ml ) of phenylhydrazine in 60 ml of acetic acid was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours and then quenched with 150 ml of water . a white - yellow solid precipitated and was collected to give 23 . 9 grams ( 87 % yield ) of the desired product . preparation of the following pyrazolinones was accomplished in a manner similar to that described for 3 - t - butyl - 1 - phenyl - 2 - pyrazolin - 5 - one : 1 , 3 - diphenyl - 2 - pyrazolin - 5 - one , 3 - t - butyl - 1 -( 2 , 4 , 6 - trichlorophenyl )- 2 - pyrazolin - 5 - one , 3 - phenyl - 1 -( 2 , 4 , 6 - trichlorophenyl )- 2 - pyrazolin - 5 - one . pyrazolinone dyes were prepared by either oxidative coupling between the pyrazolinone and the corresponding n , n - dialkyl p - phenylenediamine , or by the condensation of the pyrazolinone with the corresponding n , n - dialkyl - 4 - nitrosoaniline . to a solution of 3 . 0 grams ( 17 . 3 mmol , 1 eq ) of 3 - methyl - 1 - phenyl - 2 - pyrazolin - 5 - one in 80 ml of chloroform was added a solution of 2 . 4 grams ( 22 . 4 mmol , 1 . 3 eq ) of sodium carbonate in 50 ml of water . this mixture was added to a 1 l flask containing 5 . 12 grams ( 31 . 2 mmol , 1 . 8 eq ) of n , n - diethylphenylenediamine . this mixture was stirred vigorously while a solution of 25 . 5 grams ( 77 . 5 mmol , 4 . 5 eq ) of potassium ferricyanide and 9 . 35 grams ( 88 . 3 mmol , 5 . 12 eq ) of sodium carbonate in 250 ml of water was added dropwise . the addition took approximately 10 minutes without a noticeable temperature increase and then was allowed to stir at room temperature for 30 minutes . the mixture was extracted two times with water and separated . the organic layer was dried and concentrated in vacuo to give a magenta oil . this material was chromatographed on silica gel to give 1 . 2 grams 21 % yield of the desired dye . in a 3 l round bottom 3 - necked flask was placed 100 . 0 grams ( 574 . 0 mmol , 1 eq ) of 3 - methyl - 1 - phenyl - 2 - pyrazolin - 5 - one , 5 . 795 grams ( 51 . 66 mmol , 0 . 09 eq ) of dabco and 1350 ml of ethanol . the mixture was heated to reflux to dissolve the last traces of solid . to this mixture was added 102 . 3 grams ( 574 . 0 mmol , 1 eq ) of n , n - diethyl - 4 - nitrosoaniline . the mixture was heated to reflux for 30 minutes , cooled to room temperature and then stirred overnight . the product was collected by filtration and air dried to give 90 grams ( 47 % yield ) of the desired product . mp 122 °- 124 ° c . a mixture of 1 . 50 grams ( 6 . 93 mmol , 1 eq ) of 3 - t - butyl - 1 - phenyl - 2 - pyrazolin - 5 - one and 1 . 24 grams ( 6 . 93 mmol , 1 . 0 eq ) of n , n - diethyl - 4 - nitrosoaniline in 10 ml of ethanol was stirred at room temperature . the mixture was heated to reflux for 2 hours and cooled . a solid precipitated and was collected and washed with ethanol . this gave 1 . 67 grams ( 64 % yield ) of the desired product . mp 111 °- 113 ° c . this material was prepared by a modification of the procedure in synthetic communications , 1993 , 23 , 2251 . a mixture of 8 . 8 grams ( 126 mmol , 1 eq ) of hydroxylamine hydrochloride and 10 grams ( 126 mmol , 1 eq ) in 40 ml of ethanol was heated to reflux and 20 grams ( 126 mmol , 1 eq ) of methyl 4 , 4 - dimethyl - 3 - oxopentanoate was added . the reaction mixture was heated for 2 hours and then allowed to cool to room temperature overnight . the mixture formed a precipitate . to this mixture was added 50 ml of water with stirring and more precipitate formed . the solid was collected by filtration and dried . this gave 13 . 1 grams ( 48 % yield ) of the desired product . mp 110 °- 15 ° c . a mixture of 3 - t - butylisoxazol - 5 - one ( 705 mg , 0 . 005 mol ) and cinnamaldehyde ( 875 mg , 1 eq ) in 50 ml ethanol is refluxed briefly . on cooling to room temperature the product crystallizes out as prisms , is collected and air dried to afford the dye in 78 % yield . the following dyes were prepared by similar methods with the corresponding active methylene compounds and aldehydes : 4 , 6 , 7 , 9a - c , 14a , b , 15 , 18 , 19b - d , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 37 , 38 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 46 . to 15 . 0 grams ( 51 . 3 mmol , 1 eq ) of n , n - dicyclohexylbarbituric acid in 300 ml glacial acetic acid was added 8 . 20 grams ( 4 . 91 ml , 51 . 3 mmol , 1 eq ) of bromine . the mixture was stirred at room temperature for two days . the resulting white solid was collected by filtration , washed with petroleum ether and dried in vacuo to give the desired material . to 100 grams ( 2 . 69 mmol , 1 eq ) of 5 - bromo - n , n - dicyclohexylbarbituric acid and 0 . 545 grams ( 5 . 39 mmol , 2 eq ) of triethylamine in 30 ml thf was added 0 . 442 grams ( 2 . 69 mmol , 1 eq ) of n , n - diethylphenylenediamine and the mixture was stirred overnight at room temperature . the mixture was filtered to remove a white solid and the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo . the residue was diluted with ethyl acetate , extracted with water , washed with brine , dried over magnesium sulfate and the solvent was removed in vacuo to give 0 . 6 grams of the desired product . to a mixture of 100 . 0 g ( 561 . 3 mmol 1 eq ) of ninhydrin in 500 ml of chloroform was added 92 . 2 g ( 93 . 3 ml , 561 mmol ; 1 eq ) of n , n - diethylphenylene diamine in a dropwise fashion . the temperature was maintained below 25 ° c . the reaction mixture turned blue and was stirred at room temperature overnight . the reaction mixture was washed with water and concentrated to give crude yield of 170 . 7 grams . this material was recrystallized from approximately 1400 ml of ethanol with hot filtration to give 138 . 8 grams ( 78 % yield ) of the desired product , mp 138 °- 140 ° c . these compounds were all prepared by a method similar to that described above . these compounds were all prepared by a method similar to that described for 27a except that the acid salts of the corresponding phenylene diamines were used and an equivalent amount of sodium bicarbonate was added to the reaction mixtures for each equivalent of ammonium salt present . the reaction mixtures were washed with water and the organic phase concentrated in vacuo to give the desired products . a mixture of 1 . 7 grams ( 9 . 5 mmol ; 1 eq .) of ninhydrin and 2 . 0 grams ( 9 . 5 mmol ; 1 eq .) of n -( 4 - amino - 2 - chlorophenyl ) morpholine was added 17 ml of methylene chloride was heated to reflux with 1 . 5 ml of acetic acid and heated for 14 hours . the reaction mixture was cooled and filtered . the residue was washed with methylene chloride . the filtrate was washed with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate until the aqueous layer was basic . the organic layer was washed with water and concentrated in vacuo to give 2 . 3 grams of the desired product . this material was prepared by the procedure described in german pat , no . 2 , 845 , 863 . to a mixture of 1 . 0 grams ( 4 . 85 mmol ) of the pyridone and 6 . 6 grams ( 48 . 5 mmol , 10 eq ) of sodium acetate in 50 ml of ethanol was added 1 . 27 grams ( 4 . 85 mmol , 1 eq ) of 4 - diazo - n , n &# 39 ;- diethylaniline tetrafluoroborate . the reaction mixture turned blue immediately upon addition of the diazo compound . the mixture was stirred at room temperature for two hours and 50 ml of water was added . the blue solid was collected and washed with water and dried . this material was recrystallized from approximately 200 ml of ethanol to give 1 . 2 grams ( 65 % yield ) of the desired product . this material decomposes at 180 °- 185 ° c . with effervescence . to a mixture of 90 . 0 grams ( 436 mmol , 1 . 0 eq ) of 1 - butyl - 3 - cyano - 4 - methyl - 6 - hydroxy - 2 - pyridone in 1080 ml of acetic acid was added 87 . 1 grams ( 489 mmol 1 . 12 eq ) of n , n - diethyl - 4 - nitrosoaniline and the mixture was stirred and the reaction exothermed to 40 ° c . and cooling was applied . the mixture was stirred over night and the solid was collected by filtration , washed with approximately 200 ml of acetic acid and then twice with petroleum ether and air dried to give ( 120 . 8 grams , 76 % yield ) of the corresponding imino dye , mp 185 °- 186 ° c . ( dec ). to a mixture of 40 . 0 grams ( 149 mmol , 1 eq ) of 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- bis ( dimethylamino ) benzophenone in 100 ml of thf was added 138 ml of 1 . 4m methylmagnesium bromide . the mixture was cooled to keep the temperature below 20 ° c . during the addition . the mixture was warmed to room temperature and stirred overnight . the reaction mixture was cooled and quenched with approximately 50 ml of water and extracted with ethyl acetate . during this procedure , gel - like solids precipitated . these solids were filtered and washed with ethyl acetate . the organic layer was dried with magnesium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo to give 26 . 5 grams of crude product ( approximately 63 % yield ). the crude product ( 26 . 5 grams , 93 . 2 mmol ) was stirred with 265 ml of toluene and 132 ml of acetic acid . the mixture turned dark blue upon addition of the acetic acid . the mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight , then washed with water , saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate , and water . the organic layer was concentrated in vacuo to give 20 . 2 grams ( 81 % yield ) of the desired product , mp 126 °- 127 ° c . ( lit . 126 ° c .). compound 45 was prepared in a manner similar to that described for example 13 in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 360 , 582 . a mixture of 6 . 16 grams ( 37 . 5 mmol , 1 eq ) of malonaldehyde tetramethylacetal ( mta ) and 10 . 5 grams ( 37 . 5 mmol , 1 eq ) of methylene bis ( trifluoromethylsulfone ) was stirred with 15 . 3 grams ( 150 mmol , 4 eq ) of acetic anhydride at 70 ° c . for 2 hours . the mixture turned deep red . the mixture was cooled and 10 . 0 grams ( 37 . 5 mmol , 1 eq ) of 1 , 1 - bis ( 4 - dimethylaminophenyl ) ethylene was added . the mixture was stirred overnight at room temperature and approximately 28 ml of methanol was added . the blue solid was collected and an additional 14 ml of methanol was used to collect the solid and wash the product . the solid was air dried to give 17 . 2 grams ( 79 % yield ) of the desired product . dyes were evaluated for utility in providing a visible image in positive - acting printing plate applications in the following manner . a solution was prepared with each dye of the general formulation : ______________________________________tetrahydropyran ester of poly ( methyl methacrylate ) 0 . 355 gditolyliodonium hexafluorophosphate 0 . 09 g2 - ethyl - 9 , 10 - dimethoxyanthracene 0 . 045 g1 - methoxy - 2 - propanol 4 . 50 gdye 0 . 01 g______________________________________ the solutions were coated on an electrochemically grained and anodized aluminum substrate using a # 5 wire wrapped rod ( r & amp ; d specialties , webster , n . y .). after coating , the samples were dried in an oven at a temperature between 65 ° and 107 ° c . in some instances a top coat layer was applied on top of the first layer . the formulation of the top coat solution used was the following : ______________________________________rohm & amp ; haas acusol ™ 445 ( purchased as 48 % solids ) 340 ggum arabic 85 . 0 gunion carbide triton ™ x - 100 4 . 4 gkathon cg / icp 3 . 4 g25 % sodium hydroxide 160 gde - ionized water 2 , 968 g______________________________________ the top coat solution was applied using a # 5 wire wrapped rod ( r & amp ; d specialties , webster , n . y .). after coating the samples were dried in an oven at a temperature between 65 ° and 107 ° c . constructions were evaluated by exposure to actinic radiation in a vacuum frame . after exposure , the susceptibility of the bleached dye to revert to its colored form was determined by at least one of the following test methods a - c : a ) storage for 3 days at ambient and 60 ° c . conditions , b ) contact with fingers and expelled breath , and c ) contact with a ph 7 . 5 solution . the results of the above tests for utility are listed in tables 1 - 6 . test method d involves dissolving a sample of the dye in methanol , ethanol or 1 - methoxy - 2 - propanol and observing the color of the solution . a drop of 12m hydrochloric acid was added and the behavior of the dye was observed . in some cases , sufficient aqueous sodium hydroxide was added to neutralize the acid and the ability of the dye to recolor was observed . table 1______________________________________structure i exposed testexample coated color color top coat method recolor______________________________________5a blue colorless no a no5b blue colorless yes a , b , c no5c blue colorless yes a , b , c no______________________________________ table 2______________________________________structure ii top testexample coated color exposed color coat method recolor______________________________________10 magenta largely colorless -- d no11 magenta colorless no a , b slight12 magenta colorless no a no13a orange colorless -- d no13b magenta colorless yes a , b , c very slight14a magenta colorless yes a , b , c very slight14b magenta colorless yes a , b , c very slight______________________________________ table 3______________________________________structures iiiex - testample coated color exposed color top coat method recolor______________________________________20 very lt . purple colorless no b , c no21 very lt . purple colorless no b , c no23 red colorless no a , b slight______________________________________ table 4______________________________________structure iv topexample coated color exposed color coat test method recolor______________________________________27a purple colorless no a , b , c no27b blue colorless no a , b , c no27c purple colorless no a , b , c no27f light purple colorless a no28 light purple colorless no a , b , c no29 purple colorless no a , b no30 cyan colorless no a , b no______________________________________ table 5______________________________________structure v and vi topexample coated color exposed color coat test method recolor______________________________________41 blue colorless no c slight45 blue green colorless no a , b slight______________________________________ table 6______________________________________comparative examples top testexample coated color exposed color coat method recolor______________________________________1a light red colorless no a yes1b magenta colorless no b , c yes1c orange colorless no b , c yes2 red colorless no b , c yes6 blue yellow no a , b yes13c magenta colorless yes a yes13d magenta colorless yes a yes13e magenta colorless yes a yes13f magenta colorless yes a yes13g magenta colorless yes a yes16a magenta colorless yes a , b yes16b magenta colorless yes a , b yes19a magenta colorless yes a , b yes19b magenta colorless yes a yes19d magenta colorless yes a yes19e magenta colorless yes a yes22 purple yellow no a , b yes24 magenta colorless -- d yes25 magenta largely colorless -- d yes26 purple largely colorless -- d yes31 red colorless -- d32 red - orange colorless -- d33 red colorless -- d yes34 blue colorless -- d35 blue partial decolor -- d36 orange largely colorless -- d37 yellow partial decolor -- d38 orange light yellow -- d39 purple yellow no a , yes40 purple yellow no a , yes42b magenta colorless -- d42c magenta colorless -- d42d purple - blue light yellow -- d43a blue partial decolor -- d yes43b blue yellow no a , b yes44 blue light yellow -- d46a magenta lt . pink no a , b yes46b magenta lt . pink no a , b yes46c magenta magenta no -- -- ______________________________________ reasonable variations and modifications are possible from the foregoing disclosure without departing from either the spirit or scope of the present invention . | 6 |
certain embodiments of the invention provide a method and system for communicating information via a plurality of different networks . the method may comprise receiving broadcast information via a vhf / uhf broadcast communication path at a mobile terminal . cellular information comprising voice and data may be simultaneously received via the mobile terminal from a cellular communication path . the method may comprise switching between processing of the broadcast information via the vhf / uhf broadcast communication path and the cellular information via the cellular communication path based on a measured broadcast signal statistic associated with a signal bearing the broadcast information and a measured cellular signal statistic associated with a signal bearing the cellular information . fig1 a is a block diagram of an exemplary system for providing integrated services between a cellular network and a digital video broadcast network , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . referring to fig1 a , there is shown terrestrial broadcaster network 102 , wireless service provider network 104 , service provider 106 , portal 108 , public switched telephone network 110 , and mobile terminals ( mts ) 116 a and 116 b . the terrestrial broadcaster network 102 may comprise transmitter ( tx ) 102 a , multiplexer ( mux ) 102 b , and information content source 114 . the content source 114 may also be referred to as a data carousel , which may comprise audio , data and video content . the terrestrial broadcaster network 102 may also comprise vhf / uhf broadcast antennas 112 a and 112 b . the wireless service provider network 104 may comprise mobile switching center ( msc ) 118 a , and a plurality of cellular base stations 104 a , 104 b , 104 c , and 104 d . the terrestrial broadcaster network 102 may comprise suitable equipment that may be adapted to encode and / or encrypt data for transmission via the transmitter 102 a . the transmitter 102 a in the terrestrial broadcast network 102 may be adapted to utilize vhf / uhf broadcast channels to communicate information to the mobile terminals 116 a , 116 b . the multiplexer 102 b associated with the terrestrial broadcaster network 102 may be utilized to multiplex data from a plurality of sources . for example , the multiplexer 102 b may be adapted to multiplex various types of information such as audio , video and / or data into a single pipe for transmission by the transmitter 102 a . content media from the portal 108 , which may be handled by the service provider 106 may also be multiplexed by the multiplexer 102 b . the portal 108 may be an isp service provider . in one aspect of the invention , the terrestrial broadcaster network 102 may be adapted to provide one or more digital television ( dtv ) channels to the service provider 106 . in this regard , the terrestrial broadcaster network 102 may comprise suitable high - speed or broadband interfaces that may be utilized to facilitate transfer of the dtv channels from the terrestrial broadcast network 102 to the service provider . the service provider 106 may then utilize at least a portion of the dtv channels to provide television ( tv ) on demand service , or other similar types of services to the wireless service provider network 104 . accordingly , the service provider 106 may further comprise suitable high - speed or broadband interfaces that may be utilized to facilitate the transfer of related tv on demand information to the msc 118 a . although communication links between the terrestrial broadcast network 102 and the service provider 106 , and also the communication links between the service provider 106 and the wireless service provider 104 may be wired communication links , the invention may be not so limited . accordingly , at least one of these communication links may be wireless communication links . in an exemplary embodiment of the invention , at least one of these communication links may be an 802 . x based communication link such an 802 . 16 or wimax broadband access communication link . in another exemplary embodiment of the invention , at least one of these connections may be a broadband line of sight ( los ) connection . the wireless service provider network 104 may be a cellular or personal communication service ( pcs ) provider that may be adapted to handle broadcast umts ( b - umts ). the term cellular as utilized herein refers to both cellular and pcs frequencies bands . hence , usage of the term cellular may comprise any band of frequencies that may be utilized for cellular communication and / or any band of frequencies that may be utilized for pcs communication . notwithstanding , broadcast umts ( b - umts ) may also be referred to as mbms . mbms is a high - speed data service that is overlaid on wcdma to provide much higher data rates than may be provided by core wcdma . in this regard , the b - umts services may be superimposed on the cellular or pcs network . the wireless service provider network 104 may utilize cellular or pcs access technologies such as gsm , cdma , cdma2000 , wcdma , amps , n - amps , and / or tdma . the cellular network may be utilized to offer bidirectional services via uplink and downlink communication channels , while the b - umts or mbms network may be utilized to provide a unidirectional broadband services via a downlink channel . the b - umts or mbms unidirectional downlink channel may be utilized to broadcast content media and / or multimedia type information to the mobile terminals 116 a and 116 b . although mbms provides only unidirectional downlink communication , the invention may be not so limited . in this regard , other bidirectional communication methodologies comprising uplink and downlink capabilities , whether symmetric or asymmetric , may be utilized . although the wireless service provider network 104 is illustrated as a gsm , cdma , wcdma based network and / or variants thereof , the invention is not limited in this regard . accordingly , the wireless service provider network 104 may be an 802 . 11 based wireless network or wireless local area network ( wlan ). the wireless service provider network 104 may also be adapted to provide 802 . 11 based wireless communication in addition to gsm , cdma , wcdma , cdma2000 based network and / or variants thereof . in this case , the mobile terminals 116 a , 116 b may also be compliant with the 802 . 11 based wireless network . in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention , if the mobile terminal ( mt ) 116 a is within an operating range of the vhf / uhf broadcasting antenna 112 a and moves out of the latter &# 39 ; s operating range and into an operating range of the vhf / uhf broadcasting antenna 112 b , then vhf / uhf broadcasting antenna 112 b may be adapted to provide vhf / uhf broadcast services to the mobile terminal 116 a . if the mobile terminal 116 a subsequently moves back into the operating range of the vhf / uhf broadcasting antenna 112 a , then the broadcasting antenna 112 a may be adapted to provide vhf / uhf broadcasting service to the mobile terminal 116 a . in a somewhat similar manner , if the mobile terminal ( mt ) 116 b is within an operating range of the vhf / uhf broadcasting antenna 112 b and moves out of the latter &# 39 ; s operating range and into an operating range of the broadcasting antenna 112 a , then the vhf / uhf broadcasting antenna 112 a may be adapted to provide vhf / uhf broadcasting service to the mobile terminal 116 b . if the mobile terminal 116 b subsequently moves back into the operating range of broadcasting antenna 112 b , then the vhf / uhf broadcasting antenna 112 b may be adapted to provide vhf / uhf broadcast services to the mobile terminal 116 b . the service provider 106 may comprise suitable interfaces , circuitry , logic and / or code that may be adapted to facilitate communication between the terrestrial broadcasting network 102 and the wireless communication network 104 . in an illustrative embodiment of the invention the service provider 106 may be adapted to utilize its interfaces to facilitate exchange control information with the terrestrial broadcast network 102 and to exchange control information with the wireless service provider 104 . the control information exchanged by the service provider 106 with the terrestrial broadcasting network 102 and the wireless communication network 104 may be utilized to control certain operations of the mobile terminals , the terrestrial broadcast network 102 and the wireless communication network 104 . in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , the service provider 106 may also comprise suitable interfaces , circuitry , logic and / or code that may be adapted to handle network policy decisions . for example , the service provider 106 may be adapted to manage a load on the terrestrial broadcast network 104 and / or a load on the wireless service provider network 104 . load management may be utilized to distribute the flow of information throughout the terrestrial broadcast network 104 and / or a load on the wireless service provider network 104 . for example , if information is to be broadcasted via the wireless service provider network 104 to a plurality of mobile terminals within a particular cell handled by the base station 104 a and it is determined that this may overload the wireless service provider network 104 , then the terrestrial broadcast network 102 may be configured to broadcast the information to the mobile terminals . the service provider 106 may also be adapted to handle certain types of service requests , which may have originated from a mobile terminal . for example , the mobile terminal 116 a may request that information be delivered to it via a downlink vhf / uhf broadcast channel . however , a downlink vhf / uhf broadcast channel may be unavailable for the delivery of the requested information . as a result , the service provider 106 may route the requested information through an mbms channel via the base station 104 c to the mobile terminal 116 a . the requested information may be acquired from the content source 114 and / or the portal 108 . in another example , the mobile terminal 116 b may request that information be delivered to it via a downlink cellular channel . however , the service provider 106 may determine that delivery of the information is not critical and / or the cheapest way to deliver to the mobile terminal 116 b is via a downlink vhf / uhf broadcast channel . as a result , the service provider 106 may route the requested information from the portal 108 or content service 114 to the mobile terminal 116 b . the service provider 106 may also have the capability to send at least a portion of information to be delivered to , for example , mobile terminal 116 a via the vhf / uhf broadcast channel and a remaining portion of the information to be delivered via the cellular broadcast channel . the portal 108 may comprise suitable logic , circuitry and / or code that may be adapted to provide content media to the service provider 106 via one or more communication links . these communication links , although not shown , may comprise wired and / or wireless communication links . the content media that may be provided by the portal 108 may comprise audio , data , video or any combination thereof . in this regard , the portal 108 may be adapted to provide one or more specialized information services to the service provider 106 . the public switched telephone network ( pstn ) 110 may be coupled to the msc 118 a . accordingly , the msc 118 a may be adapted to switch calls originating from within the pstn 110 to one or more mobile terminals serviced by the wireless service provider 104 . similarly , the msc 118 a may be adapted to switch calls originating from mobile terminals serviced by the wireless service provider 104 to one or more telephones serviced by the pstn 110 . the information content source 114 may comprise a data carousel . in this regard , the information content source 114 may be adapted to provide various information services , which may comprise online data including audio , video and data content . the information content source 114 may also comprise file download , and software download capabilities . in instances where a mobile terminal fails to acquire requested information from the information content source 114 or the requested information is unavailable , then the mobile terminal may acquire the requested information via , for example , a b - umts from the portal 108 . the request may be initiated through an uplink cellular communication path . the mobile terminals ( mts ) 116 a and 116 b may comprise suitable logic , circuitry and / or code that may be adapted to handle the processing of uplink and downlink cellular channels for various access technologies and broadcast vhf / uhf technologies . in an exemplary embodiment of the invention , the mobile terminals 116 a , 116 b may be adapted to utilize one or more cellular access technologies such as gsm , gprs , edge , cdma , wcdma , cdma2000 , hsdpa and mbms ( b - umts ). the mobile terminal may also be adapted to receive and process vhf / uhf broadcast signals in the vhf / uhf bands . for example , a mobile terminal may be adapted to receive and process dvb - h signals . a mobile terminal may be adapted to request information via a first cellular service and in response , receive corresponding information via a vhf / uhf broadcast service . a mobile terminal may also be adapted to request information from a service provider via a cellular service and in response , receive corresponding information via a data service , which is provided via the cellular service . the mobile terminals may also be adapted to receive vhf / uhf broadcast information from either the base stations 104 a , 104 b , 104 c , 104 d or the vhf / uhf broadcast antennas 112 a and 112 b . in instances where a mobile terminal receives broadcast information from any of the base stations 104 a , 104 b , 104 c , or 104 d via a downlink mbms communication channel , then the mobile terminal may communicate corresponding uplink information via an uplink cellular communication channel . in one embodiment of the invention , a mobile terminal may be adapted to utilize a plurality of broadcast integrated circuits for receiving and processing vhf / uhf channels , and a plurality of cellular integrated circuits for receiving and processing cellular or pcs channels . in this regard , the plurality of cellular integrated circuits may be adapted to handle different cellular access technologies . for example , at least one of the cellular integrated circuits may be adapted to handle gsm , and at least one of the cellular integrated circuits may be adapted to handle wcdma . for broadcast channels , each of the plurality of broadcast integrated circuits may be adapted to handle at least one vhf / uhf channel . in another embodiment of the invention , a mobile terminal may be adapted to utilize a single broadcast integrated circuit for receiving and processing vhf / uhf channels , and a single cellular integrated circuit for receiving and processing cellular or pcs channels . in this regard , the single cellular integrated circuit may be adapted to handle different cellular access technologies . for example , at least one of the cellular integrated circuit may be adapted to handle gsm , and at least one of the cellular integrated circuits may be adapted to handle wcdma . for broadcast channels , the single broadcast integrated circuit may be adapted to handle at least one vhf / uhf channel . each of the mobile terminals may comprise a single memory interface that may be adapted to handle processing of the broadcast communication information and processing of cellular communication information . in this regard , an uplink cellular communication path may be utilized to facilitate receiving of broadcast information via a broadcast communication path . in another embodiment of the invention , a mobile terminal may be adapted to utilize a single integrated circuit for receiving and processing broadcast vhf / uhf channels , and for receiving and processing cellular or pcs channels . in this regard , the single broadcast and cellular integrated circuit may be adapted to handle different cellular access technologies . for example , the single integrated circuit may comprise a plurality of modules each of which may be adapted to receive and process a particular cellular access technology or a vhf / uhf broadcast channel . accordingly , a first module may be adapted to handle gsm , a second module may be adapted to handle wcdma , and a third module may be adapted to handle at least one vhf / uhf channel . fig1 b is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of the exemplary system of fig1 a for providing integrated services between a cellular network and a digital video broadcast network , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . referring to fig1 b , there is shown terrestrial broadcaster network 102 , wireless service provider network 104 , service provider 106 , portal 108 , public switched telephone network 110 , and mobile terminals ( mts ) 116 a and 116 b . the terrestrial broadcaster network 102 may comprise transmitter ( tx ) 102 a , multiplexer ( mux ) 102 b , and vhf / uhf broadcast antennas 112 a and 112 b . although vhf / uhf broadcast antenna 112 b is illustrated separately from the terrestrial broadcast network 102 , it may still be part of the terrestrial broadcast network 102 . the wireless service provider network 104 may comprise mobile switching center ( msc ) 118 a , and a plurality of cellular base stations 104 a , 104 b , 104 c , and 104 d . the system of fig1 b is somewhat similar to the fig1 a with the exception that fig1 b has the content source 114 located external to the terrestrial broadcast network 102 . the content source 114 , which may also be referred to as a data carousel , may comprise audio , data and video content . at least a portion of the audio , data and / or video content stored in the content source 114 may be linked so that if information cannot be retrieved from the content source 114 , then it may be received from the portal 108 . in the system of fig1 b , a provider other than the terrestrial broadcaster 102 may manage the content source 114 . notwithstanding , the audio , video and / or data from the content source 114 may still be multiplexed by the multiplexer 102 b in the terrestrial broadcast network 114 . fig1 c is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of the exemplary system of fig1 a for providing integrated services between a cellular network and a digital video broadcast network , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . referring to fig1 c , there is shown terrestrial broadcaster network 102 , wireless service provider network 104 , portal 108 , public switched telephone network 110 , and mobile terminals ( mts ) 116 a and 116 b . the terrestrial broadcaster network 102 may comprise transmitter ( tx ) 102 a , multiplexer ( mux ) 102 b , service provider 106 , and vhf / uhf broadcast antennas 112 a and 112 b . the wireless service provider network 104 may comprise mobile switching center ( msc ) 118 a , and a plurality of cellular base stations 104 a , 104 b , 104 c , and 104 d . the system of fig1 c is somewhat similar to the fig1 a with the exception that fig1 b has the service provider 106 co - located with the terrestrial broadcast network 102 . in this regard , the terrestrial broadcast network 102 may control the functions of the service provider 106 . since the terrestrial broadcast network 102 controls the functions of the service provider , the broadcast services may be more efficiently provided to the mobile terminals via the mbms path provided by the wireless service provider 104 and / or the vhf / uhf broadcast downlink path provided by the terrestrial broadcaster network 102 . hence , instead of having to send information to an externally located service provider , the integrated control and logic services provided the terrestrial broadcaster network 102 and service provider 106 may instantly make decisions of how best to handle information for a mobile terminal . fig1 d is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of the exemplary system of fig1 a for providing integrated services between a cellular network and a digital video broadcast network , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . referring to fig1 d , there is shown terrestrial broadcaster network 102 , wireless service provider network 104 , portal 108 , public switched telephone network 110 , and mobile terminals ( mts ) 116 a and 116 b . the terrestrial broadcaster network 102 may comprise transmitter ( tx ) 102 a , multiplexer ( mux ) 102 b , and vhf / uhf broadcast antennas 112 a and 112 b . the wireless service provider network 104 may comprise service provider 106 , mobile switching center ( msc ) 118 a , and a plurality of cellular base stations 104 a , 104 b , 104 c , and 104 d . the system of fig1 d is somewhat similar to the fig1 a with the exception that fig1 b has the service provider 106 co - located with the wireless service provider network 104 . in this regard , the wireless service provider network 104 may control the functions of the service provider 106 . since the wireless service provider network 104 controls the functions of the service provider 106 , the broadcast services may be more efficiently provided to the mobile terminals via the mbms path provided by the wireless service provider 104 and / or the vhf / uhf broadcast downlink path provided by the terrestrial broadcaster network 102 . hence , instead of having to send information to an externally located service provider 106 as illustrated in fig1 a , the integrated control and logic services provided the service provider 106 may instantly make decisions of how best to handle communication of information for a mobile terminal . in another embodiment of the invention , since many of the services provided by the service provider 106 may already be integrated into the wireless service provider &# 39 ; s 104 infrastructure , then the complexity of the service provider functions may be significantly reduced . for example , the wireless service provider 104 , the latter of which already has the pertinent infrastructure in place , may now handle operation administration maintenance and provisioning ( oam & amp ; p ) functions , which may be required by the service provider 106 . since the uplink capabilities are inherent in only the wireless service provider network 104 , and the service provider function are also located within the service provider network 106 , the uplink capabilities for the mobile stations 116 a , 116 b may be more efficiently managed from within the wireless service provider network 104 . fig1 e is a high - level block diagram of exemplary dvb - h receiver circuitry in a mobile terminal , which may be utilized in connection with an embodiment of the invention . referring to fig1 e , there is shown a mobile terminal 130 . the mobile terminal 130 may comprise a dvb - h demodulator 132 and processing circuitry block 142 . the dvb - h demodulator block 132 may comprise a dvb - t demodulator 134 , time slicing block 138 , and mpe - fec block 140 . the dvb - t demodulator 134 may comprise suitable circuitry , logic and / or code that may be adapted to demodulate a terrestrial dvb signal . in this regard , the dvb - t demodulator 134 may be adapted to downconvert a received dvb - t signal to a suitable bit rate that may be handled by the mobile terminal 130 . the dvb - t demodulator may be adapted to handle 2k , 4k and / or 8k modes . the time slicing block 138 may comprise suitable circuitry , logic and / or code that may be adapted to minimize power consumption in the mobile terminal 130 , particularly in the dvb - t demodulator 134 . in general , time slicing reduces average power consumption in the mobile terminal by sending data in bursts via much higher instantaneous bit rates . in order to inform the dvb - t demodulator 134 when a next burst is going to be sent , a delta indicating the start of the next burst is transmitted within a current burst . during transmission , no data for an elementary stream ( es ) is transmitted so as to allow other elementary streams to optimally share the bandwidth . since the dvb - t demodulator 134 knows when the next burst will be received , the dvb - t demodulator 134 may enter a power saving mode between bursts in order to consume less power . reference 144 indicates a control mechanism that handles the dvb - t demodulator 134 power via the time slicing block 138 . the dvb - t demodulator 134 may also be adapted to utilize time slicing to monitor different transport streams from different channels . for example , the dvb - t demodulator 134 may utilize time slicing to monitor neighboring channels between bursts to optimize handover . the mpe - fec block 140 may comprise suitable circuitry , logic and / or code that may be adapted to provide error correction during decoding . on the encoding side , mpe - fec encoding provides improved carrier to noise ratio ( c / n ), improved doppler performance , and improved tolerance to interference resulting from impulse noise . during decoding , the mpe - fec block 140 may be adapted to determine parity information from previously mpe - fec encoded datagrams . as a result , during decoding , the mpe - fec block 140 may generate datagrams that are error - free even in instances when received channel conditions are poor . the processing circuitry block 142 may comprise suitable processor , circuitry , logic and / or code that may be adapted to process ip datagrams generated from an output of the mpe - fec block 140 . the processing circuitry block 142 may also be adapted to process transport stream packets from the dvb - t demodulator 134 . in operation , the dvb - t demodulator 134 may be adapted to receive an input dvb - t rf signal , demodulate the received input dvb - t rf signal so as to generate data at a much lower bit rate . in this regard , the dvb - t demodulator 134 recovers mpeg - 2 transport stream ( ts ) packets from the input dvb - t rf signal . the mpe - fec block 140 may then correct any error that may be located in the data and the resulting ip datagrams may be sent to the processing circuitry block 142 for processing . transport stream packets from the dvb - t demodulator 134 may also be communicated to the processing circuitry block 142 for processing . fig1 f is a block diagram illustrating the sharing of a multiplexer ( mux ) by a plurality of mpeg2 services , which may be utilized in connection with an embodiment of the invention . referring to fig1 f , there is shown a transmitter block 150 , a receiver block 151 and a channel 164 . the transmitter block 150 may comprise a dvb - h encapsulator block 156 , a multiplexer 158 , and a dvb - t modulator 162 . also shown associated with the transmitter block 150 is a plurality of service data collectively referenced as 160 . the receiver block 151 may comprise a dvb - h demodulator block 166 and a dvb - h decapsulation block 168 . the dvb - h encapsulator block 156 may comprise mpe block 156 a , mpe - fec block 156 b and time slicing block 156 c . the multiplexer 156 may comprise suitable logic circuitry and / or code that may be adapted to handle multiplexing of ip encapsulated dvb - h data and service data . the plurality of service data collectively referenced as 160 may comprise mpeg - 2 formatted data , which may comprise for example , audio , video and / or data . the dvb - t modulator 162 may comprise suitable logic circuitry and / or code that may be adapted to generate an output rf signal from the transmitter block 150 . the dvb - h demodulator block 166 associated with the receiver block 151 is similar to the dvb - h demodulator block 132 of fig1 e . the dvb - h decapsulation block 168 may comprise mpe block 168 a , mpe - fec block 168 b and time slicing block 168 c . the dvb - h decapsulation block 168 may comprise suitable logic , circuitry and / or code that may be adapted decapsulate the ip data that was encapsulated and multiplexed by the transmitter block 150 . the output of the dvb - h demodulator 166 is the transport stream packets , which comprised the multiplexed output generated by the multiplexer 158 . fig2 a is a block diagram of a mobile terminal that is adapted to receive vhf / uhf broadcasts and cellular communications , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . referring to fig2 a , there is shown mobile terminal ( mt ) or handset 202 . the mobile terminal 202 may comprise multiplexer ( mux ) 204 and processing circuitry 206 . the multiplexer 204 may comprise suitable logic circuitry and / or code that may be adapted to multiplex incoming signals , which may comprise vhf / uhf broadcast channel and at least one cellular channel . the cellular channel may be within the range of both cellular and pcs frequency bands . the processing circuitry 206 may comprise , for example , an rf integrated circuit ( rfic ) or rf front end ( rffe ). in this regard , the processing circuitry 206 may comprise at least one receiver front end ( rfe ) circuit . a first of these circuits may be adapted to handle processing of the vhf / uhf broadcast channel and a second of these circuits may be adapted to handle a cellular channel . in an embodiment of the invention , a single rfic may comprise a plurality of rfe processing circuits , each of which may be adapted to process a particular cellular channel . accordingly , a single rfic comprising a plurality of cellular rfe processing circuits may be adapted to handle a plurality of cellular channels . in one embodiment of the invention , a plurality of vhf / uhf rfe processing circuits may be integrated in a single rfic . in this regard , a mobile terminal may be adapted to simultaneously handle a plurality of different vhf / uhf channels . for example , a mobile terminal may be adapted to simultaneously receive a first vhf / uhf channel bearing video and a second vhf / uhf channel bearing audio . fig2 b is a block diagram illustrating receive processing circuit of an rf integrated circuit ( rfic ), in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . referring to fig2 b , there is shown antenna 211 , receiver front end ( rfe ) circuit 210 , and baseband processing block 224 . the receiver front end ( rfe ) circuit 210 may comprise a low noise amplifier ( lna ) 212 , a mixer 214 , an oscillator 216 , a low noise amplifier or amplifier or amplifier 218 , a low pass filter 220 and an analog - to - digital converter ( a / d ) 222 . the antenna 211 may be adapted to receive at least one of a plurality of signals . for example , the antenna 211 may be adapted to receive a plurality of signals in the gsm band , a plurality of signals in the wcdma and / or a plurality of signals in the vhf / uhf band . u . s . application ser . no . ______ ( attorney docket no . 16343us01 ), u . s . application ser . no . ______ ( attorney docket no . 16344us01 ), u . s . application ser . no . ______ ( attorney docket no . 16345us01 ), all of which are filed on even date herewith and disclose various antenna configurations that may be utilized for a plurality of operating frequency bands . the receiver front end ( rfe ) circuit 210 may comprise suitable circuitry , logic and / or code that may be adapted to convert a received rf signal down to baseband . an input of the low noise amplifier 212 may be coupled to the antenna 211 so that it may receive rf signals from the antenna 211 . the low noise amplifier 212 may comprise suitable logic , circuitry , and / or code that may be adapted to receive an input rf signal from the antenna 211 and amplify the received rf signal in such a manner that an output signal generated by the low noise amplifier 212 has a very little additional noise . the mixer 214 in the rfe circuit 210 may comprise suitable circuitry and / or logic that may be adapted to mix an output of the low noise amplifier 212 with an oscillator signal generated by the oscillator 216 . the oscillator 216 may comprise suitable circuitry and / or logic that may be adapted to provide a oscillating signal that may be adapted to mix the output signal generated from the output of the low noise amplifier 212 down to a baseband . the low noise amplifier ( lna ) or amplifier 218 may comprise suitable circuitry and / or logic that may be adapted to low noise amplify and output signal generated by the mixer 214 . an output of the low noise amplifier or amplifier 218 may be communicated to the low pass filter 220 . the low pass filter 220 may comprise suitable logic , circuitry and / or code that may be adapted to low pass filter the output signal generated from the output of the low noise amplifier 220 . the low pass filter block 220 retains a desired signal and filters out unwanted signal components such as higher signal components comprising noise . an output of the low pass filter 220 may be communicated to the analog - digital - converter for processing . the analog - to - digital converter ( a / d ) 222 may comprise suitable logic , circuitry and / or code that may be adapted to convert the analog signal generated from the output of the low pass filter 220 to a digital signal . the analog - to - digital converter 222 may generate a sampled digital representation of the low pass filtered signal that may be communicated to the baseband - processing block 224 for processing . the baseband processing block 224 may comprise suitable logic , circuitry and / or code that may be adapted to process digital baseband signals received form an output of the a / d 222 . although the a / d 222 is illustrated as part of the rfe circuit 210 , the invention may not be so limited . accordingly , the a / d 222 may be integrated as part of the baseband processing block 224 . in operation , the rfe circuit 210 is adapted to receive rf signals via antenna 211 and convert the received rf signals to a sampled digital representation , which may be communicated to the baseband processing block 224 for processing . fig2 c is a high - level block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration for a rfic and a base band processing circuit , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . referring to fig2 c , there is shown rfic 230 and baseband circuitry 232 . the rfic 230 comprises a plurality of rf processing circuits 230 a , 230 b , 230 c and 230 n . the rf processing circuits 230 a , 230 b , 230 c and 230 n may be integrated in a single integrated circuit ( ic ) or chip . the baseband processing circuitry 232 comprises a plurality of baseband processing circuits 232 a , 232 b , 232 c and 232 n . the baseband processing circuits 232 a , 232 b , 232 c and 232 n may be integrated into a single integrated circuit ( ic ) or chip . in operation , each of the rf processing circuits in the rfic 230 may be adapted to process a single channel . for example , each of the rf processing circuits 230 a , 230 b and 230 c may be adapted to process separate cellular channel , namely , channel 1 , channel 2 and channel ( n − 1 ), respectively . the rf processing circuit 230 n many be adapted to process a vhf / uhf broadcast channel n . each of the baseband processing circuits in the baseband processing circuitry 230 may be adapted to process a single channel . for example , each of the baseband processing circuits 232 a , 232 b and 232 c may be adapted to process separate cellular channels , namely , channel 1 , channel 2 and channel ( n − 1 ), respectively . the rf processing circuit 232 n may be adapted to process a vhf / uhf broadcast channel n . use of a single rfic and a single baseband processing integrated circuit saves on the size of the processing circuitry , which may significantly reduce cost . fig2 d is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps that may be utilized in connection with an embodiment of the invention . referring to fig2 d , in step 262 , the a mobile terminal may request cellular information via a cellular communication path . in step 264 , the request for information may be processed . in step 266 , in response to the request , it may be determined whether to deliver information via a cellular broadcast path or a vhf / uhf broadcast path . in step 268 , based on the determination in step 266 , the requested information may be delivered to the mobile terminal via the cellular broadcast path . in step 270 , based on the determination in step 266 , the requested information may be delivered to the mobile terminal via the vhf / uhf broadcast path . fig2 e is a diagram of an exemplary mobile terminal that may be utilized for communicating information via a plurality of different networks , accordance with an embodiment of the invention . referring to fig2 e , there is shown a mobile terminal 270 comprising processing circuitry 272 . the processing circuitry 272 may comprise statistic measurement circuitry 274 . in operation , the mobile terminal 270 may be adapted to receive cellular information via a cellular information path and vhf / uhf broadcast information via a vhf / uhf broadcast information path . the mobile terminal 270 may switch between processing the broadcast information received information received via the vhf / uhf broadcast communication path and the cellular information received via the cellular communication path . the switching may be based on a measured broadcast signal statistic associated with a signal bearing the broadcast information and a measured cellular signal statistic associated with a signal bearing the cellular information . the measured broadcast signal statistic and / or the measured cellular signal statistic may comprise exemplary information such as received signal strength indication ( rssi ), snr , signal quality or other channel related information . the quality of service will be enhanced by measuring snr and rssi to determine if the mbms channel or the dvb channel are the best to broadcast data over . also , another measure that may be used is determining the system capacity of the cellular network and the dvb network to determine the best broadcasting network . accordingly , the present invention may be realized in hardware , software , or a combination of hardware and software . the present invention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least one computer system , or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems . any kind of computer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited . a typical combination of hardware and software may be a general - purpose computer system with a computer program that , when being loaded and executed , controls the computer system such that it carries out the methods described herein . the present invention may also be embedded in a computer program product , which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein , and which when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods . computer program in the present context means any expression , in any language , code or notation , of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following : a ) conversion to another language , code or notation ; b ) reproduction in a different material form . while the present invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the present invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope . therefore , it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed , but that the present invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
reference is first made to fig1 , which is a block diagram of a system 10 for creating a terminal application for use in a target apparatus . in this embodiment , the target apparatus 12 is an automated teller machine ( atm ) and the terminal application is an atm application . in fig1 , three different atms 12 a , b , c are shown , but these atms have identical configurations ( they each have the same devices installed ) so they can each run the same terminal application . reference is now also made to fig2 , which is a schematic diagram illustrating the atm 12 a of fig1 and showing a fascia 14 through which internal devices 18 are accessed by a customer of the atm 12 . the fascia 14 and the customer - accessible devices 18 form part of a user interface 20 to allow a customer to interact with the atm 12 . in particular , the fascia 14 has apertures ( not shown ) aligning with some of the devices 18 when the fascia 14 is in a closed position . the fascia 14 defines : a card reader slot aligning with a card reader device 18 a ; a receipt printer slot aligning with a receipt printer device 18 b ; a display aperture aligning with a display 18 c and an associated touch sensitive panel 18 d mounted on , and in registration with , the display 18 c ; a keypad aperture through which an encrypting keypad device 18 e protrudes ; and a dispenser slot aligning with a dispenser device 18 f in the form of a cash dispenser . the atm 12 also includes the following internal devices 18 that are not directly viewed or accessed by a user during the course of a transaction . these devices 18 include : a journal printer device 18 g for creating a record of every transaction executed by the atm 12 , a network connection device 18 h for accessing a remote authorisation system ( not shown ), and a controller device 18 i ( in the form of a pc core ) for controlling the operation of the atm 12 , including the operation of the other devices 18 . these devices 18 g , h , i are all mounted within the atm 12 . the controller 18 i comprises a bios 30 stored in non - volatile memory , a microprocessor 32 , associated main memory 34 , storage space 36 in the form of a magnetic disk drive , and a graphics adapter 38 in the form of a graphics card . the bios 30 , microprocessor 32 , main memory 34 , disk drive 36 , and graphics card 38 are all replaceable modules within the controller device 18 i . the display 18 c is connected to the microprocessor 32 via the graphics card 38 installed in the controller 18 i and one or more internal controller buses 46 . the other atm devices ( 18 a , b , and 18 d to 18 h ) are connected to the atm controller 18 i via a serial bus 48 ( in the form of a usb connection ) and the one or more internal controller buses 46 . each of the devices 18 is controlled by one or more channel services software components . when the atm 12 is first booted up , the microprocessor 32 accesses the magnetic disk drive 36 and loads the main memory 34 with software components including : an operating system kernel 60 and a configuration builder 70 . the configuration builder 70 is used to create a run - time executable terminal application ( referred to hereinafter as an atm application ) that will control the operation of the atm 12 . in this embodiment , the operating system is a windows nt ( trade mark ) operating system , available from microsoft corporation . the operating system 60 includes a plurality of device drivers ( not shown ) for interfacing with standard computing devices such as the magnetic disk drive 36 , the display 18 c , a serial port , a parallel port , and such like . as is well known in the art , the operating system kernel 60 is responsible for memory , process , task , and disk management , and includes routines for implementing these functions . the magnetic disk drive 36 also includes software components 80 that may be used in the atm application . these software components 80 are a collection of dlls . each dll is basically a container holding multiple classes . returning now to fig1 , the three atms 12 are connected to a development computer 100 , via a network 102 , and also to an authorization host 104 for authorizing financial transactions requested by a customer at one of the atms 12 . the development computer 100 includes storage space 106 ( in the form of a magnetic disk drive ), memory 108 , a processor 110 , and such like features that are typically provided in a conventional personal computer . the magnetic disk drive 106 stores a copy of the collection of dlls 80 stored on the atm 12 , and a configuration creator 112 that is loaded into memory 108 . when the configuration creator 112 is executed it provides the user with a graphical user interface ( gui ) 118 as illustrated in fig3 a . as shown in fig3 a , the gui 118 comprises a control area 120 and an association area 122 . the control area 120 has an upper portion 124 , referred to herein as the class listing area , and a lower portion 126 , referred to herein as the properties listing area . initially , the configuration creator 112 performs an indexing function on the collection of dlls 80 . this involves the configuration creator 112 populating the class listing area 124 by accessing the collection of dlls 80 , ascertaining the classes stored therein , and loading these classes into the memory 108 . the configuration creator 112 implements the indexing function using a reflection command , which can access metadata ( data about a class and its interfaces , operations , properties , and events ) so that the configuration creator 112 can discover the type information for each class in the dlls 80 . the configuration creator 112 stores this type information in memory 108 for each class added to the class listing area 124 . the control area 120 ( more specifically the class listing area 124 ) serves as a palette from which instances of classes can be derived and placed on the association area 122 . for each class in memory 108 , the configuration creator 112 extracts the name of the class and adds the name of the class to an appropriate class group 130 in the class listing area 124 . as shown in fig3 a , there are a number of different class groups 130 , including : “ business services ” 130 a , “ consumer flow ” 130 b , “ data ” 130 c , “ device extensions ” 130 d , “ other ” 130 e , “ sessions and transactions ” 130 f , and “ supervisor ” ( not shown in fig3 a ). the configuration creator 112 ascertains from each dll what group 130 each class belongs to , and then adds that class to the appropriate group 130 . this ascertaining step is performed using a heuristic pattern matching algorithm , so that the configuration creator 112 accesses a pattern file 138 and compares the contents of this file 138 with the interfaces that each class exposes . based on a match between the interfaces and the pattern file 138 , the configuration creator 112 can ascertain what group 130 that class belongs to , and then add that class to the appropriate group 130 . the configuration creator 112 is now ready to allow a user to create an atm application . the user is typically an owner , or an employee or consultant of the owner , of the atms 12 . an example of an early stage of developing part of an atm application is illustrated in fig3 a . to create the configuration shown in fig3 a , the user selects ( for example , using a pointer , such as a mouse ) a desired class from the class listing area 124 and drags this class to the association area 122 . each of the classes includes one or more properties ( type information ) listing the names of other classes that can be accessed by , or that can access , that particular class . when a class is dragged to the association area 122 , the configuration creator 112 creates an instance of that class , and allows at least some of the properties of that class to be changed by the user . when the user selects a mainflow class and drags this class to the association area 122 , the configuration creator 112 creates a box 140 a at the portion of the association area 122 to which the mainflow class was dragged . the box 140 a represents an instance of the mainflow class . the mainflow class includes the flow logic needed to branch to the particular transactions being offered to an atm customer . thus , the mainflow class includes type information ( metadata ) relating to classes such as withdrawalflow ( which leads a customer through a withdrawal transaction ), depositflow ( which leads a customer through a deposit transaction ), balanceflow ( which leads a customer through a balance enquiry ), pinchange ( which leads a customer through a transaction that changes the customer &# 39 ; s pin ), and such like . this type information includes interfaces to these classes . in this example , a withdrawal transaction is being created , so the user drags a withdrawalflow class from the class listing area 124 to the association area 122 . the configuration creator 112 creates a box 140 b representing an instance of the withdrawalflow class at the portion of the association area 122 to which that class was dragged . the withdrawalflow class includes type information indicating that it can be accessed by an instance of the mainflow class , and that it can access an instance of a withdrawaltx class to initiate execution of a transaction . the user then drags a withdrawaltx class from the class listing area 124 to the association area 122 , and the configuration creator 112 creates a box 140 c representing an instance of the withdrawaltx class . the withdrawaltx class provides information about the amount of funds requested by the atm customer , coordinates approval of the withdrawal request , and coordinates fulfilment of the withdrawal request . the withdrawaltx class includes type information indicating that it can be accessed by an instance of the withdrawalflow class , and that it can access an instance of an accountservice class to implement the requested withdrawal transaction . if the user selects the box 140 c then the properties associated with that instance of the withdrawaltx class are shown as a dialog box 150 in the properties listing area 126 , as illustrated in fig3 a and in more detail in fig3 b . the properties dialog box 150 indicates the name of the instance ( in this example , withdrawaltx ), as well as various properties of this instance . the user can change the values of the properties associated with that instance by selecting a desired property ( such as audio indicator enabled ) and typing in a new value for that property ( such as false , which instructs the atm not to provide an audio indicator when a withdrawal transaction is being fulfilled ). the user can draw an arrow from the mainflow instance 140 a to the withdrawalflow instance 140 b ( illustrated by arrow 141 a ) because two conditions are fulfilled . firstly , the mainflow instance 140 a includes type information ( in the form of a property called withdrawalflow ) supporting access to the withdrawalflow class . secondly , the withdrawalflow instance 140 b includes type information ( in the form of an interface that supports access from the mainflow instance 140 a ) supporting access from the mainflow class . when this arrow 141 a is drawn , the configuration creator establishes a relationship between these two instances 140 a , b , sets the withdrawalflow property to the value “ withdrawalflow ”, and labels the arrow “ withdrawalflow ”. although referred to as an instance , at this stage 140 a is really only a graphical representation of an instance ; an actual instance of the mainflow class will only be created when the runtime executable is created . similarly , the user can draw an arrow 141 b from the withdrawalflow instance 140 b to the withdrawaltx instance 140 c because the type information for both instances 140 b , c is consistent with this relationship . however , if the user attempts to draw an arrow from the mainflow instance 140 a to the withdrawaltx instance 140 c , then the configuration creator 112 will not permit this to occur because the mainflow instance does not have type information that supports a relationship with the withdrawaltx instance 140 c . the user continues to drag classes from the class listing area 124 to the association area 122 , until all of the components are in place for an atm application . reference will now be made to fig4 , which illustrates the gui 118 at a later stage , when the user has dragged a number of classes to the association area 122 . as shown in fig4 , there are three types of components , namely : channel application ( shown in box 140 ), channel services ( shown in boxes labelled 142 ), and business services ( shown in box 144 ), ( management services are not shown in fig4 , but would typically be included by the user ). the channel application classes include : the mainflow class ( which controls transaction options presented to a user , collects card details for a transaction , and such like ), the withdrawalflow class ( which controls withdrawal screens to collate withdrawal amount information , account information from which the withdrawal is to be made , and such like ), the withdrawaltx class ( which prepares card information , transaction amount information , and such like ), a consumerinput class ( which handles inputs and selections from an atm customer ), a renderer class ( which presents information , for example , using html , to a customer on the atm display 18 c ), a serviceaggregate class ( which ensures that there are sufficient services available to enable the atm to go into service ), and a cardsession class ( which coordinates with the serviceaggregate class to ensure that sufficient services are available and waits for a session to start , for example by an atm customer inserting his or her atm card ). the business services classes include : a cardservice class ( which manages card details read from a customer &# 39 ; s atm card ), an xfscardcontainer class ( which allows data to be exchanged with a physical card ), an xfssecurepincontainer class ( which allows the cardservice class to obtain secure information from the encrypting keypad device 18 e ), an iso8583primaryconnection class ( which handles transmission of data according to the iso 8583 protocol ), an accountservice class ( which implements a requested transaction ), and a debitaccounttranslet class ( which creates the message format for the institution for a specific transaction , that is , the withdrawal transaction ). whereas an accountservice class is generic and may be used for different transactions ( withdrawal , deposit , balance enquiry , and such like ), the debitaccounttranslet class is specific for a withdrawal transaction . the channel services classes include : a journalservice class ( which manages printing of transaction details using the journal printer device 18 g ) and a vpitcpip class ( which manages the physical communication between the atm 12 and the remote authorization host 104 ). the user can select any of the above classes ( using a mouse or any other convenient input device ) from the class listing area 124 and drag the selected class to the association area 122 . the classes can be selected and dragged in any order or in a random order . when multiple instances ( from different classes ) are dragged onto the association area 122 , the user can establish a relationship between any two instances , provided that the properties for those instances allow the relationship to be established . for example , in fig4 the mainflow instance 140 a can ascertain what an atm customer has selected by accessing the consumerinput instance 140 d , as illustrated by arrow 141 c . the consumerinput instance 140 d can access a renderer instance 140 e to control presentation of information to the customer at the atm 12 . the mainflow instance 140 a can also provide an encrypted version of a pin entered by the customer to a cardsession instance 140 f , as illustrated by arrow 141 d . the cardsession instance 140 f can access a journalservice 142 a to record a transaction for audit purposes . the cardsession instance 140 f can access a cardservice business service instance 144 a to manage the card information read from the customer &# 39 ; s card and the encrypted pin . the cardservice instance 144 a in turn can access both an xfscardcontainer instance 144 b and an xfssecurepincontainer instance 144 c to manage an encrypting pin block derived from the pin entered by the customer . the mainflow instance 140 a can access the withdrawalflow instance 140 b , which in turn accesses an accountservice instance 144 d to access a withdrawal transaction service ( which is encapsulated by the accountservice instance business service 144 d ). to execute a transaction , the accountservice instance 144 d accesses an iso8583primaryconnection instance 144 e , which uses a vpitcpip instance 142 b to communicate with the remote authorization host 104 . a debitaccounttranslet instance 142 f also accesses the iso8583primaryconnection instance 144 e . the collection of dlls 80 , which contain the classes described above , are available as aptra edge ( trade mark ) software objects from ncr corporation , 1700 s . patterson blvd , dayton , ohio 45479 , usa . once the user is satisfied with the configuration shown in the association area 122 ( or if the user wishes to save the configuration and complete it at a later date ), he or she can instruct the configuration creator 112 to create a configuration file 160 . in this embodiment , the configuration creator 112 creates an xml file 160 by ( i ) creating code sections for each instance on the association area 122 , and ( ii ) populating property information for each instance to describe the relationship with another instance . describing the relationship with another instance is relatively simple and can be accomplished using an identifier ( the name ) of the related instance . a code sequence for a withdrawaltx instance 140 c is shown below . the code sequence has a header which includes : an instance identifier ( somewhat confusingly referred to as a class id in the code sequence ); a name ( referred to as name in the code sequence ) of the class from which the instance is to be created ; the name of the dll that contains that class ( referred to as assembly in the code sequence ); and coordinates that represent where the graphical representation of that instance ( for example box 140 c ) appears on the association area 122 . these coordinates ensure that the user can open a previously saved file and continue to add to or otherwise change the graphical representation in the association area 122 . the code sequence also includes a main body . the main body of the code sequence comprises the particular properties for that instance , such as another instance ( accountservice ) that is related to the withdrawaltx instance 140 c , and various operational parameters , such as whether cash is retracted if not removed by a customer within a predetermined time . in this example , the relationship is set because the value is “ accountservice ”; if the value was zero , then there would be no relationship established with the accountservice instance ( if such an instance existed in the atm application ). the serviceid is a unique identification . a code sequence for the accountservice instance 144 d ( which is related to the above - described withdrawaltx instance 140 c ) is shown below . again , the code sequence begins with a header including an instance identifier , a class identifier for the class from which the instance is to be created , and the dll that contains that class , and x , y coordinates of the location of the corresponding box 144 d in the association area 122 . this instance is related to the iso8583primaryconnection instance 144 e as shown in fig4 and as described below . as stated previously , the configuration creator 112 creates code sequences for each instance , and includes within each code sequence details of relationships to other instances and operational parameters for that instance . these code sequences are combined to form the configuration file 160 . the configuration file 160 contains all instances , relationships , and parameters needed to create a runtime executable atm application . the configuration file 160 can then be distributed to the atms 12 , either via remote software distribution across the network 102 ( illustrated in fig1 by multiple configuration files 160 in broken line ), or by installation by a service person locally at the atms 12 . when the configuration file 160 is loaded up into the atms 12 , the configuration builder 70 ( which acts as a class configurator ) parses through the configuration file 160 and creates an executable atm application therefrom . in parsing through the configuration file 160 , for each instance ( which has its own code sequence ) the configuration builder 70 does four actions . firstly , the configuration builder 70 locates the dll containing the class from which that instance is derived ( for example , “ ncr . aptra . withdrawaltx . dll ” for the withdrawaltx instance 140 c ). secondly , the configuration builder 70 creates an instance of this class . thirdly , it sets all of the properties of this instance to correspond with the operational parameters listed in the code sequence for that for instance ( for example , “ audioindicatorenabled ” and “ performcardeject ” are both set to off ( false ); whereas “ performcashretract ” and “ guidancelightsenabled ” are both set to on ( true )). fourthly , it creates relationships between instances that were coupled on the association area 122 by ascertaining what other instances are referenced in the properties of the code sequence for that instance ( for example , in the withdrawaltx instance , an “ accountservice ” instance appears in the properties and the relationship is set because the value of this property is “ accountservice ”; if the value was zero then the relationship would not be set ). although the configuration builder 70 performs the same actions for each instance to be created , the configuration builder 70 creates the instances in a specific order . the configuration builder 70 first parses through the configuration file 160 to identify those instances that do not access other instances , and then creates those identified instances ( because they do not require other instances to be present ). in fig4 , these instances include : the renderer instance 140 e , the serviceaggregate instance 140 f , the journalservice 142 a , the xfscardcontainer instance 144 b , the vpitcpip instance 142 d , and the xfssecurepincontainer instance 144 c ( although it may appear that arrow 145 a is double headed , it is actually only a single headed arrow from the cardservice instance 144 a to the xfssecurepincontainer instance 144 c ). next , the configuration builder 70 identifies those instances that only access instances already created . in fig4 , these instances include : the iso8583primaryconnection instance 144 e , the cardservice instance 144 a , and the consumerinput instance 140 d . this is performed iteratively until all of the instances have been created . if two instances each required the other , then the configuration builder 70 would arbitrarily select one instance and create that . when all of the instances have been created and configured with the appropriate relationships and operational parameters , the resulting file is a runtime executable atm application 170 ( shown in broken line in fig2 ) which has been created by configuration builder 70 . the configuration builder 70 can then launch this runtime application 170 to control the atm 12 . when executed , the application 170 presents an attract sequence screen on the atm display 18 c , and allows an atm customer to enter a transaction ( such as cash withdrawal ) in a conventional manner . the atm customer is completely unaware of how the atm application 170 was created . it will now be appreciated that the above embodiment has the advantage that conventional software objects ( commercially available classes ) can be used without modification in a new application development process that offers the speed and flexibility of scripting and also the type - safe advantages of compilation . an instance is described in an xml file , including the relationships between that instance and other instances . these relationships are all type - safe because of the indexing function previously performed . various modifications may be made to the above embodiment within the scope of the present invention . for example , in other embodiments , non - atm terminals may be used , such as postal kiosks , self - checkout terminals , airline kiosks , hotel kiosks , and such like . in other embodiments software components other than dlls may be used to store the classes . in other embodiments , the layout of the gui may be different . in the above embodiment each class is not saved by the configuration creator because the atm has access to the same dlls holding the classes ; however , in other embodiments , the configuration creator may also provide the classes in addition to the configuration file . in other embodiments , the configuration file may be provided in a format other than xml . | 6 |
in a first embodiment , a system with two nodes a and b interconnected by a communication network n is depicted in fig1 . the nodes communicate by sending messages ( packets ) over the network n . a measurement is performed from a node a to a node b , where a is called a requesting node , and b is called a responding node . each node may work both as a requesting node and a responding node . a node can also perform measurements with more than one other node . for example , a can perform a measurement with a third node c ( not disclosed in fig1 ) at the same time . the network n may be an inter - network running the ip protocol . this enables any nodes with an ip - interface and an ip protocol stack to communicate with each other over n . in fig2 , an embodiment of a node is shown . the computer node is equipped with a network interface card that can communicate using ip . such a node has a cpu , memory buses , disks , etc , that enables it to operate as a computer . the node runs an operating system , in which the system software can be implemented . this embodiment is implemented as a software module running in an operating system of such a node . in fig3 , an embodiment of a network module is shown . the software module implementing the method described in this document needs to have access to a network module . the network module shown in fig3 typically consists of a network interface card , a device driver , an ip stack and a socket api . the network interface card enables the node to physically connect to an access network . the device driver contains software enabling the ip stack to access the network services on the network interface card . the ip stack contains full implementation of the communication protocols that enables the node to communicate over the interne . this may be the set of protocols referred to as tcp / ip . the socket api is a functional interface that the system module can access in order to send and receive packets to and from the network . in an embodiment , a system module implementing the invention may be implemented as a user application in an operating system . it requires a socket api to access the network in order to send and receive packets over the network . the nodes communicate with messages over the network . there are two kinds of messages : both types of messages may be encapsulated over the ip protocol using the udp / ip transport protocol or some other non - reliable datagram service . in an embodiment , both types of messages are encoded with the rtp protocol . a synchronization message is either a request ( syncreq ) or response ( syncresp ). the request message is sent by the requesting node and received by a responding node . a response is sent by a responding node when it receives a syncreq message . the syncresp message is received by the requesting node . the syncreq message contains the following fields : a sequence number and a time - stamp t 1 . the syncresp message contains the following fields : a sequence number and three timestamps : t 1 , t 2 , and t 3 . sequence number — the requesting node sets the sequence number incrementally ( 0 , 1 , 2 , etc ). the responder copies the sequence number from a syncreq to a syncresp message . the sequence number is used to detect packet loss , reordering or duplications on the network . timestamp t 1 . the time when the syncreq message was sent by the requesting node . timestamp t 2 . the time when the syncreq message was received by the responding node . timestamp t 3 . the time the syncresp message was sent by the responding node . the measurement messages are sent from the requesting node to the responding node only . the measurement message contains a sequence field and a timestamp field t 1 . the sequence number . the requesting node sets the sequence number incrementally ( 0 , 1 , 2 , etc ). timestamp t 1 . the time when the measurement message was sent by the requesting node . now referring to the inventive method , both nodes have high accuracy clocks that are not synchronized with each other . high accuracy means that they are linear with respect to each other over a limited time period on the order of minutes , and that they have high resolution , at least to the level of 1 microsecond . that is , the clocks have different rates , but the rate difference is constant over time . p 1 — synchronization 1 p 2 — measurement p 3 — synchronization 2 p 4 — interpolation and generating a latency profile . in table 1 below an embodiment of constants used to parameterise the method are given . the values given to the constants are merely an example ; the method can be used also for other values . in fig4 , an embodiment of a requestor node pre - synchronization flowchart is schematically depicted . the node sends a syncreq to the responding node . it sets the sequence number and the t 1 timestamp in the syncreq message . then it waits for a reply to come back from the responding node , or for a timeout to occur . if a syncreq message was received , a timestamp t 4 is registered when the syncresp message was received . together with the three timestamps t 1 , t 2 and t 3 , the module tries to find the message with the smallest round - trip - time . this message is used to find the two values cabs 0 and cdiff 0 and is used in the interpolation method p 4 . the method uses two variables nsreq and nsresp to record the number of sent syncreq messages and received syncresp messages , respectively . these variables are used as a terminating condition . if the module sends 2snr syncreq messages without having received snr syncresp messages , this is an error . as soon as the module has received snr syncresp messages , it continues to the next phase , p 2 a . snr is a predefined constant , typically 50 messages . the method may also use the variables rtt and rtt_min . rtt_min is preset to a large value , and is used to find the syncreq / syncresp pair with the smallest round - trip - time . this measurement is then used to compute the cabs and cdiff values . in other words , we claim that the best measurement is the one with the smallest rtt . many other methods use the mean value . note that the method described in fig4 may be implemented somewhat differently . for example , the sending and receiving of messages can be made concurrently , not sequentially as is shown in the figure . in that case , two processes are created , one that is sending syncreq messages regularly , and one that is waiting for syncresp messages . in that case , a timeout need not be made . instead , a delay between the sending of syncreq messages need to be introduced . in fig5 , an embodiment of a responder node pre - synchronization flowchart is schematically depicted . the node waits for a syncreq from the requesting node . when such a message is received , it creates a syncresp message , copies the sequence number and t 1 from the syncreq message , records t 2 and t 3 , and sends the syncresp message back to the requesting node . if the received message is not a syncreq message , it is assumed that it is a measurement message which is handled in p 2 b . the size of the vectors is equal to the number of measurement messages sent . the measurement phase consists of the requesting node periodically sending measurement messages to the responding node . the responding node records the timestamps of the time of sending and the time of receiving the messages in two vectors a [ ] and b [ ], respectively . the size of the vectors is equal to the number of measurement messages sent , nm . the two vectors are later used in p 4 . in fig6 , an embodiment of a flowchart of requesting node in the measurement phase is schematically depicted . the requesting node sends nm messages ( for example 10000 ) with interval dt between each packet ( for example 20 ms ). each syncreq message will contain seq , the sequence number ; and t 1 , the time the message was sent . the overhead of sending a message ks is computed initially . this is the difference in time from when the timestamp was taken and when the message was actually sent . ks may be set to 0 if the node lacks the capability to compute this time . in fig7 , an embodiment of a flowchart of the responding node is shown . the responding node stores the sending timestamp t 1 in a vector a , and the receiving timestamp t 2 in the vector b . the sequence number is used as an index in the vector . the overhead of sending a message kr is computed initially . this is the difference in time from when the timestamp was taken and when the message was actually sent . kr may be set to 0 if the node lacks the capability to compute this time . the second synchronisation phase is in this embodiment similar to phase p 1 described above . the differences are as follows : 1 . the two processes are called p 3 a and p 3 b instead of p 1 a and p 1 b , respectively . 2 . the resulting variables are named cabs 1 and cdiff 1 instead of cabs 0 and cdiff 0 , respectively . 3 . after successful completion of the processes , both flowchart goes to p 4 instead of to p 2 a and p 2 b . in the interpolation phase , the measurements collected in phase p 2 in the vectors a [ ] and b [ ] and the synchronization values cabs 0 , cdiff 0 , cabs 1 and cdiff 1 in phases p 1 and p 3 are used to interpolate a sequence of one - way latency values . the method itself can be performed on the requesting node , the responding node , or some other node , and can be performed at any time after the other three phases . for example , this phase can be made as a post processing stage in a server . however , the data must be transferred to the place where the method is implemented . the end result of the method is a vector l [ ], i . e . the latency profile , with size nm containing the true one - way latency values of the measurement between the requesting and responding node . in fig8 , an embodiment of a flowchart of the interpolation method is schematically depicted . first the difference in rate ratebias is computed as follows : the method iteratively computes the values of the one - way latency vector l [ ] from values collected or computed , as follows : | 7 |
the present invention improves the prior art by providing an approach for commutating an srm , without a position sensor , while removing the requirement of a predetermined mode of a flux - control relationship of the srm . accordingly , a method and apparatus providing indirect estimation of instantaneous rotor angular position is disclosed . fig1 shows a conventional srm drive configuration . by way of example , srm 10 is illustrated as a four - phase machine . as shown , srm 10 includes a rotor 12 rotatable in either a forward or reverse direction within a stationary stator 14 . rotor 12 has three pairs of diametrically opposite rotor poles 16 a - 16 b , 18 a - 18 b and 20 a - 20 b . stator 14 has four pairs of diametrically opposite stator poles 22 a - 22 b , 24 a - 22 b , 26 a - 26 b and 28 a - 28 b . stator pole windings 30 a - 30 b , 32 a - 32 b , 34 a - 34 b and 36 a - 36 b , respectively , are wound on stator pole pairs 22 a - 22 b , 24 a - 24 b , 26 a - 26 b and 28 a - 28 b forming four phases a , b , c , and d . as illustrated , the rotor is in the aligned position for phase a and the unaligned position for phase c . conventionally , the stator pole windings on each pair of opposing or companion stator pole winds comprising each companion pair 30 a - 30 b , 32 a - 32 b , 34 a - 34 b and 36 a - 36 b are connected in series with each other and with an upper and lower current switching devices , respectively . each phase winding is further coupled to a dc source , such as a battery or rectified ac source , such as a return diode . at the end of each conduction interval of each phase , stored magnetic energy in the respective phase winding is returned , through each respectively coupled diode to the dc source . typically , as shown in fig1 a shaft angle transducer 38 , e . g . an encoder or a resolver , is coupled to rotor 12 for providing rotor angle feedback signals to machine controller 40 . an operator command , such as a torque command , is also generally supplied as an input signal to controller 40 . the controller 40 provides firing signals to the stator windings for energizing the machine phase windings in a predetermined sequence , depending upon the particular quadrant of operation . to improve reliability of the srm while reducing size and cost , it is desirable to eliminate the rotor position sensor . accordingly , the purpose of this invention is to provide a useful approach for operating the srm , while eliminating the need for a rotor position sensor . in an effort to eliminate the rotor position sensor , it is necessary to determine a reference flux ψ ref measurement of the srm at which point a control means in the present invention will provide voltage to the stator windings sufficient to energize the next machine phase . thus , an analysis of the flux - current characteristics of the winding linkages is a precursor to elimination of the rotor position sensor . as shown in fig2 phase flux ψ is proportional to current i for different values of rotor angle θ . the current i in one phase winding of a srm and the flux linked ψ by that winding are related by the winding inductance l according to the following expression : ψ = l i . thus , if phase flux linkage ψ is plotted against phase current i , the slope of the resulting graph is the phase inductance , the bending of the curves at higher values of flux ψ is caused by magnetic saturation of the iron in the motor . curve ψ a , which has the steepest initial slope , represents the ψ - i curve for the excited phase when the stator poles of that phase are aligned with rotor poles , the rotor angle corresponding thereto being designated as θ a . on the other hand , curve ψ a , which has the smallest initial slope represents the ψ - i - curve for the excited phase when the stator poles of that phase are at the point of maximum unalignment with rotor poles of the srm , the rotor angle corresponding thereto being designated as θ a . the curves falling between curves ψ a and ψ a represent intermediate inductance values corresponding to varying slopes of the curves monotonically decreasing as the rotor advances from the aligned position to the unaligned position . curve ψ ref represents the inductance value corresponding to the position of the rotor when the srm is commutated . note the flux estimated ψ a at an aligned rotor position is greater than the reference flux ψ ref . additionally , as illustrated in fig2 a number of current levels from i min to i max are established in the phase winding , where i min is the minimum current level below which the flux - current curves of the srm exhibits very low resolution with respect to rotor position and i max is the maximum rated phase current of the motor . as illustrated in fig3 phase inductance for a four - phase srm as viewed from the stator phase windings is a strong function of rotor position . specifically , phase inductance ranges from a maximum value l max , corresponding to alignment of rotor poles with the stator poles of the respective phase , to a minimum value l min , corresponding to maximum unalignment of rotor poles with the stator poles of the respective phase . ideal phase inductance is a function of rotor angle θ , in electrical degrees . a given inductance value occurs once as the rotor poles are moving toward alignment with stator poles of a respective phase , and again as the poles are moving away from alignment . from the given equation for phase flux ψ , it is apparent that this value of inductance can be determined by corresponding measurements of phase flux ψ and phase current i . phase flux ψ can be made by employing the relationship between phase flux ψ , phase current i , and phase voltage v according to the following expression : where r is the phase winding resistance . an estimate of flux can thus be determined from as is well known , the torque developed in any phase follows the relationship : t ∝ l θ i 2 . while the change in inductance , dl , with respect to the change in rotor angle , dθ , is positive , the srm will generate a positive torque . it is clear from fig3 however , that where the change in rotor angle , dθ , is negative , the srm will generate a negative torque . thus , in order to maintain positive torque , at some θ ref the controller 40 must energize the next phase ; for example , energizing phase b while de - energizing phase a . the commutation algorithm according to the present invention starts with a calibration routine , followed by a commutation routine . the inventive method for commutation of a srm requires neither direct rotor position sensing nor detailed prior knowledge or motor magnetic characteristics . the two routines of commutation method , a calibration routine and a commutation routine , are set forth in fig5 and 6 , respectively . during the calibration routine , the rotor is energized such that each motor phase is aligned and the corresponding phase flux - current characteristics of the srm are estimated . during the commutation routine , these estimated characteristics are used to define the position sensorless operation of the motor . by exciting any arbitrary phase with sufficient current to generate torque in excess of the starting friction of the motor , the rotor aligns with the aligns with the stator in the position of the energized phase . for example , when the first phase in the sequence , phase a , is energized , the rotor rotates and aligns itself with the stator poles of phase a . the direction of rotation , however , depends on the initial position of the rotor . typically , the initial position of the rotor is unknown ; thus , the initial direction of the motor is unpredictable . in certain applications , e . g . computer hard disk drives , this uncertain behavior is undesirable . in order to determine a calibration routine that produces rotation in a known direction , the technique , as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 051 , 680 issued sep . 24 , 1991 to d . j . belanger , may be implemented and is herein incorporated by reference . a control means applies small voltage pulses to all the motor phases and measures the resulting phase currents . these measurements determine the initial position of the rotor and thus , the phase of the srm can be controllably energized in a specified thereafter , each phase is energized in a predetermined sequence , i . e . for a four phase srm , the sequence may be a , b , c , d , a , b , . . . accordingly , at each aligned position , the calibration routine applies desired levels of current to each motor phase at a series of discrete test points . at each current test point , estimated phase flux ψ est is calculated using the integral from of faraday &# 39 ; s law , ψ ( k ) = ( ∑ k = 1 n [ v ( k ) - i ( k ) r ( k ) ] t ) + ψ ( 0 ) [ 1 ] at the end of the estimation period ( k = n ), flux - current data pairs , [ ψ ( n ), i ( n )], are stored . before calibrating the next phase , a curve fitting technique ( e . g ., least squares curve fit ) is sued on these data points to minimize the effect of measurement noise . moreover , curve fitting at this stage also minimizes memory requirements by allowing simultaneous computation for subsequent phases . furthermore , instead of storing large number of data points , only polynomial coefficients need be stored . as an example , a linear curve fit of the data is expressed as : has a positive coefficient l j a which represents the slope of a straight line . only this coefficient l j α is stored . thus , the present invention not only reduces memory usage but also eliminates time consuming table lookups . upon completion of the calibration sequence and subsequent curve fitting of the data , the magnetic characteristics of the motor at the reference angle θ ref are derived using the expression : where g ( i )= ψ ( θ aligned , i ) and 0 ≧ α ( i )≦ 1 . this calibration routine estimates the curve ψ a for each phase and then uses a advance coefficient α proportional to the desired speed to define a reference flux level . the advance coefficient α is defined as a function of the estimated speed ω . where k α and α 0 are positive constants . hence , as the actual speed increases , each phases is subsequently energized at shorter interval of time than its predecessor . when the estimated flux in the active phase exceeds the reference level , the next phase is energized . the calibration procedure is repeated for each phase of the motor . the coefficients representing the curve can be stored in a non - volatile memory to avoid calibration after every power down . fig6 illustrates a flux - current diagram including an flux ψ a at the aligned angle and reference flux ψ ref generated during the calibration routine of fig5 in accordance with the present invention . fig5 sets forth a flow chart of firmware steps performed during the calibration routine , the initial operation mode 100 during which reference flux ψ ref is determined . the calibration routine 100 is entered at step 102 . a step 104 initializes a phase counter variable p to 1 . at step 106 , the control means ( not shown ) applies a voltage across the windings of the srm energizing phase p generating a step energizing current . a step 108 initializes a wait period to wait for the rotor to cease oscillations prior to data collection . the time period , wait # 1 , must be greater than or equal to the time when the rotor settles after being energized in response to the step energizing current . oscillation of the rotor is a factor of friction , inertia of the rotor and of the load . “ analysis of single - step damping in a multistack variable reluctance stepping motor ,” a . p . russell and i . e . d . pickup , iee proceedings on electric power applications , january 1996 , pp . 95 - 107 , a non - patent publication , is incorporated by reference herein . russell et al outline a method by which an analytical approach to defining a period of time to implement the proper wait period . analysis may include factors of variation of load inertia and friction . a step 110 initializes the count of the flux - current data pair , variable j , to 1 . a step 112 initializes phase current to 0 . a step 114 initializes another wait cycle of time period wait # 2 for to wait for the current to dissipate . a step 116 then initializes the flux integrator and time k to 0 . step 116 also sets the phase current to the i th value . the voltage is either measured or more preferably computed inside the controller software e . g . in a system using pules - width modulated current controller . the average voltage across the phase is calculated according to the following expression : where d j is the duty ratio of the phase transistor switch and v bus is the inverter bus voltage . the phase resistance can be readily measured by using an ohm meter . a step 118 initializes another wait cycle which responds to an interrupt signal from the dsp which defines the interval time sampling period of the algorithm t . a step 120 increments the time variable k to k + 1 . at this step , phase current is measured by a control means . accordingly , phase flux is estimated using equation [ 1 ]. control signals are applied to the phase windings causing current to flow through the windings for determining the initial position of the rotor with respect to the stator from a determination of relative magnitude of the current flow through the phase windings prior to activation of the phase windings to start rotation of the rotor . the estimated flux at k + 1 is derived from the summation of estimate flux at k and the new measured values of voltage , current and resistance for the j th flux - current data pair . a logical node 122 determines if the length of the estimation period , n is less than k . if it is not , a return is made to step 120 . steps 120 and 122 are repeated until k is greater than the length of estimation period , n . this represents the entire estimation period over which the phase current is read . a step 124 records the current - flux data pair and increments the count i by 1 . a logical node 126 determines if j is greater than the number of current test points m . if it is not , a return is made to step 112 where the phase current at phase p is reinitialized to 0 . if j is greater than m , all data samples have been determined and recorded , a step 128 reinitializes the phase current to 0 . a step 130 interpolates the data to a curve for a particular phase p . to estimate the flux at the next phase , the variable p representing the count for representative phases of the srm is incremented in this step . a logical node 132 determines whether the count of phases p is greater than the number of possible phases in the srm . if not , a return is made to step 106 and the phase is energized . steps 108 through steps 132 are repeated until all current - flux data sample pairs are determined and recorded for each phase . if the count of phase p is greater than the possible number of phases in the srm , a stop is initiated in step 134 . this completes the rotor position sense routine . fig6 sets forth a flowchart of firmwave steps performed during operation mode 200 during which the four phase srm is commutated from one phase to the next . this commutation routine follows the calibration routine of fig5 which determines calibrates the srm having a known rotor position . the commutation routine is entered at step 202 . a step 204 initializes the estimated velocity ω est of the rotor to zero . a step 206 reads the desired speed command velocity ω des of the srm . a logical node 208 determines whether the desired velocity ω des is greater than 0 . if not , step 212 commutates the phases of the srm in reverse order , using the sequence d - c - b - a . if in logical node 208 the desired velocity ω des is greater than 0 , a step 210 commutates the phase of the srm in a forward direction , using the sequence a - b - c - d . a step 214 determines the speed loop compensation . a logical node 216 determines whether the current applied to the rotor is greater than the minimum operable current i min for the srm . if not , a step 220 initializes the applied current i to equal the minimum operable current i min . if the current applied to the rotor is greater than the minimum operable current i min for the srm , then a step 220 waits for an interrupt signal from the dsp . by controlling the desired phase current i j des , the developed torque and speed are controlled . for example , a simple proportional controller is defined as , j des = k p ( ω d ( f )={ circumflex over ( ω )}( t )) a step 222 reads the phase current . additionally at step 222 , current loop compensation converts the desired current into switch commands . the pwm commands for selecting the proper pwm waveform are updated as well . a step 224 estimates the flux according to the equation cited above . ψ est ( k )= ψ ( k − 1 )+( v ( k )− i ( k ) r )· t ), where ψ ( 0 )= 0 . additionally , the reference flux ψ ref is determined at this step according to the equation : a logical node 226 compares each respective phase flux estimate ψ est with the phase switching reference flux ψ ref and generating a first logic level signal when the actual rotor angle is closer to axial alignment of the respective stator and rotor poles than the rotor angle reference , and generating a second logic level signal when the actual rotor angle is farther from axial alignment than the rotor angle reference . if not , a return is made to step 214 and steps 214 through 226 are repeated until the estimated flux ψ ref is greater than the reference flux ψ ref . if the estimated flux ψ ref is greater than the reference flux ψ ref , step 228 updates the estimated velocity ω ref . steps 208 through 228 are repeated until the srm is disabled . as is exemplified for conventional systems in fig7 a block diagram of an srm controller using position feedback is illustrated . the circuit 300 essentially includes a digital signal processor ( dsp ) 320 , an inverter 340 , a srm 360 and optocouplers 380 . the dsp 320 includes a first summer 321 , a velocity controller 322 , a torque to current device 323 , an advance angle calculator 324 , a second summer 325 , a current controller 326 , a pulse - width modulator ( pwm ) 327 , an analog - to - digital converter ( adc ) 328 , a position estimator 329 , and velocity estimator 330 . the dsp 320 is coupled to the inverter 340 which is connected to the srm 360 having two output signals . the first output signal of the srm 360 is coupled to the opto - couplers 380 . the second is coupled to the dsp 320 . the output of the opto - coupler is coupled to the dsp 320 . during operation , the dsp 320 receives a speed command 310 . this signal is summed in first summer 321 with the signal generated by the velocity estimator 330 . the summation is received by the velocity controller 322 . the velocity controller 322 generates a torque command , which is received by the torque to current device 323 . the current generated i emd by the torque - to - current device 323 is send to the second summer 325 and to the advance angle calculator 324 . at the second summer , the current signal received from the srm 360 decrements the current i cmd . the summation is received by the current controller 326 . the signal generated by the current controller 326 is received by pvm 327 for generating a pwm command . the signal is received by the inverter 340 for inverting the signal to an analog signal readable by the srm . the signal generated by the inverter 340 is received by the srm 360 . the srm 360 generates a current signal and a rotor position signal . the current signal is coupled to the dps 320 at the switch 328 . the rotor position signal is coupled to the opto - couplers 380 . it generates a signal that is fed into the dsp at the position estimator 329 and velocity estimator 330 . the signal generated by the velocity estimator 330 is sent to the position estimator 329 , the advance angle calculator 324 and the first summer 321 . the position estimator 329 generates a signal fed to the advance angle calculator 324 . the advance angle calculator 324 is coupled to a dc voltage bus . the advance angle calculator 324 generates commutation angles for the rotor in the srm 360 . fig8 illustrates the block diagram of a position sensorless srm controller 400 in accordance with the principles of the present invention . the position sensorless srm controller 400 essentially includes a dsp 420 , an inverter 440 and a srm 460 . the dsp 420 is coupled to the inverter 440 . the inverter 440 is coupled to the srm 460 . the dsp 420 includes a first summer 421 , a velocity controller 422 , a torque to current device 423 , a second summer 424 , a current controller 425 , a pulse - width modulator ( pwm ) 426 , an analog - to - digital converter ( adc ) 427 , a first storage device 428 , a second storage device 429 , a third storage device 430 , a multiplier 431 , a third summer 432 , an integrator 433 , a comparator 434 , a clock signal generator 436 and a velocity estimator 437 . accordingly in operation the dsp 420 receives a speed command signal 410 . the dsp generates signals controlling the state of the power devices in the inverter 440 . the srm 460 reads the signal from the inverter 440 to control phase sequence commutation . the output current signal generated by the srm 460 is measured by adc 427 . the first summer 431 receivers two inputs : the speed command signal 410 and the signal generated by the velocity estimator 437 . the summed output is received by the velocity controller 422 . the signal generated by the velocity controller 422 is fed into the torque - to - current device 423 which generates a current signal i cmd . the second summer 424 sums input of the i cmd , an output current signal generated by the srm 460 and a signal stored in a third storage device 430 . the summed output is received by the current controller 425 which generates a signal fed to the pwm 426 . the output of the pwm 426 is fed to the inverter 440 . accordingly , the output current signal generated by the srm 460 is measured by adc 427 . the first storage device filter 428 the signal with g ( i ). this signal is fed to a filter 429 of α ( i ) to generate reference flux ψ ref . the reference flux signal ψ ref is fed to comparator 434 . the estimated flux is calculated by summing the output of the current controller 425 and the dc bus voltage in the multiplier 431 . the third summer 432 sums the product with the output of the third storage device 430 containing the estimated resistance of the srm , r , in the third summer 432 . the summed signal is fed to integrator 433 which ultimately generates the estimated flux ψ est . the estimated flux ψ ref is fed to the comparator 434 which compares both the reference flux ψ ref and the estimated flux ψ ref . the comparator 434 generates a commutation signal . the commutation signal is stored in a latch 435 which is driven by counter 436 . the latched signal is fed to the velocity estimator 437 . those skilled in the art to which the invention relates will appreciate that various substitutions , modifications and additions can be made to the described embodiments , without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims . | 7 |
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