text
stringlengths 1.55k
332k
| label
int64 0
8
|
|---|---|
the quaternary ammonium silicates useful in the coating composition of the present invention have the general formula where x is 1 , y is a number of from 0 . 5 to 20 , z is a number of from 0 to 99 , n is a nitrogen atom , and r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and r 4 each are a hydrogen atom , an alkyl group , or an alkoxy group , both groups containing from 1 to 20 carbon atoms . preferred examples of the quaternary ammonium silicates are tetraethanol ammonium silicate , tetraethyl ammonium silicate , tetramethyl ammonium silicate , diethyldimethanol ammonium silicate , dimethyldiethanol ammonium silicate , monomethyltripropanol ammonium silicate , dimethylpropanol ammonium silicate , and monoethylpropanol ammonium silicate . the quaternary ammonium silicates should have a silica content of from 10 to 60 % by weight , since a sufficient bonding force and a good coating performance cannot be obtained when it is less than 10 %, while satisfactory stability of the resulting coating composition cannot be obtained when it exceeds 60 %. the epoxide resins useful in the coating composition of the invention are organic compounds which have at least one epoxy end group and which are liquid at room temperature . operable epoxide resins include the groups of bisphenol a epichlorohydrin compounds , glycidyl phthalate compounds , and alicyclic epoxide resins . it is preferred that they have an epoxy equivalent of from 150 to 1200 , since no satisfactory performance can be obtained when it is less than 150 , while their dispersion in water can hardly be obtained when it exceeds 1200 . some of the commercially available epoxide resins are as follows . epikote 812 , epikote 815 , epikote 826 , epikote 1004 , and epikote 1040 manufactured by shell chemicals ; der 331 and der 664 manufactured by dow chemical company ; and epikron 800 and epikron 850 manufactured by dainippon ink chemical industry co . a single epoxide resin or combination of two or more epoxides may be used . the amount of the epoxide resin used ranges from 2 to 30 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the quaternary ammonium silicate . this is because amounts less than 2 parts cause an insufficient bonding force to the resulting composition , while amounts in excess of 30 parts tend to lower the fire resistance of the finished coatings . curing agents operable in the coating compositions of the present invention are , for example , imidazole ring - containing aliphatic polyamines , aromatic polyamines , alicyclic polyamines , polyamidoamines , tertiary amines , fatty acids and their anhydrides . especially , modified aliphatic polyamines having a low toxicity are preferred . the remarkably stable silica sols useful in the coating compositions of the present invention have an sio 2 / m 2 o molar ratio ( in which m is a monovalent alkali metal atom ) of 20 to 400 : 1 , and contain water or a hydrophilic organic solvent as the dispersion medium , the concentration of sio 2 being preferably within the range of 10 to 60 % by weight . when the molar ratio is less than 20 : 1 , the silica sol has properties almost similar to those of water glass , and the coatings formed tend to cause a milking phenomenon and have poor water resistance . the silica sol having a solid content of 30 % by weight useful in the coating compositions of the present invention should be added in an amount of from 10 to 100 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the quaternary ammonium silicate having a similar silica content . if the amount used is less than 10 parts , the coatings formed have an inusufficient binding force , while if it is more than 100 parts , the water resistance of the coatings formed is impaired . the dihydric alcohols having 3 or more carbon atoms which are employable for the purpose of stabilizing the silica sol are exemplified by propylene glycol , trimethylene glycol and triethylene glycol . the water - soluble melamine resins which are used for the same purpose in combination with the dihydric alcohols are , preferably , stable water - soluble methyl - etherified melamine - formaldehyde precondensates prepared by etherifying a high methylol melamine with methanol under weak acidic conditions . the amount of the water - soluble melamine resin is more than 2 parts by weight , preferably ranging from 2 to 10 parts by weight , and that of the dihydric alcohol is 5 or more parts by weight both per 100 parts by weight of the silica sol having a 30 % by weight silica content . further , illustrative of the pigments employable in formulating the coating compositions of the present invention , but in no way limitative thereof , are titanium dioxide of the rutile or anatase type and other commercially available inorganic and organic pigments which are , preferably , adaptable for the so - called water - based paints . illustrative of the fillers including aggregates , also not limitatively , are calcium carbonate , powder of siliceous stone , white marble , silica sand , and the like . the coating compositions of the present invention can be prepared by the steps of adding to the quaternary ammonium silicate the stable silica sol , if necessary , and the fillers , water and suitable additives , followed by agitation by means of a high - speed mixer to form a homogeneous mixture , then adding the epoxide resin and a thickening agent , followed by continued agitation till the epoxide resin and the thickening agent become completely dispersed in the homogeneous mixture , and finally adding to the resulting dispersion the curing agent , followed by milling . the application to surfaces of the coating compositions thus prepared may be made by ordinary methods , such as , spraying , brushing and roller coating . the coating compositions according to the present invention have an excellent coating workability and are most suitable for full coat finishes , thin coat finishes and sand wall - like finishes . the coating compositions have excellent can - stability at low temperatures . the cured coatings or films formed are free from crazing and insufficient adhesion , which are defects encountered in the conventional inorganic coating material , and , on the other hand , improved in hardening at low temperature , surface hardness and fire - resistance , compared to the conventional organic coating material . further the cured films have more improved water - resistance and freeze - thaw stability as well as toughness . the present invention is illustrated but not limited by the following examples . in the examples parts and percentages are by weight . into a beaker containing 100 g of tetraethanol ammonium silicate having a 30 % sio 2 content were added powdery siliceous stone , powdery calcium carbonate and water . the mixture was stirred by a high - speed mixer to form homogeneity . to the homogeneous mixture was added a liquid addition - condensate epoxide resin having a 50 % solid content , and epoxy equivalent of 175 ( trade name : epikote 815 of shell chemicals ), followed by agitation for several minutes . a curing agent ( trade name : tomite 235 of fuji chemical co .) was added to the resulting mixture after having been allowed to stand , followed by milling . the composition thus obtained was applied to the surface of a mortar board , 6 × 6 × 2 cm , in an amount of 2 . 0 kg per square meter of coating , using a spray gun . the composition is designated as &# 34 ; present invention no . 1 ,&# 34 ; and the amount of each ingredient used is indicated in table i . in comparison thereto , a similar procedure was taken but the charge of tetraethanol ammonium silicate was omitted while the other ingredients were used in certain amounts as indicated in table i . this comparative composition is designated as &# 34 ; control no . 1 .&# 34 ; the films formed on the surface of each mortar board sample piece obtained above were determined for adhesion in accordance with japanese industrial standard 6910 with the results as shown in table i . from the results , it is evident that the absence of the quaternary ammonium silicate and the presence of the epoxide resin instead as the binder are indicative of inferior adhesion . the above - mentioned table i will , for the sake of simplicity , be given in combination with the description of the following example 2 . a stable silica sol which was useful in the composition of the present invention was prepared by mixing 100 parts of a silica sol having a 30 % sio 2 content and a molar ratio sio 2 / na 2 o of 100 : 1 , 10 parts of propylene glycol and 2 parts of a water - soluble melamine resin , followed by uniform agitation . the same procedure as in example 1 was repeated with or without the stable silica sol prepared above and other ingredients as indicated in table i under headings &# 34 ; present invention no . 2 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; control no . 2 ,&# 34 ; and similar test samples of mortar boards were obtained . the adhesion test was carried out with the samples , and the results are set forth in table i . it is evident from the results that the exclusion of the stable silica sol and the epoxide resin is indicative of far inferior adhesion . table i______________________________________ coating composition present present invention control invention control no . 1 no . 1 no . 2 no . 2______________________________________ingredients : tetraethanol 100 0 100 100ammoniumsilicate , gepoxide resin , 24 100 10 0epikote 815 , gcuring agent , 8 30 3 0tomite 235 , gstable silica 0 0 100 0sol , gsiliceous stone , g 270 270 450 200calcium carbonate , g 150 150 200 100water , g 60 84 100 100ratio by weight ofbinder ( solid content ) 1 / 10 1 / 8 . 4 1 / 10 1 / 10to filleradhesion , kg / cm . sup . 2 :( a ) in standard state 15 . 3 11 . 5 20 . 0 11 . 5 ( b ) after immersion in water 9 . 5 6 . 5 14 . 2 6 . 5 ( c ) after repeated warming & amp ; cooling 7 . 0 4 . 7 13 . 0 4 . 5 ( d ) after curing at - 50 ° c . over 7 - day 8 . 1 4 . 0 11 . 8 4 . 2 period after coating______________________________________ each test sample obtained in examples 1 and 2 , i . e ., present invention no . 1 , control no . 1 , present invention no . 2 , or control 2 , was determined for freeze - thaw stability by dipping the sample piece into water with its coated surface exposed above the water level , the water being initially cooled as low as - 20 ° c ., then keeping same in situ over a period of 8 hours during which the temperature of the water was gradually raised to 30 ° c ., and thereafter for additional 8 hours at this elevated temperature , to form one heat - cool cycle . such freeze - thaw test was then carried out by 1 , 20 , 30 , and 50 cycles of operation to observe the change of the condition of the coated surface , with the results as set forth in table ii . it is evident from the results that the samples of present invention no . 1 and no . 2 exhibited superior stability to control samples . table ii______________________________________ coating composition present present invention control invention controlfreeze - thaw statility : no . 1 no . 1 no . 2 no . 2______________________________________ ( a ) one cycle * * * ****( b ) 20 cycles * *** * --( c ) 30 cycles ** -- * --( d ) 50 cycles ** -- * -- ______________________________________ note : the mark * indicates no change exhibited . the mark ** indicates crazing occurring . the mark *** indicates blistering occurring . the mark **** indicates peeling occurring . coating compositions &# 34 ; present invention no . 3 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; present invention no . 4 &# 34 ; were prepared with the same main ingredients as used for the preparation of composition present invention no . 2 in example 2 and certain other auxiliary additives in the varied amounts as indicated in table iii . in composition present invention no . 3 thus prepared , a porous roller 7 inches wide ( trade name : &# 34 ; mastic coat roller &# 34 ; manufactured by otsuka brush manufacturing co . ), was immersed for a while . then using this roller impregnated with the composition , and by movements in up - and - down and right - and - left directions , a mortar surface was coated in an amount of 2 . 5 kg per square meter of coating . thereafter , the coated surface was levelled by the roller in which a small amount of the composition was contained , to obtain a coating having an average thickness of 2 mm and ripple - like finishes . on the other hand , composition present invention no . 4 prepared above was applied to the surface of a precast concrete board in an amount of 1 . 5 kg per square meter of coating by means of spray guns having with a nozzle 7 - 8 mm in diameter under 4 - 5 kg / cm 2 pressure . the resulting coatings had beautiful , rugged finishes . each coating obtained from the above two compositions was subjected to the adhension test , and it was found that the results were the same as obtained in composition present invention no . 2 . table iii______________________________________ coating composition present invention no . 3 no . 4______________________________________tetraethanol ammonium silicate , g 100 100epoxide resin , epikote 815 , g 10 10curing agent , tomite 235 , g 3 3stable silica sol , g 100 100powdered siliceous stone , g 250 250finely powderedcalcium carbonate , g 450 250coarsely powderedcalcium carbonate , g 0 200thickening agent 1 0 . 7water - proofing agent 5 5water 130 150______________________________________ | 2 |
fig2 is a cross - sectional view showing a rotor in accordance with the present invention . the number of poles should be two poles or more . fig2 shows a case of 8 poles , and a ratio of ( inner diameter )/( outer diameter ) is 0 . 7 to 0 . 8 . a magnet is segmented in the circumferential direction , and one segment of the magnet corresponds to one pole . a rotor shaft 3 is machined , and the surface of the rotor shaft is cleaned and applied with an adhesive . then the segmented magnets 1 are fixed onto the rotor . in regard to magnetization of the magnets , there are a method in which the magnets magnetized before bonding are bonded onto the rotor shaft 3 and a method in which non - magnetized segmented magnets are bonded onto the rotor shaft 3 and then magnetized . either of the above methods may be employed . after assembling the rotor , the rotor is set in the center of a stator 2 . in the present embodiment , there exists a gap δ 1 in the circumferential direction between the segmented magnets . the amount of the magnets used therein can be reduced by increasing the gap δ 1 . a method of the magnetization is that coils are arranged so that a longitudinal direction of the coils is along an axis of the rotor shaft 3 , and current is flowed through said coils in directions different from each other with respect to individual magnets adjacent to each other . in regard to the arrangement of the coils , it is preferable that a plurality of coils are arranged between the individual magnets adjacent to each other or in the vicinity of magnet ends . by the magnetization described above , each of the magnetizing direction , the magnetized direction and the direction of line of magnetic force is continuously varied , and the feature is as shown in fig1 . it is possible to make cogging torque ten times or less than the magnet volume ratio of 100 % when a peripheral magnet volume ratio is made 40 - 99 % and to make the induced voltage 70 % or more than a value at the time the magnet volume ratio is 100 %, and it is possible to provide a rotor of low cost and light weight . description will be made below on results of a study in regard to metals containing rear earth elements used for the materials of the magnets shown in fig2 . the segmented magnet 1 may be any one of an isotropic bond magnet , an anisotropic bond magnet , an isotropic sintered magnet and as anisotropic sintered magnet . in the case of the isotropic bond magnet , a magnet made of an intermetallic compound of nd 2 fe 14 b group , sm 2 co 17 group , smco 5 group or sm 2 fe 17 n 3 group , and magnets made of a composite which is formed by bonding powder of one of these magnet materials with a mixed organic resin are applicable . in a case of a motor used under a high temperature environment , an sm 2 co 17 group material or an ndfeb group material of coersive force ka / m ( 18 koe ) is used because the magnet material should be a high temperature resistant material . by using such a material and selecting a bond material , the motor can be used within the temperature range of 200 ° c . to 230 ° c . injection molding , compression molding etc are used for manufacturing the arc segment magnet , and machining of the inner circumference and the outer circumference after molding can be eliminated . in the case of the isotropic bond magnet , the direction of magnetization of the magnet is determined by the direction of magnetizing magnetic field . therefore , the magnets can be magnetized each pole using a magnetizing yoke , and then bonded onto the rotor shaft to form the rotor . in the case of the anisotropic bond magnet , the same group materials as the materials for the isotropic bond magnet can be selected , and directions of the anisotropy are adjusted before magnetizing by adding a magnetic field or stress to the magnet at manufacturing the magnets . in this case , the coil position at molding and the yoke shape are designed so that the distribution of easily magnetized directions may become a sinusoidal waveform with respect to the circumferential direction . evaluation of the direction of the anisotropy and the magnetized direction after being magnetized can be performed through magnetization measurement , magneto - optical measurement or structural measurement . the nbfeb group or the sm 2 co 17 group material is used as the anisotropic sintered magnet material . in a case where the working temperature exceeds 100 ° c ., a rear earth element ( dr , tb or the like ) or co may be added to the nbfeb group material . when the segmented magnet 1 is manufactured with the anisotropic sintered magnet , the magnetic powder needs to be oriented ( in a sinusoidal waveform ) before the sintering process . therefore , it is important that the magnetic field distribution at the magnet position is form in a nearly sinusoidal waveform by designing the coil position and the orientating yoke shape . in order to check the near sinusoidal waveform orientation or magnetization before and after magnetization , the following evaluation methods are used . that is , the evaluation methods are ( 1 ) a waveform analysis by measuring a distribution of the surface magnetic flux density using a hole element to obtain the angular dependence of the magnetic flux density ; ( 2 ) an analysis of the angular dependence of the magnetization by evaluating by arranging the segment magnets in a ring - shape to evaluate angular dependences of magnetization ( before and after magnetization ); ( 3 ) an analysis of the angular dependence ( positional dependence ) of a loop obtained by measuring a magnetized state on the magnet surface of the segmented magnet one by one using the magneto - optical effect ; and ( 4 ) an structural analysis in the circumferential direction , in the case of the anisotropic magnet . all the methods ( 1 ) to ( 4 ) can be also used for the ring magnet . by the methods described above , it is possible to judge whether or not the magnetized direction of the segment magnet is in a nearly sinusoidal waveform . the gap δ 1 in fig2 is above 0 . 1 mm , and a non - magnetic material or a ferromagnetic material is inserted to the gap between the magnets . as the non - magnetic material , al , cu , mg or the other non - magnetic metal or alloy , or a resin is used . further , as the ferromagnetic material , an fe group material is used . in any cases , the magnets can be integrated with the shaft . in the rotors of fig2 to fig5 , the segment magnets 1 can be magnetized at a time after fixing the segment magnets 1 onto the rotor shaft 3 . that is , post - magnetization can be performed . the post - magnetization can be applied to the isotropic magnets as well as to the anisotropic magnets . the magnets are magnetized by inserting the rotor into a magnetizing apparatus composed of magnetizing coils and laminate steel plates , and positioning the magnets of the rotor , and then making current flow through the coils . arrangement of the coils are that several numbers of coils are placed in each position of the predetermined arrangement , and the coils are arranged near the boundary between the segment magnets 1 so that a longitudinal direction of the coils is along an axis of the rotor shaft 3 , and current is flowed through said coils so that the current may flow in directions different from each other with respect to individual magnets adjacent to each other . therefore , the coils are individually placed at all the positions between the magnets , and the direction of current flow is along the axis of the rotor shaft , as described above . in order to suppress generation of eddy current , laminar magnetic steel plates or ceramics may be employed for the rotor shaft . it has been checked that the magnetic flux density distribution on the magnet surfaces obtained by the post - magnetization is nearly sinusoidal , and agrees with the magnetic flux density distribution obtained by the case of assembling the magnetized magnets . in the case of using a non - magnetic material , the rotor shaft is made of an organic material , a ceramic or the like . in the case of using a ferromagnetic material , the laminar steel plates may be integrated with the rotor shaft in a one - piece structure , or the rotor shaft may be made of a fe or ni or co alloy . in addition , in order to improve the corrosion resistance of the magnet , the magnet surfaces may be covered with protective films , or the magnets without surface protective film may be protected by a thin thickness bond film after assembling . fig3 is a cross - sectional view showing a rotor shaft in a case of about 75 % magnet volume ratio , and the structure is similar to that of fig2 . fig4 shows an embodiment in which the segment magnets 1 and the ferromagnetic material member 4 are alternatively arranged in the circumferential direction of the segment magnets 1 . the saturation magnetic flux density of the ferromagnetic material is above 1 . 0 t , and the rotor shaft 3 and the ferromagnetic material members 4 may be integrated together when the rotor shaft 3 is made of a magnetic material . when the rotor shaft 3 is made of a non - magnetic material , the segment magnets and the ferromagnetic material members are alternatively arranged . since eddy current is easily generated in the ferromagnetic material members 4 and the segment magnets 1 , the eddy current in the ferromagnetic material member 4 can be reduced by forming the ferromagnetic material member 4 and the rotor shaft 4 of integrated laminar magnetic steel plates . further , eddy current is easily generated in the segment magnet because the specific resistance of the ndfeb group or the smco group sintered magnet is small . in order to reduce the eddy current , the bond magnets may be used , or magnets made of a mixture of nbfeb or smco group magnet powder and an oxide or nitride powder , or magnet solidified magnet powder after surface treatment of the magnet powder may be used . fig6 and fig7 shows the results of measured cogging torque and induced voltage obtained by rotating rotors having the structure described above inside a stator 2 , respectively . fig6 and fig7 shows a case where a non - magnetic material ( an organic material ) member is interposed between the magnets and a case where the laminar magnetic steel plates are used . the cogging torque in the case where the ferromagnetic material member is interposed between the segment magnets is larger than that in the case where the non - magnetic material member is interposed between the segment magnets . further , the induced voltage is also large . it can be understood that in order to realize low cogging torque and to reduce the magnet volume , the non - magnetic material member should be interposed between the magnets . further , since the cogging torque is preferably smaller than 1 . 00e - 03 , the cogging torque in the both cases is slightly improved by interposing the ferromagnetic material member or the non - magnetic material member between the magnets compared to that in the case of 100 % magnet volume ratio . particularly , it has been found that in the case of the non - magnetic material member , the cogging torque down to 60 % magnet volume ratio is nearly equal to that in the case of 100 % magnet volume ratio . thereby , in the case where cogging force has precedence of induction voltage in design , the amount of the material used for the magnets can be reduced . fig5 shows an embodiment in which projections 6 are provided to the rotor shaft 3 in order to make assembling of the segment magnets 1 easy , and organic material member 5 made of a thermosetting resin is interposed into the gap between the magnets . further , a ring - shaped magnet supporting member can be set in the outer circumference in the rotor so that the rotor withstands the stress at rotating . the segment magnet 1 is bonded with a bonding agent . fig8 shows a measured result of a surface magnetic flux density distribution on segment magnets for two pole portions after magnetizing the segment magnets . a point of inflection is observed at a point near 36 degrees because the non - magnetic gap exists between the magnets . because of the nearly sinusoidal magnetization , the maximum magnetic flux density is higher than that in the case of the radial magnetization . therefore , the magnetic flux exceeding the magnetic flux in the case of the radial ring magnet can be kept even when the magnet volume is reduced . after manufacturing anisotropic sintered magnets , the segment magnets are arranged in a ring shape to measure degree of orientation in the c - axis direction by x - ray diffraction . fig9 shows the measured result of the degree of orientation in the c - axis direction of the segment magnets ( two pole portions ). that is , an x - ray diffraction pattern is measured by rotating a ring - shaped sample , and the ratios of a ( 006 ) diffraction peak intensity to the other peak intensities are obtained . fig9 shows the data of the ratios . the segment magnets are arranged in a ring shape , and the x - ray beam is incident to the magnet from a direction normal to the cross section of fig2 to fig5 . that is , the x - ray is collimated and incident to the side face of the segment magnet , and the reflected intensity is measured . the diffraction pattern is measured for each rotation angle of the sample . a degree of orientation of a specified face can be obtained by dividing a diffraction peak intensity of the specified face index by the sum of the total peak intensities . in order to improve the accuracy of the degree of angle , a stage having a transferring accuracy higher than that of the measurement angle width or the x - ray width ( in the angular direction ) is used . the diffraction intensity of the c - axis ( the ( 006 ) diffraction peak intensity ) shows the maximum value in the pole center of the segment magnet , and the degree of orientation is above 90 %. by using the segment magnets showing such orientation , the surface magnetic flux density distribution becomes nearly sinusoidal , and accordingly high induction voltage and low cogging torque can be attained . as having been described above , according to the rotor having the segment magnets magnetized in the nearly sinusoidal waveform and having the non - magnetic material or ferromagnetic material member in each gap between the magnets , it is possible to provide a rotor which has high induced voltage and low cogging torque characteristics , and is high in the productivity and light in weight . further , it is possible to easily perform inspection at mass - production in regard to an evaluating method of the anisotropy and the magnetized direction . particularly , the rotor in accordance with the present invention is effective in application to a servo motor , and is suitable for a motor for transferring semiconductor devices and for a motor for positioning in a machine tool . | 7 |
the preferred dispersion of the present invention is incorporated with nylon 6 or polyethylene terephthalate and comprises 30 to 50 , most preferably 37 . 5 , weight percent titanium dioxide having an average diameter of about 0 . 2 micron or less at spinning temperature ; 0 . 075 to 0 . 75 , most preferably 0 . 375 , weight percent soya lecithin ; and 50 to 70 , most preferably 62 . 125 , weight percent coconut oil transesterified with glycerol trioleate and having an average molecular weight of about 775 . an alternate but equally preferred dispersion comprises 30 to 50 , most preferably 50 , weight percent titanium dioxide having an average diameter of about 0 . 2 micron or less at spinning temperature ; 0 . 05 to 0 . 25 , most preferably 0 . 25 , weight percent of an organic titanate selected from the group consisting of isopropyl , tri ( dioctyl - phosphato ) titanate , di ( dioctylphosphato ) ethylene titanate and isopropyl , triisostearoyl titanate ; and 50 to 70 , most preferably 50 , weight percent coconut oil transesterified with glycerol trioleate and having an average molecular weight of about 775 . the injection rate is dependent on the desired level of titanium dioxide in the final product , which may be up to 2 weight percent . preferably , the dispersion is injected via the extruder vent port into the molten polymer stream at a velocity of not less than 0 . 5 ft / s ( 0 . 2 m / s ) to prevent pluggage at the injection point . static mixers are used to ensure good in - polymer dispersion and minimum titanium dioxide agglomeration . the residence time between the injection point and mixer is usually less than a minute . the chip - fed and melt - fed processes are equally preferred . in the chip - fed extrusion process the percent polymer which is molten preferably is greater than 50 , most preferably greater than 65 , to prevent extruder screw slippage and potential screw bridges . certain tests utilized in illustrating this invention are defined as follows . 1 . weigh 2 . 0 g ( to nearest tenth of a milligram ) of undrawn , finish - free yarn into a clean , dry 125 ml erlenmeyer flask . 3 . heat on hot plate to 180 ° c .- 190 ° c . until sample dissolves . do not let the benzyl alcohol boil . 4 . remove flask from hot plate , cool to about 120 ° c ., add 3 to 5 drops of phenolphthalein indicator , and titrate with standard n / 20 potassium hydroxide in benzyl alcohol . record volume of titrant used . 5 . calculate carboxyl end groups using : ## equ1 ## where c = carboxyl end groups , in microequivalents / g , v s = volume of titrant to titrate sample , in ml , v b = volume of titrant to titrate blank , in ml , note : each day that end groups are analyzed , determine a blank on the benzyl alcohol . add 3 to 5 drops of phenolphthalein solution to 50 ml of benzyl alcohol . titrate with n / 20 potassium hydroxide in benzyl alcohol to the first faint pink color which persists for 30 seconds while swirling the flask . if the blank is greater than 0 . 2 ml , reject the bottle of benzyl alcohol and use a fresh bottle . 1 . weigh 2 . 0 g ( to nearest tenth of a milligram ) of undrawn , finish - free yarn into a clean , dry 125 ml erlenmeyer flask . 2 . add 50 ml phenol - methanol mixed solvent , 68 percent phenol content , using automatic pipet , and stopper the flask . 3 . using wrist - action shaker , shake sample until solution is complete , approximately 30 minutes . 4 . add four drops of mixed green indicator ( 0 . 1 weight / volume percent methyl yellow and 0 . 1 weight / volume percent methylene blue in methanol ), and titrate with 0 . 01 n p - toluenesulfonic acid solution in methanol to change of color from green to gray . 5 . calculate amine end groups using : ## equ2 ## where a = amine end groups in microequivalents / g , v = volume of titrant , in ml , in order to illustrate the present invention , the following examples are given . parts and percentages employed are by weight unless otherwise indicated . nylon 6 polymer pellets having the characteristics designated in table 1 and having a titanium dioxide level of about 0 . 52 percent ( a 47 percent aqueous titanium dioxide prior art dispersion had been added to caprolactam with other additives and catalysts at the start of polymerization ) were melted at about 260 ° c . to 265 ° c . and melt extruded under pressure of about 1000 psig ( 6895 kpa ) through a 144 - orifice ( asymmetrical , y - shaped ) spinnerette at a rate of 134 pounds per hour ( 60 . 8 kg / hr ) into a quench stack where the cross flow of quenching fluid was air at a temperature of about 15 . 6 ° c . and at a relative humidity of about 65 percent . the quenched filaments had a spin finish applied at 5 . 5 percent wet pickup and subsequently were taken up . the modification ratio was 2 . 4 . the yarn was then drawn at a mechanical draw ratio of 3 . 0 . the yarn of this example is considered the control for examples 1 - 5 . see tables 1 through 3 for polymer properties , spinning conditions and physical yarn properties , respectively . the procedure of example 1 was repeated in examples 2 and 3 , utilizing nylon 6 polymer pellets having the characteristics designated in table 1 and a titanium dioxide level of about 0 . 13 ± 0 . 02 percent . in both examples a dispersion comprising 39 . 3 weight percent finely divided titanium dioxide sold as unitane 0 - 310 ( american cyanamid company , specific gravity 3 . 8 , approximate ph 7 . 3 with aluminum oxide additive ), 0 . 393 weight percent yelkin ds ( ross & amp ; rowe , inc ., a soybean lecithin of mixed phosphatidyl choline , phosphatidyl ethanolamine and phosphoinositides ), and 60 . 307 weight percent caplube 8370 ( capital city products company , glycerine ester of c 6 - c 18 acids having average molecular weight 775 , viscosity at 25 ° c . ( 30 rpm , # 2 spindle ) of 48 cps , flash point of about 304 ° c ., specific gravity at 15 . 6 ° c . of 0 . 905 to 0 . 920 ) was formed by adding the powdered titanium dioxide to the carrier containing lecithin over a one - half hour period with a manton - gaulin varikinetic mixer . the dispersion remained fluid throughout the addition period . the final dispersion density and brookfield viscosity at 25 ° c . were , respectively , 1 . 3 g / cc and 1900 cps ( 30 rpm , # 3 spindle ). in example 2 , the dispersion was injected in the vent port of the extruder while in example 3 , injection was in the feed throat of the extruder . note that at the extruder feed throat , the polymer is in chip form while at the extruder vent port the polymer is molten ; therefore , when injecting at the extruder vent port , pressure must be used to inject the dispersion in order to overcome the pressure of the polymer or else the polymer will back up into the injection tube . the injection rate was adjusted to yield an undrawn yarn with nominal 0 . 5 percent titanium dioxide . examination of undrawn filament length and cross section indicated titanium dioxide distribution was uniform and agglomerates were minor . no visible irregularities were seen along the length or cross - sections of filaments examined under the microscope . yarn properties and spinning conditions are given in tables 1 - 3 . the procedure of examples 2 and 3 was repeated in examples 4 and 5 , respectively , utilizing nylon 6 polymer pellets having the characteristics designated in table 1 and a titanium dioxide level of about 0 . 13 ± 0 . 02 percent . in examples 4 and 5 , however , the dispersion carrier at 61 . 822 weight percent was c . c . l . no . 6 ( proctor & amp ; gamble co ., glycerine ester of mixed fatty acids having average molecular weight 800 , viscosity at 25 ° c . ( 30 rpm , # 2 spindle ) of 48 cps , flash point of about 315 ° c ., specific gravity at 15 . 6 ° c . of 0 . 919 ). the dispersion also comprised 37 . 8 and 0 . 378 weight percent of , respectively , unitane 0 - 310 and yelkin ds . the final dispersion density and brookfield viscosity at 25 ° c . were , respectively , 1 . 2 g / cc and 2016 cps ( 30 rpm , # 3 spindle ). in example 4 , the dispersion was injected in the vent port of the extruder while in example 5 , injection was in the feed throat . examination of undrawn filament length and cross - section indicated titanium dioxide distribution was fairly uniform and agglomerates minor . yarn properties and spinning conditions are presented in tables 1 - 3 . undrawn yarn produced according to the procedure of example 1 was converted to a drawn , textured fiber for subsequent processing . the undrawn yarn was fed through a draw zone where it was drawn at a draw ratio of 3 . 0 . the drawn yarn was then continuously fed to a stream jet texturizer operating with steam at a pressure of 68 psig ( 469 kpa ) and at a temperature of 268 ° c ., and subsequently was taken up . a skein of yarn was formed , tumbled , prebulked at 57 . 2 ° c . and autoclaved at 132 . 2 ° c . textured yarn physicals are presented in table 3 . some of the yarn was taken off the package , and measured for crimp elongation before boil ( percent ), then boiled for thirty minutes in water , and measured again for crimp elongation after boil ( percent ). these values along with total shrinkage ( percent ) are presented in table 4 . some of the yarn was formed into sleeves which were acid mock - dyed and evaluated for breaking strength retention ( percent ) after 100 hours carbon arc exposure according to aatcc test method 16a - 1977 . some of the yarn was formed into a twenty - five ox / yd 2 ( 0 . 85 kg / m 2 ) bcf saxony carpet having a 0 . 625 inch ( 1 . 59 cm ) pile height . the carpet was backed with regular latex and jute and tested for frp flammability ( astm e648 / national fire protection association no . 253 / federal test method standard 372 ) in typar without pad or glue - down . the carpet was rated class b . results are presented in table 4 . some of the yarn was formed into knitted sleeves which were dyed acid moss green or olive ii for evaluation of ozone fading ( aatcc test method 129 - 1975 ). colorfastness of knitted sleeves dyed olive ii was tested by aatcc test method 107 , evaluation procedure no . 1 . test results are presented in table 4 . some of the yarn was formed into knitted sleeves which were dyed eight different shades , including three original critical laurel crest shades ( 3919 - a , 3805 - a , and 3707 - a ). the dyed sleeves were exposed 40 , 60 , 80 and 100 hours to xenon , and δ e ( hunter lab ) was determined for each exposure time . the average δ e ( hunter lab ) for the eight shades is listed in table 4 . xenon dye lightfastness is measured in accordance with aatcc test method 16e - 1978 ( xrf - 1 for 20 afu ). some of the yarn was formed into knitted sleeves which were dyed competitively and comparatively with acid blue 92 for purposes of comparison with example 7 . undrawn yarn produced according to procedure of example 2 was converted to a drawn , textured fiber for subsequent processing . the undrawn yarn was fed through a draw zone where it was drawn at a draw ratio of 2 . 8 . the drawn yarn was then continuously fed to the steam jet texturizer operating with steam at a pressure of 68 psig ( 469 kpa ) and at a temperature of 270 ° c . and subsequently was taken up . the yarn was tumbled , heat set and evaluated according to the procedures set forth in example 6 . results are presented in tables 3 and 4 . there was no detectable difference with respect to dyeability of this sample and that of example 6 . this probably indicates negligible reaction of the carrier with the nylon end groups . nylon 6 polymer having the characteristics designated in table 1 and having no titanium dioxide therein is produced in a continuous process , i . e ., a process wherein subsequent to final polymerization , the molten polymer is pumped directly to spinning units by an extruder . the molten polymer , having a temperature of about 265 ° c . is melt - extruded under pressure of about 1000 psig ( 6895 kpa ) through a 144 - orifice spinnerette at a rate of 147 . 5 pounds per hour ( 66 . 9 kg / hr ) into a quench stack where cross flow of quenching fluid is air at a temperature of about 15 . 6 ° c . and at a relative humidity of about 65 percent . the quenched filaments have a spin finish applied at 5 . 5 percent wet pickup and are deposited in a tow can . the undrawn denier per filament is nominally 44 , the modification ratio is 2 . 4 , and the percent finish on yarn is about 1 . 1 . yarn made in accordance generally with this procedure and from several tow cans was combined in a creel into a tow and was stretched in a normal manner at a stretch ratio of 2 . 6 to 3 . 0 in a tow stretcher . the tow was then fed through a stuffing box crimper using 15 pounds of steam ( 103 kpa ) to produce about 11 crimps per inch ( 4 . 33 crimps / cm ). then , the tow was fed into a conventional cutter , was cut into staple yarn , had a lubricating overfinish applied ( quadralube l - 100 ax , manufacturers chemicals corporation , p . o . box 197 , cleveland , tenn . 37311 ), and was baled . yarn produced according to this example was tested according to the procedures set forth in example 6 for chemical and physical properties , percent breaking strength retention , flammability ( also includes pill test , title 15 , c . f . r ., department of commerce ffl - 70 ), ozone fading , and xenon dye lightfastness . results are presented in tables 1 and 3 - 4 . the procedure of example 8 was repeated except that prior to cutting , the tow was tumbled , prebulked at 57 . 2 ° c . and autoclaved at 132 . 2 ° c . test results are presented in table 4 . the procedure of example 8 was repeated utilizing nylon 6 polymer having the characteristics designated in table 1 . a dispersion comprising 37 . 4 weight percent unitane 0 - 310 , 0 . 4 weight percent yelkin ds , and 62 . 2 weight percent caplube 8370 was formed as in examples 2 and 3 . the brookfield viscosity and specific gravity at 25 ° c . were , respectively , 1650 cps ( 60 rpm , # 3 spindle ) and 1 . 28 . the dispersion was injected in the extruder feed line while the polymer was molten . the injection rate was adjusted to yield an undrawn yarn with nominal 0 . 5 percent titanium dioxide . subsequent to application of the spin finish , the yarn was deposited in a tow can . the undrawn denier per filament of the yarn was about 44 , the modification ratio was about 2 . 5 , and the percent finish on yarn was about 1 . 1 . subsequently , yarn from several tow cans was combined in a creel into a tow and was stretched in a normal manner at a stretch ratio of 2 . 6 to 3 . 0 in a tow stretcher . the tow was then fed to a stuffing box crimper using 15 pounds of steam ( 103 kpa ) to produce about 10 . 8 crimps per inch ( 4 . 25 crimps / cm ). then the tow was fed into a conventional cutter , was cut into staple yarn , had a lubricating overfinish applied , and was baled . yarn produced according to this example was tested as set forth in example 8 . results are set forth in tables 1 and 3 - 4 . the procedure of example 10 was repeated except that prior to cutting , the tow was tumbled , prebulked at 57 . 2 ° c . and autoclaved at 132 . 2 ° c . test results are presented in table 4 . the procedure of example 10 was repeated utilizing nylon 6 polymer having the characteristics designated in table 1 . the injection rate of the dispersion was adjusted to yield an undrawn yarn with nominal 0 . 13 percent titanium dioxide . the undrawn denier per filament was 44 . 3 , and the modification ratio was about 2 . 4 . staple fiber having 11 . 7 crimps per inch ( 4 . 61 crimps / cm ) was produced . test results are set forth in table 4 . the procedure of example 12 was repeated except that prior to cutting , the tow was tumbled , prebulked at 57 . 2 ° c . and autoclaved at 132 . 2 ° c . test results are set forth in table 4 . the relative amounts of the dispersion &# 39 ; s components at 25 ° c . are varied to determine the effect , if any , on settling rate . with reference to table 5 , it can be seen that the amount of yelkin ds can be produced to 0 . 25 percent , based on the weight of the titanium dioxide ( unitane 0 - 310 ), with no adverse effects on settling rate . further , settling rate is lower for higher titanium dioxide concentrations ( higher dispersion viscosities ). this example demonstrates the benefits obtained by utilizing an organic titanate in the dispersion to be injected rather than the soya lecithin surfactant . with reference to table 6 , it can be seen in sample numbers 7 and 14 that addition of 0 . 25 percent , based on the weight of the titanium dioxide and carrier , of isopropyl , tri ( dioctylphosphato ) titanate allows an increase to 50 weight percent of titanium dioxide in the total dispersion with no increase in viscosity over a 40 weight percent titanium dioxide dispersion with 0 . 5 percent , based on the weight of the titanium dioxide and carrier , of the soya lecithin surfactant . the dispersions were mixed with an eppenbach homomixer in 500 - g batches of unitane 0 - 310 and caplube 8370 , to which either yelkin ds or an organic titanate were added . twenty grams of the dispersion of sample number 2 of table 6 were tumbled in a patterson kelly twin - shell blender for 30 minutes at room temperature ( 25 ° c .) with 1800 g of nylon 6 polymer pellets characterized by , typically , 48 carboxyl ends , equivalents per 10 6 grams polymer , 50 amine ends , equivalents per 10 6 grams polymer , and 55 ± 3 formic acid viscosity . in this manner , the dispersion was coated on the chips , and the chips had a titanium dioxide level of about 0 . 52 percent . the chips were melted at about 270 ° c . and melt extruded under pressure of about 1000 psig ( 6895 kpa ) through a 14 - orifice ( asymmetrical , y - shaped ) spinnerette at a rate of about 23 g / min into a quench stack where the cross flow of quenching fluid was air at a temperature of about 15 . 6 ° c . and at a relative humidity of about 65 percent . the quenched filaments had a spin finish applied and subsequently were taken up . the modification ratio was targeted for 2 . 4 ± 0 . 2 , and the undrawn denier was 700 . the yarn was then plied and simultaneously fed through a draw zone where it was drawn at a draw ratio of 3 . 2 to produce drawn yarn having a denier of 2250 . the drawn yarn was then continuously fed to a steam jet texturizer operating with steam at a pressure of 70 psig ( 483 kpa ) and at a temperature of 270 ° c . the yarn was skeined , autoclaved at 132 . 2 ° c ., and formed into knitted sleeves for further testing as follows . some of the sleeves were acid mock - dyed and evaluated for breaking strength retention ( percent ) after 100 hours carbon arc exposure ( aatcc test method 16a - 1977 ). some of the sleeves were dyed acid moss green or olive ii for evaluation of ozone fading ( aatcc test method 129 - 1975 ). some of the sleeves were dyed acid beige # 1 , acid beige # 2 , or laurel crest 3919 . the dyed sleeves were exposed 40 , 60 , 80 and 100 hours to xenon , and δ e ( hunter lab ) was determined for each exposure time . xenon dye lightfastness is measured in accordance with aatcc test method 16e - 1978 ( xrf - 1 for 20 afu ). results are presented in table 7 . the procedure of example 15 was repeated in examples 16 - 18 with the following changes . in example 16 , the dispersion utilized was sample number 5 of table 6 , the undrawn denier was 698 , steam pressure and temperature were 68 psig ( 469 kpa ) and 268 ° c ., respectively . in example 17 , the dispersion utilized was sample number 6 of table 6 , the undrawn denier was 695 , and steam temperature was 272 ° c . in example 18 , 25 g of the dispersion of example 2 was utilized , the undrawn denier was 695 , and steam temperature was 268 ° c . all results are presented in table 7 . it can be seen that the physical properties of the yarn were not adversely affected by utilizing organic titanates as specified in lieu of the surfactant . an injection dispersion suitable for producing a pigmented fiber is prepared by mixing ( eppenbach high shear mixer ) together 59 . 6 parts caplube 8370 , 0 . 4 part yelkin ds , and 40 parts meteor tan 7729 ( harshaw chemical co ., cleveland , oh ), a chromium , antimony titanate of specific gravity at 25 ° c . of 4 . 29 ( 35 . 8 lbm / gal or 4290 kg / m 3 ). about 0 . 125 to 0 . 5 part of the dispersion are injected per 100 parts nylon 6 according to the procedure of example 3 , but in lieu of the dispersion of that example , to produce a light brown fiber , possessing acceptable chemical and physical properties . further , the feed polymer chip has no titanium dioxide and has the same chemical properties as that of example 15 . the procedure of example 19 is followed except that injection occurs via the extruder vent port . a light brown fiber , possessing acceptable chemical and physical properties , is produced . an injection dispersion suitable for producing a delustered , pigmented fiber is prepared by mixing ( eppenbach high shear mixer ) together 59 . 6 parts caplube 8370 , 0 . 4 part yelkin ds , 20 parts unitane 0 - 310 , and 20 parts meteor tan 7729 . the procedures of examples 19 and 20 are followed in , respectively , examples 21 and 22 to produce a light brown fiber possessing acceptable chemical and physical properties . table 1__________________________________________________________________________polymer propertiesproperty 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13__________________________________________________________________________carboxyl ends , equivalentsper 10 . sup . 6 grams polymer 52 53 53 51 52 52 53 22 . 4 22 . 4 24 . 1 24 . 1 23 . 9 23 . 9amine ends , equivalents per10 . sup . 6 grams polymer 50 50 50 49 49 50 50 28 . 8 28 . 8 37 . 9 37 . 9 28 . 4 28 . 4formic acid viscosity . sup . 1 50 52 53 51 50 50 52 50 . 6 50 . 6 48 . 2 48 . 2 49 . 2 49 . 2__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . 1 astm d789 - 59t table 2__________________________________________________________________________spinning conditions examplecondition 1 2 3 4 5 6 7__________________________________________________________________________extrudertemperature , ° c . 260 260 260 260 260 260 260pressure , psig / kpa 1000 / 6895 1000 / 6895 1000 / 6895 1000 / 6895 1000 / 6895 1000 / 6895 1000 / 6895speed , rpm 55 . 0 49 . 7 54 . 5 51 . 0 54 . 0 55 . 0 49 . 7injectionpressure , psig / kpa -- 255 / 1551 0 / 0 300 / 2068 0 / 0 -- 225 / 1551pump , rpm -- 60 50 56 49 -- 60rate , g / min -- 11 . 2 11 . 2 10 . 6 10 . 6 -- 11 . 2exit polymertemperature , ° c . 264 263 263 263 263 264 263filter pack type screens screens screens screens screens screens screens__________________________________________________________________________ table 3__________________________________________________________________________physical yarn properties exampleproperty 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13__________________________________________________________________________undrawn yarndenier 6341 6335 6271 6352 6268 6341 6335 -- -- -- -- -- -- u . e ., % 406 459 478 506 477 406 459 -- -- -- -- -- -- b . s ., g 7351 7658 7679 7646 7666 7351 7658 -- -- -- -- -- -- tio . sub . 2 , % 0 . 52 0 . 53 0 . 59 0 . 41 0 . 52 0 . 52 0 . 53 -- -- -- -- -- -- drawn yarndenier 2282 2296 2229 2279 2277 2332 2363 3465 4189 3551 4103 3710 4283u . e ., % 48 44 39 44 47 39 46 -- -- 70 . 4 70 . 4 74 . 0 74 . 0b . s ., g 8013 8623 9007 8043 8831 6940 7792 -- -- -- -- -- -- breaks & amp ; wrapsper pound 0 . 49 0 . 30 0 . 17 0 . 53 1 . 03 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- u . t . s ., g / d -- -- -- -- -- 3 . 0 3 . 3 -- -- 4 . 7 4 . 7 4 . 5 4 . 5__________________________________________________________________________ table 4__________________________________________________________________________yarn test results exampletest 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13__________________________________________________________________________crimp elongationbefore boiling , % 20 . 2 21 . 5 13 . 9 26 . 1 15 . 1 26 . 7 14 . 7 25 . 4after boiling , % 32 . 9 37 . 1 22 . 9 35 . 1 23 . 2 34 . 6 23 . 9 33 . 7shrinkage , % 11 . 3 13 . 0 9 . 95 8 . 25 8 . 85 7 . 95 9 . 90 8 . 05breaking strengthretention , %* 40 . 0 22 . 7 67 . 9 58 . 0 12 . 7 36 . 0 30 . 9 66 . 9flammabilitycrf , watts / cm . sup . 2 ** 0 . 31 0 . 25 0 . 37 / 0 . 65 -- 0 . 34 / 0 . 46 -- 0 . 27 / 0 . 51 -- pill , pass / fail -- -- pass pass pass pass pass passozone fadingacid moss greencycle 1 δ l ( hunter lab ) 1 . 2 1 . 3 0 . 33 1 . 32 0 . 68 0 . 92 0 . 48 0 . 59cycle 1 δ e ( hunter lab ) 2 . 2 2 . 1 1 . 47 2 . 25 2 . 15 1 . 74 1 . 60 1 . 39olive iicycle 1 δ l ( hunter lab ) 3 . 3 2 . 6 0 . 20 0 . 28 0 . 40 0 . 34 0 . 71 0 . 39cycle 1 δ e ( hunter lab ) 4 . 8 3 . 8 0 . 66 0 . 82 0 . 85 0 . 83 0 . 78 0 . 82colorfastness 4 4 4 4 3 - 4 3 - 4 3 - 4 3 - 4xenon dye lightfastnessδ e ( hunter lab )*** 2 . 59 2 . 85 3 . 43 3 . 79 3 . 80 4 . 26 3 . 07 4 . 30__________________________________________________________________________ * staple yarns of examples 8 - 13 spun as 3 . 0 / 2 , 4 . 7zx4 . 0s . scoured , 100 hours carbon arc exposure . ** examples 8 - 13 show average crf watts / cm . sup . 2 for carpet loose / gluedown *** examples 8 - 13 represent the average δ e ( hunter lab ) for 3 shades , 100 hours . table 5______________________________________dispersion % percent settledunitane % yelkin viscosity after x days ( a ) 0 - 310 ds ( b ) ( c ) 2 4 7 14 33______________________________________39 . 70 0 . 25 1680 0 1 . 9 3 . 7 5 . 6 7 . 439 . 72 0 . 50 1740 0 1 . 8 2 . 6 4 . 4 7 . 039 . 72 1 . 0 1720 0 1 . 8 3 . 6 5 . 5 8 . 242 . 34 1 . 0 2180 0 0 0 . 9 5 . 6 8 . 244 . 85 1 . 0 2880 0 1 . 1 1 . 1 1 . 1 4 . 345 . 36 1 . 0 4360 0 0 1 . 0 1 . 0 2 . 946 . 93 1 . 0 4800 0 0 1 . 1 2 . 2 3 . 349 . 67 1 . 0 3160 0 0 1 . 2 2 . 4 3 . 5______________________________________ ## str2 ## ( b ) based on the weight of unitane 0310 . ( c ) brookfield viscosity ( centipoises ) at 25 ° c . 30 rpm no . 3 spindle ( except no . 4 for 45 . 36 and 46 . 93 %). table 6__________________________________________________________________________ brookfield viscosity 25 ° c . ( cps ). sup . 2sample surfactant / organic titanate . sup . 1 tio . sub . 2 ( wt . %) sp . gr . 25 ° c . 6 rpm 12 rpm 30 rpm__________________________________________________________________________1 yelkin ds 0 . 5 % 49 . 3 -- 22000 12850 65202 kr - 12 0 . 25 % 49 . 6 -- 5400 3500 18803 kr - 12 0 . 125 % 49 . 5 -- 10100 5700 29524 kr - 12 0 . 063 % 49 . 6 -- 12320 7150 35045 kr - 212 0 . 25 % 49 . 5 -- 4700 2950 16806 kr - tts 0 . 25 % 49 . 5 -- 11100 6180 29807 kr - 12 0 . 25 % 49 . 46 1 . 427 3800 2660 15408 kr - 12 0 . 25 % 59 . 33 1 . 644 16500 9750 51009 kr - tts 0 . 25 % 49 . 34 1 . 440 7600 4250 226610 kr - tts 0 . 25 % 59 . 12 1 . 638 44800 26250 1330011 yelkin ds 0 . 5 % 49 . 29 1 . 442 10000 6000 312012 yelkin ds 0 . 1 % 39 . 70 1 . 267 5100 3150 168013 yelkin ds 0 . 2 % 39 . 72 1 . 303 5300 3200 174014 yelkin ds 0 . 4 % 39 . 72 1 . 268 5640 3300 172015 yelkin ds 0 . 425 % 42 . 34 1 . 306 6700 4020 218016 yelkin ds 0 . 45 % 44 . 85 1 . 348 9940 5700 288017 yelkin ds 0 . 475 % 46 . 93 1 . 418 12500 7400 480018 yelkin ds 0 . 455 % 45 . 36 1 . 361 9880 5700 436019 yelkin ds 0 . 50 % 49 . 67 1 . 428 10800 6150 3160__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . 1 the organic titanates utilized are as follows : kr12 : isopropyl , tri ( dioctylphosphato ) titanate ; kr212 : di ( dioctylphosphato ) ethylene titanate ; and krtts : isopropyl triisostearoyl titanate . . sup . 2 a # 3 spindle was used for all samples except 1 and 10 , which used # 4 spindle . table 7______________________________________ exampleproperty 15 16 17 18______________________________________denier 2272 2273 2279 2246b . s ., g 7395 7607 7377 7492u . e ., percent 60 . 6 64 . 6 60 . 5 63 . 4u . t . s ., g / d 3 . 3 3 . 3 3 . 3 3 . 3breaking strengthretention , percent * 9 . 49 15 . 94 13 . 53 18 . 57ozone fadingacid moss greencycle 1 δ l ( hunter lab ) 5 . 5 5 . 6 5 . 5 5 . 9cycle 1 δ e ( hunter lab ) 7 . 3 7 . 4 7 . 2 7 . 7olive iicycle 1 δ l ( hunter lab ) 1 . 3 1 . 4 1 . 5 1 . 6cycle 1 δ e ( hunter lab ) 1 . 8 1 . 8 2 . 1 2 . 1xenon dye lightfastness ** acid beige # 1δ e ( hunter lab ) 2 . 3 2 . 1 2 . 4 2 . 4acid beige # 2δ e ( hunter lab ) 2 . 8 3 . 0 2 . 9 2 . 9laurel crest shade 3919δ e ( hunter lab ) 3 . 4 4 . 0 3 . 8 3 . 8______________________________________ * 100 hours carbon arc exposure ** 80 hours | 2 |
fig1 through 3 , discussed below , and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure . those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged wireless network . the present disclosure provides a system and method for developing a map of wi - fi access points in a location such as a building , using one or more wireless devices with a 3d magnetic compass , accelerometer sensor , and wi - fi module . the word “ building ” as used herein means any building , group of buildings , spaces around a building , campus , or similar area where wi - fi access points would be located . fig1 illustrates a wireless mobile device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure . wireless mobile device 100 comprises antenna 105 , radio frequency ( rf ) transceiver 110 , transmit ( tx ) processing circuitry 115 , microphone 120 , and receive ( rx ) processing circuitry 125 . wireless mobile device 100 also comprises speaker 130 , main processor 140 , input / output ( i / o ) interface ( if ) 145 , keypad 150 , display 155 , and memory 160 . wireless mobile device 100 further comprises an accelerometer sensor 170 , compass 175 , and , optionally , a global positioning system ( gps ) receiver 180 . radio frequency ( rf ) transceiver 110 receives from antenna 105 an incoming rf signal transmitted by a base station of a wireless network , such as network 130 . radio frequency ( rf ) transceiver 110 down - converts the incoming rf signal to produce an intermediate frequency ( if ) or a baseband signal . the if or baseband signal is sent to receiver ( rx ) processing circuitry 125 , which produces a processed baseband signal by filtering , digitizing the baseband or if signal , additional filtering , if necessary , demodulation and / or decoding . receiver ( rx ) processing circuitry 125 transmits the processed baseband signal to speaker 130 ( i . e ., voice data ) or to main processor 140 for further processing ( e . g ., web browsing ). transmitter ( tx ) processing circuitry 115 receives analog or digital voice data from microphone 120 or other outgoing baseband data ( e . g ., web data , e - mail , interactive video game data ) from main processor 140 . transmitter ( tx ) processing circuitry 115 encodes , modulates , multiplexes , and / or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to produce a processed baseband or if signal . radio frequency ( rf ) transceiver 110 receives the outgoing processed baseband or if signal from transmitter ( tx ) processing circuitry 115 . radio frequency ( rf ) transceiver 110 up - converts the baseband or if signal to a radio frequency ( rf ) signal that is transmitted via antenna 105 . in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure , rf transceiver 110 , processing circuitry 115 and 125 , and / or main processor 140 comprise a wi - fi module configured for wi - fi communication . in certain embodiments , main processor 140 is a microprocessor or microcontroller . memory 160 is coupled to main processor 140 . in certain embodiments , part of memory 160 comprises a random access memory ( ram ) and another part of memory 160 comprises a non - volatile memory , such as flash memory , which acts as a read - only memory ( rom ). main processor 140 controls the overall operation of wireless device 100 . in one such operation , main processor 140 controls the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signals by radio frequency ( rf ) transceiver 110 , receiver ( rx ) processing circuitry 125 , and transmitter ( tx ) processing circuitry 115 , in accordance with well - known principles . main processor 140 executes software stored in memory 160 in order to control the overall operation of wireless device 100 . main processor 140 is capable of executing other processes and programs resident in memory 160 . main processor 140 can move data into or out of memory 160 , as required by an executing process . main processor 140 is also coupled to i / o interface 145 . i / o interface 145 provides mobile device 100 with the ability to connect to other devices such as laptop computers and handheld computers . i / o interface 145 is the communication path between these accessories and main controller 140 . main processor 140 is also coupled to keypad 150 and display unit 155 . the operator of mobile device 100 uses keypad 150 to enter data into mobile device 100 . display 155 may be a liquid crystal display capable of rendering text and / or graphics from web sites . in certain embodiments , display 155 may be a touch - sensitive screen and keypad 150 may be displayed on the touch - sensitive screen of display 155 . alternate embodiments may use other types of displays . in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure , main processor 140 is coupled to accelerometer sensor 170 and compass 175 . compass 175 may be , for example , a 3d magnetic compass . in certain embodiments , wireless device 100 also includes gps receiver 180 , which is coupled to main processor 140 . accelerometer 170 , compass 175 , and optional gps receiver 180 enable wireless device 100 to track and provide location and orientation information , as described in greater detail herein . fig2 illustrates a wi - fi network configured for developing a wi - fi access point map , according to one embodiment of the present disclosure . wi - fi network 200 comprises a number of wi - fi access points , represented by access points 201 , 202 , and 203 . wi - fi network 200 also comprises user 210 , mobile device 212 , and administrator 215 . wi - fi network 200 may be located substantially inside a building 220 . building 220 may include one or more stories , one or more interior rooms or areas , and one or more hallways or passageways . mobile device 212 may represent wireless mobile device 100 in fig1 . mobile device 212 is in wireless communication with one or more access points 201 - 203 . access points 201 - 203 are in wireless and / or wired communication with each other and with administrator 215 . user 210 uses wireless device 212 to engage in wireless communication via wi - fi network 200 . in certain embodiments , administrator 215 may serve as network controller or network administrator for wi - fi network 200 . in other embodiments , controller and administrator functions for wi - fi network 200 may be performed by one or more other devices ( not shown ). likewise , administrator 215 may be an it , network , or data administrator for a company , building 220 , etc . administrator 215 may be located inside building 220 , or may be remote to building 220 . mobile device 212 includes one or more algorithms for determining the location , orientation , and direction and speed of movement of device 212 . the algorithms use empirical data which may be determined from reference experiments and preloaded into mobile device 212 , or may be acquired over time during use of mobile device 212 . in certain embodiments , the algorithms may be stored in memory 160 of mobile device 212 . the algorithms may be used to carry out the operations of mobile device 212 described in greater detail below . in one aspect of operation , mobile device 212 uses compass 175 and accelerometer sensor 170 to determine the location and orientation of device 212 within building 220 . using readings from accelerometer 170 , along with a low pass filter associated with the accelerometer 170 , mobile device 212 calculates the direction of gravity . mobile device 212 uses digital compass 175 in conjunction with accelerometer 170 to detect the direction that device 212 is facing . as mobile device 212 moves , it uses compass 175 and accelerometer sensor 170 to detect changes in location , orientation , and direction of movement , as well as speed of movement . in certain embodiments , the location , orientation , and direction and speed of movement are determined with respect to a known point or landmark , e . g ., an entrance to building 220 . thus , mobile device 212 is aware of its movement around building 220 . for example , mobile device may sense that it is moving up a stair well , down a hallway , or in any other direction . as described earlier , mobile device 212 may optionally include gps receiver 180 . a gps receiver typically does not operate well within a building . thus , gps receiver 180 may not be used to track wireless device 212 while it is in building 220 . however , some buildings , particularly large ones , may have multiple entrances from the outside . in such a case , gps receiver 180 may be used to determine which entrance device 212 uses to enter building 220 . then once inside building 220 , device 212 &# 39 ; s location can be determined from its movement away from that entrance . as mobile device 212 moves within building 220 , the wi - fi rssi ( signal strength ) associated with nearby wi - fi access points changes . since each wi - fi access point has a unique bssid or mac address to identify itself , mobile device 212 can detect the handoff between access points and estimate an approximate distance and direction to each nearby access point . the wi - fi environmental data is cached on device 212 . later , device 212 may use the wi - fi environmental data to prompt user 210 to move to a different location if the wi - fi coverage is poor at a particular location . in certain embodiments , mobile device 212 includes a simple wi - fi locator user interface . the simple user interface may provide an arrow or similar indicator on display 155 that points in a direction where better wi - fi coverage is located . in other embodiments , mobile device 212 includes a more detailed wi - fi locator user interface . the more detailed user interface may display an actual map or simulation of building 220 with indicators pinpointing the location of better coverage . the user interface may include verbal or textual directions guiding a user to an improved wi - fi signal . for example , empirical data obtained from the accelerometer and compass could be used to provide very detailed step - by - step directions for navigating the building , such as “ move 10 meters east ” or “ walk 10 steps down the hallway and turn right , then take 3 more steps ” or “ take the elevator to the third floor and go 20 feet west from the elevator .” fig3 depicts another aspect of operation of the wi - fi network , according to one embodiment of the present disclosure . in this embodiment , administrator 215 is used to obtain information related to wi - fi coverage , and provide the information to mobile device 212 . in one embodiment , administrative personnel may walk ( or otherwise move ) one or more smart wireless devices ( e . g ., device 212 ) around building 220 to survey wi - fi signal strength readings throughout building 220 . this information is then sent to administrator 215 for processing and storage . alternatively or additionally , wi - fi coverage information is collected from a variety of devices ( e . g ., devices 212 , 222 , 232 , 242 ) over time , with each device reporting coverage information to administrator 215 as it is moves to a new location or encounters a change in wi - fi signal strength . this method is particularly useful in a building with many wireless devices that move around the building . for example , assume building 220 is populated with a number of wireless devices ( e . g ., devices 222 , 232 , 242 ) similar to device 212 . as each wireless device moves about building 220 , the device provides an indication of wi - fi signal strength to administrator 215 , which collects the aggregate data . for example , as device 212 provides signal strength information to administrator 215 , administrator 215 identifies the location of device 212 using rssi readings . alternatively , device 212 may provide its location information based on data from accelerometer 170 and compass 175 . as wi - fi signal strength data is collected over time from multiple devices in multiple locations , each location is associated with a particular signal strength . if multiple devices report a signal strength for a single location , administrator 215 may calculate a representative strength for the location , such as by averaging the various reported values . thus , administrator 215 will develop a map of signal strengths over time . later , administrator 215 may push the map down to device 212 . in certain embodiments , the map is customized based on the location of device 212 . signal strength information may be constantly received and processed by administrator 215 . the information is then shared with wireless device 212 according to a variety of time tables . in certain embodiments , signal strength information is requested by device 212 continuously , periodically according to a predetermined time schedule , or only when prompted by user 210 . in other embodiments , signal strength information is pushed from administrator 215 to device 212 automatically , either continuously or periodically according to a predetermined time schedule . as described earlier , wireless device 212 may develop its own map of signal strengths as it moves about building 220 . in this case , device 212 would not need to get wi - fi signal information from administrator 215 . however , building map information from administrator 215 could be sent to device 212 to augment the wi - fi signal map information generated by device 212 . embodiments of the present disclosure may have additional applications . for example , the disclosed system may be used by it administrators to survey wi - fi environmental parameters in a location ( e . g ., a building ) and optimize the placement of the access points around the location . the disclosed system may also be used to trace a phone within an enterprise &# 39 ; s premise . although the present disclosure has been described with an exemplary embodiment , various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art . it is intended that the present disclosure encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
the device of the invention is shown at 1 in fig1 inside a broken line rectangle , connected to the dc voltage supply line of a microprocessor 3 , of the type known for example under the designation 8048 / 8049 commercialized by the firm signetics . device 1 comprises a differentiator circuit 4 and a current amplifier 5 also shown inside broken lines . the differentiator circuit 1 is formed by a resistor 6 and a capacitor 7 connected in series between dc voltage and current output terminals 8 and 9 of the supply 2 and a transistor 10 . the current amplifier 5 comprises a transistor 11 . transistor 10 is of the npn type and is connected by its base both to the terminal 9 of the power supply 2 and to one end of a resistor 6 which is not common with the end of capacitor 7 through a ground line m of the device . the pnp type transistor 11 is connected by its base to the collector of transistor 10 and by its collector to the ground line m of the device . the emitter of transistor 11 is connected both to the reset input of the microprocessor 3 and to the terminal 8 of power supply 2 by a resistor 12 which in the case of microprocessors 8048 / 8049 is integrated in the microprocessor . a capacitor 13 is connected in parallel between the emitter of transistor 11 and the ground line m of the device , ahd a diode 14 is mounted across the ends of resistor 6 , the anode of diode 14 being connected to the common point between resistor 6 and capacitor 7 , the cathode of diode 14 being connected to the ground line m of the device . the operation of the device which has just been described is as follows . at the time of switching on , initialization of the microprocessor 3 is provided by capacitor 13 which is charged through the resistor 12 to the dc potential level va supplied at terminal 8 of the power supply 2 , capacitor 7 is also charged to the potential level va through diode 14 then resistor 6 . under established operating conditions , when the potential va supplied by the stabilized power supply keeps a substantially constant value , the reset input of the microprocessor is brought to the potential level va and the common point between capacitor 7 and resistor 6 is brought to the potential of the ground line m of the device . when , for any reason , the potential va begins to decrease , the instantaneous variations of potential va are transmitted by the capacitors 7 to the common point between resistor 6 and capacitor 7 so that the potential at this common point is brought to a level which is negative with respect to the ground line m , which causes a current to appear in the collector - emitter space of transistor 10 , this current being amplified by transistor 11 which discharges capacitor 13 very rapidly in its collector - emitter space and places the reset input of the microprocessor 3 at the potential of the ground line m . the fact that the reset input is set to the ground potential causes the program counter of the microprocessor 3 to be reset and the internal circuits of the microprocessor to be reinitialized while interrupting the program which is being executed . to obtain optimum operation of the device which has just been described , it is necessary to give to capacitors 7 and 13 and to transistor 11 characteristics such that a decrease of the voltage applied to the reset terminal of the microprocessor 3 can be obtained which is much more rapid than the decrease of the potential va supplied by the stabilized power source 2 . if vb designates the potential which is applied by the emitter of transistor 11 of the reset input of microprocessor 3 , the condition which has been stated is written as ## equ1 ## if we let c 3 designate the capacitor or capacitor 13 , β the current gain of transistor 11 and c 2 the capacity of capacitor 7 , the expression of the current i flowing through capacitor 13 may be stated in the form : ## equ2 ## which implies the relationship ## equ3 ## the relation ( 1 ) seems then proved if , between the values of β , c 2 and c 3 , there exists the relationship ## equ4 ## in practice it is sufficient to choose for c 2 and c 3 values such that the relationship ## equ5 ## is satisifed . for example , the preceding conditions may be verified by choosing for c 3 a value of 1 microfarad , for β a value greater than or equal to 100 and for c 2 a value greater than or equal to 0 . 1 microfarad . in the example which has just been described , resistor 6 ensures the charging of capacitor 7 between a voltage va - 0 . 6 volts and the nominal voltage va of the power supply , the 0 . 6 volts corresponding to the threshold of the diode 14 if it is a silicon diode . thus , the admissible variation of the potential va supplied by the power supply 2 without there being initialization of the microprocessor 3 is equal to the threshold of the base - emitter junction of transistor 10 , namely 0 . 6 volts if the transistor 10 is a silicon transistor . if resistor 6 is left out , the admissible variation of the potential va is theoretically equal to the sum of the threshold voltages of diode 14 and of the base - emitter junction of transistor 10 ( 1 . 2 volt if the diode 14 and transistor 10 are made from silicon ) but in practice the combined leak resistances of diode 14 , of the base - emitter junction of transistor 10 and of capacitor 7 will bring the admissible variation of va down to a value between the threshold voltage of the base - emitter junction of transistor 10 and of diode 14 . since this value is limited but indeterminate , it is advisable , if it is desired to obtain an admissible variation of va greater than the threshold voltage of the base - emitter junction of transistor 10 , not to omit resistor 6 but to add , between the emitter of transistor 10 and the common point between capacitor 7 and resistor 6 , one or more diodes in series ( anode on the emitter side of transistor 10 ). the admissible variations of the potential of va are then equal to the sum of the threshold voltages of the added diodes and of the base - emitter junction of transistor 10 . the invention is not limited to the embodiment which has just been described , it is obvious that other embodiments are also possible without for all that departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . in particular , a device in accordance with the invention equivalent to the one which has just been described may be obtained by means of transistors 10 and 11 complementary to those used for constructing the device shown in fig1 the corresponding circuit being shown in fig2 . in this case , the collector of transistor 11 must be connected to the reset input of microprocessor 3 and the order of connecting resistor 6 and capacitor 7 to terminals 8 and 9 of the power supply 2 must be permuted . in this case , also , the anode of diode 14 must be connected to terminal 8 of power supply 2 , its cathode remaining connected to the common point between resistor 6 and capacitor 7 so as to allow charging of capacitor 7 through diode 14 . in yet another embodiment of the invention , an even more rapid response of the device may be obtained by replacing for example transistor 11 by two transistors coupled together so as to form an amplifier of the type known under the name darlington in order to obtain a very high current gain . one use of the device of the invention for safeguarding programs being executed in a microprocessor when a mains cut appears will now be described with reference to the diagram shown in fig3 . in fig3 the power supply 2 is connected to the mains through a primary winding 15 of a transformer 16 coupled to power supply 2 by a secondary winding 17 . the power supply 2 comprises , in a way known per se , a rectifier bridge 18 fed by the secondary winding 17 and a regulator 19 fed by the outputs of the rectifier bridge 18 . the transformer 16 has a second secondary winding 20 which feeds a mains current absence detector 21 , the purpose of detector 21 being to apply a constant voltage vl to the interruption input int of the microprocessor 3 . as explained above , the output of device 1 of the invention is connected to the reset input of microprocessor 3 . when a mains voltage cut occurs , this cut is detected by the mains voltage absence detector 21 , which applies in response a zero voltage level to the input int of microprocessor 3 which interrupts the program being executed and starts up the safeguard sub program . since the regulator 19 comprises in a way known per se , but not shown , a filtering cell placed upstream of the regulation , interruption of the mains voltage is not passed on instantaneously to the output of regulator 19 . during a lapse of time determined by the energy storage capacity of regulator 19 , voltage va remains constant at the output of regulator 19 allowing device 1 to maintain the output voltage vb at a logic potential 1 at the reset input of microprocessor 3 as long as the voltage va is constant . the time delay between the interruption caused by the mains absence detector and resetting of the reset is therefore as large as possible , since it is equal to the delay between the action of the mains absence detector and the beginning of a drop in the supply voltage va of the microprocessor . now , it is important that the delay between the interruption caused by the mains absence detector and resetting of the reset is as large as possible since it is this delay which is used for executing a program for safeguarding the instruction being executed in the microprocessor 3 , by executing an input - output instruction which dumps the contents of the registers of the microprocessor on the input - ouput bus io towards an external storage means not shown . | 6 |
the detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of the presently preferred embodiments of an identification system provided in accordance with the present invention and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present invention may be constructed or utilized . the description sets forth the features of the present invention in connection with the illustrated embodiments . it is to be understood , however , that the same or equivalent functions and structures may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention . as denoted elsewhere herein , like element numbers are intended to indicate like elements or features . as used herein , the term “ pwb ” means any combination of one or more insulating , dielectric , or semiconductor layers with one or more complete or partial conducting layers , and includes without limitation polymer on metal , ceramic substrates , gaas and gan chips , and combinations in which the dielectric material is glass reinforced epoxy , a teflon - based material , or alumina , and in which the conducting material contains copper or copper and other metals . referring to fig1 and fig2 , in the embodiment shown a connector frame 10 includes a plate portion 11 forming a pwb shelf 12 for supporting a pwb 14 , and also includes a wall portion 13 extending along one edge of the pwb 14 . the pwb 14 is secured to the pwb shelf 12 . threaded holes 16 in the wall portion 13 accept coaxial connectors 17 with threaded bodies . in one embodiment , the threaded holes 16 may be through holes 0 . 035 inches in diameter , counterbored with a diameter of 0 . 148 inches to a depth of 0 . 167 inches , and the counterbored portion may be threaded with a 0 . 164 - 64 uns - 2b thread , to a minimum depth of 0 . 138 inches . the connector frame 10 may be fabricated from a single piece of metal or assembled from several pieces , and it may be formed of conductive materials other than metal , or of a combination of conductive and insulating materials . in the embodiment shown in fig2 , a relief cut 21 on each side of each threaded hole 16 forms a tab shelf 22 at the same height as the top surface of the top layer ground conductor 25 . on either side of each connector 17 , a ground tab 23 is secured to both the tab shelf 22 and to an adjacent area on the top layer ground conductor 25 using solder or conductive epoxy ( element 26 of fig4 ). except where it may cross a relatively small gap 27 between the pwb 14 and the connector frame 10 , the ground tab 23 does not produce an air gap between the signal conductor and ground conductors . as a result this system provides a signal path with a more uniform and more repeatable characteristic impedance than a pair of bond wires . for clarity of illustration , fig2 shows the system with ground tabs 23 installed at one of the coaxial connectors 17 and not yet installed at another , so that the tab shelves 22 are visible at the latter location . the invention is described herein in relation to an array of coaxial rf connectors 17 , but the invention is not limited to this application , and may be used in other types of connector assemblies , such as triaxial connectors or coaxial connectors intended for use at other frequencies . in one embodiment , the center conductors 18 of the coaxial connectors 17 extend just above the top surface of the top layer signal trace 30 on the pwb 14 . the distance between the pwb shelf 12 and the centerline of any of the threaded holes 16 may preferably be chosen such that when the pwb 14 is installed on the pwb shelf 12 , the clearance between the top layer signal trace 30 on the pwb 14 and the center conductor 18 of the connector 17 is sufficiently large to allow the connector 17 to be installed in the threaded hole 16 , and also sufficiently small to allow a reliable connection between the center conductor 18 and the corresponding top layer signal trace 30 to be formed . for example , it may be preferable to have the clearance be sufficiently small that during a soldering or gluing operation molten solder or conductive epoxy ( element 26 of fig4 ) will bridge the gap between the center conductor 18 and the corresponding top layer signal trace 30 . in an exemplary embodiment the thickness of the conductive epoxy film ( element 15 of fig4 ) between the pwb shelf 12 and the pwb 14 may be 0 . 005 inches , the thickness of the pwb 14 may be 0 . 036 inches , the diameter of the coaxial connector center conductor 18 may be 0 . 012 inches , and the distance between the center line of the threaded hole 16 and the pwb shelf 12 may be 0 . 049 inches , resulting in a nominal clearance between the center conductor 18 and the top layer signal trace 30 of 0 . 002 inches . the relief cuts 21 may be formed by any suitable method , in one embodiment as part of the process of machining the connector frame 10 using a milling machine under computer numerical control , also known as a cnc machine . in this case each of the relief cuts 21 may be formed using an end mill ; the same end mill may also be used to machine other surfaces of the connector frame 10 . the width of the relief cut 21 in this case may be greater than or equal to the diameter of the end mill used for this operation . in embodiments of the present invention , the connector frame 10 may be made of a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that of the pwb 14 , such as an aluminum - silicon alloy containing 72 % aluminum and 28 % silicon . the pwb 14 may be fabricated from conductive layers made of copper and dielectric layers made of a teflon - based material such as clte sold by arlon - med of rancho cucamonga , calif ., which may have a glass weave imbedded in it . in another embodiment , similar material sold by rogers corporation , of chandler , ariz ., may be used . the glass weave may control the coefficient of thermal expansion of the dielectric layers so that it is similar to that of the copper conductive layers . in exemplary embodiments , after the pwb 14 has been secured to the connector frame 10 , connectors 17 with threaded bodies are installed in the connector frame 10 by threading them into the threaded holes 16 and tightening them to the torque specified by the manufacturer of the connectors 17 . the connectors 17 may in certain embodiments be smpm connectors , with part number 18s103 - 500l5 , sold by rosenberger of north america , llc , of lancaster , pa . in other embodiments they may be gppo connectors , with part number b003 - l33 - 02 , sold by corning gilbert incorporated of glendale , ariz . similar or equivalent connectors may be available from other vendors including w . l . gore & amp ; associates , incorporated , of newark , del ., and ddi corporation of anaheim , calif . in one embodiment , the ground tabs 23 are oblong with a width of 0 . 025 inches , a length of 0 . 125 inches , and rounded ends with radii of curvature equal to half of the width . the relief cuts 21 may be slightly wider than the ground tabs 23 to permit the latter to fit into place easily . in such an embodiment the relief cuts 21 may have a width of 0 . 032 inches . in another embodiment , shown in fig3 , u - shaped ground tabs 23 ′ may be used in place of pairs of oblong ground tabs 23 of the kind illustrated in fig2 . the two arms of each u - shaped ground tab 23 ′ may have widths of 0 . 025 inches , rounded ends with radii of curvature of 0 . 0125 inches , and a gap of 0 . 055 inches between the arms of the u . each u - shaped ground tab 23 ′ may have an overall width of 0 . 105 inches and an overall length , measured in the direction parallel to the arms of the u , of 0 . 1531 inches . the ground tabs 23 may , in an exemplary embodiment , be fabricated from a sheet of brass , 0 . 005 inches thick . in another embodiment , a sheet of another metal may be used . a metal having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that of the top conductive layer of the pwb 14 may minimize stresses that otherwise could result from differential thermal expansion or contraction with changes in temperature . it may be preferable to plate the ground tabs 23 with another metal or metals to provide a better bond during installation and to prevent galvanic corrosion . an etching process may be used to fabricate the ground tabs 23 . an etch - resistive film , in the shape that is to remain after etching , may be formed on both sides of a sheet of brass . after the formation of this film the sheet of brass may be etched from both sides . after etching , the sheet may contain a number of ground tabs 23 , each still connected to a supporting strip of the sheet by a narrow support finger of metal . in an exemplary embodiment , this etched sheet may then be plated with a layer of nickel 0 . 0001 to 0 . 0002 inches thick , and subsequently plated with a layer of gold 0 . 00001 to 0 . 00002 inches thick . shearing the support fingers in such an embodiment releases the ground tabs 23 from the supporting strip , completing the process of fabricating the ground tabs 23 . in another embodiment , the ground tabs 23 may be punched from a sheet of metal , which may first have been plated with one or more other metals . referring to fig4 , in one embodiment , the pwb 14 may be secured to the pwb shelf 12 using a conductive epoxy film 15 such as ablestik ablefilm 561 , a glass supported , modified epoxy adhesive film sold by henkel corporation , of rocky hill , conn . the conductive epoxy film 15 may be applied to the pwb shelf 12 , the pwb 14 placed on the conductive epoxy film 15 , and the subassembly heated in an oven to cure the conductive epoxy film 15 . after the pwb 14 is secured to the connector frame 10 , a dab of conductive epoxy 26 may be applied to each tab shelf 22 , and to a point , on the top layer ground conductor 25 , adjacent to each tab shelf 22 . a ground tab 23 may then be placed across the gap 27 so that one end of the ground tab 23 is over the tab shelf 22 and the other end is over the top layer ground conductor 25 . in this embodiment the conductive epoxy 26 , both between the ground tab 23 and the tab shelf 22 , and between the ground tab 23 and the top layer ground conductor 25 , is sandwiched between closely spaced parallel surfaces , and prevented by its adhesion to these surfaces from flowing to other parts of the structure , where it could otherwise cause unwanted short circuits . the conductive epoxy 26 may be one that remains compliant after curing , to reduce the risk that differential thermal expansion of the parts joined by the conductive epoxy 26 may cause the conductive epoxy 26 to fracture . in one embodiment , the conductive epoxy 26 may be ablestick 8175 , which is sold by henkel corporation . in another embodiment , dabs of solder paste may be used in place of conductive epoxy 26 , and the subassembly may be subsequently heated in a reflow oven to form solder joints at the locations of the solder paste . the dabs of conductive epoxy 26 or of solder paste may , in an exemplary embodiment , be applied under computer control by a dispensing machine . in another embodiment the dabs may be applied manually . the ground tabs 23 may be sufficiently small and of sufficiently low mass for handling with a pick - and - place machine and in one embodiment may be placed on the pwb 14 using such a machine . in another embodiment the tabs may be installed manually . in yet another embodiment a comb - shaped strip of sheet of metal may include multiple ground tabs and may be installed on the pwb 14 and the tab shelves 22 in one manual operation . it may be possible to install the ground tabs 23 on the pwb 14 at the same time , and using the same equipment , as other components , improving the efficiency of the assembly process . for example , solder paste may be applied to the tab shelves 22 and to various points on the top surface conductors of the pwb 14 . the components may then be placed on the pwb 14 and the ground tabs 23 on the pwb 14 and on the tab shelves 22 in a subsequent step , and all of the solder joints formed simultaneously in a subsequent solder reflow step . fig5 shows an exemplary arrangement of the top and middle conductive layers for an embodiment in which the pwb 14 has three conductive layers . a transition from coaxial transmission line to a transmission line geometry known as “ coplanar - over - ground ” is formed at the edge of the pwb 14 . as used herein the term “ coplanar over ground ” delineates a geometry of conductors used for a microwave transmission line including a top layer signal trace 30 , a top layer ground conductor 25 , or a pair of such conductors , extending to both sides of the top layer signal trace 30 , and a bottom layer ground 32 ( fig4 ). a second transition to another transmission line configuration may be formed near the first transition . referring to fig5 , the second transition may for example be from coplanar - over - ground to stripline . in this case , the signal path may be routed from the top layer signal trace 30 to the middle layer signal trace 34 using a signal via 28 . the signal via 28 may be back - drilled through the bottom layer with a drill bit having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the signal via 28 , to a depth extending almost to the middle conductive layer , to remove the conductive material from the lower half of the signal via 28 , where it would otherwise contact , or be unacceptably close to , the bottom layer ground 32 and the pwb shelf 12 ( fig4 ). a signal via pad 35 , an annular region of conductor , may surround , or partially surround , the signal via 28 . a cage of ground vias 29 may be used for mode suppression as illustrated in the exemplary embodiment of fig5 to reduce loss in the structure . in an embodiment in which u - shaped ground tabs 23 ′ are employed ( fig3 ), the top layer ground conductor 25 on the pwb 14 extends past the edge of the u - shaped ground tab 23 ′ at all edges of the u - shaped ground tab 23 ′ except at the edge of the pwb 14 . this ensures that the gap between the signal path and the nearest ground on the pwb 14 is determined everywhere by the edge of the top layer ground conductor 25 , and not by the placement of the u - shaped ground tab 23 ′ on the pwb 14 . in one embodiment the bottom layer ground 32 , shown in fig4 , may be a solid conductive sheet except for holes at the locations of vias . adjustments to the dimensions of the conductors on the pwb 14 may be made to provide as uniform as possible a characteristic impedance along the signal path , and to minimize reflections and radiation along the path . these adjustments may be made using electromagnetic field simulation software such as ansoft hfss , sold by ansys incorporated , of canonsburg , pa . using such software , a designer , in implementing the present invention , may define two ports in the system , one at the coaxial connector 17 , and one at a point on the pwb 14 . in an embodiment having a second transition from coplanar - over - ground to stripline , for example , the second port may be on the stripline transmission line . the designer may then use the simulation software to calculate the four complex s - parameters for this two port system , where the magnitudes of s 11 and s 22 indicate the return loss and the magnitudes of s 12 and s 21 indicate the insertion loss . if the insertion loss is larger than expected it may indicate that the signal path will radiate electromagnetic power , which may be undesirable . the designer may use the simulation software to display the impedance corresponding to s 11 or to s 22 on a smith chart , on which the desired characteristic impedance is the center point , the upper half corresponds to impedances which are more inductive than the desired characteristic impedance , and the lower half corresponds to impedances which are more capacitive than the desired characteristic impedance . the designer may then , in a process known as tuning , adjust conductor dimensions until the design meets its requirements for return loss and insertion loss , over the frequency range of interest . to eliminate excess capacitance , the designer may for example reduce the width of the top layer signal trace 30 , increase the gaps between the top layer signal trace 30 and the regions of the top layer ground conductor 25 on both sides of the signal trace , decrease the diameter of the signal via 28 , decrease the diameter of the signal via pad 35 , enlarge the cage of ground vias 29 , or increase the gap between the signal via pad 35 and the adjacent top layer ground conductor 25 . when enlarging the cage of ground vias 29 , the designer may need to observe the insertion loss , which may become unacceptable if the ground vias 29 are moved too far from the transitions . to eliminate excess inductance , the designer may adjust , for example , any of these same parameters in the opposite direction . in a subsequent step , the designer may if necessary further reduce the capacitance of the structure by narrowing the middle layer signal trace 34 along a portion of its length , forming an inductive section 36 , and then adjust the length and width of the inductive section 36 to further improve the return loss and the insertion loss of the signal path . alternatively , the designer may , instead of narrowing , widen a portion of the middle layer signal trace 34 , thereby forming a capacitive section , and adjust the length and width of the capacitive section for improved performance . when a system design employing the present invention has been adjusted for good performance over one range of frequencies , and it is desired to use the system over a different range of frequencies , it may be necessary to repeat the tuning process for the new frequency range . the grounding system of the present invention is described above , and illustrated in fig5 , in the context of a signal path having a first transition from coaxial transmission line to coplanar - over - ground , and a second transition from coplanar - over - ground to stripline . the invention , however , is not limited to such a pair of transitions . it may be used , for example , in a signal path without a second transition , or one in which the second transition is to microstrip transmission line . a transition from coplanar - over - ground to microstrip may be accomplished , for example , by flaring away the top layer ground , i . e ., gradually increasing both the width of the top layer signal trace 30 , and the gaps between the top layer signal trace 30 and the ground conductor regions on both sides of the signal trace 30 , so as to keep the characteristic impedance constant , until the top layer ground conductor 25 is on both sides sufficiently distant from the signal trace 30 to have a negligible effect . the method for connector grounding of the present invention is not limited to pwbs with three conductive layers , also known as three - layer boards , but may be employed with single - layer boards , two - layer boards , four layer boards , or pwbs with an arbitrary number of conductive layers . in each case the ground tab or tabs 23 may be installed so as to connect the connector frame 10 to a top layer ground conductor 25 . the connection of the connector frame 10 to ground conductors in other layers may be accomplished by one of , or a combination of : tabs connecting the connector frame 10 to a top layer ground conductor 25 , vias from a top layer ground conductor 25 to ground conductors in other layers , vias from the bottom layer ground 32 to ground conductors in other layers , vias connecting ground conductors in intermediate layers , and direct contact , or adhesion using a conductive epoxy film 15 , between the pwb shelf 12 and bottom layer ground 32 . although limited embodiments of a grounding system for an array of blind - mate coaxial connectors have been specifically described and illustrated herein , many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art . accordingly , it is to be understood that the grounding system constructed according to principles of this invention may be embodied other than as specifically described herein . the invention is also defined in the following claims . | 8 |
referring now to the drawings , and first to fig1 , shown generally at 10 is a pipe coupling constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention . the coupling 10 consists of a cylindrical , barrel - shaped sleeve 12 . referring briefly to fig1 , the barrel - shaped sleeve 12 has a carrying handle 14 . each end of the barrel - shaped sleeve 12 terminates in a circumferential flange 16 , 18 . each flange 16 , 18 presents an outwardly facing surface 20 ( see fig1 ). as can be seen in fig2 , the barrel sleeve 12 converges at 22 , 24 , respectively , toward each circumferential flange 16 , 18 ( not shown in fig2 ). in preferred form , and referring back to fig1 , a clamping ring ( indicated generally at 26 , 28 ) is connected to each circumferential flange 16 , 18 on the sleeve 12 . fig3 is an endwise view of the pipe coupling 10 and shows only clamping ring 26 . in the alternative view provided by fig4 , the clamping ring 26 is shown alone and disconnected from the pipe coupling 10 . in the embodiment described here , each clamping ring 26 , 28 is identical . it is to be appreciated , however , that variations would involve making one clamping ring larger or smaller relative to the other . it might also be possible to use the clamping ring and seal design disclosed here in other kinds of pipe coupling applications . nevertheless , because clamping rings 26 , 28 are identical in the drawings , only one clamping ring 26 will be described . the clamping ring 26 is made of two separate portions , or halves 30 , 32 . these portions are connected together at a pivot point 34 ( see , e . g . fig3 ). the pivot point 34 allows each part 30 , 32 of the clamping ring 26 to open and / or close at the top as a bolt structure 36 ( described later below ) is respectively loosened or tightened . the pivotal connection 34 is created by the structure illustrated in fig1 and 15 . these figures are views that depict the bottom side of clamping ring 26 . one portion or half 30 of the clamping ring 26 has a hinge piece 38 . the hinge piece 38 has forked hooks 40 , 42 that capture a pin 44 on the bottom of the other clamping ring part 32 . the hooks 40 , 42 are easy to connect and disconnect to and from the pin 44 for completely separating the two halves , if desired . referring now to fig5 and 6 , but first to fig6 , the clamping ring 26 is compressed around the barrel sleeve &# 39 ; s circular flange 16 by the bolt structure 36 . the bolt structure design is conventional . it includes a bolt head 46 that is captured by a bolt guide 48 . the bolt guide 48 is curved and rests against a complementary curved surface 50 that is part of a clamping ring ear 52 ( see fig3 ). the ear 52 is made from the same piece of material ( metal ) that makes up the clamping ring portion 26 . in other words , the ear 52 is structurally integrated or integrated with the structure of the clamping ring portion . the other end of the bolt structure 36 has a nut 54 threaded onto the shaft 56 of bolt structure 36 . the nut 54 similarly rests against a mirror bolt guide 58 . similar to the previous description , bolt guide 58 rests against a curved surface 60 on clamp ear 61 . referring once again to fig4 , the clamping ring 26 carries a nested seal , indicated generally at 62 . the seal 62 is called “ nested ” because it has an outer circumferential seal part 64 ( see fig9 ) and an inner circumferential seal part 66 ( see fig1 ). the inner seal 66 has a plurality of outer peripheral ridges 68 , 70 . these ridges mate with or fit within corresponding inner peripheral grooves 72 , 74 on an inner surface 76 of the outer seal 64 part ( see fig9 and 10 ). the arrangement of peripheral ridges 68 , 70 and grooves 72 , 74 help retain the inner seal 66 in position within the outer seal 64 thus creating the desired “ nested ” configuration . the nested combination created by the inner and outer seal parts 66 , 64 can be used to define an adjustable seal for capturing the end of pipes having variations in outer diameter . if desired , the inner seal 66 can be easily removed from the outer one 64 , in the field , thereby adapting the clamp ring 26 to a larger pipe . the two seals 66 , 64 are not joined together via an adhesive or other bonding agent . they exist as separate pieces . it is possible to reinstall the inner circumferential seal part 66 , if desired . referring now to fig1 , which shows the clamping ring part 30 without the nested seal 62 , it can be seen that the clamping ring is generally conventional in cross section , except as described below . the clamping ring has an inner lip 76 that overlaps the barrel sleeve &# 39 ; s circumferential flange 16 ( not shown in fig1 ). in other words , the circumferential flange rests within the space indicated by arrow 78 in fig1 . as would be apparent , removing the nut 54 from the end of the bolt structure 36 allows the clamping ring 26 to be opened sufficiently so that the clamping ring can be placed around the circumferential flange 16 . outwardly of space 78 is a unique sloped surface 80 in which the nested seal 62 rests . the slope of surface 80 is convergent outwardly ( toward the end of the pipe coupling 10 ). as the bolt structure 36 is tightened , it pulls clamp ears 52 , 62 toward each other , thus compressing the nested seal 62 . at the same time , the compression action also urges the sloped surface 80 of the clamping ring against the corresponding surface ( also sloped ) 82 of the nested seal ( see fig9 ). this , in turn , urges the seal 62 toward the circumferential flange 16 . referring now to fig4 , the inwardly facing surface of the seal , indicated generally by arrow 84 , is further urged or pressed against the outwardly facing surface 20 of the sleeve &# 39 ; s circumferential flange ( see fig1 ). this collectively enhances sealing capability because not only is the nested seal 62 compressed around the outside diameter of the pipe , but it is also compressed axially into and against the barrel - sleeve &# 39 ; s circumferential flange . next , the outer part 64 of seal 62 has an annular groove 86 that faces the barrel sleeve 12 . when the clamping ring 26 is placed on its respective flange , and before tightening of the bolt structure 36 , the seal 62 is in a non - compressed state . in this condition , the diameter of the annular groove 86 is preferably greater than the inner diameter of the barrel sleeve 12 . when compressed , however , the annular groove 86 becomes likewise compressed so that its diameter becomes exposed to the inside of the barrel sleeve 12 . this enables fluid pressure to cause one part of the seal to slide upon itself . it is believed this may improve upon seal efficiency . referring to fig7 , there is a backing armor piece 88 that fits over a region 90 in outer seal part 64 . the armor piece 88 rests underneath clamping ring ears 52 , 62 and spans the distance or gap between the ears . fig8 shows where the armor piece 88 normally rests on the seal . as the bolt structure 36 is tightened , the armor piece serves to compress the seal 62 and prevents the seal from bulging in the region where the bolt structure 36 is located . directing attention now to the bottom of fig4 , as was described above , the clamping ring 26 consists of two separate parts 30 , 32 . these parts 30 , 32 may swing or move toward and away from each other because they are connected at pivot point 34 . as is apparent from the above description , the ears 52 , 62 may open relative to each other . when this happens , it creates a space or gap at the location indicated generally by arrow 92 in fig3 and 4 . in that circumstance , the parts 30 , 32 of the clamping ring 26 are “ pivoting .” as the clamping ring 26 is tightened , however , the edges 94 , 96 of each respective clamping ring part 30 , 32 come into abutting contact with each other and constrain or stop further free - pivoting movement . at that particular point , because clamping rings 30 , 32 cease moving freely , further clamp tightening is accomplished by bending within the integrated structure of parts 30 , 32 . in other words , the clamping ring 26 then begins to function as though it is a “ unitary ” ring made of a single piece . finally , an alternative embodiment of clamping ring 26 is illustrated in fig1 and 18 . directing attention there , the alternative embodiment consists of a ring that is segmented into three parts 98 , 100 , 102 . each part is connected together at 104 , 106 by the same type of hook and pin connection described earlier . these connections create pivot points that enable ring segments 98 , 100 , 102 to swing freely relative to each other when the clamping ring 26 is unbolted . however , as one separate portion swings relative to the other in a closing motion , the two portions eventually become iron - bound in the same manner as described above . this occurs at the locations indicated at 108 and 110 , respectively . the iron - binding or bounding effect enables a three - segment ring to function as a single unitary ring at a certain tightening point . the advantage to this design is that the compressive forces created by the ring are distributed more evenly . likewise , the nested seal 62 receives evened - out compression around its circumference . the foregoing is not intended to limit the scope of patent coverage . the scope of patent coverage is intended to be limited by the patent claims , the interpretation of which is to be made in accordance with the established doctrines of patent claim interpretation . | 5 |
while embodiments of this invention can take many different forms , specific embodiments thereof are shown in the drawings and will be described herein in detail with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention , as well as the best mode of practicing same , and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated . for effective disease management and monitoring of chronically ill patients ( or ) aged patients , it is desirable to monitor various vital parameters in combination with each other . even though there are agencies that are continuously monitoring the patient &# 39 ; s vital data , it is a very time consuming operation to dynamically change the functionality ( or ) behavior of the monitor unit by considering the patient &# 39 ; s previous data . in accordance herewith , exemplary functionality changes are achieved by either inclusion or exclusion of a medical sensor during vital acquisition sequence . exemplary changes to the parameters or the behavior of the monitoring unit correspond to modification of the vital acquisition sequence ( or ) communication mechanism , etc . embodiments of the invention include a programmable monitoring unit which would be located at the home or residence of an individual whose health parameters were to be monitored . a displaced data storage unit can be coupled to the monitoring unit via wireless or wired communications links such as the switched telephone network or the internet . a configuration system is coupled to both the monitoring unit and the storage unit . the configuration system can , responsive to physiological information , such as vital signs , functional information , such as the existing program , or , parameters for the monitoring unit , or input from health care professionals , automatically generate a proposed updated program , operating parameters , or operating profile for the monitoring unit . the proposed operating profile can be reviewed for acceptability by one or more health care professionals . accepted profiles can be transmitted to the respective monitoring unit and automatically installed therein to provide updated functionality . aspects of a method in accordance herewith include , automatically generating the proposed , or , recommended monitor configuration ( s ). transmitting approved monitor configuration ( s ) to the respective monitor unit , and , installing the suggested configuration in the monitor unit without user intervention . the monitoring process is then implemented with the updated configuration . as discussed above , after the vital signs acquisition sequence the monitor forwards the vital signs data and available diagnostic information ( any errors , time taken for each measurement , communication issues , if any , etc .) to a system server for storage . having this data available at one or more centralized servers , makes it readily available to health care professionals who are keeping track of the individual &# 39 ; s condition as well as control and analysis circuitry . the control and analysis circuitry can analyze the data by considering previous medical history , diagnostic information and also any monitor unit configuration profiles created by the health care professional . after its analysis , it automatically generates a recommended monitor configuration which will be presented for clinical staff approval . various components involved in the configuration generation process are discussed below along with information as to the functionality of each . data storage and professional input / output system : this system collects all the data from the monitor unit including vital signs collected and monitor diagnostic information . the interface enables health care professionals to access this data , and to propose configuration changes to the monitoring unit as appropriate . configuration generation system : this system processes the inputs from both the health care professional as well as the data storage system . this system will consider the monitor function or configuration related inputs from the health care professional if there is a change else the monitor function or configuration related information from the storage and interface system is considered . the vital signs information would be compared to any configuration information proposed by the health care professional . configuration profiles : this process could collect data from configured profiles or inputs from the health care professional for both vitals to be recorded as well as the monitor unit &# 39 ; s functionality or program . configurations created or proposed previously by the health care professional could be used . alternately , the monitor unit &# 39 ; s operational plan or program could be configured dynamically at that instant based on an analysis of data collected from the monitor unit or system . send the configuration to the monitor unit for retest , if any of the vital parameter values are lower than suggested clinical reference values . ignore the ecg vital acquisition , if the bp & amp ; glucose limits are with in the limits . enable the peak flow sensor , if the health care professional identifies the need of this vital . hence , in embodiments of the invention , either the configuration generation system , or , clinical staff can establish the recommended configuration considering the patient &# 39 ; s medical history . as explained above , periodically the configuration generation system establishes a proposed configuration pattern to be used by the monitor unit , or system , considering the individual &# 39 ; s previous medical history . once the system automatically generates the recommended pattern for the monitor , it sends a notification to the associated clinical staff . clinical staff then can review the previous configuration and the recommended configuration along with the history data and accept or further revise the proposed plan . following is an example of structure of a configuration packet which could be transmitted to a monitoring unit : once clinical staff provides their acceptance , the system forwards the approved configuration for transmission to the monitor . for transmission , a variety of communication channels can be used , without limitation . these include pots , wireless , the internet , or physical memory updates , etc . once monitor receives the recommended configuration information , it installs the configuration . once the monitor installs the configuration , it validates the syntax & amp ; semantics of the packet . after this process , it checks for any new functionality or behavior and if present , it configures itself automatically . then it checks and updates sensor / vital configuration information . having these updated configuration settings ; it follows the suggested configurations during vital acquisition sequence . this process takes into account changing health parameters of the individual . the proposed processes of monitor configuration are based on the patient disease profile and previous history . in summary : dynamically changing the health monitor configurations usage of health monitor diagnostic for capturing monitor usability use of diagnostic information by the configuration generation system in providing a more effective monitoring process for the individual or patient dynamic generation of a recommended configuration role based workflow for applying the recommended configuration to a specified category ( or ) group of monitors fig1 is a block diagram 10 of a system in accordance with the invention . physiological conditions , such as blood pressure , temperature , glucose levels , blood oxygen levels or the like , without limitation , are monitored by a health monitoring device or system 12 ( examples of which were noted above ). system 12 is in at least intermittent communication with a storage / health care professional interface unit 14 . unit 14 is coupled to configuration generation system 16 . the respective health care professional c can communicate with system 14 to review and evaluate patient history , such as stored vital signs and other information related to the individual i along with operating information as to the monitoring unit 12 via a graphical user interface 14 a . system 16 in response to stored data concerning the individual i along with input from the professional c can automatically generate some , or all of a proposed monitor operational profile for the device 12 . that proposed profile can be reviewed and approved or modified by professional c and then transmitted , via link 18 to the device 12 . this updated profile can then be the basis of further monitoring of parameters indicative of the health of the individual i . fig2 illustrates further details of the system and method of fig1 . as illustrated in fig2 the configuration generation system 16 takes into account previously obtained vital signs data as well as monitor parameter settings , 22 a , b and inputs 24 a , b from professional c to automatically generate a recommended configuration 28 specifying vital signs information 28 a , and monitor parameter characteristics 28 b . those of skill will understand that the units 12 , 14 , 16 can all be implemented with one or more programmable processors and associated control software which when executed by the respective processor , or processors , provide the above described functionality . none of the specific details of such implementations are limitations of the invention . from the foregoing , it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . it is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific apparatus illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred . it is , of course , intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims . | 6 |
fig1 is a perspective view of a communications jack 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention . the jack 10 includes a main jack housing 12 and a rear jack housing 14 attached to the main jack housing 12 , for example via housing clips 16 . the rear jack housing 14 may be provided with passageways for insulation - displacement contacts ( idcs ) 18 ( shown in fig2 ). a wire cap 20 provides an interface to a twisted pair communication cable . alternatively , a punch - down block may be incorporated into the communications jack 10 . the main jack housing 12 comprises a receptacle 22 for receiving a communications plug , and plug interface contacts 24 within the receptacle 22 make contact with contacts of the plug . the plug interface contacts 24 are held within a contact carrier assembly 26 shown in fig2 . the contact carrier assembly 26 comprises a contact sled 28 and a vertical support 30 adapted to hold a printed circuit board ( pcb ) 32 . the printed circuit board 32 comprises a flexible portion 34 having jack contact points 36 for attachment to the plug interface contacts 24 . the pcb 32 further comprises a rigid portion 38 to which the idcs 18 are electrically and mechanically attached ( for example , via compliant pins ). the pcb 32 provides electrical connection between the plug interface contacts 24 and the idcs 18 , and further provides crosstalk compensation for communication signals traveling through the communications jack 10 . a plan view of the flexible portion 34 of the pcb 32 is shown in fig3 . jack contact points 36 a - 36 h correspond to first through eighth plug interface contacts 24 . each of the first through eighth jack contact points 36 a - 36 h has a corresponding conductive trace 1 - 8 on the pcb 32 . in the plan view of fig3 , conductive traces along the top of the flexible portion 34 are shown with solid lines , and conductive traces along the bottom of the flexible portion 34 are shown with dotted lines . the compensating circuitry of the pcb 32 is divided into zones similarly to the division shown in pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 078 , 816 filed on mar . 11 , 2005 . specifically , the compensating circuitry of the present invention is divided into six zones , a - f , as described in the &# 39 ; 816 application , and further incorporates a seventh zone , zone g . zone a is a transition zone from the jack contact points 36 a - 36 h to the near - end crosstalk ( next ) compensation zone . zone c is a transition zone from the next compensation zone to the next crosstalk zone . zone d is a compensation zone to compensate for the jack contacts . zone f is a neutral zone which connects the next crosstalk zone to idc sockets 40 as shown in fig8 . zone g is a variable compensation zone which reduces next compensation as frequency increases . fig3 shows the approximate lengths of zones a , b , c , and e in inches . within zones b , d , and f , some conductive traces have capacitive plates that allow for capacitive compensation between conductors . these capacitive couplings are labeled in fig3 as “ c x , y ” where x is the corresponding conductive trace along the top of the flexible portion 34 and y is the corresponding conductive trace along the bottom of the flexible portion 34 that is capacitively coupled at that coupling . for example , c 2 , 5 as shown in fig3 is a capacitive coupling between the second conductive trace on the top and the fifth conductive trace on the bottom . all of the conductive traces except the first , the seventh , and the eighth transfer between the top and bottom of the flexible portion 34 through conductive vias 46 a - g as shown in fig3 - 5 . the flexible portion 34 of the pcb 32 of the present invention incorporates additional features that help to accommodate the use of either six - or eight - contact plugs in the communications jack 10 . as shown in fig3 and as described in more detail below , elongated connection extensions 42 a and 42 h are provided for the first and eighth jack contact points 36 a and 36 h . further , first and second slits 44 a and 44 b are cut into the flexible portion 34 to allow the elongated connection extensions 42 a and 42 h to bend more than the connection extensions of the second through seventh jack contact points 36 b - 36 g . fig6 and 7 show cross - sectional views of the flexible portion 34 , respectively , along the lines 6 - 6 and 7 - 7 of fig3 . fig6 shows a cross - section through a contact point via 48 where the first jack contact point 36 a is connected to the first plug interface contact 24 . the cross - section shows a flexible core 50 manufactured , for example , of kapton polyimide film . contact pads 52 are provided along the top and bottom layers in the area of the jack contact points 36 . the via 48 is conductive and may be copper plated . fig7 shows a cross - section through connection extensions 42 a and 42 b , respectively associated with the first and second conductors as shown in fig3 . each of the cross - sections shows a flexible core . a trace 1 associated with the first conductor is shown on the bottom layer in fig7 , and a trace 2 associated with the second conductor is shown on the top layer . fig8 is a plan view of the printed circuit board 32 showing the flexible portion 34 and the rigid portion 38 . the rigid portion includes the idc sockets 40 and the conductive traces of zone f . turning now to fig9 and 10 , two diagrams illustrate the adaptation of the flexible portion 34 of the pcb to accommodate both six - and eight - conductor plugs . as described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 078 , 816 and further as shown in fig1 , the plug - jack interface is disposed directly above the contact between the plug interface contacts 24 and a flexible circuit board ( or flexible portion of a circuit board ). these contact locations are approximately located on a straight line when no plug is installed ( as shown in fig1 and 12 ) or when a standard eight - contact plug is installed . however , when a six - contact plug is installed ( as shown in fig1 and 14 ), contacts 1 & amp ; 8 deflect more than contacts 2 to 7 . the zone a connection extensions 42 a and 42 h which connect traces 1 and 8 to jack contacts 1 and 8 have been lengthened — as shown in fig9 and an “ s ” bend — as shown in fig1 — has been incorporated to facilitate the additional deflection of contacts 1 and 8 compared to the deflection of contacts 2 to 7 when a six - contact plug is installed in the jack . as shown in fig1 and 14 , the longer connection extension 42 h associated with the eighth trace allows for the greater deflection of the plug interface contact 24 h ( associated with the eighth conductor ) when a six - contact plug is inserted into the receptacle 22 . a preferred design of the mechanical and electrical connection of the flexible portion 34 of the pcb 32 to the plug interface contacts 24 adjacent to and on the opposite side of the plug - jack interface 54 is shown in fig1 - 17 . the connection is made by bending the free tips 56 of the plug interface contacts 24 back on themselves , as shown in fig1 , and by spot - welding two sections 58 and 60 of each contact together adjacent to the connection extensions 42 of the flexible portion 34 of the pcb 32 . the connection extensions 42 are sandwiched between the two sections 58 and 60 of each contact . the spot - welding step as shown in fig1 and 17 may be performed with welding electrodes 62 a and 62 b . crimping and welding the contacts as described provides frictional force allowing the plug interface contacts to grip the connection extensions 42 . as shown in fig1 , the plug interface contacts 24 may be provided with gripping features 64 in the region where they contact the contact point via 48 , beneath the plug - jack interface 54 . the grip of the plug interface contacts 24 on the via 48 can be enhanced by a number of methods such as coining , serrating , or abrading the contacts or roll - forming teeth on the contacts 24 . fig1 and 20 show an alternative way to connect a flexible printed circuit board or a flexible portion 34 of a circuit board to a jack contact . in this embodiment , the jack contacts are clip contacts 66 that are provided with first and second bends 68 and 70 . the connection extensions 42 of the flexible portion 34 of a circuit board are held beneath the plug - jack interface by friction between the second bends 70 of the clip contacts 66 and straight portions 72 of the clip contacts . while the discussion above addresses the connection of a flexible portion of a pcb to plug interface contacts , it is to be understood that this connection method may also be used with flexible printed circuits ( fpcs ) that do not contain rigid portions . while the particular preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the teaching of the invention . the matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as limitation . | 8 |
the present invention will now be described in reference to embodiments set forth herein and in the figures . these embodiments are merely for the purposes of illustration and are not to be interpreted as limiting the invention as defined by the claims . in one aspect , the invention provides a liposomal preparation , comprising a suspension of liposomes having a gel - phase lipid bilayer and an active agent entrapped inside the liposomes ; said lipid bilayer comprising : ( i ) one or more phospholipids selected from the group consisting of phosphatidyl cholines , phosphatidyl glycerols , phosphatidyl inositols , and phosphatidyl ethanolamines ; ( ii ) one or more phospholipids derivatized with a hydrophilic polymer ; and ( iii ) one or more lysolipids selected from the group consisting of monoacylphosphatidyl cholines , monoacylphosphaticlylglycerols , monoacylphosphatidylinositols , and monoacylphosphatidyl - ethanolamines ; wherein the active agent is selected from the group consisting of doxorubicin , bleomycin , dacarbazine , daunorubicin , dactinomycin , fludarabine , gemcitabine , idarubicin , methotrexate , mitomycin , mitoxantrone , vinblastine , vinorelbine , and vincristine , and wherein the lipid bilayer constituents are provided in a molar ratio of about 80 - 90 : 2 - 8 : 2 - 18 ; and wherein the size of the liposomes in the suspension is between about 50 and about 150 nm . in one embodiment , the active agent is doxorubicin , and the relative concentration of impurity a after 6 months of storage at less than or equal to 8 ° c . is less than 0 . 5 %, wherein impurity a is a peak with a relative retention time approximately 1 . 4 in a high performance liquid chromatography ( hplc ) with a c18 reverse phase column with an acetic acid / methanol solvent gradient elution conditions . in one embodiment , the relative concentration of impurity a after 6 months of storage at less than or equal to 8 ° c . is less than about 0 . 5 %, or less than 0 . 4 %, or less than 0 . 3 %, or less than 0 . 2 %. in another embodiment , the relative concentration of impurity a after about 1 year of storage at less than or equal to 8 ° c . is less than about 0 . 5 %, or less than 0 . 4 %, or less than 0 . 3 %, or less than 0 . 2 %. in another embodiment , the relative concentration of impurity a after about 2 years of storage at less than or equal to 8 ° c . is less than about 1 %, 0 . 75 %, 0 . 5 %, or less than 0 . 4 %, or less than 0 . 3 %, or less than 0 . 2 %. in one embodiment , the relative concentration of 8 - desacetyl - 8 - carboxy daunorubicin after 6 months of storage at less than or equal to 8 ° c . is less than about 0 . 5 %, less than 0 . 4 %, less than 0 . 3 %, or less than 0 . 2 %. in another embodiment , the relative concentration of 8 - desacetyl - 8 - carboxy daunorubicin after about 1 year of storage at less than or equal to 8 ° c . is less than about 0 . 5 %, less than 0 . 4 %, less than 0 . 3 %, or less than 0 . 2 %. in another embodiment , the relative concentration of 8 - desacetyl - 8 - carboxy daunorubicin after about 2 years of storage at less than or equal to 8 ° c . is less than about 2 . 0 %, less than 1 . 6 %, less than 1 . 5 %, less than 1 . 0 %, less than 0 . 5 %, less than 0 . 4 %, less than 0 . 3 %, or less than 0 . 2 %. in a further embodiment , the concentration of doxorubicin after 150 days of storage at a temperature of about less than or equal to 8 ° c . is greater than 95 %, greater than 96 %, greater than 97 %, greater than 98 %, greater than 99 %, or greater than 99 . 5 %, of the initial doxorubicin concentration , as determined by hplc with a c18 reverse phase column with an acetic acid / methanol solvent gradient elution conditions . in another embodiment , the concentration of doxorubicin after about six months of storage at a temperature of about less than or equal to 8 ° c . is greater than 95 %, greater than 96 %, greater than 97 %, greater than 98 %, greater than 99 %, or greater than 99 . 5 %, of the initial doxorubicin concentration , as determined by hplc with a c18 reverse phase column with an acetic acid / methanol solvent gradient elution conditions . in another embodiment , the concentration of doxorubicin after about one year of storage at a temperature of about less than or equal to 8 ° c . is greater than 95 %, greater than 96 %, greater than 97 %, greater than 98 %, greater than 99 %, or greater than 99 . 5 %, of the initial doxorubicin concentration , as determined by hplc with a c18 reverse phase column with an acetic acid / methanol solvent gradient elution conditions . in another embodiment the concentration of doxorubicin after about two years of storage at a temperature of about less than or equal to 8 ° c . is greater than 95 %, greater than 96 %, greater than 97 %, greater than 98 %, greater than 99 %, or greater than 99 . 5 %, of the initial doxorubicin concentration , as determined by hplc with a c18 reverse phase column with an acetic acid / methanol solvent gradient elution conditions . in another embodiment , the invention is a pharmaceutical composition , wherein the formation of total degradation products after 150 days of storage at a temperature of about less than or equal to 8 ° c . is less than 1 %, or less than 0 . 5 %. in a further embodiment , the invention is a pharmaceutical composition , wherein the formation of total degradation products after about six months of storage at a temperature of about less than or equal to 8 ° c . is less than 1 %, or less than 0 . 5 %. in a further embodiment , the invention is a pharmaceutical composition , wherein the formation of total degradation products after about one year of storage at a temperature of about less than or equal to 8 ° c . is less than 1 %, or less than 0 . 5 %. in a further embodiment the invention is a pharmaceutical composition , wherein the formation of total degradation products after about two years of storage at a temperature of about less than or equal to 8 ° c . is less than 2 . 5 %, less than 1 % or less than 0 . 5 %. in yet another embodiment , the liposomes are suspended in a buffer comprising a saccharide . the saccharide may be a monosaccharide , such as lactose , or a disaccharide such as sucrose . in another embodiment , the buffer further comprises histidine . in another aspect , the invention provides a method for loading an active agent into temperature sensitive liposomes , comprising : ( a ) preparing a suspension of liposomes having a gel - phase lipid bilayer and a greater concentration of ammonium ions inside the liposomes than outside the liposomes , said lipid bilayer comprising : ( i ) one or more phospholipids selected from the group consisting of phosphatidyl cholines , phosphatidyl glycerols , phosphatidyl inositols , and phosphatidyl ethanolamines ; ( ii ) one or more derivatized with a hydrophilic polymer ; and ( iii ) one or more lysolipids selected from the group consisting of monoacylphosphatidyl cholines , monoacylphosphaticlylglycerols , monoacylphosphatidylinositols , and monoacylphosphatidyl - ethanolamines ; wherein the lipid bilayer constituents are provided in a molar ratio ( i ):( ii ):( iii ) of about 80 - 90 : 2 - 8 : 2 - 18 ; and where said preparing includes reducing the size of the liposomes in the suspension to an average particle size of between about 50 and about 150 nm ; ( b ) adding a solution of the active agent to the suspension of liposomes , wherein the active agent is taken up into the liposomes , wherein the active agent is selected from the group consisting of doxorubicin , bleomycin , dacarbazine , daunorubicin , dactinomycin , fludarabine , gemcitabine , idarubicin , methotrexate , mitomycin , mitoxantrone , vinblastine , vinorelbine , and vincristine . in one embodiment , the active agent is doxorubicin . in one embodiment , at least 90 %, at least 91 % at least 92 %, at least 93 %, at least 94 %, at least 95 %, at least 96 %, at least 97 %, or at least 98 % of the doxorubicin present in the solution is taken up into the liposomes . in another embodiment , the concentration of doxorubicin taken up into the liposomes is about 1 mm to about 200 mm , preferably about 10 to about 65 mm , and most preferably about 45 mm to about 55 mm . in a further embodiment the concentration of doxorubicin taken up into the liposomes is about 50 mm . in another embodiment the concentration of doxorubicin taken up into the liposomes is about 75 mm . liposomes of the present invention are composed of phospholipids selected from the group consisting of phosphatidyl cholines , phosphatidyl glycerols , phosphatidyl inositols , and phosphatidyl ethanolamines . the phospholipids preferably possess a solid or gel form to liquid transition temperature in the lower end of the hyperthermic range ( e . g ., the range of from approximately 38 ° c . to approximately 45 ° c .). more preferred are phospholipids whose acyl groups are saturated . in one embodiment , the one or more phospholipids have two same or different c 14 - c 20 acyl groups , such as , for example dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine ( dppc ), distearoylphosphatidyl glycerol ( dspg ), or a combination thereof . the liposomes of the present invention are composed of one or more lysolipids . in one embodiment , the lysolipid is monopalmitoylphosphatidylcloline ( mppc ), monolaurylphosphatidylcholine ( mlpc ), monornyristoylphosphatidylcholine ( mmpc ), monostearoylphosphatidylcholine ( mspc ), or a mixture thereof . in one embodiment of the invention , the total concentration of lipids in the final liposomal formulation is about 10 - 50 mg / ml , about 20 - 50 mg / ml , about 30 - 40 mg / ml , about 20 mg / ml , about 30 mg / ml , or 40 mg / ml . in another embodiment , the concentration of doxorubicin in the liposomal formulation is about 0 . 2 - 40 mg / ml , about 0 . 5 - 30 mg / ml , about 1 - 20 mg / ml , about 2 - 10 mg / ml , about 1 mg / ml , about 2 mg / ml , about 3 mg / ml , about 4 mg / ml or about 5 mg / ml . in one embodiment of the invention the doxorubicin to lipid ratio is 0 . 02 - 10 , about 0 . 05 , about 1 , about 2 , about 3 , about 4 , about 5 , about 6 , about 7 , about 8 , about 9 or about 10 . liposomes of the present invention include polymer - derivatized lipids to decrease liposome uptake by the res and thus increase the circulation time of the liposomes . suitable polymers include hydrophilic polymers such as polyethylene glycol , polyvinylpymlidine , olylactic acid , polyglycolic acid , copolymers of polylactic acid and polyglycolic acid , polyvinyl alcohols , polyvinylpyrrolidone , dextrans , oligosaccharides , along with mixtures of the above . in one embodiment , the one or more phospholipids derivatized with a hydrophilic polymer is a polyethylene glycol derivatized ( pegylatal ) lipid . preferably , the pegylated lipid is 1 , 2 - distearoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphoethanolamine - n -[ poly ( ethyleneglycol ) 2000 ]. in one embodiment , the invention provides a method for loading a liposome with an active agent which is bleomycin , dacarbazine , daunorubicin , dactinomycin , fludarabine , gemcitabine , idarubicin , methotrexate , mitomycin , mitoxantrone , vinblastine , vinorelbine , or vincristine . in one embodiment , the said preparing comprises preparing the liposomes in the presence of an ammonium salt , provided as an ammonium sulfate solution . in one embodiment , the concentration of ammonium sulfate in the solution is about 100 mm to about 300 mm , preferably about 200 mm . in another embodiment , the ammonium salt is provided as a salt of adipic acid . l - ascorbic acid , l - aspartic acid , citric acid , fumaric acid , glutamic acid , glutaric acid , hippuric acid , hydrochloric acid , d , l - lactic acid , maleic acid , l - malic acid , phosphoric acid , succinic acid , or l - tartaric acid . in a further embodiment , the ammonium salt in the solution is about 100 mm to about 300 mm , preferably about 200 mm . the ammonium ions outside the liposomes are replaced with a monosaccharide or disaccharide solution . in a further embodiment , the concentration of the monosaccharide or disaccharide solution is about 5 - 15 %, preferably about 10 %. this replacement or exchange can be earned out by techniques such as dialysis or diafiltration . in a further embodiment , the ammonium ions outside the liposomes are replaced with a monosaccharide solution , such as for example , a lactose solution . in another embodiment , the ammonium ions outside the liposomes are replaced with a disaccharide solution , such as for example , a sucrose solution . in one embodiment , a histidine buffer is added to the liposomal preparation after step ( b ). in a further embodiment , the concentration of the histidine buffer is about 5 mm to about 15 mm , preferably about 10 mm . a method of preparing a liposomal formulation according to the present invention comprises mixing the bilayer components in the appropriate proportions in a suitable organic solvent . useful solvents include chloroform , acetone , methanol or methylene chloride . the solvent is then evaporated to form a dried lipid film . the film is rehydrated ( at temperatures above the phase transition temperature of the lipid mixture ) using an aqueous solution containing an equilibrating amount of the lysolipid and a desired active agent , e . g ., doxorubicin . the liposomes formed after rehydration are extruded to form liposomes of a desired size . for example , when liposomes composed of 80 : 20 dppc : mspc are produced , rehydration is carried out at a temperature above the phase transition temperature of this particular lipid mixture ( above 39 ° c .). the aqueous solution used to rehydrate the lipid film comprises an equilibrating amount of lysolipid monomers ( e . g ., a concentration equal to the critical micelle concentration of mspc , about 1 micromolar ). the manufacturing process for large scale batches of the ammonium loaded formulation is described below . the process can be employed to produce various size batches of formulation , for example , a 2 - 2000 l scale batch . a proposed manufacturing process is illustrated schematically in fig2 . 1 . prepare an ammonium sulfate buffer by dissolving appropriate quantities of ammonium sulfate in water for injection ( wfi ) followed by a bioburden reduction filtration . the molarity of the buffer may be , for example , 200 mm . 2 . hydrate the lipids utilizing the ammonium sulfate buffer from step 1 for an appropriate amount of time at an elevated temperature ( 45 - 70 ° c .). for example , the lipids are hydrated for 1 hour at 60 ° c . 3 . extrude the hydrated lipid mixture through filter membranes having a certain pore size at an elevated temperature , in order to obtain liposomes of desired size . for example , the hydrated lipid mixture is extruded through 80 nm polycarbonate filter membranes at 65 ° c . to form ˜ 100 nm liposomes . 4 . exchange the non - liposome entrapped ammonium sulfate against a saccharide solution , for example a 10 % sucrose solution , followed by sterile filtration through a preheated filter , such as a sartobran p filter . 5 . prepare a histidine hcl buffer , for example , a 100 mm histidine buffer at ph 6 , by dissolving appropriate quantities of histidine hcl in wfi , followed by sterile filtration . 6 . prepare a doxorubicin hcl solution , for example at a concentration , of 5 . 0 mg / ml , by dissolving appropriate quantity of doxorubicin hcl in wfi , followed by sterile filtration . 7 . mix 1 . 0 parts sterile liposome with 0 . 8 parts sterile doxorubicin hcl solution , and incubate at 35 ° c . for 4 hours . in one embodiment , the invention is a liposomal preparation made by a method for loading doxorubicin into temperature sensitive liposomes , comprising : ( a ) preparing a suspension of liposomes having a gel - phase lipid bilayer and a gi eater concentration of ammonium ions inside the liposomes than outside the liposomes , said lipid bilayer comprising : ( i ) one or more phospholipids selected from the group consisting of phosphatidyl cholines , phosphatidyl glycerols , phosphatidyl inositols , and phosphatidyl ethanolamines ; ( ii ) one or more phospholipids derivatized with a hydrophilic polymer ; and ( iii ) one or more lysolipids selected from the group consisting of monoacylphosphatidyl cholines , monoacylphosphatidylglycerols , monoacylphosphatidylinositols , and monoacylphosphatidyl - ethanolamines ; wherein the lipid bilayer constituents are provided in a molar ratio ( i ):( ii ):( iii ) of about 80 - 90 : 2 - 8 : 2 - 18 ; and where said preparing includes reducing the size of the liposomes in the suspension to an average particle size of between about 50 and about 150 nm ; ( b ) adding a doxorubicin solution to the suspension of liposomes , wherein the doxorubicin is taken up into the liposomes . liposomes of between 0 . 05 to 0 . 3 microns in diameter , have been reported as suitable for tumor administration ( u . s . pat . no . 5 , 527 , 528 to allen et al .). sizing of liposomes according to the present invention may be carried out according to methods known in the art , and taking into account the active agent contained therein and the effects desired ( see , e . g ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 225 , 212 to martin et al ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 527 , 528 to allen et al ., the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety ). in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , liposomes are from about 0 . 05 microns or about 0 . 1 microns in diameter , to about 0 . 3 microns or about 0 . 4 microns in diameter . liposome preparations may contain liposomes of different sizes . advantageously , these liposomes comprise , lipid mixtures set forth herein and are therefore temperature - sensitive , with an ability to release contained drug , as described . in one aspect of the present invention , the liposomes are prepared to have substantially homogeneous sizes in a selected size range . one effective sizing method involves extruding an aqueous suspension of the liposomes through a series of polycarbonate membranes having a selected uniform pore size ; the pore size of the membrane will correspond roughly with the average sizes of liposomes produced by extrusion through that membrane . see e . g ., u . s . pat . no . 4 , 737 , 323 . in another preferred embodiment of the present invention , liposomes are from about 50 nm , 100 nm , 120 nm , 130 nm , 140 nm or 150 nm , up to about 175 nm , 180 nm , 200 nm , 250 nm , 300 nm , 350 nm , 400 nm or 500 nm in diameter . in one embodiment , the liposomal preparation of the present invention is stored at a temperature of less than or equal to 8 ° c ., from about 2 ° c . to about 8 ° c ., from about − 80 ° c . to about − 15 ° c ., from about − 30 ° c . to about − 15 ° c ., or from about − 15 ° c . to about 2 ° c . in another aspect , the liposomal preparation comprises doxorubicin and an imaging or diagnostic agent . the ability to encapsulate an imaging agent in a liposome or an imaging agent in combination with a therapeutic is desirable for a number of reasons . first , the therapeutic efficacy of the active agent will be increased with the ability to visualize release of the imaging agent and thus infer the release of drug . this would provide the tools to determine the drug &# 39 ; s tissue penetration and concentration . further , combining a drug with an imaging agent in a liposome will permit monitoring and quantitation of drug release over time , tissue distribution , and drug clearance . secondly , a liposome carrying and releasing imaging agent will allow for the opportunity to pre - screen patients . for example , a select patient population may be identified as likely to benefit from the therapeutic liposome based on the “ leakiness ” of tumor vasculature . this leakiness , as visualized using an imaging agent , is an indicator of ability of the active agent to extravasate across the microvasculature and any fibrotic tissue to access and treat the tumor . examples of imaging or diagnostic agents that may be employed include , but are not limited to , agents for x - ray imaging , magnetic resonance imaging ( mri ), ultrasound imaging or nuclear medicine imaging . in x - ray imaging , including applications such as computed tomography ( ct ) and digital subtraction angiography ( dsa ), contrast is based on differences in electron density . in one aspect of the invention , the liposomal preparation comprises doxorubicin and an x - ray contrast agent . x - ray contrast agents are generally based on heavy elements , and include barium salts such as barium sulphate , which may be used to enhance visualization of the gastrointestinal system and iodinated contrast agents , which may be used in visualization of the gastrointestinal system and in parenteral studies . iodinated x - ray contrast agents include , but are not limited to , iohexyl , iopentol , iopamidol , iodixanol , iopromide , iotrolan , metrizamide , metrizoic acid , diatriazoic acid , iothalamic acid , ioxaglic acid and salts of these acids . in another aspect of the invention , the liposomal preparation comprises doxorubicin and an mri contrast agent . mri contrast agents include paramagnetic chelates , for example based on manganese ( 2 +), gadolinium ( 3 +) or iron ( 3 +). hydrophilic chelates such as gddtpa , gddota , gdhpdo3a and gddtpa - bma are distributed extracellularly and eliminated renally . such compounds are useful in , for example , visualizing lesions in the central nervous system . other more organ - or tissue - specific agents include mndpdp , gdbopa , gdeob - dtpa , paramagnetic porphyrins , macromolecular compounds , particles and liposomes . in yet another aspect of the invention , the liposomal preparation comprises doxorubicin and an ultrasonic imaging , agent . ultrasonic imaging is based on penetration of ultrasound waves , e . g . in the frequency range 1 - 10 mhz , into a human or animal subject via a transducer , the ultrasound waves interacting with interfaces of body tissues and fluids . contrast in an ultrasound image derives from differential reflection / absorption of the sound waves at such interfaces ; results may be enhanced by the use of doppler techniques , including the use of color doppler to evaluate blood flow . examples of ultrasound contrast agents include echovist ®, based on gas - containing galactose microcrystals ; levovist ®, comprising gas - containing galactose microcrystals coated with fatty acid ; and infoson ®, which comprises gas bubbles encapsulated by partially denatured human serum albumin . other imaging or diagnostic agents that may be used in the present invention include , but are not limited to , fluorescent agents such as 6 - carboxyfluorescem , radioactive agents ( such as radioisotopes or compounds containing radioisotopes , including iodo - octanes , halocarbons , and renografin ), and the like . in another aspect of the invention , the liposomal preparation further comprises an additional active agent , for e . g ., another chemotherapeutic drug . preparation of doxorubicin loaded temperature - sensitive liposomes by nh 4 + - loading liposomes containing 1 , 2 - dipalmitoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphatidyl choline ( dppc ), which comprises 86 % ( mole %) of the liposome membrane ; 1 , 2 - distearoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphoethanolamine - n - polyethylene glycol 2000 ( dspe - mpeg ), at approximately 4 % ( mole %); and 1 - stearoyl - 2 - hydroxy - sn - glycero phosphatidyl choline ( mspc ) at approximately 10 % ( mole %) are prepared by the following technique : the appropriate lipid composition is first hydrated in 200 mm ammonium sulfate buffer , forming multi - lamellar liposomes . small uni - lamellar liposomes are then formed by extrusion through 80 nm filters to form approximately 100 nm spheres in 200 mm ammonium sulfate buffer . the liposomes prepared in the previous step were then subjected to a dialysis or diafiltration step exchanging the ammonium sulfate that is external to the liposome with a 10 % sucrose solution , forming an ammonium concentration gradient across the liposome membrane ( i . e . 200 mm inside , less than 1 mm outside ). it is known ( haran g , cohen r , bar l k and barenholz y , transmembrane ammonium sulfate gradients in liposomes produce efficient and stable entrapment of amphipathic weak bases , biochimica et biophysica acta , 1151 ( 1993 ) 201 - 215 201 ) that the ammonium concentration can effectively , and near quantitatively , promote the loading of an added doxorubicin solution to the internal volume of the liposome at elevated temperatures . doxorubicin was entrapped within the inner aqueous volume of the liposomes by incubation at 35 - 39 ° c . at the completion of loading , the liposomal solution was buffered with a histidine buffer to stabilize the product ph during storage . liposomes with doxorubicin loaded using a ph gradient are prepared according to the method described in wo 2007 / 024826 , liposomes containing 1 , 2 - dipahnitoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphatidyl choline ( dppc ), which comprises 86 % ( mole %) of the liposome membrane ; 1 , 2 - distearoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphoethanolamine - n - polyethylene glycol 2000 ( dspe - mpeg ), at approximately 4 % ( mole %); and 1 - stearoyl - 2 - hydroxy - sn - glycero phosphatidyl choline ( mspc ) at approximately 10 % ( mole %) are prepared by the following technique : the appropriate lipid composition is first hydrated in 300 mm citrate buffer ( ph = 4 ), forming multi - lamellar liposomes . small uni - lamellar liposomes are then formed by extrusion through 80 nm filters to form approximately 100 nm spheres in 300 mm citrate buffer . a 500 mm sodium carbonate solution is then added to the liposomes prepared in the previous step , increasing the external solution to a ph of ˜ 7 . 5 . it is known ( see for example , mayer l b , bally m b , cullis p r ., uptake of adriamyacin into large unilamellar liposomes in response to a ph gradient , biochimica et biophysiea acta 857 ( 1986 ) 123 - 126 ) that the ph gradient formed across the membrane can effectively , and near quantitatively , promote the loading of an added doxorubicin solution to the internal volume of the liposome at elevated temperatures . doxorubicin was entrapped within the inner aqueous volumes of liposomes by incubation at 35 - 39 ° c . table 1 displays a comparison between formulations according to example 1 , and a conventional ph loaded liposome , according to example 2 . as seen from table 1 , both formulations contain 2 . 0 mg / ml of doxorubicin . the formulation according to the present invention compares well to a more conventional liposomal doxorubicin formulation . all raw materials used were of pharmaceutical grade . the final product is characterized for total doxorubicin content , doxorubicin degradation products , ph , osmolality , particle size distribution , mspc content , dppc content , dspe - mpeg content , % encapsulated doxorubicin , drug release at 37 ° c ., and drug release at 41 ° c . to effectively complete assessment of the product . the target total doxorubicin content is between about 1 . 8 to about 2 . 2 mg / ml . the drug encapsulation was typically greater than 90 %, and showed limited release , e . g . & lt ; 10 %, at normal body temperature ( i . e . 37 ° c . ), and exhibited enhanced release , typically & gt ; 80 %, at 41 . 0 ° c . the volume averaged particle size of the liposomes as measured by dynamic light scattering is between about 50 to about 150 nm . the physicochemical properties of the liposomes formed in the above example 1 are comparable to a liposomal preparation formed using a conventional buffer . as shown in fig3 , the particle size distribution of ammonium sulfate hydrated liposome is essentially identical to a citrate buffer hydrated liposome . as shown in table 1 above , the lipid composition of the liposomal preparation of the present invention is identical to the lipid composition of the liposomal , preparation known in the art . the functionality of the lipid membrane composition is also confirmed by testing the differential drug release at both 37 ° c . and 41 . 0 ° c . the present invention provides a liposomal product designed to utilize a remote loading , procedure ( see for example , haran g , cohen r , bar l k and barenholz transmembrane ammonium sulfate gradients in liposomes produce efficient and stable entrapment of amphipathic weak bases , biochimica et biophysica acta , 1151 ( 1993 ) 201 - 215 201 ), to encapsulate greater than 90 % of the doxorubicin in the internal aqueous core . the % of doxorubicin encapsulated is calculated by measuring unencapsulated doxorubicin ( free dox ), separated by ultrafiltration , and the total doxorubicin in the product . current studies have shown that greater than 95 % encapsulation can b achieved for the ammonium loaded formulation . additionally , the thermal release properties of each batch , % release at 37 ° c . % release at 41 ° c ., have been very reproducible from batch to batch , and are comparable , as shown in fig8 . in addition to the list of finished product characterization tests mentioned above , several other properties of the new formulation have been evaluated . first , due to the importance of the liposome membrane in the key design parameters for the drug product , differential scanning calorimetry was performed on the ph - loaded ( shown in fig4 ) and nh 4 + - loaded ( shown in fig5 ) formulations . each thermogram shows one major exotherm , at about 41 ° c ., and suggests that the membrane for new formulation is quite similar to that for the ph - loaded liposomes , as to be expected , as the buffer solution should have negligible effects on the overall structure of the membrane order . the overall size and morphology of the two formulations were also compared using the high resolution technique of tunneling electron microscopy ( tem ). again , the comparison between ph - loaded product produced in a gmp manufacturing facility at the current manufacturing scale ( fig6 ), which is currently being used in phase iii clinical studies , to product made using the nh 4 + - loaded formulation at the laboratory scale at celsion ( fig7 ) was performed . the liposomes for the two formulations show similar vesicle diameters , predominately unilamellar membranes , and exhibit a classical single crystal inside each liposome , which is attributed to the doxorubicin drug complex formation inside the liposome during the loading step . overall , the tems show that the liposomes generated using either ph or nh 4 + - loading system are quite similar . the temperature release profiles measuring the amount of doxorubicin released as a function of temperature from 35 to 45 ° c . was determined by incubating each sample at the specified temperature for 10 minutes . the results of the tests are shown in fig8 . as in the previous tests , the comparison was made between ph - loaded product produced in a gmp manufacturing facility at the current manufacturing scale , which is currently being used in phase iii clinical studies , to product made using the nh 4 + - loaded formulation at the laboratory scale at celsion ( fig8 ). the release curves are very similar for the two formulations , both showing minimal release at temperatures below 39 ° c ., and near 90 % release at 41 . 0 ° c . and above . clearly , both formulations support the design target of limiting doxorubicin release at normal body temperature , i . e . 37 ° c ., with the majority of the drug being released with mild hyperthermia , or temperatures in the 41 - 45 ° c . range . the temperature release data is also the best measure of the microscopic uniformity of the lipid membrane composition . in order for a formulation to release greater than 90 % of the drug at 41 . 0 ° c ., the majority of the liposomes ( i . e . the 100 nm vesicles ) must have the appropriate lipid composition to demonstrate the thermal triggered release for the bulk product . it is known that incorrect levels of dspe - mpeg or mspc will adversely affect the extent and rate of release for doxorubicin from these liposomes . furthermore , the fact that the transition temperatures are nearly identical , in conjunction with the comparative dsc scans ( fig4 and 5 ), leads to the conclusion that the change in the buffer sys em has negligible impact on liposome membrane and , therefore should have negligible impact on its drug release properties . comparison of levels of 8 - desacetyl - 8 - carboxy daunorubicin and impurity a for the ph - loaded and nh 4 + - loaded formulations laboratory experiments were performed to examine the levels of 8 - desacetyl - 8 - carboxy daunorubicin and impurity a produced in the ph - loaded and nh 4 + - loaded formulations ( fig9 ). excipients sourced from two providers , excipients a and b , were examined for the ph - loaded formulation . three independent preparations of the nh 4 + - loadecl formulations were also examined . in all cases , and both for 8 - clesacetyl - 8 - carboxy daunorubicin and impurity a , the levels formed were significantly higher for the ph - loaded formulations than the nh 4 + - loaded formulations . reduced levels of 8 - desacetyl - 8 - carboxy daunorubicin were observed for the ph - loaded and nh 4 + - loaded formulations with the new source of excipients , with no change on the levels of impurity a . furthermore , the combined levels of 8 - desacetyl - 8 - carboxy daunorubicin and impurity a for the nh 4 + - loaded formulations were less than 0 . 2 %, even with four hour incubation times at 35 ° c . the levels of degradate formation are shown as the initial time point in the stability data shown in fig1 , and correlate well with the doxorubicin values shown in fig1 . comparative stability data were generated for the ph - loaded and nh 4 + - loaded formulations . while the ph - loaded formulation requires storage at − 15 ° c . to − 30 ° c ., the stability comparison as generated both at − 20 ° c . and under accelerated stability condition , i . e ., at + 5 ° c . storage . the results of the doxorubicin assay after 739 days showed a loss of ˜ 4 % doxorubicin for the ammonium - loaded formulation . in contrast , the loss of doxorubicin after the same time period was ˜ 60 % for the ph loaded formulation . the loss of doxorubicin assay data is summarized in fig1 and table 2 . the total degradate growth supports the same trend , i . e . significant increase in degradates are observed for the ph - loaded formulation , with very low levels of degradate , growth for the nh 4 + - loaded formulation ( fig1 and table 2 in addition to the stability at 2 - 8 ° c ., fig1 and fig1 show the loss of doxorubicin assay data at − 20 ° c . the data demonstrate that the nh 4 + - loaded formulation exhibits very low levels of degradate growth and increased doxorubicin stability compared to the ph - loaded formulation . it has also been observed that the identity of the degradation products formed from the ph - loaded and nh 4 + - loaded formulations are the same confirmed by lc / ms , although formation occurs to a lesser extent for the nh 4 + - loaded formulation . furthermore , the nh 4 + - loaded formulation exhibits improved doxorubicin hcl stability , in addition to lower levels of degradation product growth , through at least two years of storage . the solution ph , liposome particle size , % encapsulation , and % release of doxorubicin at 41 . 0 ° c . for the nh 4 + - loaded formulation remain through at least two years storage at temperatures of less than or equal to 8 ° c . the cumulative stability data outlined above , support the assertion that the nh 4 + - loaded formulation can be provided commercially as a refrigerated product , stored at temperatures of less than or equal to 8 ° c . it is expected that the new , minimized total degradate formation will yield an acceptable product for commercial use with a shelf life of up to 2 years . the decreased degradation levels will also translate into improved maintenance of product potency . overall , the combined effects of these improvements to the drug product are considered to enhance dosing reproducibility , achieve better shipping and storage compliance , and thus lead to a higher quality commercial product . it is to be appreciated that the detailed description section , and not the summary and abstract sections , is intended to be used to interpret the claims . the summary and abstract sections may set forth one or more , but not all exemplary embodiments of the present invention as contemplated by the inventor ( s ), and thus , are not intended to limit the present invention and the appended claims in any way . the foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others can , by applying knowledge within the skill of the art , readily modify and / or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments , without undue experimentation , without departing from the general concept of the present invention . therefore , such adaptations and modifications are intended to be within the meaning , and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments , based on the teaching and guidance presented herein . it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation , such that the terminology or phraseology of the present specification is to be interpreted by the skilled artisan in light of the teachings and guidance . the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above - described exemplary embodiments , but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents . | 0 |
particular embodiments of the invention are described below for the purpose of illustrating its principles and operation . however , various modifications may be made , and the scope of the invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described below . one general embodiment of the system and method of the present disclosure is illustrated by fig1 . here , a process stream 14 containing water from a water source , such a main reservoir 22 , for example , is obtained . in one example , main reservoir 22 is an aquatic tank or aquarium , such as those typically found at aquatic water parks and that contain aquatic life forms that excrete bodily fluids into the water of the tanks . however , any body of water , such as a lake or ocean , may have water taken from , treated and returned in accordance with the teachings provided herein . the process stream 14 flows through a main line 24 . at a main line injection point 26 , at least one oxidant is added to the process stream 14 from at least one oxidant dispenser 10 . the oxidizing agent cleans and sanitizes the process stream 14 as it flows through the main line 24 . that is , oxidation - reduction reactions take place between the introduced at least one oxidant and contaminants in water of process stream 14 . in this embodiment , downstream from main line injection point 26 , process stream 14 enters an aeration tower 18 at an aeration tower inlet 20 . in this particular embodiment , aeration tower 18 is a rectangular concrete structure approximately a height of 40 ft , a width of 15 ft , and a length of 15 ft , for example . the volume / capacity of an exemplary tower is about 67 , 000 gallons . as water in process stream 14 is flowing through aeration tower 18 , a neutralizing chemical 12 is added to the top of aeration tower 18 . while the process stream 14 is passed through aeration tower 18 and neutralizing chemical 12 is added , neutralizing chemical 12 neutralizes surplus oxidants that were added at a main line injection point 26 into process stream 14 . addition of neutralizing chemical 12 also converts harmful by - products produced as a result of the oxidation - reduction reaction to safe compounds . process stream 14 then flows into the main reservoir 22 through an aeration tower outlet 16 . while aeration tower 18 is included and is used in the exemplary embodiment schematically depicted in fig1 , there exist several variations to this component , that is , a portion of the system where water from a water source mixes with at least one oxidant that is introduced into process stream 14 . other secondary holding areas such as discharge pipes or storage tanks could also be utilized . generally , at least one oxidizing agent is injected into a process stream . downstream from this injection point , a conversion or neutralizing chemical is injected into the process . further downstream , the amount of chemicals in the process are measured to determine what adjustments need to be made to the injection rates of both the at least one oxidant and at least one neutralizing chemical . one embodiment of useful control apparatus for injecting at least one oxidizing agent is depicted in fig2 . an aeration tower inlet probe 42 measures the oxidation reduction potential ( orp ) 40 of process stream 14 as it flows through aeration tower inlet 20 . a target orp set point 30 is pre - selected and entered into a master controller , such as a computer 34 . these sensors ( sensors / probes that measure the orp of water at various stages ) serve as data inputs to a microprocessor or analog based computer . the computer employs some mode of control utilizing time based proportional ( tbp ), proportional ( p ), proportional integral ( pi ), proportional integral differential ( pid ) and / or on / off control for controlling chemical ( s ) feed , that is , feed of the at least one oxidant and / or the at least one neutralizing chemical into process stream 14 . computer 34 can be programmed utilizing either fuzzy logic or boolean logic protocols to provide the system with the ability to make changes to various settings or feed adjustments based on evaluation of input data obtained in real - time . for example , in one embodiment , a supervisory control and data acquisition ( scada ) distributed intelligence system is utilized . in this embodiment , numerous devices are linked together and monitored and controlled by a master computer . in a smaller system , one would use as few as one computer to control the water treatment system . based on a difference between target set point 30 and measured orp reading 40 , an injection proportional - integral - derivative ( pid ) controller 36 , for example , will vary the output of the at least one oxidant 32 dispensed into process stream 14 . examples of other controllers that could be used include simple “ pumps ” that deliver set rates of material until told to turn off by the computer . a pid controller , for example , is an algorithm embedded within the control program that looks at rate of change and formulates a “ look ahead ” delivery rate to dose to target . the pid controller looks at the curve slope and varies output based on rate of change ( slope dy / dx ) and distance to target . such an approach is less critical with high impedance systems , those that respond vary slowly to input , than with those systems that are less stable and can change dramatically with small input ( in this case oxidant delivery ) changes . an exemplary embodiment of control apparatus utilized to inject at least one neutralizing chemical into process stream 14 is illustrated in fig3 . an aeration tower effluent probe 62 measures the orp 60 of the process stream 14 as it flows through the aeration tower outlet 16 . a second target orp set point 50 , which is an orp value that is pre - selected , is entered into a computer 34 . based on the difference between second target set point 50 and the measured orp reading 60 , taken by aeration tower effluent probe 62 , an injection proportional - integral - derivative ( pid ) controller 56 will vary the output / rate of the at least one neutralizing chemical 52 dispensed into the process stream 14 by at least one neutralizing chemical dispenser . in one aspect , the least one neutralizing chemical is introduced in order to interact with any residual amounts of the at least one oxidant 32 dispensed into process stream 14 that is still present and provides an orp value that is too high to safely pass aeration tower outlet 16 and be introduced into a body of water . this second oxidation - reduction reaction typically takes place between the at least one neutralizing chemical 52 and residual amounts of oxidants that were added at a main line injection point 26 and as well as between the at least one neutralizing chemical 52 and other oxidizing species , such as , but not limited to hypobromous acid and hypochlorous acid , that form as a result of introduction of the at least one oxidant into process stream 14 . there exist other possible ways to control this sensitive process for accurately balancing and varying the amount / rate of introduced oxidizing agents from at least one oxidant dispenser 10 to raise the orp of process stream 14 to a desired predetermined sanitizing orp level , allow a first reaction to proceed between the introduced at least one oxidant and contaminants in the process stream and then neutralizing residual oxidizing species such that a second target orp is achieved . for example , instead of utilizing oxidation - reduction probes / sensors which measure the presence of an oxidant , but cannot differentiate between the types of oxidants in the process stream , direct readings of specific oxidants such as chlorine or ozone using the appropriate respective meters could be used to detect the amount of chemicals . for example , a probe that measures chlorine or ozone is specifically designed to directly measure that oxidant only and produce a quantifiable value , i . e . ppm or mg / l of the measured oxidant . a calorimetric sensor , for example an in - line spectrophotometer , which measures the color changes of a process stream as a result of addition of the reactants , could also be utilized . fig4 shows one example of an embodiment of a water treatment system used in a large - scale commercial aquarium containing seawater . in this example , process stream 14 flows from water source such as , a main reservoir 22 , into a water treatment system comprising a main line 24 and an aeration tower 18 , before flowing back into main reservoir 22 . in another exemplary embodiment , the process stream separates from the water supply at tank skimmers ( not shown ). in one example , the water treatment system can utilize a filter or filtering arrangements as part of the water treatment process / apparatus . in one embodiment , water enters a 48 ″ pipe and travels to ten 30 ft by 10 ft high pressurized sand filters which remove particulate matter to 5 microns . the water then reenters main line 24 where at least one oxidant , such as ozone , is injected at main line injection point 26 . aeration tower 18 contains both an inlet 20 and an outlet 16 for the process stream 14 to traverse . while process stream 14 travels through the system it is sanitized . to sanitize the process stream 14 in this implementation , at least one oxidants is added to the main line 24 at the main line injection point 26 . in this particular embodiment , main line 24 pipe diameter is 48 ″ and the flow rate of the process stream 14 is approximately 30 , 000 gallons per minute . exemplary oxidants include , but are not limited to ozone , bromine and chlorine . in one embodiment , ozone 104 is added to process stream 14 from at least one ozone generator 90 , such as a liquid - oxygen - based ozone generator , for example . an exemplary ozone generator that can be utilized is identified under the trade name megos , manufactured by schmidding , inc . of germany . in this particular embodiment , approximately 15 to 22 lbs of ozone 104 is added each day at a rate of 0 . 061 mg / l . this is one exemplary concentration based on the ozone production rate in mass per unit time and flow rate ( volume per unit time ) and employing particular calculations for the mass transfer of the ozone into solution . because of the highly variable nature of the process stream , the amount of ozone required to produce a sanitizing orp will vary depending on the oxidation demand of the contaminants ( e . g . contaminant level and / or type or types ) in the process stream . accordingly a pid computer control system is advantageously disclosed and taught herein , since such system can accommodate the changes in oxidant demand to reach or maintain a desired orp that will sanitize the process stream . an exemplary oxidation reaction where ozone 104 is the oxidant and which occurs in process stream 14 is shown below . the injected ozone 104 will react with a number of organic compounds , lyse bacterial cell walls , decolorize chromophores , and react with bromide ions present in the water that makes up process stream 14 . the ozone 104 will oxidize bromide into hypobromite ions . the hypobromite ion is a weak acid and so will exist in its protonated and unprotonated form , the respective ratios being based on the acidity of the system &# 39 ; s seawater . with the appropriate reaction time , in this exemplary implementation of the teachings provided herein , measured from the point of ozone injection 26 to a top of the aeration tower 84 , for example , about 3 minutes , the predominant residual oxidants that are responsible for driving the orp at the location of the aeration tower inlet probe 42 are dissolved ozone and hypobromous acid . this is just one example of possible oxidation reactions that occur in an exemplary filtration and water treatment method . due to the nature of this system and in accordance with the teachings provided herein , that is , the consistent computer controlled introduction of chemicals that exhibit a high oxidation state , such as ozone and exhibit toxicity on oxidative power , such as thiosulfate containing compounds , can be employed . for example , other oxidizing agents , such as , but not limited to , chlorine , bromine , and other halogens , could also be used in addition to ozone . in the embodiment shown in fig4 , at the top of aeration tower 84 , dissolved sodium thiosulfate 106 from a supply tank 82 is injected at a rate specified by the proportional - integral - derivative controller , based on the second target orp set point for the aeration tower effluent probe 62 . the probe 62 measures the amount of oxidizing agents in the system , and an amount of sodium thiosulfate 106 is added to neutralize the oxidizing agents . the neutralizing chemical , in this case a sodium thiosulfate solution , is prepared at a specific concentration . a typical concentration of sodium thiosulfate solution is approximately 45 mg / l as sodium thiosulfate . too high a concentration of thiosulfate could lead to an overly aggressive response from the injection of the neutralizing chemical which could lead to an excessive dampening of the second target orp . conversely , a too weak of a thiosulfate solution could lead an insufficient response ( damping ) of the orp levels and may require amounts of solution that exceed the pumping capacity of the injection pumps . thiosulfate ions immediately react with residual ozone and hypobromous acid , reducing them into oxygen and bromide , respectively . this in turn reduces the first target orp to the second targeted orp level , which is a desired , safe level . exemplary reactions for this embodiment is shown below . 4o 3 + 2s 2 o 3 2 − + 4oh − → 4so 4 2 − + 2o 2 + 2h 2 o br 2 + 2s 2 o 3 2 − → 2br − + s 4 o 6 2 − this is just one example of the possible conversion reaction that could occur in this filtration method . other neutralizing chemicals , such as sulfur dioxide , ascorbic acid or sodium sulfite , could also be used in addition to or in place of sodium thiosulfate . alternative embodiments would be obvious to one skilled in the art , in light of the teachings disclosed herein . in the example utilizing the exemplary configuration in fig4 , seawater traverses through the filtration and water treatment system and back to the main reservoir 22 . a high level of ozone 104 is injected by venturi into the main line injection point 26 . an exemplary level of ozone could be considered where the residual concentration after reacting with contaminates is greater than 0 . 02 mg / l . this level is relative , since for an aquarium system it could be considered a high level . for other potential disinfection applications a high level could be a residual ozone concentration of about 0 . 1 to 0 . 5 mg / l or greater , such as 0 . 5 to 1 . 0 mg / l , for example . ultimately , it is the targeted orp level that would be dictating as to the level of disinfection in a first mixing chamber or portion , such as orp levels above 700 mv to as high as 900 mv , for example . the ozone can be introduced via a gas bubble diffuser to produce the fine gas bubbles required for mass transfer . an inline static mixer could be used also to shear the gas bubbles into the process stream and thereby achieve mass transfer . in one example , the injection rate is digitally controlled to maintain an orp level at an exemplary target set point of 850 mv , measured at the aeration tower inlet 20 . this is one example of a sanitizing oxidation reduction potential . in theory , such a sanitizing oxidation reduction level can be between about 700 mv and about 900 mv . the injected ozone 104 reacts with the seawater , destroying contaminants and disinfects the process stream 14 during its traverse to the aeration tower inlet 20 . a set distance based on pipe diameter , length and flow rates is needed to provide enough time for this first reaction , that includes the introduced at least one oxidant and contaminants , to occur . exemplary reaction times for most oxidizers are in the order of about three to five minutes . of course longer or shorter first reaction times may be utilized or necessary in accordance with , for example and not limited to , contamination levels of the water , the amount and / or type of oxidant introduced to the process stream , pipe size and length , among other factors . the optimal reaction times can depend on a number of factors , usually related to the species or target contaminant that is intended to be oxidized . for disinfection of most bacterial , viral and parasitic containing waters , a reaction time of up to five minutes with ozone residual concentrations in the 1 mg / l range is considered to be adequate . conversely , in some process streams , the reaction time can be significantly shorter , for example 2 to 3 minutes , if the target contaminants have a fast reaction rate with ozone , such as nitrite , iron , hydrogen sulfide , most chromophores , etc . while inside aeration tower 18 , sodium thiosulfate 106 is injected into process stream 14 to reduce the first target orp to a second target oxidation reduction set point , which can be about 600 mv , for example . other exemplary second target oxidation reduction set points may be achieved in accordance with variables such as water profiles into which effluent water is to be released and / or the presence of flora and / or fauna in areas into which treated water may be released . if , for example , the release point contains aquatic animals that are very sensitive to oxidants , as represented by orp , and the amount of discharged water is fractionally a high percentage of the overall system volume , the discharge set point could be as low as 220 mv . exemplary life forms ( i . e . flora and fauna ) include , but are not limited to , chordata , echinodermata , arthropoda , mollusca , cnidaria , porifera and angiospermophyta organisms . the discharge stream from an ocean going vessel , such as a cruise ship , is typically highly regulated in accordance with various laws to reduce possible degradation of sensitive aquatic life such as coral reefs . in such instance , it is desirable to be able to control / regulate the effluent discharge stream such that it effectively matches the water conditions around the reef , in terms of oxidant potential , and thus does not cause harm . the injection rate of the at least one neutralizing chemical , here sodium thiosulfate , is controlled and varied , by computer , to achieve the desired second target oxidation reduction set point . at this point in this exemplary embodiment , treated water enters the aquarium and after mixing leaves a residual orp of 250 mv in the display . oxidation state sensors / probes in the main reservoir 22 monitor orp and provide checks that the system is functioning properly . turning to fig6 , an exemplary configuration of exemplary components of a water treatment system in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure is provided . a water source 110 from which water in process stream 14 in a flow path originates is provided . in this embodiment , the water treatment system is a closed system , that is , water that is taken from water source 110 is taken , treated and then returned back to water source 110 . as water in process stream 14 is conducted though the exemplary water treatment system , a first sensor point 112 is reached . here , a starting oxidation reduction potential is measured and relayed to a master controller 120 . master controller 120 can be an analog or digital computer . master controller then compares this starting oxidation reduction potential to a first target oxidation reduction potential set point . based upon this difference master controller 120 , which is in communication with an oxidant injection controller 118 , communicates this difference to the oxidation injection controller 118 which in turn injects , via at least one oxidant supply / dispenser 116 , at least one oxidant into process stream 14 , at at least one oxidant injection point 27 . the at least one oxidant and water then proceed to mix at a first mixing portion 114 of the flow path to raise the starting oxidation reduction potential to a first target oxidation reduction potential set point in order to sanitize process stream 14 of contaminants in the water . the first mixing portion 114 may be a tank or a length of pipe or a section of the flow path having appropriate dimensions to facilitate thorough mixing of water at the at least one introduced oxidant . for example , pipes , for example , greater than 24 in . in diameter , retention basins , or contact chambers configured similarly to storage tanks located in the flow path can be utilized for the first mixing / dosing portion 114 . the target first target oxidation reduction potential set point , in one example , is anywhere from about 700 to 900 mv orp or any range or ranges therebetween , and can be achieved in any of these vessels whose function is to retain water while the oxidant is introduced until a desired set point is achieved , here a first target oxidation reduction potential set point . once the target dosing level is achieved the water should remain in the vessel long enough for the desired sanitizing oxidation reactions to occur . in one example , when utilizing ozone , a vessel large enough to retain the water in a dynamic process for two minutes or thereabouts , can be utilized after the target dose , that is , a first target oxidation reduction potential set point , typically 800 mv or thereabouts , is achieved . of course , this time can be varied in accordance with the final orp levels desired . the water in the flow path then comes upon a second sensor / probe point 122 at which a second oxidation reduction potential is measured . the second sensor / probe point 122 is also in communication with master controller 120 . master controller then compares this new oxidation reduction potential value , established after introduction and mixing of the at least one oxidant with the water in process stream 14 , with a desired second target oxidation reduction set point . accordingly , master controller 120 communicates to neutralizing chemical injection controller 128 to introduce an effective amount of at least one neutralizing chemical from at least one neutralizing chemical supply / dispenser 130 . the at least one neutralizing chemical supply / dispenser 130 is in communication with process stream 14 via at least one neutralizing chemical injection point 133 along the flow path . the at least one neutralizing chemical injection point 133 can be located before or in a second mixing portion 132 of the flow path . during the passage of water through second mixing portion 132 , the introduced effective amount of at least one neutralizing chemical reacts with remaining portions of oxidant and other oxidizing species in order to lower the oxidation reduction potential of the water from about the first target oxidation reduction potential set point to the second target oxidation reduction set point . as various useful configurations are contemplated for first mixing portion 114 , various useful configurations of second mixing portion 132 of the flow path are also contemplated , including but not limited to venturi configurations , use of at least one inline static mixer , or gaseous diffusers such as , but not limited to , ceramic “ air stones ”, bubblers , or specially designed counter current labyrinthal contact chambers , or any combination thereof . a third sensor point 126 , in communication with master controller and downstream of second mixing portion 132 , can be provided so as to monitor effluent oxidation reduction potentials of water emanating from second mixing portion 132 . this would prevent the routing of water back to water source 110 that does not have the proper oxidation reduction potential profile , that is , an oxidation reduction potential that is too high or too low in relation to a desired oxidation reduction potential level or range of oxidation reduction potentials . various effective and accurate water treatment methods are also provide by the teachings of the present disclosure . an exemplary methodology is depicted in fig7 . some exemplary methods provided herein include a step of obtaining water to be treated 136 from a water source . such water can originate from various water sources . water to be treated can originate from a lake , a sea , a stream , an ocean , a storage tank , an aquarium , a swimming pool , a fountain , a river , a contaminated spill area , a delta , a swamp , a pond , a channel , a sewer or a canal . water to be treated may also come from storage tanks and / or at least one receptacle that are located onboard watercraft and that contain grey and / or black water , for example . grey water is typically used water from showers , sinks or basins , including used kitchen water . black water is water contaminated with human waste , collected from shipboard toilets . water to be treated can also originate from food processing stations / areas . such stations can be food processing stations typically found at meat handling / processing centers , where large volumes of water are utilized during food production and handling , and which , as a result , contain various contaminants such as , but not limited to , intracellular fluid and / or interstitial fluids , blood , fat , bacteria , bodily secretion such as feces , urine , saliva , semen , mucus and the like . in some embodiments , washing of at least one food item takes place at a food processing station . another application to which the water treatment methods and apparatus of the present disclosure may be applied are post harvesting and handling activities of fruits and vegetables , which typically require large volumes of water . economic considerations and wastewater discharge regulations make water recirculation a common practice in the agriculture industry . disinfection of water is a critical step to minimize the potential transmission of pathogens from a water source to produce , among produce within a lot , and between lots over time . water - borne microorganisms , whether postharvest plant pathogens or other pathogens that can cause illness , can be rapidly acquired and taken up on plant surfaces . natural plant surface contours , natural openings , harvest - and trimming wounds , and handling injuries are known points of entry for microbes . within these protected sites , microbes are unaffected by common postharvest water treatments . it is essential , therefore , that water used for washing , cooling , transporting , postharvest drenches , or procedures be maintained in a condition suitable for the application , that is , have a controllable and desired oxidation reduction potential . by utilizing and in accordance with the teachings provided herein , water utilized in such operations can be recycled , and money saved , due to the accurate establishment and control of sanitizing oxidation reduction potentials provided by the teachings provided herein . water to be treated 136 has a first oxidation reduction potential measured 138 . a difference between the first oxidation reduction potential measured 138 and a predetermined sanitizing target oxidation reduction potential is determined 140 . based upon these differences , wherein the predetermined sanitizing target oxidation reduction potential is an orp higher than the first oxidation reduction potential measured 138 , at least one oxidant is introduced 142 into the water to be treated in order to raise the orp to the predetermined sanitizing target oxidation reduction potential . upon introduction of said at least one oxidant to the water to be treated , a first reaction takes place reaction between the at least one oxidant and contaminants in the water , where at least a portion of introduced oxidant is reduced and contaminants in the water are oxidized . a second orp 146 is measured to check to determine that the predetermined sanitizing target oxidation reduction potential has been reached . this second orp is then compared to a target effluent oxidation reduction potential and , if existing , the difference between the two is determined 147 , and based upon this comparison , at least one neutralizing chemical is introduced to the water 148 in order to initiate a second oxidation reduction reaction 150 that proceeds between the at least one neutralizing chemical and remaining levels of the at least one oxidant that was introduced into the water and / or other oxidizing species that are in the water . this second oxidation reduction reaction 150 proceeds to a point at which a third orp is measured 152 and the water attains the target effluent oxidation reduction potential , after which the water is released 160 . the release can be back to the water source from which it came or to storage tanks or other receptacles for transport and / or storage and / or further use . in particular embodiments , the water treatment apparatus , systems and methods disclosed herein can be utilized onboard watercraft or with water to be treated that originates from onboard activities . an exemplary depiction of one embodiment of such a water treatment system is shown in fig8 . water is utilized at various locations onboard a watercraft and collected . exemplary locations include kitchens 162 , basins 164 , and bathrooms 166 . while only three exemplary locations are depicted , the number of points from which either black and / or grey water can be generated can be as few as one location or many hundreds or even thousand of locations onboard a watercraft , depending on its size . exemplary watercraft include , but are not limited to , personal boats and house boats , naval vessels , including clippers , destroyers , frigates , battleships , aircraft carriers , support vessels , surface combatants in general , submarines , and patrol boats . other vessels which can employ the water treatment methods , system and apparatus disclosed herein include cruise ships and other pleasure craft . water discharge and water pollution by such watercraft are of great concern , particularly when such watercraft are proximate to bodies of water / areas that support ecosystems that can be harmed by water discharged from such watercraft . such areas include , but are not limited to , coral reefs , lagoons , marshes , stream and river mouths . bathrooms 166 typically include a shower , which can form a portion of the grey water generated onboard , and a toilet , which will contribute to black water generated onboard . from these exemplary locations , water is collected at a central water collection point 110 . from this water source , a process stream is established ( arrows in fig8 ) from which a first oxidation potential is measured at a first point by a first sensor probe 168 . first sensor probe 168 , is in communication with a computer 120 and relays this information to computer 120 . computer 120 then compares this first oxidation potential with a first target oxidation reduction potential set point , which is a sanitizing oxidation reduction potential . computer 120 is in communication with a first controller 128 that controls introduction ( rate / amount ) of at least one oxidant from an oxidant supply / dispenser 116 into the process stream of water . water , now including the introduced at least one oxidant , transverses a first mixing portion 114 of a treatment conduit , where the introduced at least one oxidant and contaminants in the grey and / or black water interact and where the first target oxidation reduction potential set point is established , to disinfect / sanitize the water of process stream . water in the process stream then contacts a second sensor probe 170 , which is also in communication with computer 120 , which measures a second oxidation reduction potential and transmits the data to computer to computer 120 . computer 120 then compares this second oxidation reduction potential to a second oxidation reduction potential set point that is an effluent target oxidation reduction potential set point . based on the comparison of this second oxidation reduction potential to a second oxidation reduction potential set point , computer 120 communicates with a second controller 118 that controls introduction of ( rate / amount ) of at least one neutralizing chemical into the process stream . introduction of at least one neutralizing chemical can be before the process steam reaches a second mixing portion 132 of the treatment conduit or directly into the second mixing portion 132 . water is then mixed with the at least one neutralizing chemical in order to lower the oxidation reduction potential of the water to the second oxidation reduction potential set point . during this reaction , the at least on chemical reacts with any residual amounts of the least one oxidant and other oxidizing species that are in the water , such as hypochlorous acid , hypobromous acid , of the process stream . exemplary oxidants and neutralizing chemicals include ozone and sodium thiosulfate . a third sensor probe 172 can be placed in the conduit , in communication with computer 120 in order to check and verify that water leaving second mixing portion 132 has an oxidation reduction potential concordant with the second oxidation reduction potential set point . water is then passed to a final destination 174 . final destination can be , but is not limited to , a holding tank , a sea , a lake , a stream , an ocean , a storage tank , a river , a delta , a swamp , a pond , a channel , or a canal or any combination thereof . in accordance with one aspect of the teachings presented herein , an exemplary process flow diagram for one embodiment is illustrated in fig5 , which depicts an exemplary schematic of an ozone system process flow for water treatment for an aquarium system . computer 34 ( not shown ) first determines if the system is being run in a manual or automatic mode at block 510 . in manual mode the system does not function , and thus there is no regulation of orp potentials . in automatic mode , software is used to control the process as illustrated in fig5 . in one exemplary embodiment , software such as the factoryfloor product suite including , for example , optocontrol , a graphical flowchart - based development environment with optional scripting , optodisplay , a full - featured hmi with advanced trending , optoserver , an opc / dde server , and optoconnect , a bidirectional interface between databases and control systems as manufactured by opto 22 ( temecula , calif ., usa ) is used to automate the system . when running in automatic mode , and as depicted in fig5 , action blocks —( rectangles ) contain commands like turning things on and off and setting variables ; condition blocks —( diamonds ) contain commands that decide whether or not a variable is true or not ; continue blocks —( ovals ) contain no commands but route the process to the top of the chart , such as a start routine . as indicated at block 500 the program is initiated and starts processing . as indicated at block 510 , computer 34 determines if the ozone system has been selected to process the control routine based on a “ true ” ( automatic ) or “ false ” ( manual ) selection from a human interface . if the operator has not selected to operated the ozone system in automatic mode , the process proceeds with manual operations 515 until an automatic selection has been made . selection of automatic mode prompts at least one ozone injection pump and at least one ozone generator to turn on , as shown at block 520 . block 530 verifies that all sensors , here orp sensors , are operating within system tolerances . subsequent to turning on ozone generators and reading process inputs from an aeration tower inlet orp sensor , the system will regulate the concentration of ozone based on readings from aeration tower inlet orp and the pre - determined first target oxidation reduction potential set point , which is a sanitizing level of oxidation reduction potential . this is indicated at block 540 . in this embodiment , at least one thiosulfate pumps are then turned on at block 550 . block 560 regulates injection of at least one neutralizing chemical , here thiosulfate in solution , based on readings from a second orp probe / sensor at the aeration tower outlet , as compared to a predetermined effluent set point . the system then processes the readings from the water source , here a main aquarium tank , and determines if the readings are within safe limits , as indicated at block 570 . if the readings are within the safe limits ( block 580 ), the process is repeated again . if levels are not found to be safe , then , at block 590 , a safety routine , including a set of instructions which will set oxidant generators / oxidant dispensers , such as ozone generators , output to zero until input readings from the main tank return to a safe level , is run . the process is then repeated over again from the start , as indicated at block 595 . the chart shown in fig9 exemplifies performance of one embodiment of the water treatment system disclosed herein , as utilized as part of an aquarium tank / exhibit . the rate that ozone and thiosulfate are injected into the system varies based on the need for oxidizing agents or neutralizing chemicals . by allowing controllers to vary the respective injection rates , the proper oxidation - reduction potential for certain points along the process stream is maintained to coincide with pre - determined set points , as discussed above . this maintains safe levels of oxidizing agents in the water source , from which the process stream originates , and high enough levels in the process stream to achieve desired disinfection . the symbols ( closed circle , circle with a cross , open circle , open triangle and closed square ) are for illustrative purposes to clearly indicate the various lines in the chart . orp in milli - volts ( mv ) is provided on the left hand vertical axis and pump frequency and percent ozone generator output is provided on the right hand vertical axis . pump frequency is generally measured as strokes per minute with a maximum rate of 100 strokes per minute . the volume flow rate of thiosulfate is generally dependent on the initial concentration of the sodium thiosulfate solution and the amount required to reduce the orp to the ato set point . this flow rate dynamically changes as the ozone demand in the process water fluctuates . for the current system that is described the thiosulfate flow rate could range from 0 to 350 ml / min . the “ percent ozone generator output ” is the actual percentage of the total watts that the ozone generator is producing to create the ozone gas . therefore , the generator at its maximum wattage is at 100 % of its ozone generating capability . for the current system that is described the maximum output of ozone is approximately 34 lbs / day or 644 grams / hour . the “ percent ozone generator output ” is remotely controlled by the computer controller and the pid loop . the right hand axis serves as two different axes . when looking at the “ percent ozone generator output ” line , the numbers on the right axis represent that percentage , “% output ”, maximum is 100 %. when one is looking at the “ thio freq ” data , the frequency of the thiosulfate pump ( s ), the axis is to be read in strokes per minute , with 100 strokes per minute as the maximum . in this one example , the straight line in the graph of fig9 represents the setpoint for the target orp of the aeration tower inlet 20 . the circle with a cross represents the actual orp values for the aeration tower inlet ( ati ), 20 . the solid circle represents the orp values for the aeration tower outlet ( ato ). this is the controlled target orp value resulting from the injection of the neutralizing agent . in this example , the ato setpoint was 600 mv ( not shown on the graph of fig9 ) the ati set point is set at 750 to 800 mv on the graph . the open circle represents the orp values measured in the main aquarium ( main tank ) of the exhibit which can be considered in this instance an exemplary main reservoir 22 . the open triangles represent the recorded output , in percentage , of the ozone generator , 104 , as controlled by the pid loop based on the ati setpoint and actual value . the closed square represents the recorded output of the neutralizing chemical dosage pump . the output of the pump is from 0 to 100 strokes per minute . the uses for this technology are numerous . cruise ships and or large ocean going vessels could use this technology to clean - up waste streams without affecting sensitive coastal environments like coral reefs . zoos and aquaria could treat animal environments , cleaning the water and removing harmful bacteria and viruses without causing health problems , e . g . irritated fish gills , corneal damage to sea lions and crocodiles , caused by the oxidizing chemicals . while the above description contains many particulars , these should not be consider limitations on the scope of the invention , but rather a demonstration of embodiments thereof . the system , method and apparatus disclosed herein include any combination of the different species or embodiments disclosed . one skilled in the art would recognize that these elements should be interpreted in light of the following claims and any equivalents thereto and / or useful combinations thereof . accordingly , it is not intended that the scope of the invention in any way be limited by the above description . | 2 |
referring now to fig1 a presently preferred embodiment of the invention , designated by reference numeral 1 , will be described . gasoline tank 2 is the fuel tank of a typical automobile , and engine 3 is the gasoline engine of that automobile . engine 3 has an exhaust pipe 4 . a cap 5 seals the fuel inlet 6 of gasoline tank 2 . gasoline tank 2 is only partially filled with liquid gasoline 7 , so that there is a large empty region 8 above the surface of the liquid gasoline 7 in tank 2 . in accordance with the present invention , a fuel line or tube 8 communicates with the lower portion of tank 7 , and cold , liquid gasoline moves through tube 8 in the direction of arrow 9 . preferably , tube 8 is composed of copper tubing . a typical size for the copper tubing would be one - half in diameter . the cold , liquid gasoline flowing in tube 8 can be preheated while it is in tube 8 , in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . if this is done , one way of preheating the fuel is to use the heat from exhaust pipe 4 by wrapping tube 8 around exhaust pipe 4 , as indicated by reference numeral 8a . the number of turns of the tubing 8 around exhaust pipe 4 depends on how close to the exhaust manifold the turns are . the preheated liquid gasoline then flows through a check valve 10 before passing into an inlet of centrifugal pump 11 . check valve 10 can be any common check valve of the kind that can be purchased at most hardware stores . centrifugal pumps can be used , as long as their impellers are driven fast enough to cause cavitation . it has an internal rotor or impeller ( not shown ) which subjects the preheated gasoline to very high acceleration . this acceleration produces cavitation . cavitation in pumps is ordinarily highly undesirable , as it leads to loss in pumping efficiency . however , in accordance with the present invention , the cavitation which is formed with the liquid gasoline undergoes a sufficient amount of acceleration to cause &# 34 ; voids &# 34 ; to form in the liquid . the near vacuum condition in these voids causes very rapid vaporization of the liquid gasoline , especially if it is preheated . more specifically , preheating of the gasoline increases the rate of vaporization of the liquid gasoline in these voids , so that , in essence , it &# 34 ; boils &# 34 ; into them at a very rapid rate . therefore , in accordance with the present invention , the cavitation process is an advantage , rather than a disadvantage , as is usually the case when cavitation occurs in a pump . not all of the liquid gasoline injected into centrifugal pump 11 is vaporized , however . a &# 34 ; foam &# 34 ; consisting of a larger amount of vaporized gasoline and also a significant amount of liquid usually moves through tube 12 in the direction of arrows 13 and flows back into the upper empty region 8 of fuel tank 7 . the liquid portion of the foam quickly recombines with the liquid gasoline 7 in the lower portion of tank 2 , but the region 8 becomes filled with a large supply of vaporized gasoline , which is ideal for combustion in the pistons of engine 3 when mixed with an appropriate amount of fresh air . in some instances , it is necessary for air to be drawn into the upper region 8 of tank 2 through tube 14 , for example , to prevent a vacuum condition from occurring in tank region 8 under certain conditions . a check valve 15 is provided to prevent any of the gasoline vapor foam in tube 12 from passing out through tube 14 . the impeller of the centrifugal pump 11 can be operated by an electric motor 16 , mechanically connected to the impeller by a mechanical means designated by reference numeral 17 . the speed of motor 16 can be controlled to produce the desired level of cavitation in centrifugal pump 11 . further in accordance with the present invention , a tube 17 leads from upper region 8 of the tank to a suitable carburation device 18 in the direction indicated by arrows 19 . this vaporized gasoline moving through tube 17 passes through a one - way check valve 20 , which can be easily constructed or readily obtained at hardware stores . this check valve is needed to prevent possible ignition , for example , when the engine backfires , of the fumes in region 8 of tank 2 . the details of carburation 18 are generally indicated in fig2 subsequently described . as with any carburation devices , its main function is to mix a suitable amount of air with the vaporized gasoline to achieve complete and adequate combustion . in accordance with one embodiment of the invention , a turbine device 21 is interposed in the path of vapor tube 17 . gasoline vapor will be sucked through tube 17 by the carburation device 18 as a result of vacuum created in the intake manifold of engine 3 . a rotor of turbine 21 can be utilized to produce some or all of the power needed to either turn the impeller or centrifugal pump 11 or aid in turning it as indicated by mechanical connection 22 . more work needs to be done on the development of a practical and efficient carburation system , and i am conducting more experimentation in this area . however , in the past , i have devised an experimental carburation device that worked fairly well , as subsequently explained . the device was installed on a 1974 ford torino sedan with a 400 cubic inch v8 engine , and excellent fuel economy was obtained for a system generally similar to the one shown in fig2 . before further discussing the results of these experiments , it will be helpful to first describe the structure shown in fig2 . in fig2 reference numeral 2 again designates the gasoline tank of the vehicle . reference numeral 11 again designates a centrifugal pump that was included in the device that i built . liquid gasoline was drawn through inlet tube 8 in the direction of arrow 9 . cavitation was produced by the impeller of pump 11 within its housing , and gasoline foam , including a large amount of pure gasoline vapor , was fed back into the upper portion 8 of tank 2 through tube 12 , as indicated by arrow 13 . a vapor tube 17 in communication with the upper region 8 of gasoline tank 6 conducted gasoline vapor in the direction of arrows 19 through a one - way check valve 20 to the carburation apparatus 18 . reference numeral 24 designates a conventional liquid fuel tank line running from the lower portion of gasoline tank 7 into the original equipment carburetor system 15 of the automobile . reference numeral 26 designates the conventional air filter of the automobile . a mixing chamber device 27 was disposed between the intake opening of intake manifold 28 . mixing chamber 27 has an inlet to which tube 17 was connected , so that the gasoline vapor passes into the mixing chamber . an air inlet tube 29 is connected to another inlet of mixing chamber 27 . a control valve 30 was connected in series communication with tube 29 , and an auxiliary air filter 31 filtered air passing through tube 29 and control valve 30 . control valve 30 performed the function of adjusting the amount of air mixed with gasoline vapor entering mixing chamber 27 via tube 17 in accordance with the operating condition of the engine . reference numeral 32 indicates the controlled flow of air through tube 29 into mixing chamber 27 . beneath mixing chamber 27 is a housing 33 which is open at its top and bottom to provide a patch of flow for properly mixed gasoline vapor and air in the direction of arrows 34 . a butterfly valve 35 was connected by a linkage 36 to the accelerator pedal 37 of the automobile . a further linkage 38 was connected to the throttle lever 39 of standard carburetor 25 . during normal economy operation , the linkage 38 causes the throttle of carburetor 25 to be completely closed , so essentially no air flows through air filter 26 and carburetor 25 into the upper open end of mixing chamber 27 . during normal &# 34 ; economy &# 34 ; operation , only gasoline vapor injected into mixing chamber 27 via tube 17 from the upper portion 8 of gasoline tank 2 is fed into the carburation system , and only air from filter 31 and control valve 30 is drawn into the mixing chamber 27 and mixed with the gasoline vapor . maximum economy of operation occurs in this mode of operation . my experiments have shown , at least for the embodiments of the invention that i have built so far , that acceleration is quite poor . therefore , the above - described mode of operation is suitable for fairly level highway driving . however , when more power is needed for acceleration or climbing a steep hill , the throttle linkages 36 and 38 cooperate to open the throttle of carburetor 25 when accelerator pedal 37 is pushed more than halfway to the floor . then , liquid gasoline is drawn through line 24 into carburetor 25 and supplemental air is drawn through filter 26 , and a mixture of that air and partially vaporized gasoline is also conducted into the carburation system . this mixture of air and partially vaporized gasoline supplements that entering mixing chamber 27 through tubes 17 and 29 , resulting in a temporary loss of economical operation , and a temporary increase of power . the carburetor 25 , mixing chamber 27 , and throttle valve 35 and 39 are shown in more detail in fig3 and 3a , wherein reference numeral 25 designates the standard , original equipment carburetor of the automobile engine . it includes a throttle 39 which is normally coupled by a suitable linkage to the accelerator pedal , controlling the amount of air 61 drawn through the throat of the carburetor . reference numeral 27 again designates the mixing chamber of the present invention which is disposed between the base of carburetor 25 and the inlet of input manifold 28 . outside air drawn into mixing chamber 27 , as a result of suction from input manifold 28 , through filter 31 and control valve 30 ( fig2 ) and flows through tube 29 into the interior of mixing chamber 27 . tube 17 brings completely vaporized gasoline from the vaporization mechanism ( which can be the cavitation pump 11 of fig1 and 2 or other suitable vaporization devices ) and the interior 8 of fuel reservoir 2 , through the check valve 20 into the interior of mixing chamber 27 , wherein the outside air and the completely vaporized gasoline are mixed , if a second lower throttle valve 35 is open . if lower throttle valve 35 is open it allows suction in the intake manifold to draw air through tube 29 and to draw gasoline vapor through tube 17 . the mixing of the outside air from tube 29 and the gasoline vapor from the tube 17 is indicated by the arrows in the interior 27a of mixing chamber 27 in fig3 a . the mixing chamber and / or the carburetor can be heated by means of hot exhaust fed through a tube such as 63 in fig1 to a heating passage 64 in the mixing chamber 27 . in accordance with the present invention , normally the carburetor throttle valve 39 is closed , allowing only a minute amount of air and partially vaporized gasoline , including a mixture of liquid gasoline droplets , to enter into the upper opening of mixing chamber 27 . the original linkage between carburetor throttle valve 39 and the accelerator pedal 37 ( fig2 ) of the automobile is interrupted by the linkage shown in fig4 a - 4c , which initially causes only throttle valve 35 to open in response to initial depression of accelerator pedal 37 , and allows carburetor throttle valve 39 to remain closed . this arrangement allows the automobile to operate almost completely on entirely vaporized gasoline for low engine loading conditions , such as traveling at a constant rate of speed on a relatively level highway . however , if a heavier engine loading condition occurs , for example if it is necessary to depress the accelerator further in order to cause the automobile to accelerate rapidly or to climb a steep hill , the further depression of the accelerator pedal 37 not only opens throttle valve 35 further , but also causes carburetor throttle valve 39 to open , so that the mixture of outside air , partially vaporized gasoline , and a mist of gasoline droplets produced by carburetor 25 also enters into the interior of mixing chamber 27 and is mixed with gasoline vapor and air entering through tubes 17 and 29 , respectively , and passes into the interior of intake manifold 28 and ultimately to the cylinders of the engine , providing a burst of power . although the advantages of providing only entirely vaporized gasoline into the intake manifold are lost during heavy engine loading conditions , the high degree of engine responsiveness and high power that normally are achieved with ordinary carburation techniques are retained , which for low and medium engine loading conditions , the advantages associated with admitting only entirely vaporized gasoline into the intake manifold are obtained by the above - described arrangement . turning now to fig4 a - 4c , the linkage required for proper operation of throttle valves 39 and 35 is schematically indicated . in fig4 a , reference numeral 50 designates the housing of the accelerator cable , and reference numeral 49 designates the inner cable member of the accelerator cable assembly . when the accelerator pedal 37 is depressed , the cable element 49 moves in the direction indicated by arrow 54 , causing arm 45 , which is rigidly attached to throttle valve 35 , to cause rotation of throttle valve 35 in the direction indicated by arrow 56 . arm 51 , or a functionally equivalent structure , also rotates , as indicated by arrow 57 . an upper arm 52 moves in the direction indicated by arrow 55 , and passes slidably through an aperture in arm 48 , which is rigidly attached to throttle valve 39 . an adjustable retaining nut 53 is provided on the left end of arm 52 , so that if arm 51 rotates far enough in the direction of arrow 57 , retaining nut 53 will engage arm 48 , causing it to rotate as the accelerator pedal 37 is depressed further . arm 47 , which is rigidly attached to throttle valve 39 , is connected to the upper end of a spring 46 , the lower end of which is connected to the outer end of arm 45 . referring now to fig4 b , the configuration of the throttle linkage is shown when the accelerator pedal 37 is depressed just far enough to open throttle valve 35 in the direction of arrow 56 a predetermined amount , for example to a three - fourths open configuration . at this point , the upper throttle valve 39 remains essentially closed , and retaining nut 53 abuts the upper end of arm 48 . the lower end of spring 46 has been raised somewhat , as indicated by arrow 57a , relieving the tension of spring 46 somewhat , making it easier for throttle valve 39 to be opened by further depression of accelerator pedal 37 . referring now to fig4 c , further depression of the accelerator pedal 37 causes arm 51 to rotate further in the direction of arrow 57 , which now causes arm 48 to rotate further in the direction of arrow 55a , opening carburetor throttle valve 39 in the direction of arrow 58 and admitting a substantial charge of liquid and vaporized gasoline and outside air and producing a sudden increase in the power output of the engine . my experiments indicate that the above - described system should result in at least a 100 % increase in the fuel economy under driving conditions in which the throttle of the conventional carburetor remains closed . the amount of carbon monoxide produced in the exhaust is significantly reduced when only completely vaporized gasoline is mixed in the proper portion with fresh air , and the engine operating temperature is reduced somewhat . although some thickening of the liquid gasoline in tank 2 occurs since not all of the constituents of the liquid gasoline are vaporized at the same rate , this thickening normally does not cause any problem , since during acceleration and high load driving conditions , liquid gasoline is also used by the conventional carburetor , even if it is slightly thickened . further in accordance with the present invention , an adjustable nut 59 is provided on arm 52 , as indicated in fig4 a - 4c for the purpose of enabling carburetor throttle valve 39 to open during cold engine starting and cold engine running conditions . the manner in which nut 59 of the linkage operates to allow cold engine starting and running is best understood with reference to fig5 a - 5c . in fig5 a - 5c , a conventional automatic choke 39a is shown at the upper end of conventional carburetor 25 . dotted line 103 designates a conventional linkage between the automatic choke 39a and the carburetor throttle valve 39 . reference numeral 101 designates gasoline in the float valve chamber , which is drawn into the barrel of carburetor 25 through a suitable jet ( not shown ). the linkage of fig4 a - 4c , except for the accelerator cable 49 , also is shown . fig5 a shows the configuration of the system when the engine is warm and automatic choke valve 39a is completely open . under these conditions , the linkage 103 does not affect carburetor throttle valve 39 or mixing chamber throttle valve 35 . when the engine idles , air is drawn in through tube 29 and vapor is drawn into mixing chamber 27 through tube 17 , as described above . in fig5 b , the configuration of the linkage is shown during normal , low - load driving conditions referred to above with reference to fig4 b , wherein the carburetor throttle valve 39 is closed but mixing chamber throttle valve 35 is open , so increased amounts of air and vaporized gasoline are drawn into mixing chamber 27 through tubes 29 and 17 , respectively , allowing economical operation of the engine due to combustion only of a mixture of air and completely vaporized gasoline , as previously described . in fig5 c , the same assembly is shown under cold engine starting and cold engine running conditions , when automatic choke valve 39a is closed . the conventional linkage 103 between automatic choke valve 39a and carburetor throttle valve 39 causes throttle valve 39 to open partially , as illustrated . arm 48 thereby rotates in the direction of arrow 55a , abutting nut 59 , and thereby forcing arm 51 and mixing chamber throttle valve 35 to rotate in the directions of arrows 57 and 56 , respectively , thereby causing mixing chamber throttle valve 35 to be open when the engine is cold . thus , when the cold engine is being started and during the warm - up period , an amount of outside air is drawn through the barrel of carburetor 25 as a result of the vacuum in the intake manifold 28 ( fig3 ) to which mixing chamber 27 is attached . this can occur because both carburetor throttle valve 39 and mixing chamber throttle valve 35 are open , and the &# 34 ; rich &# 34 ; mixture produced as a result of automatic choke valve 39a being closed is drawn into the intake manifold and cylinders of the engine . it can be seen that if adjustable nut 59 is not provided on rod 52 , arm 52 would not be pushed to the right by arm 48 , and the mixing chamber throttle valve 35 would remain closed , preventing a sufficient amount of the &# 34 ; rich &# 34 ; air - gasoline mist from being drawn into the cylinders to effectuate efficient cold engine starting and cold engine running . while the invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment thereof , those skilled in the art will be able to provide various modifications to the above - described apparatus and method without departing from the true spirit and scope of the claims . for example , various other mechanical linkages can be readily devised that will perform essentially the same function as the linkage shown in fig5 a - 5c . | 5 |
fig1 a is a perspective view showing the relative positions of a radiation light beam , a mask , and a workpiece of polytetrafluoroethylene to be processed according to an embodiment of the invention . synchrotron radiation light ( sr light ) from the electronic orbit 1 emits along the optic axis 5 . a workpiece 4 of polytetrafluoroethylene is placed at the position spaced apart from the light source by a distance l along the optic axis 5 . a mask 3 is disposed in front of the workpiece 4 at a distance g from the workpiece 4 . the electron orbit 1 , workpiece 4 , and mask 3 are housed in a single vacuum chamber . areas substantially transmitting and not transmitting sr light are defined of the masking surface of the mask 3 . the mask 3 used in this embodiment is made of a copper plate of 10 to 500 μm thick . patterns of a desired micro component are formed on the masking surface . other metals may be used instead of copper . the sr light beam 2 is applied via the mask 3 to the surface of the workpiece 4 . the sr light beam 2 causes ablation on the surface of the workpiece 4 , and the area applied with the sr light beam is removed . if ultra fine patterns are formed on the mask 3 , the surface of the workpiece can be processed microscopically . fig1 b is a cross sectional view of the processing unit of a polytetrafluoroethylene processing system . a vacuum chamber 40 storing electronic orbit and a vacuum chamber 20 in which a workpiece 4 is disposed are connected via an orifice 39 , vacuum chamber 30 and an orifice 29 . a gas exhaust pipe 24 coupled to the vacuum chamber 20 is connected to a vacuum pump 25 so that the inside of the vacuum chamber 20 can be evacuated by the vacuum pump 25 . similarly , the inside of the vacuum chamber 30 can be evacuated by a vacuum pump 35 through an exhaust pipe 34 . the orifices 39 and 29 work as fluid resistance so as to prevent gas generated in the vacuum chamber 20 during processing from entering the vacuum chamber 40 . a workpiece holder 14 is disposed in vacuum chamber 20 . a workpiece 4 is secured on a workpiece holding surface of the workpiece holder 14 . a mask 3 is held by a mask holder 17 and disposed in front of the workpiece 4 parallel to the workpiece surface . in processing the workpiece , the sr light beam 2 is irradiated from the left side of fig1 b to the surface of the workpiece 4 through the mask 3 . the workpiece holder 14 is made of , for example , ceramic and has an embedded heater 8 . lead wires of the heater 8 are connected to inner terminals of a connector 21 mounted on the wall of the vacuum chamber 20 . outer terminals electrically connected to the inner terminals of the connector 21 are connected to a power source 7 which supplies current to the heater 8 to heat the workpiece 4 . a thermocouple 23 is mounted on the workpiece holding surface of the workpiece holder 14 . lead wires of the thermocouple 23 extend out of the vacuum chamber 20 via a lead outlet port 22 , and are connected to a temperature controller 9 . the lead outlet port 22 is hermetically sealed by , for example , soldering . the temperature controller 9 controls the power source 7 and regulates current flowing to the heater 8 so as to maintain the workpiece holding surface at a desired temperature . fig1 c shows an example of another structure of the workpiece holder . a gas flow path 16 is formed in the workpiece holder 15 . heat exchange between the workpiece and gas of a desired temperature flowing through the gas flow path 16 maintains the workpiece at a desired temperature . next , the wavelength of radiation light suitable for processing polytetrafluoroethylene will be discussed . fig2 a and 2b show light absorption spectra of polytetrafluoroethylene . in fig2 a , the abscissa represents photon energy in the unit of ev , and the ordinate represents an absorption coefficient in the unit of cm - 1 . as shown in fig2 a , as the energy of radiation light increases , absorption tends to reduce . furthermore , the absorption coefficient at 10 4 ev ( wavelength of about 0 . 1 nm ) is about a 10 - 4 - fold of that at 10 2 ev and very small . therefore , radiation light having a wavelength of 0 . 1 nm or smaller is almost ineffective for micromachining polytetrafluoroethylene . in fig2 b , the abscissa represents photon energy in the unit of ev , and the ordinate represents light absorption quantity in an arbitrary unit . as shown in fig2 b , absorption in the vacuum ultraviolet range has a large peak near the energy of 7 . 7 ev ( wavelength of 160 nm ). it is therefore preferable that radiation light to be used for processing polytetrafluoroethylene contains ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of 160 nm . next , the experiment result of micromachining of polytetrafluoroethylene by the processing system shown in fig1 a to 1b will be described . sr light having a successive wavelength distribution from the infrared region to the x - ray region was used for processing a sheet of polytetrafluoroethylene having a thickness of 1 . 5 mm . the distance l between the workpiece 4 and the light source was set to 3 m . the polytetrafluoroethylene sheet whose surface was polished and cleaned with methanol , and secured to the workpiece holder . the mask 3 with fine patterns being formed was disposed in front of the workpiece 4 spaced about 0 . 5 mm . after the mask 3 and workpiece 4 were set in the above manner , the inside of the vacuum chamber was evacuated to 7 × 10 - 7 pa . sr light was applied to the workpiece 4 . the intensity of sr light was set so that the photon flux at the surface of the workpiece was 3 × 10 15 photons / sec . mm 2 . the sr source used was a compact superconducting electron storage ring . its synchrotron radiation had a continuous spectrum from infrared to x - ray with the critical wavelength of 1 . 5 nm . actually , the spectrum used is mainly between 0 . 1 to 180 nm . fig3 a and 3b are sketches of photographs showing processed areas of the polytetrafluoroethylene sheet processed under the above conditions . fig3 a is a sketch of a photograph of a processed component having a pattern minimum width of 20 μm and a depth of 220 μm , the component being viewed obliquely from the upper side . as seen from fig3 a , processed side walls were smooth . fig3 b is a sketch of a photograph showing a concave of 100 μm deep , as viewed from the upper side . the lower half of fig3 b shows the surface of the polytetrafluoroethylene sheet , and the upper half shows the bottom of the concave . as shown in fig3 b , the concave having a smooth bottom surface was able to be formed . as above , a smooth processed surface can be obtained by setting the photon density to 3 × 10 15 photons / sec . mm 2 . the higher the photon density becomes , the higher the processing speed and the smoother the surface becomes . it can be considered that sr light is generally parallel near the processed area . therefore , the side wall of the concave is generally perpendicular to the surface of polytetrafluoroethylene . the shape and size of the bottom of a concave are therefore almost the same as those of the top opening of the concave . if the pattern areas transmitting and not transmitting sr light of the mask are interchanged , a convex can be formed . also in this case , the shape and size of the cross section of the bottom of the convex are almost the same as those of the top surface of the convex . although the processed area of the pattern minimum width of 20 μm and the depth of 220 μm is shown in fig3 a , other fine patterns having a pattern minimum width of 20 to 50 μm and a depth of 220 μm or deeper may be formed . the definition of the aspect ratio will be described with reference to fig4 . a concave 31 is being formed in a workpiece 33 . the width of the concave 31 becomes narrower at a deeper position . this shape corresponds to the side of a laser beam converged by an optical system . the aspect ratio is defined by d / w where d is a depth of the concave and w is a width at the opening . if a workpiece is processed by a laser beam , as the depth d increases , the width w increases correspondingly because the side wall of the concave 31 is slanted . it is therefore difficult to form a concave having a high aspect ratio . in contrast with this , if a workpiece is processed by sr light , the side wall of the concave 31 is generally vertical so that the width w hardly increases even if the depth d is increased . it is therefore easy to obtain a high aspect ratio . since a converging optical system is not used in the above embodiment , sr light can be approximated to generally parallel light if a proper distance is ensured between a point light source and the surface of a workpiece . therefore , as shown in fig3 a , the side wall of the concave can be processed generally vertically . it is therefore easy to form a concave having an aspect ratio of 1 or higher . this embodiment is particularly effective for microscopically processing a workpiece having a pattern minimum width of 20 to 50 μm , a depth of 50 μm or deeper , and an aspect ratio of 10 or higher . fig5 is a sketch of a photograph showing an area processed under the same conditions as used for the workpiece shown in fig3 a , excepting a photon density of sr light being set smaller . as shown in fig5 a number of irregular areas are formed on the side walls of concaves . it can be considered from this that it is preferable to set a photon density at the processed area to 3 × 10 15 photons / sec . mm 2 or higher in order to form a concave having a smooth side wall . in the above embodiment , radiation light is applied to a polytetrafluoroethylene sheet while maintaining the sheet at a room temperature . a polytetrafluoroethylene sheet may be heated before radiation light is applied . in the following , a method of processing a polytetrafluoroethylene sheet while heating it will be described . as shown in fig1 a , after the mask 3 and workpiece 4 are set , the inside of the vacuum chamber 20 shown in fig1 b is evacuated to 7 × 10 - 7 pa . thereafter , a polytetrafluoroethylene is heated and maintained at a temperature of 200 ° c . sr light is applied to the polytetrafluoroethylene sheet workpiece 4 . the intensity of sr light is set so that the photon density at the surface of the workpiece is 1 . 5 × 10 15 photons / sec . mm 2 . the radiation time is 10 minutes . fig6 a and 6b are sketches of photographs showing processed areas of the polytetrafluoroethylene sheet processed under the above conditions . fig6 a shows the polytetrafluoroethylene sheet with through holes formed by using a lattice pattern mask having the minimum line width of about 100 μm . the side wall of each through hole is generally vertical to the surface of the polytetrafluoroethylene sheet , and the line width of a polytetrafluoroethylene area left in a lattice shape is generally constant in the thickness direction . in this case , a ratio ( aspect ratio ) of the thickness of the polytetrafluoroethylene sheet to the minimum line width at the surface of the polytetrafluoroethylene sheet is about 15 . fig6 b shows the polytetrafluoroethylene sheet microscopically processed by using a lattice pattern mask having the minimum line width of about 10 μm . it is seen from this sketch that good processing is possible even at the minimum line width of 10 μm . as above , micromachining at a line width of 100 μm or narrower becomes possible by applying sr light to the surface of polytetrafluoroethylene under the above conditions . as described with fig3 a and 3b , if sr light is applied without heating a polytetrafluoroethylene sheet , it is necessary to set the photon density at the surface of the polytetrafluoroethylene sheet to 3 × 10 15 photons / sec . mm 2 in order to obtain a good side wall at the processed area . in contrast with this , if a polytetrafluoroethylene sheet is heated , a good side wall at the processed area can be formed by sr light at about a half of the above - described photon density . in the above embodiment , although the photon density at the surface of a workpiece is set to 1 . 5 × 10 15 photons / sec . mm 2 at the wavelength range from 0 . 1 nm to 180 nm , sr light may be applied at different photon densities . in order to obtain a smooth processed surface , it is preferable to set the photon density at the surface of a workpiece to 1 . 5 × 10 15 photons / sec . mm 2 or higher at the wavelength range from 0 . 1 nm to 180 nm . the processing speed can be increased if the photon density is increased . in the above embodiment , although the temperature of a polytetrafluoroethylene sheet is set to 200 ° c . prior to applying sr light , the temperature may be set to 50 ° c . to 250 ° c . more preferably , the temperature is set in the range from 150 ° c . to 220 ° c . a polytetrafluoroethylene sheet was processed by the above method . it was possible to obtain generally the same processing precision as that of a resist mask patterned through x - ray lithography using the same mask . in the above two embodiments , the distance g between the workpiece 4 and mask 3 is set to 0 . 5 mm . the distance g may be set differently . however , if the distance g is too large , diffraction of sr light makes an image of the surface of a workpiece unsharp and a fine pattern cannot be formed . on the other hand , if the distance g is too small , heat is likely to radiate from the processed area to the mask and stains generated during processing are likely to be attached to the mask . it can be considered from various experiment results that the distance g between the workpiece 4 and mask 3 is preferably set in the range from 0 . 3 to 0 . 5 mm . as seen in fig1 a , a cross section of an sr light beam vertical to the optic axis has a shape longer in one direction ( the horizontal direction ) than in another direction ( vertical direction ). for example , in the case of the synchrotron used in the above - described embodiments , the beam size at the position remote from the light source by 3 m is about 3 mm in the vertical direction and about 30 mm in the horizontal direction . therefore , an area relatively broad in the horizontal direction can be processed at the same time . if an area relatively broad in the vertical direction is to be processed , both the workpiece 4 and mask 3 are moved in the vertical direction ( z - axis direction shown in fig1 a ) at the same time . fig7 is a schematic diagram showing a drive mechanism for driving the workpiece 4 and mask 3 in the z - axis direction . a workpiece holder 14 is mounted on the drive mechanism 10 , with its workpiece holding surface being set generally perpendicular to the optic axis ( y - axis direction ) of sr light 2 . a workpiece 4 is secured to the workpiece holding surface of the workpiece holder 14 , and a mask 3 is set in front of the workpiece 4 spaced apart from the surface thereof by a distance g . handles 11 , 12 , and 13 are coupled to the drive mechanism 10 . as the handle 11 is rotated , the workpiece holder 14 moves in an upward / downward direction ( z - axis direction ). by rotating the handle 11 by using a stepping motor , the stage 14 can be moved in the z - axis direction at a desired constant speed . as the handles 12 and 13 are rotated , the workpiece holder 14 moves in the direction ( x - axis direction ) perpendicular to the drawing sheet and in the y - axis direction , respectively . the positions of the workpiece holder 14 in the x - and y - axis directions can be finely adjusted by the handles 12 and 13 . a relatively broad area can be easily processed by moving the workpiece 4 in the z - axis direction by rotating the handle 11 with the stepping motor , while sr light 2 is applied . good micromachining was possible by setting the motion speed in the z - axis direction to 5 × 10 - 2 mm / s at the photon density of 3 × 10 15 photons / sec . mm 2 . the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments . the invention is not limited only to the above embodiments . it is apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications , improvements , combinations and the like can be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims . | 1 |
fig1 shows a mixer stage 10 with an oscillator 12 , a first input 14 , a second input 16 , a first output 18 , a second output 20 , a first field - effect transistor 22 , a second field - effect transistor 24 , and four control elements 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 . the field - effect transistors serve here as the aforementioned amplifier elements . a first current connection 34 of the first field - effect transistor 22 is connected to a first current connection 36 of the second field - effect transistor and a reference voltage 38 . a second current connection 40 of the first field - effect transistor 22 is connected through a first control element 26 to the first output 18 and through a second control element 28 to the second output 20 . a second current connection 42 of the second field - effect transistor 24 is connected through a third control element 30 to the first output 18 , and through a fourth control element 32 to the second output 20 . the two outputs 18 and 20 lead , for example , to an output circuit 19 in which currents flowing through the outputs 18 , 20 are converted into voltages and signals are demodulated . a control connection 44 of the first control element 26 is connected to a control connection 46 of the fourth control element 32 and a first oscillator output 48 . similarly , a control connection 50 of the second control element 28 is connected to a control connection 52 of the third control element 30 and a second oscillator output 54 . the oscillator 12 provides the square - wave signal in differential form between its oscillator outputs 48 , 54 so that a signal level at the oscillator output 48 is high ( low ) when a signal level at the oscillator output 54 is low ( high ). the square - wave signal can swing digitally by ± 0 . 5 v about a common - mode modulation value of 1 volt , for example . for example , the signal between the inputs 14 and 16 can be an analog signal from a receiving antenna 21 that has been processed and / or amplified by an input circuit 23 . one may use a sine or cosine signal between the inputs 14 and 16 as a starting point for achieving an understanding of the mixer stage 10 . the field - effect transistors 22 and 24 can be implemented equally well as junction fets or mosfets . in the embodiment shown , the field - effect transistors 22 and 24 are implemented as n - channel mosfets , and the four control elements 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 are implemented as bipolar npn transistors . accordingly , the first current connections 34 and 36 are source connections , and the second current connections 40 and 42 are drain connections . as is known , such field - effect transistors 22 , 24 have three operating regions : the cutoff region , the resistive region , and the saturation region . in the resistive region , the field - effect transistor follows the relationship here , b 0 designates what is known as the transconductance factor , which is influenced by the gate oxide thickness and the charge - carrier mobility . vth is the threshold voltage of the transistor . in the circuit shown , a drain current id 1 flows in the second current connection 40 of the first field - effect transistor 22 , and a drain current id 2 flows in the second current connection 42 of the second field - effect transistor 24 . as part of a preferred embodiment , the two field - effect transistors 22 , 24 both have equal transconductance factors b 01 , b 02 and equal threshold voltages vth 1 and vth 2 . when the control elements 26 , 28 , 30 and 32 are digitally switched between the “ conducting ” and “ nonconducting ” states by the square - wave signal , an identical constant drain - source voltage vds results for both field - effect transistors between their connections 40 and 34 , or 42 and 36 . due to the identical drain - source voltage vds , the drain currents can be expressed as : if one takes the difference of the two drain currents id 1 , id 2 , one obtains the linear relationship between drain current difference and gate voltage difference : id 1 − id 2 = b 0 vds ( vgs 1 − vgs 2 ). each of these drain currents id 1 and id 2 is switched alternately to the first input 18 and the second input 20 by the four control transistors 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 , which corresponds to a multiplication of each drain current id 1 , id 2 with a periodically alternating arithmetic sign on account of the fact that the four control transistors 16 , 28 , 30 , 31 serving as control elements are driven by a differential square - wave signal . the resulting product of the output currents , which is to say the currents into / out of the outputs 18 , 20 , then contains terms with the frequencies ( ω 1 − ω 2 ), ( ω 1 + ω 2 ), where the indices 1 and 2 in this order are associated with the input signal and the oscillator signal . the sum term and the difference term each result from the multiplication of the input signal , which is present in differential form between the inputs 14 and 16 , by the first fourier component of the square - wave signal , which is to say a trigonometric function whose argument contains the oscillator frequency . once again , a subsequent filter in the output circuit 19 can filter out one of the two frequencies ( ω 1 − ω 2 ) or ( ω 1 + ω 2 ), whose amplitude is proportional to one of the input voltages of the product u 1 · u 2 . the other input voltage can be normalized in this process . additional higher order terms , as are produced by multiplication with additional fourier components at three , five , seven , etc . times the oscillator frequency , are likewise suppressed by the filtering . as already mentioned , fig1 explicitly shows a mixer stage 10 in which the field - effect transistors 22 and 24 are each implemented as nmos transistors , and the four control elements 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 are implemented as bipolar npn transistors . it is a matter of course , however , that the first field - effect transistor 22 and the second field - effect transistor 24 could each be implemented as nmos transistors , and the four control elements 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 could be implemented as nmos transistors , or that the first field - effect transistor 22 and the second field - effect transistor 24 could each be implemented as pmos transistors , and the four control elements 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 could be implemented as bipolar pnp transistors , or that the first field - effect transistor 22 and the second field - effect transistor 24 could each be implemented as pmos transistors , and the four control elements 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 could be implemented as pmos transistors . output circuit 19 and input circuit 23 can be connected together by a connection 25 , for example in order to implement a control loop for controlling the amplification of the field - effect transistors through control of the common - mode value of their modulation . similarly , the output circuit 19 can also be connected to the oscillator 12 through a connection 27 in order to tune the oscillator &# 39 ; s frequency such that a desired receiving frequency is shifted to a predetermined intermediate frequency and / or to set a common - mode value of the differential oscillator signal for the purpose of setting the operating point of the control elements 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 . the voltages at the base of the bipolar transistors serving as control elements 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 result from a superposition of a dc operating point voltage v dc2 and a differential ac voltage v in2 : v dc2 ± ½ × v in2 . the voltages at the inputs 14 and 16 , which is to say at the gate connections of the field - effect transistors 22 and 24 , result from a superposition of a dc operating point voltage v dc1 and a differential ac voltage v in1 : v dc1 = ½v in1 . the amplification of the mixer stage 10 can be continuously adjusted by means of the operating point voltages v dc2 at the base of the control elements 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 and v dc1 at the gate of the field - effect transistors 22 and 24 . in particular , the source - drain operating point voltage of the field - effect transistors 22 and 24 , which is set through the voltage v dc2 at the base of the control elements 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 , has a direct influence on the transconductance of the mos amplifier stage formed of field - effect transistors 22 , 24 of this mixer stage 10 . in this way , it is possible to employ the mixer stage 10 as a continuously adjustable amplifier element in the agc loop . for an implementation of the agc loop , the output circuit 19 has a level detector , a comparator , a target level transmitter , an integrator , and a control element that controls the operating point voltage of the field - effect transistors 22 , 24 through the connection 25 to the input circuit 23 and also controls the operating point voltage of the control elements 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 through the connection 27 to the oscillator 12 . the signal level of the output signal of the mixer stage 10 present between the outputs 18 and 20 , detected by the level detector , is compared by the comparator with a target value from the target level transmitter , which can be accomplished by taking a difference , for example . the difference is then integrated and controls the aforementioned operating point voltages by means of the control loop closed by the control element . 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 one skilled in the art are to be included within the scope of the following claims . | 7 |
the present application will be described below in further detail with reference to the drawings according to an embodiment . the memory ( sp - ram ) using a spin transfer includes a sufficiently large anisotropy to stabilize the magnetization of the memory layer ( free magnetization layer ) to heat fluctuation . generally , the degrees of the stability in magnetization of the memory layer to the aforementioned heat fluctuation , i . e ., the index of thermal stability , can be expressed by a thermal stability parameter ( δ ). in other words , the thermal stability parameter ( δ ) is expressed by : δ = kuv / kbt ( ku ; anisotropic energy , v : volume of memory layer , k b : boltzmann constant , and t : absolute temperature ) furthermore , it is demanded to secure a certain degree or more of the index of thermal stability ( thermal stability parameter ) δ in the memory ( sp - ram ) used in the spin transfer while lowering a flux reversal electric current . thus , various studies have been conducted and the formation of a stable memory can be obtained as follows . a fixed - magnetization layer is formed such that a plurality of ferromagnetic layers are stacked through a non - magnetic layer and anti - ferromagnetically coupled . then , magnetic regions having magnetized components in the stacked directions , and different magnetizations having different directions are respectively formed on both ends of at least a ferromagnetic layer adjacent to the memory layer . furthermore , the magnetic regions respectively having magnetized components in the stacked direction and different magnetizations in different directions are effectively formed on the both ends of the ferromagnetic layer in the fixed - magnetization layer as follows . first , metal wiring lines are arranged adjacent to both ends of the fixed - magnetization layer , and an electric current is then applied on each of the metal wiring lines to activate a current magnetic field on the ferromagnetic layer of the fixed - magnetization layer . in this case , the magnetic components having mutually different directions in the stacked direction are formed on both ends of the ferromagnetic layer in the fixed - magnetization layer by the application of a current magnetic field . thus , it is effective to allow the magnetized components in the stacked direction to activate the magnetization of the memory layer . furthermore , for forming the magnetized regions respectively having magnetized components in the stacked direction on both ends of the ferromagnetic layer of the fixed - magnetization layer , there is a need of arranging two metal wiring lines in total adjacent to both ends of the fixed - magnetization layer . in addition , for allowing the resulting magnetized regions to have magnetizations in different directions on both ends of the fixed - magnetization layer , two metal wiring lines require the passages of electric currents in the same direction . the metal wiring line is preferably arranged so that it can be perpendicular to the magnetization direction of the ferromagnetic layer in the fixed - magnetization layer . in addition , the metal wiring line is preferably arranged in a plane parallel to the fixed - magnetization layer . two metal wiring lines are applied with electric currents in the same direction , respectively , to generate the respective magnetized components in the stacked direction while directing in different directions . therefore , two spin torques having different directions may activate both ends of the memory layer from both ends of the magnetic region . these two spin torques can easily reverse the magnetization direction of the memory layer . therefore , the magnetization direction of the memory layer can be reversed by a small amount of an electric current . fig2 is a schematic sectional view of a memory device according to one embodiment of the present invention . the memory device 1 includes a tunnel magnetoresistance effect ( tmr ) element . in the memory device 1 , a ferromagnetic layer 12 and a ferromagnetic layer 14 are arranged through a non - magnetic layer 13 and bonded to each other with an anti - ferromagnetic coupling . furthermore , the ferromagnetic layer 12 is arranged contiguous to a ferromagnetic layer 11 . here , strong unidirectional magnetic anisotropy can be observed due to an exchange interaction effects between these layers . a fixed - magnetization layer 2 includes these four layers 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , and the fixed - magnetization layer 2 includes two ferromagnetic layers 12 , 14 . the ferromagnetic layer 16 is designed to comparatively easily reverse the direction of its magnetization m 1 . the ferromagnetic layer 16 forms the memory layer ( free magnetization layer ) 3 . the tunnel - insulating layer 15 is formed between the ferromagnetic layer 14 and the ferromagnetic layer 16 , i . e ., between the fixed - magnetization layer 2 and the memory layer ( free magnetization layer ) 3 . the time - insulating layer 15 breaks the magnetic coupling between a magnetic layer 16 and a magnetic layer 14 arranged in vertical direction while involving the application of a tunnel electric current . consequently , the tunnel magnetoresistance effect ( tmr ) element includes the fixed - magnetization layer 2 with a fixed - magnetization direction of the magnetic layer , the tunnel - insulating layer 15 , and the memory layer ( free magnetization layer ) 3 capable of changing a magnetization direction . the memory device 1 having the tmr element includes the above layers 11 to 16 , a base layer 10 , and a top - coating layer 17 . the strong anti - ferromagnetic coupling through the non - magnetic layer 13 forms the magnetization m 11 of the ferromagnetic layer 12 and the magnetization m 12 of the ferromagnetic layer 14 in the anti - parallel direction . the resistance value of the tmr element having these layers 14 , 15 , 16 varies depending on whether the direction of the magnetization m 1 of the ferromagnetic layer 16 of the memory layer 3 and the direction of the magnetization m 12 of the fixed - magnetization layer 14 in the fixed - magnetization layer 2 sandwiching the tunnel - insulating layer 15 is in a parallel state or in an anti - parallel state . the resistance value is low when two magnetizations m 1 , m 12 are in a parallel state , while the resistance value is high in an anti - parallel state . the resistance of the whole memory device 1 changes as the resistance of the tmr element ( 14 , 15 , 16 ) changes . this fact can be used in the recording of information and the reading - out of the recorded information . in other words , for example , the information “ 0 ” may be assigned to the state of low resistance value and the information “ 1 ” is assigned to the sate of high resistance value . thus , the information of two values ( one bit ) can be recorded . among layers forming the fixed - magnetization layer 2 , a ferromagnetic layer 14 on the side of the memory layer 3 is a ferromagnetic layer referenced and provided as a reference of the direction of magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 when the recorded information is read out . thus , the ferromagnetic layer 14 is also referred to as a reference layer . for rewriting the information in the memory cell or reading the information out of the memory cell , it is preferable that a spin - polarized current iz be passed through the memory device 1 . the spin - polarized current iz passing through the memory device 1 can be changed from the upward to the downward or from the downward to the upward by changing the polarity of the spin - polarized current iz . consequently , the information in the memory cell can be rewritten by changing the direction of the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 of the memory device 1 . the memory device 1 of the present embodiment may be formed in a manner similar to the related - art memory device 101 shown in fig1 . that is , the memory device 1 may be connected to a selection mos transistor formed on a silicon substrate to carry out the reading - out of a memory cell . in addition , the memory device 1 may be connected to wiring lines and spin - polarized current iz may flow the memory device 1 through the wiring lines in the stacked direction . in the memory device 1 of the present embodiment , metal wiring lines 20 , 21 are arranged in addition to the above tmr element . in other words , the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 are arranged adjacent to the both ends of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 and extends in the normal direction on paper . the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 are designed to flow electric currents in the same direction in the vicinity of the memory device 1 . furthermore , the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 are arranged adjacent to both sides of the memory device 1 but not contacted with the fixed - magnetization layer 2 . in addition , each of the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 can be placed at a position where the current magnetic field generated is allowed to generate the magnetized component on the fixed - magnetization layer 2 in the stacked direction . for instance , the metal wiring lines may be arranged adjacent to both ends of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 of the memory device 1 extending in the direction perpendicular to the magnetization direction of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 or in the direction parallel to the magnetization direction . in addition , metal - wiring lines can be arranged in a plane in parallel to the fixed - magnetization layer of the memory device 1 . in fig2 , when electric current iz is applied , the magnitude of the spin torque activate the magnetization mfree (= m 1 ) of the memory layer 3 is proportional to triple vector product mfree × mfree × mref . however , mref is magnetization (= m 12 ) of the reference layer 14 . in the initial state , the magnetization mfree of the memory layer 3 and the magnetization mref of the reference layer 14 are in a parallel state or in an anti - parallel state . the first - acting spin torque is very small . thus , in this case , the flux reversal current increases . in the memory device 1 of the present embodiment , the passages of electric currents through the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 in the same direction generate magnetized components having mutually different directions are generated on both ends of the ferromagnetic layers 12 , 14 in the stacked direction . furthermore , the generation of magnetized components in the stacked directions leads to an increase in spin torque activating the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 while decreasing the flux reversal current . here , the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 are preferably arranged in a plane parallel to the fixed - magnetization layer 2 of the memory device 1 . in addition , the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 preferably extend in the direction perpendicular to the magnetization direction of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 . as described above , the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 are arranged in a plane parallel to the fixed - magnetization layer 2 and the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 and the magnetization direction of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 are perpendicular to each other . therefore , the current magnetic fields generated around the metal wiring lies 20 , 21 can be facilitated to activate the ferromagnetic layers 12 , 14 of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 . as a result , the magnetized components in the stacked direction can be easily generated . in addition , the magnetized components to be generated in the stacked direction become strong . thus , the spin torque affecting on the magnetization of the memory layer can be increased . besides , the flux reversal electric current can be reduced . the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 may be designed so that two independent wiring lines may be formed adjacent to the memory device 1 . alternatively , around the memory device 1 , a single wiring line may be divided to provide two metal wiring lines in the vicinity of the memory device 1 . next , fig3 shows a magnetization - state of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 when the electric currents ia , ib in parallel are applied on the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 . as shown in fig3 , when electric currents ia , ib are applied in parallel from the front side of the figure to the back side thereof through two metal wiring lines 20 , 21 , current magnetic fields 20 a , 21 a are generated around the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 clockwise as shown by the dotted lines in fig3 . in this case , the current magnetic fields 20 a , 21 a inside of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 become synthetic magnetic fields of two current magnetic fields 20 a , 201 a by two metal wiring lines 20 , 21 , respectively . the current magnetic fields 20 a , 21 a generated by two metal wiring lines 20 , 21 tend to gradually decrease as the distance of the current magnetic fields 20 a , 2 a increases from the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 . therefore , the end of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 adjacent to the metal wiring line 20 ( left side ) is strongly affected by the downward current magnetic field 20 a generated by the metal wiring line 20 . in contrast , the end of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 adjacent to the metal wiring line 21 ( right side ) is strongly affected by the upward current magnetic field 21 a generated by the metal wiring line 20 . on the other hand , almost in the middle of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 , the magnitudes of two current magnetic fields 20 a , 21 a are almost equal to each other and the directions thereof are opposite to each other . therefore , the current magnetic fields 20 a and 21 a compensate each other . as a result , the magnetization structure in the inside of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 becomes the structure as illustrated in fig3 . in other words , in the fixed - magnetization layer 2 , the upward magnetized components m 11 a , m 12 a or the downward magnetized components m 11 b , m 12 b are generated on both ends of the magnetization m 11 of two ferromagnetic layers 12 and both ends of the magnetization m 12 of two ferromagnetic layers 14 . these upward and downward magnetized components m 11 a , 11 b , m 12 a , m 12 b have angles between magnetization direction and the stack direction of the magnetization m 11 and the magnetization m 12 . the end of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 adjacent to the metal wiring line 20 ( on the left side ) receives an influence of the downward current magnetic field 20 a generated by the metal wiring line 20 . thus , the downward magnetized components m 11 b , m 12 b are generated . furthermore , the end of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 adjacent to the metal wiring line 21 ( on the right side ) receives an influence from the upward current magnetic field 21 a generated by the metal wiring line 21 . thus , the upward magnetized components m 11 a , m 12 a are generated . these upward magnetized components m 11 a , m 12 a and the downward magnetized components m 11 b , m 12 b direct almost opposite to each other on both ends of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 . furthermore , almost in the middle of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 , two current magnetic fields 20 a , 21 a compensate each other . no magnetized components in the stacked direction are generated . as described above , the magnetized components in the stacked direction are generated on both sides of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 . in particular , of the ferromagnetic layers 12 , 14 of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 , the magnetization in the stacked direction of the ferromagnetic layer ( i . e ., the reference layer ) 14 adjacent to the memory layer 3 is generated . thus , the triple vector product mfree × mfree × mref of the aforementioned memory layer 3 to the magnetization m 1 can be increased at an initial state . therefore , an extremely large spin torque is applied on an extremely narrow region just above the magnetization component in the stacked direction of the ferromagnetic layer 14 of the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 . at this time , the fixed - magnetization layer 2 includes too long a distance from the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 , it may be difficult to generate the magnetized components in stacked direction on both ends of the magnetization m 11 of the ferromagnetic layer 12 and the magnetization m 12 of the ferromagnetic layer 14 . therefore , a sufficient amount of spin torque for reducing the flux reversal current of the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 may not be obtained due to the magnetization generated on both sides of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 . therefore , the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 may be arranged at positions at which the current magnetic fields generated to the fixed - magnetization layer 2 . furthermore , the electric currents to be supplied to the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 may be equal to or different from each other . the current magnetic fields from the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 activate the ends of the ferromagnetic layers 12 , 14 , respectively . then , the magnetized components in the stacked direction may generate spin torques . the magnetized components generated on the ends of the ferromagnetic layers 12 , 14 should not be equal to each other . in memory device 1 of fig2 , the state of spin torque that is added to the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 is shown in fig4 . as shown in fig4 , spin torques ta , tb mutually having opposite directions activate the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 from m 11 and m 12 , generated from the magnetized components in the stacked direction , thereby carrying out simultaneous rotation of the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 . as a result , the direction of the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 cart be easily reversed . in the present embodiment , the magnetizations with magnetic components in the stacked directions are generated in the ferromagnetic layers 12 , 14 of the magnetization - fixed later 2 . however , the direction of the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 can be controlled by the direction ( polarity ) of the spin - polarized current iz just as in the case with the memory device 101 . fig5 illustrates the relationship between the electric current pulses of electric currents ia , ib supplied to the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 and the time variation ( timing ) of electric current pulses of pin - polarized current iz . in fig5 , both the spin - polarized current iz and the electric currents ia , ib supplied to the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 are determined as rectangular pulses , respectively . the initial state is set to “ 0 ”. also , the rise time of the spin - polarized current iz and the electric currents ia , ib are set to “ t 1 ” and “ t 2 ”, respectively . in addition , the fall time of the spin - polarized current iz and the electric currents ia , ib are set to “ t 3 ” and “ t 4 ”, respectively . the persistence time of each pulse is t 3 to t 1 for the spin - polarized current iz and the electric currents ia , ib are t 4 to t 2 . the spin - polarized current iz is in an off - state before t 1 , in an on - state at t 1 , and in an off - state at t 3 . in fig5 a , the rise lime t 1 of the pulse of the spin - polarized current iz is different from the rise time t 2 of the pulse of the electric currents ia , ib . in other words , the time t 1 is later than the time t 2 . in addition , in fig5 b , the rise time t 1 of the spin - polarized current iz is equal to the rise time t 2 of the pulse of the electric currents ia , ib . as shown in fig5 a , the rise time t 1 of the electric current pulse of the electric currents ia , ib is faster than the rise time t 1 of the electric current pulse of the spin - polarized current iz . thus , the magnetized components in the stacked directions can be generated on both ends of the ferromagnetic layers 12 , 14 of the previously feed - magnetization layer 2 . subsequently , the magnetized components in the stacked direction allow spin torques ta , tb in opposite directions from each other to activate the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 . thus , the direction of the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 can be easily reversed . as a result , the flux reversal current can be reduced . besides , the magnetization direction of memory layer can be reversed by a small amount of an electric current . in addition , as shown in fig5 b , the rise time t 2 of the electric current pulse of the electric currents ia , ib is equal to the rise time t 1 of the electric current pulse of the spin - polarized current iz . in addition , the fall time t 4 of the electric current pulse of the electric currents ia , ib is equal to the fall time t 3 of the electric current pulse of the spin - polarized current iz . in this case , a switching for driving can be standardized . when electric currents ia , ib and the spin - polarized current iz are simultaneously provided , an increase in electric current passing through the electric currents ia , ib lead to facilitating the generation of the magnetized components on both ends of the ferromagnetic layers 12 , 14 in the stacked direction . therefore , the direction of the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 can be easily reversed . accordingly , the flux reversal current can be reduced . in addition , the magnetization direction of the memory layer can be reversed by a small amount of an electric current . the fall time t 4 of the electric currents ia , ib of the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 may be an any arbitrary time . for example , as shown in fig5 a , the fall time t 4 may be later than the fall time t 3 of the spin - polarized current iz . alternatively , the fall time t 4 may simultaneously end with the fall time t 3 of the spin - polarized current iz . furthermore , the angle of the downward spin torque ta on the left side with respect to the upward spin torque tb on the right side is almost 180 ° in fig4 . the angle may be controlled depending on the film thicknesses of the ferromagnetic layers 12 , 14 of the metal wiring lines 20 , 21 or the magnitude of saturated magnetization thereof . even though the angle is not around 180 ° as shown in fig4 , the spin torques in opposite directions from each other can activate the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 to easily revere the direction of the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 . in the present embodiment , the materials of the respective layers forming the memory device 1 may he the same materials as those used in the related - art memory device . the material of the ferromagnetic layer 11 may be , for example , ptmn . the material of the ferromagnetic layers 12 , 14 of the fixed - magnetization layer 2 may be cofe or the like . the material of the non - magnetic layer 13 may be ru , ta , cr , cu , or the like . the material of the tunnel - insulating layer 15 may be , for example , mgo . the material of the ferromagnetic layer 16 of the memory layer 3 may be a ferromagnetic material , such as cofeb . in the memory device 1 of the aforementioned embodiment , the fixed - magnetization layer 2 is formed below the memory layer 3 , so the magnetized region of the reference layer 14 having magnetized components in the stacked direction can be arranged below the memory layer 3 . alternatively , the fixed - magnetization layer may he formed above the memory layer and the magnetized region may be above the memory layer . in the present embodiment , the fixed - magnetization layer 2 includes two layers , ferromagnetic layers 12 , 14 . however , the number of ferromagnetic layers forming the fixed - magnetization layer 2 is not specifically limited . for example , in the memory device of the aforementioned embodiment , the number of ferromagnetic layers forming the fixed - magnetization layer may be any number of the layers other than two layers . in this case , the magnetized components in the stacked direction may be caused by applying the current magnetic fields from the metal wiring lines on the ferromagnetic layer arranged on at least a fixed - magnetization layer adjacent to the memory layer 3 . as a result , a large spin torque can activate the magnetization of the memory layer . consequently , the direction of the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 can be easily reversed . thus , the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 can be reversed with a small amount of an electric current of the spin - polarized election flow iz . in this manner , the consumption electric power of the spin - polarized current iz can be reduced for the recording of information , thereby reducing power consumption . for example , even though the fixed - magnetization layer includes only one ferromagnetic layer , current magnetic fields from the metal wiring lines can activate the single ferromagnetic layer to cause magnetized components in the stacked direction . as a result , a spin torque can activate the magnetization of the memory layer . in addition , for example , three or more ferromagnetic layers may form a fixed - magnetization layer . in the case where the fixed - magnetization layer includes a plurality of ferromagnetic layers , the current magnetic field from the metal wiring line can activate at least a ferromagnetic layer of the fixed - magnetization layer adjacent to the memory layer 3 to generate the magnetized components in the stacked direction . as a result , spin torques can activate the magnetization of the memory layer . furthermore , the ferromagnetic layer for generating magnetized components in the stack direction is not limited to the one arranged adjacent to the memory layer 3 . the magnetic components in the stacked direction may be formed on another ferromagnetic layer having the fixed - magnetization layer . in addition , a plurality of ferromagnetic layers may be allowed to generate magnetized components in the stacked direction to exert an effect of large spin torque on the magnetization of the memory cell . as a result , the direction of the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 can be easily reversed . thus , the direction of the magnetization m 1 of the memory layer 3 can be easily reversed with a small amount of an electric current of the spin - polarized current iz . consequently , the consumption electric power of the spin - polarized current iz for recording of information can be reduced , thereby decreasing power consumption . it should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art . such changes and modifications cart be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages . it is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims . | 7 |
the following discussion assumes familiarity of one skilled in the art . assume , for example , the initial pressure in a chamber is p 1 , which occurs when the object to be measured is enclosed within the chamber . p 1 is probably the same pressure as the air outside the chamber , but this is not a necessary assumption for this invention . the volume in the chamber , which is precisely known , is denoted as v c and can be expressed as the sum of the volume of the object and the volume of the gas in the chamber . this invention uses decreasing volume ( which increases the pressure ) to determine the volume of the gas in the chamber . the volume of the object , therefore , will be : as gas in a space is decreased in volume , for example , the pressure within the space increases . this relationship of volume to pressure for a gas is known as boyle &# 39 ; s law and can be expressed as : p 2 = pressure of gas in chamber after volume is decreased there are two key factors not accounted for in equation 3 — temperature and absorption . as a volume of gas is compressed , its temperature will rise . in addition , the cut of meat being measured will absorb some of the compressed gas . for a given volumetric measurement operation , all cuts of meat will be roughly the same size and will occur within equivalent amounts of time . thus , the temperature increase of the gas and the absorption of the gas by the cut of meat will be roughly equivalent for all objects being measured . as such , it is possible to empirically determine a constant k v that can be used to modify equation 3 as : if a piston with a displacement of volume v p is utilized the final volume of the gas v 2 can be expressed as the initial volume v 1 less the piston displacement volume v p . combining equations 4 and 5 and solving for v 1 yields : v 1 = k v * p 2 * v p k v * p 2 - p 1 ( equation 6 ) equating v 1 from equation 6 to v g in equation 2 yields the equation for the volume of the object being measured : v o = v c - k v * p 2 * v p k v * p 2 - p 1 ( equation 7 ) where v c is the volume of the chamber before the piston is engaged . one skilled in the art could modify equation 7 whereby the value of v c is the volume of the chamber after the piston is engaged . thus , to determine the volume of the object , the object is enclosed in an airtight chamber and the initial pressure p 1 is measured . a known modification in the volume of gas is introduced to the chamber , causing a change in gas pressure . the new pressure p 2 is measured . all values in equation 7 are known , so v o can be precisely computed . this method works best when the volume of the object is a large percentage of the volume of the chamber . this ensures that small volume changes will cause relatively large changes in gas pressure . the constant k v will depend on the type of gas used and its temperature . in practice this invention uses atmospheric air from within the processing facility in order to reduce the cost of operation for the system . preferably , at least one environmental sensor is provided to measuring a quality of the atmospheric air selected , such as humidity , barometric pressure , or any combination and the output of the environmental sensor ( s ) is used to adjust the calculations and / or modify the process . alternatively , the entire object measurement mechanism could be enclosed within a climate - controlled housing that maintained a constant temperature and utilized a known mixture of gas . these are precautions that should be considered if the volumes of the objects to be measured are expected to vary across a wide range instead of a more narrow range . the volumetric measurement system is precise as long as pressure can be precisely determined and the volume of the piston displacement is exactly known . in practice there will be some error in the pressure sensor ( s ) and some degree of error in the volume change caused by the piston displacement . to overcome these realistic limitations , multiple pistons ( or other mechanical or electromechanical displacement mechanism ) could be added to the chamber and associated pressure measurements can be made . one skilled in the art can expand the derivation of equation 7 to account for multiple piston movements and associated pressure measurements performed in either a sequential or additive scheme . precise fat content can be determined for cuts or carcasses that contain fat and lean as well as those that contain fat , lean and bone . the upcoming discussion will cover the fat / lean case , with the bone case being left for later . assume we know the precise volume and mass of a cut of meat that contains lean and fat . the mass of the object can be expressed as : the total volume of the meat can be expressed as the sum of the volume of the fat and the volume of the lean : combining equations 8 and 9 and solving for v f or v l yields : v f = m o - d l * v o ( d f - d l ) ( equation 10 ) v l = m o - d f * v o ( d l - d f ) ( equation 11 ) % fat by volume = v f v o ( equation 12 ) since the density of fat and lean are well known within each particular industry for their products , knowing the precise mass and volume of a cut or carcass allows processors to accurately determine fat content for boneless products . products that contain bones are more difficult , but the problem of determining fat content can be reduced to the case of fat / lean presented earlier . for specific cuts of meat , assumptions can be made about the bone content . for example , a side of beef will contain a discrete number of bones whose mass and volume will correlate to the mass and volume of the side of beef . the volume of bone content can be expressed as : k b will vary according to the type of animal and according to the cut of meat , poultry or fish . in practice , k b will not be a constant for different sizes of the same cut or carcass . smaller animals will probably have k b values that are higher than large animals . for example , two different chickens may have identical volumes , but one chicken may have larger bones . in this case it would be desirable to adjust k b to account for the larger or smaller boned birds . one technique is to measure the cross - section of a bone that gives insight into the “ largeness ” of the bones . if , for example , the diameter of the leg bone of a chicken is a key indicator of the percentage of the chicken volume that contains bone , the bone diameter in the production environment can be measured to determine the k b value , or the percent of bone . the volume of the boned object is expressed as : m o = d f * v f + d l * v l + d b * v b ( equation 15 ) combining equations 13 , 14 and 15 and solving for v f yields : v f = m o - d b * k b * v o + d l * v o * ( k b - 1 ) ( d f - d l ) ( equation 16 ) the indicator of k b for an animal type and cut type can be determined from an exposed section of bone or an encapsulated bone . for exposed bones , non - contact visual techniques can be used to make the precise measurement . for encapsulated bones , x - ray or some other non - visible spectrum radiation and sensor can be used to determine the bone size or thickness . for visible bones , image capture technology using ambient or artificial light can be utilized to produce an image for analysis of bone size . the k b value for an animal type , cut type and characteristic bone thickness can be determined by an algebraic formula , by values in a lookup table , or any other means of extracting empirical data . the techniques presented herein allow for the implementation of precise volumetric determination in high - speed production facilities . implementations of the preferred embodiments can be utilized with throughput as low as one piece per minute and can achieve speeds as high as several thousand pieces per minute . fig1 shows a chamber for the precise measurement of volume for a cut of meat . the object to be measured ( 10 ) is a whole chicken carcass , although the object could be any comestible food product that has been through the skinning or de - feathering and evisceration stages of a production facility . in one embodiment , the carcass ( 10 ), which is suspended from a shackle ( 40 ) attached to a conveyor system ( 30 ), is placed within an airtight chamber ( 20 ) of known volume . the chamber ( 20 ) is formed in two sections : the front portion ( 21 ), which provides most of the encapsulation of the volume , and the lid ( 22 ), which encloses the back of the chamber . other items that form part of the airtight chamber ( 20 ) are the face of the piston ( 50 ) and the collar ( 41 ) of the shackle ( 40 ). after closure of the airtight chamber ( 20 ), the pressure within the chamber is measured with a pressure sensor ( 70 ), the value of which is assigned to p 1 in equation 7 . next , the piston ( 50 ) is engaged via an actuator ( 60 ), thus causing the volume within the chamber to decrease . the pressure is measured again with the pressure sensor ( 70 ), the value of which is assigned to p 2 in equation 7 . using equation 7 , a control system or computer processor can determine the precise volume for the object ( 10 ) within the chamber ( 20 ). the volume of the chamber ( 20 ) in this embodiment will be the volumetric space within the enclosed sections ( 21 , 22 ) when the piston ( 50 ) is in the non - actuated state . the chamber ( 20 ) volume will also need to be adjusted for the volume of the shackle ( 40 ). for best results the volume within the empty chamber should be determined empirically to account for any variances that occur in the manufacturing of the chamber sections ( 21 , 22 ), the installation of the pressure sensor ( 70 ), and the actual position of the non - actuated piston ( 50 ). this empirically determined empty chamber volume is assigned to v c in equation 7 . a control system or module ( 90 ) in the form of a programmable logic controller ( plc ), microcontroller , microprocessor , computer processor and associated software or hardware control logic and associated firmware performs the measurement of the chamber ( 20 ) pressures , calculates whole bird ( 10 ) volumes using equation 7 , and equates the computed volume to the particular bird ( 10 ) number for downstream processing . the pressure within the chamber ( 20 ) is transmitted from the pressure sensor ( 70 ) to the control module ( 90 ) via an interface ( 75 ). this interface ( 75 ) can be an analog signal medium , a digital electrical medium , a standard electrical interface like ethernet , universal serial bus ( usb ), ieee 1394 , an optical transport medium , a wireless connection , or any other mechanism for transporting information between two points . the control module ( 90 ) can also control the actuation of the two sections ( 21 , 22 ) of the measurement chamber ( 20 ) and can control the actuation of the piston ( 50 ) via the actuator interface ( 65 ). for high - speed production , however , the actuation of the chamber sections ( 21 , 22 ), the actuation of the piston ( 50 ), and the measurement of pressure with the sensor ( 70 ) will most likely utilize mechanical methods to decrease the processing burden on the control module ( 90 ). information regarding the bird ( 10 ) tracking number ( 42 ) is transmitted to the control module ( 90 ) via an interface ( 80 ). the information can be in the form of a barcode that is scanned , a numerical indicator on the conveyor line ( 30 ), a mechanical counter mechanism , a magnetic strip that is sensed , or a variety of other methods . the interface ( 80 ) between the provider of the bird ( 10 ) tracking number ( 42 ) and the control module ( 90 ) can be an analog signal medium , a digital electrical medium , a standard electrical interface like ethernet , universal serial bus ( usb ), ieee 1394 , an optical transport medium , a wireless connection , or any other mechanism for transporting information between two points . fig2 shows one embodiment of a full production system for the rapid determination of fat content for whole carcasses . the objects shown in fig2 are whole chickens ( 10 ) that have been through the de - feathering and evisceration processes . in this embodiment , the birds ( 10 ) are each attached to a high - speed , overhead conveyor ( 30 ) moving at a constant rate ( 130 ). each bird ( 10 ) is connected to the conveyor ( 30 ) by a shackle ( 40 ). however , it is not essential to the practice of this invention to use an overhead conveyor . any type of conveyor system including , but not limited to , conveyor belts , bins or buckets that can transport the comestible products through the production assembly could also be used . the only requirement is that the comestible product must at some point be contained within an airtight volumetric determination chamber . in one embodiment , the birds ( 10 ) are first weighed as they pass the scale ( 100 ), although other embodiments are possible where the birds ( 10 ), or other comestible products , are weighed at a different point in the assembly . weight information is transmitted to the control module ( 90 ) via the scale interface ( 105 ). in one embodiment , after the bird ( 10 ) is weighed , an image is taken by an x - ray emitter and collector assembly ( 110 ). other embodiments of the invention could have the x - ray image taken at another point in the assembly or some other form of non - visible radiation emissions could be utilized . the image is transmitted to the control module ( 90 ) via the image interface ( 115 ). the x - ray image is used to measure an internal image within the bird ( 10 ), such as the cross section of one or more encapsulated bones on the bird ( 10 ), in order to determine the percentage of the carcass ( 10 ) that is bone material . other embodiments of the present invention may employ visible spectrum , infrared or multi - spectral imaging or other automated , semi - automated or manual process for determining bone length or thickness . weighed and imaged birds ( 10 ) are next processed by the volumetric determination station ( 120 ). this assembly consists of a plurality of receiving chambers ( 20 ) that individually encompass each of the moving birds ( 10 ) in an airtight compartment ( 20 ), measure the initial chamber pressure , decrease the volume by actuating a piston ( 50 ), and measuring the resultant pressure . there are five distinct steps executed by the volumetric assembly ( 120 ) in the determination of fat content . the stages are driven by mechanical actuators and cams contained within the rotational assembly ( 120 ) that rotates at a constant rate ( 125 ). step one ( 150 ) consists of the encapsulation of the bird ( 10 ) in an airtight compartment ( 20 ) formed by a case ( 21 ) and a lid ( 22 ), where the lid ( 22 ) is a cavity carved into the body of the assembly ( 120 ). as the bird ( 10 ) rotates past stage one ( 150 ), a mechanical cam pushes up the case ( 21 ), thereby creating an airtight space ( 20 ). each chamber has a pressure sensor ( 70 ) rigidly mounted to the wall of the chamber with externally exposed contacts . in other embodiments of the invention , the sensor ( 70 ) can be attached to the lid ( 22 ) or the piston ( 50 ). the pressure sensor ( 70 ) can be comprised of one or more of any number of types of pressure sensors , such as absolute pressure sensors , gauge - type pressure sensors , differential pressure sensors or sealed pressure sensors utilizing such different pressure sensing technologies such as piston measurement , mechanical deflection , strain gauge , semiconductor piezoresistive , piezoelectric , microelectromechanical systems ( mems ), vibrating elements , ultrasonic , solid state or variable capacitance . step two ( 160 ) consists of the measurement of the initial pressure within the chamber ( 20 ). the chamber ( 20 ) moves past the pressure measurement assembly ( 140 ) and comes in contact with a receiver ( 145 ), which allows the chamber pressure data to be transmitted from the pressure measurement assembly ( 140 ) to the control module ( 90 ) via the pressure interface ( 141 ). in one embodiment , step three ( 170 ) utilizes a moving piston ( 50 ) to decrease the volume and increase the pressure within the chamber ( 20 ). in other embodiments of the invention , the volume could be decreased by a bellow or some other high - speed mechanical or electromechanical device . a mechanical cam is used to actuate the piston ( 50 ), which will remain activated until the final pressure measurement is taken . alternatively , the volume of the chamber ( 20 ) could be increased by a moving piston ( 50 ) or the like , with appropriate changes made in the calculation of the end result . step four ( 180 ) consists of the measurement of the final pressure within the chamber . the chamber ( 20 ) moves past the pressure measurement assembly ( 140 ) and comes in contact with a receiver ( 146 ), which allows the chamber pressure data to be transmitted from the pressure measurement assembly ( 140 ) to the control module ( 90 ) via the pressure interface ( 141 ). step five ( 190 ) is where the two actuation cams are released , thus allowing the piston ( 50 ) and the case ( 21 ) to return to their original positions . upon completion of the processing within the five stages of the rotational assembly ( 120 ), the control module ( 90 ) has all of the raw information needed to compute the fat content of the bird ( 10 ). this raw information consists of a weight , one or more images of internal bone structures , an initial pressure measurement , and a final pressure measurement . these pieces of raw information all need to be associated with the same bird ( 10 ). several methods exist for maintaining relational timing within a processing facility that gathers product information from different points in time and space . the system described herein works most effectively when the assembly line ( 30 ) rate ( 130 ) is somewhat constant . a near constant rate allows fewer and lower - cost sensors to be utilized in the synchronization of bird ( 10 ) tracking numbers ( 42 ) between the various data gathering stations ( 100 , 110 , 160 , 180 , 200 ). assembly lines ( 30 ) with higher variability in their production rates ( 130 ) will require more sophisticated sensors to ensure that the control module ( 90 ) can associate the incoming data elements with the appropriate bird ( 10 ). fig2 shows an optional shackle counter ( 200 ) that can be used to track the passing of shackles ( 30 ). this mechanism utilizes one or more optical sensors to note the movement of shackles ( 30 ) past the sensor ( 200 ). multiple sensors ( 200 ) may be needed so a non - moving assembly line ( 30 ) with a swinging shackle ( 40 ) in front of the sensor does not fool the control module ( 90 ) into thinking that the assembly line ( 30 ) is actually in motion . the sensors ( 200 ) can be photo cells , one or more ccd or cmos cameras , mechanical switches or laser - based switches . the spacing between shackles ( 30 ) is known and will remain a constant for all birds ( 10 ). with the known spacing between birds and the periodic shackle counter ( 200 ) information being transmitted over the shackle sensor interface ( 205 ), the control module can keep track of the assembly line ( 30 ) rate ( 130 ) at any point in time . in practice , there will likely be differences in the volumes of the chambers ( 20 ) on the processing assembly ( 120 ). the volumes of all of the enclosed chambers ( 20 ) will need to be determined empirically . once the volumes are known , it may become necessary to associate pressure measurements with chamber ( 20 ) numbers . this problem is easily solved by having an electrical , mechanical , or some other indicator at or near each pressure sensor ( 70 ) contact that indicates the chamber ( 20 ) number . the chamber ( 20 ) number allows the control module to take the actual chamber ( 20 ) volume into account when computing the fat content for the bird ( 10 ). the scale ( 100 ) weighs the birds ( 10 ) as they pass , but equation 16 utilizes the mass of an object . the weight of an object will relate to its mass according to : the gravitational constant within the processing facility will be stored in the control module ( 90 ) so weight information from the scale ( 100 ) can be converted to the mass of the bird ( 10 ). once the fat content calculation is made for each bird ( 10 ), the information can be forwarded to a downstream process to make routing or processing decisions based on the bird &# 39 ; s ( 10 ) fat content . the control module ( 90 ) preferably has a mechanism to communicate the bird ( 10 ) tracking number ( 42 ) and its associated fat content to this downstream process ( 210 ). several methods exist for communicating this tracking information . one commonly used technique is to have periodic “ reference shackles ” that carry some characteristic marking ( 220 ). these reference shackles can be used to communicate with the downstream process by relating bird ( 10 ) tracking numbers ( 42 ) relative to a reference shackle ( 220 ). the embodiments shown in fig1 and 2 utilize a piston ( 50 ) that is actuated to cause a volume decrease within the chamber ( 20 ). several other methods can be utilized to decrease volume within the chamber ( 20 ) including , but not limited to , bellows , slides , and moving chamber walls . additionally , the pressure may be changed within the chamber ( 20 ) by forcing a known volume of gas into the chamber ( 20 ). the volume of gas forced into the chamber ( 20 ) would be associated with v p in equation 16 . the embodiments shown in fig1 and 2 utilize increasing pressure to compute volume . the system can also utilize decreasing pressure to achieve similar results . either by removing a known quantity of gas or by increasing the size of the chamber ( 20 ), the resulting pressure will be lower than the initial pressure , but the process will still produce accurate volumetric determination . the constant for the percentage of bone in an object ( k b ) will depend on the type of animal , the cut of meat , the relative size of the cut , and the size of the bones . each assembly line will be implemented to process a particular cut of meat . the determination of k b for a cut of meat will begin with the detailed analysis of several representative “ samples ” for that particular cut . for example , an assembly line has been implemented to determine fat content for sides of beef . several sides of beef are weighed and subjected to destructive testing to determine their percent of bone content . the statistical results will be used to arrive at values for k b that relate to the carcass weight . two sides of beef with similar weights may contain different bone content due to the “ largeness ” of the bones . during destructive testing , several bone parameters are measured to determine which bones provide the best indicators for bone content . statistical analysis will determine the proper bone ( s ) to be utilized within the factory to indicate values for k b . in practice the k b values utilized in fat content determination will be retrieved from a multi - variable lookup table contained within the control module . the variables used for k b lookup can include , but are not limited to , weight of cut , volume of cut , size of one or more bone cross sections , or the length of one or more bones . in processing facilities such as those used in poultry production , it is common for whole birds to have missing parts . for example , a turkey with a missing wing will have a different k b value than a turkey with no missing parts . the system described herein can make determinations about the missing parts and adjust k b accordingly . the system will need to have empirical knowledge about the various missing parts and how their absence impacts k b . the destructive testing described earlier should account for various missing parts and add the appropriate variables to the multi - variable lookup table for k b . in extreme circumstances a section of a measured object will be missing that does not correspond to a variable in the k b lookup table . for example , a chicken may be processed that contains only two legs and a portion of the torso . since the percentage of the torso remaining does not provide a good indicator of the bone percentage for this partial bird , the system cannot accurately compute the percentage of bone content . in these circumstances the system must be capable of informing the downstream equipment that the fat content determination is not accurate and the partial bird must receive some special handling . several of the k b variables , like bone cross section , bone length and missing part determination require input from two - dimensional sensors . for characteristics that are visible at or above the surface of the cut of meat , visible spectrum digital cameras can be used for image acquisition . for characteristics that lie below the surface of the cut , techniques like x - ray , ultrasonic radiation , or some other form of surface penetrating radiation and detection will be required for image analysis . the determination of missing pieces on a cut and the measurement of bone length or thickness can be performed with imagery from different input sources . although it is not practical in high - speed production environments , bone size information , missing parts information or other information necessary to compute k b could be identified by humans inspecting the cuts of meat as they pass by an inspection station . in this embodiment , manually generated information would be entered into a computer terminal , for example , to associate the particular information to a cut number so the processing system could make the association of the manually supplied information with the proper cut of meat . the constant k v is utilized to adjust for temperature changes and gas absorption not accounted for in equation 3 . since all cuts of meat will be roughly equivalent in size and will be at the same stage within the production facility , each cut of meat on the line will experience an equivalent temperature increase and gas absorption rate . as a result , the constant k v will truly be a constant value for a production line with a defined cut of met . since cuts of meat come in different sizes and absorb gases differently , each assembly line that processes different animals or different cuts from an animal will have different k v values . in addition , the size and design of the chamber will impact the k v value for a given production line . the value for k v will likely remain constant throughout a processing shift . changes from day - to - day , however , can impact k v . for example , humid air will compress differently than dry air . to account for this , it may be necessary to calibrate the k v value prior to starting a production run . this calibration process could involve placing objects of known volume on the shackles and running them through the volumetric measurement process . the value of k v could be adjusted so the measured pressure values produce the volumetric result that equals the know volume of the objects . a more realistic approach for adjusting k v values for variables like humidity or ambient air temperature would be to provide sensor inputs to the control module that measure the variables that impact k v . the control module could then determine the k v value by accessing a lookup table that contained pre - determined values for k v with respect to the known variables . although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described with respect to meat products , it will be recognized that content analysis of a variety of other kinds of comestible foodstuff products can also be evaluated and determined using the methods and apparatus of the present invention . for example , a watermelon buyer may wish to know the percentage of rind for a batch of watermelons . while it is possible for a buyer to destructively test a few of the melons to determine an estimate of rind content for a given batch of melons , the present invention allows all of the melons to be measured volumetrically and weighed so the precise rind content for each melon would be known . the melon buyer could use this information to determine the price to pay the grower and could assign grades to each melon in order to maximize the profit margin of the product sold to consumers . as another example , assume that a bread manufacturer purchases wheat directly from growers , but utilizes only wheat hearts in the production of bread . the manufacturer could pay the grower based on the percentage of wheat hearts or the actual weight of wheat hearts contained within a shipment of wheat . in this example the bread manufacturer would use the known densities of wheat hearts and wheat chaff to determine heart content . yet another example would be to determine the volume of flavored chips in processed cookies . by measuring the weight and volume of finished cookies and knowing the densities of the cookie and chips , the percent of chips by volume or weight can be determined for the finished product . the cookie manufacturer could use this information to sort cookies into their percent chip categories or could be used as a quality control check for the mixing and baking process . the above description has been of preferred embodiments of the present invention and one skilled in the art will realize that numerous modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 6 |
fig1 - 5 show a loading dock 10 with a shield system 12 that includes a pliable curtain 14 for shielding a pit area 16 underneath a dock leveler 18 . by blocking out weather and other elements , curtain 14 helps protect pit area 16 . by using a pliable curtain rather than a thicker , more rigid structure , shield system 12 , and alternate embodiments thereof , can be readily adapted to fit a wide variety of dock levelers and pits . a curtain , for instance , can be custom cut to size at the installation site , and various cutouts can be made so that the curtain does not to interfere with the operation of the dock leveler . such trimming is not readily accomplished with thicker foam seals , especially if they are encased within a fabric covering . moreover , a thick foam seal takes up more space underneath a dock leveler than does a relatively thin curtain . a pliable curtain , however , is not self - supporting , so shield system 12 and various other embodiments herein include some sort of tensioner or supporting structure that helps support the curtain . although such supporting structure consumes additional space , the supporting structure can be installed wherever it is most convenient . with the versatility of curtain 14 and its supporting structure , shield system 12 can be applied to a wide variety of dock levelers , such as those whose structure and operation are described in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 502 , 268 ; 3 , 137 , 017 ; 4 , 293 , 969 , 5 , 396 , 676 ; 4 , 776 , 052 ; and 6 , 205 , 606 ; all of which are specifically incorporated by reference herein . for example , dock lever 18 may include a deck 20 that can pivot about its rear edge 22 to raise and lower its front edge 24 . a lip 26 can be pivotally attached to front edge 24 , as explained in the “ background .” the deck of some dock levelers store horizontally , as shown in fig2 and 15 and disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 502 , 268 ; 3 , 137 , 017 ; and 4 , 293 , 969 . other decks store vertically , as shown in fig1 and 23 and disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 396 , 676 ; 4 , 776 , 052 ; and 6 , 205 , 606 . the mechanisms for pivoting deck 20 and lip 26 have not been shown so as to not interfere with the illustration of other features of the dock leveler 18 . however , such mechanisms are well known in the industry . the operating sequence of dock leveler 18 and shield system 12 may begin with deck 20 in its stored , cross - traffic position , as shown in fig2 . in this position , lip 26 may be supported by a set of lip keepers 28 so that lip 26 and keepers 28 can help hold deck 20 in its generally horizontal position . with dock leveler 18 in its stored position , a vehicle 30 , such as a truck , trailer , or the like , can back into dock 10 until the rear end of vehicle 30 engages or is adjacent to a set of bumpers 32 . to help shield pit area 16 , curtain 14 has a lower edge 34 attached to the loading dock &# 39 ; s front face 36 , just below pit 16 . a tensioner 38 attached to an upper edge 40 of curtain 14 applies vertical tension to curtain 14 . the tension helps keep curtain 14 generally upright in front of pit area 16 , i . e ., between an upper surface 42 of pit 16 and a lower surface 44 of deck 20 . curtain 14 can be made of any pliable or semi - flexible material including , but not limited to , nylon , canvas , hypalon ( dupont trademark ), canvas duck , rubber impregnated fabric , foam , etc . curtain 14 may include various notches 46 or cutouts 48 to accommodate lip keepers 28 , vehicle restraints , or other components . tensioner 38 represents any structure that can create vertical tension in curtain 14 . in one example , tensioner 38 comprises one or more pliable elongate members 50 ( e . g ., cable , strap , chain , cord , etc .) extending between the curtain &# 39 ; s upper edge 40 and an anchor point 52 on deck 20 . in some embodiments , a spring 54 ( e . g ., helical spring , elastic cord , gas spring , etc .) coupled to member 38 can be used to maintain tension in member 38 as deck 20 pivots up and down , and a wheel 56 ( e . g ., pulley , sheave , etc .) allows the tension to be applied to curtain 14 in a generally vertical direction . in other embodiments , a deadweight or counterbalance can be used for creating the vertical tension in curtain 14 . after vehicle 30 engages or is sufficiently close to bumpers 32 , a vehicle restraint 58 may raise its barrier 60 to engage the vehicle &# 39 ; s icc bar 62 , thereby helping hold vehicle 30 in position . the use of a vehicle restraint to engage a vehicle &# 39 ; s icc bar is well known in the industry and is disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 560 , 315 ; 5 , 702 , 223 ; and 6 , 106 , 212 ; all of which are specifically incorporated by reference herein . once vehicle 30 is in the position shown in fig3 , deck 20 rises so that lip 26 can be extended and subsequently lowered back down to rest upon the vehicle &# 39 ; s truck bed , as shown in fig4 . when deck 20 is raised , as shown in fig1 and 3 , upper edge 40 of curtain 14 and lower surface 44 of deck 20 define a gap 64 therebetween . gap 64 has a height 66 that varies with the pivotal movement of deck 20 . being able to create gap 64 while still maintaining tension in curtain 14 allows a curtain of a given height to fit various dock levelers even though their decks may rise to different levels . moreover , being able to create gap 64 means that curtain 14 does not have to extend fully up to the maximum lift height of deck 20 , thus curtain 14 can be shorter than if upper edge 40 were directly attached to deck 20 . in comparing fig2 and 3 , it should be noted that as deck 20 rises , spring 54 stretches to accommodate the increased distance between wheel 56 and the curtain &# 39 ; s upper edge 40 . with dock leveler 18 in the position of fig4 , vehicle 30 can be loaded and unloaded of its cargo while curtain 14 provides an effective barrier that helps keep pit area 16 clean and dry , as the height of gap 64 is now minimal or nonexistent . for end - loading or other below - dock operations , dock leveler 18 can be positioned as shown in fig5 . in this position , deck 20 lowers lip 26 below its lip keepers 28 . even though the vertical distance between the deck &# 39 ; s lower surface 44 and the upper surface 42 of pit 16 is less than the full height of curtain 14 , below - dock operation is still possible due to the flexibility of curtain 14 , which allows curtain 14 to collapse under pressure from deck 20 . fig6 - 10 illustrate an alternate shield system 140 where pliable curtain 14 is supported by a collapsible supporting structure 142 . with this design , curtain 14 can be trimmed at the installation site to fit any pit , dock leveler and associated hardware . once cut to size , any number of supporting structures 142 can be mounted to the pit floor or other anchor point and attached to curtain 14 at any suitable location that does not interfere with the operation of dock leveler 18 . structures 142 can be fastened to curtain 14 by any suitable means including , but not limited to , threaded fasteners , velcro , adhesive , straps , rope , and clamps . structure 142 is schematically illustrated to represent any body that can be collapsed under pressure and later resiliently recover its original shape . examples of structure 142 include , but are not limited to , a foam block or column , a helical or leaf spring , a telescoping member ( e . g ., piston / cylinder , air spring , shock absorber , etc . ), rubber or other polymeric rod , and various combinations thereof . in some cases , structure 142 may be encased within a protective fabric jacket . the operation of shield system 140 is comparable to that of system 12 with fig6 , 8 , 9 and 10 corresponding to fig1 , 3 , 4 and 5 respectively . when deck 20 is in a cross - traffic position , as shown in fig7 , the upper edge of curtain 14 and supporting structure 142 is adjacent to the lower surface of deck 20 . supporting structure 142 holds curtain 14 relatively taut in front of pit 16 so that system 140 can effectively shelter the area under deck 20 . since deck 20 is not attached to system 140 , deck 20 is free to pivot to a raised position , as shown in fig8 . the collapsibility of curtain 14 and structure 142 allows deck 20 to descend to a below - dock position , as shown in fig1 . fig1 - 14 illustrate an alternate shield system 68 that includes curtain 14 . shield system 68 is similar to system 12 with fig1 , 12 , 13 and 14 corresponding to fig2 , 4 and 5 respectively . shield system 68 has a curtain tensioner 70 comprising a spring 72 , an elongate member 74 , and a wheel 76 that are similar to corresponding items of tensioner 12 . however , wheel 76 and an anchor point 78 can be attached to any convenient point of the loading dock rather than having to be attached to deck 20 . wheel 76 , for instance , could be attached to a sidewall of pit 16 , and anchor point 78 could be attached to the floor of the pit . by allowing the separation of tensioner 70 and deck 20 , tensioner 70 can be shorter because the tensioner 70 does not have to span the maximum lift distance of the deck 20 . the flexibility of curtain 14 still allows below - dock operation as shown in fig1 . although curtain tensioner 70 comprises spring 72 , elongate member 74 and wheel 76 to apply vertical tension in curtain 14 , a wide variety of other spring loaded mechanisms mounted within pit 16 and separated from deck 20 could be used for holding curtain 14 taut . in another embodiment , shown in fig1 - 18 , a shield system 80 includes a flexible curtain 82 suspended from deck 20 . curtain 82 is held vertically taut by way of a tensioner 84 that includes two spring - loaded arms 86 , an upper arm 86 a and a lower arm 86 b . each arm 86 a and 86 b has a distal end attached to curtain 82 , and the two arms are joined at a central pivot point 88 . a torsion spring can be used to urge the distal ends of arms 86 a and 86 b apart so that they impart vertical tension in curtain 82 . fig1 , 16 , 17 and 18 correspond to fig2 , 4 and 5 respectively . the flexibility of curtain 82 and arms 86 being able to pivot about point 88 under the urging of the torsion spring allow below - dock operation as shown in fig1 . in another embodiment , shown in fig1 - 22 , a shield system 90 includes a flexible curtain 92 suspended from a vertically storing pivotal deck 94 and supported by one or more foam blocks 96 . fig1 , 20 , 21 and 22 correspond to fig2 , 4 and 5 respectively . although shield system 90 is shown mounted to a vertically storing dock leveler 98 , system 90 could also be installed on horizontally storing dock levelers , such as dock leveler 18 . in fig1 - 21 , foam block 96 helps keep curtain 92 in a generally fixed orientation relative to deck 94 . in fig2 , however , the flexibility of curtain 92 and foam block 96 allow below - dock operation . shield system 90 also includes flexible webs 100 that help seal the gap that may otherwise exist between lip 26 and bumper 32 . in some installations , web 100 has one edge 102 ( fig2 ) attached to the underside of lip 26 and another edge 104 attached to curtain 92 and / or deck 94 . web 100 is sufficiently flexible to collapse as lip 26 pivots toward deck 94 , as shown in fig1 , 20 and 22 . fig2 shows how web 100 can deform in reaction to vehicle 30 backing into the dock . although web 100 is shown installed to dock leveler 98 , web 100 could be installed on a wide variety of dock levelers including , but not limited to , all of the dock levelers disclosed in fig1 - 28 . moreover , web 100 could be installed on dock levelers that have additional seals other than those disclosed herein or installed on dock levelers that have no additional seals whatsoever . fig2 shows a perspective view of two webs 100 installed on a dock leveler 106 . fig2 - 26 show a shield system 108 similar to shield system 90 with fig2 , 24 , 25 and 26 corresponding to fig1 , 20 , 21 and 22 respectively . with shield system 108 , curtain 92 is held taut by one or more leaf springs 110 ( e . g ., bands of spring steel ) instead of being supported by foam blocks 96 . otherwise , shield systems 108 and 90 operate in a similar manner . fig2 shows a shield system 118 that includes a curtain 120 or flexible shield attached to a right toe guard 122 and a left toe guard 124 of dock leveler 106 . curtain 120 has an upper edge 126 attached to deck 20 . a lower edge 128 can be directly attached to toe guards 122 and 124 , as shown in fig2 , or an extension bracket 130 can couple lower edge 128 of curtain 120 to a lower segment of the toe guards , as shown in fig2 . the toe guards help prevent someone from accidentally getting their foot pinched between the deck and the dock as the deck moves down to a cross - traffic position . as the deck descends , the toe guards can collapse , for each toe guard 122 and 124 comprises a plurality of segments 132 and 134 that can move relative to each other . although their actual structure may vary , some examples of toe guards and how they function are disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 456 , 274 ; 4 , 928 , 340 ; 4 , 557 , 008 ; and 4 , 110 , 860 ; all of which are specifically incorporated by reference herein . referring to fig2 , flexible fingers or tabs 136 can be attached to web 100 to improve the sealing between web 100 and bumper 32 . although the invention is described with respect to various embodiments , modifications thereto will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art . the various curtains , for example , are shown as being attached to the pit and separated from the deck or vice versa ; however , it is conceivable and well within the scope of the invention to have a split curtain comprising two curtain sections with one section attached to the deck and the other section attached to the pit . with a split curtain design , the two sections would separate as the deck rises and would overlap or come together when the deck returns to its lowered position . therefore , the scope of the invention is to be determined by reference to the following claims . | 1 |
referring first to fig1 which is the sole drawing figure in this description , there is shown a very simple schematic representation of a prototype system for processing milk based infant formula for aseptic packaging which was used in the experiments which will be described herein . a supply of a milk based infant formula , for example a supply tank 1 is provided . the flow of infant formula is regulated by a valve 2 , and passes through tubing 3 to a feed pump 4 . the feed pump 4 propels the infant formula through tubing 5 towards a heat transfer device 6 in which the low temperature incoming infant formula passes through tubing which is adjacent to tubing containing high temperature outgoing infant formula , such that the temperature of the incoming infant formula is slightly elevated by transferred heat . the infant formula then passes through more tubing 7 to a deaerator 8 which degasses the infant formula . upon exiting the deaerator the infant formula is propelled by a second feed pump 9 through more tubing 10 to a homogenizer 11 . upon leaving the homogenizer the infant formula passes through more tubing 12 to a first heater 13 where the infant formula is heated , by indirect steam , to a temperature of , for example , about 77 ° c . upon leaving the first heater the infant formula passes through more tubing 14 to a second heater 15 where the infant formula is further heated , by indirect steam , to a temperature of , for example , about 121 ° c . upon leaving the second heater the infant formula passes through more tubing 16 to a third heater 17 where the infant formula is further heated , by indirect steam , to a temperature of , for example , about 143 ° c . it is to be understood that the system being described is only exemplary , and that one , two or any other suitable number of heaters may be employed , at any suitable temperatures for the infant formula , and that the heating source could be direct or indirect steam or even electric heating coils . after exiting from the last heater , in this example the third heater 17 , the infant formula passes through a hold tube 18 where the infant formula is held at an elevated temperature of , for example , about 143 ° c . for , for example , about five to ten seconds . it is in this hold tube 18 that the problem of fouling or &# 34 ; burn - on &# 34 ; was measured . after exiting from the hold tube the infant formula passes through a cooler 19 where the temperature of the infant formula is reduced to be , for example , about 77 ° c . after exiting from the cooler 19 the infant formula passes through more tubing 20 to a second homogenizer 21 . after exiting from the homogenizer the infant formula passes though more tubing 22 to the heat transfer device 6 which has already been described . however , this time the warmer infant formula will be considered to be the outgoing infant formula . after exiting from the heat transfer device 6 the infant formula passes through more tubing 23 to a plate cooler 24 where the temperature of the infant formula is reduced , for example , to about 20 ° c . after exiting from the plate cooler the infant formula passes through more tubing 25 to a filling apparatus 26 where the commercially sterile infant formula is placed into commercially sterile containers . there are two types of fouling material that occur in uhtst systems . the first is a type a foulant . this material is a soft , voluminous , curd - like material . it does not adhere to the surface of the uhtst system very strongly and is easily removed by cleaning . the most significant problems with the type a material are its resistance to heat transfer and the reduction in cross - sectional area of the hold tube which reduces the time which the infant formula spends in the hold tube when the flow rate through the system remains constant . the second type of foulant is a type b material . this material is characterized by its gritty nature . it is composed mostly of minerals and is not a significant deterrent to heat transfer or hold tube performance . when a milk based infant formula which was not in accordance with the present invention was processed in the prototype aseptic processing system significant fouling of the uhtst hold tube was observed . in the prototype aseptic processing system the fouling material was a typical type a material . the amount of fouling material in the hold tube is dependent upon the length of the run . steam control valves regulate the amount of steam entering the uhtst heaters ( 13 , 15 and 17 in fig1 ). the degree to which a steam control valve is open depends on how much steam and pressure is needed to maintain the heaters temperature setting . when the aseptic processing system is not fouled it maintains a constant valve setting . however , when the aseptic processing system begins to foul and the heat transfer properties deteriorate the aseptic processing system responds by opening the steam valves to maintain temperature . when processing a milk based infant formula in the exemplary aseptic processing system fouling can be determined by observing the steam control valve that regulates the third heater . the uhtst process is adversely affected by fouling that occurs in the hold tube . as fouling increases the degree of opening of the steam control valve increases . an increase of 25 % over the initial set point was considered complete fouling for the purpose of the experiments described herein . in the experiments described herein monitoring the system for fouling is simply a matter of observing the steam control valves during processing . the absolute amount of fouling was determined in these experiments by weighing the hold tube after processing . in each of the experiments described herein the milk based infant nutritional formula employed in the experiment was similac ® ready - to - feed which is manufactured by the ross laboratories division of abbott laboratories , columbus , ohio , united states of america . the initial efforts to control fouling involved manipulating the steam temperature settings of the heaters . by lowering the temperature differentials between the heaters it was hoped that fouling could be avoided . this approach only marginally improved the length of each run , but it was not by itself enough of an improvement . the next phase of the experiments evaluated the effects of increasing the ph and adding of citrate . although simple adjustment of the ph of a milk based infant formula to a value of 7 . 0 further extended the run time , as shown in table 1 the minimum length of run time of eight hours was not attained . the addition of potassium citrate in combination with a product ph of 6 . 9 to 7 . 1 was found to extend the run time to eight hours . potassium citrate was added at levels of 400 , 200 , and 150 ppm , ( citrate ion levels of 233 , 116 and 87 ppm ) as shown in table 2 . the amount of fouling material decreased with increasing levels of potassium citrate . table 1______________________________________fouling of the uhtst system during processing ofa milk based infant formula after ph adjustments fouling length of material type ofrun no . ph run ( min .) ( g ) foulant______________________________________1 7 . 00 240 25 . 1 a2 7 . 02 85 48 . 6 a3 7 . 00 75 * a4 7 . 01 75 * a avg .= 119 avg .= 36 . 85______________________________________ * foulant material broke loose from hold tube during processing . table 2______________________________________fouling of the uhtst system duringprocessing of a milk based infant formula afterph adjustments and potassium citrate additions ppm added length foulingrun citrate of run material type ofno . ph ions ( min .) ( g ) foulant______________________________________1 7 . 03 233 255 * 6 . 9 b2 6 . 93 233 240 * 1 . 0 b3 6 . 80 233 120 * 6 . 0 b4 7 . 01 233 210 * 8 . 8 b5 6 . 93 116 420 * 33 . 1 a / b6 6 . 87 87 120 ** 50 . 2 a / b______________________________________ * run terminated because no more product was available ** run terminated due to fouling experiments conducted with a prototype aseptic processing system determined that the highest level of potassium citrate ( 400 ppm ) and the higher phs &# 39 ; ( 6 . 9 - 7 . 0 ) produced the best results . when these fortification levels were used the amount of fouling was minimal , and only type b fouling occurred . the 0 - time product quality of selected runs was acceptable . processed mix was obtained from a production facility and was processed in the prototype aseptic processing system with potassium citrate levels of 200 , 300 , and 400 ppm , ( citrate ion levels of 116 , 174 , 233 ppm ) at phs &# 39 ; of 6 . 74 to 6 . 98 . the potassium citrate used to fortify the milk based infant formula was weighed out , dissolved in water , and added slowly with agitation to the mix . after allowing the mix to agitate for 5 minutes 1 . 0n koh was used to titrate the mix to the desired ph . the product was packaged in 8 oz metal cans and enrolled in a physical stability evaluation program . the use of citrate , for example in the form of potassium citrate , to chelate the mineral salts and keep them soluble during uhtst processing of the milk based infant formula has been explored and found to be very effective . the most effective potassium citrate level was found to be a fortification rate of 400 ppm . the optimum ph was found to be between 6 . 9 and 7 . 0 . the amount of fouling material decreased , and the type of foulant changed from a to b as the potassium citrate level and the ph were increased ( table 3 ). a visual examination of the hold tube from the uhtst system in the prototype aseptic processing system demonstrated the same relationship . table 3______________________________________fouling of the prototype uhtst system duringprocessing of a milk based infant formula afterph adjustments and potassium citrate additions ppmraw added length foulingrun product citrate of run material type ofno . batch ph ions ( min .) ( g ) foulant______________________________________ 1 1 7 . 01 233 120 6 . 1 * b 2 1 7 . 03 174 120 0 . 6 b 3 1 7 . 02 116 120 1 . 1 b 4 1 6 . 80 233 55 74 . 5 a 5 1 6 . 90 233 55 ** 2 . 9 b 6 2 6 . 90 233 112 3 . 7 b 7 2 6 . 90 174 120 6 . 5 b 8 2 6 . 90 116 120 31 . 1 a / b 9 2 6 . 80 233 75 5 . 4 b10 2 6 . 80 174 92 69 . 5 a11 2 6 . 85 174 115 14 . 9 a / b12 3 6 . 71 # 174 15 67 . 0 a13 3 6 . 85 174 120 12 . 4 a / b14 3 6 . 90 116 120 13 . 4 a15 3 6 . 80 233 115 4 . 4 b16 3 6 . 85 174 110 5 . 2 b______________________________________ * uhtst system was rinsed with caustic before product run ** run terminated because no more product was available # ph after potassium citrate addition , no ph adjustment the uhtst processed product is much whiter than the retorted product , and has more of a true milk color . this aspect of the aseptically processed product may be very beneficial if the product is packaged in a translucent container . the physical stability of product from this experiment was checked again during an eighteen month period , and it continued to be satisfactory . it was thought that the seasonal variation associated with the condensed skim milk in a milk based infant formula might affect the process of the invention . portions of commercial batches of a milk based infant formula were obtained from a production facility at monthly intervals from january through september . the batches were reprocessed in the prototype aseptic processing system . optimization batches processed under the same conditions were filled from october through december . the results revealed that hold tube fouling was effectively controlled in all batches . no fouling was recorded during any of the approximately 2 hour long runs . the use of 400 ppm of potassium citrate ( 233 ppm of citrate ions ) and a ph adjustment to 6 . 95 ± 0 . 05 to control fouling during uhtst processing appears to be unaffected by seasonal variations associated with milk based products . the replicate batches were processed for two hours with no fouling of the hold tube . the physical stability of the replicate and optimization batches was good . the physical stability results of the replicate batches were in agreement with the results from the optimization batches . the addition of potassium citrate results in potassium levels of approximately 955 mg / liter and citrate levels of approximately 948 mg / liter . the potassium level is well below the united states infant formula act ( ifa ) maximum . the control of fouling during aseptic processing of a milk based infant formula can be achieved with the addition of 233 ppm of citrate ions ( 400 ppm potassium citrate ) and a ph adjustment to 6 . 95 ± 0 . 05 . | 0 |
in order to understand the present invention fully , it will be helpful to understand certain basic characteristics of computer networks operated by isps and how they may be connected to the internet . toward that end , fig1 illustrates how computers users may connect to a wan such as the internet 40 through an isp . as schematically indicated in fig1 computers of customers 16 of a particular isp are connected to the computer network ( or lan ) 12 operated by the isp via edge routers 14 and communication links 15 , and the lan 12 is connected to the internet 40 via net routers 18 and communication links 19 , as schematically indicated in fig1 . when a customer 16 wishes to send a message to another computer , the message is directed by the isp as appropriate , whether to another customer of the isp or to a computer outside the isp network , in which case isp the message will be sent to its destination through the internet 40 , via one or more net routers 18 . [ 0069 ] fig2 schematically illustrates possible relationships between networks operated by different isps , and the different categories which may be assigned to data transmissions in view of such relationships , in accordance with the present invention : ( a ) lan - 1 , operated by isp - 1 , has various subscribers exemplified for purposes of fig2 by customer a and customer b . ( b ) lan - 2 , operated by isp - 2 , has various subscribers as exemplified by customer c . isp - 2 has a peering arrangement with isp - 1 . ( c ) lan - 3 , operated by isp - 3 , has various subscribers as exemplified by customer d . isp - 3 does not have a peering arrangement with isp - 1 ; i . e ., lan - 3 is a transit network in relationship to lan - 1 . accordingly , data transmissions to and from a particular customer of isp - 1 may be categorized according to “ service categories ” defined as follows ( the “ inbound ” and “ outbound ” categorizations being made with reference to customer a for purposes of the present illustration ): service category from to (* with reference to customer a ) customer a customer b outbound * -- on - net customer b customer a inbound * -- on - net customer a customer c outbound * -- off - net -- peering customer c customer a inbound * -- off - net -- peering customer a customer d outbound * -- off - net -- transit customer d customer a inbound * -- off - net -- transit the method and system of the present invention may now be understood having reference to fig3 in which the usage - based billing system of the invention is generally designated by reference numeral 10 . the usage - based billing system 10 includes a first - stage data processing means , not shown in fig3 programmed with a first program , for processing traffic flow statistics collected from one or more network devices to generate first - stage records in connection with data transmissions made via the network devices . in the preferred embodiment , the network device or devices from which the traffic flow statistics are collected will include an edge router 14 , which record statistics relating to data transmissions made to and from customers 16 of a subject lan 12 , via customer links conceptually denoted by reference numeral 15 . each first - stage record includes the source and destination ip addresses , the amount of data transmitted , and the transmission start and end times for the data transmission in question . table 1 illustrates the data fields which may be captured in the first - stage records : the first - stage records are then transmitted to one or more second - stage data processing means 20 via record transfer links 22 . the second - stage data processing means 20 includes data storage means , and is programmed with a second program by means of which the first - stage records are sorted to generate second - stage records corresponding to each unique combination of source ip address and destination ip address over a selected sampling period . in the preferred embodiment , the sampling period is 300 seconds , but sampling periods of different lengths may be used without departing from the essential concept of the invention . table 2 illustrates the data fields which may be captured in the second - stage records : the second - stage records are then transmitted to a third - stage data processing means 30 via record transfer links 32 . the third - stage data processing means 20 includes data storage means , and is programmed with a third program by means of which the second - stage records are sorted to generate third - stage records which include identifiers corresponding to the source network ( i . e ., the computer network in which the source ip address is located ) and the destination network ( i . e ., the computer network in which the destination ip address is located ). these identifiers may be referred to as autonomous system numbers , or asns . table 3 illustrates the data fields which may be captured in the third - stage records : the third - stage records are then transmitted to a fourth - stage data processing means 35 which includes a data base and is programmed with a fourth program . the data base is loaded with reference information regarding the relationship between the source network and the destination network corresponding to each data transmission for which third - stage records have been prepared ; i . e ., same network , peering networks , or transit . the fourth - stage data processing means 35 compares the third - stage records against the information in the data base to generate fourth - stage records which assign a service category , as previously defined and explained herein , to each data transmission . the service category for each data transmission will always be with reference to a specific computer , either the source computer or the destination computer . the fourth - stage records may then be used or further processed as desired by a user of the invention , such as the isp which operates the subject lan 12 , for purposes such as network accounting purposes and for billing the isp &# 39 ; s customers 16 . for example , the isp may choose to assign different billing rates for each service category . in that case , the isp would general bills which give totals for data transmissions in each service category during a particular billing period , and apply the corresponding billing rates to give a total data transmission charge . the information available from the fourth - stage records would also enable the isp to bill services based on other usage parameters in addition to service categories ; e . g ., transmission time ( peak or off - peak ), packet size , and packet route . the practical advantages and usefulness of the records produced in accordance with the invention may be particularly illustrated by means of a few examples . in one exemplary billing model , an isp might assign different billing rates , based on the amount of data transmitted ( e . g ., per megabit ), to each of the service categories . a customer &# 39 ; s bill on this basis would be easily determined by aggregating the number of megabits in each service category for a selected billing period ( e . g ., monthly ), multiplying the aggregrated subtotals by their corresponding assigned rates , and adding the results to give a grand total . it is readily apparent that many variations on this theme are possible . the isp might prefer , for example , to set a single rate for all off - net services , regardless of whether the services were peering or transit . the isp could also set a single rate for all on - net services , without differentiation as to whether the transmissions in question were inbound or outbound . the isp could assign rates to a given service category according to variable parameters such as the time period in which corresponding data transmissions occur ( i . e ., during peak hours or off - peak hours ), packet size , or packet route . whatever billing rate structure may be selected , generation of corresponding customer bills is easily accomplished by sorting and aggregating data from the records produced in accordance with the invention , using data processing methods well known in the art . in an alternative billing model , customers may be billed according to bandwidth used , rather than total megabits transmitted . the isp may assign particular billing rates per unit of bandwidth usage ( e . g ., megabits per second ) for each service category , or for a group of service categories , and these rates could be further refined according to variables such as transmission time or packet size . generation of customer bills on a bandwidth - usage basis would once again be a straightforward exercise using well - known data processing methods , including the additional but simple step of calculating data flow rates ( i . e ., bandwidth usage ) from the information provided by the records produced in accordance with the invention . any of the billing rate structures generally described above could also be used in conjunction with features such as minimum usage commitments and volume - usage discount incentives . for example , an isp might offer an arrangement with an isp whereby the customer commits to pay for a minimum amount of data transmitted ( i . e ., megabits ) or bandwidth used ( i . e ., megabits per second ) during a specified billing period . there could conceivably be a single commitment level which could be met by total usage in all service categories , or individual commitment levels in particular service categories . billing plans of this nature could provide for discounts for usage in excess of the commitment levels , with different discount rates for each service category as may be desired . the foregoing are only a few examples of network billing rate structures which are made conveniently possible by use of data transmission records produced in accordance with the present invention . these few examples are nonetheless sufficient to demonstrate the considerable flexibility which such records may provide for isps in developing network billing plans which more closely reflect actual usage of network services , and which may give isp customers a broad range of plans from which to choose , to suit the customers &# 39 ; particular network usage requirements . it will be readily seen by those skilled in the art that various modifications of the present invention may be devised without departing from the essential concept of the invention , and all such modifications are intended to be included in the scope of the claims appended hereto . | 7 |
fig1 - 3 shows generally a visual fields testing system including a projector - camera housing 10 in which is mounted the mirror mechanism 12 . the housing 10 includes a front wall 14 and a rear wall 16 , having apertures 18 , 20 respectively which can be opened or closed by a projection shutter indicated diagrammatically at 22 and film shutter indicated diagrammatically at 24 . the mirror mechanism 12 includes a double faced mirror 26 having a front face 28 and a rear face 30 . the mirror 26 is arranged so that it will reflect a collimated light beam 32 from a projection light 34 , mounted to a sidewall 36 of the housing 10 through the projection shutter 22 and onto the projection screen 38 . the opposite sidewall 40 of the housing 10 supports a second light source 42 which directs a beam of light 44 toward the rear face 30 of the mirror 26 along the same axis as that of the light beam from the projection light 34 . the beam from the recording light source 42 is reflected from the mirror surface 30 in a direction which is opposite that of the reflected projection beam 32 from the front face 28 of the mirror 26 . the recording light beam 44 is directed toward a film plane , indicated diagrammatically at 46 and disposed at the rear of the housing 10 by any of a variety of well - known film holding devices 48 . the double faced mirror 26 thus directs the projection beam 32 to a selected location on the screen and simultaneously directs the recording beam 44 to a corresponding location in the film plane 46 , depending on the attitude of the mirror 26 . the mirror 26 is mounted for adjustable movement by the mirror mechanism 12 in which the mirror 26 is rotatable about each of a pair of perpendicular axes . the mirror mechanism includes a support block 50 which is secured to the interior of the housing 10 . the mirror mechanism 12 includes a driven bevel gear segment 52 . the mirror 26 is secured with respect to and across the diameter of gear 52 by a bracket 54 and lies in a plane perpendicular to that of the gear 52 and which coincides with the axis of rotation of the gear 52 . the mirror 26 and gear 52 are supported for rotation in unison about the rotational axis of the gear 52 by means of a yoke 56 having low friction bearings 58 , 60 which support the upper edge of the mirror , by bracket 62 , and the opposite face of the gear 52 , by bracket 54 , to enable the mirror 26 and gear 52 to rotate in unison about the common axis defined by the bearings 58 , 60 . the yoke 56 is mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the axis defined by bearings 58 , 60 to rotate the mirror 26 and gear 52 bodily about that horizontal axis . to this end the yoke 56 is secured to the end of an outer cylinder 64 which is rotatably mounted within a cylindrical cut - out 61 formed along one side of the block 50 as by ball bearings 63 which are securely mounted to the cut - out 61 . the cylinder 64 has a worm gear 66 secured thereto which is driven by a worm 68 which is driven , in turn , by a stepping motor 80 mounted to the block 50 . the worm 68 is disposed within a bore 69 formed in the block 50 and may be supported by bearings 71 . the mirror 26 and gear 52 are driven with respect to the yoke 56 by means of an inner cylinder 72 which extends through the outer cylinder 64 . an end of the inner cylinder 72 extends into and is journaled to the yoke at bearing 73 . the other end of the inner cylinder 72 extends rearwardly beyond the end of the outer cylinder 64 . the rear , protruding end of cylinder 72 has a collar 75 secured thereto and the collar 75 is rotatably mounted within cut - out 61 of the block 50 by bearing 77 . a bevel gear 74 is secured to the end of the inner cylinder 72 which projects into the yoke 56 and meshes with the driven beveled gear 52 to which the mirror is mounted . the inner cylinder 72 is rotated by means of a worm gear 76 secured to the collar 75 . gear 76 is driven by a worm connected to the drive shaft 78 of stepping motor 70 in the same manner as described above with regard to worm 68 . the stepping motors 70 , 80 are operated in response to appropriate electrical signals from the controlling electronic circuitry to pulse the motors incrementally to their intended positions . the motors 70 , 80 may be selected from a wide variety of commercially available devices and preferably are reversible . the recording light 42 is mounted in the housing and extends into the rearward end of the cut - off 61 in the block in alignment with the axis of rotation of the cylinders 64 , 72 . the recording light thus passes axially through the hollow inner cylinder 72 and , if desired , suitable lenses , such as suggested at 79 may be mounted within the hollow inner cylinder 72 to maintain the light beam collimated . the projection light source 34 is mounted to the opposite side wall of the housing , also in substantial alignment with the axis of rotation of the cylinders so that both light beams will be directed substantially along the same horizontal axis and will be reflected in substantially opposite directions . it may be noted that the axis of rotation of the mirror defined by the bearing 58 , 60 is a movable axis in that it intersects , perpendicularly , and is rotatably about the horizontal axis of the cylinders 64 , 72 . it may be noted further that operation of one of the step motors 70 , 80 usually will result in movement of the mirror in a compound direction , e . g ., rotation of the yoke alone usually will also cause some rotation of the mirror about the axis defined by its bearings 58 , 60 . when such compound motion is not desired , it may be corrected by operating the other of the stepper motors in a reverse direction to compensate and drive the inner cylinder to return the mirror to its desired position about the movable axes . this may be accomplished by suitable electronic control of the stepping motors 70 , 80 and reference is made to an application of marvin e . jernigan filed of even date herewith for a description of one such control system . similarly , the operation of the projection and recording lights as well as the projection and recording shutters may be controlled electronically as described in said application . the invention is illustrated as being employed in connection with a visual fields testing system which may also include a partially reflective plate 82 mounted above and forwardly of the housing 10 so as to be directly in front of the subject &# 39 ; s view when his head is properly placed in the head rest and chin support 84 . plate 82 is adapted to enable the subject to view the screen 38 and is disposed at an angle to his general line of sight to enable a light source 86 , preferably infrared , to reflect from the plate 82 and illuminate the subject &# 39 ; s eyes . the image from the subject &# 39 ; s eyes is , in turn , reflected from the plate 82 toward an imaging arrangement 88 which includes a ground glass screen 90 on which the reflected image of the subject &# 39 ; s eye may be focused , employing the technique described in the aforementioned u . s . patent . as described in that patent a pair of vertically spaced photoelectric cells 92 and horizontally spaced photoelectric cells 94 are located on or adjacent the screen 90 and are aligned with selected regions of the image of the subject &# 39 ; s eye on the screen 90 . variations in the output signals from the photocells 92 , 94 are dependent on the direction and magnitude of the subject &# 39 ; s eye movements and their signals may be electronically processed . imaging arrangement 88 preferably is mounted for adjustment to the housing 10 to facilitate initial alignment of the photocells 92 , 94 with the subject &# 39 ; s eye image on the screen 90 . this may include a bracket 96 pivoted for horizontal movement to the housing 10 and a vertical elevation screw 98 carried by the bracket 96 and in engagement with the end of the barrel 100 , the other end of the barrel 100 being pivoted to the bracket at trunnions 102 . while the invention has been described primarily for use in a visual fields testing system , it may be employed in other environments where it is desirable to control the direction of a beam of light . it should be understood that the foregoing description of the invention is intended merely to be illustrative thereof and that other modifications and embodiments may be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from its spirit . | 0 |
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 , albeit not limiting , embodiment with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated . fig1 - 7 , which are now referenced , illustrate the present invention and the manner in which it is assembled . a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated generally as 10 . the present invention is constructed and arranged to be secured to a pipe 12 which is hollow and is designed to transport fluids . as can be seen in fig2 and 3 , the present invention circumscribes almost the entire outer circumference of a portion of pipe 12 when it is in its operational position . in this operational position , the present invention is designed to be secured to a pipe so that it will not move in any direction , with respect to the pipe , while a fitting 14 is being secured to the pipe 12 . attachment to a pipe 12 also provides for re - rounding the outer surface of the pipe to establish a proper radius for fusing . the present invention includes a plurality of jaws 16 and 18 which are pivotally secured to the main body 20 of the present invention ( fig1 and 2 ). the jaws are preferably arranged to provide over center engagement with pipe 12 so that capture of the pipe 12 to the device 10 can be accomplished from the top of the pipe without the need for additional parts . as can be seen in fig2 , the lower portion of the main body 20 is arc shaped so that the lower portion will snugly engage a portion of pipe 12 . a plurality of movable lever arms 22 and 24 , preferably attached to the main body 20 at opposing ends , are pivotally secured to the main body 20 at 23 and 25 and cantilevered to the jaws 16 and 18 . these cantilever connections 26 and 28 between the arms 22 and 24 and the jaws 16 and 18 enable the jaws 16 , and 18 to be securely positioned on and secured to the pipe 12 . this arrangement further provides for self locking , preferably through the use of an over center lever system or toggle locking action mechanism . the jaws 16 and 18 and the main body 20 tightly secure the present invention to the outer circumference of a pipe 12 . the arc shape of the lower portion of the main body 20 and the jaws 16 and 18 enable the present invention to be placed on a pipe , secure a fitting to the pipe and then be moved along the longitudinal axis of the pipe 12 so that another fitting can be secured to the pipe 12 . additionally , the present invention can be rotated around the circumference of the pipe so that one or more fittings can be secured to the pipe 12 at almost any location on the outer surface of the pipe . this feature is especially useful when the pipe 12 is in its final location , for example a water irrigation main feed line , and new sprinklers or drip lines need to be secured to the irrigation main feed line . in this situation , only a portion of the main feed line needs to be uncovered and the present invention is secured to the main feed line . the fitting or drip line ( s ) are then secured to the main feed line and the pipe is reburied . this eliminates a very costly removal of all or most of the main feed line to secure new fittings , etc . to the main feed line . the main body 20 of the present invention includes at least two upright rods 30 and 32 secured to the top of the main body 20 , see fig1 and 2 . the main body 20 also includes an aperture 34 which extends from the upper surface of the main body completely through to the bottom of the main body , as seen in fig2 and 3 . the preferred shape of the aperture 34 is circular . however , any other shape can also be utilized . the shape of aperture 34 corresponds to the exterior shape of the fitting 14 which is being secured to the pipe 12 . a heater 36 , see fig2 - 6 , is secured to the rods 30 and 32 in a manner which enables the heater 36 to be slidingly raised and lowered along the length of the rods . this interconnection between the heater 36 and the rods 30 and 32 is enabled by tabs 38 and 40 on the heater 36 . tabs 38 and 40 partially engage the circumference of each rod 30 and 32 so that the heater 36 is aligned with the aperture 34 . this enables the heater 36 to be inserted into and raised out of the aperture 34 . the partial engagement of the tabs on the rods enable the heater 36 to be removed from the rods 30 and 32 without having to be raised to the ends of the rods . this interaction can be seen in fig2 . the heater 36 has been raised out of aperture 34 and can then be moved toward the right of the drawing and away from rods 30 and 32 . the fitting 14 in a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a plastic fitting , such as a fusion transition saddle , which is secured to the outer surface or circumference of a main pipe 12 . fluid distribution lines ( not shown ) are then attached to the fitting 14 . preferably , the interior of fitting 14 includes threads which enable the distribution lines to be threadably connected to the fitting 14 . the fitting 14 is removably secured to a holder 42 . preferably , the fitting 14 is shaped so that it can only fit into the holder in a position which will enable the fitting to be properly secured to pipe 12 . this relationship between the fitting 14 and the holder 42 avoids incorrect placement of the fitting on the pipe 12 when the apparatus is used in the field . this also enables operators with limited knowledge of the present invention to properly operate the invention . holder 42 is secured to a swing latch 48 by a shaft 50 with a spring 51 . swing latch 48 engages rods 30 and 32 , as illustrated in fig1 , and when the shaft 50 is turned , the holder 42 is either raised from or lowered toward the main body 20 . the holder 42 is slidingly secured to rods 30 and 32 . the holder 42 includes ends 44 and 46 which are provided with apertures . rods 30 and 32 pass through these apertures and enable the holder 42 to be raised from and lowered toward the main body 20 . fig2 and 3 illustrate the process by which the fitting 14 is secured to the pipe 12 . the entire assembly 10 is first placed onto pipe 12 at a desired location , fig1 . next , the assembly 10 is secured to the pipe by clamps 16 and 18 . then , the holder 42 is placed in its utmost position , see fig2 , and the fitting 14 is placed therein . the heater 36 is then placed on the rods 30 and 32 beneath the fitting 14 . the heater 36 , at this stage , is outside of the aperture 34 of the main body 20 . next , the fitting 14 is lowered into contact with the top of the heater 36 by applying a force to the swing latch 48 which compresses the spring 51 , and both the heater 36 and fitting 14 are lowered into the aperture 34 . the swing latch 48 is designed to swing or rotate so that the hooked portions 53 and 55 are coupleable and locked to a portion of the upright rods 30 and 32 . the lower portion of the heater 36 is brought into contact with the outer surface of pipe 12 . next , an electric current is sent to the heater , through wires 49 within handle 51 , see fig4 - 7 , which in turn raises the temperature of the heating elements 52 and 54 . the higher temperature of the heating elements 5 and 54 is transferred to the heater housing 37 . the heater housing 37 is now in contact with the lower end of fitting 14 through the upper surface 39 ( first heating surface ) and the outer surface of pipe 12 through lower heating element 41 ( forming a second heating surface ). the lower heating element 41 is designed to contain a surface 43 that is the same as or substantially similar to the surface of the pipe fitting that is to be fused with the pipe 12 . the temperature of the heater is now sufficiently high to melt both the lower end of the fitting 14 and the outer surface of pipe 12 . next , the heater 36 and fitting 14 are raised up and away from the pipe 12 and out of aperture 34 . the heater 36 is then removed from the assembly and the fitting 14 is lowered onto the surface of pipe 12 through aperture 34 . a force is applied to the swing latch 48 to compress the spring 51 . as the force is applied , the swing latch 48 is pushed in a downward direction , pushing on fitting 14 . the swing latch 48 swings or rotates so that the hooked portions 53 and 55 are coupleable and locked to a portion of the upright rods 30 and 32 . the area of the pipe 12 which has been heated and heated end of fitting 14 are at a temperature at which the material from which they are made melts . the fitting is placed onto the pipe , and both the fitting and the pipe melt or fuse together to form a fluid tight seal between them . next , the holder 42 is raised by unhooking the swing latch 48 and allowing the spring 51 to return to its original form . the assembly 10 is then removed from the pipe 12 . finally , the outer surface of pipe 12 which is within the interior of fitting 14 is drilled out or removed so that fluid can flow between the pipe 12 and fitting 14 . fig8 - 14 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the pipe fitting installation device . the embodiment illustrated in these figures contains many of the same features described previously . referring to fig8 , the device for securing a fitting to a pipe , generally referred to as 100 , is designed to provide a quick and easy method of coupling a fusible transition saddle to an existing pipe . accordingly , the device 100 is designed to secure to a pipe 112 , see fig9 c through a clamping mechanism using a plurality of jaws 116 and 118 . the jaws 116 and 118 are operatively coupled to the main fuser body 120 so that they are traversable between a first position , i . e . an open position , and a second closed position i . e . enclosed and secured to the outer surface of a pipe inserted between the two jaws 116 and 118 . preferably , the jaws 116 and 118 are positioned so as to provide over center connection to the pipe without the need for additional structures . the main fuser body 120 is sized and shaped to provide support , particularly when coupled to the pipe . a lower portion 121 of the main body 120 , see fig1 , is arc shaped so as to snugly engage a portion of the pipe . preferably , the length of the arch is sized to correspond to the length of the arch shaped perimeter of the attached pipe . to provide for the actual securing of the jaws 116 and 118 to the pipe , a plurality of movable lever arms 122 and 124 are pivotally secured to the main fuser body 120 using for example pins 123 and 125 , see fig1 and 12 . preferably , the lever arms are coupled to the main fuser body 120 at opposing ends . each arm 122 and 124 contains a proximal end 127 and 129 , and a distal end 131 and 133 . the distal ends 131 and 133 are coupled to the jaws 116 and 118 through linkers or toggles 135 and 137 which are pivotally connected to the jaws through connectors , such as a pin 139 and 141 . the linking plates or toggles 135 and 137 are pivotally coupled to the distal end 131 and 133 through pins 143 and 145 , thus forming a clamp with toggle locking action . as shown fig1 and 12 , the jaws 116 and 118 are in the closed position so that the linking or toggle plates are over center , therefore providing a self locking mechanism . this self locking mechanism allows for the device 100 to securely clamp to a pipe without the need for any external securing knobs or other adjustment requirements . the jaws 116 and 118 and the main fuser body 120 , therefore , tightly secure the present invention to the outer circumference of a pipe 12 . to “ unlock ” the device , the lever arms 122 and 124 are pulled in an opposite direction , thereby releasing the over the center formation . although not illustrated in fig8 - 14 , fig1 illustrates the device in the unlocked or non - engaged position . the main fuser body 120 of the present invention includes at least two upright rods 130 and 132 secured to the top of the main body at terminal ends 133 and 135 , see for example fig9 . the main body 120 also includes an aperture 134 which extends from the upper surface 147 of the main fuser body 120 completely through to the bottom 149 of the main body , as seen in fig9 and 14 . the preferred shape of the aperture 134 is circular . however , any other shape can also be utilized . the shape of aperture 134 preferably corresponds to the exterior shape of the fitting which is being secured to the pipe . a pipe fitting holder 136 contains a top end 138 and a bottom end 142 , see fig9 b . a plurality of openings 143 and 145 are sized and shaped to receive the rods 130 and 132 . preferably , the fitting holder 136 slidably engages the rods 130 and 132 through the openings 143 and 145 , allowing for vertical movement in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the rods . the pipe fitting holder 136 is adapted to secure to one end of a pipe fitting 152 , such as a fusible transition saddle , to be fused with the pipe . to achieve such functionality , the bottom end 142 contains an opening 144 that allows for coupling of the transition saddle , though for example , frictional fitting , snap fitting , or male / female couplings , see fig9 b and 9c . preferably , the opening 144 contains a plurality of channels 146 sized and shaped to engage and secure to plurality of securing members , illustrated as alignment rails 148 positioned within the interior 151 of a fusible pipe fitting 152 , see fig1 . in this manner , the shape of the fitting holder 136 and the specific fusible fitting 152 provide a self - aligning mechanism . the fusible fitting 152 is simply snapped into place so that the channels 146 align with and receive the longitudinal members 148 . using this method , proper placement and securement is accomplished without the need for additional securing knobs , other adjustment knobs , or secondary mechanical closure devices . a second plate 150 is fixed at the proximal ends 152 and 154 of rods 130 and 132 through a securing member , such as a screw 156 . the second plate 150 contains an opening 158 , preferably having a key - hole configuration , which is sized and shaped to provide at least a portion of a knob 160 to fit within . the knob 160 is coupled to a first end 162 of a shaft 164 . a second end 166 of the shaft 164 couples to the pipe fitting holder 136 . engaging the knob 160 provides a compression mechanism to apply a compression force to the fitting during the heating process , as well as the fusion process . the shaft 164 preferably contains a spring 166 having a fixed tension to provide a predetermined compression rate . having a preset compression rate allows the user to maintain proper tension on the fitting when the fitting is being heated and fused to the pipe . to achieve such functionality , one or more locking mechanisms are employed , see fig1 . a first locking mechanism , used in the heating process , includes heating lugs or tabs , 168 and 169 , sized , shaped , and positioned to engage the key - hole opening 158 . a second locking mechanism includes a plurality of fusion lugs or tabs 170 and 172 which are also sized , shaped , and positioned to engage the key - hole opening 158 . a heater assembly 174 is designed to be securable to the pipe fitting holder 136 at a first end and to the main fusion body 120 at a second end . this heater assembly is preferably inserted into and removed from the device 100 depending on the need of the user . the heater assembly includes a heater housing unit 176 sized and shaped to contain one or more heating elements within , such as the heating elements 52 and 54 and corresponding wiring 49 as described previously . as shown in fig8 , the heater housing unit 176 contains a curved upper surface 178 . the curvature of the upper surface 178 is the same as , or substantially similar as the curvature or circumference of the end of the pipe fitting which will be fused to the existing pipe surface . in this manner , the entire surface of the pipe fitting remains in contact with the heating unit 176 during the heating process . the bottom portion of the heating unit 176 may contain an element that is sized and shaped to have a curvature that matches the curvature of the outer surface of the pipe . such feature is similar to the element 41 as described previously . the heater assembly 174 further includes a handle 180 . a first set of heat assembly securing members is illustrated as a pair of finger - like extensions 182 and 184 coupled to the heating assembly and arranged in a generally parallel manner . the finger - like extensions 182 and 184 have hooked ends 186 and 188 to provide coupling to the pipe fitting holder 136 . use of the finger - like extensions 182 and 184 fixes the heater unit in place , preventing the heating unit from moving in all multiple axes . in addition , the heater assembly may contain second heat assembly securing members , illustrated as alignment tabs 187 located on the front and back , see fig1 . at least one of the surfaces of the heating unit can be adapted to provide serrations to the pipe fitting , the pipe , or combinations thereof . in use , the pipe fitting installation device 100 is placed on a pipe . as described , the pipe fitting installation device 100 provides a design which allows for full engagement and capture of the pipe from the top without the need of additional parts being swung under and around the pipe . to secure the device 100 to the pipes , a force is applied to the lever arms 122 and 124 so that they are snapped outwardly . this action closes the lower jaws 116 and 118 onto the pipe . the closing of the jaws 116 and 118 provide sufficient force to compress the pipe upwardly into the underside 121 of the pipe fitting installation device 100 . in this position , the device self locks through the over center lever system or toggle locking action mechanism . in addition to providing sufficient enclosure , the pipe is re - rounded to a particular radius . once the pipe is secured , a transition saddle having a proper radius is inserted into the pipe fitting holder 136 , which self aligns and properly positions the inserted saddle using the features described above . the heater assembly 174 is inserted into the pipe fitting installation device 100 . proper alignment is accomplished using alignment tabs 187 positioned on the front and back of the heater assembly by sliding the tabs 187 into grooves positioned within the main fuser body 138 . the user then engages knob 160 by applying a downward force . this action moves the knob 160 in a downward direction . in this position , the fitting holder 138 is captured by the finger like extensions 182 and 184 . such action captures the heating assembly 174 , providing correct alignment and preventing the heater assembly 174 from moving . the first set of locking members , heating lugs 168 and 169 , engage the fixed plate 150 through the key - hole opening 158 , through activating the compression mechanism , i . e . applying a force to the knob 160 . such action compresses the spring 164 to burn in the heater to the top surface of the pipe and the underside of the transition saddle . once full contact has been made , the lugs 168 and 169 are disengaged and a soaking portion of the heating phase is initialed . this phase is performed without spring compression or pressure . after a predetermined time , the knob 160 is pulled in an upward motion . the heating assembly 174 is removed . the pipe fitting is dropped down onto the pipe through aperture 134 . a second set of locking members , the fusion lugs or tabs 170 and 172 engage the fixed plate 150 through the key - hole opening 158 . this engagement compresses the spring 164 and provides the proper amount of pressure to the transition saddle to complete fusing . after sufficient time to cool , the process is complete and the transition saddle is fused to the pipe . the outer surface of the pipe which is within the interior of fitting is drilled out or removed so that fluid can flow between the pipe and the fitting . all patents and publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains . all patents and publications are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference . it is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated , it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement herein described and shown . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and any drawings / figures included herein . one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned , as well as those inherent therein . the embodiments , methods , procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments , are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope . changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims . although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments , it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments . indeed , various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims . | 1 |
as a carbonaceous pitch is heated to a temperature sufficiently elevated to produce mesophase , the more volatile low molecular weight molecules present therein are slowly volatilized from the pitch . as heating is continued above a temperature at which mesophase is produced , the more reactive higher molecular weight molecules polymerize to form still higher molecular weight molecules , which then orient themselves to form mesophase . while the less reactive lower molecular weight molecules which have not been volatilized can also polymerize , they often form hydrogenated and / or substituted polymerization by - products having a molecular weight below about 600 which do not orient to form mesophase . although these low molecular weight polymerization by - products are gradually volatilized as heating of the pitch is continued , the presence of large amounts of these by - products during much of the time that the pitch is being converted to mesophase has been found to impede the formation of mesophase by the more reactive molecules , and , as a result , to considerably lengthen the time necessary to produce a pitch of a given mesophase content . further , because of their small size and low aromaticity , these polymerization by - products are not readily compatible with the larger , higher molecular weight , more aromatic molecules present in the mesophase portion of the pitch , and the lack of compatibility between these high and low molecular weight molecules adversely affects the rheology and spinnability of the pitch . as pointed out previously , the very high molecular weight fraction of the mesophase portion of the pitch can only be adequately plasticized at very high temperatures where the tendency of the very low molecular weight molecules in the non - mesophase portion of the pitch to volatilize is greatly increased , and when pitches having large amounts of such materials are heated to a temperature where they have a viscosity suitable for spinning and attempts are made to produce fibers therefrom , excessive expulsion of volatiles occurs which greatly interferes with the processability of the pitch into fibers of small and uniform diameter . this invention takes advantage of the differences in molecular weight and volatility between the mesophase - forming molecules present in the pitch and those low molecular weight components and polymerization by - products which do not form mesophase to effect removal of the undesirable more volatile low molecular weight materials and more rapidly convert the pitch to mesophase . the molecules which do not convert to mesophase are of lower molecular weight than the higher molecular weight mesophase - forming molecules and , facilitated by the inert gas purge during conversion of the pitch to mesophase , are preferentially volatilized from the pitch during formation of the mesophase , allowing the pitch to obtain a given mesophase content in substantially reduced periods of time . thus , in addition to shortening the time required to produce a pitch of a given mesophase content , this procedure has the effect of lessening the amount of low molecular weight molecules in the non - mesophase portion of the pitch and raising the average molecular weight thereof . consequently , such pitches can more easily be spun into fibers of small and uniform diameter with little evolution of volatiles . removal of the more volatile components of the pitch which do not convert to mesophase is effected by passing an inert gas through the pitch , during preparation of the mesophase , at a rate of at least 0 . 5 scfh . per pound of pitch , preferably at a rate of 0 . 7 scfh . to 5 . 0 scfh . per pound of pitch . any inert gas which does not react with the pitch under the heating conditions employed can be used to facilitate removal of these components . illustrative of such gases are nitrogen , argon , xenon , helium , steam and the like . as aforementioned , removal of the undesirable more volatile low molecular weight materials hastens conversion of the pitch to mesophase , and when mesophase is produced while passing an inert gas through the pitch in this manner , the time required to produce a pitch of a given mesophase content , at a given temperature , is reduced by as much as more than one - half of that normally required in the absence of such treatment . generally , the time required to produce a pitch of a given mesophase content is reduced by at least 25 percent , usually from 40 percent to 70 percent , when the mesophase is prepared while passing an inert gas through the pitch as described as opposed to when it is prepared under identical conditions but in the absence of such treatment . while any temperature above about 350 ° c . up to about 500 ° c . can be employed to convert the precursor pitch to mesophase , it has been found that mesophase pitches possess improved rheological and spinning characteristics when they are prepared at a temperature of from 380 ° c . to 440 ° c ., most preferably from 380 ° c . to 410 ° c ., so as to produce a mesophase content of from 50 percent by weight to 65 percent by weight . usually from 2 hours to 60 hours of heating are required at such temperatures to produce the desired amount of mesophase . mesophase pitches prepared under these conditions have been found to possess a smaller differential between the number average molecular weights of the mesophase and non - mesophase portions of the pitch , than mesophase pitches having the same mesophase content which have been prepared at more elevated temperatures in shorter periods of time . the attendant rheological and spinning properties accompanying this narrower molecular weight distribution has been found to substantially facilitate the processability of the pitch into fibers of small and uniform diameter . the mesophase pitches prepared under the preferred conditions , i . e ., by heating at a temperature of from 380 ° c . to 440 ° c . so as to produce a mesophase content of from 50 percent by weight to 65 percent by weight possess a lesser amount of high molecular weight molecules in the mesophase portion of the pitch and a lesser amount of low molecular weight molecules in the non - mesophase portion of the pitch , and have a lower number average molecular weight in the mesophase portion of the pitch and a higher number average molecular weight in the non - mesophase portion of the pitch , than mesophase pitches having the same mesophase content which have been prepared at more elevated temperatures in shorter periods of time . when mesophase pitches are prepared under such conditions , less than 50 percent of the molecules in the mesophase portion of the pitch have a molecular weight in excess of 4000 , while the remaining molecules have a number average molecular weight of from 1400 to 2800 . the molecules in the non - mesophase portion of such pitches have a number average molecular weight of from 800 to 1200 , with less than 20 percent of such molecules having a molecular weight of less than 600 . when such pitches are prepared by heating at the most preferred temperature range of from 380 ° c . to 410 ° c ., from 20 percent to 40 percent of the molecules in the mesophase portion of the pitch have a molecular weight in excess of 4000 , while the remaining molecules have a number average molecular weight of from 1400 to 2600 . the molecules in the non - mesophase portion of pitches prepared by heating at the most preferred temperature range have a number average molecular weight of from 900 to 1200 , with from 10 percent to 16 percent of such molecules having a molecular weight of less than 600 . when mesophase pitches are prepared at temperatures in excess of 440 ° c ., on the other hand , more than 80 percent of the molecules in the mesophase portion of the pitch have a molecular weight in excess of 4000 , while in excess of 25 percent of the molecules in the non - mesophase portion of the pitch have a molecular weight of less than 600 . the molecules in the non - mesophase portion of the pitch have a number average molecular weight of less than 800 , while the number average molecular weight of the molecules in the mesophase portion of the pitch which do not have a molecular weight in excess of 4000 is from 1400 to 2800 . mesophase pitches prepared by heating at a temperature of from 380 ° c . to 440 ° c . so as to produce a mesophase content of from 50 percent by weight to 65 percent by weight usually exhibit a viscosity of from 10 poises to 200 poises at a temperature of from 320 ° c . to 440 ° c ., and can readily be spun into fibers of small and uniform diameter at such temperatures with little evolution of volatiles . because of their excellent rheological properties , such pitches are eminently suitable for spinning carbonaceous fibers which may subsequently be converted by heat treatment into fibers having a high young &# 39 ; s modulus of elasticity and high tensile strength . in order to produce pitches having the preferred mesophase content and molecular weight characteristics , it is usually necessary to heat a carbonaceous pitch at a temperature of from 380 ° c . to 440 ° c . for at least 2 hours , preferably for from 2 hours to 60 hours . excessive heating should be avoided so as not to produce a mesophase content in excess of 65 percent by weight , or adversely affect the desired molecular weight distribution . to obtain the desired molecular weight characteristics it is also necessary that the pitch be agitated during formation of the mesophase so as to produce a homogeneous emulsion of the immiscible mesophase and non - mesophase portions of the pitch . such agitation can be effected by any conventional means , e . g ., by stirring or rotation of the pitch , so long as it is sufficient to effectively intermix the mesophase and non - mesophase portions of the pitch . the degree to which the pitch has been converted to mesophase can readily be determined by polarized light microscopy and solubility examinations . except for certain non - mesophase insolubles present in the original pitch or which , in some instances , develop on heating , the non - mesophase portion of the pitch is readily soluble in organic solvents such as quinoline and pyridine , while the mesophase portion is essentially insoluble .. sup . ( 1 ) in the case of pitches which do not develop non - mesophase insolubles when heated , the insoluble content of the heat treated pitch over and above the insoluble content of the pitch before it has been heat treated corresponds essentially to the mesophase content .. sup . ( 2 ) in the case of pitches which do develop non - mesophase insolubles when heated , the insoluble content of the heat treated pitch over and above the insoluble content of the pitch before it has been heat treated is not solely due to the conversion of the pitch to mesophase , but also represents non - mesophase insolubles which are produced along with the mesophase during the heat treatment . pitches which contain infusible non - mesophase insolubles ( either present in the original pitch or developed by heating ) in amounts sufficient to prevent the development of homogeneous bulk mesophase are unsuitable for use in the present invention , as noted above . generally , pitches which contain in excess of about 2 percent by weight of such infusible materials are unsuitable . the presence or absence of such homogeneous bulk mesophase regions , as well as the presence or absence of infusible non - mesophase insolubles , can be visually observed by polarized light microscopy examination of the pitch ( see , e . g ., brooks , j . d ., and taylor , g . h ., &# 34 ; the formation of some graphitizing carbons ,&# 34 ; chemistry and physics of carbon , vol . 4 , marcel dekker , inc ., new york , 1968 , pp . 243 - 268 ; and dubois , j ., agache , c ., and white , j . l ., &# 34 ; the carbonaceous mesophase formed in the pyrolysis of graphitizable organic materials ,&# 34 ; metallography 3 , pp . 337 - 369 , 1970 ). the amounts of each of these materials may also be visually estimated in this manner . conventional molecular weight analysis techniques , can be employed to determine the molecular weight characteristics of the mesophase pitches produced in accordance with the present invention . in order to permit molecular weight determinations to be conducted independently on both the mesophase and non - mesophase portions of the pitch , the two phases may be conveniently separated through the use of a suitable organic solvent . as noted above , except for certain non - mesophase insolubles present in the original pitch or which , in some instances , develop on heating , the non - mesophase portion of the pitch is readily soluble in organic solvents such as quinoline and pyridine , while the mesophase portion is essentially insoluble .. sup . ( 3 ) after separation of the two phases with a solvent in this manner , the non - mesophase portion of the pitch may be recovered from the solvent by vacuum distillation of the solvent . one means which has been employed to determine the number average molecular weight of the mesophase pitches produced in accordance with the present invention involves the use of a vapor phase osmometer . the utilization of instruments of this type for molecular weight determinations has been described by a . p . brady et al . ( brady , a . p ., huff , h ., and mcgain , j . w ., j . phys . & amp ; coll . chem 55 , 304 , ( 1951 )). the osmometer measures the difference in electrical resistance between a sensitive reference thermistor in contact with a pure solvent , and a second thermistor in contact with a solution of said solvent having dissolved therein a known concentration of a material whose molecular weight is to be determined . the difference in electrical resistance between the two thermistors is caused by a difference in temperature between the thermistors which is produced by the different vapor pressures of the solvent and the solution . by comparing this value with the differences in resistance obtained with said solvent and standard solutions of said solvent containing known concentrations of compounds of known molecular weights , it is possible to calculate the molecular weight of the solute material . a drop of pure solvent and a drop of a solution of said solvent having dissolved therein a known concentration of the material whose molecular weight is being determined are suspended side by side on a reference thermistor and sample thermistor , respectively , contained in a closed thermostated chamber saturated with solvent vapor , and the resistance of the two thermistors is measured and the difference between the two recorded . since a solution of a given solvent will always have a lower vapor pressure than the pure solvent , a differential mass transfer occurs between the two drops and the solvent vapor phase , resulting in greater overall condensation on ( and less evaporation from ) the solution drop than on the solvent drop . this difference in mass transfer causes a temporary temperature difference between the two thermistors ( due to differences in loss of heat of vaporization between the two drops ) which is proportional to the difference in vapor pressure between the two drops . since the difference in vapor pressure between the two drops , and hence the difference in temperature and resistance , ( δr ), between the two thermistors depends solely upon the number of molecules of the solute material dissolved in the solvent , and is independent of the chemical composition of the molecules , the mole fraction of solute in the solution , ( n ), can be determined from a plot of δr vs . n for such solvent and solutions of such solvent containing known concentrations of compounds of known molecular weight .. sup . ( 4 ) δr and n bear a direct linear relationship to each other , and from a determination of n it is possible to calculate the calibration constant , ( k ), for the solvent employed from the formula : having determined the value of k , the molecular weight of the material may be determined from the formula : wherein m x is the molecular weight of the material upon which the determination is being made , k is the calibration constant for the solvent employed , δr is the difference in resistance between the two thermistors , m y is the molecular weight of the solvent , w y is the weight of the solvent , and w x is the weight of the material whose molecular weight is being determined . of course , having once determined the value of the calibration constant of a given solvent , ( k ), the molecular weight of a given material may be determined directly from the formula . while the molecular weight of the soluble portion of the pitch can be determined directly on a solution thereof , in order to determine the molecular weight of the insoluble portion , it is necessary that it first be solubilized , e . g ., by chemical reduction of the aromatic bonds of such material with hydrogen . a suitable means for solubilizing coals and carbons by reduction of the aromatic bonds of these materials has been described by j . d . brooks et al . ( brooks , j . d ., and silberman , h ., &# 34 ; the chemical reduction of some cokes and chars &# 34 ;, fuel 41 , pp . 67 - 69 , 1962 ). this method involves the use of hydrogen generated by the reaction of lithium with ethylenediamine , and has been found to effectively reduce the aromatic bonds of carbonaceous materials without rupturing carbon - carbon bonds . such method has been suitably employed to solubilize the insoluble portion of the pitches prepared in accordance with the invention . another means which has been employed to determine the molecular weight characteristics of the mesophase pitches produced in accordance with the present invention is gel permeation chromatography ( gpc ). this technique has been described by l . r . snyder ( snyder , l . r ., &# 34 ; determination of asphalt molecular weight distributions by gel permeation chromatography &# 34 ;, anal . chem . 41 , pp . 1223 - 1227 , 1969 ). a gel permeation chromatograph is employed to fractionate a solution of polymer or polymer related molecules of various sizes , and the molecular weight distribution of the sample is determined with the aid of a detection system which is linearly responsive to solute concentration , such as a differential refractometer or a differential ultraviolet absorption spectrometer . as in the case of the vapor phase osmometry technique , in order to permit molecular weight determinations to be conducted independently on both the mesophase and non - mesophase portions of the pitch , the two phases must first be separated through the use of a suitable organic solvent . again , while the molecular weight of the soluble portion of the pitch can be determined directly on a solution thereof , in order to determine the molecular weight of the insoluble portion , it is necessary that it first be solubilized . fractionation of the sample whose molecular weight distribution is being determined is effected by dissolving the sample in a suitable solvent and passing the solution through the chromatograph and collecting measured fractions of the solution which elute through the separation column of the chromatograph . a given volume of solvent is required to pass molecules of a given molecular size through the chromatograph , so that each fraction of solution which elutes from the chromatograph contains molecules of a given molecular size . the fractions which flow through the column first contain the higher molecular weight molecules , while the fractions which take the longest time to elute through the column contain the lower molecular weight molecules . after the sample has been fractionated , the concentration of solute in each fraction is determined by means of a suitable detection system , such as a differential refractometer or a differential ultraviolet absorption spectrometer . when a differential refractometer is employed , the refractive index of each fraction is automatically compared to that of the pure solvent by means of two photoelectric cells which are sensitive to the intensity of light passing through such fractions and solvent , and the differences in signal intensities between the two cells are automatically plotted against the cumulative elution volume of the solution . since the magnitude of these differences in signal intensity is linearly related to the concentration by weight of solute molecules present , the relative concentration by weight of molecules in each fraction can be determined by dividing the differential signal intensity for that fraction by the total integrated differential signal intensity of all the fractions . this relative concentration may be graphically depicted by a plot of the differential signal intensity for each fraction against the cumulative elution volume of the sample . the molecular weight of the molecules in each fraction can then be determined by standard techniques , e . g ., by the osmometry techniques described above . since most conventional pitches are composed of similar types of molecular species , once the molecular weights of the various fractions of a particular sample have been determined , that sample may be used as a standard and the molecular weights of the fractions of subsequent samples can be determined from the known molecular weights of like fractions of the standard . thus , molecular weight determinations need not be repeatedly made on each fraction of each sample , but may be obtained from the molecular weights determined for like fractions of the standard . for convenience , a molecular weight distribution curve depicting the relationship of the molecular weight to the elution volume of the standard may be prepared by plotting the molecular weights determined for the standard fractions against the cumulative elution volume of the standard . the molecular weights of the molecules of the various chromatographic fractions of any given sample can then be directly read from this curve . as aforementioned , the relative concentration by weight of solute molecules in each fraction can be determined by differential refractive index measurements . to facilitate the molecular weight determinations , the differential signal intensities and elution volume values obtained on a given sample , together with previously determined molecular weight data relating to the various chromatographic fractions of a standard pitch , can be processed by a computer and transcribed into a complete molecular weight distribution analysis . by this procedure , complete printouts are routinely provided of number average molecular weight ( m n ), weight average molecular weight ( m w ), molecular weight distribution parameter ( m w / m n ), as well as a compilation of molecular weight and percentage by weight of solute present in each chromatographic fraction of a sample . aromatic base carbonaceous pitches having a carbon content of from about 92 percent by weight to about 96 percent by weight and a hydrogen content of from about 4 percent by weight to about 8 percent by weight are generally suitable for producing mesophase pitches which can be employed to produce fibers capable of being heat treated to produce fibers having a high young &# 39 ; s modulus of elasticity and a high tensile strength . elements other than carbon and hydrogen , such as oxygen , sulfur and nitrogen , are undesirable and should not be present in excess of about 4 percent by weight . the presence of more than such amount of extraneous elements may disrupt the formation of carbon crystallites during subsequent heat treatment and prevent the development of a graphitic - like structure within the fibers produced from these materials . in addition , the presence of extraneous elements reduces the carbon content of the pitch and hence the ultimate yield of carbon fiber . when such extraneous elements are present in amounts of from about 0 . 5 percent by weight to about 4 percent by weight , the pitches generally have a carbon content of from about 92 - 95 percent by weight , the balance being hydrogen . petroleum pitch , coal tar pitch and acenaphthylene pitch , which are well - graphitizing pitches , are preferred starting materials for producing the mesophase pitches which are employed to produce the fibers of the instant invention . petroleum pitch , of course , is the residuum carbonaceous material obtained from the distillation of crude oils or the catalytic cracking of petroleum distillates . coal tar pitch is similarly obtained by the distillation of coal . both of these materials are commercially available natural pitches in which mesophase can easily be produced , and are preferred for this reason . acenaphthylene pitch , on the other hand , is a synthetic pitch which is preferred because of its ability to produce excellent fibers . acenaphthylene pitch can be produced by the pyrolysis of polymers of acenaphthylene as described by edstrom et al . in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 574 , 653 . some pitches , such as fluoranthene pitch , polymerize very rapidly when heated and fail to develop large coalesced domains of mesophase , and are , therefore , not suitable precursor materials . likewise , pitches having a high infusible non - mesophase insoluble content in organic solvents such as quinoline or pyridine , or those which develop a high infusible non - mesophase insoluble content when heated , should not be employed as starting materials , as explained above , because these pitches are incapable of developing the homogeneous bulk mesophase necessary to produce highly oriented carbonaceous fibers capable of being converted by heat treatment into carbon fibers having a high young &# 39 ; s modulus of elasticity and high tensile strength . for this reason , pitches having an infusible quinoline - insoluble or pyridine - insoluble content of more than about 2 percent by weight ( determined as described above ) should not be employed , or should be filtered to remove this material before being heated to produce mesophase . preferably , such pitches are filtered when they contain more than about 1 percent by weight of such infusible , insoluble material . most petroleum pitches and synthetic pitches have a low infusible , insoluble content and can be used directly without such filtration . most coal tar pitches , on the other hand , have a high infusible , insoluble content and require filtration before they can be employed . as the pitch is heated at a temperature between 350 ° c . and 500 ° c . to produce mesophase , the pitch will , of course , pyrolyze to a certain extent and the composition of the pitch will be altered , depending upon the temperature , the heating time , and the composition and structure of the starting material . generally , however , after heating a carbonaceous pitch for a time sufficient to produce a mesophase content of from about 40 percent by weight to about 90 percent by weight , the resulting pitch will contain a carbon content of from about 94 - 96 percent by weight and a hydrogen content of from about 4 - 6 percent by weight . when such pitches contain elements other than carbon and hydrogen in amounts of from about 0 . 5 percent by weight to about 4 percent by weight , the mesophase pitch will generally have a carbon content of from about 92 - 95 percent by weight , the balance being hydrogen . after the desired mesophase pitch has been prepared , it is spun into fibers by conventional techniques , e . g ., by melt spinning , centrifugal spinning , blow spinning , or in any other known manner . as noted above , in order to obtain highly oriented carbonaceous fibers capable of being heat treated to produce carbon fibers having a high young &# 39 ; s modulus of elasticity and high tensile strength , the pitch must , under quiescent conditions , form a homogeneous bulk mesophase having large coalesced domains , and be nonthixotropic under the conditions employed in the spinning . further , in order to obtain uniform fibers from such pitch , the pitch should be agitated immediately prior to spinning so as to effectively intermix the immiscible mesophase and non - mesophase portions of the pitch . the temperature at which the pitch is spun depends , of course , upon the temperature at which the pitch exhibits a suitable viscosity . since the softening temperature of the pitch , and its viscosity at a given temperature , increases as the mesophase content of the pitch increases , the mesophase content should not be permitted to rise to a point which raises the softening point of the pitch to excessive levels . for this reason , pitches having a mesophase content of more than about 90 percent are generally not employed . pitches containing a mesophase content of about 40 percent by weight usually have a viscosity of about 200 poises at about 300 ° c . and about 10 poises at about 375 ° c ., while pitches containing a mesophase content of about 90 percent by weight exhibit similar viscosities at temperatures above 430 ° c . within this viscosity range , fibers may be conveniently spun from such pitches at a rate of from about 50 feet per minute to about 1000 feet per minute and even up to about 3000 feet per minute . preferably , the pitch employed has a mesophase content of from about 50 percent by weight to about 65 percent by weight and exhibits a viscosity of from about 30 poises to about 150 poises at temperatures of from about 340 ° c . to about 380 ° c . at such viscosity and temperature , uniform fibers having diameters of from about 5 microns to about 25 microns can be easily spun . as previously mentioned , however , in order to obtain the desired fibers , it is important that the pitch be nonthixotropic and exhibit newtonian or plastic flow behavior during the spinning of the fibers . the carbonaceous fibers produced in this manner are highly oriented graphitizable materials having a high degree of preferred orientation of their molecules parallel to the fiber axis . by &# 34 ; graphitizable &# 34 ; is meant that these fibers are capable of being converted thermally ( usually by heating to a temperature in excess of about 2500 ° c ., e . g ., from about 2500 ° c . to about 3000 ° c .) to a structure having the three - dimensional order characteristic of polycrystalline graphite . the fibers produced in this manner , of course , have the same chemical composition as the pitch from which they were drawn , and like such pitch contain from about 40 percent by weight to about 90 percent by weight mesophase . when examined under magnification by polarized light microscopy techniques , the fibers exhibit textural variations which give them the appearance of a &# 34 ; mini - composite &# 34 ;. large elongated anisotropic domains , having a fibrillar - shaped appearance , can be seen distributed throughout the fiber . these anisotropic domains are highly oriented and preferentially aligned parallel to the fiber axis . it is believed that these anisotropic domains , which are elongated by the shear forces exerted on the pitch during spinning of the fibers , are not composed entirely of mesophase , but are also made up of non - mesophase . evidently , the non - mesophase is oriented , as well as drawn into elongated domains , during spinning by these shear forces and the orienting effects exerted by the mesophase domains as they are elongated . isotropic regions may also be present , although they may not be visible and are difficult to differentiate from those anisotropic regions which happen to show extinction . characteristically , the oriented elongated domains have diameters in excess of 5000 a , generally from about 10 , 000 a to about 40 , 000 a , and because of their large size are easily observed when examined by conventional polarized light microscopy techniques at a magnification of 1000 . ( the maximum resolving power of a standard polarized light microscope having a magnification factor of 1000 is only a few tenths of a micron [ 1 micron = 10 , 000 a ] and anisotropic domains having dimensions of 1000 a or less cannot be detected by this technique .) while fibers spun from a pitch containing in excess of about 85 percent by weight mesophase often retain their shape when carbonized without any prior thermosetting , fibers spun from a pitch containing less than about 85 percent by weight mesophase require some thermosetting before they can be carbonized . thermosetting of the fibers is readily affected by heating the fibers in an oxygen - containing atmosphere for a time sufficient to render them infusible . the oxygen - containing atmosphere employed may be pure oxygen or an oxygen - rich atmosphere . most conveniently , air is employed as the oxidizing atmosphere . the time required to effect thermosetting of the fibers will , of course , vary with such factors as the particular oxidizing atmosphere , the temperature employed , the diameter of the fibers , the particular pitch from which the fibers are prepared , and the mesophase content of such pitch . generally , however , thermosetting of the fibers can be effected in relatively short periods of time , usually in from about 5 minutes to about 60 minutes . the temperature employed to effect thermosetting of the fibers must , of course , not exceed the temperature at which the fibers will soften or distort . the maximum temperature which can be employed will thus depend upon the particular pitch from which the fibers were spun , and the mesophase content of such pitch . the higher the mesophase content of the pitch , the higher will be its softening temperature , and the higher the temperature which can be employed to effect thermosetting of the fibers . at higher temperatures , of course , fibers of a given diameter can be thermoset in less time than is possible at lower temperatures . fibers prepared from a pitch having a lower mesophase content , on the other hand , require relatively longer heat treatment at somewhat lower temperatures to render them infusible . a minimum temperature of at least 250 ° c . is generally necessary to effectively thermoset the carbonaceous fibers produced in accordance with the invention . temperatures in excess of 400 ° c . may cause melting and / or excessive burn - off of the fibers and should be avoided . preferably , temperatures of from about 275 ° c . to about 350 ° c . are employed . at such temperatures , thermosetting can generally be effected within from about 5 minutes to about 60 minutes . since it is undesirable to oxidize the fibers more than necessary to render them totally infusible , the fibers are generally not heated for longer than about 60 minutes , or at temperatures in excess of 400 ° c . after the fibers have been thermoset , the infusible fibers are carbonized by heating in an inert atmosphere , such as that described above , to a temperature sufficiently elevated to remove hydrogen and other volatiles and produce a substantially all - carbon fiber . fibers having a carbon content greater than about 98 percent by weight can generally be produced by heating to a temperature in excess of about 1000 ° c ., and at temperatures in excess of about 1500 ° c ., the fibers are completely carbonized . usually , carbonization is effected at a temperature of from about 1000 ° c . to about 2000 ° c ., preferably from about 1500 ° c . to about 1900 ° c . generally , residence times of from about 0 . 5 minute to about 25 minutes , preferably from about 1 minute to about 5 minutes , are employed . while more extended heating times can be employed with good results , such residence times are uneconomical and , as a practical matter , there is no advantage in employing such long periods . in order to ensure that the rate of weight loss of the fibers does not become so excessive as to disrupt the fiber structure , it is preferred to heat the fibers for a brief period at a temperature of from about 700 ° c . to about 900 ° c . before they are heated to their final carbonization temperature . residence times at these temperatures of from about 30 seconds to about 5 minutes are usually sufficient . preferably , the fibers are heated at a temperature of about 700 ° c . for about one - half minute and then at a temperature of about 900 ° c . for like time . in any event , the heating rate must be controlled so that the volatization does not proceed at an excessive rate . in a preferred method of heat treatment , continuous filaments of the fibers are passed through a series of heating zones which are held at successively higher temperatures . if desired , the first of such zones may contain an oxidizing atmosphere where thermosetting of the fibers is effected . several arrangements of apparatus can be utilized in providing the series of heating zones . thus , one furnace can be used with the fibers being passed through the furnace several times and with the temperature being increased each time . alternatively , the fibers may be given a single pass through several furnaces , with each successive furnace being maintained at a higher temperature than that of the previous furnace . also , a single furnace with several heating zones maintained at successively higher temperatures in the direction of travel of the fibers , can be used . the carbon fibers produced in this manner have a highly oriented structure characterized by the presence of carbon crystallites preferentially aligned parallel to the fiber axis , and are graphitizable materials which when heated to graphitizing temperatures develop the three - dimensional order characteristic of polycrystalline graphite and graphitic - like properties associated therewith , such as high density and low electrical resistivity . if desired , the carbonized fibers may be further heated in an inert atmosphere , as described hereinbefore , to a still higher temperature in a range of from about 2500 ° c . to about 3300 ° c ., preferably from about 2800 ° c . to about 3000 ° c ., to produce fibers having not only a high degree of preferred orientation of their carbon crystallites parallel to the fiber axis , but also a structure characteristic of polycrystalline graphite . a residence time of about 1 minute is satisfactory , although both shorter and longer times may be employed , e . g ., from about 10 seconds to about 5 minutes , or longer . residence times longer than 5 minutes are uneconomical and unnecessary , but may be employed if desired . the fibers produced by heating at a temperature above about 2500 ° c ., preferably above about 2800 ° c ., are characterized as having the three - dimensional order of polycrystalline graphite . this three - dimensional order is established by the x - ray diffraction pattern of the fibers , specifically by the presence of the ( 112 ) cross - lattice line and the resolution of the ( 10 ) band into two distinct lines , ( 100 ) and ( 101 ). the short arcs which constitute the ( 00λ ) bands of the pattern show the carbon crystallites of the fibers to be preferentially aligned parallel to the fiber axis . microdensitometer scanning of the ( 002 ) band of the exposed x - ray film indicate this preferred orientation to be no more than about 10 °, usually from about 5 ° to about 10 ° ( expressed as the full width at half maximum of the azimuthal intensity distribution ). apparent layer size ( l a ) and apparent stack height ( l c ) of the crystallites are in excess of 1000 a and are thus too large to be measured by x - ray techniques . the interlayer spacing ( d ) of the crystallites , calculated from the distance between the corresponding ( 00λ ) diffraction arcs , is no more than 3 . 37 a , usually from 3 . 36 a to 3 . 37 a . the following example is set forth for purposes of illustration so that those skilled in the art may better understand the invention . it should beunderstood that it is exemplary only , and should not be construed as limiting the invention in any manner . a commercial petroleum pitch was employed to produce a pitch having a mesophase content of about 53 percent by weight . the precursor pitch had anumber average molecular weight of 400 , a density of 1 . 23 grams / cc ., a softening temperature of 120 ° c ., and contained 0 . 83 percent by weight quinoline insolubles ( q . i . was determined by quinoline extraction at 75 ° c .). chemical analysis showed a carbon content of 93 . 0 %, a hydrogen content of 5 . 6 %, a sulfur content of 1 . 1 % and 0 . 044 % ash . the mesophase pitch was produced by heating 60 grams of the precursor pitchin a 86 cc . reactor to a temperature of about 200 ° c . over a one hour period , then increasing the temperature of the pitch from about 200 ° c . to about 400 ° c . at a rate of about 30 ° c . per hour , and maintaining the pitch at about 400 ° c . for an additional 12 hours . the pitch was continuously stirred during this time and nitrogen gas was continuously bubbled through the pitch at a rate of 0 . 2 scfh . the pitch produced in this manner had a pyridine insoluble content of 53 percent , indicating a mesophase content of close to 53 percent . the pitch could be easily spun into fibers , and a considerable quantity of fiber wasproduced by spinning the pitch through a spinnerette ( 0 . 015 inch diameter hole ) at a temperature of 368 ° c . the filament passed through a nitrogen atmosphere as it left the spinnerette and before it was taken up by a reel . a portion of the fiber produced in this manner was heated in oxygen for sixminutes at 390 ° c . the resulting oxidized fibers were totally infusible and could be heated at elevated temperatures without sagging . after heating the infusible fibers to 1900 ° c . over a period of about 10 minutes in a nitrogen atmosphere , the fibers were found to have atensile strength of 171 × 10 3 psi . and a young &# 39 ; s modulus of elasticity of 46 × 10 6 psi . ( tensile strength and young &# 39 ; s modulus are the average values of 10 samples .) for comparative purposes , a mesophase pitch was prepared from the same precursor pitch and in the same manner described above except that while the pitch was prepared under a nitrogen atmosphere , the nitrogen was not allowed to bubble through the pitch . thirty - two hours of heating at 400 ° c . were required to produce a mesophase pitch having a pyridine insoluble content of 50 percent . | 2 |
two known x - ray radioscopy devices 11 , 11 a are shown schematically in fig1 a and 1 b . each of these has an x - ray source 1 from which a beam path 10 sweeps an item of luggage 2 . the transmitted x - radiation is recorded by a line detector 3 , 3 a . the geometric design of the line detectors 3 , 3 a is known in different forms . only a common l - shaped detector unit is discussed below . such a detector is called l - shaped detector 3 . fig2 a and 2 b show an x - ray picture 2 a , 2 b of different items of luggage 2 respectively which were recorded in a x - ray radioscopy apparatus 11 with l - shaped detector 3 . a distortion along the horizontal axis is clearly visible here . the origin of this is in the angle resolution . a beam of rays with an angle width covers different - sized areas of the l - shaped detector 3 . in particular at the point at which the horizontal detector 30 passes into the vertical detector 31 , a strong distortion of the picture 2 a , 2 b of the item of luggage 2 is observed . this is the case in the left - hand region of the respective picture 2 a , 2 b in fig2 a and 2 b . in addition , objects in the item of luggage 2 which are different heights are mapped under certain circumstances onto the same detector element . this distortion greatly hinders the analysis of the picture 2 a , 2 b of the item of luggage 2 . the information density is not evenly distributed over the picture 2 a , 2 b . in some regions , in particular in the strongly compressed regions in the left - hand section of fig2 a , 2 b , a lot of data is stored in a very small area . added to this is the optical distortion which occurs for the reasons described above which considerably hinder an interpretation of such pictures 2 a , 2 b . it can be emphasized that a comparison between x - ray pictures 2 a , 2 b of the same item of luggage 2 which were carried out by different line scanners is greatly impeded . to date , attempts have not been made to solve this problem by carrying out a rectification of the pictures 2 a , 2 b of the item of luggage 2 , but by means of dual - energy images . such apparatuses serve to convey a suspicion , which is then examined by other analysis methods . to date another possibility was to change the position of the item of luggage 2 so that the strongly skewed region is moved into a less skewed region . the schematic course of a method according to the invention for the rectification of a x - ray picture 2 a , 2 b of an item of luggage 2 is shown in fig3 . the method according to the invention is based on the method described above for the skewed recording of an x - ray picture 2 a , 2 b of an item of luggage 2 within an x - ray radioscopy device 11 with an x - ray source 1 and an l - shaped detector 3 . the line - scan images obtained were regularly subjected to an optical calibration 4 or another known calibration or an image processing . with the dual - energy systems a colour coding takes place in the process , which corresponds to the order number of the object seen inside the item of luggage 2 . suspicious regions were marked and the data of this preprocessing then transmitted to a display or image - processing apparatus 9 . for example an image distribution computer was used which sends the image data to one or various operators . the optical calibration 4 is still advantageously used . in addition however a transmission 5 of the geometric data of the mapping geometry of the x - ray radioscopy device 11 is carried out . in addition the determination 6 of the position of the projection plane is carried out by measuring the height of the item of luggage 2 and these data likewise transmitted . the height of the item of luggage 2 can preferably be measured using a light barrier . the skewed x - ray picture 2 b of the item of luggage 2 obtained due to the optical calibration 4 is subjected to the geometric rescaling 7 . it is assumed that the x - ray picture 2 b is the projection of an areal object . whilst the actual intensity value of a detector element can be calculated from i = ∫ 0 1 ⅆ s f ( s ) , f ( s ) representing the absorption properties of the transilluminated medium along the beam , the assumption is made here that the intensity value can be calculated from i = ∫ 0 1 ⅆ s δ ( s - s 0 ) f ′ ( s ) . the point s 0 lies on a particular plane . this plane can optionally be modified . for each detector element the beam path 10 is tracked onto the s 0 plane . the chosen s 0 plane is at half the height of the item of luggage 2 which has been previously established for example by means of a light barrier . it goes without saying that every other s 0 plane can also be used . the advantage of using the s 0 plane at half the height of the item of luggage 2 is that the maximum distortion is lowest as the distance of each object within the item of luggage 2 to the s 0 plane is at most half the height of the item of luggage . the rectified x - ray picture 8 b established by the geometric resealing 7 is passed to and displayed on the display or image - processing apparatus 9 . it is thus possible for the security staff to obtain a predominantly rectified x - ray picture 8 b of the item of luggage 2 and to be able to better recognize the objects contained therein . the rectified x - ray pictures 8 a , 8 b of the two items of luggage 2 a , 2 b shown in fig2 a and 2 b are shown in fig4 a and 4 b . the rectified x - ray pictures 8 a , 8 b look clearer and the objects contained in the item of luggage 2 can be more easily recognized . the problem of distortion depending on the distance of an object inside the item of luggage 2 a , 2 b from the s 0 plane can be observed particularly well in fig4 b . the projection plane here was not set at half the height of the item of luggage 2 , but at the height of the conveyor belt . therefore objects , which are located near the conveyor belt are only slightly skewed . objects , which are higher up , in particular near the top of the item of luggage 2 , are more strongly skewed . however this can be corrected by changing the projection plane . the regions in the left - hand halves of the images , which are strongly compressed in fig2 a and 2 b are greatly de - skewed in fig4 a and 4 b . as a result the analysis of objects , which are located in these regions is much simplified . the method according to the invention can also be carried out in real time because of its low computational outlay . in fact , only the image data and the detector geometries are required . thus every existing line - scan system can be equipped with such a method according to the invention without difficulty . 2 a , 2 b x - ray picture of the item of luggage 8 a , 8 b de - skewed x - ray picture of the item of luggage | 6 |
fig1 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process for extracting phas from a biomass having one or more phas contained within other non - pha , biomass - associated materials ( e . g ., cellular matter , water ). the biomass is contacted with a pha extraction solvent to form a mixture . the pha extraction solvent is capable of forming an azeotrope ( e . g ., a minimum boiling azeotrope ) with a pha receiving solvent that is introduced later in the process . the mixture is agitated ( e . g ., stirred ) to provide a combination that includes two phases : the “ pha phase ” and the “ residual biomass phase .” the pha phase is formed of a solution containing the extracted , solubilized phas , the pha extraction solvent , and , in some instances , trace amounts of the non - pha , biomass - associated materials . the residual biomass phase is formed of a residual biomass having a reduced pha content , the non - pha , biomass - associated materials and , in some instances , a carry over portion of the pha extraction solvent . the pha phase and the residual biomass are then separated . in some embodiments , the two phases can be separated using an appropriate device that exploits centrifugal force to facilitate the separation ( e . g . disc centrifuge , bowl centrifuge , decanter centrifuge , hydroclone , countercurrent centrifugal contactor ). optionally , one or more solvents can be added to the device that exploits centrifugal force to facilitate the separation . the pha phase is introduced into a system ( e . g ., a distillation or evaporation apparatus ) containing the pha receiving solvent to form a second combination . the system is maintained at a temperature and pressure such that the pha extraction solvent of the pha phase and a portion of the pha receiving solvent are removed from the second combination in the gaseous state as an azeotropic mixture . the gaseous azeotropic mixture is condensed to form a third combination that includes the pha extraction solvent and the pha receiving solvent in the liquid state . when the pha extraction solvent is immiscible with the pha receiving solvent ( e . g ., when the pha extraction solvent and the pha receiving solvent form a heterogeneous azeotrope ), the two solvents forming the third combination can be physically separated ( e . g ., by decanting one solvent away from the other ). precipitation of the pha in the pha receiving solvent occurs when the pha extraction solvent is removed ( e . g ., substantially removed ) from the second combination as described above . the solid pha is separated from the pha receiving solvent ( e . g ., by filtration ). optionally , the isolated pha can be further washed with one or more additional solvents to remove impurities that still may be present . in general , the pha extraction solvent and the pha receiving solvent can have one or more of the following properties : ( 1 ) the pha extraction solvent is capable of dissolving the pha to form a substantially uniform solution at the molecular level ; ( 2 ) the pha receiving solvent has a relatively low solvent power for the pha to be isolated ; and ( 3 ) the pha extraction solvent forms an azeotrope with the pha receiving solvent when the pha extraction solvent / pha receiving solvent combination is brought to its boiling point ( e . g ., by heating the combination ). in some embodiments , the pha extraction solvent forms a heterogeneous azeotrope with the pha receiving solvent when the pha extraction solvent / pha receiving solvent combination is brought to its boiling point ( e . g ., by heating the combination ). the vapor phase can subsequently form two immiscible liquid layers when it is condensed ( e . g . by cooling the vapor phase with a condenser ). as used herein , the term “ azeotrope ” refers to a constant boiling , liquid mixture of two or more components that cannot be separated by fractional distillation into its substantially pure , constituent components , regardless of the efficiency of the fractioning column . in some embodiments , the pha extraction solvent forms a minimum boiling azeotrope with the pha receiving solvent , in which the boiling point of the pha extraction solvent / pha receiving solvent combination is lower than both the boiling point of the substantially pure pha extraction solvent and the substantially pure pha receiving solvent . in some embodiments , the pha extraction solvent forms a maximum boiling azeotrope with the pha receiving solvent , in which the boiling point of the pha extraction solvent / pha receiving solvent combination is higher than both the boiling point of the substantially pure pha extraction solvent and the substantially pure pha receiving solvent . in general , the number of pha extraction solvents and pha receiving solvents can be selected as desired . as an example , a single pha extraction solvent can form a binary azeotrope ( e . g ., a minimum boiling azeotrope ) with a single pha receiving solvent . as another example , a single pha extraction solvent can form a ternary azeotrope ( e . g ., a minimum boiling azeotrope ) with two different pha receiving solvents . as a further example , two different pha extraction solvents can form a ternary azeotrope ( e . g ., a minimum boiling azeotrope ) with a single pha receiving solvent . in some embodiments two or more pha extraction solvents ( e . g ., three pha extraction solvents , four extraction solvents , five extraction solvents ) can form a multicomponent azeotrope ( e . g ., four components , five components , six components , seven components , eight components , nine components , ten components ) with two or more pha receiving solvents ( e . g ., three pha receiving solvents , four receiving solvents , five receiving solvents ). the choice of a pha extraction solvent / pha receiving solvent combination depends on the given pha to be purified and the desired boiling point of pha extraction solvent / pha receiving solvent azeotrope . without wishing to be bound by theory , it is believed that appropriate pha extraction and receiving solvents for a given pha can be selected by substantially matching appropriate solvation parameters ( e . g ., dispersive forces , hydrogen bonding forces and / or polarity ) of the given pha and solvents . for example , a relatively nonpolar pha can be matched with a relatively nonpolar pha extraction solvent . again , without wishing to be bound by theory , it is believed that appropriate pha extraction and receiving solvents for a given pha can be selected by determining which of the candidate pha extraction solvent / pha receiving solvent combinations forms an azeotrope having the desired boiling point . in some embodiments , the desired azeotropic boiling point can be selected on the basis of the melt temperature ( t m ) of the pha to be isolated . solvation parameters are disclosed , for example , in hansen , solubility parameters — a user &# 39 ; s handbook , crc press , ny , n . y . ( 2000 ). azeotropic data are disclosed , for example , in weast , r . c ., ed ., crc handbook of chemistry and physics , 63 rd edition , crc press , boca raton , fla . ( 1982 ) and references described therein . the pha receiving solvent can be water , or a relatively highly polar or nonpolar organic solvent . organic pha receiving solvents can include , e . g ., alkanes or simple alcohols ( e . g ., methanol or ethanol ). in some embodiments , the solubility of the pha in the pha receiving solvent is less than about 0 . 2 percent ( e . g ., less than about 0 . 1 percent ) of the pha at 20 ° c . in general , the pha extraction solvent can be an organic solvent . pha extraction solvents can be , for example , ketones , esters , alcohols ( e . g ., alcohols having at least four carbons ), and alkanes . in general , the ketones can be cyclic or acyclic , straight - chained or branched , and / or substituted or unsubstituted . examples of acyclic ketones and cyclic ketones include methyl isobutyl ketone (“ mibk ”), 3 - methyl - 2 - pentanone ( butyl methyl ketone ), 4 - methyl - 2 - pentanone ( methyl isobutyl ketone ), 3 - methyl - 2 - butanone ( methyl isopropyl ketone ), 2 - pentanone ( methyl n - propyl ketone ), diisobutyl ketone , 2 - hexanone ( methyl n - butyl ketone ), 3 - pentanone ( diethyl ketone ), 2 - methyl - 3 - heptanone ( butyl isopropyl ketone ), 2 - heptanone , 3 - heptanone ( ethyl n - butyl ketone ), 4 - heptanone , 2 - octanone ( methyl n - hexyl ketone ), 5 - methyl - 3 - heptanone ( ethyl amyl ketone ), 5 - methyl - 2 - hexanone ( methyl iso - amyl ketone ), heptanone ( pentyl methyl ketone ), cyclo - pentanone , cyclo - hexanone . in general , the esters can be cyclic or acyclic , straight - chained or branched , and / or substituted or unsubstituted . examples of acyclic esters and cyclic esters include ethyl acetate , isobutyl acetate , propyl acetate , butyl acetate , amyl acetate , isoamyl acetate , hexyl acetate , ethyl butyrate , butyl isobutyrate , isobutyl butyrate , isobutyl isobutyrate , methyl n - butyrate , isoamyl butyrate , propyl propionoate , isopropyl propionoate , butyl propionate , isobutyl propionate , isoamyl propionoate , butyl butyrate , methyl valerate , ethyl valerate , propyl isovalerate , methyl caproate , ethyl butyrate , ethyl acetate , gamma - butyrolactone , gamma - valerolactone . in general , the alcohols having at least four carbon atoms can be cyclic or acyclic , straight - chained or branched , and / or substituted or unsubstituted . examples of such cyclic alcohols and acyclic alcohols include n - butanol , sec - butyl alcohol , methyl - 1 - butanol , ethyl - 1 - butanol , 3 - methyl - 1 - butanol ( amyl alcohol ), 2 - methyl - 1 - pentanol , 2 - methyl - 2 - butanol ( tert - amyl alcohol ), 3 - methyl - 2 - pentanol ( methyl iso - butyl carbinol ), methyl - 2 - pentanol , 4 - methyl - 2 - pentanol , butyl alcohol , pentyl alcohol , 2 - pentyl alocohol , hexyl alcohol , heptyl alcohol , cyclo - hexanol , methyl - cyclo - hexanol and fusel oil ( a mixture of higher alcohols , which is often a by - product of alcohol distillation , and typically is predominantly amyl alcohol ( methyl butanol )). in general , the alkanes can be cyclic or acyclic , straight - chained or branched , and / or substituted or unsubstituted . in some embodiments , the alkanes include straight - chain alkanes and have five or more carbon atoms ( e . g ., heptane , hexane , octane , nonane , dodecane ). in certain embodiments the alkanes include isoalkanes ( e . g . methyl heptane , methyl octane , dimethyl heptane ). in certain embodiments , soltrole ® 100 ( a mixture of c9 - c11 isoalkanes , commercially available from chevron phillips chemical company located in houston , tex .) can be used . in some embodiments , the pha extraction solvent is non - halogenated . using a non - halogenated solvent can be advantageous because this can reduce the negative environmental impact of the solvent , reduce the health risks associated with using the solvent , and / or reduce the costs associated with storing , handling and / or disposing the solvent . in certain embodiments , the pha extraction solvent can have a relatively low density . for example , pha extraction can have a density of less than about 0 . 95 kilograms per liter ( e . g ., less than about 0 . 9 kilograms per liter , less than about 0 . 8 kilograms per liter , less than about 0 . 7 kilograms per liter ) at 20 ° c . without wishing to be bound by theory , it is believed that using a relatively low density pha extraction can enhance the quality of the separation of the pha phase from the residual biomass phase . in some embodiments , the pha extraction solvent has a relatively low solubility in water . for example , pha extraction solvent can have a solubility in water of less than about one percent ( e . g ., less than about 0 . 5 percent , less than about 0 . 2 percent ) at 20 ° c . a pha extraction solvent with a relatively low solubility in water can be desirable because such a solvent is less likely to intermix with water . this can enhance the ease of providing two separate phases during the process , thereby reducing the cost and / or complexity of the process . in certain embodiments , the pha extraction solvent is substantially non - hydrolyzable . for example , the solvent can be at most as hydrolyzable as ethyl acetate . using a substantially non - hydrolyzable pha extraction solvent can reduce the likelihood of undesirable side product formation ( e . g ., chemically reactive species , such as organic acids ). this can reduce the amount and / or rate of , for example , corrosion of portions ( e . g ., plumbing ) of the system in which the pha extraction is performed . in some embodiments , the pha extraction solvent can have a higher boiling point than the pha receiving solvent . in some embodiments it can be desirable for the pha extraction solvent to have a boiling point of at most about 200 ° c . ( e . g ., at most about 190 ° c ., at most about 180 ° c ., at most about 170 ° c ., at most about 160 ° c ., at most about 150 ° c .). while not wishing to be bound by theory , it is believed that using such a pha extraction solvent can enhance the ease of drying the isolated pha and thereby minimize the amount of undesirable residual solvent that is associated with the isolated pha . in certain embodiments , the pha extraction solvent ( e . g ., mibk ) can further include a relatively small volume of a pha receiving solvent ( e . g ., n - heptane ). this added pha receiving solvent is generally miscible with the pha extraction solvent and can be the same or different as the pha receiving solvent used to receive the isolated pha . without wishing to be bound by theory , it is believed that including a pha receiving solvent in the pha extraction solvent can reduce the viscosity of a solution ( e . g ., the pha phase ) containing the pha and the pha extraction solvent and / or enhance the selectivity of the process in extracting the desired pha . in some embodiments , the added pha receiving solvent is different than the pha receiving solvent used to receive the isolated pha ( e . g ., embodiments having a pha receiving solvent - 1 for receiving the pha and a pha receiving solvent - 2 that is added to the pha extraction solvent ). in certain embodiments , the amount of pha receiving solvent - 2 is such that the vapor pressure maximum of the pha extraction solvent / pha receiving solvent - 1 combination is not substantially altered . for example , the ratio of the volume of pha receiving solvent added to the volume of pha extraction solvent is less than about 0 . 10 ( e . g ., less than about 0 . 07 , less than about 0 . 05 , less than about 0 . 02 ). in some embodiments , the pha receiving solvent - 2 can form a ternary azeotrope with the pha extraction solvent and the pha receiving solvent - 1 . in some embodiments , the pha receiving solvent - 2 and the pha extraction solvent can each form a binary azeotrope with the pha receiving solvent - 1 . in certain embodiments , the binary azeotrope formed from the pha receiving solvent - 2 / pha receiving solvent - 1 combination can have a boiling point within about 10 ° c . ( e . g . within 8 ° c ., within 6 ° c ., within 5 ° c .) of the boiling point of the pha extraction solvent / pha receiving solvent - 1 combination . while not wishing to be bound by theory , it is believed that forming a ternary azeotrope ( e . g ., pha extraction solvent / pha receiving solvent - 2 / pha receiving solvent - 1 ) or a close boiling pair of binary azeotropes ( e . g ., pha extraction solvent / pha receiving solvent - 1 and pha receiving solvent - 2 / pha receiving solvent - 1 ) facilitates complete recovery of both the pha extraction solvent and pha receiving solvent - 2 for efficient recycle and re - use , e . g ., when the gaseous azeotropic mixture is condensed to form a third combination that includes the pha extraction solvent , pha receiving solvent - 1 , and pha receiving solvent - 2 . in certain embodiments , the pha receiving solvent - 2 has a relatively low solubility or is immiscible with the pha receiving solvent - 1 to allow efficient separation and recycling ( e . g . by decanting with the pha extraction solvent after forming the third combination ). useful pha extraction solvent / pha receiving solvent combinations include those in which the pha receiving solvent is water and the pha extraction solvent is a solvent that can form a minimum boiling azeotrope with water . in some embodiments , the minimum boiling azeotrope can have a boiling point of from about 60 ° c . to about 99 ° c . at 1 atmosphere ( atm ) ( e . g ., from about 65 ° c . to about 95 ° c ., from about 70 ° c . to about 95 ° c ., from about 75 ° c . to about 95 ° c ., from about 80 ° c . to about 95 ° c ., from about 85 ° c . to about 95 ° c ., from about 90 ° c . to about 95 ° c .). in some embodiments , the boiling point of the minimum boiling azeotrope can be at least about 10 ° c . less ( e . g ., at least about 20 ° c . less , at least about 30 ° c . less ) than the melt temperature ( t m ) of the pha . while not wishing to be bound by theory , it is believed that such an azeotrope can minimize the likelihood of gel formation during the precipitation step . again , while not wishing to be bound by theory , it is also believed that such an azeotrope can be removed at a pressure corresponding to a relatively modest vacuum ( e . g ., at least about about 10 kpa ( absolute ), at least about 20 kpa ( absolute ), at least about 30 kpa ( absolute )) and at a relatively low temperature ( e . g ., from about 30 ° c . to about 60 ° c .). this can minimize the likelihood of needing to perform a relatively energy intensive distillation to remove the pha extraction solvent as a minimum boiling azeotrope with water . in some embodiments , the pha extraction solvent has a boiling point greater than 100 ° c . in certain embodiments , the pha extraction solvent is non - halogenated , has relatively low ( e . g ., less than ethyl acetate ) water solubility , and relatively low reactivity from the perspective of hydrolysis and / or from the perspective of reactivity towards the polymer . in certain embodiments , the pha extraction solvent is mibk and forms a azeotrope with water having about a 25 % water content and an azeotropic boiling point of about 88 ° c . in general , the pha extraction solvent is removed as an azeotropic mixture with the pha receiving solvent by distillation or evaporation ( e . g . multi - stage evaporation to effect substantially complete recovery of the pha extraction solvent ). in some embodiments , the distillation or evaporation can be carried out at a pressure corresponding to a relatively modest vacuum . for example , the distillation or evaporation can be carried out at a pressure ( absolute ) of at most about 50 kilopascals ( kpa ) ( e . g ., at most about 40 kpa , at most about 30 kpa , at most about 20 kpa , at most about 10 kpa ). in some embodiments , the distillation or evaporation can be carried out at a relatively low temperature . for example , the distillation or evaporation can be carried out at a temperature of at most about 60 ° c . ( e . g ., at most about 50 ° c ., at most about 40 ° c ., at most about 30 ° c ., at most about 25 ° c ., at most about 20 ° c .). in some embodiments the pha phase can be combined with the pha receiving solvent prior to the start of the distillation or evaporation . in some embodiments , the pha phase can be introduced into a system ( e . g ., a distillation or evaporative apparatus ) containing the pha receiving solvent , in which the system is maintained at a temperature and pressure that is sufficient to form and remove the pha extraction solvent / pha receiving solvent azeotropic mixture from the system in the gas phase ( see , e . g ., fig1 ). in certain embodiments , the pha phase can be introduced ( e . g ., injected ) portionwise into the system . in some embodiments , it can be desirable to introduce the pha phase into the system at a relatively slow rate . for example , the pha phase can be introduced at a rate of at most about 2 gpm ( gallon per minute ) pha phase per 100 gal of pha receiving solvent ( e . g ., at most about 4 gpm / 100 gal ., at most about 3 gpm / 100 gal ., at most about 2 gpm / 100 gal ., at most about 1 gpm / 100 gal ., at most about 0 . 5 gpm / 1100 gal .). in some embodiments , the pha phase can be introduced at a rate that is substantially similar to the rate at which the azeotropic distillate is collected . in some embodiments , the pha phase / pha receiving solvent mixture is agitated during the distillation using high shear devices such as high shear impellers ( e . g ., a flat blade turbine ). the shear rates are determined by the tip speeds of the various devices and can be varied between , for example , from about 100 revolutions per minute ( rpm ) to about 500 rpm ( e . g ., 300 rpm ). without wishing to be bound by theory , it is believed that the high shear mixing can , under certain conditions , improve the quality of the precipitated pha . in general , the pha is received in solid form ( e . g ., as polymer granules , as a crystalline solid ) in the pha receiving solvent upon removal of the pha extraction solvent from the pha phase . in some embodiments , the pha is received in solid form when the pha extraction solvent is substantially removed from the pha phase . in some embodiments , the pha receiving solvent is substantially free of gel or gel - like formations during the receiving of the pha . the pha is then separated from the pha receiving solvent . this separation can be performed by , for example , filtration or centrifugation ( e . g ., using a basket centrifuge , using a vacuum belt filter ). in some embodiments the pha can be obtained as relatively incompressible and nonfibrous solid . while not wishing to be bound by theory , it is believed that such incompressible and nonfibrous solids have enhanced filtration and cake washing characteristics , thereby facilitating pha isolation and purification , respectively . the suitability of the pha solids for filtration and cake washing operations is characterized by the particle size distribution determined by screening the pha solids through a set of screens stacked as a rack with the screens having the largest size openings on the top and the smallest size openings at the bottom . typical screen deck sizes will range from about 0 . 25 millimeters ( mm ) to about 6 mm . after passing a representative sample of the pha solids through the screen deck , the fractions are collected and weighed and expressed as a percentage of the total being retained on each screen deck . typically the screen deck is affixed to a suitable shaker after loading the sample to the top screen to facilitate efficient fractionation . in some embodiments , the pha solids will be relatively free of fines ( e . g . less than about 10 %, less than about 5 %, less than about 2 . 5 % of cumulative material of size less than about 0 . 25 mm ) and also be relatively free of oversize material that could settle in equipment thereby causing blockages ( e . g . less than 10 %, 5 %, 2 . 5 % cumulative material of size greater than 5 mm ). suitable methods for determining particle size distribution using a screening test is disclosed in astm - d 1921 - 01 . in some embodiments , the pha can be obtained as a solid having a relatively high bulk density . for example the pha can have a bulk density of at least about 0 . 200 kilograms ( kg )/ liter ( l ) or kg / cubic meter ( m 3 ) ( e . g ., at least about 0 . 200 kg / l , at least about 0 . 250 kg / l , at least about 0 . 300 kg / l , at least about 0 . 350 kg / l , at least about 0 . 400 kg / l , at least about 0 . 450 kg / l , at least about 0 . 500 kg / l , at least about 0 . 600 kg / l ). bulk density can be determined using tapped bulk density measured in a measuring cylinder according to astm - d 527 - 93 . in some embodiments , the pha can be obtained as polymer granules having a relatively large diameter . for example , the polymer granules can have a diameter of at least about 0 . 5 millimeters ( mm ) ( e . g ., at least about 1 . 0 mm , at least about 1 . 5 mm , at least about 2 . 0 mm , at least about 2 . 5 mm ). typically , the precipitated pha is then washed to assist removing undesired impurities , such as remaining solvents . in some embodiments , the polymer can be washed with a solvent ( e . g ., mibk , methanol , or a mixture of solvents ). usually , the composition for washing is selected to reduce ( e . g ., minimize ) the re - dissolution of the pha and / or to enhance ( e . g ., maximize ) removal of impurities . in certain embodiments , the isolated pha can be further purified by washing with an alcohol ( e . g . methanol ) and using a countercurrent cascade ( e . g ., beginning with relatively impure methanol from a prior step and finishing with relatively pure methanol ). in some embodiments , this washing step can be conducted at elevated temperature and appropriate residence time to further facilitate the washing and removal of impurities . in general , the total volume of pha filter cake methanol washings can represent a relatively very small volume that can readily be re - purified ( e . g . using filtration , activated carbon , flashing from non - volatile impurities or distillation ) and re - used . typically , the washed , precipitated pha is dried ( e . g ., at a temperature of from about 40 ° c . to about 100 ° c .). drying can be performed under vacuum ( e . g ., to assist in facilitating recovery of the residual solvent ). in certain embodiments it may be desirable to directly extrude the precipitated pha still containing solvent in , for example , a devolatilizing extruder . such extrusion can be performed , for example , at a temperature close to the polymer melting point , and the solvent can be recovered directly from the extruder . water can optionally be injected under pressure into the devolatilizing extruder ( e . g ., to generate steam in - situ to facilitate efficient stripping and removal of traces of residual solvent ). a gas stream ( e . g . air , co 2 or steam ) can optionally be injected into the extruder ( e . g ., to facilitate solvent removal ). extrusion can consolidate drying and product formation ( e . g . pelletizing ) operations into a single unit with , for example , capital and process operating cost savings . the azeotropic distillate can be further processed so that the pha extraction solvent and pha receiving solvent can be re - used . for example , in embodiments where the pha receiving solvent is water and the pha extraction solvent is a water immiscible solvent ( e . g ., mibk ), the two components can be separated by decanting , e . g ., the upper pha extraction solvent layer from the lower water layer . in some embodiments , the biomass can be provided as a slurry . typically , the slurry is provided by forming a fermentation broth containing water and the biomass , and removing a portion of the water from the fermentation broth . the water can be removed , for example , by filtration ( e . g ., microfiltration , membrane filtration ) and / or by decanting and / or by using centrifugal force . in certain embodiments , biomass impurities , such as cell wall and cell membrane impurities , can be removed during the process of providing the slurry . such impurities can include proteins , lipids ( e . g ., triglycerides , phospholipids , and lipoproteins ) and lipopolysaccharides . in other embodiments , dry biomass can be used . in certain embodiments , the dry biomass can be combined with water to provide a slurry . in some embodiments , adding a precipitant to the slurry before adding the solvent system can result in the formation of a relatively pure isolated , extracted pha ( e . g ., having a purity of at least about 99 %, a purity of at least about 99 . 5 %, or a purity of at least about 99 . 9 %). suitable precipitants include straight - chained or branched , substituted or unsubstituted alcohols and / or alkanes . the alkanes can be either cyclic or acyclic . examples of suitable alcohols that can be used as a precipitant include methanol , ethanol , propanol , and isopropanol . examples of suitable alkanes that can be used as a precipitant include hexane , cyclohexane , heptane , methyl heptane , dimethyl heptane , octane , methyl octane , and nonane . the precipitants mentioned herein can be purchased from commercial sources . for example , soltrol 100 ( a mixture of c9 - c11 isoalkanes ) is available from chevron phillips chemical company ( houston , tex .). the purity of the pha thus obtained can be determined by gas chromatography ( gc ) analysis ( e . g ., with a hewlett packard 5890 series ii gc equipped with supelco 24044 sbp - 1 column of 30 m × 0 . 32 mm id with 0 . 25 μm film ) following butanolysis of a pha sample under an acidic condition to form butyl esters of the pha monomeric units as well as the butyl esters of the lipids and phospholipids fatty acid residues . suitable standards of the fatty acids and hydroxy acids ( e . g . palmitic acid , stearic acid , oleic acid , linoleic acid , or 3 - hydroxy butyric acid ) can be used to calibrate , standardize , and quantify the chromatographic response . this method can be used to quantify both the polymer content as well as the impurity content . inorganic impurities can be quantified by ashing . without wishing to be bound by theory , it is believed that adding a precipitant to the slurry containing the pha prior to adding the solvent system can facilitate removing biomass impurities ( e . g ., phospholipids , neutral lipids , or lipoproteins ). this can be particularly advantageous if the pha solid content in the biomass is relatively high ( e . g ., having a pha solid content of at least about 65 % or at least about 75 %). the slurry can also be chemically pre - treated to obtain a relatively pure isolated , extracted pha ( e . g ., having a purity of at least about 99 % or at least about 99 . 5 %). for example , before adding the solvent system , the slurry can be treated with a basic material ( such as potassium hydroxide , sodium hydroxide and / or ammonium hydroxide ) to form a mild caustic mixture ( e . g ., having a ph of about 8 . 5 to about 10 , about 8 . 5 to about 9 , about 9 to about 9 . 5 , or about 9 . 5 to about 10 ) and then followed by neutralization . during the chemical pre - treatment to the slurry , the temperature can be elevated ( e . g . to any temperature between room temperature and about 95 ° c .) and other suitable chemicals , such as surfactants , detergents , and / or enzymes , can be added to further facilitate the formation of a relatively pure isolated , extracted pha . suitable surfactants and detergents include anionic surfactants ( e . g . sodium dodecyl sulphate ) and non - ionic surfactants ( e . g . tween 20 and tween 80 available from sigma aldrich ( st . louis , mo .) and hypermer cg - 6 available from uniqema ( new castle , del .)). suitable enzymes include lipases ( e . g ., lipolase or lipex available from novazymes ( bagsvaerd , denmark )), phospholipases ( e . g ., lecitase available from novazymes ( bagsvaerd , denmark )), nucleases ( e . g ., benzonase available from e . m . industries ( hawthorne n . y . )), proteases ( e . g . protex 6 l available from genencor ( palo alto , calif .) and alcalase available from novazymes ( bagsvaerd , denmark )), and lysozymes ( e . g . egg white lysozymes available from inovatech inc . ( british columbia , canada )). in some embodiments , complexing and sequestering agents , such as citric acid and edta , can also be used to further facilitate removal of impurities . without wishing to be bound by theory , it is believed that a chemical treatment ( e . g ., with a basic material to form a mild caustic mixture ) to the slurry prior to adding the solvent system can facilitate removing impurities present in the biomass ( e . g ., lipids , phospholipids , or lipoproteins ). this can be particularly advantageous if the pha solid content in the biomass is relatively high ( e . g ., having a pha solid content of at least about 65 %, at least about 75 %). in some embodiments , the slurry has a solids content ( e . g ., dry biomass , inclusive of its pha content , weight relative to total wet weight of slurry ) of from about 15 weight percent to about 40 weight percent ( e . g ., from about 25 weight percent to about 35 weight percent ). the pha content of the biomass ( e . g ., pha content of the dry biomass , inclusive of its polymer content , on a weight percent basis ) can be varied as desired . as an example , in embodiments in which the biomass is of microbial origin , the biomass can have a pha content of at least about 50 weight percent ( e . g ., at least about 60 weight percent , at least about 70 weight percent , at least about 80 weight percent ). as another example , in embodiments in which the biomass is of plant origin , the biomass can have a pha content of less than about 50 weight percent ( e . g ., less than about 40 weight percent , less than about 30 weight percent , less than about 20 weight percent ). the biomass can be formed of one or more of a variety of entities . such entities include , for example , microbial strains for producing phas ( e . g ., alcaligenes eutrophus ( renamed as ralstonia eutropha ), alcaligenes latus , azotobacter , aeromonas , comamonas , pseudomonads ), genetically engineered organisms for producing phas ( e . g ., pseudomonas , ralstonia , escherichia coli , klebsiella ), yeasts for producing phas , and plant systems for producing phas . such entities are disclosed , for example , in lee , biotechnology & amp ; bioengineering 49 : 1 - 14 ( 1996 ); braunegg et al ., ( 1998 ), j . biotechnology 65 : 127 - 161 ; madison and huisman , 1999 ; and snell and peoples 2002 , metabolic engineering 4 : 29 - 40 , which are hereby incorporated by reference . in embodiments in which the biomass contains microbial cells , the size of the microbial cells contained in the biomass can also be varied as desired . in general , the microbial cells ( e . g ., bacterial cells ) have at least one dimension with a size of at least about 0 . 2 micron ( e . g ., at least about 0 . 5 micron , at least about one micron , at least about two microns , at least about three microns , at least about four microns , at least about five microns ). in certain embodiments , using relatively large microbial cells ( e . g ., relatively large bacterial cells ) in the biomass can be advantageous because it can facilitate the separation of the biomass to form the biomass slurry . in general , a pha is formed by polymerization ( e . g ., enzymatic polymerization ) of one or more monomer units . examples of such monomer units include , for example , 3 - hydroxybutyrate , glycolic acid , 3 - hydroxypropionate , 3 - hydroxyvalerate , 3 - hydroxyhexanoate , 3 - hydroxyheptanoate , 3 - hydroxyoctanoate , 3 - hydroxynonaoate , 3 - hydroxydecanoate , 3 - hydroxydodecanoate , 3 - hydroxydodecenoate , 3 - hydroxytetradecanoate , 3 - hydroxyhexadecanoate , 3 - hydroxyoctadecanoate , 4 - hydroxybutyrate , 4 - hydroxyvalerate , 5 - hydroxyvalerate , and 6 - hydroxyhexanoate . in some embodiments , the pha has at least one monomer unit with the chemical formula — ocr 1 r 2 ( cr 3 r 4 ) n co —, in which n is zero or an integer ( e . g ., one , two , three , four , five , six , seven , eight , nine , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , etc .). each of r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and r 4 is a hydrogen atom , a saturated hydrocarbon radical , an unsaturated hydrocarbon radical , a substituted radical ( e . g ., a substituted hydrocarbon radical ) or an unsubstituted radical ( e . g ., an unsubstituted hydrocarbon radical ). examples of substituted radicals include halo - substituted radicals ( e . g ., halo substituted hydrocarbon radicals ), hydroxy - substituted radicals ( e . g ., hydroxy - substituted hydrocarbon radicals ), halogen radicals , nitrogen - substituted radicals ( e . g ., nitrogen - substituted hydrocarbon radicals ) and oxygen - substituted radicals ( e . g ., oxygen - substituted hydrocarbon radicals ). substituted radicals include , for example , substituted , saturated hydrocarbon radicals and substituted , unsaturated hydrocarbon radicals . r 1 is the same as or different from each of r 2 , r 3 and r 4 . r 2 is the same as or different from each of r 1 , r 3 and r 4 . r 3 is the same as or different from each of r 2 , r 1 and r 4 , and r 4 is the same as or different from each of r 2 , r 3 and r 1 . in some embodiments , the pha is a copolymer that contains two or more different monomer units . examples of such copolymers include poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 3 - hydroxypropionate , poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 3 - hydroxyvalerate , poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 3 - hydroxyhexanoate , poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 4 - hydroxybutyrate , poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 4 - hydroxyvalerate , poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 6 - hydroxyhexanoate , poly 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 3 - hydroxyheptanoate , poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 3 - hydroxyoctanoate , poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 3 - hydroxydecanoate , poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 3 - hydroxydodecanotate , poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 3 - hydroxyoctanoate - co - 3 - hydroxydecanoate , poly - 3 - hydroxydecanoate - co - 3 - hydroxyoctanoate , and poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 3 - hydroxyoctadecanoate . in certain embodiments , the pha is a homopolymer . examples of such homopolymers include poly - 4 - hydroxybutyrate , poly - 4 - hydroxyvalerate , poly - 3 - hydroxypropionate , poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate , poly - 3 - hydroxyhexanoate , poly - 3 - hydroxyheptanoate , poly - 3 - hydroxyoctanoate , poly - 3 - hydroxydecanoate and poly - 3 - hydroxydodecanoate . the pha can have a polystyrene equivalent weight average molecular weight of at least about 500 daltons ( e . g ., at least about 10 , 000 daltons , at least about 50 , 000 daltons ) and / or less than about 2 , 000 , 000 daltons ( e . g ., less than about 1 , 000 , 000 daltons , less than about 800 , 000 daltons ). as used herein , weight average molecular weight is determined by gel permeation chromatography , using e . g ., chloroform as both the eluent and diluent for the pha samples . calibration curves for determining molecular weights can be generated using polystyrene molecular weight standards . in general , the amount of pha extraction solvent added to biomass can be varied as desired . in certain embodiments , an amount of pha extraction solvent is added to the biomass so that , after centrifugation , the pha phase has a pha solids content of less than about 10 weight percent ( e . g ., less than about eight weight percent , less than about six weight percent , less than about five weight percent , less than about four weight percent , less than about three weight percent ). in certain embodiments in which the pha is a poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate copolymer ( e . g ., poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 3 - hydroxypropionate , poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 3 - hydroxyvalerate , poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 4 - hydroxyvalerate , poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 3 - hydroxyhexanoate and / or poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 4 - hydroxybutyrate , poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 3 - hydroxyoctanoate - co - 3 - hydroxydecanote - co - 3 - hydroxydodecanote ), where the majority of the monomer units are 3 - hydroxybutyrate ( e . g ., at least about 50 % of the monomer units are 3 - hydroxybutyrate , at least about 60 % of the monomer units are 3 - hydroxybutyrate ), candidate pha extraction solvents may be selected from ketones , esters or alcohols with at least four carbon atoms ; and candidate pha receiving solvents may be selected from alkanes , methanol , ethanol , or water . in some embodiments , when the pha is poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 4 - hydroxybutyrate , the pha extraction solvent can be mibk , butyl acetate , and cyclohexanone . in some embodiments , when the pha is phb , poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 3 - hydroxyvalerate , or poly - 3 - hydroxybutyrate - co - 3 - hydroxyhexanoate the pha extraction solvent can be cyclohexanone , cyclopentanone or mixtures of mibk and cyclohexanone . in general , the pha receiving solvent can be water when the pha extraction solvent includes ketones and esters having boiling points that are above about 100 ° c . in some embodiments in which the pha is poly - 3 - hydroxyoctanoate , the candidate pha extraction solvents may be selected from ketones , esters , alcohols with at least four carbon atoms or alkanes ( e . g ., hexane ); and candidate pha receiving solvents may be selected from methanol , ethanol , or water . in certain embodiments , contacting the biomass with the pha extraction solvent can be performed with a relatively large amount of the pha extraction solvent being transferred to the pha phase . for example , in some embodiments a ratio of the volume of pha extraction solvent recovered in the pha phase to the volume of solvent contacted with the biomass is at least about 0 . 8 ( e . g ., 0 . 85 , at least about 0 . 9 , at least about 0 . 95 , at least about 0 . 98 , at least about 0 . 99 ). in some embodiments , a relatively large amount of pha extraction solvent can be transferred to the pha phase using , for example , countercurrent conditions during separation of the polymer ( e . g ., pha ) from the biomass . in certain embodiments , contacting the biomass with the pha extraction solvent can be performed with a relatively small amount of the pha extraction solvent being transferred to the residual biomass phase . for example , in some embodiments a ratio of the volume of pha extraction solvent recovered in the residual biomass phase to the volume of pha extraction solvent contacted with the biomass is at most about 0 . 2 ( e . g ., at most about 0 . 15 , at most about 0 . 1 , at most about 0 . 05 , at most about 0 . 02 , at most about 0 . 01 ). in some embodiments , a relatively small amount of the pha extraction solvent is transferred to the residual biomass phase using , for example , countercurrent conditions during separation of the polymer ( e . g ., pha ) from the biomass . in general , the mixture containing the pha extraction solvent and the biomass is heated to enhance the interaction of the pha extraction solvent with the pha , thereby allowing the pha to be removed from the biomass . in general , the temperature of the pha extraction solvent and biomass during agitation can be varied as desired . in some embodiments , the temperature is less than about 160 ° c . ( e . g ., less than about 125 ° c ., less than about 95 ° c ., less than about 65 ° c .) and / or at least about 20 ° c . in certain embodiments , the temperature is from ambient temperature to about 95 ° c . ( e . g ., from about 40 ° c . to about 80 ° c ., from about 60 ° c . to about 70 ° c .). in certain embodiments the pressure can be regulated to greater than atmospheric pressure to facilitate extraction at elevated temperature ( e . g . greater than 1 atmosphere , up to 20 atmosphere ). generally , the shear force used when agitating the pha extraction solvent and biomass can be varied as desired . in certain embodiments , the pha extraction solvent and biomass is agitated by stirring so that the dissolution time is reduced . in some embodiments , to assist dissolution , a high shear impeller and agitator ( e . g . flat blade impeller such as the 6 bladed rushton turbine ) can be used at tip speeds of , for example , about five meters per second or more ( e . g ., to about 10 meters per second ). in certain embodiments a high speed disperser having a low profile blade can be used at tip speeds of , for examples , about 10 meter per second or more ( e . g . about 15 meter per second or more , about 20 meter per second to about 25 meter per second ), typically , the high speed dispersers have a blade with a low profile bladed or saw tooth edge to generate high shear at enhanced tip speeds . in certain embodiments , a rotor / stator system is used that generates relatively high shear ( e . g ., at tip speeds up to about 50 meters per second ) in the gap between a high speed rotor that spins within a slotted stator . in general the geometry of the rotor and stator can be varied to suit particular applications and many designs are commercially available . in general , the pha extraction solvent and biomass is agitated until a centrifuged sample of the mixture has a pha phase with a desired pha solids content . in some embodiments , the pha extraction solvent and biomass is agitated for less than about three hours ( e . g ., less than about two hours ) and / or at least about one minute ( e . g ., at least about 10 minutes , at least about 30 minutes ). in certain embodiments , the pha phase contains less than about 0 . 5 weight percent ( e . g ., less than about 0 . 25 weight percent , less than about 0 . 1 weight percent ) biomass relative to the amount of dissolved pha in the pha phase . in some embodiments , the biomass phase contains less than about 25 weight percent ( e . g ., less than about 20 weight percent , less than about 15 weight percent ) of the pha extraction solvent that was initially present and / or at least about one weight percent ( e . g ., at least about five weight percent , at least about 10 weight percent ) of the pha extraction solvent that was initially present . in some embodiments , the pha phase has a relatively low viscosity . for example , this phase can have a viscosity of less than about 100 centipoise ( e . g ., less than about 75 centipoise , less than about 50 centipoise , less than about 40 centipoise , less than about 30 centipoise ). without wishing to be bound by theory , it is believed that preparing the pha phase such that it has a relatively low viscosity can result in a relatively good separation of the pha phase from the residual biomass phase . in particular , it is believed that the rate of separation of the phases during centrifugation is inversely proportional to the viscosity of the pha phase so that , for a given centrifugation time , decreasing the viscosity of the pha phase results in an improved separation of the phases relative to certain systems in which the pha phase has a higher viscosity . in certain embodiments , the pha phase has a relatively high polymer concentration . for example , the pha phase can have a polymer concentration of at least about two percent ( e . g ., at least about 2 . 5 percent , at least about three percent , at least about 3 . 5 percent , at least about four percent , at least about 4 . 5 percent , at least about five percent ). in some embodiments , separation of the polymer ( e . g ., pha ) from the biomass can be performed using a one - stage process . in general , a one - stage process is a process in which only one centrifugation step is used during separation of the polymer from the biomass . in general , a multi - stage process refers to a process in which more than one centrifugation step is used during separation of the polymer ( e . g ., pha ) from the biomass . for example , the residual biomass formed in the process in fig1 can be treated and ultimately centrifuged , thereby creating a two - stage process . various types of devices can be used that exploit centrifugal force . as an example , in some embodiments centrifugation is performed using a disc stack ( e . g ., a model sc - 6 , available from westfalia separator us , inc ., located in northvale , n . j .). in certain embodiments centrifugation is performed using a decanter ( e . g ., a model ca - 220 , available from westfalia separator us , inc ., located in northvale , n . j .). in some embodiments , a hydroclone can be used . in other embodiments a cinc separator ( e . g . a cinc model v - 02 available from costner industries , located in houston , tex .) can be used . in certain embodiments a countercurrent centrifugal contacter ( e . g ., a podbielniak centrifugal contacter , a luwesta centrifugal contacter , a westfalia countercurrent decanter , taylor - couette centrifugal contacter ) can be used . in general , a countercurrent centrifugal contacter is used by having two ( or possibly more ) fluid streams contact each other . one stream ( the solvent stream ) begins as a fluid stream that is relatively rich in solvent . another stream ( the biomass stream ) begins as a fluid stream that is relatively rich in pha . the two streams contact each other under countercurrent conditions such that a portion of the solvent stream that is richest in solvent contacts a portion of the biomass stream that is poorest in pha ( to enhance , e . g ., optimize , the recovery of pha from the biomass stream ), and / or such that a portion of the biomass stream that is richest in pha contacts a portion of the solvent stream that is most laden with pha ( to enhance , e . g ., optimize , the concentration of pha in the solvent stream ). in certain embodiments , this is achieved by flowing the solvent stream reverse to the biomass stream ( reverse flow conditions ). countercurrent centrifugal contacters are available from , for example , b & amp ; p process equipment ( saginaw , mich .) and quadronics . examples of commercially available countercurrent centrifugal contacters include the podbielniak a - 1 countercurrent centrifugal contacter ( b & amp ; p process equipment ) and the podbielniak b - 10 countercurrent centrifugal contacter ( b & amp ; p process equipment ). in general , the conditions ( e . g ., force , time ) used for centrifugation can be varied as desired . in some embodiments in which a disc stack is used , centrifugation can be performed using at least about 5 , 000 rcf ( relative centrifugal force ) ( e . g ., at least about 6 , 000 rcf , at least about 7 , 000 rcf , at least about 8 , 000 rcf ) and / or less than about 15 , 000 rcf ( e . g ., less than about 12 , 000 rcf , less than about 10 , 000 rcf ). in certain embodiments in which a decanter is used , centrifugation can be performed using at least about 1 , 000 rcf ( e . g ., at least about 1 , 500 rcf , at least about 2 , 000 rcf , at least about 2 , 500 rcf ) and / or less than about 5 , 000 rcf ( e . g ., less than about 4 , 000 rcf , less than about 3 , 500 rcf ). in certain embodiments in which a countercurrent centrifugal contacter is used , centrifugation can be performed using at least about 1 , 000 rcf ( e . g ., at least about 1 , 500 rcf , at least about 2 , 000 rcf , at least about 2 , 500 rcf ) and / or less than about 5 , 000 rcf ( e . g ., less than about 4 , 000 rcf , less than about 3 , 500 rcf ). in some embodiments in which a disc stack is used , centrifugation can be performed for less than about one hour ( e . g ., less than about 30 minutes , less than about 10 minutes , less than about five minutes , less than about one minute ) and / or at least about 10 seconds ( e . g ., at least about 20 seconds , at least about 30 seconds ). in certain embodiments in which a decanter is used , centrifugation can be performed for less than about one hour ( e . g ., less than about 30 minutes , less than about 10 minutes , less than about five minutes , less than about one minute ) and / or at least about 10 seconds ( e . g ., at least about 20 seconds , at least about 30 seconds ). in certain embodiments in which a countercurrent centrifugal contacter is used , centrifugation can be performed for less than about one hour ( e . g ., less than about 30 minutes , less than about 10 minutes , less than about five minutes , less than about one minute ) and / or at least about 10 seconds ( e . g ., at least about 20 seconds , at least about 30 seconds ). methods for extracting phas from biomass are described in commonly owned u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 265 , 861 , filed on jul . 23 , 2003 , and entitled “ polymer extraction methods ,” which is hereby incorporated by reference . in certain embodiments , the process ( or portions of the process ) can be performed in a continuous and / or an in - line manner . as an example , the process can involve an in - line rotor / stator process for dissolution , and / or an in - line rotor / stator process for precipitation of the pha and / or an in - line devolatilizing extruder ( e . g . a werner and pfleiderer zsk extruder supplied by coperion corporation of ramsey , n . j .) for removing the solvent and forming pha solids ( e . g . pellets ). in some embodiments , the process uses the pha extraction solvent and / or the pha receiving solvent in a relatively efficient manner . for example , at least about 90 volume percent ( e . g ., at least about 95 volume percent , at least about 97 volume percent , at least about 98 volume percent ) of the solvent initially used can be recovered for re - use . the following examples are illustrative and not intended to be limiting . e . coli cell paste containing 30 % washed dry solids containing 80 % phb - co - 4hb with 11 % 4hb comonomer content was extracted by contacting with mibk at 80 ° c . and separated by centrifugation to yield a solution containing 4 % dissolved polymer . a total of 100 ml of this solution was then slowly injected into a 2 l baffled round bottom flask using a glass syringe with a 12 ″ 18 gauge needle at a rate of 2 ml / min . the flask contained 1 l of boiling di water at 30 ° c . under vacuum of 80 mbar . the flask was equipped with an agitator fitted with a 50 mm diameter , 45 °, teflon pitch blade impeller . an ika eurostar overhead stirrer was used to agitate the contents at 300 rpm . the solution was injected at a rate of 2 ml / min to approximately match the rate at which the distillate was collected . the solvent was condensed and 75 ml of mibk was recovered . the remaining solvent was dissolved in the water or lost via the vacuum pump . the result was a suspension of polymer granules approximately 0 . 5 - 2 . 0 mm in diameter . a total of 6 . 3 g of wet polymer was collected by filtration and yielded 3 . 7 g of dry polymer ( 58 . 7 % solid ) with little residual solvent odor . the dry bulk density was measured to be 0 . 450 kg / l which is significantly higher than the 0 . 125 kg / l obtained when the polymer is precipitated into hexane or heptane non - solvent . samples of the precipitated polymer from example 1 were washed using warm methanol in an agitated beaker at 40 ° c . for 20 minutes and then dried in vacuo . films were pressed using the dried sample form example 1 and the dried sample after the methanol wash step using a carver press at 185 ° c . and the results are presented in table 1 . | 2 |
referring to fig1 and 12 , an assembly 10 as shown constructed in accordance with the invention can be seen therein . the assembly includes in general a housing 12 on which have been rigidly mounted by means of bracket 14 &# 39 ;, a bi - directional dc motor 14 having a drive element shown therein as a worm gear 16 . the worm gear 16 extends from the motor 14 to an actuator such as cam rod assembly 18 which is also rigidly fixed to the housing 12 . the cam rod assembly 18 , in turn , has a drive end 18a seen on the left - hand side of the assembly and a camming end 18b shown on the right - hand side of the assembly . when the cam rod assembly 18 is driven by the motor 14 through worm gear 16 , the cam rod assembly is driven back and forth from right to left . the phantom lines shown extending from the right end of the cam rod assembly in fig1 depict the farthest point of travel of the assembly . the housing also has trunnions 20 spaced apart in the center of the housing for receipt of a support member 40 therein . in order to assemble the frame 12 onto the support , it is necessary to insert , such as by snap fitting , arms 41 of the support member 40 into trunnions 20 . the support member 40 also has a projection 42 extending from beneath the main body of the member 40 for receipt by the cam rod 18 . the assembly 10 also includes a circuit board 44 as well as an actuating switch s1 having a housing 46 and a switch head portion 48 resembling an oversized button which can be easily operated to control the position of the rear view mirror by a passenger . in the embodiment shown herein , a mirror 11 having a trapezoidal cross section and consequently modes of high and low reflectivity is fixed to the frame 12 for simultaneous movement therewith . furthermore , the cam rod assembly 18 is fixed to the back of housing 12 so that upon movement of the cam rod assembly , the housing is likewise moved therewith . referring now to fig2 a and 2b , the interconnecting support member 40 is shown in greater detail . in fig2 a the support member 40 is shown having a stem 50 which extends to a ball 52 which is connected with , for example , a windshield support by means of a ball socket for mating relationship with the ball 52 . stem 50 and ball 52 extend from the back of the frame 12 so that the rear view mirror can be adjusted for individual passenger viewing . the housing is attached to the support member by means of side arms 41 which can be fitted into trunnions 20 which are fixed to the housing of the rear view mirror . furthermore , projection 42 extends from beneath the body of the member 40 for insertion into a diagonal slot 17 in the cam rod assembly 18 , which shall be explained in greater detail hereinbelow . in operation , the member 40 remains in place with the windshield support while the rear view mirror is caused to actuate by pivoting around the side arms 41 . to this end , it has been found suitable to mount the side arms 41 in the trunnions 20 by virtue of a snap fit whereby relative rotation between the surface of the arms 41 and the trunnions 20 can be easily effected . referring now to fig3 the cam rod assembly can be seen in greater detail , with the right - hand portion of the assembly 18 having a diagonal slot 17 formed therein with end limits 17 &# 39 ; and 17 &# 34 ;. on either side of the diagonal slot 17 , there are surfaces 17a and 17b which bear against the projection 42 during operation of moving the mirror between high and low positions of reflectivity . referring to the left - hand side of the assembly 18 , a passage 15 can be seen formed therein in the partial section view . the passage 15 along with reduced passage area 15a has been provided to accommodate driving elements for the cam rod assembly and the motor 14 . one convenient means of driving the cam rod assembly 18 is by use of a combination worm gear and drive nut which can be inserted in the passageway 15 . thus , the passageway 15 can have a generally square cross section as shown in the end view of fig3 a while the reduced portion of the passageway 15a can have a generally circular cross section for receipt of the worm gear after it passes through a drive nut . the entire assembly as described above is shown in fig4 wherein a drive nut 13 has been provided in passageway 15 along with compression springs 4 fixed on either side thereof to provide damped travel of the cam rod assembly back and forth . this damping effect provides smooth and easy travel of the mirror when being driven by the worm gear 16 . in operation , the worm gear 16 can be driven by the dc motor in a clockwise direction to threadedly engage the drive nut 13 , thereby pulling the drive nut to the left in fig4 . the drive nut 13 bears against compression spring 11 and thence against the end cap 18 &# 39 ; of the cam rod assembly 18 . the cam rod 18 is driven to the left so that projection 42 is cammed alongside the slot sides 17a and 17b until it rests against slot end 17 &# 39 ;. this pivots the frame 12 and the trapezoidal mirror 11 to the position of reflectivity associated therewith . the springs 11 help prevent the nut 13 from fitting too tightly against end cap 18 &# 39 ; and against the other end of the passage 15 , when the nut 13 is driven toward them after the desired orientation is reached . when the worm gear 16 is rotated by bi - directional dc motor 14 in the counterclockwise direction , the nut 13 is threadedly engaged to be moved to the right - hand side in fig4 thereby bearing against compression spring 4 and thence to the shoulders of the passageway 15 of the cam rod assembly . in this mode of operation the assembly is thereby pushed to the right so that the projection 42 is cammed against sides 17a and 17b to drive the cam rod assembly and housing fixed thereto simultaneously to the position provided by the end 17 &# 34 ; in slot 17 . it is important that in the present assembly , the motor control circuit provide current to actuate the worm gear 16 sufficient only to move the rod assembly between the two limiting positions 17 &# 39 ; and 17 &# 34 ; of slot 17 . the time controlled nature of the drive reduces the time period that the motor is activated to be just beyond that necessary to attain the desired orientation without excessive use of electricity . furthermore , the present invention provides smooth and relatively uninterrupted travel between the two positions by virtue of the damping provided by compression springs 4 so that uneven travel resulting from surfaces sticking to one another can be prevented from being translated into jerky transition between positions of high and low reflectivity . referring to fig5 of the drawings , it will be seen that the motor control circuit of the rear view mirror assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention includes , in its most basic form , a motor driving circuit 60 , a timing circuit 62 and an operator actuatable switching circuit 64 . the motor driving circuit 60 is coupled to the reversible dc motor 14 , which motor is operatively linked to the prismatic mirror 11 of the mirror assembly to drive the mirror between a low reflectivity disposition and a high reflectivity disposition . the motor driving circuit selectively supplies a current bi - directionally to the motor 14 to drive the motor . the timing circuit 62 is used for controlling the time during which current is supplied to the motor 14 . the timing circuit 62 provides an output signal , and the motor driving circuit 60 is responsive to the output signal of the timing circuit , and thus supplies current to the motor only for a predetermined duration determined by the timing circuit 62 . the switching circuit 64 of the motor control circuit is controllable by the vehicle operator . the switching circuit 64 is used for controlling the direction current is supplied to the motor 14 . the switching circuit 64 provides an output signal , and the timing circuit 62 generates its output signal in response to the output signal of the switching circuit 64 . in a more preferred form of the motor control circuit of the present invention , the motor driving circuit 60 includes a first drive circuit 70 and a second drive circuit 72 . each of the first and second drive circuits 70 , 72 are coupled to the motor 14 . the first and second drive circuits 70 , 72 are operable in a first state , where current is supplied to the motor 14 in a first direction so that the motor shaft rotates in a forward direction ; in a second state , where current is supplied to the motor 14 in a second direction which is opposite to the first direction , so that the motor 14 rotates in a reverse direction ; and in a third state , where no current is supplied to the motor 14 so that the motor does not turn and the mirror 11 remains in a particular disposition . similarly , in its preferred form , the timing circuit 62 of the motor control circuit includes a first timing circuit 74 and a second timing circuit 76 . the first and second timing circuits 74 , 76 are coupled to the first and second drive circuits 70 , 72 , respectively , and to the operator actuatable switching circuit 64 . each of the first and second timing circuits 74 , 76 selectively provide a pulsed output signal of a predetermined duration in response to the output signal of the operator actuatable switching circuit 64 . the first and second drive circuits 70 , 72 are responsive to the pulsed output signals of the first and second timing circuits 74 , 76 , respectively , to supply or not supply current to the motor 14 . the operator actuatable switching circuit 64 preferably includes a switch s1 , disposed on the outside of the mirror assembly housing 12 for the vehicle operator to actuate , and a toggle circuit 80 coupled to the switch s1 . the switch s1 is a momentary contact switch , and the toggle circuit 80 provides a logic output which changes logic states in response to actuation of the momentary contact switch . referring now to fig6 of the drawings which schematically illustrates a preferred form of the motor control circuit , it will be seen that the momentary contact switch s1 is basically a push - button switch , and the toggle circuit 80 includes first and second nand gates 82 , 84 , each of which has its inputs connected together so that each gate acts as an inverter . the output of the first gate 82 is coupled to the input of the second gate 84 , and the output of the second gate 84 is coupled back to the input of the first gate 82 through a feedback resistor r1 . furthermore , the output of the first gate 82 is connected to a storage device , such as a capacitor c1 , through a resistor r2 , and the capacitor c1 is selectively coupled to the input of the first gate 82 through the push - button switch s1 . as its name implies , the toggle circuit 80 provides alternate logic states at the outputs of the first and second gates 82 , 84 , which outputs change state every time the push - button switch s1 is actuated . if , for example , the outputs of the first and second gates 82 , 84 are respectively at a high and low logic level , the capacitor c1 will charge through the resistor r2 to a voltage comparable to a high logic level . when the push - button switch s1 is actuated , the charge on the capacitor c1 is transferred through the switch to the input of the first gate 82 , causing the first gate to change states ( in the example , the output of the first gate 82 goes to a low logic level ). because the two gates are coupled together , the first gate 82 causes the output of the second gate 84 to change states ( that is , to a high logic level ). the high logic level of the second gate &# 39 ; s output is fed back to the input of the first gate 82 through the resistor r1 , which logic level is the same as the logic level initially impressed on the first gate 82 by the capacitor c1 . the capacitor c1 will now discharge to a low logic level , which logic level will be impressed on the input of the first gate 82 , causing the output of the first and second gates 82 , 84 to change states , when the push - button switch s1 is actuated a second time . thus , the switching circuit 64 acts as a low speed debouncing circuit which provides logic output signals that are in alternate states and that change states every time the push - button switch s1 is actuated . as mentioned previously , the first and second timing circuits 74 , 76 are connected to the toggle circuit 80 and , more specifically , to the outputs of the first and second logic gates 82 , 84 , respectively . each of the first and second timing circuits 74 , 76 preferably includes a timing capacitor c2 , c3 and a timing resistor r3 , r4 , which are connected together , and a logic nand gate whose inputs are connected together so that each nand gate acts as an inverter . the inputs of the nand gates 86 , 88 are connected to their respective timing resistors r3 , r4 and capacitor c2 , c3 . the timing capacitors c2 , c3 are connected to the outputs of the first and second gates 82 , 84 of the toggle circuit 80 . the capacitors c2 , c3 of the timing circuits 74 , 76 will charge through their respective timing resistors r3 , r4 to either a high logic level or a low logic level , depending upon the state of the first and second gates 82 , 84 of the toggle circuit . if , for example , the outputs of the first and second gates 82 , 84 are respectively high and low , the timing capacitors c2 , c3 of the first and second timing circuits 74 , 76 will charge to a low and high logic level , respectively . however , under steady state conditions , the inputs of the nand gates 86 , 88 of the first and second timing circuits will be pulled up to a high logic level through their respective timing resistors r3 , r4 so that the outputs of the nand gates 86 , 88 will be at a low logic level . when the toggle circuit 80 changes states , the inputs of the nand gates 86 , 88 of the timing circuits 74 , 76 will see the pre - existing charge on the timing capacitors c2 , c3 coupled with the new logic level of the first and second gates 82 , 84 . thus , in the example given above , the input of the first timing circuit &# 39 ; s gate 86 will see the low logic level charge of the timing capacitor c2 in combination with the low output state of the first gate 82 of the toggle circuit 80 and , accordingly , the output of the gate 86 will change from a low logic level to a high logic level . in an analogous fashion , the gate 88 of the second timing circuit 76 will see the high logic level charge on the capacitor c3 coupled with the new high logic level on the output of the second gate 84 . because the input of the nand gate 88 was already at a high logic level ( under steady state conditions ), its output will remain at a low logic level . the timing capacitors c2 , c3 will now charge to new logic levels . the timing capacitor c2 of the first timing circuit 74 will charge to a high logic level , and the timing capacitor c3 of the second timing circuit 76 will discharge to a low logic level . when the timing capacitor c2 of the first timing circuit 74 has charged sufficiently , the input of the nand gate 86 will be pulled up to a high logic level , causing its output to go low . the output of the nand gate 88 of the second timing circuit 76 will remain low , as its input remains at a high logic level . thus , in the example given above , a pulsed output signal is provided on the output of the nand gate 86 of the first timing circuit 74 . the nand gate &# 39 ; s output provides a high going pulse having a pulse width which is proportional to the product of the resistance of the timing resistor r3 and the capacitance of the timing capacitor c2 . when the push - button switch s1 is actuated a second time , causing the outputs of the toggle circuit 80 to alternate in state , the output of the nand gate 88 of the second timing circuit 76 will now provide a high going pulsed signal whose pulse width is determined by the resistance and capacitance of the corresponding timing resistor r4 and capacitor c3 , while the output of the nand gate 86 of the first timing circuit 74 will remain low . as will be seen , the dc motor 14 of the motor control circuit will only be driven substantially for the duration of the high going pulse on the output signals of the nand gates of the first and second timing circuits 74 , 76 . as mentioned previously , the motor driving circuit includes first and second drive circuits 70 , 72 which are coupled to the motor 14 . as will be seen , the first and second drive circuits 70 , 72 respectively operate as a source of and a sink for current supplied to the motor 14 when the circuits are in one state , and respectively operate as a sink for and a source of current when the circuits are in a second state . each of the drive circuits 72 , 74 includes a transistor t1 , t2 , which acts as a switch , coupled to the motor 14 ; a load resistor r5 , r6 which is coupled to the transistor t1 , t2 and to the motor 14 ; and a base resistor r7 , r8 which is coupled to the base of the transistor t1 , t2 . the base resistors r7 , r8 of the first and second drive circuits 70 , 72 are connected to the outputs of the nand gates 86 , 88 of the first and second timing circuits , respectively . the transistors t1 , t2 of the first and second drive circuits 70 , 72 are driven on and off in response to the pulsed output signals of their respective timing circuits 74 , 76 to which they are connected so that they either conduct current through the motor 14 or do not conduct current . under steady conditions , when the outputs of the nand gates 86 , 88 of the first and second timing circuits 74 , 76 are at a low logic level , the transistors t1 , t2 of the first and second drive circuits 70 , 72 will be cut off so that they do not conduct current . in this state , neither transistor t1 , t2 acts as a sink for motor current , and as a result , the motor 14 does not rotate . if , for example , actuation of the push - button switch s1 causes a high going pulse at the output of the first timing circuit &# 39 ; s nand gate 86 , the high going pulse is provided to the base of the transistor t1 of the first drive circuit through the base resistor r7 . the transistor t1 will be turned on and will conduct current through the motor supplied by the load resistor r5 . the logic output of the second timing circuit 76 remains low during the presence of the high going pulse on the first timing circuit &# 39 ; s output ; as a result , the transistor t2 of the second drive circuit 72 remains cut off so that it does not conduct current through the motor 14 . consequently , current flows through the motor in one direction so that the motor 14 will rotate in the forward direction . the transistor t1 of the first drive circuit 70 will remain on only for the duration of the high going pulse on the first timing circuit &# 39 ; s output . when the output of the first timing circuit 74 returns to a low , steady state level , the transistor t1 will be cut off and stop conducting current through the motor 14 . the motor will , of course , stop rotating in the forward direction when no current flows through it . if the push - button switch s1 is actuated a second time , a high going pulse is now provided by the second timing circuit 76 through the base resistor r8 to the transistor t2 of the second drive circuit 72 . the transistor t2 will conduct current through the motor 14 supplied by load resistor r6 , while during this time the transistor t1 of the first drive circuit 70 will remain non - conductive . accordingly , current is now supplied through the motor 14 in an opposite direction , causing the motor to rotate in a reverse direction . the transistor t2 of the second drive circuit 72 will conduct for the duration of the high going pulse of the second timing circuit 76 . both transistors t1 , t2 of the first and second drive circuits are cut off and will not conduct current through the motor 14 when the outputs of the first and second timing circuits 74 , 76 return to their low , steady state logic level . thus , it can be seen that every time the push - button switch s1 is actuated by the vehicle operator , the motor 14 controlling the disposition of the mirror 11 will be driven in either the forward direction or the reverse direction for a time determined by the values of the resistors r3 , r4 and capacitors c2 , c3 of the first and second timing circuits 74 , 76 . the values of these components are selected to ensure that the motor 14 is driven sufficiently in each direction so that the mirror 11 is placed in either a low reflectivity disposition or a high reflectivity disposition . thus , the motor control circuit of the present invention eliminates the need for limit switches employed in conventional rear view mirror assemblies to control the current through the mirror positioning motor . the motor control circuit may further include an indicator 90 which is mounted on the mirror housing 12 and which is visible to the vehicle operator to indicate when the mirror is in the low reflectivity mode . preferably , the indicator 90 is a light emitting diode which is coupled through a current limiting resistor r9 to the output of the first gate 82 of the toggle circuit 80 . thus , whenever the output of the first gate 82 goes to a high logic level , the light emitting diode 90 will conduct to indicate that the mirror 11 is in the low reflectivity disposition . it is also desirable for the mirror control circuit to automatically switch the mirror 11 to a high reflectivity disposition whenever the automobile is backing up . for this purpose , the input of the first gate 82 of the toggle circuit 80 is connected to the vehicle &# 39 ; s hot lead 92 of the back lights through a resistor r10 and a diode d2 , connected in series with resistor r10 . when the vehicle operator puts the automobile transmission into reverse , the hot lead 92 to the backup lights will be energized , impressing a high logic level on the input of the first gate 82 . if the mirror 11 is not already in the high reflectivity disposition , the mirror control circuit will energize the motor 14 to drive the mirror to that particular disposition . one of the further advantages of the particular configuration of the motor drive circuit is that it helps brake the rotation of the motor shaft after the motor has been energized for the time determined by the timing circuit . this prevents the motor 14 from &# 34 ; coasting &# 34 ; after it has already placed the mirror 11 into either reflectivity disposition . the &# 34 ; braking &# 34 ; effect is caused by the connection of the load resistors r5 , r6 to the motor 14 . after the transistors t1 , t2 of the first and second drive circuits 70 , 72 become non - conductive , the motor 14 continues to turn slightly . the motor thus becomes a generator and provides a reverse voltage across the load resistors r5 , r6 . this reverse voltage causes reverse current to flow through the motor 14 , stopping it in a relatively short period of time . the motor control circuit further includes a power control circuit comprising a zener diode d1 coupled to a resistor r11 . the zener diode d1 helps protect the circuit from surges in the line voltage , or from connecting the motor control circuit inadvertently to a voltage source of incorrect polarity . the motor control circuit of the present invention provides a bi - directional current to the dc motor 14 which drives the mirror 11 between low reflectivity and high reflectivity dispositions . the motor is driven in the forward or reverse directions for substantially the time determined by the values of the resistors r3 , r4 and capacitors c2 , c3 of the first and second timing circuits . the motor control circuit of the present invention eliminates the need for limit switches found in conventional rear view mirror assemblies . the circuit has relatively few components , which increases its reliability and enhances its ability to be easily fitted into the housing of the rear view mirror assembly . fig1 illustrates , in schematic block diagram form , the motor control circuit which provides for automatic adjustment of the mirror responsive to the ambient light conditions and incident light from another vehicle . fig1 shows the control circuitry in detail . before discussing the automatic circuit of fig1 in detail , it is noted that preferably for interfacing with that automatic circuit , the semi - automatic circuit of fig6 is modified to be as illustrated in fig1 to work in conjunction with the circuit of fig1 . the circuits of fig1 and 15 can automatically drive the rearview mirror between high and low reflectivity positions in response to changes in the ambient and incident light levels . the difference between the fig1 circuit and the fig6 circuit are as follows : the led 90 and the accompanying resistor r9 can be removed from fig6 . as shown in fig1 , a resistor r12 can be electrically connected between inverter 82 and inverter 84 . the resistor r12 isolates input z from the output of inverter 82 . fig1 shows resistor r11 removed , and shows terminals receiving inputs y and w from fig1 . the terminal for receiving input y is electrically connected to resistors r3 and r4 and supplies power to inverters 82 , 84 , 86 and 88 . the terminal for receiving input w is electrically connected to resistors r5 and r6 and supplies power to the motor and transistors t1 and t2 . the zener diode d1 of fig6 is not shown in fig1 , because the input y is connected to the zener diode d1 of fig1 and protects the semi - automatic circuit from voltage spikes and overvoltage . a diode d3 is shown connected between terminal w and the battery . referring now to fig1 and 14 , a bridging network 110 includes a forward facing sensor 104 , a rearward facing sensor 106 , sensitivity control 111 in the form of resistors r14 and r15 , and resistors r12 and r13 . bridging network 110 further comprises output nodes 113 and 115 . the forward facing sensor 104 is provided in the form of a phototransistor which faces forward of the vehicle and senses incoming ambient light . the rearward facing sensor 106 is also provided in the form of a phototransistor which faces rearwardly of the vehicle and senses incoming incident light therefrom , such as headlights from a following vehicle . the circuit has means for maintaining the mirror in the high reflectivity position when the forward facing sensor 104 detects an ambient light level above a predetermined value , such as a value for normal daylight . the resistance of the sensors 104 and 106 changes according to the level of detected light allowing for generation of electrical signals indicative of forward and rearward light levels . the sensitivity control 111 , comprised of resistors r14 and r15 , controls the sensitivity of the bridge , eliminating the need for an external sensitivity adjustment control . the forward sensor circuitry includes a long time integration circuit 112 , comprising a resistor r16 and a capacitor c4 . the long time integration circuit 112 prevents an undesirable change in the mirror position during a sudden change in the ambient light level , a situation which occurs when a vehicle enters a tunnel during daylight hours . the rearward sensory circuitry includes a short time integration circuit 114 , comprising a resistor r18 and a capacitor c5 . the short time integration circuit 114 is much faster in response than the long time integration circuit 112 , allowing for quick changeover from a high reflectivity state to a low reflectivity state when headlights from a trailing car , or the like , are incident upon the vehicle &# 39 ; s rearview mirror . a summer 116 , comprised of resistors r17 and r19 , provides a means for adding the electronic signals from the forward sensor circuitry and the rearward sensor circuitry . a threshold circuit 118 includes resistors r22 and r23 and provides a reference signal for comparison to the combined output of the summer . a comparator circuit 120 includes a comparator u1 which performs said comparison of the threshold voltage to output of the summer . the comparator circuit 120 further includes a time dependent hysteresis loop 122 comprising resistors r20 , r21 and capacitors c6 , c7 . additionally , resistors r22 and r23 of the threshold circuit 118 provide the driving point impedance at pin 3 of comparator u1 for the hysterisis loop 122 . when the rearview mirror switches from the high to the low reflectivity positions , the hysteresis loop 122 prevents the mirror from switching back to the high reflectivity position for approximately ten seconds . this effect prevents continuous switching of mirror positioning during low ambient lighting conditions where incident light upon the mirror is sporadic within a short time interval . the motor control circuit further includes an inverter 124 comprised of comparator u2 for inverting the output of comparator u1 , the outputs of comparators u1 and u2 serving as input signals for the semi - automatic circuit of fig6 . referring to fig1 , the circuitry is energized by a positive voltage at node 128 , the voltage typically being supplied from the vehicle &# 39 ; s electrical system . terminal 130 is connected to the system ground . the resistor r24 limits current from overvoltage and from reversed polarity applied to the terminals 128 and 130 . the zener diode d1 helps protect the circuit from overvoltage and / or transient spikes . the diode has an output y for connection to the modified semi - automatic circuit at its y terminal , for protecting circuit components of said semi - automatic circuit . diodes d2 and d3 are connected at the outputs of the motor control circuit and serve to isolate the motor control circuit from the semiautomatic circuit so that manual switchover can be achieved as described in the discussion of the fig6 circuitry . differentiating pulse forming networks comprising capacitor c8 and resistor r25 , and capacitor c9 and resistor r26 , allow positive - going pulses to be transferred by way of diodes d2 and d3 to gates 82 and 84 , respectively . capacitors c8 and c9 block d . c . voltage and prevent diodes d2 and d3 from becoming forward biased , thus allowing gates 82 and 84 to change states in response to the manual switch at will . when the circuit is powered up , the voltage at node 138 is much higher than the voltage on pin 3 of comparator u1 which results in a low &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; voltage level at node 140 and a high ( power supply ) voltage at node 142 . under these conditions the circuit will drive the mirror to a high reflectivity position . after approximately one minute , the voltage at node 138 settles at a level determined by the summing of the voltages at nodes 113 and 115 . if the summed voltage level at node 138 is above the threshold voltage at pin 3 of comparator u1 , the output of the comparator remains in the same state . if the summed voltage is below the threshold voltage , the output of the comparator u1 changes states causing a high voltage level at node 140 and a low voltage level at node 142 , thus driving the mirror to the low reflectivity position . the values of the circuit components of fig1 are set such that during daylight hours , switchovers from a high to a low reflectivity position are prevented . during daylight conditions the current flow in resistors r12 and r13 reaches a maximum and thus a maximum in resistor r15 which raises the sum at nodes 113 and 115 above the voltage at pin 3 of comparator u1 . thus , during daylight conditions , the signal from the rearward - facing sensor 106 does not affect the reflectivity position of the rear view mirror . resistors r16 , r17 , r18 and r19 should be set to values such that when daylight ambient conditions exist upon forward sensor 104 , a voltage should be created at pin 2 of u1 that is greater than that at pin 3 at u1 , so that changeover from high reflectivity to low reflectivity is prevented . the automatic drive circuit of fig1 should be interfaced to the motor control circuit of fig5 and 6 , as the same were discussed as modified in the beginning of this discussion of the automatic circuit , so that the mirror can automatically be adjusted according to detected lighting conditions . node 140 ( terminal z ) and node 142 ( terminal x ) of fig1 are electrically connected to the node defined by the input to gate 84 and to the node defined by the input gate 82 , respectively , as shown in fig6 . for the circuitry of fig1 , the circuit elements have the following values : for interfacing the modified circuitry of fig1 with the circuitry of fig1 , the elements of fig1 have the following values : referring initially to fig7 - 9 of the drawings , it will be seen that the push - button switch s1 constructed in accordance with the present invention basically includes a housing 46 , an actuator 102 , and a contact assembly 104 . the housing 46 is preferably formed by injection molding although other techniques may be used . advantageously , the housing is formed from two substantially identical half housing members 106 which are joined together by press fitting or the like . thus , only one mold is needed in the injection molding process of forming the half housing members 106 . each half housing member 106 has a mating surface 108 which engages the mating surface of the other when the two are joined together . a pin 110 extends outwardly of the mating surface 108 of each half housing member , and a hole 112 is also formed in each mating surface 108 . the pin 110 of each half housing member is received by the hole 112 formed in the other half housing member so that the two can be press fitted together to define the housing 100 of the push - button switch s1 . the pin and hole arrangement allows the half housing members 106 to be joined together without gluing or other fasteners , although such may be used if desired . an opening 114 and a slot 116 are formed in the housing to receive the actuator 102 and the contact assembly 104 , respectively . the opening 114 is formed in the bottom side 118 of the housing , and the slot 116 is formed near the top side 120 of the housing and extends through the housing &# 39 ; s opposite lateral sides 122 . the slot 116 overlies the opening 114 so that the contact assembly 104 will be in axial alignment with the actuator 102 when the two are assembled in the housing . preferably , as shown in fig9 each half housing member 106 is formed with half the slot 116 and half the opening 114 so that when the housing members are joined together , they define the full slot and full opening of the housing . as will be seen , forming each housing member 106 with slot and opening portions will facilitate assembly of the push - button switch s1 . the actuator 102 is the component of the pushbutton switch which the vehicle operator presses to effect an electrical path through the switch . the actuator 102 includes a cylindrical stem portion 124 which is received by the housing opening 114 and which includes two opposite ends . on one end of the stem portion 124 is mounted a tip portion 126 which is disposed in the interior of the housing 100 when the switch is assembled . the tip portion 126 is a rather bulbous formation which is adapted to engage the contact assembly 104 . a head portion 48 is mounted on the other end of the stem portion 124 . the head portion 48 resembles an oversized circular button , and is disposed exteriorly of the housing 100 . the user presses the head portion 48 to actuate the switch s1 . the diameter of the housing opening 144 is less than those of the tip portion 126 and the head portion 48 of the actuator so that the actuator 102 will be retained in the housing opening when the push - button switch is assembled the housing 100 and actuator 102 may each be formed of a plastic material , which lends itself to fabrication by molding , although other materials may suitably be used . as shown in fig1 and 11 of the drawings , the contact assembly 104 of the push - button switch basically includes first and second electrically conductive contact members 130 , 132 , and first and second insulating members 134 , 136 . the first and second insulating members 134 , 136 may be formed from a single sheet of insulating material 138 that is folded in half from one side of the sheet to the other opposite side . thus , the fold line 140 ( shown as a dashed line in fig1 ) defines the juncture between the first and second insulating members 134 , 136 . of course , the first and second insulating members may be separate from each other and formed from their own sheet of insulating material . a pair of parallel , spaced - apart slots 142 - 145 are formed through the thickness of each of the first and second insulating members 134 , 136 . preferably two slots are provided in each member , although it is envisioned to be within the scope of this invention to have one or more slots formed in each member . the first and second contact members 130 , 132 are inserted through the slots of the first and second insulating members 134 , 136 , respectively , so that each contact member is disposed in an alternating underlying and overlying relationship with its respective member . as shown in fig1 , the first contact member 130 is inserted through the right - hand slot 142 of the first insulating member 134 from the rear side 146 of the insulating member , passes across the front side 148 of the insulating member and is inserted through the left - hand slot 143 from the front side 148 of the insulating member 134 . similarly , the second contact member 132 is inserted through the left - hand slot 144 of the second insulating member 136 from the rear side 146 of the insulating member , passes across the front side 148 of the insulating member 136 , and is inserted through the right - hand slot 145 of the insulating member from the front side of the member 136 . the slots 142 - 145 of each insulating member 134 , 136 thus define a central portion 150 between them over which the contact members 130 , 132 are exposed on the front side 148 of the insulating member and define with a respective proximate lateral edge 152 of the member a pair of side portions 154 over which the contact members are not exposed on the front side 148 but are exposed on the rear side 146 . once assembled with the contact members 130 , 132 inserted properly in the slots , the sheet of insulating material 138 is folded at the fold line 140 so that the first contact member 130 and first insulating member 134 are disposed in overlying relationship with the second contact member 132 and the second insulating member 136 . when disposed in this manner , a portion of the first contact member 130 situated at the central portion 150 of the first insulating member 134 faces a portion of the second contact member 132 situated at the central portion 150 of the second insulating member 136 , and a portion of the first insulating member 134 ( i . e ., the side portions 154 on the first insulating member &# 39 ; s front side 148 ) faces a portion of the second insulating member 136 ( i . e ., the side portions 154 on the second insulating member &# 39 ; s front side 148 ). as can be seen from fig1 , when the contact assembly 104 is assembled as described above , with the facing portions of the first and second insulating members 134 , 136 in contact with one another , the facing portions of the first and second contact members 130 , 132 are maintained in a spaced - apart relationship a distance equal to the combined thicknesses of the first and second insulating members . the contact assembly 104 is mounted in the housing 100 with the central portions 150 of the insulating members in axial alignment with the actuator 102 . when a force is exerted on the head portion 48 of the actuator , the tip portion 126 will engage the second insulating member 136 at its central portion 150 and force the facing portion of the second contact member 132 to engage the facing portion of the first contact member 130 , thus completing an electrical path through the switch . when pressure on the actuator 102 is released , the second contact member 132 will return to its normal disposition out of engagement with the first contact member 130 . in a preferred form of the invention , the first contact member 130 is made relatively thicker than the second contact member 132 and is substantially rigid . the second contact member 132 is made from a much thinner material than the first contact member 130 so as to provide the second contact member with some resiliency . for example , the second contact member 132 may be formed from a spring tempered brass having a thickness of about 0 . 008 inches , and the first contact member 130 may be formed from quarter tempered brass having a thickness of about 0 . 031 inches . brass is preferred because of its springiness ; however , other electrically conductive materials may be used to form the first and second contact members . the first and second insulating members 134 , 136 are preferably formed from the same sheet of insulating material , such as mylar ( tm ). the thickness of each insulating member is preferably 0 . 005 inches . thus , when the contact assembly is formed as shown in fig1 , with the facing portions of the first and second insulating members 134 , 136 in contact with each other , the gap between the first and second contact members 130 , 132 is twice the thickness of the insulating members , or 0 . 010 inches . mylar ( tm ) is chosen in the construction of the insulating members because of its dimensional stability and its heat resistance , and because it does not absorb water and is rather inexpensive . of course , other materials having electrical insulating properties may be chosen to form the first and second insulating members 134 , 136 . the push - button switch of the present invention is assembled by positioning the stem portion 124 of the actuator in a portion of the housing opening 114 formed in one of the half housing members 106 , positioning the contact assembly 104 in the portion of the housing slot 116 also formed in one of the half housing members 106 , and press fitting the two half housing members 106 together so that the contact assembly 104 and actuator 102 are captured respectively in the housing slot 116 and housing opening 114 . alternatively , the half housing members 106 and actuator 102 may be assembled together , followed by the insertion of the contact assembly 104 into the housing slot 116 from one lateral side of the housing 100 . a portion of each contact member 130 , 132 preferably extends beyond an edge of its respective insulating member 134 , 136 and outwardly from opposite lateral sides 122 of the housing . this facilitates connection of the push - button switch s1 to the rest of the mirror control circuit . because the slot 116 extends between the opposite lateral sides 122 of the housing , the portion of each contact member which extends beyond the housing may be bent to define a slight shoulder 160 which engages the housing sides . this prevents the contact assembly 104 from moving laterally within the housing slot 116 . in the preferred form of the push - button switch s1 , the actuator 102 is seated in its normal disposition with its tip portion 126 in contact with the second insulating member 136 . therefore , only slight movement of the actuator will displace the second contact member 132 sufficiently to bridge the gap between the contact members so that the two will contact to provide an electrical path to the switch . thus , in the example given above , actuator movement of only 0 . 010 inches will actuate the switch . when pressure is released from the head portion 48 of the actuator , the resilience of the second contact member 132 will cause it to disengage from the first contact member 130 and return to its normal disposition , breaking the electrical path through the switch . the push - button switch may be operated in its normally downward disposition , as shown in fig1 or in the opposite disposition with the actuator 102 on top . this is because the actuator 102 is of minimal weight and will still return to its normal position due to the resiliency of the second contact member 132 . although the illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments , and that various other changes and modifications may be effective therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . | 7 |
fig1 shows one configuration for a control panel 10 , which may be located on the top of the presently existing controls of an aircraft in a center section of the windshield known as the &# 34 ; glare shield &# 34 ;. the control panel 10 is shown having six major sections : the &# 34 ; speed &# 34 ; section 12 , the &# 34 ; action &# 34 ; section 13 , the &# 34 ; display &# 34 ; section 14 , the &# 34 ; heading &# 34 ; section 15 , the &# 34 ; altitude &# 34 ; section 16 and the &# 34 ; vertical speed &# 34 ; ( v / s ) section 17 . sections 13 and 14 contain some of the features provided by the present invention while sections 12 , 15 , 16 and 17 are substantially the same as presently exist on some aircraft . the &# 34 ; speed &# 34 ; section 12 contains 7 push buttons for related targets : &# 34 ; air &# 34 ; meaning &# 34 ; airspeed &# 34 ; &# 34 ; grnd &# 34 ; meaning &# 34 ; ground speed &# 34 ; &# 34 ; kts &# 34 ; meaning &# 34 ; knots &# 34 ;, meaning &# 34 ; mach &# 34 ; zulu meaning &# 34 ; greenwich mean time &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; local &# 34 ; meaning &# 34 ; local time &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; auto &# 34 ; which , when activated , causes the values to be determined automatically ( as based on the current flight plan ). section 12 also contains a knob 30 which is used to set the speed related target values that are desired . the &# 34 ; action &# 34 ; section 13 contains 16 push buttons with the most common of the various actions that may be desired . ( these and other less common actions may be listed in a pull down menu on the navigation display as will be described below ). the 16 push buttons invoke words which can be used in sentences to explain a desired command . in the example given above , action words &# 34 ; to &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; at &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; from &# 34 ; &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; go &# 34 ; were used . other commands may involve other combinations of buttons in section 14 and other commands located elsewhere in the system as on the navigation display and keyboard to be described below . the &# 34 ; display &# 34 ; section 14 contains a display area 40 which shows , at the top , the commands being executed by the aircraft at the present time under areas titled &# 34 ; time &# 34 ; ( when a time related target is selected ) or &# 34 ; speed &# 34 ; ( when a speed related target is selected ), &# 34 ; hdg &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; alt &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; fpa &# 34 ; ( when a flight path angle target is selected ) or &# 34 ; v / s &# 34 ; ( when a vertical speed related target is selected ) and at the bottom , two areas titled &# 34 ; last &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; next &# 34 ; respectively to show the last commands entered and to show the new commands as they are entered . it is seen that the &# 34 ; next &# 34 ; area of the lower section reads : &# 34 ; to hold at 25 mi sw from srp with right turn and 2 min leg &# 34 ;, which is the command of the example above . the &# 34 ; heading &# 34 ; section 15 , contains 5 more push buttons labeled : hdg meaning &# 34 ; heading &# 34 ;, crs meaning &# 34 ; course &# 34 ;, v meaning &# 34 ; vector &# 34 ; j meaning &# 34 ; jetway &# 34 ; and auto which when activated causes the heading to be determined automatically ( as based on the current flight plan ), and a knob 46 which is used to set the desired lateral target value . the &# 34 ; altitude &# 34 ; section 16 contains three push buttons labeled : &# 34 ; feet &# 34 ;, indicating the altitude in feet , &# 34 ; fl &# 34 ; indicating &# 34 ; flight level &# 34 ; and auto which when activated causes the altitude to be determined automatically ( as based on the current flight plan ). there is also a &# 34 ; plan &# 34 ; push button shared by the &# 34 ; heading &# 34 ; section 15 and the &# 34 ; altitude &# 34 ; section 16 . the plan button , when activated , causes both the altitude and heading to be determined automatically ( as based on the current flight plan ). a knob 48 in &# 34 ; altitude &# 34 ; section 16 is used to set the desired vertical target value . the &# 34 ; vertical speed &# 34 ; v / s section 17 contains two push buttons labeled &# 34 ; v / s &# 34 ; ( vertical speed ) and &# 34 ; fpa &# 34 ; ( flight path angle ) and a knurled knob 50 for changing the vertical velocity target . it is seen that the control panel 10 allows easy access for the pilot to enter a number of commands . some commands , however have to be entered elsewhere . referring to fig2 a partly standard navigation display 100 is shown having a semicircular dial 102 for showing the present heading by the position of a small square area 104 at the top and a map section 106 showing the path of the aircraft and the locations of various waypoints such as a dot 108 which might represent the waypoint srp . in addition there are 6 &# 34 ; on screen &# 34 ; buttons which have been added for use with the present invention . the first is an &# 34 ; action &# 34 ; button in the upper left portion of the display 100 , which , when activated , produces a menu on the display showing a complete list of the various action categories available . a comprehensive list of such actions reads as follows : these action categories have been obtained by study of the above identified air traffic controllers manual and are believed to be quite complete . it should be understood , however , that some may be subtracted , others may be added and some changed as required to meet future requirements . the second and third buttons read &# 34 ; vertical &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; lateral &# 34 ; respectively . these two buttons are &# 34 ; target &# 34 ; categories . those targets which are considered to be vertical will appear in a menu when the &# 34 ; vertical &# 34 ; button is activated and may appear as follows : those targets that are considered to be lateral will appear in a menu when the &# 34 ; lateral &# 34 ; button is activated and may appear as follows : these target commands are also believed complete but may be changed , removed or others may be added to meet requirements . the fourth push button is labeled &# 34 ; units &# 34 ; and , when activated , will show a menu of parameters such as : these parameters , while believed complete , may be changed , removed or others may be added as requirements dictate . the fifth button is labeled &# 34 ; clear &# 34 ; and , when activated , clears the display of the commands that appear there . the sixth button is labeled &# 34 ; go &# 34 ; and , when activated , causes the computer to begin operating on the displayed commands as was the case with the &# 34 ; go &# 34 ; button in fig1 . at the bottom of the display 100 are two long sections labeled &# 34 ; last &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; next &# 34 ; for displaying the commands in a manner like that described in display 40 of fig1 . the &# 34 ; last &# 34 ; section displays the last set of commands entered into the system and the &# 34 ; next &# 34 ; section displays the next set of commands to be entered into the system . as can be seen , the &# 34 ; next &# 34 ; section is displaying &# 34 ; to hold at 25 mi sw from srp with right turn and 2 min leg &# 34 ; which is the command of the example above . any one of the items in the pull down menus set forth above , may be highlighted by the pilot and entered onto the displays 40 of fig1 and 100 of fig2 for building a command string . when the desired string is displayed , the pilot activates the &# 34 ; go &# 34 ; button in section 14 of fig1 or the &# 34 ; go &# 34 ; button in fig2 to cause the computer to execute the next commands . in addition to the control panel 10 and the display 100 , there may be other means to enter data for display on the monitors and to be entered into the computer . a keyboard is usually associated with a flight management system and may be used to make entries . voice commands are possible inputs and preexisting commands built in to the flight plan may also be displayed and inputted to the computer . it may be possible for the air traffic controller to directly input data into the system . accordingly , the use of the control panel and the heading display herein is to be considered exemplary and not limiting to the invention . fig3 shows a block diagram of a system 200 for use with the present invention . in fig3 three &# 34 ; input &# 34 ; boxes 202 , 204 and 206 are shown which may represent the inputs from control panel 10 , the navigation display 100 and other input devices such as a keyboard and voice command respectively . the inputs boxes are connected to the flight management computer ( fms ) 210 by connections 212 , 214 and 216 respectively . fms computer 210 will be programmed to recognize the air traffic controller syntax inputs from input devices 202 , 204 and 206 using a conventional slot and frame grammar to specify how actions , targets and units can be combined in orders that can be interpreted by the flight guidance system . such methods are well known in computer science and consist of restricted vocabularies , the words of which have predefined attributes , and rules for their combination . the outputs of the fms computer are shown as an arrow 218 connected to the aircraft controls shown generally as a box 220 . if the syntax is incorrect , the fms computer will inform the pilot with a warning to the monitors indicating an error via a feedback line shown as arrow 222 . it is thus seen that we have provided an improved way of controlling an aircraft in accordance with a language resembling the air traffic control syntax so as to enable the pilot to comply with required changes in flight plan in a simple and more rapid manner . many changes will occur to those having skill in the art , as for example , use of different specific action , target and parameter nomenclature , different arrangements of the buttons , different ways of activating the displays and the computer and different arrangements of the displays and other components . we therefore do not wish to be limited to the specific disclosures used in connection with the description of the preferred embodiments . | 6 |
with reference to the accompanying drawings preferred embodiments of the invention will be explained in details . fig1 is an overall perspective view of an embodiment of the invention . a chair 8 for a patient and a column 1a are provided on a base 1 . an elevating frame 1b is provided on the column la so as to ascend and descend along the column 1a . the elevating frame 1b is provided with a positioning member 5 for positioning the head of the patient . a horizontalarm 2 is extended from the upper end of the elevating frame 1b . a horizontal movement mechanism 3 incorporating an x - y table and a rotation table is installed in the vicinity of the tip of the horizontal arm 2 . a swivel member 4 ( such as a rotary arm ) is installed at the moving portion of the horizontal movement mechanism 3 so as to be able to rotate around agiven position on a horizontal plane . an x - ray source 6 is provided at one end of the swivel member 4 , and an x - ray imaging device 7 is provided at the other end . the x - ray source 6 can swing at a desired angle by a rotation motor 6a . furthermore , a first slit plate 6b for limiting the x - ray irradiation field is provided in front of the x - ray source 6 , and a drive motor 6c is installed so as to adjust the opening range of the firstslit plate 6b . fig2 is an overall configuration view of an embodiment of the invention . the x - ray source 6 emits x - rays toward the subject , and the x - ray irradiation field is controlled by the first slit plate 6b . an x - ray tube ( not shown ) is included in the x - ray source 6 . the x - ray irradiation dosage to the patient is controlled by adjusting imaging conditions , such as tube current , tube voltage , power application time , etc . the x - ray imaging device 7 includes a mos image sensor having a plurality of light - receiving pixels arranged in two dimension to detect an image of x - rays having passed through the object . a second slit plate 7a for limiting the x - ray incoming region is provided in front of the x - ray imaging device 7 . the back surface of the mos image sensor 30 and the interior of the x - ray imaging device 7 incorporating the mos image sensor 30 are shielded against x - rays to prevent adverse effects due to the dissipation of x - rays . the swivel member 4 holds the x - ray source 6 and the x - ray imaging device 7opposingly to each other and rotates around the subject in the panoramic tomographic imaging mode . furthermore , in the linear tomographic imaging mode , a slide mechanism 13 is provided so as to linearly move the x - ray imaging device 7 with respect to the subject . the swivel member 4 is driven by a motor 10 constituting the rotation table , and the rotation angle of the swivel member 4 is detected by an angle sensor 12 . the motor 10 is mounted on the moving portion of an xy table 14 , and its rotation center is adjusted as desired on a horizontal plane . an image signal outputted from the x - ray imaging device 7 is converted into10 - bit (= 1024 levels ) digital data , for example , by an ad converter 20 , taken in a cpu ( central processing unit ) 21 , and then stored in frame memories 22 . a tomographic image taken along a given tomographic plane canbe reproduced from the image data stored in the frame memories 22 by a predetermined arithmetic operation process . the reproduced tomographic image is delivered to a video memory 24 , converted into an analog signal by a da converter 25 , and then displayed by an image display unit 26 , suchas a crt ( cathode - ray tube ) display , so as to be made available for a variety of diagnoses . a work memory 23 required for signal processing is connected to the cpu 21 , and an operation panel 19 incorporating a panel switch , an x - ray irradiation switch , etc . is also connected to the cpu 21 . furthermore , thecpu 21 is connected to a motor drive circuit 11 for driving the arm motor 10 , slit control circuits 15 , 16 for controlling the opening ranges of thefirst slit plate 6b and the second slit plate 7a , respectively . in addition , the cpu 21 delivers a clock signal for driving the mos image sensors of the x - ray imaging device 7 . an x - ray control circuit 18 can feedback - control an x - ray irradiation dosage to the subject in accordance with the signal taken by the mos imagesensor of the x - ray imaging device 7 . fig3 a is a circuit diagram showing the operation principle of the mos image sensor , and fig3 b is a timing chart of the operation of the sensor . a photodiode pd constituting a light - receiving pixel converts incoming light into an electrical signal . the photodiode pd is connected to a switch sw comprising a mosfet in series , and the switch sw is furtherconnected to the inverting input terminal of an operational amplifier q1 . afeedback resistor r1 is connected to the operational amplifier q1 to form acurrent - voltage conversion circuit , whereby input current is outputted as avoltage signal . voltage v1 is applied between the noninverting input terminal of the operational amplifier q1 and the ground ( gnd ). in fig3 b , when a positive reading pulse rd enters the gate of the switch sw , the switch sw opens and the photodiode pd is reverse - biased and a junction capacitor c1 is charged with a certain amount of charges . next , when the switch sw closes and light enters during the accumulation of charges , the accumulated charges are discharged by the charges due to the incoming light , and the potential at the cathode of the photodiode pd becomes close to the ground potential - the amount of charges to be discharged increases in proportion to the amount of the incoming light . next , when the reading pulse rd enters the gate of the switch sw , and the switch sw opens , the amount of charges corresponding to the charges discharged during the accumulation period is supplied via the feedback resistor r1 , and the photodiode pd is reverse - biased again and initialized . at this time , a potential difference is generated between both ends of the feedback resistor r1 because of the charge current , and outputted as a voltage signal from the operational amplifier q1 . since this charge current corresponds to the discharge current due to the incoming light , the amount of the incoming light is detected by measuring the output voltage . fig3 c shows another embodiment of the signal reading circuit . in this circuit , an integration capacitor c2 and a switch swa are connected between the inverting input terminal and the output terminal of an operational amplifier q1 , thereby forming a current integration circuit asa whole . immediately before a reading switch sw opens , the integration capacitor c2 of the integration circuit is discharged by an external resetpulse . next , when the switch sw opens , a junction capacitor c1 of a photodiode pd is charged from the power source with the charges corresponding to the light output during the accumulation period , the potential of the photodiode pd is initialized to a positive voltage of v1 , and the integration capacitor c2 is also charged by the charging current . consequently , a square integration waveform is obtained at the output terminal of the integration circuit . therefore , any special circuits , suchas a sample - and - hold circuit , are not necessary , and the signal processing at a later stage can be made easier . fig4 is a sectional view showing the structure of the x - ray image sensor . a fiber - optic element ( fop ) 31 for transferring an optical image is provided on the mos image sensor 30 comprising two - dimensional photodiodespd constituting light - receiving pixels . furthermore , a scintillator layer 32 for converting x - rays into visible light is formed on the fiber - optic element 31 . an image of x - rays having passed through the subject is converted into a visible light image by the scintillator layer 32 , transferred by the fiber - optic element 31 and directly subjected to photoelectric conversion by the mos image sensor 30 . fig5 shows a drive circuit for the mos image sensor 30 . photodiodes pd used as light - receiving pixels are arranged in a matrix of m rows × n columns . a junction capacitor c1 is connected in parallel with each photodiode pd , and a reading switch sw is connected in series with each photodiode pd . an address selection circuit sl is connected to the gages of the switches sw so as to select photodiodes pd to be read in accordancewith a signal from the cpu 21 . the output sides of the switches sw in each row are connected in common andsupplied to an operational amplifier q1 constituting a current - voltage conversion circuit . the output of the operational amplifier q1 is sampled by a sample - and - hold ( s / h ) circuit . each sample - and - hold circuit is connected to a switch swb , which is opened / closed by m - staged shift registers . as each switch swb is opened / closed in sequence , a sampled signal is transferred to a video line as a time series signal and delivered to an external buffer bf . fig6 is a timing chart showing the operation of the drive circuit shown in fig5 . the timing is explained as follows by taking an example where ashift register is used as the selection circuit sl . the address selection circuit sl is actuated by a start pulse from the cpu 21 and a first - columnreading pulse rd1 , a second - column reading pulse rd2 , . . . , and an nth - column reading pulse rdn in sequence . when the first - column reading pulse rd1 is supplied to the gate of each switch sw at the first column , the amount of charges corresponding to the amount of incoming light entering each photodiode pd at the first column is read and a voltage signal is outputted from the operational amplifier q1 . next , a sampling pulse sp is supplied to each sample - and - hold circuit so as to perform sampling at the peak of the output of the operational amplifier q1 . the sampled signals are supplied to the shift registers sr , and transferred by a shift clock ck composed of m pieces of pulses before the next sampling pulse sp is supplied , and then outputted externally as an image signal for a single scanning line . the same operation is performed in the second and following columns . that is to say , signals form rows are read in parallel by a single reading pulse , and a time series signal for a single scanning line is formed by the shift registers sr . fig7 shows an embodiment of a circuit where mos image sensors are connected in multistages . two mos image sensors 30a , 3ob , each having light - receiving pixels in a matrix of m rows x n columns , are arranged adjacent to each other in the direction of the row , and connected to each other so as to drive each column by using one of the reading pulses ( rd1 to rdn corresponding to the column ) outputted from the shift register sla which is an address selection circuit sl . by a single reading pulse , signals are read in parallel from 2 m pieces of photodiodes and supplied to 2 m pieces of operational amplifiers q1 and 2 m pieces of sample - and - hold circuits corresponding to each row . two shift registers sra , srb are arranged to correspond to the two mos image sensors 30a , 30b , respectively . the outputs from the sample - and - hold circuits are transferredto the video lines as time series signals by sequentially opening / closing 2m pieces of switches swb . the output signals on the video lines are supplied to two ad converters 20a , 20b , respectively , converted into digital data and supplied to the cpu 21 . in this way , the imaging region of the apparatus can be extended , and data can be transferred quickly as awhole . although two mos image sensors connected in multistages are explained above , three or more mos image sensors may also be used . fig8 is a flowchart showing a linear tomographic imaging procedure , and fig9 is an explanatory view showing linear tomographic imaging . first , the operation principle of linear tomographic imaging is described below . as shown in fig1 a patient p , namely a subject , sits on the chair 8 , and the head of the patient p is secured with positioning members 5 . the horizontal movement mechanism 3 is then controlled so as to align the longitudinal direction of the swivel member 4 with the center line a -- a shown in fig9 . while the x - ray imaging device 7 is moved downward in thedrawing , the x - ray source 6 is moved upward in the drawing . in accordance with this movement , the x - ray source 6 is rotated so that the center of the x - ray beams emitted from the x - ray source 6 passes the center c of a horizontal tomographic plane l and enter the same position of the x - ray imaging device 7 at all times . at this time , in the imaging region of the x - ray imaging device 7 , the image of the same portion of the horizontal tomographic plane l enters thesame position at all times . however , the images at the portions other than the horizontal tomographic plane l slide and are blurred . as a result , only the portion of the horizontal tomographic plane l is imaged clearly . a second slit plate 7a shown in fig9 is driven by a motor 7b , and the x - ray imaging device 7 is moved by a motor 13a constituting the slide mechanism 13 . in the above - mentioned explanation , the x - ray source 6 and the x - ray imaging device 7 are moved linearly with respect to the center c of the horizontal tomographic plane l . however , a similar linear tomographic image can also be obtained by rotating the x - ray source 6 and the x - ray imaging device 7 around the center c . when linear tomographic imaging is performed by using the digital x - ray imaging apparatus of the invention , the x - ray source 6 and the x - ray imaging device 7 are moved at a constant speed and an x - ray image of the subject is taken by the mos image sensor each time a predetermined amount of movement takes place so as to obtain images at intervals of a small displacement of the imaging angle . after the image data is obtained and stored in a plurality of frame memories 22 , tomographic images are reproduced by arithmetic processing . referring to fig8 parameter k is initialized to 1 in step s1 . in step s2 , imaging is started , and the image data for a single frame is read whenthe x - ray source 6 and the x - ray imaging device 7 are at their predetermined positions . in step s3 , the data is stored in kth frame memory . next , the parameter k is incremented by one . in step s5 , whether the kth imaging operation is completed or not is determined . in this way , the procedure of steps s2 to s5 are repeated . consequently , k pieces of image data taken at intervals of a small displacement of the imaging angleare stored in the frame memories 22 . after imaging is completed , the image data stored in each frame memory is calculated in step s6 so as to obtain an arithmetic mean for each pixel . in this way , the image of the horizontal tomographic plane l is made clearby the addition . the portions other than the horizontal tomographic plane lare buried in the background . next , in step s7 , the reproduced tomographic image data is transferred to the video memory 24 and displayed by the image display unit 26 . fig1 to 12 are explanatory views showing panoramic tomographic imaging . referring to fig1 , the opening of the second slit plate 7a is narrowed , and the imaging region of the mos image sensor 30 is partially limited to approximately 6 mm wide × 150 mm long , for example . furthermore , the reading pixel range of the mos image sensor is selectively changed by the address selection circuit sl shown in fig5 . moreover , with the second slit plate 7a kept open widely for linear imaging and uncontrolled , only the light - receiving region of the mos image sensor 30 can be controlled for both panoramic and linear imaging as a matter of course . when the digital x - ray imaging apparatus of the invention is used for panoramic tomographic imaging , the swivel member 4 rotates around the subject with the x - ray source 6 and the x - ray imaging device 7 opposingly each other , and x - ray images of the subject are taken by the mos image sensor 30 at intervals of a predetermine rotation angle . after the image data taken at intervals of a small displacement of the imaging angle is stored in a plurality of frame memories 22 , tomographic images are reproduced by arithmetic operation processing . referring to fig1 , objects a , b , c , d and e are arranged on a tomographic plane v , and objects a , b , c and d are arranged on a tomographic plane w . image information j1 at a certain imaging angle is obtained as the overlap of the images of the objects a and a , the overlap of the images of the objects b and b , and the overlap of the images of theobjects c and c . when the imaging angle is changed by angle θ , image information j2 is obtained as the overlap of the images of the objects c and b , the overlap of the images of the objects d and c , and the overlap of the images of the objects e and d . in fig1 a , the image information j1 and the image information j2 thus obtained are added directly . the object images on the tomographic plane v and having the same level are added to the object images on the tomographic plane w and having the same level on a unit - by - unit basis . in fig1 b , the contents of the image information j1 are shifted by one stepto create shift image information j1s . in fig1 c , the shift image information j1s is added to the image information j2 . as a result , each ofthe images of the objects b , c and d has two units in each stage , and each of the images of the objects b , c , d and e remains as one unit . therefore , by repeating this kind of shift processing and addition processing many times , the images of the objects a , b , c and d on the desired tomographic plane w are added one after another , and the images of the objects other than those on the tomographic plane w are buried in the background . consequently , the panoramic tomographic images along the desired tomographic plane can be reproduced . fig1 to 15 are structural views showing embodiments of the first slit plate 6b and the second slit plate 7a . in fig1 , a pair of x - ray shielding plates 51 are threadedly engaged with a screw 53 having two opposite - direction male threads . when the screw 53 is rotated by a motor 52 , the opening width of the x - ray shielding plate 51 in the vertical direction is adjusted . in the same way , a screw 55 having two opposite - direction male threads is disposed perpendicularly to the screw 53 and threadedly engaged with the pair of the x - ray shielding plates 51 . when the screw 55 is rotated by a motor 54 , the opening width of the x - rayshielding plate 51 in the horizontal direction is adjusted . consequently , the dimension of an opening xa can be adjusted as desired . in fig1 , a rectangular x - ray shielding plate 51 is supported by rolls 56and mounted on a screw 53 . when the screw 53 is rotated by a motor 52 , the x - ray shielding plate 51 is moved linearly in the horizontal direction . the x - ray shielding plate 51 is provided with a plurality of openings xa to xe having different dimensions , and these openings can be selectively used in accordance with the movement position . in fig1 , a disc - shaped x - ray shielding plate 51 is supported by a shaft 57 , and a threaded portion formed around the circumference of the shielding plate 51 is threadedly engaged with a worm screw 53 . when the screw 53 is rotated by a motor 52 , the x - ray shielding plate 51 is rotated . the x - ray shielding plate 51 is provided with a plurality of openings xa to xe having different dimensions , and these openings can be selectively used in accordance with the rotation position . as described above , the opening ranges of the first slit plate 6b and the second slit plate 7a can be changed easily depending on imaging conditions . fig1 is an explanatory view showing a rotation center orbit and a tomographic plane in the panoramic tomographic imaging mode . the swivel member 4 moves so that x - rays from the x - ray source 6 can enter the tomographic plane w nearly perpendicularly , and the distance from the rotation center to the tomographic plane , that is , the effective rotation radius , changes depending on the curvature radius of the tomographic planew to be imaged . consequently , the rotation center of the swivel member 4 moves along an orbit z represented by a smooth curve having a bent portionin the middle . when the front tooth region g is to be imaged , the effective rotation radius becomes small . therefore , there is a fear that the tomographic width in the front tooth region g corresponding to the reproduction range of a tomographic image may be smaller than the tomographic width in the molar tooth region h . to solve this problem , the range of the reading pixels of the mos sensor is narrowed by adjustment , whereby the tomographic width in the front tooth region g is made larger . this is effective in easily positioning the patient . consequently , the width of the tomographic image can be adjusted by controlling at least the range ofthe reading pixels of the mos sensor . however , the width of the tomographicimage can also be adjusted by controlling the range of the reading pixels of the mos sensor and / or the opening width of the second slit plate 7a during x - ray imaging . the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrativeand not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and all changes which come within the meaning and the range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein . | 7 |
referring now to the drawings , wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views , fig1 shows the round bale feeder ( 10 ) of the present invention assembled and ready for use . the feeder ( 10 ) includes a number of horizontal rings ( 20 ) and a number of slant bars ( 30 ) connected by bolt and nut fasteners ( 40 ). a feed saver band ( 50 ) is shown attached to the inner surface of the two adjacent bottom rings ( 20 ) to contain hay that is pulled from or falls from the bale ( not shown ). an alignment bracket ( 60 ) is provided between the rings ( 20 ) and the bars ( 30 ) at each intersection point . as best shown in fig2 - 6 , each bracket ( 60 ) has a base plate ( 62 ) that includes a ring face ( 70 ) and bar face ( 80 ). the ring face ( 70 ) has end ribs ( 72 ) and a center rib ( 72 &# 39 ;) that extend from the base plate ( 62 ). each rib ( 72 , 72 &# 39 ;) has an arcuate recessed cradle ( 74 ). as shown in fig6 the base ( 76 ) of the cradle ( 74 ) of the center rib ( 72 &# 39 ;) is not elevated above the ring face ( 70 ) as far as the base ( 78 ) of the cradle ( 74 ) of the end ribs ( 72 ). this provides for the arc of the rings ( 20 ) and allows all portions of the rings ( 20 ) to matingly engage all three cradles ( 74 ). the bar face ( 80 ) also has end ribs ( 82 ) and a center rib ( 82 &# 39 ;) that extend from the base plate ( 62 ). each rib ( 82 , 82 &# 39 ;) has an arcuate recessed cradle ( 84 ) with a base ( 86 ). the base ( 86 ) of the cradle ( 84 ) of the center rib ( 82 &# 39 ;) and the end ribs ( 82 ) is located at the same elevation from the bar face ( 80 ). this allows all portions of the slant bars ( 30 ) to matingly engage all three cradles ( 84 ). as most clearly shown in fig5 the ribs ( 72 , 72 &# 39 ;) of the ring face ( 70 ) are disposed at an oblique angle to the ribs ( 82 , 82 &# 39 ;) of the bar face ( 80 ). this angular arrangement corresponds to the desired angular arrangement of the rings ( 20 ) and the slant bars ( 30 ). also , it is important to note that the center ring face rib ( 72 &# 39 ;) ( dashed line in fig5 ) extends across the ring face ( 70 ) diagonally between the two end bar face ribs ( 82 ). this acts as a reinforcing web to hold one side of the end bar face ribs ( 82 ) from major radial deflection away from the slant bar ( 30 ) as the fasteners ( 40 ) are tightened . similarly , the center bar face rib ( 82 &# 39 ;) extends across the bar face ( 80 ) diagonally between the two end ring face ribs ( 72 ) ( dashed line in fig5 ). this too acts as a reinforcing web . referring to fig4 it can be seen that the right side of the center bar face rib ( 82 &# 39 ;) is disposed directly behind the left side of the end ring face rib ( 72 ). also , the right side of the end bar face rib ( 82 ) is disposed directly behind the right side of the end ring face rib ( 72 ). both the left and right sides of the end ring face rib ( 72 ) are thus stabilized against deflection as the fasteners ( 40 ) is tightened since the force of the ring ( 20 ) against the end ring face rib ( 72 ) is balanced by the force of the bar ( 30 ) against the center bar face rib ( 82 &# 39 ;). if the center bar face rib ( 82 &# 39 ;) were not present , the left side of the end ring face rib ( 72 ) would deflect radially away from the ring ( 20 ) as the fastener ( 40 ) is tightened since there would be no supporting structure behind it . it is to be understood that the rings ( 20 ) and bars ( 30 ) could have cross - sectional shapes other than the circular shapes illustrated , so long as the cradles ( 74 and 84 ) correspond in shape to allow mating engagement . also , although various materials of construction may be used , it is preferable to use light - weight corrosion resistant materials such as plastic rings ( 20 ), bars ( 30 ), skirts ( 50 ), and brackets ( 60 ), and stainless steel fasteners ( 40 ). further , although a single fastener ( 40 ) is shown making the connection at each intersection point , it is to be understood that multiple fasteners ( 40 ) or different types of fasteners could be used . the method of constructing the round bale feeder ( 10 ) of the present invention is now described for a three - ring feeder with a feed saver band . it is to be understood that the construction can be undertaken by a manufacturer or distributor , but it is preferable that the construction be done by the end user so that distribution and shipping economies can be realized . the assembly of a three - ring feeder ( 10 ) requires the following materials : first the assembler must note that the poly spacer brackets are not symmetrical . on the ring side the center rib is flush with the base plate of the bracket at the center hole while on the bar side , the center rib is raised by 3 / 16 inch above the base plate . the side of the bracket with the raised rib always goes toward the outside of the feeder so it is next to the slant bar leg . the assembly is started by obtaining one of the twelve legs and identifying the end with a hole spacing of 21 . 4 inches between holes . this end will be the bottom of the bale feeder and these two holes will be used to secure the feed saver band as well as mount the lower two rings . a flat washer is placed next to the head of a bolt and the bolt is inserted through the lower hole in the leg . a spacer bracket is placed over the bottom so the bracket ribs engage the leg . the raised center rib should be toward the leg and the flush center rib should be opposite the leg . the bolt from this leg and bracket assembly is then inserted through one of the holes in a ring . the spacer bracket ribs should now engage the ring . the feed saver band is then placed inside the ring . the bolt from this leg , bracket , and ring assembly is then aligned with the second bottom hole from one end of the feed saver band and the bolt is inserted in that hole . fender washers and lock nuts are then installed . the fender washers are larger than standard flat washers and are used to cover the slots between the feed saver band and the lock nuts . the nuts are tightened only enough to secure the leg in position . during remaining assembly , none of the nuts are completely tightened until the feeder is completely assembled . the second , or middle ring , can be held in place by inserting bolts with flat washers in four holes equally spaced in the liner and ring . the liner will overlap at one set of holes . the eleven remaining feeder posts are then installed with bolts , flat washers , fender washers , and spacer brackets , to the two rings and feed saver band . the fasteners are not tightened . next , the top ring is installed . if assembly is being done by one person only , the next steps will be aided if a temporary support 25 &# 34 ; in length is utilized to position the top ring above the middle ring . because the legs are at an angle , the top of the leg will need to be pulled inward to meet the ring . the bolts , spacer brackets , nuts and washers are installed as above except a flat washer is used in place of the fender washer under the nut on the inside of the feeder . in all cases , the nuts should be positioned on the inside of the assembly . when tightening the nut as instructed below , it is important to not over - tighten the joint . the joint is usually properly tightened when approximately 3 / 8 &# 34 ; to 1 / 2 &# 34 ; of bolt thread protrudes beyond the nut . all joints should be re - checked for tightness after some period of usage . to complete the assembly , the first bolt installed is tightened followed by the bolt in the second ring above and slightly clockwise from it . the liner must be against the feeder rings as the remaining bolts are tightened , alternating from the bottom to the second ring . it is important that the liner is a snug to the rings as possible . finally , the bolts in the top ring are tightened and the assembly is now complete and the feeder is ready for usage . because the feeder is relatively light weight and very durable , the user may wish to first place the bale in the desired location and then place the feeder over the top of the bale . the feeder can easily be rolled from one location to another . if it is desired to lower the top ring to narrow the feed opening , the user simply drills 7 / 16 &# 34 ; diameter holes in the legs at the desired height . the existing bolts are then removed and the ring is repositioned to align the new holes with the bracket and leg holes . the mounting bolts are then re - installed . although only an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been described in detail above , those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention . accordingly , all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims . | 0 |
various aspects of the illustrative embodiments will be described using terms commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art . however , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that alternate embodiments may be practiced with only some of the described aspects . for purposes of explanation , specific devices and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the illustrative embodiments . however , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that alternate embodiments may be practiced without the specific details . in other instances , well - known features are omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the illustrative embodiments . further , various operations will be described as multiple discrete operations , in turn , in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the present invention ; however , the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent . in particular , these operations need not be performed in the order of presentation . the phrase “ in one embodiment ” is used repeatedly . the phrase generally does not refer to the same embodiment ; however , it may . the terms “ comprising ,” “ having ,” and “ including ” are synonymous , unless the context dictates otherwise . in providing some clarifying context to language that may be used in connection with various embodiments , the phrases “ nb ” and “ a and / or b ” mean ( a ), ( b ), or ( a and b ); and the phrase “ a , b , and / or c ” means ( a ), ( b ), ( c ), ( a and b ), ( a and c ), ( b and c ) or ( a , b and c ). the term “ coupled with ,” along with its derivatives , may be used herein . “ coupled ” may mean one or more of the following . “ coupled ” may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact . however , “ coupled ” may also mean that two or more elements indirectly contact each other , but yet still cooperate or interact with each other , and may mean that one or more other elements are coupled or connected between the elements that are said to be coupled to each other . various blocks may be introduced and described in terms of an operation provided by the blocks . these blocks may include various hardware , software , and / or firmware elements in order to provide the described operations . while some of these blocks may be shown with a level of specificity , e . g ., providing discrete elements in a set arrangement , other embodiments may employ various modifications of elements / arrangements in order to provide the associated operations within the constraints / objectives of a particular embodiment . fig1 illustrates a radio - frequency ( rf ) amplification circuit 100 in accordance with various embodiments . the rf amplification circuit 100 may have a power amplifier ( pa ) 104 to receive an input rf signal , rfin . the power amplifier 104 may output an amplified version of rfin as an output rf signal , rfout . the rf amplification circuit 100 may include a matching network 108 that transforms a relatively low impedance , e . g ., 2 - 4 ohms , at an output of the power amplifier 104 to a relatively higher impedance , e . g ., 50 ohms , at load 112 . the power delivered to the load 112 by the power amplifier 104 may depend on two primary variables . the first primary variable is a supply voltage , vcc , provided to the power amplifier 104 . the second primary variable is impedance as seen by the power amplifier 104 . this may also be referred to as loadline . the loadline may be a function of the matching network 108 . the rf amplification circuit 100 may include a modulation controller 116 coupled with the matching network 108 . the modulation controller 116 may control the matching network 108 , e . g ., by providing the matching network 108 with a control signal , in a manner to modulate the loadline presented to the power amplifier 104 to achieve high - efficiency amplification . modulation of the loadline , as described herein , may improve the efficiency of the rf amplification circuit 100 when operating at backed - off power levels and / or with modulation schemes having high paprs . fig1 illustrates a waveform 124 of an input impedance , zin , of the matching network 108 as seen by the power amplifier 104 . fig1 also illustrates a waveform 128 of an output impedance , zout , of the matching network 108 provided to the load 112 . the matching network 108 may provide for the fast modulation of the input impedance , which may also be referred to as loadline , to implement a fast amplitude modulation ( am ) envelope of an rf signal waveform . the output impedance may be maintained at a relatively constant level , e . g ., 50 ohms . fast loadline modulation may enhance efficiency of the rf amplification circuit 100 when operating under high papr signal waveforms typical of 4 th generation ( 4g ) modulation standards such as lte , ofdma , etc . fast loadline modulation may be defined herein as a modulation bandwidth that is comparable to or exceeds a bandwidth of amplitude modulation of the rf signal waveform . in various embodiments , the modulation bandwidth may be approximately 5 megahertz ( mhz ) or greater . in various embodiments , the supply voltage may be fixed , while the loadline is modulated . in other embodiments , the supply voltage may be variable , but may vary at rates that differ from those at which the loadline is varied . the supply voltage may be varied by use of a switcher , e . g ., a dc - dc converter , coupled with a supply terminal of the power amplifier 104 . fig2 is an rf amplification circuit 200 that may be used to provide the fast loadline modulation described above in accordance with some embodiments . the rf amplification circuit 200 may be similar to , and substantially interchangeable with , rf amplification circuit 100 . unless stated otherwise , like - name components may be similar to , and substantially interchangeable with , one another . the rf amplification circuit 200 may include a power amplifier 204 having three stages , 1 st stage 208 , 2 nd stage 212 , and 3 rd stage 216 . the 3 rd stage may output an amplified rf signal to a matching circuit 220 . in other embodiments , the power amplifier 204 may have other number of stages . the matching circuit 220 may be a series lc matching network having series inductive elements 224 and 228 and shunt capacitive elements 232 , 236 , and 240 . it may be understood that the matching circuit 220 may include other arrangements of elements . a modulation controller , e . g ., modulation controller 116 , may be coupled with one or more of the series inductive elements 224 and 228 , and / or shunt capacitive elements 232 , 236 , and 240 and may modulate the parameters of the elements to provide the fast loadline modulation . while all of the inductive and capacitive elements are shown as variable elements in fig2 , other embodiments may include various combinations of fixed and variable elements . fig3 ( a )-( c ) illustrate switched - element banks that may be used in a matching network , e . g ., matching network 220 , configured to provide fast load line modulation in accordance with some embodiments . fig3 ( a ) illustrates a switched capacitor bank 300 that may be used as a variable capacitive element that may be dynamically controlled to provide a discrete capacitance in accordance with some embodiments . the switched capacitor bank 300 may be used for one or more of the shunt capacitive elements 232 , 236 , and / or 240 . the switched capacitor bank 300 may include a number of capacitors , e . g ., 304 , 308 , 312 , and 316 , coupled in parallel with another . one or more of the capacitors may be coupled with a switch , e . g ., 320 , 324 , and 328 , so that the capacitor may be switched into or out of the switched capacitor bank 300 by operation of corresponding switch . while four capacitors and three switches are shown in fig3 , other embodiments may have other numbers of switches and / or capacitors . fig3 ( b ) illustrates a switched inductor bank 330 that may be used as a variable inductive element that may be dynamically controlled to provide a discrete inductance in accordance with some embodiments . for example , the switched inductor bank 330 may be used for one or more of the series inductive elements 224 and / or 228 . the switched inductor bank 330 may include a number of inductors , e . g ., 334 , 338 , 342 , and 346 , coupled in parallel with another . one or more of the inductors may be coupled with a switch , e . g ., 350 , 354 , and 358 , so that the inductor may be switched into or out of the switched inductor bank 330 by operation of corresponding switch . while four inductors and three switches are shown in fig3 ( b ), other embodiments may have other numbers of switches and / or inductors . fig3 ( c ) illustrates a switched inductor bank 362 that may be used as an alternative to switched inductor bank 330 in accordance with some embodiments . for example , the switched inductor bank 362 may be used for one or more of the series inductive elements 224 and / or 228 . the switched inductor bank 362 may include an inductor 366 coupled in parallel with one or more capacitors , e . g ., 370 , 374 , and 378 . one or more of the capacitors may be coupled with a switch , e . g ., 382 , 386 , and 390 , so that the capacitor may be switched into or out of the switched inductor bank 362 by operation of corresponding switch . while one inductor , three capacitors , and three switches are shown in fig3 ( c ), other embodiments may have other numbers of switches , capacitors , and / or inductors . a modulation controller , e . g ., modulation controller 116 , may control the switches of the switched capacitor bank 300 , switched inductor bank 330 and / or switched inductor bank 362 in a manner to provide desired modulation of the load line . to achieve the bandwidths desired for 4g waveforms , the switches of the switched banks of fig3 may be semiconductor switches rather than microelectromechanical system ( mems ) switches , which may be too slow . the switches may be gallium arsenide ( gaas ) switches , silicon on sapphire ( sos ) switches , silicon on insulator ( soi ) switches , silicon germanium ( sige ) switches , complementary metal oxide semiconductor ( cmos ) switches , etc . while the embodiments shown in fig3 illustrate elements coupled in parallel with one another , other embodiments may use series - parallel arrangements of the elements to achieve desired variation in element values . while these switch - based solutions for modulation of the loadline shown in fig3 are feasible in some applications , they may also be associated with various challenges . an envelope of an rf waveform is analog and fast varying . to impose the am modulation on the rf waveform in a manner that maintains the fidelity of the desired output signal , the impedance modulation should also vary in a fast and continuous manner . however , with a switched - element bank approach , the envelope of the rf waveform is sampled periodically and the output level is restricted to a number of discrete values set by the number of bits ( i . e . switches ). if the analog waveform is not sampled on a small enough sampling period , or with an insufficient number of discrete states , noise or unwanted frequency components will be generated . this is known as quantization error . this quantization error may be deleterious to the desired output waveform . for example , the quantization error may result in spectral regrowth or noise in frequency bands adjacent to the assigned frequency band that can affect receiver sensitivity and create unwanted spurious emissions that may be higher than allowed by regulatory requirements . to reduce quantization error consistent with the system objectives for rf power amplification circuitry a minimum number of discrete levels ( i . e . bits ) must be used to ensure adequate fidelity of the amplified rf waveform . the quantization error can only be reduced by increasing the number of bits . in a switched - element implementation , this translates directly into the number of switches and elements that must be used for each component that must be modulated . this may result in driving up the size and cost of switched - element banks in order to meet system objectives . another consideration of the switched - element banks is the associated insertion loss . semiconductor switches have a relatively high on - resistance , e . g ., approximately 2 ohms . since the output impedance of a power amplifier is typically in a range of 2 - 4 ohms , a significant increase in insertion loss , i . e ., decreased efficiency , may occur if such switches are used to switch elements close to the power amplifier 104 . thus , in practice , it is likely that only elements close to the load 112 , which are in a higher - impedance environment and at the opposite end of the matching network 108 from the power amplifier 104 can be switched with this approach . this may limit an impedance tuning range of a matching network . as an alternative to relying on switches to modulate the loadline , some embodiments provide reactive elements that may have their associated reactive values fast modulated in a continuous or analog manner . for example , some embodiments may dynamically modulate individual capacitance values of variable capacitors in a matching network . the variable capacitors may include varactor diodes or capacitors constructed with a voltage - dependent dielectric , a borium strontium titanate ( bst ) dielectric . these variable capacitors may be referred to as varactor capacitors and bst capacitors , respectively . for both of these technologies , capacitance values may be modulated by means of an applied voltage in a continuous analog manner . in some embodiments , one or more of the shunt capacitive elements 232 , 236 , and / or 240 of matching network 220 may be replaced with a variable capacitor . in some embodiments , one or more of the series inductive elements 224 and / or 228 may be replaced by a variable capacitor coupled in parallel with an inductor . the use of analog loadline modulation technologies may be associated with a number of advantages . these include , but are not limited to : limit of distortion due to analog control ; high quality factors associated with varactor and bst capacitors resulting in a low on - resistance ( e . g ., approximately 200 milliohms of bst capacitors ), which may allow their use as modifiable impedance elements anywhere in the matching network 108 including at the output of the power amplifier 104 ; high reliability of passive elements , e . g ., varactor and bst capacitors ; minimal packaging requirement required for passive die ; low - cost of the modulation controller 116 , which may be realizable in complementary metal - oxide semiconductor ( cmos ), due to bandwidth of control signals only being a few tens of mhz ; and absence of switching spurs . it may be noted that loadline modulation architectures described herein need not be forcibly modulated by an analog control signal . some embodiments may use digital control signals assuming the bandwidth of such digital control signals meet or exceed the desired bandwidth of the modulation waveform . a further advantage of having the analog - capable loadline modulation architecture is that the user can decide what level of quantization of the control signal is desired for a given application . this is in contrast to the switched - element bank embodiments in which the quantization is fixed by the hardware . while both types of variable capacitors discussed above may be capable of being modulated fast enough for fast loadline modulation , there are certain factors that should be considered in their implementation . these factors stem from the fact that both types of variable capacitors are two - terminal devices . therefore , an rf signal across the device may lead to self - modulation of the capacitance , which may lead to distortion of the rf waveform . to overcome this , a number of variable capacitors may be stacked to reduce the rf voltage swing across any individual capacitor . however , in order to keep the modulation voltage low , e . g ., less than 30 volts , a resistive feed network may be employed so that the modulation voltage is effectively applied in parallel across individual variable capacitors . the resistive network may employ resistors having values of 1 killiohm or more to ensure minimal rf loss across the stacked variable capacitors . this may result in a high resistor - capacitor ( rc ) time constant for the feed network that limits the rate at which the capacitance of the variable capacitors may be modulated . a modulation response time of such an arrangement could be on the order of 20 - 50 microseconds . however , in order to implement efficient amplification of waveforms having a signal bandwidth of 10 - 20 megahertz ( mhz ), a modulation response time of 10 - 20 nanoseconds may be desired . fig4 illustrates a stacked capacitor arrangement 400 that may be used to reduce an rc time constant in accordance with some embodiments . the stacked capacitor arrangement 400 ( or simply “ arrangement 400 ”) may include a feed network 404 that may be coupled with a capacitor line 408 having a plurality of variable capacitors 412 , which may be varactor or bst capacitors , coupled in series with one another . the feed network 404 may be configured to receive a modulation control signal , vc , e . g ., from modulation controller 116 . the feed network 404 may include a number of frequency - varying resistive elements 416 that are designed to increase modulation response time of feed network 404 . this may allow for the rapid modulation of the loadline , e . g ., on the order of nanoseconds . the resistive elements 416 may each include a resistor 420 and an inductor 424 . the resistive elements 416 may include first - level resistive elements 416 _ 1 , e . g ., those coupled directly with the capacitor line 408 , and second - level resistive elements 416 _ 2 , e . g ., those coupled between the first - level resistive elements 416 _ 1 and a modulation controller . in other embodiments , e . g ., embodiments having different number of stacked capacitors , the feed network 404 may include resistive elements of other levels . some of the first - level resistive elements 416 _ 1 may have resistors with a resistance r_ 1 and inductors with an inductance l_ 1 . the first - level resistive elements 416 _ 1 coupled with the capacitor line 408 closest to rf port 1 and rf port 2 may have components that are twice the size of the other first - level components , i . e ., resistors with a resistance 2 r_ 1 and inductors with an inductance 2 l_ 1 . the second - level resistive elements 416 _ 2 may have resistors with a resistance of r_ 2 and inductors with an inductance l_ 2 . the resistors 420 and inductors 416 may provide the resistive elements 416 with a frequency - dependent impedance that sets a relatively low impedance within the modulation bandwidth , e . g ., ≦ 100 mhz , and a relatively high impedance within the signal bandwidth , ≧ 700 mhz . further , the feed network 404 may provide a modulation response time in the desired range , e . g ., 10 - 20 nanoseconds . in some embodiments , the individual impedances desired for the signal bandwidth may be on the order of a few kilo ohms ( kω ), which may correspond to relatively large inductors . fig5 illustrates a stacked capacitor arrangement 500 that may be used to reduce an rc time constant in accordance with other embodiments . in this embodiment , capacitor line 504 includes stacked variable capacitors 508 , similar to that shown and described with respect to fig4 . however , arrangement 500 includes a feed network 512 with resistive elements composed of a plurality of resistive traces 516 fabricated from a material having relatively high magnetic permeability , e . g ., approximately 100 or more . the materials may include , but are not limited to , iron ( fe ), nickel ( ni ), cobalt ( co ), etc . such materials may have a pronounced skin effect that restricts current flow to outer vicinities of the traces as frequency increases . thus , the resistive traces 516 may have an effective resistance that increases with frequency . fig6 is a chart 600 demonstrating the skin effect in accordance with some embodiments . specifically , a trace resistance ratio , measured as a ratio of r f / r 0 , as a function of signal frequency is provided for copper ( cu ) 604 , nickel ( ni ) 608 , and iron ( fe ) 612 . r f is a resistance of a trace having 2 micron thickness at frequency f and r 0 is a resistance of the trace at dc , i . e ., f = 0 . as can be seen , at increased frequency , for a given thickness conductor , traces constructed from a high permeability conductor will exhibit a larger increase in resistance than those made from a relatively low permeability material such as cu . in some embodiments , the resistive traces 516 may be formed in an inductive manner , e . g ., forming one or more inductors , thereby enhancing the desired effect . utilizing resistive traces 516 in the feed network 512 , as described , may result in an effective impedance at low frequency , e . g ., less than approximately 20 mhz , being reduced by a factor of 10 or more from an effective impedance at a high frequency , e . g ., greater than approximately 1 , 000 mhz . this may provide desired rf isolation as well as having a reduced rc time constant that results in a modulation response time of the capacitance of the variable capacitors 508 to be within the desired range , e . g ., 10 - 20 nanoseconds . in some embodiments , the resistive traces 516 may have a uniform cross - sectional geometry . in other embodiments , different resistive traces 516 may include different cross - sectional geometries . fig7 is a flowchart illustrating an amplification operation 700 of , e . g ., the rf amplification circuit 100 , in accordance with some embodiments . the amplification operation 700 may include , at block 704 , amplifying an rf signal . amplifying the rf signal may be done through one or more stages of an rf power amplifier , e . g ., power amplifier 104 . the amplification operation 700 may further include , at block 708 , receiving an envelope modulation signal . the receiving of the envelope modulation signal may be done by the modulation controller 116 . in some embodiments , the envelope modulation signal may be received from transceiver circuitry and may indicate real - time changes in a waveform envelope of a particular transmission modulation scheme , e . g ., lte . the amplification operation 700 may further include , at block 712 , modulating a loadline . the modulating of the loadline may be based on the received envelope modulation signal . the modulating of the loadline may be done by a modulation controller , e . g ., modulation controller 116 , providing a control signal to vary effective capacitance of a switched element bank , e . g ., 300 , 330 , or 362 , or to vary capacitance of individual variable capacitors of a stacked capacitor arrangement , e . g ., 400 or 500 . in some embodiments , the control signals may be provided to the capacitors through a feed network , e . g ., feed network 404 or 516 . a block diagram of an exemplary wireless communication device 800 is illustrated in fig8 in accordance with some embodiments . wireless communication device 800 may have rf amplification circuit 804 including a power amplifier ( pa ) 808 , matching network ( mn ) 812 , and modulation controller ( mc ) 816 . the rf amplification circuit 804 may be similar to , and substantially interchangeable with , rf amplification circuit 100 . in addition to the rf amplification circuit 804 , the wireless communication device 800 may have an antenna structure 820 , a tx / rx switch 824 , a transceiver 828 , a main processor 832 , and a memory 836 coupled with each other at least as shown . while the wireless communication device 800 is shown with transmitting and receiving capabilities , other embodiments may include devices with only transmitting or only receiving capabilities . in various embodiments , the wireless communication device 800 may be , but is not limited to , a mobile telephone , a paging device , a personal digital assistant , a text - messaging device , a portable computer , a desktop computer , a base station , a subscriber station , an access point , a radar , a satellite communication device , or any other device capable of wirelessly transmitting / receiving rf signals . the main processor 832 may execute a basic operating system program , stored in the memory 836 , in order to control the overall operation of the wireless communication device 800 . for example , the main processor 832 may control the reception of signals and the transmission of signals by transceiver 828 . the main processor 832 may be capable of executing other processes and programs resident in the memory 836 and may move data into or out of memory 836 , as desired by an executing process . the transceiver 828 may receive outgoing data ( e . g ., voice data , web data , e - mail , signaling data , etc .) from the main processor 832 , may generate the rfin signal ( s ) to represent the outgoing data , and provide the rfin signal ( s ) to the power amplifier 808 . the transceiver 828 may also provide an envelope tracking signal to the modulation controller 816 . the modulation controller 816 may generate modulation control signals that are provided to the matching network 812 based on the envelope tracking signal . the rf amplification circuit 804 may amplify the rfin signal , received from the transceiver 828 , to provide rfout signal . the rfout signal may be provided to the tx / rx switch 824 and then to the antenna structure 820 for an over - the - air ( ota ) transmission . in some embodiments , tx / rx switch 824 may include a duplexer . in a similar manner , the transceiver 828 may receive an incoming ota signal from the antenna structure 820 through the tx / rx switch 824 . the transceiver 828 may process and send the incoming signal to the main processor 832 for further processing . in various embodiments , the antenna structure 820 may include one or more directional and / or omnidirectional antennas , including , e . g ., a dipole antenna , a monopole antenna , a patch antenna , a loop antenna , a microstrip antenna or any other type of antenna suitable for ota transmission / reception of rf signals . those skilled in the art will recognize that the wireless communication device 800 is given by way of example and that , for simplicity and clarity , only so much of the construction and operation of the wireless communication device 800 as is necessary for an understanding of the embodiments is shown and described . various embodiments contemplate any suitable component or combination of components performing any suitable tasks in association with wireless communication device 800 , according to particular needs . moreover , it is understood that the wireless communication device 800 should not be construed to limit the types of devices in which embodiments may be implemented . although the present invention has been described in terms of the above - illustrated embodiments , it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a wide variety of alternate and / or equivalent implementations calculated to achieve the same purposes may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope of the present invention . those with skill in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention may be implemented in a very wide variety of embodiments . this description is intended to be regarded as illustrative instead of restrictive on embodiments of the present invention . | 7 |
the system and method of the present invention is explained with reference to email messages and network architecture necessary for the implementation of email system . it is to be understood that such an explanation is only for the purpose of illustration . the system and method envisaged by the present disclosure can be applied to other protocols and other message types without departing from the scope of the disclosure . it will be understood by those skilled in the art of message and data transmission over networks that the various embodiments of the present invention may be implemented using servers , processors , data storage and various software programs , such as email systems , network protocols and the like as are known by those skilled in the art . for example , a server such as is described below will typically include one or more processors that are controlled by software programs to carry out the various steps described . such a server will include communication ports for communication of data to and from the server . the communication port may also allow for information to be stored by the processor of server onto a data storage device , which may be any data storage or memory device known in the art . the processor may also communicate over a network , which may be wired or wireless , so as to implement the various embodiments of the present invention . referring to fig1 , there is shown a server 10 . the server primarily acts as the outgoing mail transfer agent ( mta ) for a message sender &# 39 ; s mail user agent ( mua ) 12 . the mua 12 is utilized by a sender to create an email message ( electronic data ). possible muas &# 39 ; include client side email programs , server - side email programs , web based email programs and html pages submitted through websites / web services . the intended recipient / addressee / receiver of the message is denoted as the recipient 14 . in accordance with this disclosure , the server 10 receives a message that is to be transmitted to a recipient . on receiving a message to be transmitted , the sever locally stores the message in a repository 16 and subsequently creates a plurality of fields corresponding to the message , in the repository 16 . the fields created by the server include but are not restricted to the time at which the message was received , name of the attachments of the message , and the number of addresses of the message . for every destination mentioned in the received message , the server 10 records at least the name of the destination , internet address of the destination , and the time at which the message was delivered to the destination &# 39 ; s mail server . these records are subsequently stored in the repository 16 . subsequent to receiving a message to be transmitted to a recipient , the mta of the server 10 transmits another message , also referred to as a ‘ notification ’ to the corresponding sender asking for sender &# 39 ; s confirmation of the ownership of the message . typically the notification is sent in the form of an email message to the corresponding sender from the server 10 , in order to confirm the ownership of the message that is needed to be transmitted from the server to an intended recipient . the server 10 modifies certain headers of the notification message in order to make sure that the sender &# 39 ; s reply to the notification is sent to a place from where the server 10 can access and process the replays , and also to ensure that an appropriate reply is elicited from the sender . for example , if the name of the sender is ‘ john smith ’, and his web address is ‘ johnsmith @ adomain . com ’, the server sends the notification to ‘ johnsmith @ adomain . com ’. the address of john smith is included in the ‘ to ’ column of the notification message . further , the server 10 automatically modifies some of the headers of the notification message to ensure that the reply from john smith is always accessible to the server 10 for processing . the notification message is sent to john smith &# 39 ; s mua ( mail user agent ) which is in turn requested to send the reply from john smith to an address specified by and accessible to the server 10 for processing . subsequently , the creator of the message ( sender ) replies to the notification message sent by the server , and confirms his / her ownership of the message that needs to be transmitted to an intended recipient . the ownership is confirmed by the sender typically via an email . subsequent to receiving the confirmation of the ownership of the sender , the server 10 transmits the message received from the sender to the intended recipient . along with the message , the proof of identity and proof of ownership of the sender is also embedded by the server 10 . the proof of identity and proof of ownership of the sender may be embedded into the message , or may be included as a separate attachment to the message . bothe message with the embedded content , or the message with an attachment containing the identity of the sender and proof ownership by be encrypted for secure transmission over a network , such as the internet . when a message intended for a particular recipient is received by the server 10 , the server 10 stores a local copy of the message in the repository 16 . the server may also optionally modify the received message . for example , after the end of the message body , a web link or a web page address can be inserted by the server . the intended recipient may click on or otherwise activate the link to confirm the receipt of the message . further , the message may also be modified by the server in such a way that the message enables the recipient to go to a website by clicking on a hyperlink available as a part of the message , and subsequently compose a new message or reply to the received message , thereby confirming his / her identity . in one embodiment , for every outgoing message , i . e ., for every message sent from server 10 to the intended recipient , the server 10 creates a unique code / unique identification number corresponding to the message . the unique code can be a timestamp indicating the time at which the message was sent from the server 10 . the unique code may also be stored in the repository 16 for future reference . optionally , the unique code / identification number can also be embedded in the message that is sent to the recipient from the server 10 . for example , the “ from ” field of the message can be augmented to contain the unique code of the message along with the address of the recipient of the message . optionally , the unique code / identification number can also be included in the message when the message is received from the sender at the server . optionally , the unique code / identification number can also be embedded in a web link or a web address that is sent as a part of the notification message , from server 10 to the sender . the notification message transmitted from the server 10 to the sender may also prompt the sender to provide indications of his / her identity and also indication of the ownership of the message transmitted from the sender to the server 10 . the sender could indicate his identity and ownership of the transmitted message by drawing / creating a digital signature on a user interface made available to the sender . the digital signature created by the sender is stored in the repository for further process and verification , optionally , subsequent to transmitting the email message the intended recipient of the message can also be prompted to prove his / her identity . the recipient can also be prompted to draw a digital signature on a web interface made available to the recipient . subsequently , the digital signature of the recipient is compared with signatures previously stored in the repository 16 , and only on finding a match , the recipient is provided access to the email message sent by the server 10 . in another embodiment , the timestamp denoting the date and time at which the email message is transmitted from the server to the recipient is created and stored for further reference . further , the date and time at which the sender provides indications of his identity and ownership , is also converted into a timestamp and is used as a confirmation of authorship / ownership of the user . this timestamp is also attached to the email message being sent from the server to the recipient , in order to assure the recipient of authenticity of the email message . the indications of identity and ownership of the transmitted email message are embedded with the email message being transmitted to the recipient . this procedure is followed in order to assure the recipient that the message is from an authentic and genuine source . in an alternate embodiment of the present invention , the recipient of the message can also specify the indications of identity and ownership , required to be provided by the sender , in such cases the email message being sent to the recipient is augmented with the sender &# 39 ; s indication of identity and ownership of the transmitted message . in one embodiment of the present invention , the email message is transmitted in an encrypted format from the server 10 to the recipient . any of the well - known public cryptography techniques can be utilized to encrypt the message sent from the server 10 to the recipient . the receiver , using any of the well - known techniques , decrypts the encrypted message . referring to fig2 , there is shown a flowchart corresponding to an embodiment of a method for authenticating a sender of electronic data to a recipient . in box 100 , electronic data including at least email address of the sender , is received from the sender at a server remote from the sender . in box 102 , a message is transmitted from the server to the sender &# 39 ; s email address , wherein the message requests confirmation of the sender &# 39 ; s ownership of the transmitted electronic data . a confirmation of the sender &# 39 ; s ownership of the transmitted electronic data is received at the sender in box 104 , wherein the confirmation is in response to the message sent from the server to the sender &# 39 ; s email address 104 . a copy of the electronic data generated by the sender , and a confirmation of the identity of the sender of the electronic data is transmitted from the server to the recipient in box 106 . in another embodiment , the method further includes the step of transmitting the electronic data from the sender to the server , in the form of an email message . in still another embodiment , the method further includes the step of transmitting the electronic data received from the sender to an internet web server for the purpose of delivery to the recipient . in still another embodiment , the step of receiving electronic data including at least email address of the sender , further includes the step of recording at the server , a code uniquely identifying the transmitted electronic data . in another embodiment , the computer implemented method includes the step of transmitting a message from the server to the sender &# 39 ; s email address and further includes the step of embedding a link to a website associated with the server in the message . in another embodiment , the computer implemented method includes the step of embedding a code uniquely identifying the transmitted electronic data into the link . in another embodiment , the method further includes the step of confirming sender &# 39 ; s ownership of the transmitted data via a return electronic message . another embodiment may include the step of embedding the code uniquely identifying the electronic data transmitted from the sender to the server , into the return electronic message . in still another embodiment , the method may further include the step of prompting the sender to visit a website associated with the server to provide indications of identity and confirmation of authorship of the transmitted electronic data . in yet another embodiment , the computer implemented method further includes the following computer implemented steps : prompting the sender to draw a signature in a web - interface as an indication of the sender &# 39 ; s identity and ownership of transmitted electronic data ; and recording a copy of said signature at said server as a confirmation of the identity of the sender and as a confirmation of ownership of transmitted electronic data . in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure , the computer implemented method further includes the step of adding the indications of identity and confirmation of ownership of the sender , to the electronic data transmitted from said server to the recipient . in another embodiment , the method includes the step of transmitting the electronic data from said server to the recipient in the form of an electronic message . in still another embodiment , the computer implemented method includes the step of transmitting from said server to a recipient a copy of the electronic data further includes the step of digitally signing the copy of the electronic data . in yet another embodiment , the method includes the step of operating said server by a service for authentication of authorship of data . in another embodiment , the method further includes the step of embedding a timestamp associated with the transmission of electronic data into confirmation of the ownership of the electronic data transmitted from the server . in still another embodiment , the computer implemented method further includes the step of confirming the authorship of the electronic data transmitted from the server to the recipient , through a time stamp associated with the creation of said electronic data by the sender . the various embodiments of the present invention are advantageous in that they provide a system and method that provides for secured data transmission , enables sender to avail proof of delivery of the message to the intended recipient , and provides for a system and method which is not cumbersome and slow in terms of implementation . moreover , the various embodiments provide a system and method that does not require both the sender and receiver to connect to a website in order to receive a message , does not warrant the sender to upload the data / files / documents to a third party website , for the purpose of transmitting then to an intended recipient , does not require installation of any special email / data transfer software on the part of sender and receiver for sending / receiving the data , and which provides a system that enables secured , tamperproof transmission of data . a further advantage is that the various embodiments of the present invention provide a method that creates and saves a digital signature for every message transmitted using the method . while considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the various components of the preferred embodiment , it will be appreciated that many alterations can be made and that many modifications can be made in the preferred embodiment without departing from the principles of the invention . these and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein , whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation . | 7 |
referring to the drawings in detail , wherein like numerals indicate like elements , there is shown a refrigerator in accordance with the present invention designated generally as 10 . as illustrated , the refrigerator 10 has a first stage 12 . it is within the scope of the present invention to have one or more stages . when in use , the stages are disposed within a vacuum housing not shown . each stage includes a housing 16 within which is provided a displacer 18 . the displacer 18 has a length less than the length of the housing 16 so as to define a warm chamber 20 thereabove and a cold chamber 22 therebelow . the designations warm and cold are relative as is well known to those skilled in the art . within the displacer 18 , there is provided a regenerator 26 containing a matrix . ports 28 communicate the upper end of the matrix in regenerator 26 with the warm chamber 20 . radially disposed ports 30 communicate the lower end of the matrix in regenerator 26 with a clearance space 32 disposed between the outer periphery of the lower end of the displacer 18 and the inner periphery of the housing 16 . thus , the lower end of the matrix in regenerator 26 communicates with cold chamber 22 by way of ports 30 and clearance 32 which is an annular gap heat exchanger . the matrix in regenerator 26 is preferably a stack of 250 mesh material having high specific heat such as oxygen - free copper . the matrix has low void area and low pressure drop . the matrix may be other materials such as lead spheres , nylon , glass , etc . an electrical motor 34 , such as a reversible synchronous stepper motor , is disposed within housing 36 . housing 16 depends downwardly from and has a flange 37 bolted to housing 36 . the output shaft 46 of motor 34 is provided with a collar 38 adjustably attached thereto by set screw 40 . collar 38 has a pin 42 extending parallel to shaft 46 . pin 42 extends into groove 44 on cam 48 . the hole 50 and groove 44 are coaxial . see fig4 . groove 44 has an arcuate length of 180 °. a roller bearing 52 is attached to the periphery of cam 48 . a crank 54 is attached to shaft 46 by a key and set screw . crank 54 is coupled to cam 48 by adjustable ball detent 53 . the detent housing is threaded to the crank 54 and contains a ball spring biased into a recess on a side face of cam 48 . see fig3 . crank 54 has a crank pin 56 . the axis of crank pin 56 is spaced from and parallel to the axis of shaft 46 . crank pin 56 has a roller bearing 58 disposed within a transverse slot on slide 60 . slide 60 is connected to the upper end of the displacer 18 . the slide 60 has a cylindrical bearing insert 62 guided by clearance seal sleeve bearing 64 . the slide 60 also has a cylindrical bearing insert 66 guided by clearance seal sleeve bearing 68 . the bearing inserts and sleeve bearings are preferably made from a ceramic material or other hard material such as silicon carbide . the sleeve bearing 68 is held in place by a retainer 70 connected to the housing 36 . a chamber 72 within sleeve bearing 64 communicates with the regenerator 26 by way of an axial flow passage 74 in the slide 60 . passage 74 prevents air from being compressed within chamber 72 as the slide 60 moves upwardly . hence , slide 60 is gas balanced when its diameter is uniform at its ends . the housing 36 includes a bore parallel to the slide 60 . within the bore there is provided a clearance seal sleeve bearing 76 preferably made from a ceramic material . within the sleeve bearing 76 , there is provided a spool valve designated generally as 78 . the valve 78 includes a cylindrical spool valve member 80 having a groove 82 on its outer periphery between its ends . groove 82 renders valve member 80 gas - balanced . member 80 has an axially extending equalizing passage 83 . a seal 84 is provided between the bearing 76 and the retainer 70 . o - ring seals are preferably provided on elements 18 , 64 , 68 , and 76 as shown in fig1 . roller bearing 52 on cam 48 engages the upper end of the valve member 80 . a coil spring 85 extends between retainer 70 and valve member 80 for biasing the valve member into contact with roller bearing 52 on cam 48 . the valve member 80 is moved downwardly by the cam 48 and is moved upwardly by expansion of the spring 85 . referring to fig1 high pressure is introduced into port 86 from the outlet side of a compressor 88 . port 86 communicates with the groove 82 when the valve member 80 is in the position as shown in fig1 . when valve member 80 is in the position as shown in fig1 groove 82 also communicates with warm chamber 20 by way of passage 90 . a port 92 extends from the interior of housing 36 and is blocked by the valve member 80 in the position of the latter shown in fig1 . when the valve member 80 is in its uppermost position , the groove 82 communicates passage 90 with port 92 . the interior of the housing 36 communicates with the inlet side of compressor 94 by way of port 96 . chamber 98 is in direct communication with the interior of housing 36 . the flow of a refrigerant from port 92 to port 96 has a cooling effect on the motor 34 . if desired , port 92 may be eliminated by causing groove 68 to communicate with chamber 98 at the top dead center position of valve member 80 . it will be noted that the axial length of groove 82 is less than the axial distance between ports 86 and 92 to thereby minimize leakage of high pressure gas between said ports and passage 90 . the housing 36 is constructed of a number of components so as to facilitate machining , assembly , access to the valve member 80 and slide 60 . the manner in which the housing 36 is comprised of a plurality of components is not illustrated but will be obvious to those skilled in the art . pin 42 drives cam 48 in a counter clockwise direction in fig2 during the refrigeration cycle . when cam 48 is in the position shown in fig5 it contacts valve member 80 adjacent the periphery of the latter . at that point in time , the upward force of spring 85 ( minus the friction forces on valve member 80 ) creates a moment about the axis of shaft 46 which tends to cause pin 42 to lost contact with the end of groove 44 . that would create erratic timing of operation of the valve 78 . the ball detent 53 resists the spring force moment to prevent such erratic timing regardless of the direction of rotation of cam 48 . the side face of cam 48 juxtaposed to crank 54 has two recesses 180 ° part for receiving the ball . the unoccupied recess in fig3 is numbered 55 . the refrigerator 10 is preferably designed for use with a cryogenic fluid such as helium but other fluids such as air and nitrogen may be used . the refrigerator 10 was designed to have a wattage output of at least 65 watts as 77 ° k . and a minimum of 5 watts at 20 ° k . as shown in fig1 the displacer 18 is at bottom dead center . vertical reciprocation of slide 60 is controlled by the rotative position of cam 48 and the cooperation between follower 58 and the slide groove receiving the follower . the spool valve member 80 is in its lowermost position with the spring 85 compressed due to contact between the end of valve member 80 and the cam 48 . high pressure fluid is introduced from port 86 , through groove 82 , and passage 90 to the warm chamber 20 . port 92 is blocked by the valve member 80 . the function of the regenerator 26 is to cool the gas passing downwardly therethrough and to heat gas passing upwardly therethrough . in passage downwardly through the regenerator , the gas is cooled thereby causing the pressure to decrease and further gas to enter the system to maintain the maximum cycle pressure . the decrease in temperature of the gas in chamber 22 is useful refrigeration which is sought to be attained by the apparatus at heat station 24 . as the gas flows upwardly through the regenerator 26 , it is heated by the matrix to near ambient temperature thereby cooling the matrix . as the motor 34 rotates cam 48 counterclockwise in fig2 and the displacer 18 is moved upwardly from bottom dead center , the surface of cam 48 controls the intake portion of the cycle . as the cam 48 continues to rotate , a peripheral portion thereof enables the valve member 80 to move upwardly under the pressure of spring 85 until valve member 80 closes off flow from port 86 . as the cam 48 continues to rotate , the slide 60 and displacer 18 continue to move upwardly . as the slide 60 approaches top dead center , cam 48 permits the valve member 80 to be reciprocated sufficiently upwardly so as to cause groove 82 to communicate passage 90 and port 92 and thereby commence the exhaust portion of the cycle . timing of the exhaust portion of the cycle is controlled by the shape of the cam surface . as the cam 48 continues to rotate , it moves the valve member 80 downwardly until it is in contact with a portion of the cam surface which defines the time period for the introduction of high pressure gas from port 86 . one complete cycle is now completed . a typical embodiment operates at the rate of 72 to 80 cycles per minute . the reciprocatory movement of the displacer 18 and valve member 80 is synchronized to occur simultaneously in the same direction with the stroke of displacer 18 being greater than the stroke of valve member 80 . timing is predetermined by cam 38 so that valve member 80 and displacer 18 reciprocate at different rates . the length of stroke of the valve member 80 is short such as 9 to 12 mm with a 30 mm stroke for the displacer 18 . valve member 80 may be provided with an axial flow passage 83 communicating the pressure of chamber 98 to the chamber containing spring 85 whereby air is not compressed by the valve member each time it decends . one problem with prior art devices is that the diameter of the slide bearing is only about 0 . 25 inches id . the slide 60 and valve member 80 are each gas - balanced . this enables the id of the clearance seal bearings 64 , 68 to be 0 . 75 inches or 9 times as large with respect to surface area and hence only be subjected 1 / 9 the unit forces . accordingly , the bearings will not wear out rapidly as is the case with the prior art devices . the refrigeration available at heat station 24 may be used in connection with a wide variety of devices . one such device is a cryopump . the structural interrelationship disclosed results in positive control over the simultaneous movements of the slide 60 and valve member 80 so that introduction of high pressure gas and exhausting of low pressure gas is synchronized in a positive manner . because high and low pressure gas is introduced or exhausted at the exact position of bottom dead center and top dead center for the slide 60 , efficiency is increased with assurance of a complete introduction or exhaustion of a charge of gas . when a cryopump becomes saturated whereby it no longer absorbs noble gases , it heats up and puts a load on heat station 24 . when the temperature of heat reaches about 20 ° k ., a signal is initiated such as by a diode on the cryopump . it is thereafter necessary to apply heat to the cryopump . this can be accomplished by converting refrigerator 10 to a heating mode . in order to cause refrigerator 10 to operate in a heating mode , it is only necessary to reverse the direction of rotation of motor 34 so that cam 48 rotates clockwise in fig2 . when motor 34 is operated in reverse , initially there is lost motion while pin 42 moves from one end of groove 44 to the other end and the ball detent moves from the recess shown in fig3 to recess 55 . thereafter , motor 34 drives cam 48 and crank 54 . valve member 80 is now operated 180 ° out of phase with its operation during a refrigeration mode . it is unexpected that a cryogenic refrigerator may become a heat pump merely by reversing the direction of rotation of a drive motor . in this manner a cryopump can be regenerated in 35 minutes as compared to conventional regeneration in 31 / 2 hours . a conventional diode on the cryopump may be used to trigger reversal of motor 34 at the beginning and end of the heating mode . reversing the direction of motor 34 has no effect on its ability to reciprocate slide 60 and displacer 18 and does not change the area of the pv diagram . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit of essential attributes thereof and , accordingly , reference should be made to the appended claims , rather than to the foregoing specification , as indicating the scope of the invention . | 5 |
a typical fluidized bed system , used in use in the industry to process particles , is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 378 , 434 ( procedyne ) incorporated herein by reference , and illustrated in fig1 by a single shell reactor . this reactor has three full compartment separations , 31 a , 31 b , 31 c to provide for three independent gas recirculation systems 44 a , 44 b , 44 c , with each compartment or zone separation containing three stage baffles to form four stages per zone , 60 a , 60 b , 60 c , and 60 d in zone 31 a ; 60 e , 60 f , 60 g and 60 h in zone 31 b ; and 60 i , 60 j , 60 k and 60 l in zone 31 c . particles are continuously fed through feed port 58 , at the feed zone 59 , which feeds into first stage 60 a of the first zone 31 a , and then on to successive stages . the passage of fluidized particles from stage to stage within a given zone is accomplished by providing alternating slots in the zone separation partitions 61 a , 62 a , 63 a , 64 a ; 61 b , 62 b , 63 b , 64 b ; 61 c , 62 c , 63 c , 64 c , to accomplish the continuous flow . this creates a serpentine course for the fluidized particles to flow . these slots appear at opposite ends of the zone separation partitions adjacent opposite side walls of the reactor vessel , and provide a means for the serpentine course of flow . since there is a continuous feed at the feed end of the unit , the growing weight , and the bed levels in the zones , provides the driving force to keep the fluidized bed of solids moving toward and then through the discharge zone of the unit , 56 , and then out through the discharge port of the vessel 57 . in the illustrated example of fig1 with three zone subdivisions , each containing four stages , the zone subdividing walls 64 a , 64 b , and 64 c , are sealed to the shell wall in the plenum volumes 32 a , 32 b and 32 c , in the fluid bed ; and in the freeboard volumes above , the fluid bed 31 a , 31 b and 31 c , and thereby keeping the fluidizing gases and gases to be recycled separate from the respective gases of each adjacent zone . fluidizing gas enters each zone , respectively at 75 a , 75 b and 75 c . the fluidizing gas streams consist of the recycle gas from recycle systems 44 a , 44 b and 44 c , and the make - up gases from 70 , 71 and 72 . make up gas lines 70 , 71 and 72 , join the recycle system 44 a , 44 b and 44 c through supply lines 70 a , 70 b , 70 c , 71 a , 71 b , 71 c , 72 a , 72 b and 72 c . the plurality of supply lines permits the process operator to select the composition of the gas separately and independently for each zone . a fluidized bed is maintained by controlling the circulating gas rate to maintain a suitable fluidization velocity dependent on the size and density of the particles in given reaction zone . each recycle gas stream after leaving the reactor through exit ports 52 a , 52 b , 52 c is cooled in heat exchangers 51 a , 51 b and 51 c , then it is pumped with compressors 50 a , 50 b and 50 c , and mixed with the make - up gases to adjust composition , and returned to the reactor . the temperatures of the fluidizing gas entering feed ports 75 a , 75 b , and 75 c are kept sufficiently below the fluid bed temperature in the respective stages to accomplish the required energy balance of the zone . the present invention is directed to continuous fluidized bed apparatus for the fluidization of solid materials , particularly solid particulate materials that are difficult to fluidize , such as materials that have a tendency to adhere or agglomerate . the apparatus of the present invention may be useful , for example , in chemical and / or physical processes ( such as , without limitation , polymerization reactions , coal gasification systems and soil remediation ) in which particulate materials are fluidized and subjected to heat transfer during fluidization , usually to supply heat to the particulate material . in another embodiment , this invention provides a process for the fluidization of solids that are difficult to fluidize . in yet another embodiment , such process is characterized by the absence of channeling . in yet another embodiment , this invention provides apparatus and a process for the fluidization of solids where such apparatus and process provide improved homogeneity and improved heat transfer characteristics and where solids are efficiently converted within uniform residence times . in a non - limiting aspect , where the continuous fluidized bed apparatus of this invention comprises more than one cell , the pressure within the freeboard of each cell need not be equivalent to the pressure in adjoining cells . in one aspect of the invention , the apparatus has at least 10 cells , in another at least 25 cells , and in a third at least 50 cells . if pressure varies within a freeboard cell , then the freeboard pressure within every cell varies by substantially the same amount at substantially the same time ; this balances pressures within the reactor and prevents back flow from occurring and maintains constant bed height within each individual cell , although bed height of all the cells need not be the same . the constant bed height leads to substantially consistent feed and discharge rates , fast response and rise to steady state , and a tight residence time distribution . substantially the same pressure means no more than a difference of 1000 pa , in another embodiment no more than 500 pa and in a third embodiment no more than 250 pa . substantially the same time means no more than a difference of 0 . 25 seconds , in another embodiment no more than 0 . 5 seconds and in a third embodiment no more than 0 . 01 seconds . one skilled in the art would appreciate that changes in the fluidized density will change the flow sensitivity to pressure changes . whenever blow back occurs , it occurs simultaneously in the same number of filter stick blow back valves in every cell — this reduces freeboard pressure variation . simultaneously means within 0 . 25 seconds , in another embodiment within 0 . 5 seconds and in a third embodiment within 0 . 01 seconds . blow back valves switch filter operation between blow back and the venting of fluidizing gas . a gap in the ceiling of the unit allows gas to flow between cells to maintain the pressure difference between them . to minimize freeboard pressure variation in the reactor , blow back of the filter sticks is simultaneous and involves the same number of filter sticks per cell in every cell . simultaneous blow back involves precise control of the timing of filter stick blow back valves . these valves switch filter operation between blow back and the venting of fluidizing gas . filter take away / blow back lines connecting filter sticks allow gas to flow between cells to maintain a pressure difference between them . one embodiment of the invention is shown in the overhead schematic continuous fluidized bed reactor illustrated in fig2 . with reference to fig2 , in the continuous fluidized bed reactor of this invention , the pressure drop driving force from cell to cell which maintains flow of particles is accomplished by the fluid bed level at the feed end 17 of the reactor being slightly higher in level than at the overflow port 18 . this is analogous to hydrostatic head which maintains the flow of a liquid in a long channel . typical level increases are of the order of one to four inches of water column per twenty feet of reactor length . in the same way , when the fluidized particles pass through the slots in the zone separation partitions 7 and 8 , the pressure drop is of the order of 0 . 01 to 0 . 07 inches of water column for a starch powder with roughly a 350 kg / m 3 fluidized density , which is reflection in an equivalent drop in fluid bed level between successive zones . filter take away / blow back lines 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 serve as an exhaust for fluidization gas , as a supply for blow back gas , and to allow gas to flow between cells to maintain a pressure difference between them . as illustrated in fig3 , one embodiment of this invention resides in each cell 19 , 20 , 21 having its own isolated freeboard 22 , 23 , 24 and there being included at least two filter sticks 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 within each freeboard whereby a constant pressure difference is maintained between each isolated freeboard . this allows the fluidization of solid materials 15 , particularly solid particulate materials that have a tendency to adhere or agglomerate to form cohesive masses . a non - limiting aspect of the continuous fluidized bed reactor of this invention concerns the residence time distribution of materials that are being processed . residence time distribution is measured in terms of cell equivalents , the higher the number of cell equivalents the better ( or “ tighter ”) is the residence time distribution . a tight residence time distribution allows each particle to experience nearly the same processing time in the reactor and provides good product quality , quicker product changes , and improved reactor performance . in one embodiment , a tight residence time distribution means at least 80 % of the particles exit within 20 % of the mean residence time . further , in reactors where the residence time distribution is tight , the particles follow a first - in - first - out trajectory causing old feed material to be flushed out by new feed material in fewer than five reactor volumes of material . in a non - limiting aspect , the continuous fluidized bed reactor of the present invention is particularly well suited to the processing of starches , including starch thermal inhibition , dextrinization , oxidation , etc ., since starches are cohesive and thus are difficult to fluidize . the invention also contemplates physical as well as chemical processes , such as drying . starches can be effectively dried in the practice of the invention . in addition , other physical and / or chemical processes can be carried out on other solids difficult to fluidize . starches , as used herein , is intended to include starch , starch - containing materials , or materials derived from starch . a starch that may be dextrinized , or thermally inhibited , in accordance with the process of this invention may be derived from a variety of starchy materials , including cereal starches , waxy starches and / or root starches . typical of such starch materials are non - waxy cereal starches ( i . e ., corn starch and wheat starch ), potato starch , tapioca starch , grain sorghum starch , rice starch ; waxy starches ( i . e ., waxy milo starch , waxy maize starch ), high amylose starches , etc . in one embodiment , waxy cereal starches are used . in another embodiment waxy corn starch is used . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , differing types of fluidizing media can be used . for example , steam or inert gases such as argon , nitrogen , carbon dioxide , etc . can be used . in a non - limiting aspect , some moisture may be added to the inert gases . in addition , flue gases from combustion operations can similarly be used as the fluidizing medium , if desired . it is not essential that the fluidizing medium add any sensible heat to the material , such as starch undergoing dextrinization , since the tubular section of the reactor employed with the concepts in the practice of this invention is capable of providing all of the heat necessary to efficiently effect the reaction . while the invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof , it will be understood that it is capable of further modification , and this application is intended to cover any variations , uses or adaptations of the invention following , in general , the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth , and as falls within the scope of the invention . the following example is based on a continuous fluidized bed for processing starch . as represented in fig2 , a fluidized bed was constructed containing 60 cells in series arranged into 20 rows of three cells per row . each cell was linked to the preceding and following cells via tunnels at their bases and each cell had isolated freeboards . each cell had two filter sticks to provide six filter sticks per row . the filter sticks were used to remove starch fines from the fluidization gas before the gas exited the reactor . each of the six filter sticks in each row was connected individually by a blow back line to the adjacent filter stick in the next row to provide six columns of 20 linked filter sticks . periodically , each column of filter sticks had gas passed back through it to clean the built - up starch from the stick surfaces . in one set of residence time distribution studies , one filter stick column at a time was blown back for five seconds in the following pattern that was repeated every 30 seconds : column 1 , column 3 , column 5 , column 2 , column 4 , column 6 . during blow back , the pressure in the blown back cells increased by no more than 3 inches of water . computer simulations illustrated that the pressure increase was sufficient to drive starch out of the blown back cell and into adjacent cells . this experiment showed that although the continuous fluidized bed reactor had 60 cells , its residence time distribution resembled that of a 20 cell unit . in a second set of residence time distribution studies , the six filter stick columns were divided into two groups — group a consisted of column 1 , column 3 and column 5 , and group b consisted of column 2 , column 4 and column 6 . each group was blown back for 5 seconds while the other group vented fluidization gas . the resulting pressure variation between cells was less than 1 inch of water . the pressure in each cell did not vary with time because each cell had one filter venting and one filter cleaning . the residence time distribution with this blow back routine was equivalent to a 49 cell unit . computer simulations confirmed that the improved performance was due to pressure balancing throughout the unit . | 1 |
referring now to the drawings in which like numerals denote similar elements and more particularly to fig1 there is shown , by way of illustration , but not of limitation , a cleaning device 10 constructed according to the present invention comprising a resilient tip 11 , a housing 12 supporting said resilient tip , a groove 13 in said housing , a moveable button 14 moveable in said groove , and end cap 15 . fig2 depicts the same embodiment with end cap 15 removed and bristles 16 partially visible . although in the embodiment shown , the bristles 16 and the resilient tip 11 are shown as being affixed to the same member , they need not be ; cap 15 , for example , could just as easily serve as a handle for brush 16 which could be enclosed in housing 12 , for example . in the embodiment shown , button 14 communicates directly with the diaphragm 17 containing the bristles 16 . the brush may be advanced in this embodiment by advancing the button 14 along groove 13 . other means of providing such advancement may be employed equally well , such as a rotating handle with screw threads . whatever the means , as may be seen by comparing the bristles 16 in fig2 and 3 , no advancement or slight advancement will provide the stiffest brushing action , and continued advancement will provide a greater effective length of the bristles and , hence , more flexible brushing action . fig3 depicts the bristles extended to their maximum extension and the advancing button 14 locked into its maximum position . normally , the amount of force applied to the bristles during cleaning will be small enough , and the amount of resistance in the advancing mechanism will be large enough , that there will be no need to &# 34 ; lock &# 34 ; the bristles in place . for that reason , no intermediate locking positions are shown in this embodiment , although the same could be easily included were it desired so to do . the free ends of bristles 16 are shown in fig2 and 3 in one preferred state as forming a generally convex shape . this shape , or its many equivalents , has been found to provide the best cleaning action for the edges of recessed convex lenses and is thus one preferred embodiment . fig4 and 6 show another preferred embodiment . fig4 shows the cleaning device in a closed form and with an optional camouflaged exterior finish . as best illustrated in fig5 the protective end cap 21 also supports resilient tip 11 and is removeable from barrel housing 23 . handle 22 may be rotated with respect to housing 23 and thereby advance or retract the bristles of brush 24 to a desired extension and stiffness , which bristles are shown fully extended in fig6 . the dome cut tip ends 25 of brush 24 may best be seen in fig5 . protective covering 21 may be removably secured to the brush means by frictional engagement with a plurality of ridges 26 located on said housing 23 or by other convenient means . fig7 depicts a convenient kit for carrying the device of the present invention along with a container of cleaning fluid for multi - coated filters and lenses , a container for anti - fog solution , and a number of disposable , optically - safe cleaning tissues . fig8 shows one preferred form of a smooth - surfaced disposable cleaning means , which may alternatively be shaped in a polygonal form . thus it may be seen that a convenient and easily transportable kit has been provided for the rapid and safe cleaning , in the field , of recessed convex lenses , or for the safe and effective application of anti - fogging or other special - purpose solutions , as well as a novel brush for use therewith . it will be apparent from the foregoing that many other variations and modifications may be made in the apparatus hereinbefore described by those having experience in this technology without departing from the concept of the present invention . accordingly , it should be clearly understood that the apparatus and methods depicted in the accompanying drawings and referred to in the foregoing description are illustrative only and are not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention . | 0 |
fig6 is a block diagram of the pressure / temperature data acquisition device 30 shown in fig2 . the device 30 receives data from up to four pressure transducers 302a - 302d and two temperature transducers 350a and 350b . power is provided by a single step - down power supply 310 . the output signals from the transducers 302a - 302d are provided to respective clamping and filtering networks 304a - 304d , to limit the dynamic range of the signals and remove noise . the output signals 303a , 303b from each of the networks 304a - 304d are provided to a differential - to - single - ended converter and 4 - to - 1 multiplexer 308 . the differential - to - single - ended converter 308 generates a single signal 314 representative of pressure difference from each pair of signals 303a and 303b . instead of applying an excitation voltage to all four transducers with continuous dc voltage ( i . e ., applying power to the resistive bridge element inside all four transducers ), power is applied to one transducer at a time in a pulsed fashion . a switch 370a closes and applies power to one of the transducers 302a . a capacitor ( not shown in fig6 ) within converter 308 charges up to a differential voltage which is proportional to the pressure in transducer 302a . ( transducer 302a has a bridge output signal which is differential in nature ). subsequently , switch 370a is opened again and power to transducer 302a is turned off . the voltage is trapped in the internal capacitor converter 308 , representing the output signal of the transducer . subsequently , successive switches 370b - 370d are individually closed to apply power to respective pressure transducers 302b - 302d in succession . an advantageous aspect of this configuration is that power is conserved , relative to a system in which the excitation voltage is applied to all four transducers simultaneously . in the exemplary embodiment of the invention , four transducers are used , consuming no more power than is required to operate one transducer continuously . it is particularly valuable to reduce power consumption if the data acquisition device is intended for use in conjunction with a portable display such as display device 20 , with limited battery capacity . this feature allows operational transducers to continue to operate even when one transducer fails with an electrical short . the output signals from networks 304b - 304d are converted to pressure difference signals . the converter 308 is controlled by signals 309a - 309f sent over a timing bus 368 . the timing bus 368 also controls the transducers , so that converter 308 acts as a time division multiplexer , transmitting signals representing the output signals of the respective transducers in round robin fashion . the output signal 314 is multiplexed together with reference pressure signals 316a , 316b in multiplexer 312 . multiplexer 312 is controlled by signals 313a - 313c which are received from the timing bus 368 . the signal 317 is boosted by amplifier 318 so that it occupies a range of values coextensive with the input range of the a / d converter 320 , which converts it to digital form . the digital output data signal 322 is manchester encoded in a logic gate array 324 and is sent out to the display device 20 by data transmitter 332 . logic 324 controls the timing for activating transducers 302a - 302d by closing respective switches 370a - 370d , for converting differential voltage to single - ended voltage in converter 308 , and for multiplexing the output signals from converter 308 . another function of logic 324 is to respond to actuation of either one of pressure zero switch 42 and wedge pressure switch 44 . when one of the switches 42 and 44 is actuated , logic 324 causes device 30 to transmit a respective pressure zero signal or a wedge start signal to display device 20 . logic 324 may be implemented in application specific integrated circuits ( asic ), or using programmable array logic ( pal ). a memory device , which may be a conventional electrically erasable programmable read only memory ( eeprom ) 326 is provided for local storage of calibration coefficients and / or alarm limits which may be used by gate array 324 . a data receiver 334 receives commands from the display device 20 . a second memory device , which may also be an eeprom 372 stores permanent data , such as the serial number or revision level of a printed circuit board . it is understood by those skilled in the art that this memory may be located outside of housing 48 ( as shown by memory 434 in fig2 ) of blood pressure pod 30 , and may be connected to pod 30 . memory 434 may be selectively detachable from pod 30 . a single memory 434 is shown coupled to transducer 302c . similar memories may be coupled to each transducer . if each transducer has a respective memory , it is convenient to allow the memories to accompany the transducers when the patient moves . thus , if a department does not wish to allow its pod 30 to accompany the patient to another part of the hospital ( e . g ., out of fear that the device will not return ), memory 434 may be detached from pod 30 and may be connected to another , equivalent pod for transportation to a different part of the hospital . this provides an additional element of flexibility in selectively coupling devices 30 to display device 20 . by storing these data in device 30 , exchanging equipment ( e . g ., substituting another display for display device 20 ) is simplified . pod 30 may be disconnected from display device 20 and reconnected to another display without the need for time consuming data downloads from display device 20 to the other display . the output signals 351a and 351b from respective temperature transducers , 350a and 350b , are filtered and clamped by circuits 352a and 352b , to remove noise and to limit the signal range . the filtered signals are provided to multiplexer 356 , which produces a single tdm signal 357 . an offset signal 360 is added to the tdm signal 357 in adder 358 , and the resulting signal is boosted in amplitude by amplifier 362 . the amplified signal 363 is multiplexed together with plus and minus five volt monitor signals provided by the step down power supply 310 in multiplexer 364 . the power supply monitor signals are provided to allow deviations from the nominal five volt operational power signal provided by power supply 310 to be detected . the multiplexer output signal is then boosted by amplifier 366 and the resulting signal is provided to a / d converter 320 . the temperature data is provided to the logic gate array 324 where it is manchester encoded and transmitted to the display . the capacitor 378 is accessed by differential multiplexer 308 . the input signal to multiplexer 308 is differential . the output signal 314 of multiplexer 308 is differential , except that one of the differential output lines of multiplexer 308 is coupled to ground . one electrode of the capacitor is coupled to ground through multiplexer 308 . as soon as multiplexer 308 accesses the capacitor , the capacitor output signal changes from a differential voltage to a single ended voltage . the output signal 314 is thus a single ended voltage referenced to ground . this signal may be sensed by a single ended amplifier such as amplifier 318 . fig7 shows in greater detail a portion of the circuitry shown in fig6 . in particular , details of the differential to single - ended converter 308 are shown . fig7 only shows a single pressure transducer 302a , and its associated circuitry including : clamp and filter network 304a , switch 370a , and electrical paths 303a and 303b , 380a and 380b , and 390a . it is understood by one skilled in the art that these elements and electrical paths are replicated for each of the four transducer data acquisition circuits shown in fig6 . for converting the voltage signal provided by transducer 302a from a differential signal to a single - ended signal , two switches 374 and 376 control the flow of current from the transducer 302a . switches 374 and 376 receive power from lines 386a , 386b , 388a and 388b . one terminal of transducer 302a is coupled to switch 374 and the other to switch 376 . the differential output voltages 392 and 394 from respective switches 374 and 376 are applied across capacitor 378 . switches 374 and 376 receive control signals s1 and s2 from logic circuit 324 ( shown in fig6 ). when signals s1 and s2 are set to their low voltage values , respective switches 374 and 376 are closed , applying the differential voltage signal across capacitor 378 . when signals s1 and s2 are set to their high values , the switches are opened and capacitor 378 retains the differential voltage . the operation of differential to single - ended converter 308 is shown in fig8 . fig8 is a timing diagram which shows the sampling of pressure data from two of the pressure transducers 302a and 302b . it is understood that the data shown represent only one half of a complete cycle for multiplexer 312 . that is , the time between t0 and t8 is 3 milliseconds , or three 1 - millisecond time slots . an additional 2 milliseconds pass before the output signal of the fourth transducer 302d is sampled by a / d converter 320 ( shown in fig6 ). the temporal relationships between the activation of the second and third transducers 302b and 302c are the same as the temporal relationships between activation of the first and second pressure transducers 302a and 302b . the same temporal relationships apply between the activation of the third and fourth transducers 302c and 302d . and finally , the same temporal relationships apply between the activation of the fourth transducer 302d and activation of the first transducer 302a during the next subsequent cycle of transducer data sampling by multiplexer 312 . beginning at time t0 , switch 370a is closed , thereby applying excitation voltage pvref to transducer 302a . switch 370a remains closed for 1 millisecond , until t3 . at t1 , approximately 15 microseconds after t0 , switches 374 and 376 are both closed , coupling capacitor 378 to the differential voltage across the output of transducer 302a , ( between lines 392 and 394 ). capacitor 378 charges up to the transducer output voltage through the equivalent series output impedance of transducer 302a . capacitor 378 and the output impedance of transducer 302a form a resistance - capacitance ( rc ) network which filters noise during the period between t1 and t2 , when capacitor 378 is charging . t2 occurs 15 microseconds before the end of the first time slot . at t2 , switches 376 and 378 are opened , decoupling capacitor 378 and transducer 302a . 15 microseconds after t2 , at t3 , differential multiplexer 312 couples capacitor 378 to the input of amplifier 318 ( shown in fig6 ) via a single ended ground referenced output line 317 . the differential voltage on capacitor 378 is thus transformed into a single - ended voltage . during this process , common mode noise voltage is removed . multiplexer 312 samples the voltage across capacitor 378 until t7 , which is 1 millisecond after t3 . during the second time slot , ( specifically , between t3 and t7 ), the output signal on line 317 is amplified by amplifier 318 ( shown in fig6 ) and is transmitted to a / d converter 320 ( shown in fig6 ). a / d converter 320 does not begin sampling immediately at t3 . instead , there is a suitable settling time between t3 and t6 before a / d converter 320 samples the output signal 319 of amplifier 318 . the excitation of , and data gathering from the transducers are pipelined . as each transducer 302a - 302d charges a capacitor in converter 308 , the voltage from the last previously charged capacitor is amplified and sampled . thus , during the second time slot , between t3 and t6 , switch 370b is closed , activating transducer 302b . at t4 , a further pair of switches ( not shown ) are closed to apply a voltage representing the voltage across transducer 302b , to a further capacitor ( not shown ). between t5 and t7 , the further pair of switches are opened . during the third time slot , the voltage across the further capacitor is sampled by multiplexer 312 between t7 and t9 , and digitized by a / d converter 320 between t8 and t9 . it is understood by one skilled in the art that an excitation voltage is applied to the third transducer 302c during the third time slot and its output signal is digitized during the fourth time slot . the excitation voltage is applied to the fourth transducer 302d during the fourth time slot and its output signal is digitized during the fifth time slot . the excitation voltage is applied to the first transducer 302a again during the fifth time slot and its output signal is digitized during the sixth time slot . the circuit topology described above has several advantageous aspects . power consumption is low , because the reference voltage is only applied to one transducer at a time . a single current limited voltage reference is shared by the four transducers 302a - 302d , which may reduce costs . the circuit described above has low susceptibility to noise that is common mode in nature . this is particularly important in a hospital setting , where electro - surgery units ( esu ) often produce a high frequency common mode noise signal . unlike the differential instrumentation amplifiers typically used in prior art cartridges , the circuitry shown in fig6 and 7 has a high common mode rejection ratio that is essentially independent of frequency . the differential instrumentation amplifiers used in these prior art cartridges typically have lower common mode rejection for high frequency noise signals ( such as those produced by esus ) than for low frequency noise signals . the current limited voltage reference 306 provides a reference voltage to one of the transducers 302a - 302d at a time , during its respective time slot . voltage reference 306 includes means to sense when one of the transducers 302a - 302d has developed a short circuit . voltage reference 306 will not deliver current in excess of a predetermined limit , to protect the patient and the equipment from further damage . in such a condition , the voltage reference signal 390a - 390d for the failed transducer 302a - 302d is held to the predetermined current limit each time device 30 attempts to apply an excitation voltage to the failed transducer . voltage reference 306 is able to stabilize at the predetermined current limit during the 15 microsecond period between closing switch 370a - 370d and closing switches 374 and 376 to apply voltage to capacitor 378 . voltage reference 306 is also able to return to the desired reference voltage during the same 15 microsecond period before the switches are closed to apply the differential voltage from the next transducer . referring again to fig6 there is also shown circuitry for receiving and processing signals representing temperature from temperature sensors 350a and 350b . the temperatures signals are conditioned by filters 352a and 352b . the filtered signals are multiplexed together in a multiplexer 356 . a multiplexed signal is provided to a / d converter 320 to provide a single digital temperature signal 322 . although the exemplary embodiments include data acquisition devices 30 adapted to receive up to four transducers , it is understood that devices in accordance with the invention may be constructed for use with a different number of transducers . it is understood by one skilled in the art that many variations of the embodiments described herein are contemplated . while the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments , it is contemplated that it may be practiced as outlined above with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
an illustrative differential pressure sensor 11 is shown in fig1 . it may have a tube or line 12 connected to a flange or fitting 14 connected to an end of a pipe 15 . a tube or line 13 may similarly be connected to another flange or fitting 16 connected to an end of a pipe 17 . a spacer or orifice plate 18 may be placed between flanges 14 and 16 with bolts 19 or the like holding the flange 14 , spacer 18 and flange 16 together . flanges 14 and 16 may be attached to the ends of pipes 15 and 17 , respectively , with a weld , brazed bead , machined thread , or other like fastening approach . tubes 12 and 13 may be fitted on to holes in flanges 14 and 16 , respectively , with similar fastening techniques . the holes may reach down into the flow area of pipes 15 and 17 . the diameter and area for flow through pipes 15 and 17 , flanges 14 and 16 , and spacer 18 may be the same . pressures may be measured through tubes 12 and 13 via the holes in flanges 14 and 16 , respectively , to the flow area of the pipes . another tube 21 may be attached to pipe 17 with a hole to the flow region of the pipe . likewise , pressure may be measured through tube 21 pipe via the hole in pipe 17 . at the other ends of tubes 12 and 13 not connected to the flanges is differential pressure sensor 11 . the other end of tube 21 not connected to pipe 17 may be connected to a pressure sensor 22 . pressure sensor 22 may measure absolute pressure or gauge pressure of the flow 24 downstream from differential pressure sensor 11 . on the other hand , tube 21 may be inserted into pipe 15 for an upstream flow pressure measurement . incidentally , it may be desirable to measure static pressure as gauge pressure rather than absolute pressure since it may be easier to calibrate sensors using an atmospheric pressure rather than a vacuum as a reference pressure . however , the present diagnostics system may be used with absolute or gauge static pressure measurements . electrical circuitry of the present invention , i . e ., the differential pressure sensor impulse line monitor , may be designed to operate with currents of no more than 3 . 8 milliamps , voltages of no more than 12 volts , and power of no more than 50 milliwatts . electrical signals representative of the sensed differential pressure may be conveyed from sensor 11 via a wire or optical fiber to a processor within the sensor 11 housing . electrical or optical signals representative of the sensed gauge or absolute pressure may be conveyed from sensor 22 via a wire or optical fiber to the processor in sensor 11 . transmission of these electrical signals from sensor 22 to 11 may instead be sent to the processor in the sensor 11 housing . on the other hand , signals from sensor 11 may be sent to a processor in the sensor 12 housing . an external processor may used . at output line 69 may be the results from the processor sent to a computer , display , process equipment , system or the like for diagnostic review , storage , system control , computations and / or review . signal transmission may be by non - wireless ( e . g ., wire or optical fiber ) or wireless ( e . g ., rf or ir ) and in a variety of digital or analog formats . another pressure measurement approach in lieu of tube 21 connected to pipe 17 could be having the upstream 23 or downstream 24 flow pressure measurement , whether gauge or absolute , taken from tube 12 or 13 , respectively , with a pressure sensor similar to sensor 22 situated within a structure like that of pressure sensor 20 , as shown in fig2 . transmission of signals representative of the differential pressure and gauge or absolute pressure may be sent to a processor within the sensor 20 housing . an external processor may be used . at output line 69 may be the results from the processor sent to a computer , display , process equipment , system or the like for diagnostic review , storage , system control , computations and / or review . signal transmission may be by non - wireless ( e . g ., wire or optical fiber ) or wireless ( e . g ., rf or ir ) and in a variety of digital or analog formats . an illustrative example of a differential pressure sensor and static pressure system 20 is shown in fig3 and 4 . a sensor header 25 may include a substantially cylindrical package 26 having a first end 27 and a second end 28 with a decreased diameter waist area 29 in between , as shown in fig3 . a recessed circuit board 31 may be mounted near the first end 27 and a plurality of electrical connection pins 32 may extend from second end 28 . pins 32 may extend to circuit board 31 as seen in an end view as in fig4 . two glass tubes 33 , 34 may be centrally located and extend through circuit board 31 into the interior of package 26 . two piezoresistive silicon membranes or diaphragms 35 , 36 may be mounted on respective ends of tubes 33 , 34 , respectively , of circuit board 31 . circuit board 31 may contain a processor for processing the various pressure measurements into diagnostic information . glass tube 33 may have a central bore 37 and glass tube 34 may have a central bore 38 . central bore 37 may be coupled to a first fluid port 39 which may extend to the surface of package 26 at a location 41 between first end 27 and waist 29 , as shown in fig2 . bore 38 may be coupled to a second fluid port 42 which may extend to the surface of package 26 at a location 43 on waist 29 . sensor header 25 may be coupled to a conventional diaphragm assembly . each of piezoresistive silicon membranes 35 , 36 may be provided with a respective strain gauge 44 , 46 . first strain 44 gauge may be exposed on one side to high pressure p 1 and on the other side to low pressure p 2 . thus , the differential voltage from the first strain gauge may be proportional to the differential pressure dp = p 1 − p 2 . second strain gauge 46 may be exposed on one side to high pressure p 1 and on the other side to the atmosphere . thus , the differential voltage from the second strain gauge may be proportional to the static gauge pressure p 1 gauge = p 1 − atm . the nodes of the strain gauges may be coupled via circuit board 31 to pins 32 . glass tubes 33 , 34 may be mounted in the package with epoxy and their positions may be located with the aid of roll pins 47 , 48 . attachment of the tubes may also be done by soldering . piezoresistive silicon membranes or diaphragms 35 , 36 may be bonded to respective tubes 33 , 34 , respectively , by thermoelectric ( anodic ) bonding . package 26 may be made from stainless steel although other materials may be used . illustrative instances of dimensions may include a package having an overall length of approximately 23 mm ( excluding the pins ), and an overall diameter of approximately 18 mm . fig5 a is a block diagram of digital diagnostic electronics for detection of blocked lines of sensor 11 or 20 . line 51 may convey a differential pressure signal to a buffer 73 which may output a signal 74 representing the differential signal including the noise level of the differential pressure signal . signal 74 may be sent to an analog to digital converter ( adc ) circuit 75 . output 58 may go to a logic circuit 60 , which may be incorporated in the sensor housing . since the pressure sensitivities of the two sensors are different , the noise level would be normalized for each sensor within logic circuit 60 so that a meaningful comparison can be made . line 52 may convey a static pressure signal to a buffer 83 which may output a signal 84 representing the static pressure signal and the noise level of the static pressure signal . signal 84 may go to an adc circuit 85 . output 88 may go to a logic circuit 60 . again , since the pressure sensitivities of the two sensors are different , the noise level would be normalized for each sensor within logic circuit 60 so that a meaningful comparison may be made . fig5 b is a block diagram of analog diagnostic electronics for detection of blocked lines of sensor 11 or 20 . line 51 may convey a differential pressure signal to a buffer and filter 53 which may output a signal 54 representing the noise level of the differential pressure signal . signal 54 may represent the level of an rms , peak , or peak - to - peak or other representative value of the noise . signal 54 may be sent to a comparator - like circuit 55 . also input to circuit 55 from a reference source 57 is a signal 56 representing the normal noise level of a signal from differential pressure sensor functioning normally with impulse lines 12 and 13 open . three outputs from circuit 55 may occur . output 58 of circuit 55 may indicate that the noise signal 54 is greater than , about equal to , or less than the normal noise level signal 56 . thresholds and hysteresis levels may be set for determining what is defined as greater , equal or less , and how much certain values need to change in order to return to previous indications , respectively . output 58 may go to a logic circuit 60 , which may be incorporated in the sensor housing . since the pressure sensitivities of the two sensors are different , the noise level would be normalized for each sensor so that a meaningful comparison can be made . line 52 may convey a static pressure signal to a buffer and filter 63 which may output a signal 64 representing the noise level of the static pressure signal . signal 64 may represent the level of an rms , peak , or peak - to - peak or other representative value of the noise . signal 64 may go to a comparator - like circuit 65 . also input to circuit 65 from a reference source 67 is a signal 66 representing the normal noise level of a signal from static pressure sensor 22 functioning normally with impulse lines 12 and 13 open . three outputs from circuit 65 may occur . output 68 of circuit 65 may indicate that the noise signal 64 is greater than , about equal to or less than the normal noise level signal 66 . output 68 may go to a logic circuit 60 . again , since the pressure sensitivities of the two sensors are different , the noise level would be normalized for each sensor so that a meaningful comparison can be made . logic circuit 60 may take inputs and output a diagnostic signal 69 indicating whether both lines 12 and 13 are blocked , one line is blocked and which one , or no lines are blocked . circuit 60 may be designed to interface appropriately with digital or analog input signals . output signal 69 may go to a computer , display , process equipment , system or the like for diagnostic review , storage , system control , computations and / or review . signal 69 may have other kinds of destinations . signal transmission may be by various kinds of media and in a variety of digital or analog formats . fig6 reveals the configuration of the line connections of the differential 11 and static 22 pressure devices within sensor enclosure 20 utilized for obtaining the illustrative diagnostic results as shown in a table 61 of fig7 based on the various noise levels on the signals from pressure devices 11 and 22 . static pressure sensing device 22 may be connected to the high side of the flow which is through line 12 . normal noise levels may be on signals from connections 51 and 52 from the differential pressure 11 and static pressure 22 diaphragms 35 and 36 along with strain gauges 44 and 46 , respectively , when lines 12 and 13 are open and sensor 20 is operating in a normal fashion . if the noise level of the signal on connection 51 from the differential pressure 11 diaphragm is greater (↑) than the normal noise level and the noise level of the signal on connection 52 from the static pressure 22 diaphragm is less (↓) than the normal noise level , then line 12 may be blocked and line 13 may be open . if the noise level of the signal on connection 51 from the differential pressure 11 diaphragm is greater than the normal noise level and the noise level of the signal on connection 52 from the static pressure 22 diaphragm is about equal (--) to the normal noise level , then line 12 may be open and line 13 may be blocked . if the noise level of the signal on connection 51 from the differential pressure 11 diaphragm is less than the normal noise level and the noise level of the signal on connection 52 from the static pressure 22 diaphragm is less than the normal noise level , then lines 12 and 13 may be blocked . although the invention has been described with respect to at least one illustrative embodiment , many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the present specification . it is therefore the intention that the appended claims be interpreted as broadly as possible in view of the prior art to include all such variations and modifications . | 6 |
the present invention will be described in terms of metal oxide semiconductor ( mos ) technology which is currently the most commonly used integrated circuit technology . mos generally refers to any integrated circuit in which metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors ( mosfets ) are used . mos integrated circuits are typically formed with a lightly doped p - type silicon substrate or a lightly doped n - type silicon substrate . the present invention will be described using lightly doped p - type silicon as the starting material , although the invention may be implemented with other substrate materials . if other substrate materials are used , then there may be corresponding differences in materials and structure of the device as is well known in the art . the formation of integrated circuits includes photolithographic masking and etching . this process consists of creating a photolithographic mask containing the pattern of the component to be formed , coating the wafer with a light - sensitive material called photoresist , exposing the photoresist coated wafer to ultra - violet light through the mask to soften or harden parts of the photoresist ( depending on whether positive or negative photoresist is used ), removing the softened parts of the photoresist , etching to remove the materials left unprotected by the photoresist and stripping the remaining photoresist . this photolithographic masking and etching process is referred to herein as “ patterning and etching .” reference will now be made to fig1 - 8 , which illustrate a process for forming a container type stacked capacitor dram memory cell . referring to fig1 wafer 10 comprises a lightly doped p - type single crystal silicon substrate 12 which has been oxidized to form thin gate insulating layer 14 and thick field oxide regions 16 . field oxide regions 16 provide electrical isolation between the memory cell array and the periphery as well as between individual memory cells within the array . field oxide regions 16 are formed by conventional methods well known in the art , such as forming an apertured layer of silicon nitride ( not shown ) or other non - oxidizable material on the surface of substrate 12 and thereafter oxidizing the exposed portions of the substrate . thin gate insulating layer 14 is formed by thermally growing or depositing silicon dioxide on the surface of substrate 12 . transistor gate electrodes 18 are formed by successively depositing or “ stacking ” layers of polysilicon 20 , tungsten silicide 22 and silicon dioxide 24 over thin gate insulating layer 14 , and then patterning and etching those layers to expose substrate 12 at the desired locations of the source and drain for the access transistors . these layers are deposited , patterned and etched using conventional methods well known in the art . alternatively , transistor gate electrodes 18 may be formed of a single layer of polysilicon deposited and etched as describe above . the tungsten silicide and silicon dioxide layers are included herein simply to better illustrate the details of one of the preferred embodiments of the invention . p - type impurities , typically boron atoms , are then implanted into the exposed portions of substrate 12 , as shown symbolically by arrows 26 . boron ions are implanted at an energy level of approximately of 25 - 50 kev , to a depth of approximately 1000 angstroms . the resulting doped p - regions 28 extend into the channel area between the subsequently formed source and drain for each access transistor . the boron implant improves the transistor characteristic by reducing short channel effects such as v t rollover , sub v t slope , punch - through and the like . referring to fig2 lightly doped drain implants ( ldds ) are formed by implanting n - type impurities , typically phosphorous or arsenic atoms , in the exposed portions of substrate 12 . the implantation of the n - type impurities is shown symbolically by arrows 30 . the ldds form source / drain regions 32 a and 32 b . the capacitor first conductors 44 , shown on fig5 will contact source / drain region 32 a . this contact is commonly referred to as the capacitor buried contact . the bit line contact 54 , shown on fig8 will contact source / drain region 32 b . the ldd dopant is implanted at doses of approximately 1 - 5 × 10 13 ions per square centimeter and an implantation energy in the range of 20 to 100 kev . implantation at these energy levels results in ion distribution depths of approximately 500 - 1000 angstroms . referring to fig3 insulating spacers 34 are formed on either side of transistor gate electrodes 18 . then , lower insulating layer 36 , made of boro - phospho - silicate glass ( bpsg ), is deposited and , if necessary , planarized . lower insulating layer 36 is patterned and etched to define capacitor contact corridor 38 ( also commonly referred to as the capacitor container ) in lower insulating layer 36 and to expose portions of substrate 12 at source / drain region 32 a . n - type impurities , preferably phosphorous atoms , are then implanted into the re - exposed portions of substrate 12 , as shown symbolically by arrows 40 . phosphorous ions may be implanted before or after removal of the photoresist used during the patterning and etching of the lower insulating layer 36 . preferably , the phosphorous ions are implanted at doses of approximately 10 13 ions per square centimeter and an implantation energy up to 200 kev . implantation at these energy levels results in phosphorous ion distribution depths up to approximately 2 , 000 angstroms , as shown by the dotted line on fig3 . the above and other implant parameters may be varied , as is well known in the art , to optimize the junction profile to cover the boron implant with the phosphorous and to grade the junction as much as possible to reduce the electric field , without adversely affecting performance of the access transistor . after the phosphorous implant , a second layer of polysilicon 42 , also commonly referred to as storage poly or “ poly2 ”, is deposited as shown in fig4 . storage poly 42 is doped , preferably rough textured , polysilicon . the storage poly may be doped insitu , by implantation or by diffusion . storage poly 42 is typically doped insitu with phosphorous . it has been observed that relatively high doping levels for the storage poly , in conjunction with the phosphorous implant described above , will adversely effect refresh and offset the refresh enhancement gained through the phosphorous implant . therefore , the storage poly doping level should be within the range of 1 × 10 19 to 1 × 10 20 atoms per cubic centimeter . referring to fig5 storage poly 42 is patterned and etched to form capacitor first conductors 44 . this storage poly etch may be followed by a partial oxide etch of lower insulating layer 36 which is selective to polysilicon so as not to etch the exposed storage poly . this oxide etch exposes much of the outer peripheries of capacitor first conductors 44 , which significantly increases the capacitance area of the cell . referring to fig6 capacitor dielectric 46 is deposited . capacitor dielectric 46 is preferably made of silicon nitride or other materials with high dielectric constants . referring to fig7 a third layer of polysilicon 48 , also commonly referred to as the cell poly , is stacked over substrate 12 . cell poly 48 is patterned and etched to form capacitor second conductor 50 and the etch may continue down through capacitor dielectric 46 . this cell poly etch is preferably anisotropic , but a timed isotropic etch may also be used . referring to fig8 a thick upper insulating layer 52 of bpsg or other suitable insulating material is formed over the exposed upper surfaces of the structure previously formed . upper insulating layer 52 is patterned and etched to form an opening for bit line contact 54 . upper insulating layer 52 may be planarized using chemical mechanical polish ( cmp ) or other suitable processes prior to etching . bit line contact 54 and bit line 56 are formed using metal deposition techniques well known in the art . in the above and following discussion , some well - known aspects of dram fabrication have been simplified . for example , the boron and phosphorous implants typically will by annealed by heating the structure to about 900 ° c . for about 30 minutes . the particular materials , structures and processes described are intended only to illustrate the invention so that it can be fully understood . other materials , structures and processes may be substituted for the particular ones described . silicon nitride may be used for silicon dioxide in some of the insulating layers and spacers . spin - on glass ( sog ), polyamide insulator ( pi ), chemical vapor deposited ( cvd ) oxide or other insulators may be used in place of the bpsg . additional materials , structures and processes may also be added to those disclosed . an alternative embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to fig9 - 13 , which illustrate a process for forming a standard stacked capacitor dram memory cell . for convenience , the reference numerals for the various components are the same as those used to describe the container cell illustrated in fig1 - 8 . in addition , the materials and processes used to form the individual components shown in fig9 - 14 are essentially the same as those used for the container cell described above . the structure shown in fig9 which illustrates the memory cell after ldd implantation , is formed according to the same process steps described above . thereafter , and referring to fig1 , an insulating layer 58 , typically made of silicon dioxide , is stacked over substrate 12 . referring to fig1 , insulating layer 58 is patterned and etched , the etch being self aligned to the vertical portion of insulating layer 58 , to re - expose substrate 12 at source / drain regions 32 a , also commonly referred to as the capacitor buried contact . n - type impurities , preferably phosphorous atoms , are then implanted into the re - exposed portion of substrate 12 at source / drain regions 32 a , as shown symbolically by arrows 40 . phosphorous ions are implanted at doses of approximately 10 13 atoms per square centimeter and an implantation energy up to 200 kev . implantation at these energy levels results in phosphorous ion distribution depths up to approximately 2 , 000 angstroms , as shown by the dotted line in fig1 . it has been observed that this phosphorous implant eliminates the severe degradation in refresh that occurs when the capacitor contact corridor is misaligned to the edge of the field oxide region . the phosphorous implant also enhances refresh when there is no misalignment . the mechanism through which refresh is thus enhanced is not known . it has been observed that a substantial number of weak cells are eliminated by the phosphorous implant . it is believed , therefore , that the phosphorous implant eliminates one or more defects in the cell , although the nature of those defect ( s ) is unknown . there are many possible defects that may be repaired by the phosphorous implant . for example , the elimination of trap assisted tunneling is consistent with the temperature and doping parameters under which refresh is enhanced . the phosphorous implant may place the operating junction in the optimal range , as illustrated in g . a . m . hurkx , et al ., a new recombination model for device simulation including tunneling , ieee tred vol . 39 , no . 2 , pp . 331 - 338 ( february 1992 ) and f . hurkx , anomalous behavior of surface leakage currents in heavily doped gated diodes , ieee tred vol . 40 , no . 12 , pp . 2273 - 2281 ( december 1993 ), incorporated herein by reference . the phosphorous implant may also deepen the n - junction in the capacitor buried contact covering up any defects in that junction and at the edge of the field oxide . referring to fig1 , storage poly 42 is deposited and patterned and etched to form capacitor first conductor 44 . referring to fig1 , capacitor dielectric layer 46 is stacked over substrate 12 . cell poly 48 is then stacked over substrate 12 . cell poly 48 is patterned and etched to form capacitor second conductor 50 and this etch may continue down through dielectric layer 46 . referring to fig1 , upper insulating layer 52 is stacked over substrate 12 . upper insulating layer 52 is then patterned and etched to form an opening for bit line contact 54 . bit line contact 54 and bit line 56 are formed using metal deposition techniques well known in the art . the particular dimensions of the various layers and components described above can vary widely . the following are the nominal sizes of components in this embodiment , assuming a 4 mbit dram using about a 1 . 5 μm 2 cell spacing : field oxide regions 16 are about 4000 angstroms thick ; thin gate insulating layer 14 is about 125 angstroms thick ; storage poly 42 is about 2 , 000 angstroms thick ; cell poly 48 is about 1 , 000 angstroms thick ; capacitor dielectric layer 46 is about 80 angstroms thick ; and transistor gate electrodes 18 are about 0 . 4 μm wide . there has been shown and described a novel integrated circuit formation process which enhances refresh in dram memory cells by , it is believed , eliminating defects in the cells . the particular embodiments shown in the drawings and described herein are for purposes of example and should not be construed to limit the invention as set forth in the appended claims . those skilled in the art may now make numerous uses and modifications of the specific embodiments described without departing from the scope of the invention . the process steps described may in some instances be performed in a different order and / or equivalent structures and processes may be substituted for the various structures and processes described . a variety of different dimensions and materials may also be used . | 7 |
first , some embodiments of product definitions — or product structures — as may be used in the present invention are discussed . a digital representation of a printed product may be based on parts instead of pages . as illustrated by fig1 and 2 , the parts 11 - 22 constitute a product structure 10 for digitally representing the printed product . a part 11 - 22 includes a plurality of pages 25 - 28 that remain together during the manufacturing process of the printed product . fig3 shows some examples of parts 20 - 22 . in a specific embodiment , a part comprises a binding point 35 ( as shown in fig3 ) that indicates where the part will be bound to another part . in another embodiment , at least some parts of the product structure comprise , as is the case for parts 21 and 22 in fig3 a plurality of pages 25 - 28 that not only remain together during the manufacturing process of the printed product but that also are folded during the manufacturing process . in yet another embodiment , a part comprises a binding point and at least some parts of the product structure comprise a plurality of pages that remain together and that are folded during the manufacturing process of the printed product . preferably , as shown in fig2 relations 31 , 32 are defined that indicate how the parts 12 - 14 , 15 - 17 together constitute the product structure 10 . from the product structure 10 , the page order , i . e . the pagination , of the printed product may be determined . in this document , a part , a page and other suchlike terms may denote the physical entity , the digital representation of the physical entity , a depiction thereof on a computer display . what is meant , can be determined from the context . a computer program , or computer program product , denotes in this document an aggregate of computer program code means , that may be organized in one entity , or in a plurality of entities that may run independently of each other ( e . g . generating a product structure for a printed product , and generating , based on that product structure , an imposition plan for the printed product , may be performed by two different entities : the first entity generates the product structure , and the second entity generates the imposition plan ; both entities together are denoted , in this document , as “ a computer program ”). an advantage of using parts is that the same values of a set of properties may be assigned to all pages of a part ; e . g . all pages of a part have the same type of printing substrate ( such as a particular type of paper , of polyethylene coated paper , of plastic , etc . ); usually , all pages of a part also have the same page size . another advantage of using parts is related to the imposition process . imposition is the pre - press process of arranging the pages , that will be printed on the same sheet , in such a way that a proper sequence or position of each page relative to the other pages on the sheet is achieved . arranging the pages is required because , when e . g . a book or a leaflet is manufactured , several pages of the book or leaflet are printed by the printing press on the same sheet . after printing , the sheet is folded and possibly cut and bound together with other processed sheets . in the resulting book or leaflet , the pages of course have to follow one another in the correct order ; this is a job of the imposition process . thus , the pre - press process of imposition is performed in view of post - press processes such as fold and cut operations . an imposition plan represents the layout according to which the individual pages , that will be printed on the same sheet , are arranged on that sheet . a “ section ”, also called signature , is the entity that is obtained by folding that sheet , after printing , by a folding machine . more information on imposition , on imposition plans and on related terms can be found in patent application ep 02 102 092 . 0 , filed on aug . 2 , 2002 , which is incorporated herein by reference . an advantage of using a product structure with parts is that parts already provide more useful structural information , and that they thus allow a more meaningful mapping to the sections and the imposition plan . a particular embodiment is encompassed in a project management system that organizes and streamlines the work within the graphic enterprise . in this system , a digital representation of a printed product is made in several steps , as follows . in a first step , input data are obtained from a user , who is typically the customer service representative ( csr ). the input data may be obtained via a computer display . the input data relate to different portions of the printed product : the cover , the content , inserts . an insert is printed material , typically one or more advertisements , that is inserted between the content pages . usually , inserts do not affect the pagination of the content ; if e . g . an insert of four pages is located between page seven and page eight of the content , page eight retains its page number and does not get page number twelve . the input data may include data selected from the group consisting of the total number of content pages , the total number of inserts ( which may be zero ), the cover type ( e . g . self - cover , which means that there is no separate cover : the outer pages of the content serve as the cover ; or separate cover — same binding as content ; or separate cover — additional binding ) and the binding method of the printed product ( such as saddle - stitching , side - stitching , center - sewing , side - sewing , adhesive binding , or a single - leaf binding method such as ring binding , or loose - leaf binding as used e . g . for newspapers ). preferably , the input data include all of these parameters , i . e . the total number of content pages , the total number of inserts , the cover and the binding method . more preferably , the input data also include the typical number of parts per section . the input data may also comprise the page orientation ( portrait or landscape ), the size ( width and height ) of the finished printed product ), the type or types of printing substrate ( usually a paper type ) that are to be used , the colors , and other data that specify what the printed product will look like . in a second step , additional input data may be obtained from the user . an example is the specification of the data to define a foldout ( a foldout is an item that can be folded out of the printed product , e . g . part 22 in fig3 may be a foldout in a magazine or book ). moreover , operations on the input data may be performed , e . g . the user may modify input data . further , content matter may be associated to the pages , which is typically done by the end - user . content matter is e . g . an image or a text that has to appear in a given location in the printed product . it is assumed that the content matter is available as a set of files of data . content matter may be associated to pages as follows , by means of so - called naming lists . pages are assigned to naming lists , taking into account the naming convention of the files with content matter . there are two kinds of naming lists . whereas the “ internal naming lists ” are used to label the pages internally , the “ external naming lists ” will have a direct mapping to the filename conventions the customer ( or the company that delivers the content matter ) will use . after this second step , the project management system can start accepting the files that contain the content matter . in a third step , a product structure for digitally representing the printed product is generated from the input data discussed above . [ 0030 ] fig1 shows a depiction of such a product structure 10 on a computer display 51 . the product structure 10 that is shown in fig1 contains a cover part 11 , a set of content parts 12 - 15 , 18 ( for better readability , only some of the content parts are indicated by reference signs ) and an insert part 19 . in general , a product structure does not necessarily comprise all these parts ; it may include a plurality of parts that are selected from the group of a cover part , a content part and an insert part . as mentioned already above , a part includes a plurality of pages that remain together during the manufacturing process of the printed product . this is shown in fig1 for part 18 , that includes pages 25 - 28 . fig1 shows the product structure 10 of e . g . a magazine with a separate cover . the four pages 25 - 28 are printed on the same sheet : pages 26 and 27 on the front side of the sheet , and pages 25 and 28 on the back side of the sheet . as discussed above with respect to the imposition process , usually a large number of pages will be printed on the same sheet , e . g . thirty - two pages on the front side of the sheet and thirty - two other pages on the back side of the sheet ; however , after folding and cutting of this sheet ( i . e . after what is customarily called the cutting of the “ flat ”), only some of these pages remain together . these pages that remain together form a part . [ 0032 ] fig3 shows some other examples of parts . part 20 includes only two pages , namely pages 25 and 26 . part 21 is analogous to part 18 in fig1 . part 22 shows a foldout and includes six pages . parts 21 and 22 are folded during the manufacturing process of the printed product , while part 20 is not . in a specific embodiment , a part comprises a binding point 35 ( as shown in fig3 ) that indicates where the part will be bound to another part . binding is to be interpreted very broadly : it encompasses all binding methods mentioned above , including loose - leaf binding . preferably , relations are defined between the parts that indicate how the parts together constitute the product structure 10 . fig2 shows a tree - like structure that represents a product structure 10 . the relations between the parts in fig2 are in - relations 31 or next - relations 32 . parts 12 , 13 and 14 are to be inserted in each other , and are thus connected by an in - relation . the same holds for parts 15 - 17 . there is a next - relation between parts 12 and 15 , indicating that part 12 ( with parts 13 and 14 inserted in it ) and part 15 ( with parts 16 and 17 inserted ) are stacked on top of each other . finally , the thus obtained entity is inserted into the cover part ( which is the part not indicated by a reference sign in fig2 ). in fig1 the content parts 12 - 45 , 18 are shown in three rows ; the parts in the same row are inserted in each other . this is also indicated by the axes 41 and 42 , respectively the in - and the next - axis ; these axes indicate the relation between the shown parts , in conformity with the in - and next - relations discussed in connection with fig2 . fig1 thus illustrates another advantage , namely that the product structure 10 clearly reflects the structure of the printed product . the product structure 10 shown in fig1 includes a single insert , “ insert 1 ”. of course other product structures may include more inserts , or no insert at all . the user may perform operations on the displayed product structure 10 , such as adding an additional part . he may add a row or a column , by means of button 52 respectively button 53 . an advantage of using parts is that the same values of a set of properties may be assigned to all pages of a part ; e . g . all pages of a part have the same type of printing substrate ( such as a particular type of paper , of polyethylene coated paper , of plastic , etc .). usually , all pages of a part also have the same page size ( this is however in general not the case for a foldout ). the set of printing colors is often also the same for all pages of a part , or at least for all pages at the same side ( i . e . front side or back side ) of a part . thus , identical values for all or for some of these properties may be assigned to all pages of a part . it is possible to assign default values , that may still be modified later on . in a fourth step , the user specifies how the printed product will be made ; this step is also called the manufacturing phase in this document . the manufacturing phase may be implemented as follows . parts are grouped in components . the components may be created from scratch by the user , or a set of default components may be derived from the product structure 10 . preferably , the relations 31 , 32 between the parts are used in deriving this set of default components . the set of default components includes a cover component for the cover ( in case of a separate cover ), at least one content component for the content , and an insert component for each insert ( the number of inserts may be zero ). the components , however obtained , may then be edited . new components may be added . the purpose is to group those parts in a component , that will be manufactured in the same way . the product structure 10 thus comprises parts , and it also comprises components . this method is advantageous when generating the imposition plan for the printed product . in fact , as is clear from the discussion above , using the parts as the atomic elements to determine the imposition plan provides more useful structural information than simply using the pages , which is customary practice . a pjtf ( portable job ticket format ) or a pdf ( portable document format ) based imposition layout scheme may be associated to a component . such a pjtf file ( or pdf file ) describes the position of the pages on the flat , their orientation , etc . the parts , and the sequence of the parts in the component , already suggest a meaningful number scheme that may be matched with the pjtf or pdf files , in particular with the so - called runlists of these files . in this way , a meaningful mapping of these runlists to the final pages of the printed product is obtained . instead of obtaining the input data from the user , as is the case in the particular embodiment discussed above , the input data may also be obtained in another way , e . g . as output from a computer program . as mentioned above , the invention is concerned with feedback from the production , or manufacturing phase of a printed product to the product definition of the printed product . first , the product definition is determined by means of the project management system . the product definition is used for manufacturing the printed product , and comprises components , which were discussed already above . the components may comprise parts , as described above ; in another embodiment of the invention , the components do not comprise parts but they comprise pages instead . the product definition preferably includes printing parameters and properties discussed above ( such as paper type , printing colors used , etc .) that are required to define how the printed product is to be manufactured . a production planning is drawn up , preferably by means of the project management system and preferably by a production team , for the manufacturing of a plurality of printed products . the production team controls manufacturing , and has to take account of several constraints . these constraints may include the production deadlines of the printed products , the availability of printing machines such as offset presses , etc . due to a constraint , it is possible that the product definition of a printed product will have to be modified . suppose for example that a press suitable for 32 - up printing is not available , and that a printed product would have to be printed on a 24 - up press instead . in the printed product , the sections of sixty - four pages ( thirty - two pages at the front side of the printed sheet and thirty - two pages at the back side ) will then have to be replaced by sections of forty - eight pages . this may even affect the printing colors , e . g . in case one section of sixty - four pages has to be printed in color , and the other sections in black - and - white . such a modification of the product definition is then proposed , typically by a member of the production team . the csr , or another responsible person , has to approve the modification before it is implemented . in a preferred embodiment of the invention , all these steps are supported by the project management system . preferably , the project management system includes a communication system for the different users of the project management system . these users are e . g . the csr , a member of the production team , etc . in a particular embodiment of the invention , feedback from the production phase of a printed product to the product definition of the printed product is implemented in the project management system as follows . the project management system includes a communication system for the different users , that is preferably web - based . within the project management system , the users have their own mailbox . if an event occurs , such as starting a printing press , generating a printing plate , this may result in a message to one or more users . this message is normally related to an object in the project management system , such as a project , a product , a resource , and the message then contains a url ( uniform resource locator ) that gives , by clicking upon the url , direct access to the object . after receiving the message , a user may undertake an action , which will usually result in new events , that require new actions . concretely , if , as discussed above , due to a constraint of the production planning , the production team proposes a modification of the product definition , then the csr will receive a message from a member of the production team , with a link to the product and a description of the modifications that should be carried out . the csr will then approve these modifications , or not . it is also possible that the csr has to contact the client to discuss if the modifications are acceptable . an example of a modification that will usually be discussed with the client is a change of the type of the paper on which the product will be printed , in case the paper type from the product definition is not available in production and another type of paper has to be used . another example of a modification of the product definition is concerned with inserts . if e . g . the number of pages in a section should be changed , and there is an insert in this section , the location of the insert is affected . normally , inserts cannot have an arbitrary location ; they will e . g . be located at the beginning or at the end of a section . if the number of pages of the section is modified , the insert will therefore be located next to other content matter . this can be important , since e . g . a car manufacturing company will not want that an insert with an advertisement for its car is located in a newspaper next to a page with traffic accidents . those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous modifications and variations may be made to the embodiments disclosed above without departing from the scope of the present invention . | 6 |
hereinafter , the present invention will be described in accordance with the accompanying drawings . fig3 and fig9 are views illustrating an example wherein a liquid discharging apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a serial type ink jet printing apparatus . in fig3 and fig9 a carriage 1 mounts on it color printing heads 2a , 2b , 2c , and 2d respectively for four colors , cyan , magenta , yellow , and black , and a guide shaft 3 supports and guides the carriage 1 movably . reference numerals 22a , 22b , 22c , and 22d designate the discharging surface of each printing head , respectively . a belt 4 which is an endless belt is partially connected to the carriage 1 . the carriage 1 is driven by a driving motor 5 which is a pulse motor driven by a motor driver 23 . thus , the carriage is moved on the guide shaft 3 through the belt 4 along the printing surface of a printing sheet 6 . further , there are provided a feed roller 7 to feed a printing sheet 6 , guide rollers 8a and 8b to guide the printing sheet 6 , and a printing sheet feed motor 9 . also , for each of the printing heads 2a , 2b , 2c , and 2d , a liquid passage 10 is arranged to discharge ink toward the printing sheet 6 . to the passage 10 , ink is supplied from each of the ink tanks 11a , 11b , 11c , and 11d corresponding to each of the printing heads 2a , 2b , 2c , and 2d through each of the supply tubes 12a , 12b , 12c , and 12d . to the energy generating means ( which is not shown ) arranged in each of the passages 10 , ink discharging signals are selectively supplied from each of the head drivers 24a , 24b , 24c , and 24d through each of the flexible cables 13a , 13b , 13c , and 13d . further , for each of the printing heads 2a , 2b , 2c , and 2d , head heaters 14a , 14b , 14c , and 14d ( 14b , 14c , and 15d are not shown ) and temperature detecting means 15a , 15b , 15c , and 15d ( 15b , 15c , and 15d are not shown ) are provided , respectively . the detected signals from the temperature detecting means 15a , 15b , 15c , and 15d are inputted into a control circuit 16 having a cpu . the control circuit 16 controls the heating in the head heaters 14a , 14b , 14c , and 14d on the basis of these signals through a driver 17 and a power source 18 . capping means 20 are butted to the discharging port surface of each of the printing heads 2a , 2b , 2c , and 2d when the printing is at rest . the printing heads 2a , 2b , 2c , and 2d are shifted to a position opposite to the capping means 20 when the printing is at rest . then , the capping means 20 is driven forward by means of a cap driver 25 to perform the capping by allowing a resilient member 44 to but the discharging port surface . if the printing head is left intact in the air for a long time , the ink in the nozzles are evaporated to make it exceedingly viscous , leading to an unstable discharging . in order to prevent this , the nozzle unit is sealed from the atmosphere and airtightly enclosed ( capped ) when the printing is at rest . in the cap , a liquid absorbent kept sufficiently wet by ink is provided to suppress the increase of the ink viscosity as much as possible by maintaining the inside of the cap highly moisturized . to the capping means 20 , an electromagnetic valve 61 for water discharging and an air pump driver 62 are connected . the rinse water discharging nozzle and the air ejection nozzle arranged in the capping means 20 are driven under the control of a control circuit 16 , respectively . also , the ink , foreign particles , and others adhering to or fixed to the head surface are cleaned by the liquid flow and air stream ejected from each of the nozzles . in this respect , the above - mentioned flow of the ejected liquid eases the state of the fixed particles and removes them or cause them to be in a removable condition . this is effectively applicable to the minute parts . also , the above - mentioned ejected air stream removes from the head surface the remaining liquid itself after its ejection , thus making it possible to implement the promotion of the recovery action for the particles in the removable state as well as the liquid . from the nozzle arranged in the upper part of the flow ejection cap , the air stream is blown toward the surface of the nozzles to blow the particles and liquid down to the lower part of the printing head . also , when the ink is left intact for a long period of time in the head being capped , a recovery is also conducted by pressurizing the ink . in other words , if the ink is left intact for a long period of time , the ink in the nozzles is being evaporated gradually even if the head is capped and it becomes exceedingly viscous . also , air bubbles remain in the nozzles occasionally to hinder a stabilized discharging in some cases . therefore , when a printing is started , a pump arranged in the ink tank is driven to pressurize the ink to cause any exceedingly viscous ink and residual air bubbles in the nozzles to be exhausted outside the nozzles . this is also effective in washed away the dust particles or fluffs adhering to the nozzle surface or the dust particles which may be present in the nozzles for the maintenance of a stabilized discharging . clogging prevention means 31 receives the discharged ink when the printing heads 2a , 2b , 2c , and 2d perform its preliminary discharging operation . the clogging prevention means 31 is arranged to face the printing heads 2a , 2b , 2c , and 2d , and is provided with a liquid receiving member 32 as a liquid receptacle to absorb the ink which is preliminarily discharged . this means is arranged between the capping means 20 and a position to start the printing . in this respect , for the materials of the liquid receiving member 32 and a liquid holding member 45 , it is effective to adopt a spongy porous material or sintered plastic among others . here , the preliminary discharge is an ink discharging without any particular purpose of printing itself . this discharge is conducted to assure the temperature of the area the temperature of which is lowered due to the ejected liquid flow and ejected air stream as well as to remove any unwanted particles in the discharging ports . also , besides this , given driving pulses are provided before the printing is started to cause the ink to be discharged from the entire nozzles towards the capping unit and others ( aging operation ) or in some cases , this is performed while in the capping state if it is desired to enhance the wetting condition of the atmosphere surrounding the nozzles . to the cleaning means 50 , an electromagnetic valve 51 for rinsing and a suction pump driver 52 are connected , and perform under control of the control circuit 16 the discharge of rinsing liquid from rinsing means 53 , and the suction of rinsing liquid form the cleaning means 50 , respectively . as the rinsing liquid , water is used , for example . fig1 shows the structural example of a liquid discharging head . a reference numeral 2 designates a discharging head ; 22 , its discharging port surface ; 101b , the nozzle unit in which a plurality of liquid passages are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction , and the discharging energy generating elements such as electrothermal transducers are provided ; and 101c , an ink chamber to share the ink supply to each of the liquid passages , which connects them with an ink tank 110 through supply tubes 103 and 104 . then , for one supply tube 104 , a gear pump 105 is provided to pressurize the ink in the ink supply system to the printing head 2 and cause the ink to be exhausted from the discharging ports when the air bubbles and particles mixed in the supply passages or in the nozzle unit 101b are removed or a discharge recovery process such as the removal of the exceedingly viscous ink , and the like is performed . fig1 and fig2 show the structural example of the cleaning means 50 . fig1 is a view illustrating the cleaning means 50 observed in the main scanning direction of the head 2 . fig2 is a view illustrating a cleaning member 70 and a head 2 observed from above . the cleaning member 70 is a flexible body having a three dimensional net structure , for example , is made of a continuously porous material . as the material for the cleaning member , a high molecular porous material is preferably usable . when a high molecular porous material is used , it is preferable to use the one which does not change its volume even when it absorbs ink but not the one which changes its volume remarkably by absorbing ink mists such as a high molecular foaming material . as a suitable one , a material of a foaming formal resin type is preferably named . also , it may be possible to use materials having the three dimensional net structure other than the porous materials described above . also , as a cleaning member used here , it is possible to utilize a high molecular porous material of a sintered type . for example , it is possible to name a low density polyethylene , high density polyethylene , high molecular polyethylene , compound polyethylene , polypropylene , polymethyl methacrylilate , polystyrene , acrylonitrile copolymer , ethylene - vinyl acetate copolymer , flouric resin , phenol resin , and other thermally sintered materials . particularly in consideration of the ink mist absorptivity and ink resistivity , it is preferable to employ those using a low density polyethylene , high density polyethylene , high molecular polyethylene , or polypropylene . particularly , a continuously pored ultrafine material using urethane as its material ( commercial name : rubycellclean -- toyo hygienic material , inc .) is suitably used among them . now , a reference numeral 71 designates a holder to pinch and fix the cleaning member 70 between the fixing boards 72 , and 73 , fixing screws . for the holder 71 , an opening 71b is arranged on the surface 71a which butts the cleaning member 71 , and is connected to a suction tube 74 through a conductive passage 71c . thus , the structure is arranged to exhaust the rinsing liquid and ink contained in the cleaning member 70 by the sucking means 82 comprising a pump in the direction indicated by an arrow a . for this sucking means 82 , it may be possible to adopt an exhausting means which is arranged in such a manner that a porous material or a fabric material is connected to the cleaning member 70 to form a passage for the disposal of the rinsing liquid exhausted from the cleaning member . after the rinsing by means of this suction of the rinsing liquid , the suction capability of the cleaning member 70 against the ink and foreign particles is restored due to the appropriately reduced amount of the rinsing liquid , hence making it possible to enhance the cleaning effect for the discharging surface 22 of the head 2 . also , the leading edge 70d of the cleaning member 70 is overlapped with the discharging surface 22 of the discharging head 2 by a length indicated by l . therefore , when the head 2 is in a scanning operation , the discharging surface 22 of the head 2 is wiped by this overlapping portion thus arranged . a reference numeral 75 designates a nozzle to supply the rinsing liquid . the rinsing liquid 81 is supplied in the direction indicated by an arrow b from a tank 80 serving as a rinsing liquid supply means through a rinsing liquid supply tube 76 as an electromagnetic valve 79 opens or is closed , and further supplied downward to the cleaning member 70 from the discharging port 75a of the nozzle . in this way , the cleaning arrangement is made . a reference numeral 77 designates a receptacle container arranged below the cleaning member 70 to receive the droplets of the rinsing liquid which are not absorbed by the cleaning member 70 when the rinsing liquid is discharged from the supply nozzle 75 , and the ink and foreign particles adhering to the cleaning member 70 which also drop together with the droplets of the rinsing liquid ; and 78 , an exhaust tube to exhaust the rinsing liquid received by the receptacle container 77 to an exhaust unit ( not shown ) in the direction indicated by an arrow c . now , hereinafter , the description will be made of the operation of an ink jet printing apparatus . in fig3 a printing start detecting sensor 34 and a capping means detecting sensor 36 detect respectively that each of the printing heads 2a , 2b , 2c , and 2d is in a given capping position . a preliminary discharge position sensor 35 detects the fiducial position for the preliminary discharging operation to be performed by the printing heads 2a , 2b , 2c , and 2d while being shifted in the scanning direction . fig4 is a flowchart showing the operational sequence in the present embodiment . at first , while in a standby state , each of the discharging port surfaces 22a , 22b , 22c , and 22d of the printing heads 2a , 2b , 2c , and 2d is capped by the capping means 20 . when a printing signal is inputted into the control circuit 16 , a pressurized ink circulation is started ( step s1 ). in order to enhance the recovery effect by the pressurized ink circulation , the head cleaning is executed simultaneously ( step s2 ). in step s3 and step s4 , when the head cleaning and the pressurized ink circulation are terminated , the residual liquid droplets and others on the discharging surface of the discharging head are removed ( step s5 ) by the application of the air stream cleaning . then , the head cap is released ( step s6 ). together with the recovery by means of the pressurized ink circulation , the cleaning member 70 is cleaned ( step s7 ). by this cleaning , the exceedingly viscous ink , foreign particles , and others adhering to the cleaning member 70 are washed away together with the rinsing liquid . also , part of the ink is in a condition that it flows out from the discharging surface of the nozzles by the pressurized ink circulation . therefore , it is possible to prevent the rinsing liquid from flowing into the liquid chamber side in the head from the nozzle discharging surface . thus , there is no resultant reduction of the ink density in the liquid chamber due to the mixture of the rinsing liquid when a printing is executed after the head cleaning ; hence preventing disadvantages such as a lowered printing density . then , in the next step s8 , the rinsing liquid is sucked so that the residual rinsing liquid in the cleaning member 70 is appropriately reduced , and its capability to collect ink , foreign particles , and others is enhanced thereby to increase the cleaning efficiency of the cleaning member 70 . also , the rinsing liquid being sucked and exhausted , there occurs due to the capillary phenomenon the liquid absorbing force in the porous material serving as the cleaning member 70 . by making this liquid absorbing force greater than the negative pressure ( meniscus formation force ) given to the nozzles of the liquid discharging head , together with the synergistic effects obtainable form the high affinity of the residual rinsing liquid such as water in the cleaning member 70 and the ink in the nozzles , the ink can be in a state where it is drawn from the nozzles when the cleaning is executed . as a result , the mixture of the rinsing liquid in the liquid chamber can be prevented , hence making the prevention of the lowered ink density possible . further , the ink absorbing capability in the nozzles also occurs . it is also possible to produce another effect that the exceedingly viscous ink in the nozzles can be removed simultaneously . as described above , the rinsing liquid is sucked in the step s8 , and an appropriate amount of the remaining rinsing liquid in the cleaning member 70 is reduced . according to an experiment , when a water is contained in a cleaning member ( a continuously porous material having a vacancy ratio of 70 to 85 %: commercial name : rubycellclean -- toyo hygienic material , inc .) substantially in the same volume as this material before suction , and an approximately 50 % of the foregoing volume of water is absorbed and exhausted from the cleaning material , for example , it is found that the water which contacts this cleaning member after that is again absorbed in 30 seconds up to an approximately 80 % of the volume of the water which has been exhausted . as the cleaning member , it is preferable to use a three dimensional net material or a continuously porous material . in a case where a rinsing liquid is contained substantially in the same volume as that of the cleaning member at the outset , it is possible to create a high liquid absorptivity in the cleaning member by causing it to exhaust the rinsing liquid by suction preferably in a 30 % or more of such a volume , more preferably in a 40 % or more , or most preferably in 50 % or more . now , subsequently , a driving signal is emitted from the motor driver 23 to transfer the driving force of the driving motor 5 to the carriage 1 through the belt 4 . thus , the carriage 1 is driven to allow the head to reciprocate ( step s9 ). then , as shown in fig5 when the carriage 1 passes the cleaning means 50 , the cleaning member 70 wipes the discharging port surface 22 sequentially to clean it ( step s10 ). in this respect , according to the present embodiment , the cleaning means to wipe off the rinsing liquid , ink , foreign particles , and others on the discharging port surface and clean it . as shown in fig5 when the discharging port surface is wiped off by the cleaning member 70 , the cleaning member being flexible is held down in the same direction as the shifting direction d of the carriage 1 to cause the wiping surface 70b to wipe off the discharging port surface 22 with its weak resiliency , thus executing the cleaning . therefore , even if there are steps between the holder surface 102 and the discharging port surface 22 , the cleaning effects are not affected . particularly , since the edge 70d of the cleaning member 70 is allowed to reach the recess of the holder , it is possible to clean the stepping parts between the holder surface 102 and the discharging port surface then , each position of the printing heads 2a , 2b , 2c , and 2d is detected by the preliminary discharge position detecting sensor 35 to enable the clog prevention means 31 to discharge ink preliminarily for a given period of time ( step s11 ). the ink droplets are being discharged for the image printing in a dot matrix pattern in the printing width portion p of a printing sheet 6 , beginning at the printing start detecting position p 0 detected by the printing start detecting sensor 34 while this means is in travel in the direction indicated by an arrow d ( step s12 ). at the same time , as in the foregoing step s7 , the cleaning of the cleaning member is performed ( step s13 ), and then , as in the foregoing step s8 , the suction of the rinsing liquid is performed ( step s14 ) to recover the cleaning capability of the cleaning member . subsequently , the carriage 1 is driven in the direction indicated by an arrow e to return to the empty discharging position . at the same time , the printing sheet 6 is fed by the printing width p in the direction indicated by an arrow f . then , the carriage 1 is further returned to the capping position ( step s15 ). at this juncture , the carriage 1 passes the cleaning means 50 so that the discharging port surface 22 is cleaned by the cleaning member 70 ( step s16 ). as shown in fig6 the cleaning member 70 is held down in the carriage traveling direction e as in the case of the forward movement . thus , the discharging port surface 22 is wiped off by the wiping surface 70c for cleaning . then , if the image printing is continued ( no in step s17 ), the process will return to the step s9 to allow the carriage 1 to conduct its returning movement , and as shown in fig5 the cleaning in the returning movement is performed ( step s10 ). at this juncture , since the wiping surface 70b of the cleaning member is used in the forward movement , the wiping surface 70c which is once stained is not used to wipe off the discharging port surface 22 . thus , the cleaning effect is not only affected , but it is doubly enhanced . on the other hand , if the image printing is terminated ( yes in step s17 ), the discharging surface 22 of the head 2 is capped by the capping means 20 and closed airtightly ( step s18 ). fig7 is a view illustrating another embodiment . a reference numeral 80 designates a cleaning member which is held to a holder 81 by the fixing boards 82a and 82b which pinch the both ends of the cleaning member ; and 83a and 83b , mounting screws . an opening 81a is provided for the holder 81 . thus , the arrangement is made so that the rinsing liquid contained in the cleaning member enables the ink to be exhausted together in the direction indicated by an arrow f by a suction means ( not shown ) through a suction tube 84 . as shown in fig7 a flexible and resilient material can be used for the cleaning member 80 . therefore , it is possible to widen the wiping area a with respect to the head 2 by making the surface of the wiping portion 80a round . also , if the cleaning by the cleaning means 50 is good enough just by the forward movement alone , it may be possible to perform the head cleaning by the cleaning member in the forward movement of the head ( step s19 ) as indicated by a flowchart shown in fig8 and then ( in step s20 ), the cleaning member is retracted ( in step s21 ); thus omitting any cleaning in the returning movement of the head . in this way , the printing speed can be increased as a whole . in this respect , if the cleaning by the cleaning means 50 is good enough just by the returning movement of the head , the cleaning in its forward movement can be omitted likewise ; hence making it possible to increase the printing speed as a whole . fig1 is a flowchart showing another operational sequence according to the present invention . in this example , the head cleaning process in the steps s3 , s4 , and s6 in the flowchart shown in fig4 is omitted . instead , as represented in steps s36 and s37 shown in fig1 , the advancing and returning movements of the head are conducted before the image printing , and the head cleaning is executed by the cleaning member at each time . now , since the head surface is more stained ( more residual ink ) by the pressurized ink circulation than at the time of image printing , it is arranged in the present embodiment to wipe it once each in the advancing movement and in the returning movement . in this way , the water rinsing and air cleaning for the head are omitted . on the other hand , in printing , only the wiping operation in the head returning movement is performed . this is because when the wiping operation in the head advancing movement is completed after the termination of the one scan in the main scanning direction , the carriage reaches the starting position to initiate the main scanning ; thus making it possible to speed up the printing operation as a whole , leading to a shorter printing time . also , in the present embodiment , while a flexible porous material is used for the cleaning member , it may be possible to enhance further the cleaning effect using the conventional wiping , where a conventional rubber blade is employed as its cleaning member , by combining the rinsing means using the present cleaning member . furthermore , in the present embodiment , while a structure is disclosed where the discharging port surface of the head is cleaned by the cleaning member subsequent to the suction of the rinsing liquid of the cleaning member , it may be possible to conduct the cleaning of the head discharging port surface and the suction operation at the same time . in this way , the suction force of a pump and others is directly exerted on the discharging port surface of the printing head to enhance the resultant liquid absorptivity of the cleaning member . therefore , this is particularly effective when the residual droplets of ink and rinsing liquid adhering to the cleaning member due to cleaning are great . also , in the present embodiment , while the description has been made of an example wherein the suction of the rinsing liquid of the cleaning member is performed by operating a suction pump , the present invention is not limited thereto . for example , it may be possible to cause part of the rinsing liquid to be exhausted from the cleaning member by pressing the cleaning member forcibly whereby to squeeze the rinsing liquid or by a similar method . also , in the present embodiment , the description has been made of an example wherein the liquid discharging ports of the liquid discharging head are wiped off by the cleaning member while the liquid discharging head is being shifted in the main scanning direction , the present invention is not limited thereto . it may be possible to make an arrangement so that a cleaning member having a liquid absorptivity in the state where it holds the rinsing liquid is caused to advance toward the liquid discharging head to butt it to the liquid discharging ports of the liquid discharging head , and then part it therefrom to clean the liquid discharging ports . fig1 is a block diagram showing the fundamental structure of a ink jet printing system . this ink jet printing system comprises widely an image reading device 201 which reads an original image produced by a designer or the like and converts the original image into the original image data represented by electrical signals ; an image processing unit 202 which fetches the original image data from the image reading device 201 to process and output them as the image data ; and an image printing unit 203 which performs the printing on a textile and other printing media in accordance with the image data produced by the image processing unit 202 . in the image reading device 201 , an original image is read by a ccd image sensor . in the image processing unit 202 , the data are produced from the inputted original image data to drive the ink jet printing unit a - 2 ( fig1 ) which discharges the four color ink materials , magenta ( mark m ), cyan ( mark c ), yellow ( mark y ) and black ( mark bk ) which will be described later . in producing the data , an image processing where the original image is reproduced by dot arrangements , the color distribution to determine the color tone , and the process and selection of the pattern sizes such as the modification of layout , enlargement , and reduction . in the image printing unit 203 , the printing is performed by the ink jet printing unit a - 2 . the ink jet printing unit a - 2 performs the printing by flying fine ink droplets toward the printing medium and causes the ink droplets to adhere to the printing medium . fig1 is a view schematically showing the outline of an image printing unit particularly suitable for a liquid discharging apparatus according to the present invention . here , in the description set forth below , only the image printing unit will be described , and any description of the cleaning of the liquid discharging ports of the liquid discharging head will be omitted . however , it should be good enough if only the same cleaning mechanism as described in the foregoing embodiment is provided for the image printing unit which will be described below . a printing apparatus shown in fig1 comprises widely a cloth supply unit b which supplies a printing medium such as a rolled textile for which a preparatory process for textile printing is provided , a main unit a which precisely line feeds the textile being supplied for the printing by an ink jet head , and a winding unit c which dries the printed textile and winds it up . then , the main unit a further comprises a feeding unit a - 1 to precisely feed the textile including a platen , and an ink jet printing unit a - 2 . hereinafter , the description will be made of the operation of this apparatus by exemplifying a case where a textile printing is performed using a preparatorily processed textile . a rolled textile 236 which is preparatorily processed is being fed by the supply unit b to the main unit . in the main unit , a thin endless belt 237 which is precisely step driven is tensioned around a driving roller 247 and a winding roller 249 . the driving roller 247 is directly step driven by a high resolution stepping motor ( not shown ) to step feed the belt by that stepping amount . the cloth 236 thus fed is pressed and tensioned by a pressing roller 240 onto the surface of the belt 237 which is backed up by the winding roller 249 . the cloth 236 thus step fed by the belt is positioned in a fixed position by a platen 232 arranged on the back side of the belt in a first printing unit 231 and is printed by the ink let head 209 from its surface side . each time one line printing is completed , it is step fed by a given amount , and subsequently , heated by a heating plate 234 from the back side of the belt and is dried from the surface by a hot air which is supplied from and exhausted to a hot air duct 235 . then , continuously , in a second printing unit 231 &# 39 ;, a superposed printing is performed in the same manner as in the first printing unit . in this respect , the drying section may be a given space for drying ink naturally instead of any forced drafting means while the printing medium is being transferred from the first ink jet printing unit to the second ink jet printing unit . the printed textile is torn and again dried in a rear drying unit 246 arranged in the same manner as in the foregoing hot plate and hot air duct . thus , the printed textile is guided to a guide roller 241 and wound by a winding roller 248 . then , the rolled textile is removed from the apparatus and finished to a final product in a batch process through an additional process including coloring , rinsing , and drying . now , in accordance with fig1 , the details in the vicinity of an ink jet printing unit a - 2 will be described . here , the preferred embodiment is such that information is printed by the head of the first printing unit after thinning the dot numbers , and that after the drying process , the ink droplets are discharged by the head of the second printing unit to complement the information which has been thinned in the first printing unit . in fig1 , the textile 236 which a printing medium is tensioned on the belt and step fed upward in fig1 . in the first printing unit 231 shown in the lower part of fig1 , there is a first carriage 244 having eight ink jet heads for special colors s1 to s4 in addition to the y , m , c , and bk . the ink jet heads ( printing heads ) according to the present embodiment use those having the elements which generate thermal energy to give the film boiling to ink as the energy utilized for discharging the ink , and also having 128 discharging ports arranged in a density of 400 dpi ( dots / inch ). on the downstream side of the first printing unit , there is provided a drying unit 245 comprising a hot plate 234 which gives heat from the back side of the belt and a hot air duct 235 which give a hot air from the surface for drying . the heat transmission surface of the hot plate 234 is pressed onto a strongly tensioned endless belt 237 to heat this conveyer belt 237 from its back side intensively with a high temperature high - pressure steam which is provided in a hollow inner side . the conveyer belt 237 directly heats the textile 236 tensioned on it effectively by the thermal conduction . in side the hot plate , heat collecting fins 234 &# 39 ; are arranged to concentrate heat onto the back side of the belt efficiently . the side which is not in contact with the belt is covered with a heat isolation material 243 to prevent any heat loss . on the surface side , a dry hot air is blown from a supply duct 230 arranged on the downstream for the enhancement of the drying effect obtainable by blowing an air having a lower moisture onto the drying textile . then , the air streaming in the direction opposite to the conveying direction of the textile while containing a sufficient moisture is sucked by a suction duct 233 arranged on the upstream side by a force which enables the air to be sucked in a quantity much greater than that of the blowing . in this way , a caution is taken so as not to give any dew drops to the surrounding equipment due to the leakage of evaporated moisture . the supply source of the hot air is arranged in the back side in fig1 , and the suction is conducted from the front side . the pressure difference between the blowing outlet 238 and suction inlet 239 facing the textile is arranged to be even over the entire area in the longitudinal direction . the air blowing and sucking sections are offset toward the downstream side with respect to the center line of the hot plate arranged on the back side so that the air can be blown onto the place which is sufficiently heated . in this way , it is possible for the first printing unit 231 to intensively dry a good amount of water contained in the ink including a thinning agent , which the textile has received in the first printing . in the downstream thereof ( upward ), the second printing unit 231 &# 39 ; is arranged . the second printing unit comprises a second carriage 244 &# 39 ; having the same structure as the first carriage . then , the superposed printing is performed using the first printing unit 231 and the second printing unit 231 &# 39 ;. here , the description will be made of the superposed printing in detail . fig1 is a view illustrating a printed data made by a sequential multi - scanning for a superposed printing . in fig1 , each rectangular area surrounded by dotted lines corresponds to one dot ( pixel ). in case of a printing density being 400 dpi ( dots / inch ), for example , the area of each rectangle is approximately ( 63 . 5 μm ) 2 . those represented by small black circles are where the dots are impacted . those where no small black circles are present are where no printing is conducted . the ink jet head is shifted in the direction indicated by an arrow f and the ink is discharged from the ink discharging nozzles in a given timing . this sequential multi - scanning is executed to correct the unevenness among each of the nozzles due to the uneven size of the ink droplets discharged from each of the nozzles and the unevenness existing in the ink discharging directions . the printing is executed by a plurality of nozzles on one and the same line ( the direction in which the head is shifted ). in this way , one line is formed by a plurality of nozzles and the randomicity of the nozzle characteristics of each of the ink jet heads is utilized ; thus implementing the reduction of the density unevenness . in other words , if a sequential multi - scanning is executed by a two - time scanning , the printing is performed using the upper half of the ink jet head for the first scanning , and again the printing is performed using the lower half of the ink jet head for the second scanning . fig1 and fig1 are views showing the printed example by this sequential multi - scanning . now , when the data shown in fig1 are printed , for example , only the printing data of odd numbers of the data created in the shifting direction of the ink jet head as shown in fig1 are printed by the upper half of the ink jet head . then , the ink jet head ( carriage ) is returned to in the direction of its home position , and the cloth 236 is fed in an amount equivalent to a half of the width of the ink jet head . then , as shown in fig1 , the dots of even numbers in the shifting direction of the ink jet head are printed using the lower half of the nozzles of the ink jet head . in this way , the data shown in fig1 are printed on the cloth 236 by the two - time scanning . fig1 shows an printing example made by a usual two - time multi - scanning . the areas printed by the ink jet head of a first printing unit 231 are represented by reference marks and numerals , ( down first ) 701 , ( down second ) 702 , and ( down third ) 703 , respectively ; and the areas printed by the ink jet head of a second printing unit 231 &# 39 ;, ( up first ) 704 , ( up second ) 705 , and ( up third ) 706 , respectively . the cloth feeding direction is as indicated by an arrow . the step feeding amount of the cloth 236 at a time corresponds to the printing width of the ink jet head . as clear from fig1 , all of the printing areas are printed by the use of either the upper half of the ink jet head of the second printing unit 231 &# 39 ; and the lower half of the ink jet head of the first printing unit 231 or the lower half of the ink jet head of the second printing unit 231 &# 39 ; and the upper half of the first printing unit 231 . here , the data which are printed by each of the ink jet heads are thinned as shown in the foregoing fig1 and fig1 , and as a result of the superposed printing by these two ink jet heads , the printing density is obtained as shown at 707 . subsequently , the description will be made of the entire processes of the ink jet textile printing . after the ink jet textile printing process is executed by the use of the above - mentioned ink jet printing apparatus , the textile is dried ( including the natural dry ). then , in continuation , the dyestuff on textile fabric is dispersed , and a process is executed to cause the dyestuff to be reactively fixed to the fabric . with this process , it is possible for the printed textile to obtain a sufficient coloring capability and strength because of the dyestuff fixation . for this dispersion and reactive fixation processes , the conventionally known method can be employed . a steaming method is named , for example . here , in this case , it may be possible to give an alkali treatment to the textile in advance before the textile printing . then , in the post - treatment process , the removal of the non - reactive dyestuff and that of the substances used in the preparatory process are executed . lastly , the defect correction , ironing finish , and other adjustment and finish processes are conducted to complete the textile printing . particularly , the following performatory characteristics are required for the textile suitable for the ink jet textile printing : ( 1 ) colors should come out on ink in a sufficient density . in order to satisfy these requirements , it may be possible to give a preparatory treatment to the textile used for printing as required . in this respect , the textile having an in receptacle layer is disclosed in japanese patent laid - open application no . 62 - 53492 , for example . also , in japanese patent publication no . 3 - 46589 , there are proposed the textile which contains reduction preventive agents or alkaline substances . as an example of such preparatory treatment as this , it is also possible to name a process to allow the textile to contain a substance selected from an alkaline substance , water soluble polymer , synthetic polymer , water soluble metallic salt , or urea and thiourea . as an alkaline substance , there can be named , for example , hydroxide alkali metals such as sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide ; mono -, di -, and tori - ethanol amine , and other amines ; and carbonate or hydrogen carbonate alkali metallic salt such as sodium carbonate , potassium carbonate , and sodium hydrogen carbonate . furthermore , there are organic acid metallic salt such as calcium carbonate , barium carbonate or ammonia and ammonia compounds . also , there can be used the sodium trichloroacetic acid and the like which become an alkaline substance by steaming and hot air treatment . for the alkaline substance which is particularly suitable for the purpose , there are the sodium carbonate and sodium hydrogen carbonate which are used for dye coloring of the reactive dyestuffs . as a water soluble polymer , there can be named starchy substances such as corn and wheat ; cellulose substances such as carboxyl methyl cellulose , methyl cellulose , hydroxy ethel cellulose ; polysaccharide such as sodium alginic acid , gum arabic , locasweet bean gum , tragacanth gum , guar gum , and tamarind seed ; protein substances such as gelatin and casein ; and natural water soluble polymer such as tannin and lignin . also , as a synthetic polymer , there can be named , for example , polyvinyl alcoholic compounds , polyethylene oxide compounds , acrylic acid water soluble polymer , maleic anhydride water soluble polymer , and the like . among them , polysaccharide polymer and cellulose polymer should be preferable . as a water soluble metallic salt , there can be named the ph4 to 10 compounds which produce typical ionic crystals , namely , halogenoid compounds of alkaline metals or alkaline earth metals , for example . as an typical example of these compounds , nacl , na 2 so 4 , kcl and ch 3 coona and the like can be named for the alkaline metals , for example . also , cacl 2 , mgcl 2 , and the like can be named for the alkaline earth metals . particularly , salt such as na , k and ca should be preferable . in the preparatory process , a method is not necessarily confined in order to enable the above - mentioned substances and others to be contained in the textile . usually , however , a dipping method , padding method , coating method , spraying method , and others can be used . moreover , since the printing ink used for the ink jet textile printing merely remains to adhere to the textile when printed , it is preferable to perform a subsequent reactive fixation process ( dye fixation process ) for the dyestuff to be fixed on the textile . a reactive fixation process such as this can be a method publicly known in the art . there can be named a steaming method , ht steaming method , and thermofixing method , for example . also , alkaline pad steaming method , alkaline blotch steaming method , alkaline shock method , alkaline cold fixing method , and the like can be named when a textile is used without any alkaline treatment given in advance . further , the removal of the non - reactive dyestuff and the substances used in the preparatory process can be conducted by a rinsing method which is publicly known subsequent to the above - mentioned reactive fixation process . in this respect , it is preferable to conduct a conventional fixing treatment together when this rinsing is conducted . in this respect , the printed textile is cut in desired sizes after the execution of the above - mentioned post process . then , to the cut off pieces , the final process such as stitching , adhesion , and deposition is executed for the provision of the finished products . hence , one - pieces , dresses , neckties , swimsuits , aprons , scarves , and the like , and bed covers , sofa covers , handkerchiefs , curtains , book covers , room shoes , tapestries , table clothes , and the like are obtained . the methods to machine stitch the textile to make clothes and other daily needs are disclosed widely in publicly known publications such as &# 34 ; modern knitting and sewing manual &# 34 ; published by the textile journal inc . or a monthly magazine &# 34 ; souen &# 34 ; published by bunnka shuppan kyoku , and others . as described above , according to the present invention , it is possible to obtain a high cleaning effect of the liquid discharging surface of the liquid discharging head as well as a long - time stability of the liquid discharging . thus , it is possible to produce the effect that the stable recovery can be executed even in a case where a highly viscous liquid is used or highly densified nozzles are employed , or further , an industrial use is required for a long time under severe conditions . the present invention produces an excellent effect on an ink jet printing head and printing apparatus , particularly on those employing a method for utilizing thermal energy to form flying ink droplets for the printing . regarding the typical structure and operational principle of such a method , it is preferable to adopt those which can be implemented using the fundamental principle disclosed in the specifications of u . s . patent nos . 4 , 723 , 129 and 4 , 740 , 796 . this method is applicable to the so - called on - demand type printing system and a continuous type printing system . particularly , however , it is suitable for the on - demand type because the principle is such that at least one driving signal , which provides a rapid temperature rise beyond a departure from nucleation boiling point in response to printing information , is applied to an electrothermal transducer disposed on a liquid ( ink ) retaining sheet or liquid passage whereby to cause the electrothermal transducer to generate thermal energy to produce film boiling on the thermoactive portion of the printing head ; thus effectively leading to the resultant formation of a bubble in the printing liquid ( ink ) one to one for each of the driving signals . by the development and contraction of the bubble , the liquid ( ink ) is discharged through a discharging port to produce at least one droplet . the driving signal is preferably in the form of pulses because the 10 development and contraction of the bubble can be effectuated instantaneously , and , therefore , the liquid ( ink ) is discharged with quicker responses . the driving signal in the form of pulses is preferably such as disclosed in the specifications of u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 463 , 359 and 4 , 345 , 262 . in this respect , if the conditions disclosed in the specification of u . s . pat . no . 4 , 313 , 124 regarding the rate of temperature increase of the heating surface is preferably are adopted , it is possible to perform an excellent printing in a better condition . the structure of the printing head may be as shown in each of the above - mentioned specifications wherein the structure is arranged to combine the discharging ports , liquid passages , and electrothermal transducers as disclosed in the above - mentioned patents ( linear type liquid passage or right angle liquid passage ). besides , it may be possible to form a structure such as disclosed in the specifications of u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 558 , 333 and 4 , 459 , 600 wherein the thermally activated portions are arranged in a curved area . furthermore , as a full line type printing head having a length corresponding to the maximum printing width , the present invention demonstrates the above - mentioned effect more efficiently with a structure arranged either by combining plural printing heads disclosed in the above - mentioned specifications or by a single printing head integrally constructed to cover such a length . in addition , the present invention is effectively applicable to a replaceable chip type printing head which is connected electrically with the main apparatus and can be supplied with ink when it is mounted in the main assemble , or to a cartridge type printing head having an integral ink container . furthermore , as a printing mode for the printing apparatus , it is not only possible to arrange a monochromatic mode mainly with black , but also it may be possible to arrange an apparatus having at least one of multi - color mode with different color ink materials and / or a full - color mode using the mixture of the colors irrespective of the printing heads which are integrally formed as one unit or as a combination of plural printing heads . the present invention is extremely effective for such an apparatus as this . now , in the embodiments according to the present invention set forth above , while the ink has been described as liquid , it may be an ink material which is solidified below the room temperature but liquefied at the room temperature or may be liquid . since the ink is controlled within the temperature not lower than 30 ° c . and not higher than 70 ° c . to stabilize its viscosity for the provision of the stable discharge in general , the ink may be such that it can be liquefied when the applicable printing signals are given . in addition , while preventing the temperature rise due to the thermal energy by the positive use of such energy as an energy consumed for changing states of the ink from solid to liquid , or using the ink which will be solidified when left intact for the purpose of preventing ink evaporation , it may be possible to apply to the present invention the use of an ink having a nature of being liquefied only by the application of thermal energy such as an ink capable of being discharged as ink liquid by enabling itself to be liquefied anyway when the thermal energy is given in accordance with printing signals , an ink which will have already begun solidifying itself by the time it reaches a printing medium . in addition , as modes of a printing apparatus according to the present invention , there are a copying apparatus combined with reader and the like , and those adopting a mode as a facsimile apparatus having transmitting and receiving functions , besides those used as an image output terminal structured integrally or individually for an information processing apparatus such as a word processor and a computer . fig1 is a block diagram schematically showing the structure wherein a printing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to an information processing apparatus having functions as a word 10 processor , personal computer , facsimile , and copying apparatus . in fig1 , a reference numeral 301 designates a control unit to control the entire system , which is provided with a cpu comprising a microprocessor and others and various i / o ports to output control signals , data signals , and others to each unit or to receive control signals and data signals from each unit for controlling ; 302 , a displaying unit on the screen of which various menus , documentary information , image data and others read by an image reader 307 are displayed ; and 303 , a transparent pressure sensitive touch panel arranged on the display unit 302 , which allows the item input and coordinate position input to be made on the display unit 302 by depressing its surface by a finger or the like . a reference numeral 304 designates an fm ( frequency modulation ) sound generating unit wherein the musical information produced by a music editor or the like is stored in its memory 310 or in an external storage unit 312 as digital data , and then , an fm operation is executed . the electrical signals from the fm sound generating unit 304 are transduced into audible sounds through a speaker unit 305 . a printing unit 306 serves as an output terminal for a word processor , personal computer , facsimile apparatus , and copying apparatus , to which a printing apparatus according to the present invention is applied . a reference numeral 307 designates an image reading unit to photoelectrically read data on a source document for input , which is arranged on the way of the feeding passage for the source document to read a facsimile original , copying original , and other various source documents ; 308 , a facsimile transmitting and receiving unit whereby to transmit by facsimile the original data read by the image reading unit 307 or demodulate the facsimile signals received , and has an interface with the external units ; 309 , a telephone unit having various telephoning functions such as serving as an ordinary telephone or a special telephone to take messages automatically ; and 310 , storage unit including roms to store a system program , manager program , other application programs , fonts , dictionaries , and the like , rams to store the application program and text information loaded from an external storage unit 312 , video ram , and others . a reference numeral 311 designates a keyboard unit to input documentary information , various commands , and the like ; 312 , an external storage unit having a floppy disk and hard disk as its storing media . in this external storage unit 312 , text information , music , or sound information , user &# 39 ; s application programs are stored . fig2 is an external view of an information 10 processing apparatus shown in fig1 . in fig2 , a reference numeral 401 designates a flat panel display utilizing a liquid crystal display to display various menus , graphic information , documentary information , and the like . on the display 401 , a touch panel is provided , and by depressing the surface of the touch panel by a finger or the like , it is possible to input coordinates and items specifically . a reference numeral 402 designates a hand set usable when the apparatus functions as a telephone . the keyboard 403 is detachably connected to the apparatus through a cord to enable various text information and various data to be inputted . also , for this keyboard 403 , various functional keys 404 and the like are provided . a reference numeral 405 designates is an inlet for a floppy disk . a reference numeral 407 designates a sheet stacking unit to stack the source documents read by the image reading unit 307 , and the source documents thus read are exhausted from the rear part of the apparatus . also , in a case of the facsimile transmission and reception , the required printing is executed by an ink jet printer 407 . in this respect , a crt may be employed for the above - mentioned display 401 , but it is preferable to use a flat panel such as a liquid crystal display utilizing a ferroelectric liquid crystal . with this , it is possible to make the apparatus small , think , and light . when the above - mentioned information processing apparatus functions as a personal computer or word processor , the various kinds of information which are inputted through the keyboard unit 311 in fig2 are processed in the control unit 301 in accordance with a given program , and are output to the printing unit 306 as images . when the apparatus functions as a facsimile receiver , the facsimile information which is inputted from the facsimile transmitting and receiving unit 308 through a communication line are received and processed by the control unit 301 in accordance with a given program and is output to the printing unit 306 as the image of the signal thus received . also , when the apparatus functions as a copying apparatus , the source document is read by the image reading unit 307 , and the data on the source document thus read are output to the printing unit 306 as the copying image through the control unit 301 . in this respect , when the apparatus functions as the transmitter for the facsimile apparatus , the original data read by the image reading unit 307 are processed for transmission by the control unit 301 in accordance with a given program , and then , the data are transmitted to a communication line through the facsimile transmitting and receiving unit 308 . further , it may be possible for the above - mentioned information processing apparatus to incorporate an ink jet printer in its main body as shown in fig2 as an integrated type . in this case , the portability of the apparatus can be further enhanced . in fig2 , the corresponding reference marks are provided for the parts having the same functions as those appearing in fig2 . with the application of a liquid discharging apparatus according to the present invention to a multi - functional information processing apparatus as set forth above , it is possible to obtain a high quality print of images thereby to further enhance the functions of the above - mentioned information processing apparatus . | 1 |
the compounds of this invention are administered in various ways for various purposes , e . g ., intravenously , intramuscularly , subcutaneously , orally , intravaginally , rectally , bucally , sublingually , topically and in the form of sterile implants for prolonged action . for intravenous injection or infusion , sterile aqueous isotonic suspensions are preferred . for subcutaneous or intramuscular injection , sterile suspensions of the compounds in aqueous or non - aqueous media are used . tablets , capsules , and liquid preparations such as syrups , elixirs , and simple solutions , with the usual pharmaceutical carriers are used for oral or sublingual administration . for rectal or vaginal administration , suppositories prepared as known in the art are used . for tissue implants , a sterile tablet or silicone rubber capsule or other object containing or impregnated with the substance is used . on certain occasions it may be advantageous to administer the compounds of this invention as clathrate compounds with substances such as α - cyclodextrin . the prostaglandins are a family of closely related compounds which have been obtained from various animal tissues and which stimulate smooth muscle , lower arterial blood pressure , antagonize epinephrine - induced mobilization of free fatty acids , and have other pharmacological and autopharmacological effects in mammals . see bergstom , et al ., j . biol . chem ., 238 , 3555 ( 1963 ) and horton , experientia , 21 , 113 ( 1965 ) and references cited therein . all of the so called natural prostaglandins are derivatives of prostanoic acid : ## str4 ## the hydrogen atoms attached to c - 8 and c - 12 are in trans - configuration . the natural prostaglandins represent only one of the possible optical isomers . the compounds of this invention include all possible optical isomers and racemates . the configuration of substituents on the prostaglandin molecule are designed to be in the α - configuration if they lie beneath the plane of the molecule as drawn above and are designated with a ---- bond . those substituents which lie above the plane of the molecule as drawn above are designated β and are represented by a bond . the compounds of this invention which have the structure as shown in formula ( a ) wherein y is ## str5 ## are said to be in the same configuration as the natural prostaglandins with respect to the configurations at c 8 , c 11 and c 12 and are designated by the prefix nat . the enantiomer , represented by formula ( b ) is said to be in the mirror image or ent configuration . a substituent at c 11 drawn with a dotted line ( c 11 --- oh ) is said to have an α configuration ; a solid line c 11 -- oh ) indicates a β configuration . the configuration at y will be expressed in terms of r and s as is understood in the art . for example , the compound represented by formula ( c ) is named nat -( 16s )- 1 , 9 - dioxo - 11α , 16 - dihydroxy - 16 - methyl - 1 - hydroxymethyl - 13 - trans - prostene ; its enantiomer ( formula d ) is named ent -( 16r )- 1 , 9 - dioxo - 11α , 16 - dihydroxy - 16 - methyl - 1 - hydroxymethyl - 13 - trans prostene . in a similar manner , the compounds represented by formulae ( e ) and ( f ) have the configurations shown below . ## str6 ## in each of the above formulae ( c to f ) the hydroxy group at c 11 is named &# 34 ;- 11a - hydroxy &# 34 ;. the novel compounds of this invention can be prepared by a novel 1 , 4 - conjugate - addition procedure involving treatment of the ether blocked cyclopentenone such as ( 129 ), ( 94 ) or ( 94a ) with a lithio - cuprate reagent such as ( 117 ), ( 118 ), or ( 119 ) prepared as illustrated in the following flowsheets . the 1 , 4 - conjugate - addition procedure is described hereinbelow in flowsheet n . the preparation of the requisite 1 - iodo - trans - 1 - alkenyl or 1 - tributylstannyl - trans -;- alkenyl derivative is illustrated in the flowsheets and the novel and important methods of preparation of the 4 - hydroxycyclopentenones embracing the 1 -( hydroxymethyl )- 1 - oxo a - chain is described in connection with flowsheets i - m . in accordance with the procedure as outlined in flowsheet c , an aldehyde ( 34 ) is treated with propargylic magnesium halide to form the homopropargylic alcohol ( 35 ), which is converted to its trimethylsilyl ether in the usual manner . the silylated derivative is then treated with disiamylborane ( prepared in situ in tetrahydrofuran solution at ice bath temperature from 2 - methyl - 2 - butene , sodium borohydride and boron trifluoride ethereate ) and then anhydrous trimethylamine oxide . the resulting solution and an iodine solution in tetrahydrofuran are added simultaneously to a sodium hydroxide solution to give the 1 - iodo - 4 - trimethylsilyloxy - trans - 1 - alkene ( 36 ), precursors for various 16 - hydroxyprostaglandins . the trimethylsilyl protecting group is removed with mild acid and the resulting vinyl iodide alcohol is oxidized with pyridinium chlorochromate to provide the 1 - iodo - 4 - oxo - trans - 1 - alkene ( 37 ), which upon treatment with a grignard reagent ( r 13 mgx ) provides the 1 - iodo - 4 - hydroxytrans - 1 - alkene , which is silylated in the usual manner to provide the silyl ether ( 38 ) wherein r 11 &# 39 ; is lower alkyl ( c 3 to c 7 ) and r 13 &# 39 ; is methyl . ## str7 ## a more preferred method for the preparation of the vinyllithium precursor is also described in flowsheet c . treatment of the requisite carboxylic acid ( 39a or 39 ) with the appropriate organolithium reagent r 13 &# 39 ; li or r 11 &# 39 ; li respectively ), wherein r 11 &# 39 ; and r 13 &# 39 ; are hereinabove defined , gives the corresponding ketone ( 40 ) which upon treatment with propargylic magnesium halide provides the homopropargylic alcohol ( 41 ) which is converted to the trans vinylstannyl derivative by sequential treatment with chlorotrimethylsilane and tri - n - butyltin hydride . treatment of the vinylstannyl reagent ( 42 ) with n - butyllithium at a temperature of - 10 ° c . to - 78 ° c . generates the corresponding vinyllithium reagent . ## str8 ## in accordance with flowsheet d herein , the precursors for the other 16 - hydroxy prostaglandins are prepared by treating an appropriate aldehyde or ketone ( 43 ) with a propargylic magnesium halide to yield the requisite homopropargylic alcohol ( 44 ). the alcohol is protected as a trimethylsilyl ether ( 45 ). these ethers are then converted to the appropriate trans - vinyliodide ( 46 ) by treatment with disiamylborane generated in situ from 2 - methyl - 2 - butene , sodium borohydride , and boron trifluoride , followed by treatment with trimethylamine oxide and then iodine and sodium hydroxide , wherein r 15 and r 15 &# 39 ; are methyl o -- si ( ch 3 ) 3 ; r 14 &# 39 ; is selected from the group comprising lower alkyl ( c 3 to c 5 ). the preparation of the cyclopentenones ( 68 ) of this invention containing the hydroxymethylketone feature wherein z is --( ch 2 ) 6 -- and r 3 a hydroxy group can be accomplished in several ways one of which involves the conversion of the corresponding cyclopentenone ( 69 ) containing a carboxylate function to the respective hydroxyketone analog ( 68 ). ## str9 ## most of the cyclopentenone carboxylic acids ( 69 ) required for the purposes of this invention have been described in the literature or can be prepared by procedures quite analogous to those already described . appropriate references are provided in the examples which follow . the synthesis of certain non - reference requisite cyclopentenone carboxylic acids ( 69 ) is also described herein . the conversion of the cyclopentenone carboxylic acid ( 69 ) to the respective hydroxyketone analogs ( 68 ) and the protection of these compounds for a conjugate addition reaction is described hereinbelow in flowsheets k , wherein z is --( ch 2 ) 6 --. the reaction of the hydroxy acid ( 87 ) with at least two equivalents of dimethyl - t - butyl - silylchloride in the presence of imidazole in dimethylformamide at 30 °- 40 ° c . gives the bis - dimethyl - t - butylsilated compound ( 88 ). the carboxylate dimethyl - t - butylsilyl group can be selectively removed by treatment with acetic acid , tetrahydrofuran and water ( 4 : 2 : 1 ) to give the carboxylic acid ( 89 ). the acid chloride ( 90 ) is prepared by first treating the acid ( 89 ) with sodium hydride in tetrahydrofuran to give the sodium salt . the resulting suspension of the sodium salt is then treated with oxalyl chloride in the presence of a catalytic amount of dimethylformamide . alternatively the acid chloride ( 90 ) can be prepared directly by the reaction of the acid ( 89 ) or the dimethyl - t - butylsilyl ester ( 88 ) with oxalyl chloride in tetrahydrofuran in the presence of a catalytic amount of dimethylformamide at 0 ° c . the slow addition of an etheral solution of the acid chloride ( 90 ) to an etheral solution of two to three equivalents of diazomethane gives the diazoketone ( 91 ) which on acid hydrolysis gives the 4 - hydroxy cyclopentenone ( 92 ) containing the hydroxyketone function . alternatively the acid chloride ( 90 ) can be heated with at least two equivalents of 1 , 1 , 2 - tris - trimethylsilylethylene ( 80 ) at 90 °- 120 ° c . in the absence of a solvent to give compound ( 93 ) which is readily hydrolized and decarboxylated to give the 4 - hydroxycyclopentenone ( 92 ) containing the hydroxyketone feature . protection of 92 can be accomplished by treatment with an excess of a mixture of 2 - methoxy - 1 - propene ( 84 ) and 2 , 2 - dimethoxypropane ( 85 ) in benzene with an acid catalyst such as p - toluenesulfonic acid to give the bis - ketal ( 94 ) which is suitably protected for a conjugate addition reaction . alternatively , the two hydroxyl moieties may be protected using 2 equivalents of 2 - methoxypropene per equivalent of 92 in the presence of a catalyst such as chloroacetic acid to provide compounds such as 94a . other useful protecting reagents are dihydro - 2h - pyran , ethylvinylether and the like . other acid sensitive protecting group for the two hydroxyl groups are the triloweralkylsilyls ( from silylchlorides ), triphenylmethane ( from tritylchloride or bromide ), mono - p - methoxytriphenylmethane ( from mono - p - methoxytriphenylmethylchloride or bromide ), methoxymethyl ( from chloromethylmethylether ) and the like . ## str10 ## the preparation of the reagent 1 , 1 , 2 - tris - trimethylsilyloxyethylene ( 80 ) is described hereinbelow in flowsheet m . the reaction of glycolic acid with 1 , 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 , 3 - hexamethyldisilazane and trimethylsilylchloride in pyridine gives bis - trimethylsilated glycolic acid ( 113 ). addition of ( 113 ) to a tetrahydrofuran solution of one equivalent of lithium 1 , 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 , 3 - hexamethyldisilazane amide at - 78 ° c . generates a lithium enolate which is trapped with trimethylsilylchloride to produce the desired reagent ( 80 ). ## str11 ## the preparation of the prostaglandin congeners of this invention are described hereinbelow in flowsheet n wherein z is ( ch 2 ) 6 --; r 3 &# 39 ;&# 39 ;&# 39 ; is 2 - methoxy - propyl - 2 - oxy (-- oc ( ch 3 ) 2 och 3 ) or trimethylsilyloxy ; r 3 &# 39 ;&# 39 ;&# 39 ; is hydroxy ; t &# 39 ; is the radical ## str12 ## wherein r is as hereinabove defined . r &# 39 ; is selected from the group consisting of : ## str13 ## wherein r 6 is c 4 - c 7 alkyl . in accordance with flowsheet n the vinyliodide ( 114 ) is treated with either one equivalent of n - butyllithium or 2 equivalents of t - butyllithium at low temperature , preferably - 30 ° to - 70 ° c . in an inert solvent , e . g ., hexane , ether or toluene to provide the trans alkenyl - lithium reagent ( 116 ). alternatively , the vinyllithium reagent ( 116 ) can be prepared by treatment of a vinylstannyl derivative such as ( 115 ) with n - butyllithium at - 10 ° to - 78 ° c . in ether or thf . for the preparation of the asymmetrical lithio cuprate ( 117 ) or the like , a solution of one molar equivalent of copper ( i )- 1 - alkyne , preferably copper ( i )- 1 - pentyne , in anhydrous hexamethylphosphorous triamide , preferably one to five molar equivalents , and anhydrous ether is added to one molar equivalent of the aforementioned vinyllithium solution cooled to about - 78 ° c . after about one hour at this temperature , a molar equivalent of the requisite cyclopentenone ( 120 ) is added . after several hours at - 78 ° c . to - 20 ° c . the reaction mixture is quenched with aqueous ammonium chloride solution and the blocked product ( 121 ) is isolated in the usual manner . it is also possible to effect conjugate 1 , 4 - addition with the asymmetrical lithio cuprate ( 119 ) derived from vinyllithium ( 116 ) and cuprous thiophenoxide . a solution of vinyllithium ( 116 ) in ether at - 78 ° c . is reacted with an equimolar amount of a reagent prepared by admixture , in ether at a temperature of 0 ° c . to - 78 ° c ., of equimolar amounts of cuprous thiophenoxide and copper ( i ) iodide tributylphosphonium complex . after about 30 minutes at this temperature , the lithio cuprate ( 119 ) is treated with the requisite cyclopentenone ( 120 ) as described hereinabove for the conjugate addition with 1 - alkynyl lithio cuprate ( 117 ). for the preparation of the symmetrical lithio cuprate ( 118 ) one molar equivalent of copper ( i ) iodide tributylphosphine complex , dissolved in anhydrous ether , is added at about - 78 ° c . to two molar equivalents of the aforementioned vinyllithium ( 116 ) solution in hexanes , cooled to - 78 ° c . after about one hour at this temperature , the lithio cuprate ( 118 ) is treated with the requisite cyclopentenone ( 120 ) as described hereinabove for the conjugate addition with the 1 - alkynyl lithio cuprate ( 117 ). the procedures for conjugate addition involving organocopper reagents are well known in the art ; see for example , c . j . sih , et al ., j . a . c . s ., 97 865 ( 1975 ). all available evidence leads us to believe that the -- ch ═ ch -- r &# 39 ; 2 function introduced by the cuprate process occupied a position trans to the 11 - oxy function . similarly , we are led to the conclusion that in the product ( 122 ) the two side - chains attached to c 8 and c 12 are trans to each other . however , we are not certain of this configurational relationship in the product as it is obtained directly from the cuprate process . these products may have the side chains in a trans - or cis - relationship or they may be a mixture containing both the trans - and cis - isomers . this is indicated in the nomenclature of the compounds involved by the designation 8ε . in order to ensure a trans - relationship in ( 121 ) these products can be submitted to conditions known in the literature to equilibrate the cis - 8 - iso - pge 1 to a mixture containing about 90 % of the trans product . these conditions involve treatment with potassium acetate in aqueous methanol for 96 hours at room temperature . ## str14 ## when t &# 39 ; is ## str15 ## removal of the blocking groups from ( 121 ) to give the prostaglandin congener ( 122 ) is accomplished by treatment of ( 121 ) with a mixture of acetic acid , tetrahydrofuran and water ( 4 : 2 : 1 ) at 25 ° to 55 ° c . when t &# 39 ; is ## str16 ## ( 121 ) may be deblocked to give ketal ( 123 ) by treatment with 0 . 6 n hydrochloric acid in tetrahydrofuran at room temperature for 4 to 7 hours . in certain cases it is possible to convert the carboxylic acid function of a prostaglandin congener into a terminal hydroxymethyl ketone function as shown in flowsheet o hereinbelow wherein z is ( ch 2 ) 6 , c 13 - c 14 is -- ch ═ ch -- trans and r is as hereinabove defined . treatment of a prostaglandin congener ( 124 ), in which the 11 - hydroxy group and the hydroxy group of the β - chain are protected with a suitable group such as acetate or a dimethyl - t - butylsilyl ether , with oxalyl chloride in benzene for 2 to 5 hours furnishes the acid chloride ( 125 ), wherein r 3 &# 34 ; is hydrogen or a protected oxygen group . the protected 11 - hydroxyl - acid chloride compound may be prepared in the manner described above in flowsheet k . the prostaglandin congeners ( 124 ) may be prepared by the 1 , 4 conjugate addition of the suitably protected cyclopentenones ( 87 ) such as ( cyclopentenones 88 ) and the lithiocuprate ( 117 ), ( 118 ) or ( 119 ) by the preparation disclosed herein by the examples and flowsheet n . addition of the acid chloride ( 125 ), dissolved in ether , to an ether solution of at least three equivalents of diazomethane gives the diazoketone ( 126 ). hydrolysis of the diazoketone using aqueous sulfuric acid and tetrahydrofuran at about 0 °- 55 ° c . gives the hydrozymethyl ketone analog ( 127 ). the acetate protecting group can be removed by refluxing with acidified methanol . the dimethyl - t - butylsilyl ether protecting group can be removed by treatment with aqueous hydrochloric acid in tetrahydrofuran at 25 ° to 60 ° c . ## str17 ## when the compounds of this invention are prepared from racemic starting compounds two racemates are obtained . in appropriate instances these racemates can be separated from each other by careful application of the usual chromatographic procedures . in the more difficult instances it may be necessary to apply high pressure liquid chromatography including recycling techniques . [ see . g . fallick , american laboratory , 19 - 27 ( august , 1973 ) as well as references cited therein . additional information concerning high speed liquid chromatography and the instruments necessary for its application is available from waters associates , inc ., maple street , milford , mass .] it is also possible to prepare the compounds of this invention in their optically active forms by the conversion of the optically active 4 - hydroxycyclopent - 2 - en - 1 - one carboxylic acid ( 128 ) to the optically active protected hydroxy ketone analog ( 129 ) using the methods outlined hereinabove in flowsheet k . ## str18 ## conjugate addition of the vinyl cuprates to ( 129 ) followed by deblocking as described hereinabove in flowsheet n then gives the compounds of this invention in their optically active forms . although in some cases two diastereoisomers will be formed , each optically active , they can be separated by chromatographic procedures as described hereinabove . the preparation of optically active 4 - hydroxycyclopent - 2 - en - 1 - ones such as ( 128 ) is described hereinbelow . the 4 - hydroxycyclopentenone racemates may be resolved into their component enantiomers ( 130 ) and ( 131 ) by derivatizing the ketone function with a reagent having an optically active center . the resulting diastereomeric mixture can then be separated by fractional crystallization , or by chromatography , or by high speed liquid chromatography involving , if necessary , recycling techniques . among the useful optically active ketone derivatizing reagents are 1 - α - aminoxy - γ - methylpentanoic acid hydrochloride [ to give ( 132 ), ( r )- 2 - aminoxy - 3 , 3 - dimethylbutyric acid hydrochloride , and 4 - α - methylbenzyl semicarbazide . after separation of the diastereomeric derivatives , reconstitution of the keto function provides the individual 4 - hydroxycyclopentenone enantiomers ( 130 ) and ( 131 ). a useful procedure for the resolution of a 4 - hydroxycyclopentenone racemate via an oxime such as ( 132 ) is described in the art [ r . pappo , p . collins and c . jung , tetrahedron letters , 943 ( 1973 )]. ## str19 ## an alternate procedure for the preparation of the 4 ( r )- hydroxycyclopentenone enantiomers such as ( 130 ) involves as a key step the selective microbiological or chemical reduction of trione ( 133 ) to the 4 ( r )- hydroxycyclopentanedione ( 134 ). a wide variety of microorganisms are capable of accomplishing this asymmetric reduction , one of the most useful being dipodascus unincleatus . this step also can be achieved chemically by catalytic hydrogenation in the usual manner ( for example , under about one atmosphere of hydrogen in methanol ) using a soluble rhodium catalyst with chiral phosphine ligands , such as ( 1 , 5 - cyclooctadiene )- bis -( o - anisylcyclohexylmethylphosphine ) rodium ( i ) tetrafluoroborate , in the presence of one equivalent of organic base , such as triethylamine . conversion of hydroxycyclopentanedione ( 134 ) to an enol ether or enol ester ( 135 , e = alkyl , preferably iso - propyl ; aroyl such as benzoyl ; or arylsulfonyl such as 2 - mesitylenesulfonyl ) is accomplished by treatment , for example , with isopropyl iodide and a base such as potassium carbonate in refluxing acetone for from 15 to 20 hours , or with a base such as triethylamine and 0 . 95 equivalents of benzoyl chloride or a slight excess of 2 - mesitylenesulfonyl chloride , in a non - prototropic solvent at a temperature of about - 10 ° to - 15 ° c . reduction of ( 135 ) with excess sodium bis ( 2 - methoxyethoxy ) aluminum hydride in a solvent such as tetrahydrofuran or toluene at low temperatures , such as - 60 ° to - 78 ° c ., followed by mild acid hydrolysis ( representative conditions : aqueous dilute hydrochloric acid , ph 2 . 5 ; or oxalic acid , sodium oxalate in chloroform ) at ambient temperatures from 1 to 3 hours provides the 4 ( r )- hydroxycyclopentenone ester ( 136 ). the ester ( 136 ), can then be hydrolized to acid ( 130 ). for a description of these procedures in the art see : c . j . sih , et al ., j . a . c . s ., 95 , 1676 ( 1973 ); j . b . heather , et al ., tetrahedron letters , 2627 ( 1972 ); and r . pappe , p . collins , and c . jung , ann . n . y . acad . sci ., 180 , 64 ( 1971 ). ## str20 ## procedures for the preparation of the requisite cyclopentanetriones ( 133 ) are well - established in the art and generally involve the treatment of an - 1 - oxo long chain ester ( 137 ) with an alkyl oxulate in the presence of sodium methoxide in methanol , followed by treatment with dilute hydrochloric acid in aqueous methanol to effect the dealkoxalylation of the intermediate ( 138 ). see j . kutsube and m . matsui , agr . biol . chem ., 33 , 1078 ( 1969 ); p . collins , c . j . jung and r . pappo , israel journal of chemistry , 6 , 839 ( 1968 ); r . pappo , p . collins and c . jung , ann . n . y . acad . sci ., 180 , 64 ( 1971 ); c . j . sih . et al ., j . a . c . s ., 95 , 1676 ( 1973 ) ( see reference 7 ); and j . b . heather , et al ., tetrahedron letters , 2313 ( 1973 ) for pertinent background literature . ## str21 ## the intermediate keto esters ( 137 ) may be prepared by a variety of methods known to the art . one useful procedure is outlined below and involves alkylation of ethyl acetoacetate sodium salt ( 139 ) in the usual manner with the appropriate side - chain precursor ( 140 , x = cl , br , i , preferably br or i ) followed by decarbethoxylation and reesterification , all in the usual manner . ## str22 ## the side - chain precursors ( 140 ) are commercially available where z is --( ch 2 ) p --, and can be prepared as described in belgian pat . no . 786 , 215 ( granted and opened to inspection jan . 15 , 1973 ). ## str23 ## it is also possible to resolve the 4 - hydroxycyclopentenone racemate ( 146 ) by microbiological means . thus , treatment of the 4 - o - alkanoyl or aroyl derivatives ( 147 , r 18 = aryl or alkyl ) of racemate ( 146 ) ( preferably the 4 - o - acetyl and 4 - o - propionyl derivatives ) with an appropriate microorganism , preferably a saccharomyces species e . g ., 1375 - 143 , affords preferential de - o - acylation of the 4 ( r )- enantiomer to give ( 148 ), which is then separated from the unreacted 4 ( s )- o - acyl enantiomer ( 149 ) by chromatographic procedures . after separation , mild hydrolysis of the 4 ( s ) derivative ( 149 ) provides the 4 ( s )- hydroxycyclopentenone ( 150 ). [ see n . j . marsheck and m . miyano , biochima et biphysica acta , 316 , 363 ( 1973 ) for related examples .] it is also possible to prepare the individual 4 - hydroxycyclopentenones ( 148 ) and ( 150 ) directly by selective microbial hydroxylations of the corresponding 4 - unsubstituted cyclopentenone ( 151 ). for example , with aspergillus niger atcc 9142 ; a selective 4 ( r )- hdyroxylation of [ 151 , z =( ch 2 ) 6 ] has been reported ; see s . kurozumi , t . tora and s . ishimoto , tetrahedron letters , 4959 ( 1973 ). other microorganisms can also accomplish this hydroxylation . ## str24 ## the novel compounds of the present invention have potential utility as hypotensive agents , anti - ulcer agents , agents for the treatment of gastric hypersecretion and gastric erosion , agents to provide protection against the ulcerogenic and other gastric difficulties associated with the use of various non - steroidal anti - inflammatory agents ( e . g ., indomethacin , aspirin , phenylbutazone ), ibuprofen , sulindac , tolmetin , mifananidued , naproxen and the like , bronchodilators , anti - inflammatory agents , abortifacients , agents for the induction of labor , agents for the induction of menses , fertility - controlling agents , oestrus regulators for use in animal husbandry with cattle and other domestic animals and central nervous system regulatory agents . certain of the novel compounds of this invention possess utility as intermediates for the preparation of the other novel compounds of this invention . the novel compounds of this invention possess the pharmacological activity described below as associated with the appropriate known prostaglandin types . the known pge , pgfα , pgfβ , pga and pgd compounds are all potent in causing multiple biological responses even at low doses . for example , pge 1 , pge 2 , pga 1 and pga 2 are extremely potent in causing vasodepression and smooth muscle stimulation , and also are potent as antilipolytic agents . moreover , for many applications , these known prostaglandins have an inconveniently short duration of biological activity . in striking contrast , the novel prostaglandin analogs of this invention are substantially more specific with regard to potency in causing prostaglandin - like biological responses , and / or having a substantially longer duration of biological activity . therefore , each of these novel prostaglandin analogs of this invention is surprisingly and unexpectedly more useful than one of the corresponding above - mentioned known prostaglandins for at least one of the pharmacological purposes indicated below for the latter , either because it has a different and narrower spectrum of biological activity than the known prostaglandins , and therefore is more specific in its activity and causes smaller and fewer undesired side effects than the known prostaglandins , or because of its prolonged activity , fewer and smaller doses of the novel prostaglandin analog can frequently be used to attain the desired result . another advantage of the novel compounds of this invention , compared with the known prostaglandins , is that these novel compounds are administered effectively orally , sublingually , intravaginally , buccally , or rectally , in addition to the usual intravenous , intramuscular , or subcutaneous injection or infusion methods indicated above for the uses of the known prostaglandins . these qualities are advantageous because they facilitate maintaining uniform levels of these compounds in the body with fewer , shorter , or smaller doses , and make possible self - administration by the patient . pge 1 , pge 2 pge 3 , dihydro - pge 1 , pgaα , pgfβ and pga compounds , their esters and pharmacologically acceptable salts , are extremely potent in causing various biological responses . for that reason , these compounds are useful for pharmacological purposes . see , for example , bergstrome , et al ., pharmacol . rev . 20 , 1 ( 1968 ), and references cited herein . a few of those biological responses are systemic arterial blood pressure lowering in the case of the pga and pge compounds as measured , for example , in anesthetized ( phenobarbital sodium ) pentolinium - treated rats with in - dwelling aortic and right heart cannulas ; pressor activity , similarly measured for the pgf compounds ; stimulation of smooth muscle as shown , for example , by tests on strips of guinea pig ileum , rabbit duodenum , or gerbil colon ; potentiation of other smooth muscle stimulants ; antilipolytic activity as shown by antagonism of epinephrine - induced mobilization of free fatty acids or inhibition of the spontaneous release of glycerol from isolated rat fat pads ; inhibition of gastric secretion in the case of pge compounds , as shown in dogs with secretion stimulated by food or histamine infusion ; activity on the central nervous system ; decrease of blood platelet adhesiveness in the case of pge , as shown by platelet - to - glass adhesiveness , and inhibition of blood platelet aggregation and thrombus formation induced by various physical stimuli , e . g ., arterial injury , and various biochemical stimuli , e . g .-- adp , atp , serotonin , thrombin , and collagen , and in the case of the pge and pga compounds , stimulation of epidermal proliferation and keratinization , as shown when they are applied in culture to embryonic chick and rat skin segments . because of these biological responses , these known prostalandins are useful to study , prevent , control , or alleviate a wide variety of disease and undesirable physiological conditions in birds and mammals including humans , useful domestic animals , pets , and zoological speciments , and in laboratory animals , e . g ., mice , rats , rabbits , and monkeys . for example , these compounds are useful in mammals , including man , as nasal decongestants . for this purpose , the compounds are used in a dose range of about 10 mg to about 10 mg per ml of a pharmacologically suitable liquid vehicle or as an aerosol spray , both for topical application . pga , pgfβ and pge compounds are useful as hypotensive agents to reduce blood pressure in mammals including man . for this purpose , the pgfβ compounds are administered by intravenous infusion at the rate of about 0 . 01 mg to about 40 mg per kg of body weight per minute , or in a single dosage or multiple doses of about 25 mg to 2500 mg per kg of body weight total per day . the pge and pga compounds are administered by intravenous infusion at the rate of about 0 . 01 to about 50 mg kg of body weight per minute , or in a single dose of multiple doses of about 25 to 2500 mg per kg of body weight total per day . the pge , pgfα and pgfβ compounds are useful in place of oxytocin to induce labor pregnant female animals , including humans , cows , sheep and pigs , at or near term or in pregnant animals with intrauterine death of the fetus from about 20 weeks to term . for this purpose , the pgf compound is infused intraveneously at a dose of 0 . 01 mg to 50 mg per kg of body weight per minute until or near the termination of the second stage of labor , i . e ., expulsion of the fetus . similarly , the pge compound is infused intravenously at a dose of 0 . 01 to 50 mg per kg of body weight per minute until or near the expulsion of the fetus . these compounds are especially useful when the female is one or more weeks postmature and natural labor has not started , or 12 to 60 hours after the membranes have ruptured and natural labor has not yet started . the pge , pgfα and pgfβ compounds are useful for controlling the reproductive cycle in ovulating female mammals , including humans and other animals . for that purpose , pgf 2 α , for example , is administered systemically at a dose level in the range of 0 . 01 mg to about 20 mg per kg of body weight , advantageously during a span of time starting approximately at the time of ovulation and ending approximately at the time of menses or just prior to menses . likewise , a pge compound is administered in the same fashion at a dose level of 0 . 01 mg to about 50 mg per kg of body weight . additionally , expulsion of an embryo or fetus is accomplished by similar administration of the compound during the first third or the second third of the normal mammalian gestation period . accordingly , such compounds are useful as abortifacients . they are also useful for induction of menses during approximately the first two weeks of a missed menstual period and thus , are useful as contraceptive anti - fertility agents . 11α - hydroxy - pge compounds are extremly potent in causing stimulation of smooth muscle , and are also highly active in potentiating other known smooth muscle stimulators , for example , oxytocic agents , e . g ., oxytocin , and the various ergot alkaloids including derivaties and analogs thereof . therefore pge 2 , for example , is useful in place of or in combination with less than usual amounts of these known smooth muscle stimulators for example , to relieve the symptoms of paralytic ileus , to control or prevent uterine bleeding after abortion or delivery , to aid in expulsion of the placenta , and during the puerperium . for the latter purpose , the pge compound is administered by intravenous infusion immediately after abortion or delivery at a dose in the range about 0 . 01 to about 50 mg per kg of body weight per minute until the desired effect is obtained . subsequent doses are given by intravenous , subcutaneous , or intramuscular injection or infusion during puerperium in the range of 0 . 01 to 2 mg per kg of body weight per day , the exact dose depending on the age , weight , and condition of the patient or animal . the novel pge compounds of this invention are also useful as bronchodilators for the treatment of asthma and chronic bronchitis . as such they may be conveniently administered by inhalation of aerosol sprays prepared in a dose range of about 10 ug to about 10 mg / ml of a pharmacologically suitable liquid vehicle . relative to the natural prostaglandins , these pge compounds have the significant advantage of inducing prolonged effects . the pge compounds are also useful in mammals , including man and certain useful animals , e . g ., dogs and pigs , to reduce and control excessive gastric secretion , thereby reducing or avoiding gastric erosion or gastrointestinal ulcer formation , and accelerating the healing of such ulcers already present in the gastrointestinal tract . for this purpose , the compounds are injected or infused intravenously , subcutaneously , or intramuscularly in an infusion dose range of about 0 . 001 mg to about 0 . 01 mg per kg of body weight per minute , or in a total daily dose by injection or infusion in the range of about 0 . 1 to about 1 mg per kg of body weight per day , the exact dose depending on the age , weight , and condition of the patient or animal , and on the frequency and route of administration . most conveniently they are administered orally 1 - 4 times / day for a total daily dose of about 0 . 003 mg to about 0 . 1 mg / kg of body weight . these compounds may also be useful in conjunction with various non - steroidal anti - inflammatory agents , such as aspirin , phenylbutazone , indomethacin and the like , to minimize the well - known ulcerogenic effects of the latter . the pge compounds of this invention are also useful as topical vasodilators . the pge 1 compounds of this invention are useful whenever it is desired to inhibit platelet aggregation , to reduce the adhesive character of platelets , and to remove or prevent the formation of thrombi in mammals including man , rabbits , and rats . for example , these compounds are useful to treat and prevent myocardial infarcts and post - operative thrombosis . for these purposes , these compounds are administered systemically , e . g ., orally , intravenously , subcutaneously , intramuscularly , and in the form of sterile implants for prolonged action . for rapid response , especially in emergency situations , the intravenous route of administration is preferred . doses in the range of about 0 . 005 to about 20 mg per kg of body weight per day are used , the exact dose depending on the age , weight , and condition of the patient or animal , and on the frequency and route of administration . it is well known that platelet aggregation inhibitors may be useful as anti - thrombotic drugs . inhibition of platelet aggregation can be conveniently measured in vitro by monitoring changes in optical density and / or light transmission in platelet rich plasma upon addition of suitable aggregating agents such as adenosine diphosphate , epinephrine , thrombin or collagen . alternatively , platelet aggregation can be measured in vitro using platelet rich plasma obtained at various time intervals from animals given inhibitors by an oral or parenteral route . the pge compounds of the present invention exhibit the ability to inhibit platelet aggregation in vitro when tested by the following procedure . human protein rich plasma is incubated with modified tyrode &# 39 ; s solution in a proportion of 40 - 50 % human protein rich plasma . the test compounds are added at varying concentrations and after 5 minutes incubation , an aggregating agent such as adenosine diphsophate or collagen is added . the change in optical density ( light transmission ) is monitored by eye and inhibition is recorded as a (-) or lack of inhibition is recorded as a (+). test compounds are considered active if they inhibit adenosine diphosphate or collagen induced aggregation at a concentration of 0 . 025 mg / ml or less within 5 - 10 minutes . the pge compounds of this invention also have bronchodilator activity as determined in a test using dogs anesthetized , artificially ventilated and submitted to a continuous respiratory spasm induced by pilocarpine . mongrel dogs of either sex weighing between 5 and 10 kg are used . they are premedicated with morphine hcl by subcutaneous injection at 1 . 5 mg / kg . an intravenous perfusion of 5 % ( w / v ) chloralose is started 1 / 2 hour after the morphine injection in such a way that 60 mg / kg are administered within 15 minutes . after completion , a continuous perfusion of 10 mg / kg / hour is maintained throughout the experiment . the dogs are artificially ventilated by means of a starling pump at a rate of 20 breaths / minute . the volume is adjusted according to the weight of the animal . [ kleinman and radford , j . appl . physiol ., 19 , 360 ( 1964 )]. all the measurements are made with the dogs positioned supine in a heated , v - shaped table . curarization is obtained by succinylcholine chloride using a starting injection of 3 mg / kg lasting 3 minutes , followed by a continuous perfusion of 0 . 1 mg / kg / minute . the respiratory spasm is induced by a starting injection of 400 mcg / kg of pilocarpine hcl lasting 5 minutes . an increase or decrease in the dose of pilocarpine hcl may occur as a function of the observed effect on the airway &# 39 ; s resistance . a 15 minute delay is observed before the start of a continuous perfusion of pilocarpine hcl at a dose of 4 mcg / kg / minute to maintain a constant spasm during the test . a metallic cannula is inserted and fixed , after tracheometry , into the upper part of the trachea . the two cephalic veins and two femoral veins are catheterized to inject the various agents . the femoral artery is catheterized to measure the systemic blood pressure . an esophageal balloon ( 11 cm × 2 . 5 cm ) is inserted into the lower third of the oesophagus to measure the endothoracic pressure . the measurement of air flow is made with a fleish pneumotachograph connected to the tracheal tube . the transpulmonary pressure is measured as follows : the tracheal cannula is equipped with a stainless steel axial tube ( 1 . 5 - m ) which is closed at its distal end and projected 2 . 5 cm beyond the end of the cannula . three holes with a diameter of one mm are pierced on this latter segment . this tube , which is used to measure the tracheal pressure , is connected to one of the two chambers of a sanborn 267 b / c differential transducer . the other chamber is connected to the esophageal balloon by means of a polyethylene catheter of the same length and characteristics as the balloon &# 39 ; s . the airflow is measured from the fleish pneumotachograph by means of a sanborn 270 differential transducer . the tidal volume is obtained by electronic integration of the flow signal using an r . c . integrator . the systemic and pulmonary blood pressures are gauged by means of a sanborn 267 b / c or 1280b pressure transducer . an electrocardiogram is taken in lead 2 . its use is to monitor a cardiac rate - meter . all these parameters are recorded on a sanborn polygraph . the transpulmonary pressure and the tidal volume are also displayed as rectangular coordinates on an oscilloscope . the airway &# 39 ; s resistance , expressed in cm of water / liter / second , is measured by substracting from the electrical equivalent of the transpulmonary pressure , a voltage proportional to the flow so as to synchronize the pressure and volume signals on the oscilloscope [ mead and whittenberger , j . appl . physiol ., 5 , 779 ( 1953 )]. the value of the pulmonary elastance , expressed in cm of water / liter , is obtained by means of the same principal , i . e ., an electrical signal proportioned to the volume is subtracted from the transpulmonary pressure signal , in order to optimize the pressure - flow loop on the oscilloscope . the details of this method are described by lulling , et al . [ med . pharmacol . exp ., 16 , 481 ( 1967 )]. the computing operations are carried out with an analogical computer which allows the direct reading , cycle to cycle , of the values of resistance and elastance . the test compounds are administered by an aerosol ® route . the micronebulizer of a bird mark 7 respirator is fitted on the metallic cannula just after the pneumotachograph . the &# 34 ; puff &# 34 ; of the test compound , in aerosol ® is driven by a 2 kg / cm 2 pressure , allowed into the micronebulizer just during one inspiration cycle . the micronebulizer is fitted on the respiratory tube only during the &# 34 ; puff .&# 34 ; it is weight just before and just after administration to determine the amount of test compound administered . the % inhibition of spasms induced by pilocarpine for a representative compound of this invention is shown below in table a . approximately 50 mg of the solution is administered to each dog . table a______________________________________ bronchodilator activity ( pilocarpine assay ) % inhibition ofspasm % inhibition of pilocarpine in - duced spasm as a function of time after drug administration dose 2 35 60 mg / ml min . min . min . ______________________________________1 , 9 - dioxo - 11α , 16 - dihydroxy - 16 - methyl - 1 - hydroxymethyl - 13 - trans - prostene 3 . 2 90 70 45______________________________________ the bronchodilator activity of some of the pge compounds of this invention is determined in guinea pigs against bronchospasms elicited by intravenous injections of 5 - hydroxy - tryptamine , histamine or acetylcholine by the konzett procedure . [ see j . lulling , p . lievens , f . el sayed and j . prignot , arzneimittel - forschung , 18 , 995 ( 1968 )]. in the table b which follows , bronchodilator activity for a representative compound of this invention against three spasmogenic agents is expressed as an ed 50 determined from the results obtained with three logarithmic cumulative intravenous doses . table b______________________________________bronchodilator activity ( konzett assay ) ed 50 mg / kg spasmogenic agent 5 - hydroxy - acetyl - tryptamine histamine choline______________________________________1 , 9 - dioxo - 11α , 16 - di - hydroxy - 16 - methyl - 1 - hydroxymethyl - 13 - trans - prostene 3 . 0 × 10 . sup .- 3 943 × 10 . sup .- 6 4 . 7 × 10 . sup .- 3______________________________________ unanesthetized mongrel dogs weighing 10 - 15 kg are used . the animals have a surgically prepared denervated ( heidenhain ) pouch which drains by gravity through a titanium cannula . these animals are trained to stand quietly in a pavlov support . gastric secretion is stimulated at the lowest rate giving stable secretion ( 25 - 40 % of maximal ) with histamine acid phosphate , 30 - 50 μg / kg / hr . under such stimulation , a stable gastric secretory output can generally be maintained for a period of at least 3 hours . gastric juice is collected continuously during secretory studies and pooled into 15 - minute collections . determination of collection volume , ph and titratable acidity is performed . acid is determined by titrating an aliquot of gastric sample with 0 . 1 n naoh to ph 7 . 0 using an automatic titrator . drugs are administered on a background of submaximal gastric secretory stimulation and the results compared with control secretory studies without the use of drug . depending upon the duration of action of a particular drug , it may be possible for a single drug - secretory study to serve as its own control . the route of drug administration is oral administration into the main stomach . this route is easy to perform and does not interfere with the smooth collection of pouch gastric juice . three mongrels dogs ( 20 - 32 kg ) were surgically prepared with stainless steel cannulae . these were inserted into the most dependent portion of the ventral stomach and exteriorized through the abdomen for the collection of gastric secretions . the dogs were trained to stand quietly in a pavlov support and were conscious during subsequent secretory studies . table e______________________________________effect of 1 , 9 - dioxo - 11α , 16 - dihydroxy - 16 - methyl - 1 - hydroxy - methyl - 13 - trans - prostene ( compound a ) on the gastricacid secretion . sup . a in the dog fistula preparation dose cumulative two - hour gas - ( μg / kg tric secretion . sup . ctreatment i . g .) n . sup . b volume ( ml ) acid ( meq h . sup .+) ______________________________________control -- 20 130 ± 11 17 . 2 ± 1 . 6compound a 10 6 59 ± 19 6 . 9 ± 2 . 8 ( p 0 . 01 ) ( p 0 . 005 ) ______________________________________ a after a 26 - hour fast , gastric acid secretion was submaximally stimulated , beginning 45 minutes after treatment , using a constant intravenous infusion of histamine acid phosphate ( 40 μg / kg / hr ). b each of three dogs was treated six to seven times with vehicle ( control ) and one to three times with each compound ; n is the number of experiments conducted with each treatment . c total secretion from 45 - 120 minutes following intragastric ( i . g .) administration of drugs or vehicle . mean effects of treatment were compared to control means by student &# 39 ; s t test . compound a is 1 , 9 - dioxo - 11α , 16 - dihydroxy - 16 - methyl - 1 - hydroxymethyl - 13 - transprostene . male &# 34 ; sprague - dawley derived &# 34 ; rats ( licke - erickson laboratories , maywood , ill .) weighing 150 to 200 g , are fasted , and provided drinking water for 16 to 19 hours prior to the start of the study . at 0 time the rats are dosed orally with compound or vehicle , ( approximately 0 . 5 ml ) and then secured in a bollman - type restraining cage . five minutes after dosing , the animals are immersed ( tail downward ) to &# 34 ; shoulder level &# 34 ; into a 22 ° c . water bath for 100 minutes . at the end of this period , the animals are decapitated and their stomachs promptly excised with about 5 mm each of esophagus and duodenum . with a blunt tipped scissor the stomach is opened along the greater curvature , starting at the tip of the rumen through the glandular mucosa into the pylorus and opening the bit of diodenum along its amesenteric border . debris is removed from stomach by rinsing in saline at room temperature and gently blotting it with gauze or filter paper . the stomach is then spread out , mucosal surface upward on a 3 × 5 file card or similar material . with an illuminated magnifier the lesions are counted ( for total lesion count ) and scored ( for weighted score ) after the method described by g . osterloh , et al ., arzneimittel - forschung , 16 ( 8a ): 901910 , august 1966 . the score for each lesion is given in the following table , modified from the paper . ______________________________________lesion type score______________________________________no lesions 0erythema 1petechial hemorrhages 2erosion 3pinpoint ulcer 4small ulcer ( 0 . 5 - 1 mm ) 5medium ulcer ( 1 - 3 mm ) 6large ulcer ( 3 mm ) 7perforation 8______________________________________ very large ( area ) non - perforating leasions are frequently seen . these are measured as so many 3 mm diameter ulcers and scored as multiples of # 7 . for example , a 3 mm 2 diameter ulcer is taken to have an area of 7 . 1 mm 2 , so a lesion measuring 9 × 4 mm will have an area of 36 mm 2 and hence is equivalent to 5 lesions with a score # 7 . table f______________________________________effect of prostaglandin on stress - induced ( immersion ) ulcers in rats dose ulcer scorecompound ( mg / kg p . o .) [ mean ± sem ( n )] % reduction______________________________________control 40 ± 5 ( 27 ) a * 500 7 ± 2 ( 6 ) 82 ( p . 01 ) 200 13 ± 7 ( 13 ) 67 ( p . 005 ) 80 7 ± 6 ( 7 ) 82 ( p . 005 ) 16 6 ± 4 ( 6 ) 85 ( p . 005 ) 5 15 ± 11 ( 6 ) 62 ( p . 05 ) ______________________________________ rats were dosed by gavage with compound or vehicle and submerged into a 22 ° c . water bath for 100 minutes . at the end of this period , animals were sacrificed and their stomachs removed and scored for ulcers . male wistar rats ( royal hart , new hampton , n . y . ), weighing 190 - 210 g are distributed among control and treatment groups ( 5 rats / group ) and housed one rat per cage . during the 52 hour test period , the rats are permitted free access to food and drinking water for the first 33 hours but are fasted overnight prior to sacrifice . indomethacin is suspended ( 4 mg / ml ) in a 1 . 5 starch - phosphate buffer solution ( spbs ). cl 115 , 574 is dissolved in 10 mg / ml in ethanol and then diluted in spbs to 0 . 1 mg / ml or to a lower concentration as required . the indomethacin suspension is injected subcutaneously ( 10 mg / kg ) and the prostaglandin suspension is given by gavage ( 0 . 5 mg / kg or less ) b . i . d . on day 0 and 1 . rats receive only one dose of prostaglandin and indomethacin on day 2 and 6 hours later are killed with chloroform . the stomachs are dissected , opened along the greater curvature , and rinsed briefly in tap water . they are then spread , mucosal surface facing upward and pinned onto uniform size corks ( 2 . 5 inch diameter ) individually numbered on the back . the identification number for each stomach is unknown to the inventigator and the stomachs re randomly graded according to the following scheme ( 10 ). intestines are also removed and examined for the presence of ulcers , which are graded according to the scheme outlined below . 3 -- few ulcers . gut more fragile than normal , tears along line of mesentery attachments when removed 4 -- many large perforating lesions . adhesions . gut hemmorrhagic and very fragile . tears readily and cannot be removed intact . graded in situ . table g__________________________________________________________________________effect of 1 , 9 - dioxo - 11α , 16 - dihydroxy - 16 - methyl - 1 - hydroxymethyl - 13 - trans - prostene ( compound a ) on indomethacin - induced ulcersin ratstreatment . sup . a gastric ulcer intestinal ulcerindomethacin compound a score score hematocrit ( mg / kg subcut .) ( mg / kg p . o .) n ( mean ± s . e . m .) ( mean ± s . e . m .) ( mean ± s . e . m . ) __________________________________________________________________________10 -- 10 2 . 9 ± 0 . 2 3 . 7 ± 0 . 2 33 . 1 ± 2 . 110 . 5 10 2 . 1 ± 0 . 4 2 . 0 ± 0 . 4 . sup . b 40 . 0 ± 1 . 4 . sup . b10 . 1 10 1 . 7 ± 0 . 3 . sup . b 2 . 7 ± 0 . 2 . sup . b 41 . 1 ± 2 . 4 . sup . b10 . 02 8 1 . 9 ± 0 . 4 . sup . b 3 . 5 ± 0 . 2 35 . 6 ± 1 . 9 -- -- 10 0 . 3 ± 0 . 2 . sup . b 0 . sup . b 48 . 0 ± 0 . 6 . sup . b__________________________________________________________________________ . sup . a treatment is b . i . d . on days 0 and 1 , and once a day 2 , six hours prior to sacrifice for scoring . . sup . b significantly different from indomethacinonly treatment at p & lt ;. 05 . the novel compounds of this invention induce the biological responses described hereinabove as associated with their particular prostaglandin types . these novel compounds are accordingly used for the above - described corresponding purposes . these derivatives described hereinabove are also more selective in their biological action and generally induce a more prolonged effect than the corresponding natural prostaglandins . these preparations are novel , completely unanticipated and provide distinct and important advantages . in addition , certain of the novel compounds of this invention are useful for the preparation of other novel compounds of their invention . the invention will be described in greater detail in conjunction with the following specific examples . the following examples describe the manner and process of making and using the invention , but are not to be construed as a limitation thereon . a . to a stirred solution of 75 . 5 g ( 150 mmol total vinylstannane ; estimated 120 mmol of trans - isomer by cmr ) of e - 1 - tri - n - butylstannyl - 4 - methyl - 4 - trimethylsilyloxy - 1 - octene in 120 ml of thf at - 78 ° initially was added 60 ml of 2 . 0 m n - butyllithium in hexane during 5 min . so that the temperature was & lt ;- 60 °. the light amber solution was warmed to - 40 ° during 10 min . and maintained at the temperature for 2 hr . the solution was recooled to - 78 ° for use in paragraph c . b . to a well - stirred 17 . 25 g ( 132 mmol ) sample of copper pentyne was added 48 ml ( about 43 . 1 g , or 264 mmol ) of freshly distilled hexamethyl - phosphorous triamide . after 20 min . 300 ml of ether was added . the resulting clear , light yellow solution was cooled to - 78 ° for 60 minutes . c . to the vinyllithium solution prepared in paragraph a at 78 °, initially was added the precooled solution of copper complex prepared in paragraph b via double trip needle technique during 10 min . so that the temperature was & lt ;- 65 °. the resulting light amber solution was stirred at - 78 ° for 60 minutes . d . to the stirred solution prepared in paragraph c at - 78 ° initially was added a solution of 23 . 07 of ( 60 . 0 mmol ) of 1 -( 1 - methoxy - 1 - methylethoxy )- 8 -[ 3 -( 1 - methoxy - 1 - methylethoxy )- 5 - oxo - 1 - cyclopenten - 1 - yl ]- 2 - octanone in 50 ml of ether during 10 min . so that the temperature was & lt ;- 65 °. the syringe and septum bottle were washed with 10 ml ether . after 5 min . the light amber solution was warmed to - 40 ° during 10 min . the solution was stirred at - 40 ° for 1 . 5 hr . and then allowed to warm to - 20 ° during 30 min . and then recooled to - 78 °. the reaction was quenched by addition of a solution of 14 . 4 ml ( about 240 mmol ) of gl hoac in 100 ml ether . the precipitate which formed was stirrable with a nagnetic stirrer on this scale . e . the mixture above was transferred with the aid of washing with 750 ml of ether into a stirred , ice - cold mixture of 480 ml of n / l hcl and 240 ml of satd nh 4 cl . the mixture was stirred vigorously at 0 °- 5 ° for 5 minutes . the aqueous phase was separated and extracted with 350 ml of ether . the combined organic phases were washed successively with 2 × 240 ml of ice - cold n / l hcl , 240 ml of half - satd brine , 240 ml of 1 : 1 satd brine - satd nahco 3 , 240 ml of half - satd brine , and 3 × 240 ml satd brine . the solution was dried over mgso 4 , filtered through a small pad of celite , and concentrated in vacuo at ca 30 ° to give 108 g of mobile light yellow liquid . f . the materials from paragraph e resulting from this run ( 60 mmol - scale , 108 g ) and a similar run ( 57 . 7 mmol - scale , 103 g ) were combined . this material ( 211 g ) was treated with a solution prepared from 940 ml of gl hoac , 470 ml of thf , and 235 ml of water . the resulting solution was stirred at 40 °- 43 ° for 60 min . some ( n - bu ) 4 sn was not dissolved . the mixture was diluted with 600 ml of toluene . then 600 ml of distillate was removed via rotary evaporator at about 30 °. the flask which ocntained the solution was set up for standard vacuum distillate ( dry - ice acetone cooled receiver ). the solution was diluted with 600 ml of toluene . then 600 ml of distillate was removed ( both at about 30 °, 0 . 1 mm ). the solution was diluted with 600 ml of toluene . then the volume of the solution was reduced to about 1000 ml . the solution was diluted with 600 ml of toluene . then the volume was reduced to about 500 ml . the solution was diluted with 300 ml of toluene ( total toluene used was 2700 ml ). this solution was evaporated to give 194 g of a mixture of colorless ( n - bu ) 4 sn and a dark amber oil . g . the material from paragraph f was placed , with the aid of repeated hexane wash , on the top of a pad of 385 g of mallinckrodt silicaar cc - 7 silica gel contained in a glass column ; dimensions 5 . 8 × 30 cm . the column was washed with 2500 ml of hexane to remove stannane material . the column was then washed with 4000 ml of ethyl acetate , taking care to wash all hexane - insoluble material in flask and on column sides onto the top of the silica gel . the first 3250 cc of ethyl acetate eluate yielded 77 . 4 g of amber oil on evaporation . the last 750 ml of eluate yielded 0 . 1 g of amber oil ( total = 77 . 5 g ). h . chromatography . to a 5 . 4 cm diameter column filled with 2 : 1 heptane ethyl acetate was added 970 g of mallinckrodt silicar cc - 7 silica gel . the column stood overnight ; dimensions 5 . 4 × 98 cm . this column was used to purify most of the material from paragraph g ( 71 . 0 g ). the material ( 71 . 0 g ) was dissolved in 250 ml of 2 : 1 heptane - ethyl acetate and 50 ml of ethyl acetate ( required to produce solution ). the solution was developed on the above - described column . elution was carried out under slight nitrogen pressure to produce a flow rate of about 3 - 4 l / hr . fractions which emerged from the column were examined by tlc with the solvent system 20 : 1 etoac - meoh . plates were developed by spraying first with 2 , 4 - dnp solution and then cupric acetate solution and charring . the column was eluted with heptane - ethyl acetate block gredients according to the following schedule : ______________________________________batch volume ( l ) solvent ratio______________________________________1 7 2 : 1 heptane - etoac2 7 5 : 3 heptane - etoac3 12 3 : 2 heptane - etoac4 2 4 : 3 heptane - etoac5 2 10 : 9 heptane - etoac6 4 1 : 1 heptane - etoac7 2 3 : 2 etoac - heptane8 2 2 : 1 etoac - heptane9 6 3 : 1 etoac - heptane10 12 3 : 1 etoac - heptane increased to pure etoac______________________________________ fractions collected were of ap - ropriate size ( about 1500 - 2000 ml ) and were pooled according to tlc as above . the product emerged from the column corresponding to solvent batches 6 - 10 above to provide 16 . 9 g of product . by the method described hereinabove and starting with e - 1 tri - n - butylstannyl - 4 - methyl - 4 - trimethylsilyloxy - 1 - octene and 1 -( 1 - methoxy - 1 - methylethoxy - 8 -[ 3 ( r )- 1 ( 1 - methoxy - 1 - methylethoxy )- 5 - oxo - 1 - cyclopenten - 1 - yl ]- 6 - octenone , nat - 1 , 9 - dioxo - 11α , 16 ( r )- dihydroxy - 16 - methyl - 1 - hydroxymethyl - 13 - trans - prostene and nat - 1 , 9 - dioxo - 11α , 16 ( s )- dihydroxy - 16 - methyl - 1 - hydroxy - methyl 13 - trans - prostene are prepared . | 2 |
while the present invention will hereinafter be described in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof , it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to that embodiment . on the contrary , it is intended to cover all alternatives , modifications and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . turning to fig1 the electrophotographic printing machine 1 employs a belt 10 having a photoconductive surface 12 deposited on a conductive substrate 14 . by way of example , photoconductive surface 12 may be made from a selenium alloy with conductive substrate 14 being made from an aluminum alloy which is electrically grounded . other suitable photoconductive surfaces and conductive substrates may also be employed . belt 10 moves in the direction of arrow 16 to advance successive portions of photoconductive surface 12 through the various processing stations disposed about the path of movement thereof . as shown , belt 10 is entrained about rollers 18 , 20 , 22 , 24 . roller 24 is coupled to motor 26 which drives roller 24 so as to advance belt 10 in the direction of arrow 16 . rollers 18 , 20 , and 22 are idler rollers which rotate freely as belt 10 moves in the direction of arrow 16 . initially , a portion of belt 10 passes through charging station a . at charging station a , a corona generating device , indicated generally by the reference numeral 28 charges a portion of photoconductive surface 12 of belt 10 to a relatively high , substantially uniform potential . next , the charged portion of photoconductive surface 12 is advanced through exposure station b . at exposure station b , a raster input scanner ( ris ) and a raster output scanner ( ros ) are used to expose the charged portions of photoconductive surface 12 to record an electrostatic latent image thereon . the ris ( not shown ), contains document illumination lamps , optics , a mechanical scanning mechanism and photosensing elements such as charged couple device ( ccd ) arrays . the ris captures the entire image from the original document and coverts it to a series of raster scan lines . the raster scan lines are transmitted from the ris to a ros 36 . ros 36 illuminates the charged portion of photoconductive surface 12 with a series of horizontal lines with each line having a specific number of pixels per inch . these lines illuminate the charged portion of the photoconductive surface 12 to selectively discharge the charge thereon . an exemplary ros 36 has lasers with rotating polygon mirror blocks , solid state modulator bars and mirrors . still another type of exposure system would merely utilize a ros 36 with the ros 36 being controlled by the output from an electronic subsystem ( ess ) which prepares and manages the image data flow between a computer and the ros 36 . the ess ( not shown ) is the control electronics for the ros 36 and may be a self - contained , dedicated minicomputer . thereafter , belt 10 advances the electrostatic latent image recorded on photoconductive surface 12 to development station c . one skilled in the art will appreciate that a light lens system may be used instead of the ris / ros system heretofore described . an original document may be positioned face down upon a transparent platen . lamps would flash light rays onto the original document . the light rays reflected from original document are transmitted through a lens forming a light image thereof . the lens focuses the light image onto the charged portion of photoconductive surface to selectively dissipate the charge thereon . the records an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductive surface which corresponds to the informational areas contained within the original document disposed upon the transparent platen . at development station c , magnetic brush developer system , indicated generally by the reference numeral 38 , transports developer material comprising carrier granules having toner particles adhering triboelectrically thereto into contact with the electrostatic latent image recorded on photoconductive surface 12 . toner particles are attracted form the carrier granules to the latent image forming a powder image on photoconductive surface 12 of belt 10 . after development , belt 10 advances the toner powder image to transfer station d . at transfer station d a sheet of support material 46 is moved into contact with the toner powder image . support material 46 is advanced to transfer station d by a sheet feeding apparatus , indicated generally by the reference numeral 48 . preferably , sheet feeding apparatus 48 includes a feedroll 50 contacting the uppermost sheet of a stack of sheets 52 . feed roll 50 rotates to advance the uppermost sheet from stack 50 into sheet chute 54 . chute 54 directs the advancing sheet of support material 46 into a contact with photoconductive surface 12 of belt 10 in a timed sequence so that the toner powder image developed thereon contacts the advancing sheet of support material at transfer station d . transfer station d includes a corona generating device 56 which sprays ions onto the backside of sheet 46 . this attracts the toner powder image from photoconductive surface 12 to sheet 46 . after transfer , the sheet continues to move in the direction of arrow 58 onto a conveyor 60 which moves the sheet to fusing station e . fusing station e includes a fuser assembly , indicated generally by the reference numeral 62 , which permanently affixes the powder image to sheet 46 . preferably , fuser assembly 62 includes a heated fuser roller 64 driven by a motor and a backup roller 66 . sheet 46 passes between fuser roller 64 and backup roller 66 with the toner powder image contacting fuser roll 64 . in this manner , the toner powder image is permanently affixed to sheet 46 . after fusing , chute 68 guides the advancing sheet to catch tray 70 for subsequent removal from the printing machine by the operator . invariably , after the sheet of support material is separated from photoconductive surface 12 of belt 10 , some residual particles remain adhering thereto . these residual particles are removed from photoconductive surface 12 at cleaning station f . cleaning station f includes a preclean corona generating device ( not shown ) and a rotatably mounted preclean brush 72 in contact with photoconductive surface 12 . the preclean corona generator neutralizes the charge attracting the particles to the photoconductive surface . these particles are cleaned from the photoconductive surface by the rotation of brush 72 in contact therewith . one skilled in the art will appreciate that other cleaning means may be used such as a blade cleaner . subsequent to cleaning , a discharge lamp ( not shown ) discharges photoconductive surface 12 with light to dissipate any residual charge remaining thereon prior to the charging thereof for the next successive imaging cycle . a control system coordinates the operation of the various components . in particular , controller 30 responds to sensor 32 and provides suitable actuator control signals to corona generating device 28 , ros 36 , and development system 38 which can be any suitable development system such as hybrid jumping development or a mag brush development system . the actuator control signals include state variables such as charge voltage , developer bias voltage , exposure intensity and toner concentration the controller 30 includes an expert system 31 including various logic routines to analyze sensed parameters in a systematic manner and reach conclusions on the state of the machine . changes in output generated by the controller 30 , in a preferred embodiment , are measured by a toner area coverage ( tac ) sensor 32 . tac sensor 32 , which is located after development station c , measures the developed toner mass for difference area coverage patches recorded on the photoconductive surface 12 . the manner of operation of the tac sensor 32 , shown in fig1 is described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 553 , 003 which is hereby incorporated in its entirety into the instant disclosure . tac sensor 32 , is an infrared reflectance type densitometer that measures the density of toner particles developed on the photoconductive the surface 12 . referring to fig2 there is illustrated a typical composite toner test patch 110 imaged in the interdocument area of photoconductive surface 12 . the photoconductive surface 12 , is illustrated as containing two documents images image 1 and image 2 . the test patch 110 is shown in the interdocument space between image 1 and image 2 and in that portion of the photoconductive surface 12 sensed by the tac sensor 32 to provide the necessary signals for control . the composite patch 110 , in a preferred embodiment , measures 15 millimeters , in the process direction , and 45 millimeters , in the cross process direction and provides various halftone level patches such as an 87 . 5 % patch at 118 , a 50 % halftone patch at 116 and a 12 . 5 % halftone patch at 114 . before the tac sensor 32 can provide a meaningful response to the relative reflectance of patch , the tac sensor 32 must be calibrated by measuring the light reflected from a bare or clean area portion 112 of photoconductive belt surface 12 . for calibration purposes , current to the light emitting diode ( led ) internal to the tac sensor 32 is increased until the voltage generated by the tac sensor 32 in response to light reflected from the bare or clean are 112 is between 3 and 5 volts . it should be understood that the term tac sensor or &# 34 ; densitometer &# 34 ; is intended to apply to any device for determining the density of print material on a surface , such as a visible - light densitometer , an infrared densitometer , an electrostatic voltmeter , or any other such device which makes a physical measurement from which the density of print material may be determined . fig3 shows in greater detail developer unit 38 illustrated in fig1 . the developer unit includes a developer 86 which could be any suitable development system , such as hybrid jumping development or mag brush development , for applying toner to a latent image . the developer is generally provided in a developer housing and the rear of the housing usually forms a sump containing a supply of developing material . a ( not shown ) passive crossmixer in the sump area generally serves to mix the developing material . the developer 86 is connected to a toner dispense assembly shown at 46 including a toner bottle 88 providing a source of toner particles , an extracting auger 90 for dispensing toner particles from bottle 88 , and hopper 92 receiving toner particles from auger 90 . hopper 92 is also connected to delivery auger 96 and delivery auger is rotated by drive motor 98 to convey toner particles from hopper 92 for distribution to developer 86 . it should be understood that a developer or toner dispense assembly could be individual replacement units or a combined replacement unit . in accordance with the present invention , an expert system is provided , including a computer with ancillary components , as well as software and hardware parts to receive raw data from a tac sensor . the data is received at appropriate intervals and interpreted to report on the functional status of the subsystems and components of the machine . in addition to direct sensor data received from the machine , a knowledge of the parameters in process control algorithms is comprehended by the expert system in order to account for machine parameter and materials drift and other image quality factors . in addition , when degradation of components or performance is detected , predictions of the impending failure causes a series of actions to occur , ranging from key operator notification of the predicted need for service to actually placing an order for the appropriate part for &# 34 ; just in time &# 34 ; delivery prior to actual part failure . the expert system is equipped to perform a set of specific functions or tests to instruct a service representative to perform whatever repair , part replacement , etc . that may be necessary for the maintenance and optimum operation of the machine . such functions include status of periodic parts replacement due to wear or image quality determinations which may require adjustment of operational parameters of various modules or replacement of defective components . the software that is loaded in such an expert system can be generic to common modules among all machines or specific to the machine that the customer has purchased . the expert system provides the interpretation of the complex raw data that continually emanates from various components and modules of the machine and provides information on the nature of the actions that need to be taken to maintain the machine for optimum performance . the expert system accepts this raw data and interprets it to provide reduced service time resulting from the specific and correct diagnosis of both actual or predicted failures of machine parts . the expert system is given very intimate details of the inter workings of the machine being monitored and thus provides similarly detailed information about the state of each individual component . this information is useful not only for field service diagnostics but can also be useful before and after product life in manufacturing by testing the behavior of the individual components and comparing it to a standard in re - manufacturing , remembering exactly the part failed and providing information as a database entry specific to a part and serial number . there are basically two flavors of the expert system . a &# 34 ; local &# 34 ; expert system ( including a hand held device ) is connected to a single machine or installed in a single machine to perform monitoring , analysis , diagnostic , and communication functions . a second embodiment resides on a network , in a host computer , and provides the diagnostic needs of a population of machines to which is connected . while the diagnostic capability which is embedded within the product itself has the most immediate access to the raw sensor data , the highest potential bandwidth , and the fastest possible response time , it is sometimes limited by cost and functional requirements in the level of analysis , breadth of scope and depth of storage which can be maintained . the remote diagnostic system on the other hand , has the potential for virtually unlimited storage for monitoring and trend analysis and more computational horsepower for a detailed analysis of whatever data can be made available . with reference to fig4 there is shown a general schematic of the expert system 31 in fig1 . the expert system is generally shown in fig4 including a knowledge base 202 having a set of rules embodying an expert &# 39 ; s knowledge about the operation , diagnosis , and correction of the machine , an inference engine 204 to efficiently apply the rules of the knowledge base 202 to solve machine problems , an operator interface 206 to communicate between the operator and the expert system , and rule editor 208 to assist in modifying the knowledge base 202 . in operation , the inference engine 204 applies the knowledge base 202 rules to solve machine problems , compares the rules to data entered by the user about the problem , tracks the status of the hypothesis being tested and hypotheses that have been confirmed or rejected , asks questions to obtain needed data , states conclusions to the user , and even explains the chain of reasoning used to reach a conclusion . the function of the operator interface is to provide dialogue 210 , that is , ask questions , request data , and state conclusions in a natural language and translate the operator input into computer language . the expert system 196 itself includes memory with a profile of expected machine performance and parameters portion , a current switch and sensor information portion , and a table of historic machine performance and utilization events . the system monitors status conditions and initiates external communication relative to the status conditions of the machine . this procedure includes the steps of monitoring the predetermined status conditions relative to the operation of the machine , recognizing the deviation of the machine operation from said predetermined status conditions , recognizing the inability of the machine to automatically respond to the deviation to self correct , and , determining the need for external response to provide additional information for evaluation for further analysis . upon this determination the system will request additional information for evaluation for further analysis , and upon receipt of said additional information , determine the correct response to return the machine operation to a mode not in deviation from said predetermined status conditions . it also automatically provides the correct response to return the machine operation to a mode not in deviation from the predetermined status conditions . the expert system 196 , as discussed , periodically responds to the operating conditions or parameters being analyzed to determine if there is a threshold level or value stored in a threshold file that is outside the range of acceptable machine operation . if all threshold levels are determined to be within acceptable machine operation , no action is taken by the expert system 196 . however , if it is determined that the sensed values from the sensors and detectors represent a condition that is outside the range or accepted level of threshold values as stored in threshold file 194 , the expert system 196 will respond and analyze the data and take corrective action . with reference to fig5 a and 5b , according to the present invention , a series of tests , both stand alone and cumulative , logically analyze test results to determine any parts or subsystems needing replacement . these tests are based upon readings of selective test patches by a toner area coverage sensor . the underlying basis of the invention is that it is cheaper and quicker to replace a part rather than spending valuable service time trying to correct or repair a part or subsystem at the customer &# 39 ; s site . in particular , there is provided a highly intelligent , fully automated xerographic diagnostic routine that has the ability to inform the service representative that a specific part or parts need to be replaced . this task was accomplished by designing a series of individual tests that when performed in a logical manner and their results analyzed according to specific paradigms , the net result would point to the failure of one or more individual subsystems within the xerographic engine . some of the tests themselves are and could be used as stand alone diagnostic routines . they consist mainly of reading of various halftone and solid area patches by the process control sensors ( btac , esv , etc .) created under specific xerographic conditions usually in a before and after situation . the system analyzes the data using highly sophisticated tools ( statistic packages , fft &# 39 ; s , etc . ), looks at trends and obtains a result . it then combines this result with the results of various other tests and extracts logical conclusions as to the health of a specific subsystem . for example : to test the cleaning subsystem , it may be necessary to concatenate the results of tests a , c , d , & amp ; f . for this test , a and d may be weighted more than c and f . the final result is that the cleaner test has some value of 60 with a variance of +/- 8 %. the failure mode may be & gt ; 65 (+/- 5 %). in this instance the cleaning subsystem would have failed . according to the invention , there is an analysis of all the various test combinations for each part that it needs to interrogate and obtains a parts to replace code . this code is then readily available to be accessed by the service rep either over the phone line or through the portable workstation ( pws ). when displayed , a corresponding list of part or parts to replace is presented which relates back to the code . this system will run automatically when certain conditions are met within the process control system or can be called by the operator through the ul or the service rep through the pws . it should also be noted that the xerographic engine can be instructed from a remote site to run a setup when needed or to run a diagnostic self analysis routine and return via the phone line any pertinent results and / or parts to replace . upon receiving the remote command , the xerographic subsystem goes off line , runs the appropriate routine and then returns to a ready state and conveys any information back to the calling center . in modern xerographic print engines , process controls uses a variety of reflective sensors to monitor and control the tone reproduction curve of the xerographic process . one such sensor is the btac ( black toner area coverage ) sensor . in a final test for proper operation , the btac must be calibrated to the bare reflectance ( absence of toner ) of the photoreceptor . to achieve this , the output of an led in the sensor is pulsed ( stepped ) until a certain analog voltage or level of reflectance is attained . this calibration process is continually repeated . the thrust of this invention is to capture the initial number of steps that it takes to calibrate the photoreceptor on a virgin machine module or customer replaceable unit cru as shown in fig6 . the system knows when the cru is brand new ( and thus free of contamination ) by reading an eprom integrated circuit which is housed in the not shown cru . typically a clean photoreceptor will calibrate at 7 or 8 steps which is between 3 . 7 - 4 . 0 volts analog on the sensor ( 100 % reflectance ). this step value is then stored in nonvolatile memory ( nvm ) and used as a baseline . as the contamination ( dirt level ) increases , the led steps will increase . on the next calibration ( preferably at every cycle up of the xerographic subsystem ), the step count is captured . the dirt level is calculated by subtracting the baseline from the current step count : this value is then displayed to the user interface . the btac sensor has a maximum light output of 24 steps . therefore the dirt level range is 0 - 24 . a gas gauge display could be used to illustrate a range of conclusions such as clean ( range 0 - 6 ), moderated dirt build up ( range 6 - 18 ) and cleaning necessary ( range 18 - 24 ). in one embodiment , output is displayed only as a value and it has proved to be a very useful tool and a good indication of the relative contamination level of the btac and the xerographic subsystem . the process control system continuously monitors the state of the xerographic process . sensors read various halftone patches which are an indication of the quality of the developed image . if the patch quality is not within range , changes are made to various actuators to bring the process back to center . the soundness of the patch is highly effected by the uniform quality of the belt surface . a scratch or defect on the photoreceptor where the patches are produced can change the outcome of a patch read . therefore , a second test is to take samples of the entire photoreceptor surface with the black toner area coverage ( btac ) sensor every 1 . 5 mm . using a seam detection algorithm , the seam samples are discarded , and an overall clean belt uniformity measurement is calculated . this value is used as a baseline . since the seam location was found , the location of each process control patch and its related btac readings can be analyzed . the mean and variance are determined for each patch and compared to the baseline value . through a statistical analysis , the uniformity of each location computed and compared to the baseline . the operator can then be informed to replace the belt if the uniformity was lower than an acceptable level . images are written on the photoreceptor by means of a dual beam raster output scanner . dual beams can produce images twice as fast as a single beam laser . when both lasers malfunction , diagnosis is fairly easy . however , when one fails , it is more difficult to determine the failure mode . the thrust of another feature of the invention , as shown in fig7 to differentiate between laser a and laser b . knowing the fact that the lasers write alternate scan lines , two halftone patches are created , as illustrated , the first written from laser a only , the second from laser b only . the routine first measures with the black toner and area coverage ( btac ) sensor , a 100 % reflective ( clean ) patch and record its value . next it lays and develops the laser b patch which would print full on from laser b and full off from laser a . the patch is then measured and its reflectance is calculated . a similar patch is created using laser a on and laser b off , and its reflectance also measured and recorded . these patches should be approximately equal to the value of a 50 % halftone patch . now each patch was compared to the clean patch as follows : what this states is that the laser patch is higher than a 50 % patch and approximately equal to a clean patch . in other words , no patch was developed . the laser had failed to write . as a cleaning system is a xerographic engine becomes stressed , the overall health of the machine begins to deteriorate . this is due to the fact that unwanted toner is either left on the photoreceptor or it is dispersed throughout the engine . the toner which is not cleaned from the photoreceptor may interfere with the process control patches and inhibit the control algorithms from accurately predicting the &# 34 ; real &# 34 ; state of process . the dispersed toner can contaminate the marking engine and result in a degrading of the overall copy quality of the machine . having the ability to detect any stress in the cleaning subsystem is a distinct advantage for the reasons stated above . another feature of the present invention uses the area coverage sensor ( btac ) and a software algorithm to statistically test the ability of the cleaner to clean the photoreceptor surface as shown in fig8 a , 8b , and 8c . as the photoreceptor is dead cycling , two 0 % ( clean ) patches are laid in the image zones and a series of evenly spaced btac reads (& gt ; 100 ) are captured for each zone . the mean , variance and standard deviation is now calculated for the data obtained . two 50 % patches are now laid and developed in the exact same location as the 0 % patches . these patches are now cleaned by the cleaner . after this procedure , the series of btac reads are repeated and the statistical data is again calculated and stored . the technique compares the before and after statistical data and issues a status indicating a cleaner problem if any of the calculated parameters are above some pre - determined threshold . basic xerography is controlled by three subsystems ; charge , exposure , and development such as hybrid jumping development . in discharge area development systems , one can develop an image with the absence of charge . this principle makes it possible to devise a logical method for determining certain failure modes of these three actuators . the essence of this feature of the invention is a technique to measure and analyze a series of process control patches from which failure modes can be sorted and deducted as shown in fig9 a and 9b . the first step is to test the charging subsystem . three different halftone patches ( 12 %, 50 %, and 87 %) are produced using nominal settings for charge , exposure , and development . the reflectance of each patch is measured with the btac sensor . if the level of each patch is within a reasonable range , it is assumed that the charging system is working well . if each patch is measured to be very dark , it is deducted that the charging subsystem is malfunctioning . at this point , the method is halted , and charge is tagged to be faulted . the second step ( if charge is ok ) creates a patch by turning off charge and exposure and enabling development . this will create a very dark patch . the level of this patch is measured by the btac and the following logic is employed : ______________________________________very dark no malfunctiondark mag roll malfunction , low tcdark to light donor roll malfunction , background , intermittent groundlight hjd power supply malfunction , developer drives problem very bad ground______________________________________ the third step creates a patch using nominal charge , nominal development , and a very high exposure setting . this will create a very dark patch . the level of this patch is measured by the btac and the following logic is employed : ______________________________________very dark no malfunctiondark video cablingdark to light bad groundlight video path______________________________________ when reproducing halftones , maintaining uniformity is a primary consideration . when nonuniformity or developability variation also known as strobing , exists it can become a dissatisfier to the customer and may require a service call . the sources of the nonuniformity are many : drives , power supplies , or the photoreceptor ground for example . determining the source of the nonuniformity can often be time consuming . the essence of this test is the creation of a highly intelligent , fully automated , diagnostic routine . this is accomplished by taking samples of a 50 % halftone over the entire photoreceptor circumference with the btac sensor . the samples are taken every 1 . 5 mm for two belt cycles . each belt cycle is treated independently . the data is then analyzed . this analysis consists of comparing frequencies calculated by the fft to previously identified frequencies . the outcome of the analysis is the identification of source of the nonuniformity . this diagnostic can be run remotely ( rdt ) enabling the service representative to bring the correct part at the time of service , reducing diagnostic time and customer down time . images are written on the photoreceptor by means of a raster output scanner . the images themselves are made up of pixels . the pixels are created by the ros exposing small dots on the photoreceptor and then developer material adhering to the dots creating an image . to maintain proper copy quality , these pixels must be created with the proper energy distribution . when a malfunction occurs in the ros ( wobble , heat rise , electrical noise ), the energy distribution becomes distorted and copy quality degrades . the essence of this aspect of the invention is a technique to discover when the ros was malfunctioning as shown in fig1 . this is accomplished by creating two unique patches ( one patch consisting of horizontally aligned pixels , the other with vertically aligned pixels ), as shown in patch pattern below : when developed the reflectance of these patches is read by the btac sensor and recorded . if the pixels were being formed correctly , the difference between the two patches would be minute , since the energy dispatched for each patch is the same . however , if the pixels are distorted , the value of one patch would be different than the other and a delta would result . this is due to the integrating properties of the btac sensor . therefore , if the absolute valve is greater than a target valve i . e . ( horizontal patch - vertical patch )& gt ; target , a possible malfunction could exist in the ros . as prints are produced , the developer subsystem needs to be continuously replenished with toner . this is achieved through a toner dispenser subsystem which consists of a dispense motor and a containment reservoir . this system can become inoperative when the motor fails ( electrically loses power or the gears become jammed ) or the auger within the containment reservoir becomes impacted with toner and binds up . the essence of this aspect of the invention is to have the process control monitor and detect when any of the above inoperable conditions occur as shown in fig1 . this is achieved by laying down on the photoreceptor a toner control patch and measuring its value with the btac sensor . if the value is within a reasonable range ( the patch does not show that the system is in a very light development condition ), toner is now dispensed for a fixed period of time ( enough time to redistribute the toner ). a second toner control patch is now laid and its value recorded . the system now looks for a delta in the reflectance between the two patches equal to some known value for the rate of toner dispensed . if the dispenser is working correctly , the second patch should have darkened by a certain amount . if the dispenser is dysfunctional , there should have been little or no movement between the first and second patch . in this case , the machine is shut down and a call for service status is displayed . with respect to fig5 a and 5b there is shown a flow chart of one embodiment of a xerographic xerciser in accordance with the present invention . in particular , a sequence of tests are performed to determine the failure of specific parts or subsystems . some tests are directly related to a specific part of subsystem whereas the results of other tests may be saved and combined with other tests to determine specific part or subsystem failure . the results of tests can be combined with one or several other tests and can be used in a multiple level or hierarchy of analysis to pinpoint part of subsystem failure . in block 120 , the toner area coverage sensor , in this case , a black toner area coverage ( btac ) sensor is calibrated . a first level of determination is whether or not the sensor passes the calibration standard as shown in block 122 , and if so , a next level test , a dirt level check is performed as shown in block 126 . if the calibration determination in block 122 fails , the machine is stopped as illustrated in block 124 . the dirt level check as illustrated in block 126 is further illustrated in fig6 . after the dirt level check , there is a photoreceptor patch uniformity test as illustrated at block 128 . in essence , this test checks for defective areas of a xerographic photoreceptor surface . the result of the previous test is to determine if there is an adequate charge provided by the system charging mechanism , as illustrated in block 130 . if there is not an adequate charge , the system stops as shown at block 134 . if there is adequate charge , as determined at block 132 , a ros beam failure test is conducted as shown in block 136 . further details of the ros beam failure test are illustrated in the flow chart in fig7 . after the ros beam failure test , a cleaner test is conducted as illustrated in block 138 and shown in more detail in fig8 a , 8b , and 8c . a more comprehensive actuator performance indicator test is illustrated in precharged test block 140 and ros test 142 and shown in detail in the flow chart in 10 fig9 a and 9b . following the actuator performance indicator tests , there is provided a background test illustrated in block 144 and a banding test illustrated in block 146 . following these tests as illustrated in block 148 , there are provided a series of standard charge tests , exposure tests , grid slope tests , and exposure slope tests as illustrated in blocks 150a , 150b , 150c , and 150d . upon the completion of these tests there is conducted a ros pixel size test as illustrated in block 152 and illustrated in detail in the flow chart in fig1 . also , there is a toner dispenser test illustrated in block 154 and shown in greater detail in the flow chart in fig1 . finally , as illustrated in blocks 156 and 158 , there is an analysis of all the test results and a display of failed parts . a typical scenario of the overall analysis of all the test results is illustrated in the flow chart in fig1 . with reference to fig6 the dirt level check includes the steps of calibrating the btac sensor as shown in block 160 , and a first determination at block 162 as whether or not the sensor module is new . that is , in a preferred embodiment , the sensor is incorporated into a machine module or customer replaceable unit and the first determination is whether or not this is a new module in the machine or one that has been in the machine and operating . if it is a new module , the sensor is calibrated and the step count of calibration forms the basis for future calibrations and is stored in memory as illustrated in block 164 . if the module is not a new module , then as shown in block 166 , the number of calibration steps to calibrate the sensor over and above the number of calibration steps to calibrate the sensor when new is provided . a determination is then made of the level of deterioration of sensing capability . if there is a first number of calibration steps over and above the base calibration level needed , for example , 0 - 6 , as shown in block 168 , then the machine is determined to be relatively clean as indicated at block 170 . a dirt level of from 6 - 18 additional calibration steps needed , as shown in block 172 , would indicate a moderate dirt build up within the machine as shown at block 174 . finally , a dirt level indication of from 19 to 26 additional steps , as shown in block 176 , would indicate that cleaning is necessary as shown in block 178 . it should be understood that the number of steps and the ranges of clean , moderate , and cleaning necessary are design considerations and any number of embodiments could be implemented . with reference to fig7 there is illustrated the ros beam failure test . in particular , at block 180 the sensor is calibrated and at block 182 a record is made of the reflectance of a 100 % clean patch on the photoreceptor . next , a special patch is laid with laser b only of the dual beam laser . the special patch is such that laser b is modulated and laser a not modulated . the resultant relative reflectance of the patch is recorded and if laser b is operating correctly , there should be approximately 50 % halftone reflectance . at block 188 , a patch is laid with only laser a modulated due to the special modulating information . a record of the relative reflectance of laser a is recorded as illustrated in block 190 . again , a 50 % halftone relative reflectance is expected if laser a is operating correctly . the comparison is made as illustrated in block 192 and if the relative reflectance of laser b is greater than a given threshold , then it is determined that laser b has failed as shown in block 194 . similarly , the relative reflectance of laser a is determined compared to a threshold as shown in block 196 , and if the relative reflectance exceeds the threshold , it is determined that laser a has failed as shown in block 198 . if neither laser a nor b has failed , then as shown in block 200 , both beams are operating correctly . with reference to fig8 a , there are shown two 0 % ( clean ) patches laid in image zones and a series of evenly spaced sensor ( btac ) reads . fig8 b illustrates the development of two 5 % half tone patches in the same locations as the 0 % patches of fig8 a . there are no reads of these patches and these patches are then cleaned of toner from the photoreceptor surface . after cleaning , as shown in fig8 c , the same sensor reads are again taken as done in fig8 a . the before cleaning and after cleaning sensor reads are then compared to give an indication of the efficiency of the cleaner . if the degree of toner that is not cleaned as illustrated by the toner dots in fig8 c is above a given threshold , then there is a determination of a cleaner problem or malfunction . fig9 a and 9b illustrate actuator performance indications . in particular , with reference to fig9 a , the calibration of the sensor is shown at block 220 . block 222 illustrates the measurement of the relative reflectance of a clean patch . if the relative reflectance of the patch is less than a given threshold , for example , 45 , then there is an indication of a charging problem as shown in block 226 . it should be noted that the numeral 45 represents a digitized sensor signal in the range of 0 - 255 and the number selected is a designed decision based upon machine characteristics . a relative reflectance signal less than 45 indicates very dark patches . if the relative reflectance is not less than 45 , then as shown in block 228 , the charge and exposure systems are turned off and the development unit enabled . the relative reflectance of special patches are then measured , for example , a 12 %, 50 %, and 87 % half tone patch . the half tone level of each patch is measured by the sensor . if the relative reflectance is greater than 120 as illustrated in block 230 , indicating a very light response , then there is indicated a range of problems as illustrated in block 232 . on the other hand , if the relative reflectance is less than 120 but greater than 60 as illustrated in decision block 234 , indicating a dark to light response , then there is an indication of a set of malfunctions as illustrated in block 236 . if the relative reflectance is less than 60 but greater than 35 as illustrated in block 238 , indicating a dark response , then another set of problems are indicated as illustrated at block 240 . finally , if the relative reflectance is less than 35 indicating a very dark response , then no malfunction is indicated and the development system is operational as shown in block 242 . the next step is to set the charge and development to nominal to create a patch with a high exposure setting and determine the relative reflectance . as illustrated in block 246 , if the relative reflectance digitized signal is greater than 120 , indicating a light patch , a video path problem is indicated as shown in block 248 . if the relative reflectance is less than 120 but greater than 80 as shown in block 250 , indicating a dark to light patch , then there is determined a bad ground as shown in block 252 . on the other hand , if the relative reflectance is less than 80 but greater than 40 , a dark patch illustrated in block 254 , there is an indication of a video cabling problem as shown in block 256 . finally , if the relative reflectance is less than 40 , indicating a very dark patch , there is a determination of no malfunction with the ros system as shown in block 258 . with reference to fig1 , there is illustrated a ros pixel size growth detector procedure . in particular , at block 260 the sensor is calibrated , and , as shown in block 262 , a patch is provided using horizontally aligned pixels . the relative reflectance of this patch is recorded as illustrated in block 264 and in block 266 a patch using vertically aligned pixels is provided . in block 268 the relative reflectance of this patch is recorded . if the absolute value of the difference of these two relative reflectance readings is greater than a given target value , as illustrated in block 270 , then there is determined to be a ros malfunction as shown in block 272 . if the difference is less than a target value , then the ros is determined to be operational as shown in block 274 . with reference to fig1 , there is shown in the flow chart a technique to monitor toner dispense . in particular , three special toner concentration patches are provided on the photoreceptor surface as illustrated in block 276 . the details of these three special patches are described in pending u . s . ser . no . 926 , 476 ( d197101 ) filed sep . 10 , 1997 , incorporated herein . the patches are read by the btac sensor and an average reflectance calculated as shown in block 278 . if the reflectance with reference to a clean patch is greater than 15 % as illustrated in decision block 280 , then there is a determination of a normal toner concentration . however , if the average reflectance is less than 15 %, then as illustrated in block 282 , the tones dispense is activated for 15 seconds . it should be noted that 15 seconds is a design choice and in one embodiment is the time for toner to get from a toner bottle dispenser on to the photoreceptor and sensed by the sensor . after activation of the toner dispenses for a given period of time , again three toner concentration patches are provided as illustrated at block 284 . again there is a sensing and calculation of the average reflectance as shown in block 286 . if the reflectance is greater than 20 as illustrated in the decision block 288 , then the dispenser is determined to be operational as shown in block 292 . on the other hand , if the reflectance is 20 or less , there is a determination as shown in block 290 that there is a toner dispense malfunction . with reference to fig1 , there is disclosed in flowchart form , a given scenario for progressive levels of monitoring , analysis , and diagnostics for a given machine . at block 300 , there is illustrated the sensing of status for a given machine at level 1 . it should be understood that a level 1 status could be running a set of first level tests for a given sensor to identify deteriorating parts or subsystems at the first level . block 302 illustrates a level 1 analysis and in decision block 304 , there is a determination based upon the level 1 analysis at 302 whether or not a level 1 response is required . a response as shown at blocks 306 and 308 could be the determination of a part needing replacement and notification or alert provided as illustrated at block 310 . level 1 could be a direct analysis of specific components based upon the sensed data at hand and could include some level of trend tracking such as tracking machine fault trends , tracking component wear , and tracking machine usage . assuming no level 1 response is indicated at block 310 that would require a machine shutdown , there is a sensing of machine status at a level 2 and a level 2 analysis as illustrated at blocks 314 and 316 . it should be understood that a level 2 status could be running a set of second level tests for a given sensor to identify deteriorating parts or subsystems . a level 2 analysis could also incorporate results of tests or additional sensor measurements at the first level . at decision block 318 , there is a determination based upon the level 2 analysis at 316 whether or not a level 2 response or action is required . a response as shown at blocks 320 and 322 again could be the determination of a part needing replacement and notification or alert provided as illustrated at block 324 . level 2 could be a direct analysis of specific components based upon the sensed data at hand or could be indirect analysis based upon inferences from sensed data . level 2 also could include tracking machine fault trends , tracking component wear , and tracking machine usage . at a level 2 analysis , additional sensors or additional control and first level diagnostic analysis information is considered . assuming no level 2 response is indicated at block 324 that would require a machine shutdown , there is a sensing of machine status at a level 3 and a level 3 analysis as illustrated at blocks 328 and 330 . it should be understood that a level 3 status could be running a set of third level tests and could also incorporate results of tests or additional sensor measurements at the first and second levels . at decision block 332 , there is a determination based upon the level 3 analysis at 330 whether or not a level 3 response or action is required . a response as shown at blocks 334 and 336 again could be the determination of a part needing replacement and notification or alert provided as illustrated at block 338 . level 3 again could be a direct analysis of specific components based upon the sensed data at hand or could be indirect analysis based upon inferences from sensed data at levels 1 and 2 . level 3 again could include tracking machine fault trends , tracking component wear , and tracking machine usage . it should be understood that fig1 is merely one scenario or example of the use of part replacement identification using an expert system and a system of progressing through various tests and levels of analysis to specifically identify a part or subsystem for replacement . this includes the display and notification of the replacement part either locally at the machine or remotely to the appropriate service organization . with reference to fig1 , there is illustrated a more practical example of an expert system in accordance with the present invention . the expert system generally shown at 400 , includes a subsystem and component monitor 402 , an analysis and predictions component 404 , a diagnostic component 406 , and a communication component 408 . it should be understood that suitable memory is inherent in the system 400 in the monitor , analysis and predictions , diagnostics , and communication components . the monitor element contains a pre - processing capability including a feature extractor which isolates the relevant portions of data to be forwarded on to the analysis and diagnostic elements . in general , the monitor element 402 receives machine data as illustrated at 410 and provides suitable data to the analysis and predictions component 404 to analyze machine operation and status and track machine trends such as usage of disposable components as well as usage data , and component and subsystem wear data . diagnostic component 406 receives various machine sensor and control data from the monitor 402 as well as data from the analysis and prediction 404 to provide immediate machine correction as illustrated at 416 as well as to provide crucial diagnostic and service information through communication component 408 on line 412 to an interconnected network to a remote expert system on the network such as a centralized host machine with various additional diagnostic tools . included can be suitable alarm condition reports , requests to replenish depleted consumables , specific part or subsystem replacement data , and data sufficient for a more thorough diagnostics of the machine . also provided is a local access 414 or interface for a local service representative to access various analysis , prediction , and diagnostic data stored in the system 400 as well as to interconnect any suitable diagnostic device . with reference to fig1 , there is disclosed a typical machine expert system 400 interconnected to a printing or any other suitable electronic imaging machine 422 as well as connected to network 420 . it should be understood that the scope of the present invention contemplates various configurations of a machine expert system as well as interconnections to machines networks and other network expert systems . it should be understood that the present invention encompasses various alternatives of a machine expert system such as analysis and predictor elements , a diagnostic element capable of a hierarchy of diagnostic levels , and various configurations to receive sensed data and controlled data from a machine . for example , in fig1 certain sensed data illustrated at 428 is provided both to the monitor 402 and machine control 424 . other data illustrated at 426 is provided directly only to monitor 402 , which also receives control data on line 430 . both the communication element 408 and control 424 are shown as connected to the network 420 . network server 418 connected to network 420 provides a higher level of analysis and diagnostics to machine 22 than the expert system 400 and provides a higher level of analysis and diagnostics to other machines on the network . while there has been illustrated and described what is at present considered to be a preferred embodiment of the present invention , it will be appreciated that numerous changes and modifications are likely to occur to those skilled in the art , and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all those changes and modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention . | 6 |
the apparatus of the invention comprises garments providing gradient therapeutic compression . gradient therapeutic compressions achieved through high to low - pressure ratios created by variation in density , type , size , proportion , and insertion pressure of foams into predetermined pockets or channels created in the fabric . such gradation is manufactured in a purposeful configuration to facilitate interstitial fluid movement within the tissue based on the core principles of physics as it refers to fluid dynamics . depending on the body area , gradient therapeutic compression may be created from distal to proximal and / or medial to lateral . generally , the pockets are made either parallel or to have a narrower width in the high pressure zone and a wider width in the lower pressure areas . fig1 shows one preferred embodiment wherein the inventive therapeutic garment is a sleeve for use on a patient &# 39 ; s limb . the garment 101 has a wide proximal end 103 and a narrow distal end 105 . the garment has a number of longitudinal pockets 107 . the pockets 107 are formed by quilting the garment 101 with multiple seams 109 . quilting refers to sewing a non - edge seam in a garment to draw a front piece of fabric and a back piece of fabric together . one or more intermediate layers may be interposed between the front and back fabric pieces . the paths of seams 109 are configured to give the desired shapes to the various pockets 107 . in this embodiment , the pockets are configured to have a slight taper such that the width of the pocket 107 is wider at the proximal end 103 than at the distal end 105 . this configuration creates a gradient pattern that provides for a pressure differential between the high pressure distal end 105 and the low pressure proximal end 103 . in a preferred embodiment , the seams of the garment form roughly parallel pockets . in another preferred embodiment , the seams of the garment form pockets that roughly follow the contours of the shape of the garment . such contoured pockets typically taper from a relatively wide end to a more narrow end in accordance with the general configuration and anatomy of a body . the garment 101 comprises a suitable fabric , preferably a fabric with elasticity to hold its shape and provide some therapeutic compression to the body part being treated . the fabric should also be washable , durable and should breathe for comfort . polyester / lycra fabrics with antimicrobial , wicking , and uv protection properties have been found to be satisfactory for this purpose . the pockets 107 are at least partially filled with a suitable soft resilient filler . typically , the filler will be a flexible foam made from an elastic or elastomeric polymer . such flexible foams are well known in the art and include , for example , polyurethanes , polyethylenes , polypropylenes , vinyl polymers and the like . satisfactory foams include polypropylene foam of varying sizes and densities including ( high resilient ) hr33 , hr70 , hr 90 , visco - elastic , and confor ergonomic foams . further augmenting the gradient pattern , additional pressure differentials are created by the size , density and rebound of the foam products to additionally apply a multiplicity of foam edges into the soft tissue to disrupt abnormal accumulation and bonding of plasma protein . additionally , foam indention into the tissue create a slow stretch to the skin ; physiologically opening the initial lymphatics to facilitate uptake of plasma proteins , cellular waste , bacteria and excess fluid accumulation . the filler can be inserted into the pockets in any convenient manner , such as by manual stuffing , pouring or by air pressure . the quilting seams may also hold one or more layers of foam filler in place between the front and the back pieces of fabric . preferably , the inventive garment also comprises an outer covering 111 . covering 111 can be affixed to garment 101 , such as by sewing , or may be a separate item adapted to overlay garment 101 . typically , a hooked fastener - receptive stretch polypropylene outer covering is donned over the device to allow for individualized fit and alteration of the device size as edema resolves . the outer covering is adapted to provide constrictive force to the garment . said outer covering is designed in a manner to apply equalized torque over the length of the device to provide joint stabilization and support of soft tissues . covering 111 typically has flaps with fasteners . the preferred fastener is a hooked fastener - type fastener because of the ease of adjustment , but other types of fasteners , such as buckles , snaps , belts , straps and the like may be used . the term “ hooked fastener ” is used to connote various types of fasteners having plastic hooks , such as hook and loop fasteners , hook and pile fasteners , hook and clasp fasteners , and hook bearing surfaces designed to adhere to other fabrics . such hooked fasteners are typically made from nylon . hooked fasteners are generally available under the trademark velcro ®. as shown in fig1 , covering 111 has a number of female flaps 113 having slots 117 . covering 111 also has a number of male flaps 115 having tabs 119 . tabs 119 bear hooked fastener patches . covering 111 is closed over garment 101 as shown in fig2 . tabs 119 are inserted through the slots 117 of female flaps 113 . the hooked fastener patches 121 ( not shown in fig2 ) catch on a mating section of hooked fastener or , more preferably , onto a hooked fastener accepting fabric on the outside surface of covering 111 . one example of a suitable hooked fastener accepting fabric is fabrifoam ®. fig3 shows another preferred embodiment of the outer covering . the covering 151 has multiple i - flaps 153 . the i - flaps 153 are arranged such that they interlace with each other when covering 151 is closed . flaps 153 have a hooked fastener patch 155 which will engage with a mating hooked fastener patch , or a hooked fastener accepting fabric 159 on the outside of covering 151 when the covering is closed . covering 151 preferably has a soft padding 157 on the inside surface to improve patient comfort . in one preferred embodiment , the outside covering would have a second closure means , such as a zipper . the second closure method would allow a patient to remove the covering without disturbing the therapeutic compression of the covering as set by a therapist . fig4 shows typical embodiments of the inventive garment for various body parts . garment 203 is designed to apply compression to the chest and upper shoulder . note that the seams 201 are horizontal and provide a medial / lateral pressure gradient . garment 205 is adapted for use on an elbow . garment 207 is designed for use on a hand or wrist . garment 209 is designed for wearing on the thigh . garment 211 is designed for wearing around the calf . garment 213 is designed for use on the foot or ankle . garment 215 is designed for use on the knee . the inventive garments provide passive gradient compression , pressure differentials , lymphatic uptake and fibrosis resolution with out the use of external mechanical pumps or active rom / mm contractions by the wearer to obtain therapeutic edema reduction . use of the inventive garment is simple and convenient . a garment having pockets which provide a pressure gradient is placed over an area of the body which has swelling . the outer covering is placed around the pocketed garment and closed to the appropriate tightness . the primary fasteners , typically hooked fastener , hold the outer covering at the proper tension set by the therapist or wearer . the therapeutic garment can be removed by opening the primary fasteners of the outer covering , or , alternatively , by opening a secondary fastener . | 0 |
an overall view of the major elements of the printer is shown in fig1 . the printer includes a print wheel 10 , an anvil 12 , and an impact mechanism 14 . a document 16 or other recording medium is positioned between the print wheel 10 and impact mechanism 14 . print wheel 10 is rotated by a motor 18 . a frame 20 supports anvil 12 . an inked ribbon 22 is positioned between print wheel 10 and document 16 . the document 16 and ribbon 22 are incrementally advanced in the direction shown between each print operation . for clarity and ease of illustration , the support and drive mechanisms for the ribbon 22 and document 16 are not shown . both can be constructed from conventional drive mechanisms which are well known in the prior art . motor 18 selectively rotates the print wheel 10 whereby a selected print finger 24 can be positioned between anvil 12 and ribbon 22 . the rotational motion of print wheel 10 stops before the impact mechanism 14 presses the ribbon 22 and document 16 against the finger 24 , which is in turn pressed against the anvil 12 to print a character . in the preferred embodiment , neither the impact mechanism 14 or print wheel 10 moves across the document 16 . instead , means ( not shown ) reposition the document 16 prior to printing each character . in the preferred embodiment , print wheel 10 has sixteen fingers designated 24 - 1 to 24 - 16 . for clarity of illustration , not all of the fingers 24 - 1 to 24 - 16 are shown . each of the fingers 24 - 1 to 24 - 16 has either one of the character digits 0 - 9 or a special character ( s ), the set of sixteen fingers 24 - 1 to 24 - 16 thus including all characters necessary to print a protected field on document 16 . in the preferred embodiment , the characters on the fingers 24 - 1 to 24 - 16 are formed from raised line patterns . as a result , when a character is printed on the document 16 , the character &# 39 ; s line - like pattern serrates the document 16 , thus providing one character of the protected amount field . details of how the print wheel 10 is constructed are shown in fig2 . print wheel 10 is mounted on shaft 26 which is connected to motor 18 . print wheel 10 includes a wheel - like circular member 28 , the hub 30 of which is connected to shaft 26 by setscrew 32 . each finger 24 - 1 to 24 - 16 is mounted in a corresponding slot in the perimeter of the circular member 28 by a semi - flexible steel bar 34 . a print character element 36 is mounted on the unconnected end of each steel bar 34 . a steel print character 38 is attached to the outer surface of each print character element 36 . in the preferred embodiment , a conventional stepper motor is used for motor 18 . the circuitry for driving the stepper motor to position the desired finger 24 in front of anvil 12 is not shown herein since such circuitry could be conventional commercially availabel circuitry . referring again to fig1 the operation of the impact mechanism 14 will now be explained . in the preferred embodiment , the impact mechanism 14 is driven by a conventional d . c . motor 40 , such as that manufactured by indiana general . alternately , a conventional rotary - type solenoid such as that manufactured by ledex can be used instead of d . c . motor 40 . in the preferred embodiment , the d . c . motor 40 is characterized as rotating in either direction in response to supplied control signals . the circuitry for controlling the d . c . motor will be described below . the shaft 42 of d . c . motor 40 is connected to threaded shaft 44 which thereby rotates the same number of degrees and in the same direction as the d . c . motor 40 . the threaded end of shaft 44 is engaged with corresponding female threads machined in the end of hammer 50 . alternately , the hammer 50 may be molded with the threaded hole included , thus eliminating the need to machine the threaded hole . in the preferred embodiment , the hammer 50 is of a semicylindrical shape and is fabricated from steel or another suitable material . the hammer 50 is slidably mounted in an aperture in guide 52 . in the preferred embodiment , the outer cylindrical surface of hammer 50 has two flat sections running along its longitudinal axis . corresponding flat sections are also provided in the aperture in guide 52 . the purpose of the flat sections is to insure that the hammer 50 does not rotate as it is moved toward or away from the print wheel 10 . as an alternative , the cylindrical shape of the hammer 50 may instead be square or hexagonal with the aperture in guide 52 being similarly shaped , the object again being to prevent the hammer 50 from rotating . in the preferred embodiment , the guide 52 is made of a material such as plastic which provides a low friction surface for the outer surface of the hammer 50 to slide against . the operation of the printer will now be described in detail . the motor 18 is rotated to position the print finger 24 corresponding to the character selected to be printed in front of anvil 12 . either before , after or during the repositioning of print wheel 10 , the ribbon 22 and document 16 are advanced to position the area of the document 16 to be printed on in front of the selected print finger 24 . next , a first polarity d . c . current is applied to d . c . motor 40 causing it to rotate in a counterclockwise direction , thereby causing hammer 50 to be moved toward anvil 12 . the level of the first polarity current is chosen to result in a specific amount of torque being generated by the d . c . motor 40 . as a result , the amount of force the hammer 50 exerts against the selected print character element 36 is precisely controlled . the time duration of the first polarity current is chosen to assure that the hammer 50 will move a sufficient distance so that it bottoms out pressing the selected print character element 36 against anvil 12 with the motor 40 in a stalled condition , thereby causing the selected print character 38 to print and serrate the document 16 with the selected character . after the first polarity current has been applied for the chosen time duration , an opposite polarity current is applied to d . c . motor 40 causing it to rotate in a clockwise direction , thereby causing hammer 50 to be restored to its original position . the time duration that the opposite polarity current is applied is the same as that for the first polarity current , so that on the return stroke the hammer 50 bottoms out against return stop 56 . thereafter , the ribbon 22 , document 16 , and ( if necessary ) the print wheel 10 are repositioned and the same operation is repeated to print the next selected character on the document 16 . of course , the above - described sequence is performed quite rapidly so that printing speed typically in the range of 3 - 10 cps may be achieved . the print force is determined by the torque that motor 40 applies to threaded shaft 44 . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the torque of d . c . motor 40 is proportional to its current and that the motor 40 torque can be controlled in two ways , namely by directly controlling the current through the motor 40 with a constant current controller 54 or indirectly by controlling the voltage applied to the motor 40 . in the preferred embodiment , the torque necessary to achieve the desired print force is precisely controlled by controlling the current through d . c . motor 40 . the design of the current control circuitry 54 necessary to achieve a motor torque which produces the desired print force is not shown herein , but will be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art . those skilled in the art will appreciate that a character to be printed having a large surface area ( i . e ., an &# 34 ; 8 &# 34 ;) requires a relatively larger print force to achieve optimum serration than a character having less surface area ( i . e ., a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;). by utilizing a current controller 54 to control the motor 40 current , the optimum print force may be obtained for each character printed by varying the torque generated by motor 40 . in the preferred embodiment , a standard microprocessor ( not shown ) receives inputs from a keyboard ( not shown ) used by the operator to select the character to be printed . in response to the selection of a character , the microprocessor determines whether the character selected has a relatively large , medium or small amount of surface area . based on this determination , the microprocessor provides logic signals to the current controller 54 indicating which of three print force levels is to be utilized to print the selected character . in response to these logic signals , the current controller 54 changes the current through the motor 40 to one of three levels , the largest current level corresponding to selected characters having the largest surface area . various designs of the microprocessor and current controller 54 will be obvious to those skilled in the art . what is important is the fact that the motor 40 current can be precisely controlled to achieve the optimum print force . in the preferred embodiment , the first polarity current is applied to the d . c . motor 40 for approximately 30 milliseconds and immediately thereafter the opposite polarity current is applied for 30 milliseconds . nominally , the time duration of each of the first or opposite polarity currents causes d . c . motor 40 to rotate counterclockwise or clockwise by approximately 180 degrees , respectively . however , in actual operation , during the forward thrust , the motor 40 rotates counterclockwise until it stalls with the selected print character element 36 forced against the anvil 12 . similarly , on the return stroke , the motor 40 rotates clockwise until it stalls with the hammer 50 against the return stop 56 . typically , such stalling occurs when the motor 40 has rotated counterclockwise or clockwise by a few degrees more or less than the nominal 180 degrees . the number of degrees the motor 40 rotates is dependent on the thread helix angle of shaft 44 and the distance the hammer 50 must travel before it bottoms out with the selected print character element 36 against the anvil 12 . in the preferred embodiment , a nominal 180 degree rotation of motor 40 was chosen since the motor 40 has two sets of brushes . thus , by rotating the motor 40 180 degrees each set of brushes gets equal wear . those skilled in the art will appreciate that variations in the speed of d . c . motor 40 , the throw length of the hammer 50 and the thread coarseness of shaft 44 will necessitate changes in the time duration of the first and opposite currents . those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the directions of rotation of motor 40 and the thread directions of shaft 44 and the hole in hammer 50 may be reversed without changing the direction of movement of the hammer 50 toward and away from the anvil 12 . although the preferred embodiment of the impact mechanism is only capable of varying the level of print force in response to the character selected to be printed , those skilled in the art will appreciate that modifications may be made to additionally vary the print force depending on the number of plys in the document 16 . for example , a switch may be added to enable the operator to select the number of plies in the document 16 to be printed . in response to a selected switch setting , the voltage level or current to the d . c . motor 40 can further be varied so that the torque generated by motor 40 is increased when the switch is set to a position corresponding to an increased number of document 16 plies . as another alternative , the previously discussed microprocessor may additionally be responsive to a detector which detects the number of plies in the document 16 . based on the character to be printed and the number of plies in the document 16 , the microprocessor would signal the current controller 54 to change the motor 40 current to generate a torque which will produce an optimum force to print and serrate the document 16 for each selected character . having shown and described the preferred embodiment of the present invention , we state that the subject matter which we regard as being our invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the following claims . those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will appreciate that equivalents or modifications of , or substitutions for , parts of the specifically described embodiment of the invention may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in what is claimed . | 1 |
a principle of the boxcar method is shown on the basis of two diagrams in fig1 . in diagram 1 shown on the left , a number of measurement pulses are plotted along an ordinate 2 over a number of distance cells along an abscissa 4 . according to this diagram 1 , signal averaging is performed over each ten pulses . a result follows on the basis of the signal averaging according to diagram 5 shown on the right , in which an intensity along an ordinate 6 is plotted against time along an abscissa 8 . this result provided here results after 50 measured pulses . in the boxcar method , slow motion measurement is performed . sampling of a repeating signal is thus performed at different points in time , which may be implemented by a time delay circuit . a specific number of pulses are analyzed per set time delay ; this is performed here by summation over each 10 pulses . in the boxcar method , the local resolution is given by the dimension of a time delay and / or a delay step , for example , with 1000 delay steps at 30 m distance ; this corresponds to a delay step of 200 ps . because individual data points arrive relatively slowly in the boxcar method , for example , one data point per pulse , the amount of data to be transmitted and / or calculated is comparatively low . the distance resolution is thus significantly better than with the method of direct sampling of the backscatter curve , in which the location resolution is given by a sampling rate of an a / d converter . in typical delay components , e . g ., “ cc8502 ” from robert bosch gmbh , a function for calibrating distance steps is additionally provided , which makes compensation of a sensor system at the end of tape significantly easier . an advantage of the method of direct sampling of the backscatter curve is that all points of the backscatter curve are provided after one pulse , this corresponding to a period of time which the light needs to cover a maximum distance , e . g ., 500 ns at a maximum distance of 75 m . these points may be processed further after transmission to analysis electronics . for long - range lidar systems , laser diodes having high pulse powers are used , which are operated at a pulse - pause ratio ( duty cycle ) of 1 : 40 to 1 : 1000 . by reducing a pulse power it is possible to operate laser diodes using an increased duty cycle . for this purpose , the pulse power is plotted along ordinate 11 against the duty cycle along abscissa 12 as an example in the diagram from fig2 . a bar 14 shows a number of delay steps . in the present method , the boxcar method , which is more favorable in regard to analysis , resolution , and calibration , is used over a greater distance range , also with sources or light sources which may be operated using variable duty cycles , for example . in the diagram from fig3 , it is illustrated in this regard that at a low pulse - pause ratio , which is plotted along an abscissa 16 , a number of the delay steps ( bar 18 ) may be reduced to keep a total measuring time for a complete backscatter curve minimal . a resolution capability is thus reduced , which corresponds to a coarse scan at a higher pulse power . a number of delay steps ( local resolution ) and / or a number of sampling points per delay step is / are plotted along ordinate 20 here . at high pulse powers , the number of pulses over which averaging is performed may be reduced to shorten the measuring time for the backscatter curve . an optimal performance capability may be achieved for every operating state by suitable selection of the parameters duty cycle , number of distance cells , and number of averaging operations per distance cell . an interaction of the operating parameters duty cycle 22 , resolution capability 24 , averaging operations per distance cell 26 , measuring time of a backscatter curve 28 , and pulse power 30 is shown in the diagram from fig4 . in the present method , to detect the presence of objects in principle , first a coarse scan is performed using the source at maximal pulse power and minimal duty cycle 22 , coarse distance resolution 24 , and minimal number of averaging operations per distance cell 26 . if objects are detected , the operating parameters are set , preferably as a function of distance . in a fine scan following the coarse scan , the light output is reduced and therefore duty cycle 22 , distance resolution 24 , and possibly the number of averaging operations per distance cell 26 are increased , so that a mode of operation or performance of the device is optimal ; this includes an acceptable measurement time for the backscatter curve , eye safety , service life of the laser diode , and / or range . in addition , a distance - dependent adaptation of the operating parameters may be performed within one measurement cycle of the backscatter curve to measure multiple targets in a detection area or environment optimally . for this purpose , an intensity 32 of a backscatter is plotted against the distance in the diagram from fig5 . the diagram shows a backscatter curve for a first set 36 on the left and a backscatter curve for a second set 38 on the right for distance - dependent operating parameters . a block diagram of a circuit system 40 of an exemplary embodiment of the device according to the present invention is shown in fig6 . this circuit system 40 includes a receiver diode 42 having an amplifier , an rf transmitter 43 , a signal winding 44 , a pulse shaping unit 46 , a reference winding 48 , an analog / digital ( a / d ) converter 50 , an analysis unit 52 , which does not produce any propagation time effects here , a control unit 54 , a transmitter diode driver 56 , a switch 57 , and a transmitter diode 58 having intensity control as the source . transmitter diode 58 having intensity control is provided for emitting light pulses 60 and receiver diode 42 having an amplifier is provided for receiving light pulses 62 . operating parameters of the device and in particular of the source including transmitter diode 58 are settable depending on whether a coarse scan or fine scan is to be performed . in normal operation of the device , a converter pulse 64 is sent to a / d converter 50 from the control unit 54 during measurement of the light propagation time . at a defined pulse flank of converter cycle 64 , a pulse 66 is generated by control unit 54 , which is emitted as a light pulse 60 by transmitter diode 58 after a specific propagation time through the electronics of the measuring device . switch 57 is switched over by a release pulse 67 produced by control unit 54 . emitted light pulse 60 is reflected from an object as light pulse 62 . this light pulse 62 reaches receiver diode 42 and is converted in a receiver circuit into an electrical pulse , which is converted in a / d converter 50 into a digital data word 68 , which finally reaches control unit 54 again . the backscatter curve is composed of data words 68 for a specific number of converter pulses . this backscatter curve is processed further in a signal processing unit , in which its peak position is determined . to detect the analog signals here with as little interference as possible , a differential measurement of the signals with common - mode rejection is advantageously performed . coupling capacitors are used for decoupling direct components . in addition to signal winding 44 for the signal , the reference pulse winding for the reference pulse generated by the device is additionally applied to a primary side 70 of rf transmitter 43 . a service cycle for measuring the position of the reference pulse is executed essentially like the determination of the position of light pulse 62 . the difference is that electrical pulse 66 for resolving light pulse 60 is fed via a switch to primary side 70 of rf transmitter 43 . the emission of light pulse 60 is suppressed , an intensity being equal to zero , so that no signal which could interfere with the reference pulse arrives at signal winding 44 . the reference pulse , like light pulse 62 previously , is transmitted on a secondary side 74 of rf transmitter 43 and processed further to determine the peak position in the same way . a pulse shaping unit is also to be incorporated if needed to provide a constant propagation time behavior , in order to simulate light signal 62 arriving during normal operation , to which base signal processing is optimized as precisely as possible . a propagation time behavior may be determined by components 50 , 54 , 56 , which are enclosed by dashed lines , because of the design of circuit system 40 . interference in the normal operation is minimized by the injection provided here . in addition , no additional switch is required in the transmission path when the intensity of transmitter diode 58 is set to zero as described in the exemplary embodiment . in comparison to capacitive coupling of the signal , which is also possible , the advantages of coupling via rf transmitter 43 are maintained with common - mode rejection and electrical isolation . the diagram shown in fig7 shows a sequence of a calibration of the device according to the present invention . in four steps 76 , 78 , 80 , 82 , a service cycle 84 is performed to determine the propagation times of the components presented in fig6 . for this purpose , in first step 76 , an emission intensity of transmitter diode 58 ( fig6 ) is minimized . in second step 78 , switch 72 ( fig6 ) for the reference pulse is closed , in third step 80 , light pulse 60 ( fig6 ) having settable length is emitted , and in fourth step 82 , the position of the reference pulse is ascertained for ascertaining the propagation times in components 50 , 54 , 56 ( fig6 ) of the measuring device . in a last step 86 , the propagation time ascertained via the analysis of the reference pulse is subtracted from the propagation time of light . | 6 |
various embodiments will now be described . the following description provides specific details for a thorough understanding and enabling description of these embodiments . one skilled in the art will understand , however , that the invention may be practiced without many of these details . additionally , some well - known structures or functions may not be shown or described in detail so as to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the relevant description of the various embodiments . the terminology used in the description presented below is intended to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner , even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the invention . certain terms may even be emphasized below ; however , any terminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will be overly and specifically defined as such in this detailed description section . where the context permits , singular or plural terms may also include the plural or singular term , respectively . moreover , unless the word “ or ” is expressly limited to mean only a single item exclusive from the other items in a list of two or more items , then the use of “ or ” in such a list is to be interpreted as including ( a ) any single item in the list , ( b ) all of the items in the list , or ( c ) any combination of items in the list . the mosquito spring net assemblies described herein may be used to protect users from insect bites in many situations , such as to protect a child sleeping on the floor in a region where malaria - infected mosquitoes are prevalent . turning now in detail to the drawings , as shown in fig1 , an expanded mosquito spring net assembly 1 , includes a support structure 2 , a mosquito net 6 , closure elements 9 a , 9 b , 9 c , 9 d , and a net cover assembly 10 . the support structure 2 preferably includes a front support ring 3 , a back support ring 4 , and a spring coil support 5 to create a hollow interior structure in which a child or other person may sleep . in one embodiment , the support structure 2 has a length of approximately three feet , and a diameter of approximately one to two feet , such that it is suitable for a child . the support structure 2 may be constructed from a single piece of flexible material or may include two or more separate attached pieces . in one embodiment , the support structure 2 comprises a suitable flexible material such as plastic , a fibrous composite material , or a metal so that the spring coil support 5 may be compressed to bring the front and back support rings 3 , 4 near each other . in one embodiment , the support structure includes 9 gauge aluminum wire . in one embodiment , four closure elements 9 a , 9 b , 9 c , 9 d are attached to the front and back support rings 3 , 4 . the closure elements 9 a , 9 b , 9 c , 9 d may comprise fabric ties , hooks , snaps , or any other means to secure the front and back support rings 3 , 4 together when the spring coil support 5 is compressed . in one embodiment , the mosquito net 6 includes one or more pieces of nylon netting or other suitable net material capable of preventing mosquitoes from passing through the net material . the netting is wrapped around the outside of the spring coil support 5 and is sewn or otherwise attached at its opposing ends using snaps , velcro , buttons , hooks or other suitable means such that a seam 8 is formed and runs longitudinally along the support structure 2 . in this manner , the net 6 surrounding the spring coil support 5 creates an enclosed space within the expanded mosquito spring net assembly 1 . the free edges of the net 6 are formed into sleeves that pass over , or are otherwise attached to , the front and back support rings 3 , 4 . in one embodiment , one or both ends of the spring net assembly 1 may be opened to allow a person to enter or exit the spring net assembly 1 . the open end or ends may be closed by a net cover assembly 10 . as fig2 and 3 illustrate , the net cover assembly 10 includes a net 11 and an elastic element 12 that forms a closed circle or similar shape that fits over the support rings 3 , 4 of the open end or ends in order to complete the enclosure . the elastic element 12 is secured to the support element 2 by an elastic pull 13 , which in one embodiment may be a portion of the elastic element 12 that when pulled by a user once inside of the expanded mosquito spring net assembly 1 , will provide a cinching action and will result in tightening of the net cover assembly 10 in order to completely enclose the expanded mosquito spring net 1 and prevent mosquitoes and other insects from entering . in another embodiment , one end of the spring net assembly 1 may be permanently closed via a net segment 7 sewn onto the main body of the mosquito net 6 . in one embodiment , the mosquito spring net assembly 1 may be collapsible so that it may be stored in a small area . fig4 illustrates the mosquito spring net assembly 1 in a collapsed state resulting from the spring coil support 5 having been compressed to bring the front and back support rings 3 , 4 near each other . in order to store the collapsed mosquito spring net assembly 1 , the front and back support rings 3 , 4 are preferably secured to each other so that the spring coil support 5 is restrained in its compressed position . in one embodiment , the front and back support rings 3 , 4 are secured to each other by securing closure element 9 a to closure element 9 c , and closure element 9 d to closure element 9 b . the closure elements may be fabric ties or other suitable materials that may be secured to one another by tying , snapping , hooking , or by any other suitable means or method . the mosquito spring net 1 is easily expandable from its collapsed state . the spring coil support 5 acts like a compression spring that stores mechanical energy when loaded . thus , when the closure elements are released , the energy in the spring coil support 5 is released and the collapsed mosquito spring net 14 springs into its expanded configuration with little or no effort by the user . in some embodiments , a mosquito spring net assembly may include an outer lower cover that covers at least the lower half of the spring net assembly . if a user leans against the mosquito net while inside of the spring net assembly , mosquitoes may still bite the user through the net . thus , the outer lower cover provides an added layer of protection in addition to the mosquito net to prevent mosquito or other insect bites to the user . further , the outer lower cover provides additional durability to protect the integrity of the mosquito net material from tearing or other damage when used on the ground or floor . as illustrated in fig5 , an outer lower cover 14 may be permanently or releaseably attached to the outside of a mosquito spring net assembly 1 . the outer lower cover 14 wraps around the bottom of the mosquito spring net assembly 1 and extends up a portion of each side , and may extend halfway , less than halfway , or more than halfway up each side . the outer lower cover 14 may be made of a flexible , durable material , including , but not limited to , a plastic tarp material . the material should be suitable to provide sufficient durability for the spring net assembly when used on the floor . to prevent tearing , reinforced seams 15 a , 15 b ( 15 b not shown ) between the mosquito net 6 and the upper sides of the outer lower cover 24 a , 24 b ( 24 b not shown ) may be provided . attached to the reinforced seams 15 a , 15 b ( 15 b not shown ) are four or more securable straps 16 a , 16 b , 16 c , 16 d each of which may be tied to a stable object , secured to the ground by stakes , or otherwise suitably secured to provide stability and prevent the mosquito spring net assembly 1 from rolling when in the expanded position . as shown in fig6 , a net cover assembly 10 for one end of the mosquito spring net assembly 1 may provide a permanently attached outer lower cover 17 a with a reinforced seam 15 c . similarly , a permanently attached outer lower cover 17 b with a reinforced seam 15 d may also be provided on the opposite end of the mosquito spring net assembly 1 ( not shown ). in an alternative embodiment , the outer lower cover may be a separate “ crib ” structure that is independent from the mosquito spring net assembly . fig9 illustrates a crib structure 18 without an associated mosquito spring net assembly , while fig7 and 8 illustrate an outer lower cover crib structure 18 having a mosquito spring net assembly 1 associated with the crib structure 18 . the crib structure has at least two horseshoe frame members 20 a , 20 b , wherein the horseshoe frame members are made from metal wire , plastic or other suitable material to keep the ends of the crib structure 18 rigid . extending from the horseshoe frame members 20 a , 20 b are support flaps 19 a , 19 b , 19 c , 19 d that may be tied down , secured to the ground by stakes , or otherwise suitably secured to provide stability and prevent the mosquito spring net assembly 1 from rolling when in placed in the crib structure 18 in the expanded position . the support flaps 19 a , 19 b , 19 c , 19 d each have a handle tie element 21 a , 21 b , 21 c , 21 d that may be used to secure the crib structure as described above or may be tied together to form handles 22 a , 22 b as shown in fig1 . the support flaps 19 a , 19 b , 19 c , 19 d may alternatively have snaps , latches , velcro ®, buttons , hooks or other suitable means to connect the support flaps to each other to form handles 22 a , 22 b . when the support flaps 19 a , 19 b , 19 c , 19 d are connected to form handles 22 a , 22 b , the crib structure may be used as a container 23 to hold , store or carry a mosquito spring net 1 in the collapsed state . the inside of the mosquito spring net assembly may be lined with soft felt , fleece or other suitable soft , padded material to add softness and comfort for the user . the lining may be sewn permanently into the interior or the net assembly , or alternatively , may be removably attached to the interior of the mosquito spring net assembly using snaps , latches , velcro ®, buttons , hooks or other suitable means to removably attach the lining to the interior of the net assembly . any of the above - described embodiments may be used alone or in combination with one another . furthermore , a mosquito spring net assembly may include additional features not described herein . while several embodiments have been shown and described , various changes and substitutions may of course be made , without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . the invention , therefore , should not be limited , except by the following claims and their equivalents . | 4 |
hereinafter , examples of an electronic device , a battery pack , and an inspection method of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings in the following order . in the following , descriptions will be given to a case where a portable information processing apparatus , such as a notebook computer , is used as an electronic device by way of example . it should be appreciated , however , that the present invention is not limited to this case . for example , the configuration of a battery pack and an inspection method thereof described below are also applicable to arbitrary electronic device and electric automobile driven by a battery pack . fig1 a and fig1 b are outward perspective views of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention . fig1 a is an outward perspective view of the information processing apparatus on a display screen side described below and fig1 b is an outward perspective view of the information processing apparatus on the side opposite to the display screen . an information processing apparatus 100 includes a main body portion 1 , a display portion 2 , and two hinges 3 . in an example shown in fig1 a and 1b , the two hinges 3 are attached to the main body portion 1 in the vicinity of the both ends of a longer end portion 1 a on the side of the display portion 2 . the display portion 2 is attached to the main body portion 1 via the two hinges 3 . also , the display portion 2 is attached to pivot with respect to the main body portion 1 about a line linking centers of the two hinges 3 as a center axis . the display portion 2 is opened and closed with respect to the main body portion 1 by pivotal motions of the display portion 2 . the main body portion 1 includes a palm rest unit 4 ( keyboard unit ) forming a portion on the top side ( side opposing the display portion 2 ) and a main body unit 5 forming a portion on the bottom side of the main body 1 . the main body portion 1 is formed by integrally combining the palm rest unit 4 and the main body unit 5 . both the palm rest unit 4 and the main body unit 5 are formed of a plurality of members without noticeable screws or the like on the exterior . the palm rest unit 4 is provided with operation devices , for example , a keyboard 6 , a stick pointer 7 , and a first click button 8 . the stick pointer 7 is an operation device used , for example , for an operation to move a cursor ( pointer ) displayed on a display screen 10 described below and an operation to scroll the display screen 10 . although it is not shown in fig1 a and fig1 b , the main body unit 5 incorporates , for example , a printed circuit board on which a plurality of electronic components are mounted , a radiation unit , and drives , such as a hard disc drive . on the printed circuit board are mounted a cpu ( central processing unit ), a memory , and other electronic components . as is shown in fig1 b , the main body unit 5 includes a battery pack 20 re - attachable to the main body unit ( main body portion 1 ) on the bottom side . the internal configuration of the battery pack 20 will be described in detail below . further , the main body unit 5 includes a battery pack attachment portion 21 to which the battery pack 20 is attached . the battery pack attachment portion 21 has input and output terminals ( not shown ) that electrically connect various electronic components mounted on the printed circuit board and the battery pack 20 . in this embodiment , the battery pack attachment portion 21 is formed to recess in the exterior surface of the bottom portion of the main body unit 5 . when the battery pack 20 is attached to the battery pack attachment portion 21 as is shown in fig1 b , the exterior surface of the battery pack 20 is flush with the bottom surface of the main body unit 5 . the display portion 2 includes a case 9 , and the display screen 10 , a touch pad 11 , and a second click button 12 provided to the case 9 on the surface opposing the main body portion 1 , as well as a display processing unit ( not shown ) provided inside the case 9 and performing predetermined display processing . the display screen 10 is a screen on which to display various types of information , for example , characters and images . the touch pad 11 is an operation device used for an operation to move the cursor ( pointer ) displayed on the display screen 10 and an operation to scroll the display screen 10 . in this embodiment , a capacitance sensor is used as the touch pad 11 . the internal configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment will now be described with reference to fig2 . fig2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 . it should be appreciated , however , that fig2 shows only a portion necessary for an inspection method of the battery pack 20 of this embodiment described below for ease of description . the information processing apparatus 100 includes a cpu 101 , a rom ( read only memory ) 102 , a ram ( random access memory ) 103 , the display portion 2 , the battery pack attachment portion 21 , and the battery pack 20 . the cpu 101 , the rom 102 , the ram 103 , the display portion 2 , and the battery pack attachment portion 21 are electrically interconnected via a bus 104 . also , the battery pack 20 is connected to the cpu 101 , the rom 102 , the ram 103 , and the display portion 2 via the battery pack attachment portion 21 . the cpu 101 functions as an arithmetic processing unit and a controller . more specifically , the cpu 101 controls all or a part of operations by the information processing apparatus 100 according to various programs recorded , for example , in the rom 102 or the ram 103 . accordingly , an inspection operation of the battery pack 20 by the information processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment described below is controlled by the cpu 101 . the rom 102 stores programs , computation parameters , and the like used by the cpu 101 . accordingly , an inspection program used for the inspection method of the battery pack 20 described below is also stored in the rom 102 . the ram 103 temporarily stores programs used when the cpu 101 performs predetermined processing and parameters necessary to run the programs . it should be noted that data , such as the programs and the computation parameters , is inputted in and outputted from any of the cpu 101 , the rom 102 , and the ram 103 via the bus 104 . although it is not shown in the drawing , the battery pack attachment portion 21 has , for example , a detection portion detecting attachment of the battery pack 20 , a power charge and discharge terminal , and an information terminal via which information from and to a microcomputer in the battery pack 20 described below is inputted in and outputted from the main body portion 1 . accordingly , when the battery pack 20 is attached to the battery pack attachment portion 21 , various types of monitor information ( for example , a voltage and a temperature ) measured by the battery pack 20 are outputted , for example , to the cpu 101 via the information terminal of the battery pack attachment portion 21 . it should be appreciated that the internal configuration ( hardware configuration ) of the information processing apparatus 100 described above is a mere example and the information processing apparatus 100 may be formed using general - purpose members as the respective components described above or may be formed of hardware specialized in functions corresponding to those furnished to the respective components . hence , a hardware configuration to be used can be changed appropriately according to technical levels at which this embodiment is implemented . fig3 shows the internal configuration of the battery pack 20 used in the information processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment . the battery pack 20 includes a control board 23 on which a plurality of battery cell blocks 22 and a microcomputer 24 are mounted , and an input and output port 25 . each battery cell block 22 is formed of a plurality of battery cells 30 ( battery ). in this embodiment , lithium - ion batteries are used as the battery cells 30 . in each battery cell block 22 , cathodes of a plurality of the battery cells 30 are connected together at a positive electrode 31 and anodes at a negative electrode 32 . in short , a plurality of the battery cells 30 are connected in parallel in each battery cell block 22 . it should be noted that the number of the battery cells 30 forming each cell block 22 can be set , for example , according to intended use . hence , each cell block 22 may be formed of only one battery cell 30 depending on intended use . also , the type of the battery cells 30 is not limited to a lithium - ion battery and the type can be also changed , for example , to suit intended use . in the battery pack 20 of this embodiment , a plurality of the battery cell blocks 22 are disposed in line so that the cathodes ( or anodes ) of the battery cells 30 are oriented in the same direction and the negative electrode 32 of one battery cell block 22 and and the opposing positive electrode 31 of the adjacent battery cell block 22 are electrically connected to each other . in short , a plurality of the battery cell blocks 22 are connected in series in the battery pack 20 . also , in the battery pack 20 of this embodiment , each of the positive electrode 31 and the negative electrode is connected in parallel to the microcomputer 24 via a voltage detection line 33 . when connected in this manner , the microcomputer 24 becomes capable of measuring a voltage of each voltage cell block 22 . the microcomputer 24 ( voltage information acquisition portion ) is formed , for example , of an integrated circuit having , for example , a cpu and a rom mounted on a single chip . the microcomputer 24 controls , for example , charge and discharge of the battery pack 20 when the battery pack 20 is attached to the main body portion 1 and measures , for example , a voltage and a temperature of each battery cell block 22 . also , as will be described below , in this embodiment , even after the battery pack 20 is detached from the main body portion 1 and the operation mode shifts to a power saving mode , the microcomputer 24 acquires information for abnormal determination by measuring , for example , a voltage drop across each battery cell block 22 and an elapsed time since the detachment . the input and output port 25 is provided with terminals corresponding to the respective terminals provided to the battery pack attaching portion 21 . when the battery pack 20 is attached to the main body portion 1 , charge and discharge operations of the battery pack 20 and an output operation of information for abnormal determination ( information on a voltage drop across the battery ) are performed via the input and output port 25 . an example of an inspection method of the battery pack 20 described above and the battery pack 20 of the information processing apparatus 100 including the same will now be described . in this embodiment , for example , abnormal events , such as an initial failure , an abnormal consumption current ( capacitor leakage ) of the control board 23 , poor welding of electrodes , poor soldering at the midpoint of a battery cell , entrance of foreign matter into the battery cell 30 ( contamination ), and breaking ( perforation ) of the battery cell 30 , are detected . upon occurrence of abnormal events as above , for example , a voltage drop rate of one or both of the entire battery pack 20 and each battery cell block 22 or an unbalance amount of the voltage drop rate among the battery cell blocks 22 are increased . hence , the abnormal events as above can be detected by measuring the voltage drop rate of one or both of the entire battery pack 20 and each battery cell block 22 . in a case where a voltage drop rate and an unbalance amount caused by the abnormal events as above are large , the abnormal events can be detected while the battery pack 20 is attached to the main body portion 1 . however , a voltage drop rate and an unbalance amount caused by the abnormal events other than an initial failure are normally so small that influences of charge and discharge make it difficult to detect the abnormal events while the battery pack 20 is attached to the main body portion 1 . in addition , influences of the abnormal events are substantially negligible at the time of shipping but become more significant with an increasing number of charge cycles and may possibly develop into a quite serious trouble . such being the case , in order to detect abnormal events causing only a slight variance as described above , this embodiment is configured to measure a voltage of the battery pack 20 and a variance thereof while the battery pack 20 is in an unloaded condition ( condition where the battery pack 20 is neither charged nor discharged ) and also to perform an abnormal detection on the basis of the measurement result . this configuration makes it possible to detect the abnormal events described above that are otherwise difficult to detect while the battery pack 20 is attached to the main body portion 1 . in the following , the principle of the inspection method of the battery pack 20 of this embodiment will be described more concretely . in this embodiment , the battery pack 20 is detached from the main body portion 1 first to bring the battery pack 20 in an unloaded condition . thereafter , information on a voltage drop across the battery cells 30 is automatically measured and recorded by the microcomputer 24 in a state , for example , where a voltage drop across the battery pack 20 stays at substantially a constant level or becomes more stable . in this embodiment , as the information on a voltage drop across the battery cells 30 , a voltage of each battery cell block 22 and a variance thereof in an unloaded condition and an elapsed time since the detachment of the battery pack 20 are measured by the microcomputer 24 and the acquired information is recorded in an internal rom of the microcomputer 24 . subsequently , when the battery pack 20 is re - attached to the main body portion 1 , various types of data recorded in the battery pack 20 while it was detached are read on the side of the main body portion 1 to calculate a voltage drop rate δv / h of one or both of the entire battery pack 20 and each battery cell block 22 while the battery pack 20 was detached . the cpu 101 in the main body portion 1 then determines the presence or absence of an abnormality in the battery pack 20 on the basis of the calculation result . it should be noted that a lithium - ion battery has a small self - discharge amount . hence , in a case where lithium - ion batteries are used as the battery cells 30 as in this embodiment , there is a relatively large difference between a voltage drop rate at a normal time and a voltage drop rate at the occurrence of an abnormality in an unloaded condition and the abnormal events described above can be detected more easily . a concrete example of the inspection method of the battery pack 20 of this embodiment will now be described with reference to fig4 . fig4 is a flowchart depicting the procedure of the inspection method of the battery pack 20 carried out in this embodiment . the inspection method of the battery pack 20 described below is mainly carried out between after the manufacturing of the battery pack 20 and an inspection of the main body before shipment . accordingly , a defective battery pack 20 can be rejected at a high degree of accuracy before shipment . safety of the information processing apparatus 100 can be thus improved . it should be appreciated , however , that the present invention is not limited to this configuration . the inspection described below may be conducted automatically after shipment of the information processing apparatus 100 to notify the user of an abnormality of the battery pack 20 in the event of an abnormality by displaying a message informing the presence of an abnormality on the display portion 2 . initially , the battery pack 20 is detached from the main body portion 1 ( step s 1 ). it should be noted that step s 1 is not performed immediately after the completion of manufacturing of the battery pack 20 . when the battery pack 20 is brought into a detached condition , the microcomputer 24 shifts to a power saving mode ( sleep condition ) ( step s 2 ). when ten minutes ( first time ) have elapsed since the battery pack 20 was brought into a detached condition , the microcomputer 24 measures a voltage vout of each cell block 22 and stores the voltage vout in an internal rom of the microcomputer 24 as an initial voltage vout ( first voltage ) while the battery pack 20 was detached . in this instance , the microcomputer 24 starts to count an elapse time tout ( hereinafter , referred to as the detachment time tout ) since detachment of the battery pack 20 ( step s 3 ). further , in step s 3 , the initial voltage vout is recorded as an initial value of an attachment voltage vin of each battery cell block 22 used in abnormal determination made when the battery pack 20 is re - attached to the main body portion 1 next time . the reason why a voltage of each battery cell block 22 is measured after ten minutes since the detachment of the battery pack 20 in step s 3 is because a voltage fluctuation of each battery cell block 22 is relatively large immediately after the detachment of the battery pack 20 . a voltage fluctuation of each battery cell block 22 becomes stable after an elapse of about ten minutes since the detachment of the battery pack 20 . the voltage value after ten minutes since the detachment of the battery pack 20 is therefore used as the initial voltage vout in a detachment state . it should be appreciated , however , that a time at which to measure the initial voltage vout is not limited to after ten minutes since the detachment of the battery pack 20 . for example , the time can be changed to suit the type of the battery cells 30 , the cell block configuration , and the intended use . subsequently , the microcomputer 24 determines whether ten minutes have elapsed since the counting of the detachment time tout was started ( step s 3 ) or the detachment time tout was updated ( step s 5 described below )( step s 4 ). when ten minutes have elapsed since the counting of the detachment time tout was started ( step s 3 ) or the detachment time tout was updated ( step s 5 described below ) in step s 4 , “ yes ” is determined in step s 4 . in this case , the microcomputer 24 measures a voltage of each battery cell block 22 and defines the measured voltage as the attachment voltage vin . the microcomputer 24 further adds ten minutes to the detachment time tout ( tout = tout + 10 [ min ]) ( step s 5 ). in short , the microcomputer 24 updates the attachment voltage vin and the detachment time tout in step s 5 . after the processing in step s 5 , the flow returns to step s 4 and determination processing in step s 4 is repetitively carried out . meanwhile , in a case where ten minutes have not elapsed since the counting of the detachment time tout was started ( step s 3 ) or the detachment time tout was updated ( step s 5 ) in step s 4 , “ no ” is determined in step s 4 . in this case , the microcomputer 24 determines whether the battery pack 20 is attached to the main body portion 1 ( step s 6 ). in a case where the battery pack 20 is not attached to the main body portion 1 in step s 6 , “ no ” is determined in step s 6 . in this case , the flow returns to step s 4 and the microcomputer 24 repeats the processing in and after step s 4 described above . meanwhile , in a case where the battery pack 20 is attached to the main body portion 1 in step s 6 , “ yes ” is determined in step s 6 . in this case , the microcomputer 24 records the attachment voltage vin ( second voltage ) of each battery cell block 22 and the detachment time tout ( predetermined time ), both of which are updated in step s 5 most recently ( second time ), into an internal rom of the microcomputer 24 . further , in this instance , the microcomputer 24 records the initial voltage vout measured in step s 3 in the internal rom of the microcomputer 24 . more specifically , the microcomputer 24 records a data set ( information on a voltage drop across the battery ) made up of the latest attachment voltage vin and detachment time tout of each battery cell block 22 as well as the initial voltage vout , all of which are measured while the battery pack 20 was detached , in the internal rom of the microcomputer 24 ( step s 7 ). subsequently , the microcomputer 24 reads out a data set for abnormal determination used when the battery pack 20 was attached last time ( a data set in which the detachment time tout is the maximum ( tout_max )) from the internal rom of the microcomputer 24 . the microcomputer 24 then compares the maximum detachment time tout_max in the read data set for abnormal determination with the detachment time tout in the data set recorded in step s 7 upon attachment this time ( step s 8 ). in a case where the detachment time tout in the data set recorded upon attachment this time is as long as or shorter than the maximum detachment time tout_max in step s 8 , “ no ” is determined in step s 8 and the flow proceeds to processing in and after step s 10 described below . meanwhile , in a case where the detachment time tout in the data set recorded upon attachment this time is longer than the maximum detachment time tout_max in step s 8 , “ yes ” is determined in step s 8 . in this case , the microcomputer 24 records the data set recorded in step s 7 upon attachment this time into the internal rom of the microcomputer 24 as the data set for abnormal determination of the battery pack 20 ( step s 9 ). in short , the microcomputer 24 updates the data set for abnormal determination of the battery pack 20 in step s 9 . the reason why the data set in which the detachment time tout is the maximum is used as the data set for abnormal determination of the battery pack 20 is because a voltage drop across the battery cell 30 is detected more easily when the detachment time tout is longer and an abnormality is therefore detected in a more reliable manner . subsequently , the cpu 101 ( abnormal determination portion ) of the main body portion 1 runs an inspection program of the battery pack 20 and reads out the data set for abnormal determination updated in step s 9 from the battery pack 20 . the cpu 101 then calculates a voltage drop rate δv / h of each battery cell block 22 and a voltage drop rate δv_all / h of the entire battery pack 20 in accordance with the following equation ( step s 10 ). where vout_all in the equation is an initial voltage of the entire battery pack 20 calculated by adding up the initial voltage vout of each battery cell block 22 in the data set for abnormal determination , and vin_all is an attachment voltage of the entire battery pack 20 calculated by adding up the attachment voltage vin of each battery cell block 22 in the data set for abnormal determination . subsequently , the cpu 101 determines the presence or absence of an abnormality in the battery pack 20 on the basis of one or both of the voltage drop rate δv / h of each battery cell block 22 and the voltage drop rate δv_all / h of the entire battery pack 20 it has calculated ( step s 11 ). more specifically , for example , the cpu 101 compares the voltage drop rate δv_all / h of the entire battery pack 20 with a determination threshold ( for example , 1 [ mv / h ]) of the voltage drop rate δv_all / h pre - stored in the rom 102 . in a case where the calculated voltage drop rate δv_all / h is equal to or below the determination threshold in step s 11 , the cpu 101 determines the absence of an abnormality in the battery pack 20 . in this case , “ no ” is determined in step s 11 and the inspection of the battery pack 20 is ended . meanwhile , in a case where the calculated voltage drop rate δv_all / h is above the determination threshold in step s 11 , the cpu 101 determines the presence of an abnormality in the battery pack 20 . in this case , “ yes ” is determined in step s 11 and the abnormality in the battery pack is notified to the user , for example , via the display portion 2 ( step s 12 ). it should be noted that the determination using the voltage drop rate δv_all / h of the entire battery pack 20 as above makes it possible to detect an abnormality , for example , a consumption current abnormality of the control board 23 and breaking of the battery cell 30 . further , the cpu 101 compares , for example , the voltage drop rates δv / h of the respective battery cell blocks 22 in step s 11 . in this instance , in a case where differences of the voltage drop rate δv / h among the battery cell blocks 22 are equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold , the cpu 101 determines the absence of an abnormality in the battery pack 20 . in this case , “ no ” is determined in step s 11 and the inspection of the battery pack 20 is ended . meanwhile , in a case where the differences of the voltage drop rates δv / h among the battery cell blocks 22 are larger than the threshold , the cpu 101 determines the presence of an abnormality in the battery pack 20 . in other words , in a case where there is a battery cell block 22 having a voltage drop rate δv / h larger than the predetermined threshold in comparison with the other battery cell blocks 22 , the cpu 101 determines the presence of an abnormality in the battery pack 20 . in this case , “ yes ” is determined in step s 11 and the cpu 101 notifies the user of the abnormality in the battery pack 20 , for example , via the display portion 2 ( step s 12 ). it should be noted that the comparison determination of the voltage drop rates δv / h of the respective battery cell blocks 22 makes it possible to detect an abnormality of cell balance due to influences , for example , of poor welding of electrodes , poor soldering at the midpoint of the battery cell , and entrance of foreign matter ( metal ) during the manufacturing of the battery cell 30 . in this embodiment , an abnormality in the battery pack 20 is detected as described above . it is preferable to conduct an abnormal inspection of the battery pack 20 for a battery pack 20 that has been charged to some extent . to be more concrete , it is preferable to apply the inspection method to a battery pack 20 having a remaining filling amount within a region in which a voltage linearly drops with a decrease in remaining charge amount according to the discharge characteristic of the battery pack 20 . using such a battery pack 20 can lessen a variance of the voltage drop rate calculated in the inspection method . as has been described , according to the inspection method of this embodiment , the battery pack 20 is brought into an unloaded condition and a voltage of the battery pack 20 and a variance thereof during the unloaded condition are measured by the microcomputer 24 in the battery pack 20 to detect an abnormality on the basis of the measurement result . hence , in this embodiment , besides abnormal events detectable in the related art , the battery pack 20 is capable of detecting various abnormal events causing a slight variance that have been difficult to detect during charge and discharge cycles . further , by applying the inspection method of this embodiment to the battery pack 20 before shipment , it becomes possible to supply a higher quality battery back 20 to the market . in addition , because various abnormal events causing a slight variance as described above are detected by the inspection method of this embodiment , it is not necessary , for example , to provide special equipment or to make a circuit change . in other words , according to the battery pack 20 and the inspection method thereof of this embodiment , it becomes possible to detect , using a simpler configuration , an abnormal cause of the battery pack 20 that has been difficult to detect and thereby to further improve safety of the battery pack 20 . the procedure of the inspection method of the battery pack 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the example described above with reference to fig4 and can be modified as follows . it should be appreciated that the same advantages as the embodiment described above can be achieved by respective modifications described below . according to the inspection method of the embodiment above , step s 4 in which to determine the count time is performed before step s 6 in which to determine attachment or detachment of the battery pack 20 . the present invention , however , is not limited to this configuration . for example , the determination processing in step s 6 may be performed before the determination processing in step s 4 . also , according to the inspection method of the embodiment above , processing to calculate a voltage drop rate ( step s 10 ) is performed immediately before the abnormal determination processing ( step s 11 ). the present invention , however , is not limited to this configuration . the processing to calculate a voltage drop rate can be performed at any timing before step s 11 . for example , the voltage drop rate δv / h of each battery cell block 22 and the voltage drop rate δv_all / h of the entire battery pack 20 may be calculated when the data set is recorded into the internal rom of the microcomputer 24 in step s 7 of fig4 . in other words , the data set for abnormal determination may contain the voltage drop rate δv / h of each battery cell block 22 and the voltage drop rate δv_all / h of the entire battery pack 20 . the inspection method of the embodiment above has described a case where a data set containing the maximum detachment time tout_max is constantly used as the data set for abnormal determination . the present invention , however , is not limited to this configuration . for example , the latest data set recorded in step s 7 of fig4 may be directly used as the data set for abnormal determination each time the battery pack 20 is reattached . in this case , the comparison determination processing of detachment time tout ( step s 8 of fig4 ) and update processing of the data set for abnormal determination ( step s 9 of fig4 ) can be omitted . the inspection method therefore becomes further simpler . according to the inspection method of the embodiment above , in the comparison determination of the detachment time tout ( step s 8 of fig4 ), the flow proceeds to the processing in and after step s 10 in a case where the detachment time tout in the data set recorded upon attachment this time is as long as or shorter than the maximum detachment time tout_max . the present invention , however , is not limited to this configuration . in a case where “ no ” is determined in step s 8 , because data inspected in the past is used as the data set for abnormal determination , the inspection result in the past using this data set is known . hence , in a case where “ no ” is determined in step s 8 and an abnormality is absent in the inspection result in the past , the inspection may be ended after step s 8 . according to the inspection method of the embodiment above , the detachment time tout is used in step s 8 of fig4 . however , a voltage drop amount δv ( δv_all ) may be used instead for the comparison determination so that a data set containing the maximum voltage drop amount is constantly used as the data set for abnormal determination . the inspection method of the embodiment above has described a case where processing in step s 10 of fig4 in which to calculate the voltage drop rate and thereafter is carried out by the main body portion 1 . the present invention , however , is not limited to this configuration . for example , all the processing in fig4 may be carried out by the microcomputer 24 in the battery pack 20 . in this case , for example , a warning lamp or the like is provided to the battery pack 20 and the warning lamp is lit in the event of an abnormality in the battery pack 20 . alternatively , the comparison determination processing of the detachment time tout ( step s 8 ) of fig4 and processing thereafter may be carried out by the cpu 101 of the main body 1 . it should be noted , however , that when a different battery pack 20 is attached , because the characteristic of the battery pack 20 differs from one to another even the type is the same , it is necessary in this case to perform processing that suits the attached battery pack 20 . to this end , it is preferable to include information ( for example , id information ) to individually identify the attached battery pack 20 in the data set for abnormal determination . the inspection method of the embodiment above has described a case where the voltage drop rate δv / h ( δv_all / h ) is used as a parameter for abnormal determination in step s 11 of fig4 . the present invention , however , is not limited to this case . for example , the voltage drop amount δv ( δv_all ) may be used as a parameter for abnormal determination . the inspection method of the embodiment above has described a case where both the voltage drop rate δv / h of each battery cell block 22 and the voltage drop rate δv_all / h of the entire battery pack 20 are used for abnormal determination in step s 11 of fig4 . the present invention , however , is not limited to this case . for example , either one of these voltage drop rates alone may be used depending on intended use . the inspection method of the embodiment above has described a case where information on a voltage drop across the battery cell 30 is acquired by the microcomputer 24 while the battery pack 20 is in a state ( unloaded condition ) where the battery pack 20 is detached from the main body portion 1 . the present invention , however , is not limited to this case . for example , in a case where the main body portion 1 is furnished with the function of inhibiting charge and discharge of the battery pack 20 even when the battery pack 20 is attached to the main body portion 1 , the inspection method of the embodiment above is applicable . in addition , even in a case where power consumption of the battery pack 20 is constant with respect to time while the battery pack 20 is attached to the main body portion 1 , because a voltage drop across the battery pack 20 becomes constant , the inspection method of the embodiment above is applicable , too . in a case where the inspection method of the embodiment above is used while the battery pack 20 is attached to the main body portion 1 , information on a voltage drop across the battery cell 30 may be acquired by the microcomputer 24 in the battery pack 20 or , for example , by the main cpu on the side of the main body portion 1 . in other words , in a case where the inspection method of the embodiment above is carried out while the battery pack 20 is attached to the main body portion 1 , the voltage information acquisition portion that acquires information on a voltage drop across the battery cell 30 may be provided on the side of the main body portion 1 ( on the outside of the battery pack 20 ). 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 . | 6 |
fig1 shows an exemplary transverse connector 100 for interconnecting a pair of longitudinal members or rods ( not shown in the figure ) that can be connected to vertebrae of a spinal column . it is contemplated that the transverse connector 100 can interconnect any suitable longitudinal member , such as plates or rods of other shapes , such as hexagonal rods . the rods can be located anywhere along the spinal column . in one embodiment the longitudinal spinal rods are on either side of the mid - sagittal plane of the spine . each of the rods can be elongate and have sufficient length to span at least two vertebrae . a plurality of fixation elements can connect the rods to the vertebrae . the fixation elements can be of any known or desired configuration . in an embodiment , the fixation elements are pedicle screw assemblies that include a receiver member that removably mates with a screw member in a poly - axial or mono - axial configuration . at least one transverse connector 100 can interconnect rods across the vertebral midline . the transverse connector 100 blocks relative movement of the rods so that the vertebrae connected to the rods are maintained in their desired relative positions and do not pivot relative to an anterior / posterior axis or a longitudinal central axis of the spinal column , or vertebral midline . the transverse connector 100 increases the torsional strength of the rod construct to provide stability when the spinal column twists , such as when the shoulders are turned or angled relative to the legs in a standing position . the transverse connector 100 can be located anywhere along the rods and any number of transverse connectors 100 can be used . with reference to fig1 and 2 , the transverse connector 100 includes longitudinal rod engagement elements or connecting arms . a first connecting arm 105 and a second connecting arm 110 extend toward each other between each longitudinal member or spinal rod . the first and second connecting arms 105 , 110 can connect by a variety of mechanisms or configurations . the first and second connecting arms 105 , 110 can be generally elongate and positioned a distance apart from one another . the first and second connecting arms 105 , 110 can be adjusted transversely . the first and second connecting arms 105 , 110 can also be angularly and rotationally adjusted relative to one another to allow the connecting arms 105 , 110 to be positioned as desired . the transverse , angular and rotational adjustability of the transverse arms 105 , 110 with respect to one another allows them to mate to parallel , non - parallel , diverging , and converging spinal rods that are implanted within a patient &# 39 ; s spinal system . one embodiment of a transverse connector assembly 100 includes a first connecting arm 105 and a second connecting arm 110 . the connecting arms 105 , 110 mechanically link or connect to each other transversely ( i . e ., across the midline of the vertebral column ) in a male - female relationship to be described in more detail below . for example , the connection can be by way of an intermediate element 115 that forms a central joint 120 with connecting arm 105 . the joint 120 permits relative articulation of the arms 105 , 110 and allows for transverse as well as angular and rotational adjustability of the transverse connector 100 , also to be described in more detail below . the joint 120 is adapted to be selectively locked in order to fix the desired angle of connection between the connecting arms 105 , 110 along a spinal column of a patient . the connecting arms 105 , 110 are elongated structures that contact rods near their lateral ends at rod engagement portion 125 . the rod engagement portion 125 has a generally vaulted geometry that mates with the external surface of the connecting rods . the rod engagement portion 125 can have a splined or knurled mating surface 130 . the knurled mating surface 130 reduces rotational instability associated with the engaging surfaces of the hinged transverse connector 100 and the connecting rods . similarly , the connecting rods can have a splined or knurled surface that further enhances contact between the mating surfaces to reduce rotational instability . a person skilled in the art will appreciate that while the transverse connector 100 is described herein as being adapted to engage a spinal fixation element , such as a spinal fixation rod , that a transverse connector disclosed herein can be configured to engage a variety of spinal fixation devices , such as anchors , cables , fixation plates , etc . for simplicity , the fixation element engaged by the transverse connector will be described herein as a longitudinal rod . moreover , the transverse connector 100 can include only one connector member for engaging a spinal fixation device , and the opposed terminal end of the transverse connector 100 can be adapted for other uses . for example , the opposed terminal end of the transverse connector 100 can be configured to be fixedly attached to a vertebra . the transverse connector 100 disclosed herein can also include any combination of features described and / or illustrated herein , and the transverse connector 100 is not limited to the illustrated embodiment . with reference to fig1 and 2 , the connecting rods are held tight against the knurled mating surface 130 by a rod interference pin 135 . the rod interference pins 135 ( see fig2 ) can be inserted through bores 140 extending through each of the connecting arms 105 , 110 near the rod engagement portion 125 . the interference pins 135 can be advanced into the bores 140 without a threaded interface . when the interference pins 135 are deployed through the bores 140 they are driven toward the connecting rod displacing it medially or toward the midline of the connector 100 . the result is fixation of the rod against the mating surface 130 within the rod engagement portion 125 by an interference fit . the vaulted region of the rod engagement portion 125 can be associated with some elastic deformation such that a tighter interference fit is achieved . the interference pin 135 can be of any number of shapes to effect an interference fit with the rod engagement portion 125 of the connecting arms 105 , 110 . for example , the interference pin 135 can have a tapered or generally conical shape . in one embodiment , the interference pin 135 has an “ hour - glass ” profile such that the convex outer wall of the rod rests within the concavity or “ waist ” of the interference pin 135 when in the secured or locked position . the interference pins 135 can also be sheathed with a sleeve 505 or the like in order to accommodate longitudinal rods of varying diameters ( see fig5 ). the interference pins 135 can also have shapes that provide for insertion through and removal from the bore 140 such as with a tool adapted for such procedures . as mentioned above , the connecting arms 105 , 110 connect to each other transversely across the midline of the vertebral column by way of a an intermediate element 115 that connects to and forms a medial joint 120 with connecting arm 105 permitting relative articulation . this articulating mechanical linkage between the arms 105 , 110 involves at least two mating surfaces each having segments of contacting spherical geometries capable of relative movement . the joint 120 can be a universal joint such as a ball and socket joint . a universal joint 120 allows for maximum angular and rotational as well as transverse adjustability of the connector 100 . such adjustability is particularly important in the connection of diverging and converging longitudinal rods . the joint can also be a hinge joint or other type of connection . fig2 shows the intermediate element 115 has an angularly and rotationally adjustable feature at one end , such as a ball or other spheroid member 205 , and a stem region or elongate shaft 210 at the other end . the spheroid member 205 connects the intermediate element 115 to connecting arm 105 . the elongate shaft 210 affixes the intermediate element 115 to connecting arm 110 . the elongate shaft 210 is slidably inserted into an internal shaft or pocket 215 at the medial end of connecting arm 110 and is permanently affixed within the pocket 215 by way of locking pins 220 or other locking means . the locking pins 220 extend through bore 225 near the medial region of connecting arm 110 . the elongate shaft 210 can be of varying lengths . the different lengths provide for transverse adjustability of the transverse connector 100 . the spheroid member 205 also provides some degree of transverse adjustability . for example , the spheroid member 205 can be positioned in such a way as to impart an a - frame architecture to the connector 100 and change the distance that the connector 100 can span . a further advantage of the a - frame architecture is that it allows for the connector 100 to avoid contact with the dura and / or the spinal column while in use . in addition , the connector 100 can have incorporated a protective stop that inhibits the a - frame architecture from collapsing past a pre - determined angle such that the connector 100 does not impinge on the dura . if the pre - determined maximum angle results in a transverse span of the connector 100 that is too short to clamp onto the elongate rods , the user can select a connector 100 having a different length shaft 210 . the spheroid member 205 also provides angular and rotational adjustability to the connection between the intermediate element 115 and the connecting arm 105 , to be described in more detail below . the spheroid member 205 lies within bore 230 of connecting arm 105 . fig3 a and 3b illustrate how bore 230 extends from the upper surface of connecting arm 105 to the medial end of connecting arm 105 at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the connecting arm 105 . the internal surface of bore 230 near its medial opening has a shape that is at least partially spherical . the spherical portion of the bore &# 39 ; s internal surface also forms a lip 232 near the medial opening such that the diameter of the medial opening of the bore 230 is smaller than the spheroid member 205 . this prevents the spheroid member 205 from being pulled through the medial opening of the bore 230 . the spheroid member 205 and bore 230 along with a wedge member 260 form the joint 120 between the connecting arms 105 , 110 . the wedge 260 lies within bore 230 such that one end of the wedge 260 contacts the spheroid member 205 . the end of the wedge 260 that contacts the spheroid member 205 forms a mating surface or socket 265 in which the spheroid member 205 can freely move . the socket 265 of the wedge 260 has a shape that mirrors the exterior surface of the spheroid member 205 . the rotational and angular position of the joint 120 , such as after deployment of the connector 100 onto rods ( to be described below ), and thus the position of the connecting arms 105 , 110 with respect to one another is fixed by an interference element such as a set screw 235 threaded through a bore 240 in connector arm 105 . the set screw 235 displaces at least one mating surface and inhibits relative movement by displacing spherical surfaces against the other . as best shown in fig3 a and 3b , bore 240 extends perpendicularly through connecting arm 105 and is accessible from the upper surface of the connecting arm 105 . the internal surface of bore 240 has a tapered portion 242 and a threaded portion 250 . the tapered portion 242 of bore 240 intersects bore 230 near the upper surface of the connecting arm 105 such that the openings of bores 230 and 240 unite into a single elongated opening at the upper surface of the connecting arm 105 ( best shown in fig2 ). as described above , bore 230 receives wedge member 260 . bore 240 receives the set screw 235 . one end of the wedge 260 has a mating surface 265 that contacts the spheroid member 205 . the opposite end of the wedge 260 has a mating surface 270 that contacts the set screw 235 . in particular , the mating surface 270 engages the tapered head 255 of the set screw 235 upon tightening of the set screw 235 into bore 240 . the set screw 235 has external threads 245 and the surface of the bore 240 has internal threads 250 . thus , rotation of the set screw 235 , such as with a hex wrench , results in the set screw threads 245 engaging the bore internal threads 250 and tightening of the set screw 240 in a downward direction . as best shown in fig3 b , tightening of the set screw 235 in the downward direction ( arrow a ), results in the engagement of the tapered head 255 with mating surface 270 of the wedge member 260 ( set screw / wedge interface 305 ). the tapered head 255 is such that the diameter increases as the set screw is further advanced in a downward direction ( arrow a ). this engagement results in the wedge 260 moving toward the spheroid member 205 ( arrow b ) and engagement of the mating surface 265 onto the spheroid member 205 ( spheroid member / wedge interface 310 ). the wedge member 260 presses the spheroid member 205 against the lip 232 of the bore 230 ( spheroid member / lip interface 315 ). in turn , the intermediate member 115 and the angular position of the connecting arms 105 , 110 with respect to one another is fixed in place . it should be appreciated that all these mating surfaces can be textured to improve contact . fig4 a - 4b show a side view schematic of placement of the transverse connector 100 onto rods r . deployment of the connector 100 onto rods r can be performed , for example , by a tool such as a hinged deployment tool having contacting elements t . an operator can place the tool contacting elements t into recesses or pockets 275 open to the upper surface of each connecting arm 105 , 110 . the tool contacting element t can have a shape that is generally spherical to help engage the internal pocket 275 surfaces , which can be in non - parallel planes . relative articulation of the two connecting arms result from separation or approximation of the tool contacting elements t for example , separating the tool contacting elements t causes the joint 120 to straighten or the a - frame to collapse and move in a generally downward direction ( arrow a ). simultaneously , the connecting arms 105 , 110 move in a generally lateral or outward direction ( arrows b ). the rods r are forced into the rod engagement portions 125 of each of the connecting arms 105 , 110 . further , angle θ ( fig4 a ) of the a - frame architecture of the connector 100 increases , for example , to angle θ 1 ( fig4 b ) as the a - frame further collapses . upon placement of the connector 100 onto the rods r , the set screw 235 can be tightened as described above to fix the position of the connector 100 . similarly , interference pins 135 can be deployed such that they form an interference fit with the rods r and the vaulted region of the rod engagement portions 125 . as described above , the connector 100 can have incorporated a protective stop that inhibits the angle of the a - frame architecture from exceeding a pre - determined angle such that the connector 100 does not impinge on the dura . if the pre - determined maximum angle results in a transverse span of the connector 100 that is too short to clamp onto the elongate rods , the user can select a connector 100 having a different length shaft 210 . while this specification contains many specifics , these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of an invention that is claimed or of what may be claimed , but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments . certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment . conversely , various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub - combination . moreover , although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such , one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination , and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub - combination or a variation of a sub - combination . similarly , while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order , this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order , or that all illustrated operations be performed , to achieve desirable results . only a few examples and implementations are disclosed . variations , modifications and enhancements to the described examples and implementations and other implementations may be made based on what is disclosed . | 0 |
the present invention provides an apparatus for optically detecting the presence of various biological materials using simple and inexpensive components that yields accurate results quickly and with relatively little human intervention . the invention is most easily understood through reference to the drawings . fig1 a shows an isometric view of an integrated optical biosensor ( iobs ) apparatus 100 . iobs apparatus 100 further includes an lcd display 110 , a keypad 115 , a serial rs - 232 port 120 for communication with a pc ( not shown ), a battery low indicator 125 , a battery charging indicator 130 , a power switch 135 , a horizontal laser alignment wheel 140 , a vertical laser alignment wheel 145 , and a dc power plug 150 . fig1 b shows a top view of iobs apparatus 100 further including a sample cartridge port 155 , covered by a sample cartridge cover 175 . fig1 c shows a top view of a sample cartridge 160 , further including an injection port 170 , sample cartridge cover 175 , and a viewing window 165 . in addition , sample cartridge 160 contains a fluid cell , optical waveguide transducers , a recognition surface , and sample waste reservoir . the recognition surface ( described more specifically below ) is deposited onto a planar optical waveguide , which is an optically transparent material that guides light along its length . the optical waveguide has a higher index of refraction than the recognition surface , and than the substrate onto which it is deposited . fig1 d shows a bottom view of sample cartridge 160 , sample cartridge cover 175 , and viewing window 165 . lcd display 110 is a 4 - line - by - 20 - character unit in this example . however , other suitable inexpensive lcd displays are commercially available that would perform adequately . lcd display 110 may also display information from keypad 115 inputs . lcd display 110 has a high - contrast , super - twist , yellow - green screen with a backlight for easy viewing . it may also be used in low light or dark environments , which may be useful in emergencies . keypad 115 is a 3 - by - 4 - character keypad containing a matrix keypad of 12 keys . other types of keypads may be used without changing the spirit of the invention . user inputs to keypad 115 control certain functions of iobs apparatus 100 . a menu - driven program allows the user to select various menu options using keypad 115 . for example , after power - up , the user may be asked to enter a number on keypad 115 corresponding to the task he or she wishes to perform , such as calibrating a sample cell , testing a sample , or storing data from a recent test . rs - 232 port 120 , battery low indicator 125 , battery charging indicator 130 , power switch 135 , horizontal laser alignment wheel 140 , vertical laser alignment wheel 145 , dc power plug 150 , sample cartridge port 155 , viewing window 165 , injection port 170 , and sample cartridge cover 175 are functionally described with reference to fig2 and 3 . fig2 shows a block diagram of an iobs system 200 . iobs system 200 includes sample cartridge 160 , which further includes a recognition surface 205 , a sample containment area 208 , and a planar optical waveguide 210 ( as described above ). recognition surface 205 is formed on the surface of planar optical waveguide 210 , and includes receptive material selected to interact with certain biological , biochemical or chemical substances contained within a sample to be analyzed . for example , the receptive material may be natural or man made antibodies , antigens or chemical ligands . in one embodiment , recognition surface 205 can have a membrane such as a phospholipid bilayer ( an organic two - layered membrane ) to create an artificial cell surface . for implementation using a recognition membrane natural or man - made receptors for a specific protein are attached to the artificial cell surface using synthetic anchors . this is more specifically described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 104 , 158 , filed mar . 21 , 2002 , by schmidt et al . for “ generic membrane anchoring system ,” which is included herein for all purposes . conjugated to each man - made receptor is one of two kinds of reporter dye molecules : a donor fluorophore or and acceptor fluorophore . the membrane based assay is more specifically described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 297 , 059 , issued oct . 2 , 2001 , for “ triggered optical biosensor ,” which is included herein for all purposes . the membrane based assay using an optical waveguide as a transducer is more specifically described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 598 , 882 , filed jun . 21 , 2000 , for “ optical biosensor and method for detecting a multivalent target molecule ,” which is included herein for all purposes . however , other recognition surfaces with receptive materials ( or assays ) that also produce fluorescent changes upon the binding of a targeted pathogen could be used as well . for example the recognition surface 205 may be comprised of a self - assembled monolayer ( sam ) having man - made or natural receptors attached to the sam surface using flexible length linkers with reporter dyes attached close to the receptors . planar optical waveguide 210 sits on a substrate 220 onto which diffraction grating 215 has been etched . a sample waste reservoir 225 is coupled to sample containment area 208 . a laser 230 shines a laser beam 235 through the substrate 220 onto the diffraction grating 215 . laser 230 must be properly aligned via a laser alignment 240 , using horizontal laser alignment wheel 140 , and vertical laser alignment wheel 145 . in order to efficiently couple laser beam 235 into planar optical waveguide 210 the angle of laser beam 235 with respect to diffraction grating 215 must match the resonant angle for excitation to occur so a minor adjustment of laser 230 with respect to planar optical waveguide 210 may be required . in the future , mass manufacture of waveguides with tight tolerances for waveguide and grating manufacture will eliminate the need for these adjustments . a laser modulation 245 controls power to laser 230 . in one embodiment , laser 230 is an inexpensive , commercially available , 1 - mw , 532 - nm laser diode attenuated to 200 uw to reduce photo - bleaching of the reporter dyes and provide an eye - safe exposure / class iiia laser . other laser wavelengths may be used , and are determined by the excitation spectra of the fluorescent dyes selected . for example , 632 - nm laser diodes may also be used with fluorescent dyes that can be excited by this wavelength . laser 230 is also very low power and may be operated from a battery - sourced power supply . detector pcb 250 includes a reference detector 255 , a 570 - nm band pass filter 260 a connected to silicon photodiode 260 b that feeds to gated integrator / preamplifier 260 , and a 632 . 8 - nm band pass filter 265 b connected to silicon photodiode 265 b that feeds to gated integrator / preamplifier 265 . other bandpass filters may be used , and are selected according to the emission wavelength of the dyes selected for any particular application . the silicon photodiodes 260 b , 265 b may be a hamamatsu s1227 - 16br silicon photodiode , for example ; however , the invention is not limited to that specific part , and one skilled in the art may substitute a similarly functioning device that is optimized for sensitivity in the visible range . the information gathered by 632 . 8 - nm gated integrator / preamplifier 265 , 570 - nm gated integrator / preamplifier 260 , and reference detector 255 is delivered via signal wires to a system electronics pcb 270 . system electronics pcb 270 includes a microprocessor 275 , a power distribution and battery control 280 , and front - end electronics 285 . front - end electronics 285 includes circuitry to receive analog light - intensity measurement information from detector pcb 250 and to amplify , filter , and convert the signals to a multi - bit , digital form that may then be processed by microprocessor 275 . microprocessor 275 includes software to facilitate the functions of iobs system 200 . having an internal controller saves space , allows the system to be portable , eliminates many compatibility and timing issues associated with external processing , and saves design time . microprocessor 275 includes a cpu , memory , oscillator , watchdog timer , usart , and i / o interfaces incorporated within a single integrated circuit chip . in one embodiment , microprocessor 275 is a microcontroller , for example , a pic 18c452 . however , the invention is not limited to the use of a specific type of processor , and any suitable processing device may be used . for this example , microprocessor 275 has ram available for variable storage and rom for program storage . microprocessor 275 controls all functions of iobs apparatus 100 and is integrated with other hardware devices including , but not limited to , lcd display 110 , keypad 115 , and rs - 232 port 120 . microprocessor 275 communicates serially with lcd display 110 using an rs - 232 protocol . in addition to inputs from keypad 115 , iobs apparatus 100 may also be coupled to pc software 295 via rs - 232 port 120 . the associated pc software 295 allows a user to implement all available functions without using keypad 115 . this provides the user with a friendly pc gui in a virtual push button fashion . therefore , iobs apparatus 100 may be operated using keypad 115 and lcd display 120 on the front panel , or it may be operated using a serial interface to a pc running , for example , labview ® 295 software . visual basic ® among other programs could also be used . ( labview ® is a software system that can be used ). in addition to providing a gui , computer interface 295 also provides the means for downloading all data that has been stored within the non - volatile memory of microprocessor 275 . the data may then be processed using other traditional pc software applications . power distribution and battery control 280 functions to regulate the power supply to iobs system 200 . since iobs system 200 is designed to be portable , it is powered by an internal battery 290 , such as a lithium - ion battery , when ac power is not available . battery 290 provides stand - alone operation for up to six hours . an external ac / dc power supply plugged into dc power plug 150 may also be used at any time . a standard , commercially available 15 - volt , 28 - watt ac - to - dc converter ( not shown ) is used to provide dc power supply operation and recharge internal battery 290 . internal circuitry in power distribution and battery control 280 detects the presence of dc power plug 150 and automatically switches from battery power . power distribution and battery control 280 charges internal battery 290 when dc power plug 150 is being used . battery low indicator 125 illuminates when internal battery 290 is low . battery charging indicator 130 is lit when internal battery 290 is charging . battery charging indicator 130 turns off when internal battery 290 is fully charged . the following method describes an example method of operation using iobs apparatus 100 : fig3 is a method 300 of operating iobs apparatus 100 for a cholera toxin test sample . in this step , the operator inserts clean ( i . e ., not previously used for testing purposes ) sample cartridge 160 into sample cartridge port 155 of iobs apparatus 100 . method 300 proceeds to step 310 . in this step , the user looks through viewing window 165 to ensure that laser beam 235 is properly aligned with diffraction grating 210 using horizontal laser alignment wheel 140 and vertical laser alignment wheel 145 , the user aligns laser 230 to the correct position indicated . to align the laser two methods may be used : ( 1 ) the user opens viewing window 165 and adjusts laser alignment wheels 140 and / or 145 to produce a streak of laser light parallel with the long dimension of viewing window 165 . laser alignment wheels 140 and / or 145 are adjusted until a maximum intensity is observed . ( 2 ) the user observes a numerical readout obtained from digitized signal intensity of reference detector 255 converted in microprocessor 275 to a numerical readout on the lcd display and adjusts laser alignment wheels 140 and / or 145 until a maximum value is obtained . method 300 proceeds to step 315 . in this step , the user selects “ calibrate cell ” either from the menu list on keypad 115 or from the gui interface on a connected pc via computer interface 295 . each new sample cartridge 160 must be calibrated before an accurate test may be performed . laser beam 235 , now properly aligned , is coupled into planar optical waveguide 210 via diffraction grating 215 exciting recognition surface 205 . recognition surface 205 contains optically tagged receptors that are deposited on planar optical waveguide 210 . the optical detection electronics on detector pcb 250 begin taking emission intensity readings from sample containment area 208 . this provides a control basis for comparison of the fluorescence emission of the 575 - nm and 625 - nm dyes before and after the sample has been injected . at present , the system operator is responsible for ensuring that a calibration step is performed for each new sample cartridge 160 inserted . however , automated methods of ensuring proper calibration of new sample cartridges 160 include a simple pressure switch that is installed into sample cartridge port 155 that sends a signal to microprocessor 275 when the sensor detects the removal of a sample cartridge 160 followed by the insertion of a new sample cartridge 160 . this would indicate to system software that a calibration must be completed before testing may commence . method 300 proceeds to step 320 . once laser 230 and sample cartridge 160 have been calibrated , iobs apparatus 100 is ready to test the sample . the sample is injected into sample containment area 208 via injection port 170 , forcing buffer fluid ( not shown ) in sample containment area 208 to be injected into sample waste reservoir 225 . the buffer fluid is there to protect recognition surface 205 until such a time as a sample is injected . sample waste reservoir 225 is a containment area that ensures that no hazardous materials leave hermetically sealed sample cartridge 160 . method 300 then proceeds to step 325 . in this step , the user depresses the key on keypad 115 corresponding to “ start test ,” or the user may select a “ begin test ” button on labview computer interface 295 . current methods involve the user injecting the sample then depressing the correct keys on keypad 115 or labview computer interface 295 to begin testing . automated methods to determine sample injection include the use of a plunger device attached to sample waste reservoir 225 such that as sample waste reservoir 225 fills with buffer solution during injection when the plunger is displaced . once sample waste reservoir 225 fills completely , the plunger is in a position to trigger either a position sensor or a pressure sensor that , in turn , marks time zero in microprocessor 275 . method 300 proceeds to step 330 . in this step , the filter electronics on detector pcb 250 begin taking emission intensity readings from sample containment area 208 . recognition surface 205 contains optically tagged receptors that are deposited on planar optical waveguide 210 . once recognition surface 205 has received the sample , laser beam 235 is coupled into optical planar waveguide 210 , exciting recognition surface 205 . in one embodiment , the binding of the targeted toxin to multiple receptors that are labeled with reporter dyes triggers fluorescent resonant energy transfer ( fret ) to provide a change in fluorescence emission in the 575 - nm and 625 - nm dyes . the reduced emission in the 575 - nm dye and the increased emission in the 625 - nm dye is a measure of the concentration of bound toxin in recognition surface 205 . method 300 proceeds to step 335 . in this decision step , method 300 checks to see if the test is complete . if yes , the test stops automatically and method 300 proceeds to step 340 ; if no , method 300 returns to step 330 . in this step , iobs apparatus 100 indicates the presence or absence of the target . if the target is detected , iobs apparatus 100 indicates a concentration level . the iobs detection algorithms in microprocessor 275 measure the change in relative intensities of fluorescence emission over time and determine the concentration of toxin based on the fluorescence change . it is understood that , although this embodiment uses the specific wavelengths of light mentioned herein , it is possible to design alternate embodiments of the iobs that would use alternate reporter dyes requiring laser excitation of a different wavelength , that , in turn , would result in fluorescence emissions of different wavelengths . method 300 proceeds to step 345 . in this step , the user ejects sample cartridge 160 and disposes of it in a medical waste receptacle . method 300 is therefore ended . fig4 a and fig4 b are graphs that further explain the emission comparisons . the graphs depict the results of a typical cholera toxin detection test using iobs apparatus 100 . the graphs are different representations of the measured fluorescence output of the sample cell in response to successive injections of 2 . 5 nm solutions of cholera toxin . fig4 a is data measured using the iobs sensor cartridge and a commercial fiber optic spectrometer depicting the relative changes in intensity of the evanescence of the 575 - nm wavelength yellow fluorescent dye and the 625 - nm wavelength red fluorescent dye . the relative intensity of the 575 - nm wavelength decreases with successive injections of 2 . 5 nm cholera toxin while the relative intensity of the 625 - nm wavelength increases , showing the presence of cholera toxin in the sample . fig4 b shows iobs apparatus 100 bandpass filter relationship to the spectra . iobs apparatus 100 measures the filtered detector responses and does not measure the entire spectra . in this embodiment the use of filtered detectors was selected over a fiber optic spectrometer to provide for a reduction both in instrument size and cost . fig4 c is a graph of the ratio of yellow wavelength intensity to red wavelength intensity as measured by the iobs instrument resulting from successive injections of 2 . 5 nm solutions of cholera toxin . in summary , the present invention provides a hand - held , portable , battery - operated , simple , and inexpensive device and method for detecting the presence of toxins , in this case a cholera toxin , in a timely manner . the detection of cholera takes approximately five minutes using iobs apparatus 100 . in emergency situations , this timesaving may be extremely important . it is also important to note that no added reagents , washing , mixing , agitating , or any other type of chemical processing was necessary to complete the test . a user inserts a clean sample cartridge 160 into iobs apparatus 100 . sample cartridge 160 is then calibrated and the sample is injected via injection port 170 . the test begins at the press of a button and completes in fewer than ten minutes . the user simply disposes of the used cartridge in a medical waste receptacle . no other processing or waiting is required and the results are very accurate , since there has been little opportunity for the introduction of errors . the tests may be completed in the field or in other uncontrolled environments . when battery power begins to diminish , battery low indicator 125 notifies the user . dc power may be used instead of battery power . battery 290 is recharged automatically using dc power plug 150 for ease of maintenance and to ensure future operation of iobs apparatus 100 . the foregoing description of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed , and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto . | 1 |
referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numbers refer to like parts , fig1 is a block diagram of a macrocellular communication system and multiple microcellular systems . fig1 shows a cellular telephone network ( including a plurality of radio base stations ( rbss ) 110 and a mobile switching center ( msc ) 112 ), a personal base station ( pbs ) 104 , a cellular office service ( cos ) system 106 , and a cellular digital packet data ( cdpd ) network 108 . the cellular telephone network comprises a plurality of rbss 110 , each of which is in communication with an msc 112 . such communication may be provided by a direct connection between the rbs 110 and the msc 112 , as shown in fig1 . such cellular telephone networks are well - known in the art , and the detailed operation and architecture of such a system will not be discussed herein . as is also well - known in the art , the msc 112 controls the functioning of the rbss 110 . such control typically includes the assignment of radio channels which each rbs 110 will use to communicate with mobile end units ( not shown ), such as mobile cellular telephones . as previously discussed , each rbs 110 is typically assigned a small subset of the channels that the wireless service provider is licensed to use . the msc 112 is connected to the public switched telephone network ( pstn ) 114 , such that a mobile end unit may communicate with a land line telephone . the pbs 104 shown in fig1 may actually comprise a plurality of pbs devices ( not shown ) which are connected to the pstn 114 . a pbs is a device that allows a cellular telephone to function as a cordless land - line telephone when used in the vicinity of the pbs 104 . the system allows a user of the cellular telephone to communicate with other land line telephones through the pstn 114 and other cellular phones . the pbs 104 chooses a channel that will be used for communication between the pbs 104 and the cellular telephone . a list of possible channels from which the pbs 104 may choose is stored in the pbs 104 . this list is commonly referred to as a &# 34 ; pick - list &# 34 ; and , may be prestored or , in the alternative , updated periodically by connection to a private access visitor location register ( pa - vlr )( not shown ) through the pstn 114 . the pick fist typically encompasses most of the frequency spectrum that the wireless service provider is licensed to use . therefore , as discussed below , the pbs 104 could potentially select a channel for transmission that is already assigned to an rbs 110 near which the pbs 104 resides . a pbs network is described in detail in u . s . patent application ser . no . 08 / 526 , 066 , entitled wireless communication system , filed sep . 8 , 1995 , which is incorporated herein by reference . the cos system 106 is similar to a wireless private branch exchange ( pbx ) installed in an office - type environment and comprises a plurality of fixed stations ( not shown ) that are connected to the pstn 114 . the fixed stations permit cellular telephones used in the office to function as land - line or pbx extension telephones . as in the case of a pbs 104 , the cos system 106 allows a user of the cellular telephone to communicate with other land line telephones through the pstn 114 . like the pbs 104 , the cos system 106 uses a pick list that typically encompasses the entire radio spectrum that the wireless service provider is licensed to use . the cdpd network 108 comprises one or more mobile data base stations ( mdbs ) 116 in communication with a mobile data intermediate system ( mdis ) 118 . a cdpd network is described in detail in cellular digital packet data system specification , release 1 , jul . 19 , 1993 , cdpd system specification , 650 town center drive , suite 820 , costa mesa , calif . 92626 , which is incorporated herein by reference . as is well known in the art , the mdis 118 controls the functioning of the mdbss 116 . such control includes the assignment of radio channels , which each mdbs 116 will use to communicate with mobile end units ( not shown ). an example of a mobile end unit in a cdpd network 108 includes a wireless mobile data terminal . the mdis 118 is connected to a network , such as the pstn 114 or the internet 120 , so that the mobile end unit may communicate with a land line device or other mobile device . fig2 illustrates the interplay between a macrocellular system , such as a cellular telephone system , and a microcellular system , such as a pbs 104 . fig2 shows the rbss 110 of a cellular telephone system and their respective rf channel assignments together with an indication of channels currently in use . rbs 110 - 1 is assigned channels 10 , 20 , 30 and 40 , of which channels 30 and 40 are currently in use . rbs 110 - 2 is assigned channels 13 , 23 , 33 and 43 , of which channels 23 and 33 are currently in use . rbs 110 - 3 is assigned channels 16 , 26 , 36 and 46 , of which channel 26 is currently in use . fig2 also shows a microcellular system , which for purposes of illustration , is the pbs 104 . the pbs 104 is assumed to reside within the coverage area of rbs 110 - 3 , as shown in fig1 . it is also assumed that the wireless service provider is licensed to use 25 mhz of spectrum and thus , that the pbs &# 39 ; s pick list consists of most of the available channel pairs . the pbs 104 constantly monitors these channels for conflicting activity and selects the clearest channel . as such , the pbs 104 may choose to transmit on channel 16 , which is assigned to rbs 110 - 3 but not currently in use . as previously discussed , a conventional base station such as rbs 110 - 3 in fig2 sensing conflicting activity or use on that channel , may stop use of the channel entirely , at the expense of not having enough channels on which to transmit during peak calling hours . the rbs 110 - 3 may , in the alternative , ignore the disruptive use by the pbs 104 . this may eventually result in rbs 110 - 3 haphazardly assigning a call to that channel , at the same time that the pbs 104 is transmitting on channel 16 . although the rbs &# 39 ; s 110 - 3 assignment of a call to channel 16 , will in all likelihood eventually cause the pbs 104 to abdicate use of channel 16 ( the pbs 104 will sense conflicting use thereon and stop using the channel ), the inevitable delay associated with such abdication will result in a noticeable degradation in the sound quality or communication link for either system . it should be noted that the pbs 104 alternatively could have chosen to transmit on a channel assigned to , and in use by , a more remote base station , such as rbs 110 - 2 or rbs 110 - 1 , and that doing so could have negatively affected those rbss in a similar manner . fig3 is a block diagram of an exemplary base station 110 of the instant invention , which solves the above - identified problems in the prior art . fig3 shows a receiver portion 202 , a transmitter portion 204 and a logic module 206 . the base station 110 is connected to an msc 112 , which , as is well known in the art , controls the functioning of the base station 110 . for example , the msc 112 typically assigns radio channels to the base station 110 , which the base station 110 then uses for communication with mobile end units . moreover , the logic module and the functions performed thereby , although shown in fig3 as residing in the rbs 110 , can alternatively reside in the msc 112 . the receiver portion 202 of the base station comprises an antenna 208 ( with optional diversity 210 ), rf ports 212 , a low pass filter ( lpf ) 214 and other conventional receiver circuitry 216 ( the details of which are well known and , accordingly , are not shown ). the receiver portion 202 also comprises a module 218 for measuring the received signal strength ( rss ). this module 218 is connected to the logic module 206 via line 220 and is connectable to the lpf 214 via a first switch 222 . the transmitter portion 204 comprises an antenna 224 , rf ports 226 , a transmitter 228 , and other conventional transmitter circuitry 230 ( once again , the details of which are well known and thus , not shown ). the transmitter portion 204 further comprises a module 232 connected to the output of the transmitter 228 for detecting whether the transmitter 228 is &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; off . &# 34 ; it should be noted that rather than physically attaching such a module 232 to the output of the transmitter 228 , the &# 34 ; detecting &# 34 ; function can be implemented entirely in software , elsewhere . the transmitter 228 is further connectable to a pseudo - random noise generator ( prng ) 232 via a second switch 234 . both the prng 232 and second switch 234 are connected to the logic module 206 via a control line 236 . upon detecting that the transmitter 228 is &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; ( i . e . not transmitting ), the detector module 232 closes the first switch 222 , thus permitting the rss module 218 to measure the received signal strength on its assigned channels ( the rss measured may be for the forward and / or the reverse channel of the assigned channel pairs ). these measurements are transmitted via line 220 to the logic module 206 . the logic module 206 comprises a central processing unit ( cpu ) ( not shown ) and a memory unit ( also not shown ) together with a computer program executed by the cpu . if the logic module 206 determines that the received signal strength is above a predetermined threshold , indicating conflicting use or activity on a channel ( one cause of which may be a microcellular system , e . g . pbs 104 or a cellular phone thereat , transmitting , or attempting to transmit , on the channel ), the logic module 206 , via control line 236 , activates the prng 232 for a predetermined duration and triggers the second switch 234 . this results in the transmission of prn signals on the channel . the transmission of prn signals on the channel or , the transmission of some other signals when the rbs 110 of the macrocellular system is otherwise not handling a call on the channel , is hereinafter referred to as transmitting a priority signal . the use of a prn signal as a priority signal is for purposes of illustration only and , is in no way intended to be limiting . the duration of the priority signal must be sufficient to cause the microcellular system ( e . g . pbs 104 ) to abdicate further use of the channel to the radio base station 110 . when transmitting , the microcellular system 104 monitors the channel for potential conflicting activity and , once detected , will move to another channel , thereby abdicating use of the channel to the base station 110 . what constitutes a &# 34 ; sufficient &# 34 ; duration is programmed into the logic module 206 of the base station 110 as well as into a comparable module ( not shown ) in the microcellular system 104 . in an alternate embodiment , the logic module 206 activates the prng 232 periodically , irrespective of the rss on the assigned channels . for example , the logic module may simply transmit a priority signal every hour . the periodicity of the priority signal transmissions must be sufficient to cause the microcellular system ( e . g . pbs 104 ) to abstain from attempting to transmit on the channel . this periodicity is pre - programmed into the logic module 206 of the radio base station 110 as well as a comparable module ( not shown ) in the microcellular system 104 . the microcellular system 104 is programmed to collect a &# 34 ; priority signal history &# 34 ; for the channel ( typically a day &# 39 ; s worth of data ) and will abstain from transmitting on the channel if the periodicity of priority signal transmissions , as evidenced by the priority signal history , equals or exceeds the pre - programmed periodicity . in the foregoing embodiments , a radio base station of a macrocellular system has transmitted a priority signal in order to maintain channel priority in the face of contending microcellular systems . the transmission of a priority signal is effective because a master - slave relationship is established between the radio base station of the macrocellular system and one or more microceilular systems . therefore , in an alternate embodiment , in addition to the radio base station of the macrocellular system transmitting a priority signal to maintain channel priority with respect to a plurality of microcellular systems ( e . g . a cos system and a pbs ), one of the microcellular systems ( e . g . the cos system ) may also transmit a priority signal in the manner previously described to maintain channel priority with respect to the other microcellular system ( e . g . the pbs ). although three levels of priority signaling are described herein , there could be , in other embodiments of the instant invention , any number of such levels . the many features and advantages of the present invention are apparent from the detailed specification , and thus , it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention . furthermore , since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired that the present invention be limited to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described herein , and accordingly , all suitable modifications and equivalents which may be resorted to are intended to fall within the scope of the claims . for example , one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the instant invention is equally applicable where the macrocellular system is merely defined as one type of cellular system ( e . g . a cos system ), and the microcellular system is defined as another type of cellular system ( e . g . a pbs ). | 7 |
with reference to fig7 and 8 , the preferred methods of the present invention advantageously utilize at least one improvement - node . the improvement - node has certain preferred attributes and these attributes are configured for the specific type of communications improvement desired by the user . in one preferred embodiment of the present invention , an improvement - node comprises both a hardware system such as a computer , thin appliance , asic based device or other similar device , which can be programmed with specific logic or programming code ( i . e ., software ). in the preferred embodiments , the device preferably has a capability of being connected with a physical network either directly or through the use of gateway . the programming logic provides the device with the capability to transmit and receive on both physical networks as well as the peer - to - peer networks , which typically ride on top of the physical network . in the preferred embodiment of the invention , programming logic is a software program , but may also be hard coded non - changeable procedural information such as typically found in a asic based device . referring generally to fig5 , a flow chart discloses one method for the programming logic that configures a device acting as improvement - node to attached to two peer networks . this improvement - node accepts communication messages from nodes participating on one network and forwards them onto another network . referring generally to fig6 , a flow chart discloses one method for the programming logic that configures a device acting as a improvement - node to attach to the same peer - to - peer network twice . this improvement - node accepts communication messages from nodes participating on the network , changes the communication message radius parameters and forwards the communication messages onto the same network . it may be advantageous to prevent transmission of communications from one network to the other , for instance , if the operator of the improvement - node was trying to prevent copyright infringement requests from transversing the networks . in this case , the programming logic can be configured to receive communication messages and compare them to criteria and to then perform some event whether or not a match is found . the programming logic may elect to drop the communication message and not pass it on to other networks . this election can be automatic depending on trigger points such as load or it can be configured to do so by the user of the programming logic . the method for comparing may include inter - string , complete string , partial string , fuzzy logic , patricia - tree , or any other method that could be used to compare the likeness of two or more strings or portions of two or more strings . string comparison can occur in parallel with other searches to increase through - put or they can be compared serially ( meaning one after another ). if a match is made , the programming logic can drop the communication message if it is programmed to do so . in one such embodiment , the improvement - node only forwards search and search response communication message while not forwarding other communication messages . in this embodiment , the improvement - node would accept the communication message , it decides if it is a search or response to a search , and then forward on or drop the communication message based on its findings . in another embodiment , the improvement - node is functioning as a “ repeater ” so the communication message can travel further on the network than it normally would . in this case , the improvement - node would accept the communication message from a node or network and set the communication message radius parameters to an optimal or near optimal value and retransmit the communication message . in another embodiment , the improvement - node accepts all communication messages and forwards all communication messages . in this embodiment , the improvement - node would accept all communication messages from one network and forward it to another network . in another embodiment , the improvement - node accepts communication messages from a node and makes a request onto the same network or a different network on behalf of the node . this would be used for caching environment or in an environment where the original node wish to hide its identity . the node would issue a communication message , which the improvement - node would accept . the improvement - node would replace original communication message with one of its own , making it appear as though it is sending the communication message for the benefit of itself . the improvement - node would maintain a table of node communication messages to “ on behalf of ” communication messages . as communication messages or services were returned to the improvement - node , the improvement - node would look in this table for a correlation . it would then forward the communication messages or services to the original node . the following examples illustrate various embodiments to the methods according to the present invention . referring to fig7 , this example illustrates a method for connecting two networks together , accepting communication messages from one , and forwarding to another . in this example , nodes a , b , and c are on a first network and nodes e , f , and g are on a second network . each network is unable to communicate with each other because they speak different protocols . node d is an improvement node and is part of both networks and speak both protocols . node a searches for a file named “ a ” and sends the search request to nodes b and c . nodes b and c accept this search request . node c forwards the search request to node d . node d accepts the search request and forwards it to node e . node e accepts the search request and forwards it to nodes f and g . nodes f and g accept the search request . all nodes process the search request . node g finds that it has the file and sends a response to node e . node e forwards this response to node d . node d forwards this response to node c . node c forwards this response to node a . node a receives the response from node g , which is on another network . referring to fig8 , this example illustrates the method for accepting communication messages from nodes participating on a single network , changing the communication message radius parameters , and forwarding the communication messages onto the same network . in this example , all nodes are on one network and node c is an improvement - node and is configured to accept any communication messages , change the communication message radius parameters to an optimal or near optimal value and retransmit the communication messages . node a is configured to send a search request no further than three hops away from where it is connected into the network . it sends a search to node b . node b accepts the search in increments its hop value to 1 and forwards to node c . node c accepts the search and resets the hop value to 0 and forwards the search to node d . node d accepts the search and increments its hop value to 1 and forwards the search the node to e . node e receives the search and increments its hop value to 2 and forwards the search to node f . node f accepts the search . all nodes process the search request . node f finds it has the file and generates a response with a hop value of 0 and sends the response to node e . node e accepts the response and increments the hop value to 1 and forwards this response to node b . node d accepts the response and increments the hop value to 2 and forwards the response to node c . node c accepts the response and changes the hop value to 0 . node c forwards the response node b . node b accepts the response and increments the hop value to 1 and then forwards the response to node a . node a accepts the response . the end result is that even though node g was 5 hops away , it was still able to communicate with node a . referring to fig7 , example 3 illustrates the method for connecting two networks together , accepting communication messages from one , comparing to a list of criteria and dropping the communication message if it matches or forwarding it if it doesn &# 39 ; t . in this example nodes , a , b , and c are on a first network and nodes e , f , and g are on a second network . each network is unable to communicate with each other because they use different protocols . node d is an improvement - node and is part of both networks and can operate with both protocols . node d is configured to drop searches for “ madonna . txt ”. node a searches for file name “ madonna . txt ” and sends this search request to nodes b and c . nodes b and c accept the search request . node c forwards the search request to node d . since node d is configured to drop searches that match “ madonna . txt ” and because node a searches for “ madonna . txt ” node d drops the search . node a then searches for a file named “ a ” and sends this search request to nodes b and c . nodes b and c accept the search request . node c forwards the search request to node d . since node d is configured to drop searches for “ madonna . txt ” and because node a searched for “ a ,” node d forwards the search request to node e . node e accepts the search request and forwards it to nodes f and g . nodes f and g accept the search request . all nodes process the search request . node g finds that it has the file and sends a response to node e . node e forwards the response to node d . node d forwards this response to node c . node c forwards this response to node a . node a receives the response from node g which is on another network . again , referring to fig7 , example 4 illustrates a method for connecting two networks together , accepting communication messages from one , and forwarding not only searches and search responses and nothing else to another network . in this example , nodes a , b , and c are on a first network and nodes e , f , and g are on a second network . each network is unable to communicate with each other because they use different protocols . node d is an improvement - node and is part of both networks and communicates with both protocols . node a searches for file name “ a ” and sends this search request to nodes b and c . nodes b and c accept this search request . node c forwards the search request to node d . node d accepts this search request and forwards it to node e . node e accepts this search request and forwards it to node f and g . nodes f and g accept the search request . all nodes process the search request . node g finds that it has the file and sends a response to node e . node e forwards the response to node d . node d forwards this response to node c . node c forwards this response to node a . node a receives the response from node g which is on another network . node a then sends a ping request to nodes b and c . node b receives the request and responds . node c receives the request and responds . node c forwards the ping request to node d . because node d is configured to only forward search requests and responses , it accepts the ping and responds , but it does not forward the ping . referring to fig7 , example 5 illustrates the method for accepting communications from a node on a first network and forwarding the communications on to a second network while making it appear that the original communications came from the improvement - node when , in fact , it did not . for this example , refer to fig7 . in this example , node d is the improvement - node . node c wishes to locate the file name “ x ” and sends the search request to node d . node d accepts the search request and creates a new request with the same search terms , but with its own address information . node d stores this request in a table so that it knows that if any requests are received , it should forward them to a node c . node d forwards this request to node e . node e accepts the search request and finds it has a match . node e generates a response with node d &# 39 ; s address information and forwards the response to node d . node d accepts the response and looks in it &# 39 ; s tables and finds that this response was meant for node c so it forwards this response to node c . while presently preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described , the invention may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
the present invention provides a method of producing fine conductive lines , patterns , and connections . numerous embodiments of the method are possible , including the embodiments described below . one preferred embodiment of the method of producing fine conductive lines , patterns , and connections comprises the steps of : ( a ) applying a layer of photoresist material to the surface of a substrate ; ( b ) patterning the photoresist material to create openings through the photoresist to the substrate surface ; ( c ) applying a conductive material to the patterned photoresist so that the openings in the photoresist are at least filled with the conductive material ; and ( d ) removing excess conductive material from the exterior major surface of the photoresist , using chemical - mechanical polishing , leaving conductive material filling the openings in the photoresist . the above embodiment is illustrated in fig1 a through 1d . fig1 a shows the photoresist layer 14 applied over a substrate surface 12 on a silicon wafer 10 . fig1 b shows the photoresist layer 14 after patterning to create openings 16 . fig1 c shows the resultant structure after application of the conductive material 18 to the surface of the photoresist layer 14 , filling the openings 16 within the photoresist layer 14 . fig1 d shows the resultant structure after chemical - mechanical polishing to remove excess conductive material 18 from the exterior major surface of the photoresist 14 . a second preferred embodiment would comprise all of the steps ( a ) through ( d ) above , wherein at least some of the openings through the polymeric material extend to the underlaying substrate , and include an additional step ( c ) in which the patterned photoresist is removed using a solvent or oxygen plasma etch , leaving at least portions of said conductive material 18 contacting the surface of the substrate . fig1 e shows this additional step , wherein the conductive material 18 remains on the surface of the substrate 12 . a third embodiment of the method of producing fine conductive lines , patterns and connections comprises the steps of : ( a ) applying a layer of photoresist material to the surface of a substrate ; ( b ) patterning the photoresist material using etching techniques to create a pattern of open spaces within the photoresist ; ( c ) applying a layer of conductive material to the surface of the photoresist so that the spaces etched within the photoresist are at least filled with the conductive material ; and ( d ) removing the conductive material from the exterior major surface of the photoresist , using chemical - mechanical polishing , leaving conductive material filling the spaces etched within the photoresist . a fourth and preferred embodiment of the method of producing fine conductive lines , patterns , and connections comprises the steps of : ( b ) patterning the photoresist to form openings through , spaces within , or combinations thereof in the photoresist ; ( c ) treating the photoresist with an organometallic compound , so that the organometallic compound is incorporated into at least the portions of the photoresist near the contact surface between the photoresist and the organometallic compound ; ( d ) applying a conductive material to the treated surface of the photoresist so that the openings and spaces existing in the treated photoresist are at least filled with the conductive material ; and ( e ) removing at least excess conductive material from the exterior major surface of the photoresist , using chemical - mechanical polishing means . the fourth preferred embodiment is illustrated in fig2 a through 2e . fig2 a shows a layer of photoresist material 24 applied over a substrate surface 22 on a silicon wafer 20 . fig2 b shows the layer of photoresist material 24 after patterning to create openings 26 . fig2 c shows the reacted layer of photoresist material 28 after treatment with an organometallic compound to incorporate the organometallic compound into the photoresist . fig2 d shows the resultant structure after application of the conductive material 30 to the surface of the treated photoresist layer 28 . fig2 e shows the resultant structure after chemical - mechanical polishing to remove the conductive material from the exterior major surface of the photoresist 32 . a fifth preferred embodiment would comprise all of the steps ( a ) through ( e ) of the fourth preferred embodiment , and include an additional step ( f ) in which the patterned photoresist is removed , leaving the conductive material with at least portions thereof in contact with the substrate . a sixth embodiment of the method of producing fine conductive lines , patterns , and connections comprises the steps of : ( b ) exposing the photoresist material to patterned radiation to create a latent image within the photoresist , which latent image is capable of reacting with an organometallic compound or of controlling the permeation of an organometallic compound ; ( d ) removing the portions of the photoresist which are non - exposed and non - reacted or non - permeated , and which are not protected by portions which have been exposed and reacted or permeated by organometallic compound , using dry etching techniques such as oxygen plasma , to provide openings through , spaces within , or combinations thereof in the photoresist ; ( e ) applying a conductive material to the etched photoresist , so that the etched openings and spaces existing in the photoresist are at least filled with conductive material ; and ( f ) removing at least excess conductive material from the exterior major surface of the photoresist , using chemical - mechanical polishing , leaving conductive material filling the spaces etched within the photoresist . the process described in the sixth preferred embodiment can be carried out so that the etched spaces in the photoresist extend from the surface of the photoresist through to the substrate underlaying the photoresist , or so that the etched spaces in the photoresist extend only partially through the thickness of the photoresist . a seventh embodiment of the method of the present invention , comprises steps ( a ) through ( f ) of the sixth embodiment , and wherein at least some of the openings through the photoresist extend to the substrate underlaying the photoresist , includes an additional step : ( g ) removing the photoresist , leaving the conductive material with at least portions thereof in contact with the substrate . a eighth and preferred embodiment of the method of producing fine conductive lines , patterns , and connections comprises the steps of : ( b ) applying a photoresist material to the exterior surface of the polymeric insulator ; ( c ) patterning the photoresist material to form openings through the photoresist to the polymeric insulator surface ; ( d ) treating the patterned photoresist with an organometallic compound to create an etch - resistant form of the photoresist ; ( f ) applying a conductive material to the surface of the photoresist , so that the openings in the photoresist and underlyiang polymeric insulator are at least filled with the conductive material ; ( g ) removing excess conductive material from the exterior major surface of the photoresist , using chemical - mechanical polishing , leaving conductive material filling the openings in the photoresist ; ( h ) removing the patterned photoresist , leaving the conductive material extending above the surface of the polymeric insulator . the eight preferred embodiment is illustrated in fig3 a through 3g . fig3 a shows a layer of polymeric insulator 44 deposited on a substrate 42 supported by a silicon wafer 40 . fig3 b shows a layer of photoresist 46 applied over the layer of polymeric insulator 44 . fig3 c shows the patterned , reacted photoresist 50 after patterning of photoresist 46 to create openings 48 , and reaction of the patterned photoresist with an organometallic compound or permeation of the patterned photoresist by an organometallic compound to create etch - resistant , patterned photoresist 50 . photoresist 50 overlays polymeric insulator 44 . fig3 d shows the multilayer patterned resist structure after the pattern of openings 48 has been transferred , using a reactive ion etch , from the patterned , reacted photoresist 50 to the insulator layer 40 . fig3 e shows conductive material 52 applied to the surface of the multilayer patterned resist , filling the openings 48 through patterned photoresist 50 and patterned insulator layer 44 . fig3 f shows the structure after chemical - mechanical polishing to remove at least the excess conductive material from the surface of the patterned photoresist 50 . fig3 g shows the removal of patterned , reacted photoresist layer 50 to expose the conductive metal lines and patterns 52 above the insulator surface 54 . a ninth embodiment would comprise all of the steps ( a ) through ( h ) of the eighth preferred embodiment , and include an additional step ( i ), wherein an additional insulator is applied , at least covering the conductive material extending above the surface of the first layer of polymeric insulator . the additional insulator may be an inorganic insulator or a polymeric insulator . a tenth embodiment would comprise steps ( a ) through ( f ) of the eighth preferred embodiment , and include an additional step ( g ) removing both the conductive material and the photoresist from the exterior major surface of the polymeric insulator using chemical - mechanical polishing , wherein the relative removal rates of the conductive material and treated photoresist material are substantially the same . the conductive material typically used in the practice of the present invention is a metal or metal alloy , such as al , cu , al - cu , al - si . the photoresists used in the method of the present invention include hard - baked novolaks , polyimide photoresists , polyglutarimide photoresists , photoresists comprising silicon , and photoresist materials having functional groups which can be reacted with an organometallic reagent . when a hard - baked novolak is used , the novolak photoresist is typically exposed to source of radiation to which it is sensitive , in order to create a latent image . the latent image is subsequently developed using standard aqueous base developer . after development , the patterned novolak resist is baked at a temperature of at least about 210 ° c . to provide the hard - baked patterned novolak resist . commerically available novolak photoresists of the type which can be used in the practice of the present invention include az 1350j and kodak 820 . commercially available polyimide photoresists of the type which can be used in the practice of the present invention include ciba - geigy probimide 300 and toray photoneece . examples of polyglutarimide photoresists which can be used in the practide of the present invention include poly ( dimethylglutarimide ) and polyglutarimides comprising poly ( dimethylglutarimide ) units . examples of photoresists comprising silicon include polydiazasiloxane , poly ( silane sulfone ), and compolymers of acrylic acid , methacrylic acid or their esters with a silicon - containing oxime ester of methacrylic acid . examples of photoresist materials having functional groups which can be reacted with an organometallic reagent include , but are not limited to : prepolymerized phenol - formaldehyde polymers which can contain diazo ketone sensitizer ( as known in the art ); photoresist polymers having functional groups such as oh , cooh , nh , and sh ; photoresist polymers having functional epoxide groups which are capable of undergoing ring opening and forming oh groups . examples of other photoresist polymers having the necessary functional groups include polyvinylpyrrolidone , polyvinylalcohol , polymers of p - hydroxystyrene , melamino polymers , homopolymers and copolymers of monoethylenically unsaturated acids , copolymers of alkyl methacrylates containing about 1 - 4 carbon atoms in the alkyl group , and a monoethylenically unsaturated acid . examples of photoresist materials capable of generating functional groups upon irradiation , which functional groups can be reacted with an organometallic reagent include o - nitrobenzene derivatives and polymers capable of photo - fries rearrangement . upon irradiation , acids , alcohols , and / or amines with reactive hydrogens are generated within these materials . photoresist materials comprising the functional groups capable of reacting with an organometallic reagent can be used alone or in combination with compatible polymeric materials . the organometallic compounds which can be used in the practice of the present invention include compounds wherein suitable metallic portions of the organometallic material comprise group iii a metals , group iv a metals , group iv b metals , and group vi b metals . an example of a group iii a metal is aluminum . examples of group iv a metals are tin , germanium , and silicon . examples of group iv b metals are titanium and zirconium . examples of group vi b metals are tungsten and molybdenum . the preferred metallic portions are titanium ;, silicon , and tin , with the most preferred being silicon . the most preferred organometallic compounds are the multifunctional organometallic compounds which are capable of crosslinking the photoresist while simultaneously incorporating the metal atoms . the overall effect of using the multifunctional organometallic compounds is increased thermal stability of the reacted photoresist , improved mechanical stability of the reacted photoresist , and a lower dielectric constant of the reacted photoresist ( making it a better insulator ). examples of preferred multifunctional organometallic compounds are specified at length in u . s . patent application , ser . no . 713 , 509 , which has previously been incorporated by reference . the chemical - mechanical polishing techniques to be used for removal of the conductive material overlaying the photoresist are known in the art and have been referred to in the specification . an important consideration applicable to the practice of the present invention is the slurry to be used for polishing . it is preferred that the slurry used for polishing have a significantly higher removal rate for the conductive material than for the photoresist ; this provides the advantage that the photoresist may be used as an etch stop layer . in addition , it is preferred that the polishing slurry permit reaction with the conductive material on the polishing surface , but not with the photoresist . in the case wherein the conductive material is an aluminum based alloy such as alcu , the slurry may be comprised of an alumina powder in a dilute acid ( typically hno 3 solution ) to produce a ph less than about 3 . additional polishing techniques are described in u . s . patent application ser . no . 791 , 860 to k . d . beyer et al . filed concurrently herewith and entitled chem - mech polishing method for producing coplanar metal / insulator films on a substrate , the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . as shown in fig1 a , a layer of novolak photoresist 14 was applied over a silicon oxide comprised surface 12 on a silicon wafer 10 , using standard spin coating techniques . the novolak coating was then baked at about 80 ° c . for a period of about 30 minutes , to produce a dry coating about 1 . 5 micrometer thick . the photoresist 14 was exposed to actinic radiation to create a latent image , which was subsequently developed using aqueous base to create a pattern of openings 16 , as shown in fig1 b . the patterned novolak was converted to the &# 34 ; hard - baked &# 34 ; condition by baking in an oven , beginning at about 80 ° c . and increasing the oven temperature , at a rate ranging from about 1 ° c . per minute to about 5 ° c . per minute , to a maximum temperature of about 250 ° c . a layer of al - cu alloy 18 was then applied to the patterned novolak photoresist 14 using electron - beam deposition , filling the openings and leaving a coating of about 2 micrometers in thickness of the surface of the photoresist 14 , as shown in fig1 c . chemical - mechanical polishing using an al 2 o 3 / hno 3 slurry was then used to remove excess al - cu 18 from the exterior surface of photoresist 14 , as shown in fig1 d . subsequently , the photoresist 14 was removed , using an oxygen plasma , to create the structure shown in fig1 e , wherein the al - cu 18 in the form of thin lines about 1 . 5 micrometer in width and about 1 . 5 micrometer in height remains upon the surface comprised of silicon oxide 12 . as shown in fig2 a , a layer of novolak photoresist 24 was applied to a silicon oxide surface 22 on a silicon wafer 20 , using standard spin coating techniques . the novolak coating was then baked at about 80 ° c . for a period of about 15 minutes to produce a dry film thickness of about 1 . 5 micrometers . the novolak photoresist 24 was then patterned by exposure to actinic radiation and developed using aqueous base to create openings 26 in the photoresist 24 , as shown in fig2 b . the novolak photoresist 24 , was treated at room temperature with polyfunctional silylating agent in a carrier solvent , about 10 % by weight hexamethylcyclotrisilazane in xylene carrier solvent , in order to crosslink and incorporate silicon into the novolak photoresist 24 , converting it in form to silylated photoresist 28 , as shown in fig2 c . subsequently , al - cu alloy 30 was applied to silylated photoresist 28 using standard metal sputtering technique , filling the openings and leaving a coating of about 2 . 5 micrometer on the surface of silylated photoresist 28 , as shown in fig2 d . chemical - mechanical polishing with al 2 o 3 / hno 3 slurry is then used to remove excess al - cu 30 from the major exterior surface 32 of silylated photoresist 28 , as shown in fig2 e , and described in example 1 . as shown in fig3 a , an approximately 5 micrometer thick layer of a pmda - oda polyimide 44 was applied to a silicon oxide comprised surface 42 on a silicon wafer 40 , as shown in fig3 a , using standard spin coating techniques . the polyimide was subsequently baked at about 230 ° c . for a period of about 30 minutes , followed by 350 ° c . for a period of about 30 minutes . a layer of a novolak photoresist 46 was applied to the surface of the polyimide 44 , using standard spin coating techniques , and baked for a period of about 30 minutes at a temperature of about 80 ° c . to produce a dry film thickness of about 1 . 1 micrometer , as shown in fig3 b . the novolak photoresist 46 was then patterned by exposure to actinic radiation and developement using aqueous base , to create openings 48 in the novolak photoresist 46 . subsequently , the novolak photoresist 46 was treated with multifunctional silylating agent hexamethylcyclotrisilane , as described in example 2 , to create patterned silylated photoresist 50 , as shown in fig3 c . subsequently the pattern was transferred from silylated photoresist 50 to polyimide layer 44 using oxygen reactive ion etching to produce the structure shown in fig3 d . al - cu alloy 52 was then applied to the silylated photoresist 50 using standard metal sputtering technique , filling the openings 48 and leaving a coating of al - cu 52 about 8 micrometers thick on the surface of silylated photoresist 50 , as shown in fig3 e . chemical - mechanical polishing with al 2 o 3 / hno 3 slurry is then used to remove the excess al - cu 52 from the surface of silylated photoresist 50 , as shown in fig3 f . the structure can be left in this form , when a planar surface is desired , as the silylated novolak photoresist 50 is a good insulator in itself , having a dielectric constant of 3 . 5 as compared with the polyimide 42 dielectric constant of 3 . 8 . however , the silylated photoresist 50 can also be subsequently removed using a cf 4 -- o 2 plasma , to produce the structure shown in fig3 g , wherein the al - cu 52 extends above the major exterior surface 54 of the polyimide layer . the detailed description of the present invention , including preferred embodiments , provides a number of variations within the present invention . many modifications and ramifications will occur to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the present disclosure ; these modified embodiments are intended to be included herein . | 7 |
in operation , adhesive contained in reservoir 24 is picked up by wire cable 36 and advanced by rotation of wheel 13 , indicated by the arrow , in front of nozzle orifice 46 . air that is blown through nozzle orifice 46 disperses or pulls the adhesive from cable 36 toward the designated medium onto which adhesive application is desired . depending on the viscosity of the adhesive in the reservoir , the cross - sectional diameter of cable 36 , and the diameter of wheel 13 , a relatively precise amount of adhesive can be dispensed . further , because the adhesive to be dispensed does not pass through a nozzle , the percent solid of the adhesive can be greater than the prior art adhesive applicators permitted . exemplary adhesives that can be used in the adhesive applicator of the present invention include , but are not limited to , those in the following : u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 982 , 107 ; 6 , 946 , 177 ; 6 , 927 , 315 ; 6 , 911 , 243 ; 6 , 903 , 151 ; 6 , 887 , 917 ; 6 , 861 , 139 ; 6 , 855 , 386 ; 6 , 838 , 150 ; 6 , 835 , 271 ; 6 , 832 , 445 ; 6 , 777 , 080 ; 6 , 777 , 079 ; 6 , 767 , 935 ; 756 , 098 ; and 6 , 753 , 379 . preferred adhesives have a viscosity that is between about 200 cp and 2000 cp . these adhesives can be used in a wide variety of applications , including , but not limited to , consumer and office goods such as post - it ® notes and related products ; commercial graphics applications , such as billboards ; traffic safety applications , such as signage and road markers ; automotive applications ; industrial applications , such as sandpaper ; and medical applications , such as dental products . the adhesive applicator of the present invention is based on printer technology that is described in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 944 , 893 ; 5 , 972 , 111 ; 6 , 089 , 160 ; 6 , 090 , 445 ; 6 , 190 , 454 ; 6 , 319 , 555 ; 6 , 398 , 869 ; and 6 , 786 , 971 , all of which are incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth . the printer described above can be used to implement two - part ink systems . one exemplary two - part ink system includes a fluid and a second material that is microencapsulated in the fluid material . the two materials can be designed to react with one another but would be prevented from doing so because of the physical barrier that the microencapsulation provides . when the two - part ink system is directed toward the print medium by force of the air stream , the momentum imparted is sufficient to burst the microbubbles and cause the fluids to mix or react . alternatively , where the momentum is insufficient to burst the microbubbles , the force of the drop of ink colliding with the print medium will cause the microbubbles to burst and for the two materials in the two - part ink system to react or mix . a second exemplary two - part ink system includes a fluid and a second material that exists as a microemulsion in the fluid material . the two materials could be designed to react with one another but would be prevented from doing so because of the physical barrier that the microemulsion provides . a third exemplary two - part ink system includes two fluids that are mixed or combined upon jetting and that react on the print medium . this implementation could be effected , for example , by having two separate heads , each of which jets one of the two fluids such that they react or mix upon contact on the print medium . alternatively , this implementation could be effected , for example , by mixing or combining the two fluids at the point of spraying . a fourth exemplary two - part ink system includes two components or inks that are combined together before addition to the ink reservoir and thus before jetting . the two components are designed to be mixed together for optimal properties of the ink after application . these two - part ink systems have a viscosity that is between about 200 cp and 2000 cp and cannot be printed through existing ink jet systems . as used herein , the term “ ink ” is meant to include any pigmented material , including , but not limited to , inks , dyes , paints , or other similarly pigmented liquids . while a wide variety of two - part ink systems could be used , one preferred class of two - part ink systems is epoxy - based systems . as used herein , the term “ print medium ” is meant to include any print medium known in the art , including but not limited to paper , plastic , synthetic paper , metal foil , vinyl , and films , and variations thereof . as used herein , the term “ cable ” is meant to include the use of a wire , a cable formed of multiple wires , a rod , a saw tooth wheel , or variations thereof . the printer described above can be used to generate digitally non - impact printed samples , potentially multi - colored , on the following materials : diaper fasteners ; hooks ; macro - closures ; films ; nonwovens ; laminates ; elastics ; and superabsorbents . also , it can be used to print on those materials using , for example , the following : adhesives ; cohesives ; coatings ; lotions ; skin care compositions ; and absorbent compositions . the non - impact digital printing can provide an improved overall cost , speed , quality , and flexibility . for elastics it provides cost effective stretch with elastomeric materials disposed only in specific areas and in specific amounts of printed ink with a large degree of flexibility in design patterns without investing in custom equipment such as rolls or dies for each new design or pattern needed for tailorability , aesthetics , and customization . customization , differentiation and performance enhancement via color , patterns , shapes , or combinations thereof is considered important for certain products . for example , a visual indication of a fit and status of a diaper is also an ever - growing need and trend . current technologies do not allow for cost effective means of achieving these needs . for example , changing colors in an extrusion process can negatively impact yields , resulting in increased manufacturing costs . providing multiple colored elastics with current technologies can be cost prohibitive . also , ink printing of large areas becomes expensive . moreover , to achieve intense colors , high amounts of ink have to be applied , which may lead to increased manufacturing costs and the ink rubbing off during use of the printed article . the printer described above , in addition to design flexibility , allows for easy integration of multiple colors in diaper components or other products . colored and especially multi - colored elastics can provide for a visual indication of functional attributes such as a stretch indication . the printer described above can also be used in a process for applying a composition onto a substrate web comprising the following steps : providing a substrate ; and non - impact printing a composition onto at least one side of the substrate using a printer in which the composition does not pass through an orifice during the printing process . the resulting printed material can then be used as is , further processed , integrated with other materials or processes , or transferred onto other substrates . fig3 is a diagram of a system 130 to use the printer to print ink onto a substrate . system 130 includes a print head 148 mounted on a track 142 supported by vertical posts 144 and 146 , a wall , or other support . print head 148 corresponds with printing system 10 . a drive unit 134 , using a motor , controls movement of print head 148 along track 142 in an x - direction as indicated by arrows 140 . a substrate support 150 is located on a track 136 , which would be supported by a vertical post , wall , or other support . a drive unit 132 , using a motor , controls movement of substrate support 150 along track 136 in a y - direction as indicated by arrows 138 . a substrate can be mounted or otherwise affixed to substrate support 150 , and a line or pattern can be printed upon the substrate by print head 148 . the configuration of the line or pattern is determined by the coordinated movement of print head 148 along track 142 and the substrate on substrate support 150 along track 136 . a computer 100 , corresponding with controller 57 and used to implement controller 57 , electronically controls print head 148 and drive units 132 and 134 for moving substrate support 150 and print head 148 , respectively . computer 100 can include , for example , the following components : a memory 112 storing one or more applications 114 ; a secondary storage 120 for providing non - volatile storage of information ; an input device 116 for entering information or commands into computer 100 ; a processor 122 for executing applications stored in memory 112 or secondary storage 120 , or as received from another source ; an output device 118 for outputting information , such as information provided in hard copy or audio form ; and a display device 124 for displaying information in visual or audiovisual form . computer 100 can optionally include a connection to a network such as the internet , an intranet , or other type of network . computer 100 can be programmed to control movement of print head 148 along track 142 and substrate support 150 along track 136 . in particular , computer 100 can be programmed to electronically control movement of print head 148 , via drive unit 134 , in x - direction 140 laterally across a substrate on substrate support 150 , and computer 100 can be programmed to electronically control movement of the substrate on substrate support 150 , via drive unit 132 , in y - direction 138 vertically with respect to print head 148 . computer 100 also controls print head 148 , as described above , for movement of the wire and delivery of the ink from the wire to the substrate . computer 100 can also be programmed to control an air solenoid in system 10 . the use of tracks 136 and 142 for coordinated movement of substrate support 150 and print head 148 , respectively , thus effectively functions as an x - y stage for using the printer to print a wide variety of shapes and configurations of patterns , lines , or other elements . as an alternative , lines or patterns can be printed using one of the following techniques : coordinated movement of print head 148 in the y - direction and substrate support 150 in the x - direction ; movement of print head 148 in both the x - direction and y - direction ; or movement of substrate support 150 in both the x - direction and y - direction . computer 100 can also be programmed to control the printer for radial printing . in particular , a first orifice can direct an air jet at the wheel or wire to remove paint in a purely radial direction , while other orifices supplying air can be angled above the air jet created by the first orifice to help eliminate conical divergence of the paint as it is pulled from the surfaces of the wheel or wire . | 1 |
in the following , embodiments of the present invention regarding a semiconductor substrate and method for fabricating a semiconductor device will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig3 a – 3f are explanatory drawings for explaining a mechanism of corrosion or peeling occurring at an alignment mark of the feram 20 shown in fig1 . in fig3 a – 3f , like components are denoted by like numerals as of those shown in fig1 and 2 a – 2 f and will not be further explained . fig3 a – 3f are drawings showing the steps of fig2 a and 2b in more detail . in fig3 a , the feram 20 shown in fig1 is formed at a cell area ( element area ) 21 c of the substrate 21 . the cell area 21 c is defined by a scribe area 21 d . in the step shown in fig5 a , a conductive film 270 corresponding to the lower electrode 27 , a ferroelectric film corresponding to the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 28 , and another conductive film corresponding to the upper electrode 29 are orderly formed on the layer - interposed insulating film 26 in the cell area 21 c . by patterning the films with resist , the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 28 and the upper electrode 29 is formed on the conductive film 270 . furthermore , the al 2 o 3 pattern ( encapsulation layer ) 330 a is formed on the conductive film 270 in a manner covering the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 28 , the upper electrode , and an area of the conductive film at which the lower electrode 27 is to be formed . in the step shown in fig3 b , the conductive film 270 is patterned . as a result , the lower electrode 27 is formed in the cell area 21 c , and an alignment mark pattern 27 m is formed in the scribe area 21 d . in the step shown in fig3 c , the al 2 o 3 film 330 is uniformly formed on the structure shown in fig3 b . in the step shown in fig3 c , the al 2 o 3 film 330 covers the alignment pattern 27 m in the scribe area 21 d . as shown in fig3 c , the al 2 o 3 film 330 covers not only the alignment mark pattern 27 , but the entire layer - interposed insulating film 26 of the substrate 21 . the existence of the al 2 o 3 film 330 covering the entire layer - interposed insulating film 26 , for example , reduces process efficiency in the formation of contact holes 30 c – 30 f deeply penetrated to the substrate surface as shown in fig2 c . therefore , in the step shown in fig3 d , the al 2 o 3 film 330 is patterned , to thereby allow the al 2 o 3 film 330 to remain only on the lower electrode 27 of the ferroelectric capacitor . in addition , the alignment mark pattern 27 m in the scribe area 21 d is exposed ( see fig3 d ) as a result of the patterning . in the step shown in fig3 d , the layer - interposed insulating film 30 is formed on the layer - interposed insulating film 26 in a manner covering the ferroelectric capacitor in the cell area 21 c and the alignment mark pattern 27 m in the scribe area 21 d . in the step shown in fig3 e , the contact holes 30 a and 30 b are formed in the layer - interposed insulating film 30 based on the alignment mark pattern 27 m , in a manner exposing the upper electrode 29 and the lower electrode 27 , respectively . further , in the scribe area 21 d , aperture portions 30 m are formed according to another alignment mark pattern ( sub - pattern ) corresponding to the alignment mark pattern 27 m ( main pattern ). in fig3 e , the barrier film is not shown for the purpose of simplification . in the step shown in fig3 e , the etching process for forming the contact holes 30 a , 30 b require a considerable amount of time since the apertures of the contact holes 30 a , 30 b are required to penetrate the al 2 o 3 films 330 and 330 a . particularly with recent ferams , in which the ferroelectric capacitor is size - reduced in correspondence with size - reduction of the element , the al 2 o 3 films 330 and 330 a are formed with increased thicknesses due to a greater need to prevent hydrogen from entering ( for example , the al 2 o 3 film 330 formed with a thickness of 100 nm , al 2 o 3 film 330 a formed with a thickness of 50 nm ) as a result , an extensive amount of time is required in the step shown in fig6 e . however , as the time in performing the step shown in fig6 e becomes longer , the aperture portion 30 m in the scribe area 21 d becomes remarkably deeper , thereby penetrating the layer - interposed insulating film 26 , and further reaching the silicon substrate 21 . it is to be noted that there is no al 2 o 3 film disposed beneath the aperture portion 30 m in the scribe area 21 d . accordingly , in a case where the aperture portion 30 m reaches the silicon substrate 21 as shown in fig3 f ( corresponding to fig2 f ), a reaction generated between a portion of the silicon substrate 21 exposed by the aperture portion 30 and a gas containing f such as wf 6 used in the cvd process , in which w is filled in the contact holes 30 a , 30 b , and the aperture portion 30 for forming the contact plugs 32 a , 32 b , and the alignment mark ( sub - mark ) 32 m . for example , a reaction of the corrosive reactive gas causes irregularity at the side wall surface of the mark pattern 32 m , thereby creating gaps and peeled portions . furthermore , the alignment precision , which is based on the distance δ between the main mark pattern 27 m and the sub - mark pattern 32 m , is reduced . in addition , alignment precision for alignment processes performed afterwards may also be adversely affected . furthermore , particles may scatter onto the substrate surface , thereby resulting to yield loss in fabricating the feram . fig4 a and 4b show a semiconductor wafer 401 formed with an feram 400 according to a first embodiment of the present invention , in which the semiconductor wafer 401 formed with the feram 400 is able to solve the above - described problems . fig4 a is an overall view of the semiconductor wafer 401 , and fig4 b is a partial enlarged plane view of the semiconductor wafer 401 shown in fig4 a . with reference to fig4 a and 4b , numerous scribe areas 401 s are disposed on the semiconductor wafer 401 in a grid - like manner . the scribe areas 401 s define element areas ( cell areas ) 401 a – 401 i arranged in a grid - like manner on the semiconductor wafer 401 . further , alignment mark patterns 401 m are disposed on the scribe areas 401 s in the proximity of respective element areas 401 a – 401 i . further , each element area 401 a – 401 i is formed with an feram including a ferroelectric capacitor . fig5 is a cross - sectional view showing a structure of the feram of the element area 401 a . the feram shown in fig5 has a structure similar to that of the feram shown in fig1 . in fig5 , the feram 120 is formed on a p - type or n - type si substrate 121 , in which the si substrate 121 is defined by a field insulating film 122 and includes a p - type well 21 a and an n - type well 121 b . a gate electrode 124 a , having a polycide structure , is formed above the p - type well 121 a via a gate insulating film 123 a . further , a gate electrode 124 b , also having a polycide structure , is formed above the n - type well 121 b via a gate insulating film 123 b . in the p - type well 121 a , n - type diffusion areas 121 a , 121 b are formed on both sides of the gate electrode 124 a . in the n - type well 121 b , p - type diffusion areas 121 c , 121 d are formed on both sides of the gate electrode 124 b . outside the active area , the gate electrode 124 a extends over a field oxide film ( element separation film ) 122 , and forms a part of an feram word line ( wl ). each of the gate electrodes 124 a , 124 b has a side wall insulating film . above the si substrate 121 , an sion cover film 125 is formed in a manner covering the field insulating film 122 , in which the sion cover film 125 is formed into a thickness of approximately 200 nm by a cvd method . a sio 2 layer - interposed insulating film 126 is formed in a manner covering the cover film 125 , in which the sio 2 layer - interposed insulating film 126 is formed into a thickness of approximately 1 μm by a cvd method employing teos gas . the surface of the layer - interposed insulating film 126 planarized by a cmp method . a ferroelectric capacitor is formed above the planarized layer - interposed insulating film 126 , in which the ferroelectric capacitor has a lower electrode 127 , a ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 128 , and an upper electrode 129 orderly stacked above each other . the lower electrode 127 is formed of a ti film with a thickness of 10 – 30 nm ( more preferably , approximately 20 nm ) and a pt film with a thickness of 100 – 300 nm ( more preferably , approximately 175 nm ). the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 128 is a film of pzt (( pb ( zr , ti ) o 3 ) or pzlt (( pb , la ) ( zr , ti ) o 3 ) with a thickness of 100 – 300 nm ( more preferably , approximately 240 nm ). the upper electrode 129 , disposed above the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 128 , is a film of irox with a thickness of 100 – 300 nm ( more preferably , 200 nm ). further , the ti film and the pt film are formed , typically , by sputtering . the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 128 , typically after sputtering , is crystallized by rapid thermal processing in a oxygen atmosphere of 725 ° c . for 20 seconds . it is preferable to add ca and sr to the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 128 . further , the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 128 can not only be formed by a sputtering method , but alternatively formed by a spin - on method , a sol - gel method , a mod ( metal organic deposition ) method , or a mocvd method . as alternatives for using a pzt film or a plzt film as the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 128 , an sbt ( srbi 2 ( ta , nb ) 2 o 9 ) film , or a bto ( bi 4 ti 2 o 12 ) film may , for example , be used . furthermore , by using a high dielectric film ( e . g . a bst (( ba , sr ) tio 3 ) film , or a sto ( srtio 3 ) film ) as an alternative for the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 128 , a dram can be formed . further , the irox film of the upper electrode 129 is typically formed by sputtering . a pt film or an sro ( srruo 3 ) film may be used as alternatives for the irox film . in a case where the ferroelectric capacitor is exposed to a reducing atmosphere , particularly to hydrogen , during a semiconductor process , the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 128 is easily deoxidized , thereby resulting to severe deterioration of electric property . therefore , the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 128 is covered by an encapsulation layer 430 a formed of al 2 o 3 , in which the encapsulation layer 430 a is formed with a thickness of approximately 50 nm by employing a sputtering method . further , the encapsulation layer 430 a is covered by another encapsulation layer 430 also formed of al 2 o 3 , in which the other encapsulation layer 430 is formed with a thickness of approximately 20 nm . the other encapsulation layer 430 serves as a barrier layer for preventing hydrogen from entering . an sio 2 layer - interposed insulating film 130 is formed on the encapsulation layer 430 by a cvd method ( more preferably , a plasma cvd ( p - cvd ) method ) using , for example , sih 4 , a polysilane compound such as si 2 f 6 , si 3 f 8 , si 2 f 3 cl , sif 4 , or teos , in which the sio 2 layer - interposed insulating film 130 is formed above the upper electrode 129 with a thickness of approximately 400 nm . contact holes 130 a , 130 b are formed in the layer - interposed insulating film 130 for exposing the upper and lower electrodes 129 , 127 , respectively . further , contact holes 130 c , 130 d , 130 e , and 130 f are disposed in the layer - interposed insulating film 126 for exposing the diffusion areas 121 a , 121 b , 121 c , and 121 d , respectively . a contact hole 130 g is formed in the layer - interposed insulating film 130 for exposing the word line patter wl formed on the element separation film 122 . in the conventional feram 20 shown in fig1 , contacting films 131 a and 131 b , formed of conductive nitride material ( e . g . tin ) with a thickness of approximately 50 nm , are respectively formed in the contact holes 130 a and 130 b in a manner directly contacting the inner wall surfaces of the contact holes 130 a and 130 b , or directly contacting the surfaces of the exposed upper or lower electrodes 129 , 127 . by applying a cvd method using a mixed gas of wf 6 , ar , and h 2 , a conductive plug ( w plug ) 132 a , formed of w , is formed on the contacting film 131 a of the contact hole 130 a , and a conductive plug ( w plug ) 132 b , also formed of w , is formed on the contacting film 131 b of the contact hole 130 b . in a likewise manner , contacting films 131 c – 131 g are formed at the inner wall surfaces of the contact holes 130 c – 130 g , and w plugs 132 c – 132 g are formed on the contacting films 131 c – 131 g . further , wiring patterns 133 a – 133 f , formed of al , are disposed on the layer - interposed insulating film 130 in correspondence with the w plugs 132 a – 132 g . the wiring patterns 133 a – 133 f are covered by a further layer - interposed insulating film 134 formed of sio 2 , in which the layer - interposed insulating film 134 is formed by a p - cvd method using , for example , sih 4 , a polysilane compound such as si 2 f 6 , si 3 f 8 , si 2 f 3 cl , sif 4 , or teos , similar as the layer - interposed insulating film 130 . further , a protective film 135 , formed of sio 2 , is formed on the layer - interposed insulating film 134 with a thickness of 100 nm or more by using a p - cvd method . the protective film 135 serves to cover exposed slits ( cavities ) formed after a planarizing process ( cmp ) executed after the formation of the layer - interposed insulating film 134 . further , contact holes 135 a , 135 b are formed in a manner piercing the protective film 135 and the layer - interposed insulating film 134 for exposing the wiring patterns 133 a and 133 f , respectively . further , w plugs 137 a , 137 b are formed on the inners wall surface of the contact holes 135 a , 135 b via contacting films ( tin contacting layers ) 136 a , 136 b . further , wiring patterns 138 a , 138 b , formed of al or al alloy , are formed on the protective film 135 in a manner contacting the w plugs 137 a , 137 b . in forming the wiring patterns 138 a , 138 b , the contacting films 136 a , 136 b are disposed extending between the wiring patterns 138 a , 138 b and the protective film 135 in a manner covering the inner wall surfaces of the contact holes 135 a , 135 b . further , a layer - interposed insulating film 139 , formed in a manner similar to that of layer - interposed insulating film 130 and 134 , is disposed covering the wiring patterns 138 a , 138 b . further , a protective film 140 , similar to the protective film 135 , is formed on the layer - interposed insulating film 139 . then , wiring patterns 141 a – 141 e including a bit line ( bl ) pattern is formed on the protective film 140 . since the fabrication process of the feram 120 shown in fig5 is similar to that shown in fig2 a – 2f , further description thereof is omitted . next , among the fabrication processes ( steps ) of the feram 120 , a formation process of the ferroelectric capacitor and the al2o3 films 430 , 430 a covering the capacitor id described along with a formation process of an alignment mark of the scribe area ( s ) 401 s with reference to fig6 a – 6f . in the step shown in fig6 a , the layer - interposed insulating film 126 is disposed on the silicon substrate 121 corresponding to the silicon wafer 401 shown in fig5 . the conductive layer 127 a for forming the lower electrode 127 , the ferroelectric film 128 a for forming the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 128 , and the conductive layer 129 a for forming the upper electrode 129 is disposed on the layer - interposed insulating film 126 in a manner uniformly covering the element area 401 a and the scribe area 401 s . the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 128 and the upper electrode 129 are formed on the conductive layer 127 a in the element area 401 a by patterning , in order , the conductive film 129 a and the ferroelectric film 128 a in the step shown in fig6 b . in the step shown in fig6 b , the ferroelectric film 129 a in the scribe area 401 s is patterned to thereby obtain a conductive pattern 129 b simultaneously with the formation of the electrode 129 , in which the conductive pattern 129 b has a composition and a thickness that are the same as those of the upper electrode 129 . further , by patterning the ferroelectric film 128 a in the scribe area 401 s , a ferroelectric pattern 128 b is formed below the conductive pattern 129 b simultaneously with the formation of the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 128 . further , the structure shown in fig6 b is thermally processed in an oxygen atmosphere for compensating a deficit of oxygen inducted in the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 128 . in the step of fig6 b , a same mask is used for patterning both the upper electrode 129 and the conductive pattern 129 b , and a same mask is used for patterning both the ferroelectric capacitor insulating film 128 and the ferroelectric pattern 128 b . in the step shown in fig6 c , an al 2 o 3 film 430 n forming the encapsulation layer 430 a is formed , for example , with a thickness of 50 nm in a manner uniformly covering the element area 401 a and the scribe area 401 s . in the step shown in fig6 d , the al 2 o 3 film 430 n is patterned in a manner allowing al 2 o 3 film 430 n to remain only in the area at which the ferroelectric capacitor is formed . thereby , the encapsulation layer 430 a is formed . in the step shown in fig6 e , the lower electrode 127 is formed by patterning the conductive film 127 a . accordingly , a ferroelectric capacitor fc including the lower electrode 127 is obtained in the element area 401 a . at the same time of the formation of the lower electrode 127 , a conductive pattern 127 b is formed in the scribe area 401 s . accordingly , an alignment mark pattern 127 m , formed of the conductive pattern 127 b , the ferroelectric pattern 128 b , and the conductive pattern 129 b , is obtained in the scribe area 401 s . in the step of fig6 e , a same mask is used for patterning both the lower electrode 127 and the conductive pattern 127 b . in the step shown in fig6 f , an al 2 o 3 film 430 m corresponding to the encapsulation layer 430 is formed , for example , with a thickness of 100 nm in a manner uniformly covering the element area 401 a and the scribe area 401 s . in the step shown in fig6 g , the encapsulation layer ( second encapsulation layer ) 430 is formed by patterning the al 2 o 3 film 430 m in a manner allowing the encapsulation layer 430 to cover the ferroelectric capacitor fc via the al 2 o 3 encapsulation layer 430 a . as a result of the step of fig6 g , the alignment mark pattern 127 m , which is covered by the al 2 o 3 film 430 m in the step of fig6 f , becomes exposed . further , in the step shown in fig6 g , the layer - interposed insulating film 130 is formed on the layer - interposed insulating film 126 . in the step shown in fig6 h , a mask alignment process is performed based on the alignment mark pattern 127 m . then , in accordance with the mask alignment , a photolithography process and a dry - etching process are performed , in which contact holes 130 a , 130 b are formed in the layer - interposed insulating film 130 in the element area 401 a in a manner penetrating the encapsulation layers 430 , 430 a , and exposing the upper electrode 129 and the lower electrode 127 , respectively . by using the same mask , the aperture portion ( alignment aperture portion ) 130 m , which exposes the conductive pattern 129 b of the alignment mark pattern 127 m , is formed in the scribe area 401 s at the same time of the formation of the contact holes 130 a , 130 b . the dry - etching process in the step of fig6 h is performed by using , for example , an icp type high density plasma etching apparatus . in the step shown in fig6 h , although a considerable amount of etching time may still be required for penetrating the encapsulation layers 430 , 430 a , and the alignment aperture portion 130 m may still be excessively etched to some extent , the rate of etching the alignment aperture portion 130 m can be reduced once the alignment mark pattern 127 m becomes exposed . this owes to the alignment mark pattern 127 m , which has the same structure as the ferroelectric capacitor , being disposed below the alignment aperture portion 130 m . therefore , unlike the step shown in fig3 e , the alignment aperture portion 130 m will not entirely penetrate the layer - interposed insulating film 126 and reach the silicon substrate 121 . in the step shown in fig6 h , the mask alignment process for forming the contact holes 130 a , 130 b are performed by using the alignment aperture portion 130 m and the alignment mark pattern 127 m in a resist process . this enables the contact holes 130 a and 130 b to be accurately aligned with respect to the ferroelectric capacitor fc . in the step shown in fig6 i , a tin film , serving as contact layer , is deposited to the structure shown in fig6 h by sputtering . further , the w film is deposited thereon by a cvd method using a vapor wf 6 material . thereby , the contact holes 130 a , 130 b and the alignment aperture portion 130 m is filled with the w film via the tin contact film . further , unnecessary tin film and w film remaining on the layer - interposed insulating film 130 is removed by a cmp method . consequently , a structure shown in fig6 i is obtained , wherein the contact hole 130 a is filled by the w plug 132 a via the tin contact film 131 a , the contact hole 130 b is filled by the w plug 132 b via the tin contact film 131 b , and the alignment aperture portion 130 m is filled by the w pattern 132 m via the tin contact film 132 n . here , the alignment mark pattern 127 m serves as a main mark pattern , and the w pattern 132 m serves as a sub mark pattern . since mask alignment is performed using the alignment aperture portion 130 m and the alignment mark pattern 127 m in the step shown in fig6 h , the state of alignment of , for example , the structure shown in fig6 i , can be monitored by measuring the distance between the main mark pattern 127 m and the sub mark pattern 132 m . as described above , the mark pattern 127 m stops excessive penetration of the aperture portion 130 m and prevents the aperture portion 130 m from reaching the silicon substrate 121 in the dry - etching process for forming the contact holes 130 a , 130 b , as shown in fig6 h . accordingly , even when tungsten is employed for filling the contact holes 130 a , 130 b , a wf6 gas , for example , used in a cvd method will not contact the silicon substrate 121 , and generation of a corrosive gas such as sif 6 can be prevented . in the step shown in fig6 i , by forming the alignment pattern 132 m having a well - defined edge , and using the alignment pattern 132 m as a main pattern , a subsequent wiring pattern can be further formed to the structure shown in fig6 i . in addition , since the present invention prevents generation of corrosive gas , peeling in the mark pattern 132 m can be prevented . accordingly , the generation of particles , which lead to yield loss of the semiconductor device , can be prevented . further , the subsequent wiring pattern is applied on the structure shown in fig6 i to form a multilayer wiring structure . last , the silicon wafer 401 ( see fig4 a ), forming the silicon substrate 121 , is diced along the scribe areas 401 s , to thereby allow each of the element areas 401 a – 401 i to separate as semiconductor integrated circuit chips . although the first embodiment of the present invention is described using the element area 401 a shown in fig4 b , the description applies to the other element areas 401 b – 401 i . fig7 is a cross - sectional view showing a wafer including a semiconductor device according to a second embodiment of the present invention . like components are denoted by like numerals as of those in the first embodiment and will not be further explained . in the second embodiment , the conductive pattern 129 b disposed at an upper - most portion of the alignment pattern 127 m in the scribe area 401 s is removed , to thereby obtain an alignment pattern 127 m having stack layers of the conductive pattern 127 b and the ferroelectric pattern 128 b . similar to advantages of the first embodiment , the structure of the second embodiment prevents the alignment aperture portion 130 m from penetrating the ferroelectric pattern 128 b and the lower pattern 127 b and advancing into the layer - interposed insulating layer 126 during the etching process as shown in fig6 h . fig8 is a cross - sectional view showing a wafer including a semiconductor device according to a third embodiment of the present invention . like components are denoted by like numerals as of those in the above - described embodiments and will not be further explained . in fig8 , the alignment pattern 127 m is formed not in a scribe area , but in an unused part of the element area 401 a . thus structured , a more accurate alignment can be performed since the alignment mark pattern 127 m is formed in the vicinity of the ferroelectric capacitor . furthermore , with the third embodiment shown in fig8 , the alignment mark pattern 127 m may be used as a ferroelectric capacitor according to necessity . in addition , the present invention is not to be limited in use for fabrication of ferams . the present invention may be effectively applied to a typical fabrication process of a semiconductor device , in which there is a difference in etching speed ( etching rate ) between different layers of a predetermined etching recipe . further , the present invention is not limited to these embodiments , but various variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention . the present application is based on japanese priority application no . 2004 - 080770 filed on mar . 19 , 2004 with the japanese patent office , the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference . | 7 |
these and other problems are overcome by use of the present invention . specifically , the addition of isoascorbic acid or or water soluble salt forms thereof to the prior art compositions and methods disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 279 , 767 and 4 , 289 , 645 will minimize product sludge formation . it is postulated that ascorbic acid will provide similar results . as ascorbic acid and isoascorbic acid are both well known boiler water oxygen scavengers , they can be utilized to replace some of the hydroquinone used in the scavenger compositions , thus maintaining a constant percentage of oxygen scavenging component in the formulation . as to the mu - amines which are acceptable for use in the invention , these are detailed in the above - noted u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 279 , 767 and 4 , 289 , 645 . the entire content of these patents is accordingly incorporated by reference herein . as is stated in these patents , a simple test sequence may be used to determine if any given amine is a mu - amine . step 1 : to a 1 pint glass jar which can be equipped with a cover lid , add 80 . 0 grams of demineralized water and 10 . 0 grams of the amine to be tested . step 2 : stir the contents of the jar for one minute , preferably via a magnetic stirrer . if the amine is a solid , stir until complete dissolution into the water is attained . step 3 : to the contents of the jar , after the amine has been thoroughly mixed with the water , add 10 . 0 grams of hydroquinone . step 4 : stir the contents of the jar for three minutes . if precipitation within the jar occurs , then the amine is not a mu - amine . if no precipitate formation within the jar is evident , the amine may possibly be a mu - amine , so proceed to step 5 . step 5 : seal the jar and stir vigorously for seven minutes . step 6 : after stirring , filter the contents of the jar through a 5 micron filter paper via suction . if a non - filterable and / or insoluble mass remains on the filter paper ( not merely discoloration of the paper ) after filtration , of if an insoluble mass clings to the interior of the jar , then the amine is not a mu - amine . if the contents of the jar pass unhindered through the filter paper , the amine may possibly be a mu - amine and steps 7 and 8 should be performed . step 7 : remove a 1 . 0 ml aliquot from the filtration flask or receiver ( i . e ., an aliquot of the former jar contents ) with a syringe . step 8 : inject the contents of the syringe into the room temperature oxygen scavenger apparatus described in example 4 above which contains air - saturated , demineralized water and sufficient sodium hydroxide to result in a ph 9 - 10 range in the reaction flask . if at least 70 % of the dissolved oxygen initially present in the air - saturated water is removed within one minute after injection , the amine is definitely a mu - amine . if at least 70 % of the dissolved oxygen is not removed within one minute , then the amine is not a mu - amine . known mu - amines include : aminomethylpropanol , triethylenetetramine , diisopropanolamine , sec - butylamine , monoisopropanolamine , ethylenediamine , dimethylaminopropylamine , monoethanolamine , dimethyl ( iso ) propanolamine , methoxypropylamine and diethylaminoethanol . ______________________________________ recommended treatment level of weight ratio of component in aque - components ( based ous system ( basedcomposition upon weight of upon one millioncomponent hydroquinone ) parts water ) ______________________________________ ( a ) hydroquinone 1 0 . 05 - 200 ppm ( b ) mu - amine 0 . 02 - 2 . 0 . 001 - 400 ppm ( c ) isoascorbic acid 0 . 05 - 2 . 5 . 00025 - 500 ppm or ascorbic acid or water soluble salt form thereof______________________________________ ______________________________________composition 1 composition 2______________________________________aqueous solution comprising aqueous solution comprisinghydroquinone , methoxypropyl - hydroquinone , methoxypropyl - amine , isoascorbic acid in amine , isoascorbic acid ina weight ratio of a weight ratio of1 : 1 . 1 :. 11 1 :. 06 :. 11______________________________________ the oxygen scavenger compositions may be added directly to the boiler feedwater or condensate system . it is preferred that the water be of alkaline ph . a ph of about 8 . 0 and greater is preferred . the invention will now be further described with respect to the following examples of specific embodiments . these examples are illustrative only , and should not be construed as limiting the invention . in order to assess the efficacy of the inventive compositions in inhibiting sludge formation , test compositions were prepared and allowed to age under the conditions noted hereinbelow for about five months . the procedure consisted of taking the stored samples and first vigorously shaking the sample bottles to ensure homogeneity and to loosen any residue which may have adhered to the sample bottle walls . a 20 ml aliquot of each sample was then drawn into a 30 ml syringe , which was subsequently fitted with a 25 mm membrane filter holder containing a 0 . 22 micron pore size membrane . the membranes were previously dried for about 2 hours at 100 ° c ., cooled in a desiccator , and then weighed . the 20 . 0 ml aliquots were filtered through the membranes , yielding dark but clear filtrates . the clarity of the filtrates indicated that the 0 . 22 micron membranes were of sufficient pore size to quantitatively retain the sludge particles . the brown residues obtained on the membrane filters were dried overnight in a desiccator over prepared silica gel ( the residues were not heated lest possibly losing the more volatile components of the residue ) and weighed . the percent residue reduction for each of the improved compositions of the invention was determined in accordance with the equation a = weight of the residue filtered from a 20 . 0 ml aliquot of a control composition , and b = is the weight of residue filtered from a 20 . 0 ml aliquot of a composition in accordance with the invention . the percentage residue reduction for each of the tested samples is recorded in table 1 : table i______________________________________ percent residuesample storage reduction ( relativeidentification condition to control sample a ) ______________________________________ i w 6 x 6 y 30 z 8 percent residue reduction ( relative to control sample b ) ii w 44 x 45 y 5 z 20______________________________________storage conditions : w = sample sealed in glass and stored at ambient temperaturex = sample purged once per week with 100 ml of oxygen for 6weeks then sealed and stored at ambient temperaturey = sample sealed in glass and stored at 122 ° f . z = sample purged once per week as per storage condition xabove and then stored at 122 ° f . samples ( in accordance with the invention by weight ) - all percentages are : i = isoascorbic acid ( erythorbic acid ) 1 % hydroquinone 9 % methoxypropylamine 10 % remainder waterii = isoascorbic acid . 25 % hydroquinone 2 . 25 % methoxypropylamine . 17 % remainder watercontrol samplesa = hydroquinone 10 % methoxypropylamine 10 % remainder waterb = hydroquinone 2 . 5 % methoxypropylamine . 01 % remainder water from the table i , it can clearly be seen that inclusion of isoascorbic acid in the composition results in significant reduction in sludge formation when compared with the control oxygen scavenger samples of the types disclosed in the aforementioned u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 279 , 767 and 4 , 289 , 645 ( both patents being of common assignment with the present invention ). this sludge reduction is important as , in commercial use , steam generating plants commonly store such oxygen scavenger compositions prior to usage . accordingly , by use of the improved compositions of the invention , the potential for problems relating to plugging of product handling equipment is minimized . other compositions which , it is thought , will provide comparable sludge reduction functions comprise : ______________________________________hydroquinone 9 % any mu - amine selected 10 % from u . s . pat . no . 4 , 289 , 645or 4 , 279 , 767ascorbic acid or 1 % isoascorbic acidremainder water______________________________________ ______________________________________hydroquinone 2 . 25 % isoascorbic acid . 25 % or ascorbic acidany mu - amine selected . 14 % from u . s . pat . no . 4 , 289 , 645______________________________________ while the invention has been described hereinabove with respect to specific embodiments of same , such are not intended to limit the scope of the invention . the invention is intended to cover any equivalents , modifications , etc ., and is to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims . | 2 |
referring now to fig1 a pipeline in accordance with this invention is illustrated diagrammatically . the pipeline 10 , which is shown in the figure , may extend over many miles or even thousands of miles . faults can be localized , at distances up to about 2 , 000 feet using present techniques , but the distances may increase as the invention is refined . spaced apart connection points 12 are provided along the length of the pipeline for coupling pulses into the pipeline and terminating the pipeline , so that clean reflected pulses will be produced . it will be understood that while terminating the pipeline to make measurements is preferred , it is also possible to make measurements on an unterminated pipeline , although accuracy may be somewhat reduced . however , the accuracy of measurement is greatest when the distance between the time domain reflectometer measuring instrument and the terminating impedance is lowest , measurements can be made over more than one segment with reduced accuracy . in accordance with one embodiment of the invention , initial measurements may be made over multiple segments , the number and length of which is limited by the attenuation characteristics of the pipeline , and once a fault is located generally , another measurement can be made over a shorter length of pipeline , so that the location of the fault can be determined more precisely . referring now to fig2 the construction of the pipeline is shown in more detail in this cross sectional view . preferably , an inner pipeline element 14 which may be made from cast iron or another suitable material , depending on the nature of the fluid to be carried by the pipeline , is provided . it is a feature of this invention that as long as the pipeline is made from conductive material , it is not necessary to provide a special inner fluid carrying element to achieve the advantages of this invention . existing pipeline technology can usually be employed . however , where it is desired to provide an inner pipeline element that is made from non - conductive material , such as pvc or another plastic , the advantages of this invention can still be obtained by providing an optional metalized layer 20 , on surface of the inner pipeline element , preferably on the outer surface , so that the metalized layer will not come in contact with the fluid being transported by the pipeline . various techniques for metalizing pvc or other non - conductive materials are well known , and any of these techniques may be employed to achieve a conductive layer on a surface of non - conductive inner pipeline element . in order to provide a transmission line , two elements are added to the inner pipeline element , a dielectric layer 24 , and an outer electrically conductive transmission line element , preferably a coaxial tube 26 disposed around the dielectric layer . the coaxial lube may be metal , or a metalized plastic pipe , having a layer of metalization on the inner surface of the pipe . constructions of the type just described create a coaxial transmission line consisting of the inner pipeline element 14 , the dielectric layer 24 , and the outer transmission line element 26 . the dimensions of the inner pipeline element and the outer electrically conductive transmission line element are preferably selected so that the transmission line has an impedance between about 30 and 95 ohms . when a leak occurs in the inner pipeline element , the fluid being transported by the pipeline enters the dielectric layer between the inner pipeline element and the outer transmission line element . the presence of fluid in the dielectric layer changes the impedance of the pipeline at the location of the leak , and this change can be measured remotely by the tdr technique . the manner in which fluid leaking from the inner pipeline element 14 enters the dielectric layer 24 depends on the nature of the dielectric layer . in one embodiment of the invention , an air or inert gas dielectric can be employed , and fluid can readily enter the space between the inner pipeline element and the outer transmission element . while an air dielectric can be employed in accordance with this invention , a pipeline having an air dielectric is not as strong as a pipeline having a more substantial dielectric layer , such as foam , preferably , closed cell plastic foam . a foam dielectric layer in accordance with this invention provides additional advantages . the foam layer is capable of absorbing fluid leaking from the inner pipeline element , and preventing that fluid from leaking through the outside transmission line element , and possibly polluting the environment . leak detection occurs when the inner pipeline element 14 fails , but before any failure of the outside transmission line element 26 . while a variety of dielectrics may be employed in accordance with this invention , as discussed to some degree above , a preferred dielectric is made from an open cell foam material which in addition to having suitable dielectric qualities , also has a high capacity to absorb fluids , and thereby greatly contributing to the leakage prevention capabilities of the pipeline in accordance with this invention . fig3 is an enlarged view of a segment of the pipeline of fig1 showing the manner in which pulses are connected to the pipeline . fig3 is diagrammatic to the extent that the inner pipeline element 14 and outer transmission line element 26 are shown as having essentially no thickness . a first radio frequency connector 12 is attached to the outer transmission line element 26 , with a plurality of suitable fasteners 32 32 &# 39 ;, which may be small screws or rivets , or in the alternative the connector may be welded or otherwise permanently fastened to the outer conductor . the connectors itself , which may be of the so - called bnc type , have an outer shell 34 34 &# 39 ; and a center conductor 36 . the outer shell 34 is connected to the outer transmission line element 26 , while the center conductor 36 is connected by way of an electrical strap or wire 38 to the conductive portion of the inner pipeline element 14 . a second connector 12 &# 39 ; is attached to the pipeline at a location spaced apart from connector 12 , so that measurements can be taken between the two connectors . the connectors provide a convenient way to attach a time or frequency domain reflectometer 37 and , if desired , a load resistor or terminator 39 to a segment of the pipe and for making the measurement to localize a leak between the two connectors . the tdr / fdr includes a pulse generator and a pulse detector . in accordance with another embodiment of the invention , as shown in fig4 the electrical continuity of either the inner 14 or outer coaxial transmission line 26 elements is interrupted periodically to facilitate coupling of a time domain or frequency domain reflectometer to the pipe , and coupling of a terminating impedance to a remote location on the pipe . where the inner element , that is the pipeline element itself is formed from a continuous conducting piece , for example , a metal pipe , it is necessary to interrupt the outer coaxial element . however , as shown where the inner conductor is a metalized but otherwise non - conductive pipe , the metalization can be interrupted . while the length of pipeline between interruptions may vary , we have found that 2 , 000 feet or more is a useful length for each segment . preferably , connectors 12 are attached to the interrupted metalization 20 close to the point of the interruption . the method of attachment is the same as shown and described in connection with fig3 . an alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in fig5 . a first conductive inner pipeline section 40 is connected at one end 42 to a non - conductive coupling section 44 . a second conductive inner pipeline section 46 is connected to an opposite end 48 of the non - conductive coupling section 44 . the outer coaxial element 50 has a first conductive layer 52 extending substantially coextensive with the first conductive inner pipeline section 40 , and a second conductive layer 54 substantially coextensive with the second conductive inner pipeline section 46 . the conductivity gaps in the inner and outer pipeline sections improve the isolation between adjacent pipeline sections and permit more precise localization of faults . spacers 60 , 62 maintain the inner pipeline section 46 and the outer coaxial element 50 in coaxial relationship . while the invention is described in connection with a presently preferred embodiment thereof , those skilled in the art will recognize that any modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention , which accordingly is intended to be defined solely by the appended claims . | 6 |
careful investigation of the causes of breakage of the drug capsule has revealed that , in addition to manufacturing flaws in the glass , bubbles of gas ( normally air ) entrained in the drug may result in the fracture of the capsule . the high initial pressure in the injection cycle causes bubble collapse resulting in localised high stress in the region of the discharge orifice of the capsule ( where the bubbles tend to collect ). filling under vacuum will practically eliminate the bubbles of air present in the liquid drug at the time of filling , but dissolved gas tends to come out of solution during storage . bubbles of up to 2 μl volume do not appear to cause breakage , but above this , the incidence of breakage rises with increasing bubble size . the present invention seeks to reduce the evolution of gas bubbles from the drug by replacing the dissolved gas by a gas of low solubility in the liquid drug . interestingly , the applicant has found that alternative methods of removing dissolved gas , e . g . by applying a vacuum to the liquid or sonication of the liquid do not work for certain drug types . applying a vacuum , for example , has the drawback of removing volatile components which may be part of the drug , and water , in addition to the dissolved gas : this can result in an unacceptable change in the drug formulation . sonication results in “ hot - spots ” in the liquid which can thermally degrade the drug . the applicant has found that purging a liquid drug with an inert gas , such as helium ( he ), effectively displaces dissolved gases , particularly oxygen and nitrogen , and that the drug may then be stored within a drug capsule without the risk of gas bubbles appealing during storage at normal temperatures . pre - treatment of the drug product by sparging with low solubility gas species minimises the total mass of dissolved gas . by selecting a sparging gas with a low variation in solubility of the gas in the drug as a function of temperature , the propensity for those gases to come out of solution during temperature cycling is also minimised . helium is one gas satisfying this condition . other gases may be used according to the application such as neon , argon , krypton or xenon . other inert gases of low solubility may also be used , including nitrogen as well as chlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons . fig1 shows the solubility of various gases in water over temperature . a flat solubility curve over a range of temperatures corresponding to the temperature range expected during storage will prevent gas coming out of solution during storage . plots are shown in fig1 for hydrogen , helium , nitrogen , oxygen , neon , argon , krypton and xenon . the storage temperature range may typically be 280 ° k to 310 ° k , and a flat solubility curve over this range of temperatures is desired , in addition to low solubility and an “ inert ” property of the gas . as shown , hydrogen , helium , neon and nitrogen best satisfy the solubility requirements . the term “ inert ” used herein denotes a gas which will not react with the liquid drug at normal temperatures and pressures . the term “ low solubility ” denotes a solubility of the inert gas in the liquid drug which reduces the incidence of bubbles in the liquid drug . preferably the solubility is from 0 . 5 to 25 cm 3 in 100 cm 3 of the liquid drug , preferably 0 . 9 to 5 . 0 cm 3 in 100 cm 3 of the liquid drug and particularly preferably from 0 . 9 to 1 . 5 cm 3 in 100 cm 3 of the liquid drug . solubility is measured at 25 ° c . the term “ liquid drug ” denotes a drug which is liquid at room temperature and pressure , or a drug dissolved or suspended in a solvent , such as water . a preferred embodiment of the invention is to “ sparge ” the liquid drug with tiny bubbles of a sparging gas . taking helium as one specific example , fig2 shows that the solubility of helium is at its lowest at approximately 30 ° c ., and wherever the drug is stable at such temperature , it is particularly preferred to conduct the sparging process at this temperature , with a tolerance of about +/− 5 ° c . preferably , the bubbles may be generated by forcing pressurised helium through a sterile 0 . 2 micron filter placed in the bottom of a vessel . this produces a very large number of very small bubbles , and after treating , say , 2 liters of an aqueous drug for 15 minutes , the sparging device is removed , and the vessel sealed in a helium ( or other gas used for sparging ) atmosphere , with minimal over - pressure , until required for the filling of injector capsules . obviously , the duration of the treatment will vary according to the volume of liquid , the gas pressure , volume flow rate , and the size and number of the bubbles generated by the sparging device . the gas pressure and volume flow rate are of course linked . preferably , capsule filling is carried out by first evacuating the capsule to about 0 . 5 mbar before admitting the drug into the capsule ; a full description of a suitable process is disclosed in international patent publication wo02 / 060516 -“ method for filling needleless injection capsules ” in the name of weston medical limited . it has also been found that stirring of the liquid during sparging reduces the required sparging time . in particular , it has been found that key input parameters for the control of the sparging process are stirring speed ( for example using a magnetic mixer ) and the gas flow rate . increasing the gas flow rate reduces the time required , but there is a maximum practical gas flow rate above which foaming of the drug being sparged is too great . the additional step of stirring reduces further the time required by increasing the time taken for the sparging gas to travel through the liquid , for the same gas flow rate . in order to monitor the rate at which gas is displaced by the sparging gas , an oxygen probe is used . the air being removed from the drug by sparging is of course almost entirely nitrogen and oxygen , and it has been found that the concentration of dissolved nitrogen and oxygen can be deduced from a measurement of the dissolved oxygen concentration alone . in order to analyse the effects of the stirring rate and the gas flow rate , a number of experiments were carried out . the table below show the experimental conditions for 5 tests , in which helium was used as the sparging gas . all conditions were equal other than the stirring speed and flow rate . the experiments involved the sparging of 3 liters of solution in a 5 liter schott glass bottle , with an oxygen probe used to measure ( and deduce ) the dissolved gas concentrations . in these experiments , the solution contained 0 . 1 % polysorbate 80 . fig3 shows the evolution over time of the helium concentration in the drug . using best fit techniques , the curves can be . characterised as exponential graphs , each having a characteristic time constant , β . as there are two sets of three experiments where either the stirrer speed or the flow rate is held constant , it is possible to explore the variation of β as a function of each variable . in both cases , a proportional relationship is found . this suggests that the variables are independent and proportional . from this , it is found that β varies twice as much with stirring speed as with the gas flow rate , so that the stirrer speed is approximately twice as important as the gas flow rate . fig4 shows the concentration of oxygen and nitrogen over time for the five experimental conditions . the decay curves also follow the exponential model and agree with the graphs of fig3 . it is then possible to compare the time constants for the exponential increase in helium concentration and for the exponential decrease in combined nitrogen and oxygen concentration . fig5 shows this comparison , with the five plotted point representing the five experiments . there is clearly a proportional relationship between the two time constants for different sparging conditions . the constant of proportionality is given as 0 . 575 . the principal conclusion is that the helium concentration varies at approximately 1 . 75 times the speed of the combined nitrogen and oxygen concentration . the helium mass transfer process is quicker than the nitrogen and oxygen processes . selecting the optimum sparging conditions results in operation at the high gas transfer rate portion of the line in fig5 . the sparging operation effectively displaces the dissolved gases in the drug . by selecting the sparging gas to have a flat solubility curve over temperature , the possibility of gas coming out of solution during storage is minimised . as a result , the capsule can be formed from a material which is impermeable to the sparging gas , as there is no need to discharge the sparging gas . for example , a borosilicate glass capsule is selected partly for its impermeability to oxygen , which prevents deterioration of the stored drug . such a capsule is also impermeable to nitrogen . however , nitrogen can still be used as a sparging gas , particularly if the sparging conditions are selected to correspond to the minimum solubility of nitrogen . thus , although examples are given for sparging conditions with helium , the invention is not restricted to helium , and other gases suitable for sparging have been identified . as can be seen from the experiments above , a preferred stiffing speed is in the range 100 rpm to 300 rpm , preferably 200 rpm to 300 rpm . other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art . | 1 |
fig1 to 6 show one preferred embodiment of a system for controlling the inclination angle of trimming flaps on a watercraft . it is self - evident that the following description of the exemplary embodiment indicates only one of many options for implementation of the invention . in principle , departures may be made at individual points from the described solution without departing from the fundamental idea of the invention . the following description should in no way be regarded as any restriction to the scope of protection of the patent claims to the described exemplary embodiment . fig2 shows a side view of a watercraft 10 . two trimming flaps 12 , 13 are arranged in the area of the stern 11 of the watercraft , to be precise a starboard trimming flap 12 and a port trimming flap 13 . in a plan view , the two trimming flaps 12 , 13 are preferably arranged at the same distance laterally from the longitudinal center axis of the watercraft 10 , which is not shown . the two trimming flaps 12 , 13 are each mounted on the watercraft 10 such that they can pivot . the bearing is in the form of a hinge - like joint 14 in the area of the stern 11 . the hinge - like joint 14 is aligned approximately horizontally and is preferably arranged underneath the water level . the trimming flaps 12 , 13 can be pivoted in the vertical direction about the joints 14 , specifically between an upper limit position ( fig4 ) and a lower limit position ( fig3 ). the capability of the trimming flaps 12 , 13 to pivot changes their inclination angles 15 with respect to an imaginary horizontal plane 16 which runs through the axis of the joint 14 . in the illustrated exemplary embodiment , the trimming flaps 12 , 13 point 2 ° upwards in the upper limit position shown in fig4 . the inclination angle 15 in the lower limit position as shown in fig3 is approximately 10 °. the inclination angles 15 in the upper and lower limit positions are freely configurable and can be matched to the respective requirements and circumstances . in principle the trimming flaps 12 , 13 are used to influence the attitude of the watercraft 10 in the water . for this purpose , the trimming flaps 12 , 13 are adjusted as a function of the speed of the watercraft 10 such that the watercraft 10 remains essentially flat in the water . in principle , the trimming flaps 12 , 13 can be pivoted both synchronously and individually . the trimming flaps 12 , 13 are pivoted via hydraulic cylinders 17 . the hydraulic cylinders 17 are arranged above the trimming flaps 12 , 13 at the stern 11 of the watercraft 10 , and are connected to the upper face of the trimming flaps 12 , 13 . the inclination angle 15 of the trimming flaps 12 , 13 can be adjusted in this way , by extension and retraction of the hydraulic cylinder 17 . each trimming flap 12 , 13 may use one or more hydraulic cylinders 17 . the hydraulic cylinders 17 may be single - acting or double - acting hydraulic cylinders 17 . in the present exemplary embodiment each trimming flap 12 , 13 in each case has two associated hydraulic cylinders 17 , which are in the form of double - acting cylinders ( see fig5 ). the hydraulic cylinders 17 are part of hydraulically operated systems for adjustment of a trimming flap 12 , 13 , referred to for short in the following text as a hydraulic system 18 . in the present exemplary embodiment , as described above , a hydraulic system 18 has a hydraulic cylinder 17 , a hydraulic unit 19 and the hydraulic lines 20 which run between the hydraulic unit 19 and the hydraulic cylinders 17 . each trimming flap 12 , 13 and the hydraulic cylinders 17 arranged on it are in this case associated with one and only one hydraulic system 18 with a separate hydraulic unit 19 , so that the trimming flaps can be operated independently of one another . one special feature is that one flowmeter 21 is in each case integrated in each circuit in the hydraulic system 18 . the flow of the hydraulic fluid within the respective hydraulic system 18 can be determined with the aid of the flowmeters 21 . the change in the inclination angles 15 of the trimming flaps 12 , 13 can then be deduced from the change in the flow of the hydraulic fluid . the flowmeters 21 are preferably integrated in the hydraulic lines 20 . this allows the flowmeters 21 to be positioned inboard , so that they are protected against external influences and damage . the appropriate position of the transom 30 is evident , for example , from the schematic illustration shown in fig5 . alternatively , it is also feasible to associate the flowmeters 21 with the hydraulic cylinders 17 or the hydraulic units 19 . the flowmeters 21 are used to determine the flow of hydraulic fluid in the hydraulic system 18 . for this purpose , the system must first of all be calibrated . for this purpose , the trimming flaps 12 , 13 are first of all moved to one limit position , and then to the other limit position . during this process , the flow of hydraulic fluid is recorded , and a measure is obtained for the maximum movement . the flowmeters 21 in this case produce a number of pulses , as data , proportional to the amount of flow . in this case , one pulse in each case corresponds to a specific amount or a specific flow volume . the system is controlled by a central control unit 22 . the control unit is connected by means of electronic lines 23 to the hydraulic units 19 and the flowmeters 21 . furthermore , a voltage supply 24 is provided in order to supply at least the control unit 22 . the central control unit 22 can calculate the variation in the inclination angle of the trimming flaps 12 , 13 on the basis of the pulses which are transmitted from the flowmeters 21 during the calibration and during operation . the position of the trimming flaps 12 , 13 can then be indicated on the bridge of the watercraft 10 by means of the display 25 which is connected to the control unit 22 . furthermore , a control panel 26 is provided , and can likewise be connected to the central control unit 22 . the control panel 26 allows the inclination angle 15 of the trimming flaps 12 , 13 to be varied manually . a separate button for pivoting the respective trimming flap 12 or 13 up or down is provided for this purpose for each respective trimming flap 12 or 13 . as a further special feature , the inclination angles 15 of the trimming flaps 12 , 13 can also be controlled automatically . in this case , the inclination angles 15 can be controlled as a function of the speed of the watercraft 10 and / or of the rotation speed of the or each motor . in the illustrated exemplary embodiment , a gps receiver 27 is connected to the display 25 . the gps receiver 27 provides information about the speed of the watercraft 10 , in the normal manner . the speed can on the one hand be indicated on the display 25 and is on the other hand transmitted to the control unit 22 . a trimming curve 28 is stored in the control unit 22 , indicating the preferred inclination angles 15 as a function of the speed of the watercraft and the motor rotation speed . the following table 1 contains examples of data for a trimming curve 28 such as this , for illustrative purposes : fig6 also illustrates a corresponding trimming curve 28 . the trimming curve 28 can also be varied by the user . for example , it is feasible to indicate the data or the trimming curve 28 on the display 25 . the data can also be varied as required by means of the control panel 26 or by some other input means . if no display 25 is provided , the gps receiver 27 can also alternatively be connected directly to the central control unit 22 . this solution is illustrated by dashed lines in fig1 . the figure does not show the transmission of the motor rotation speeds to the central control unit 22 . dashed lines are likewise used to illustrate further indication instruments which may be provided as an alternative to and / or in addition in the display 25 . this or these is or are in the form of one or more instruments 29 on which , for example , it is possible to display the best position of the trimming flaps 12 , 13 and the existing positions of the trimming flaps 12 , 13 . in order to allow switching between automatic control of the trimming flaps 12 , 13 and manual control , provision is made for an appropriate switch which , in the illustrated exemplary embodiment , is associated with the control panel 26 . the control unit 22 can preferably be connected to the instruments , displays , control panels , units and instrument via a can bus . since the control unit 22 and the flowmeters 21 detect only the change in the inclination angle 15 of the trimming flaps 12 , 13 , an initial position of the trimming flaps 12 , 13 must first of be determined when the system is being started up . this can be done on the one hand by storing the last position of the trimming flaps 12 , 13 . however , the trimming flaps 12 , 13 are preferably moved to one of the two limit positions of starting up the watercraft 10 , thus redefining the reference value or the initial position . furthermore the trimming flaps are preferably moved to the upper limit position automatically when the or each motor is switched off , and are in this way calibrated . as described above , a trimming curve ( 28 ) can be used for automatic control of the inclination angles ( 15 ) of the trimming flaps ( 12 , 13 ), and is preferably stored in the control unit ( 22 ). the trimming curve ( 28 ) can be indicated on the display ( 25 ) and can be varied by the control panel ( 26 ). alternatively , a pc or laptop can also be connected to the control unit ( 22 ) or to some other point in the system in order to read the trimming curve ( 28 ) which is stored in the system , to edit it and to transmit it to the system again , with the aid of a suitable program . furthermore , it is also possible to provide for the capability for the trimming curve ( 28 ) also to be stored by the pc or laptop on a data storage medium . this allows different trimming curves ( 28 ) to be kept available , which can be played back to the system as required . on the other hand , the trimming curves ( 28 ) which are created manually using the control panel ( 26 ) can be saved on the pc , laptop or data storage medium . by way of example , the pc or laptop can be connected with the aid of a serial cable . up to 50 values ( increase in speed in knots and inclination angle ( 15 ) in degrees ) can be entered in an appropriate table , and can be processed further , by means of the pc or laptop keyboard . the data which is 35 entered is preferably also displayed graphically . during the downloading of the trimming curve ( 28 ) to the pc or laptop , the data relating to the trimming curve ( 28 ) is displayed as a table and graphically on an appropriate user interface , while the data can be processed further by the user . a progress bar is overlaid during the transmission process . during uploading of the trimming curve ( 28 ), the successful procedure is signaled by confirmation on the user interface . once again , a progress bar is overlaid during the transmission process . | 1 |
reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts . while exemplary embodiments and features of the invention are described herein , modifications , adaptations , and other implementations are possible , without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , the following detailed description does not limit the invention . instead , the proper scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims . fig1 depicts a system consistent with an embodiment of the current disclosure . one or more embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented using a computing device , such as network device 101 . exemplary network device 101 may logically be attached or include one or more processors 102 . in some embodiments , at least some of the processors may have one or more cores of varying core configurations and clock frequencies , such as cores 103 a - d . the cores 103 a - d may support one or more logical cores ( not shown ), sometimes called threads . to connect to the network , network device 101 may also include one or more network interfaces , such as network interface 104 . network interface 104 may be implemented using software and / or hardware , and may include a network interface card (“ nic ”) or may include a physical port . network interface 104 may have one or more packet queues . for example , network interface 104 may include one or more rx queues and / or tx queues . for example , the network interface 104 may have multiple rx and tx queues for a single network port . the network device 104 may also include one or more memories 105 of varying clock frequencies and memory bandwidth . memories 105 may include any device capable of storing digital data , such as rams , roms , solid state drives (“ ssds ”), hard disk drives (“ hdds ”), etc . while a single memory 105 is shown , the network may include multiple memories . in one embodiment , a data plane packet processing tool chain is disclosed . the tool chain may include a set of libraries or functions for performing data plane packet processing not only on osi layers 1 - 3 but also on osi layers 4 and above . fig4 is a relationship diagram illustrating the tool chain &# 39 ; s processing capabilities , as illustrated by the outer ring 402 - 412 . each exemplary capability is explained in further detail through the following descriptions of disclosed embodiments . in certain embodiments , the tool chain may include libraries that enable applications to perform packet filtering in the data plane . for example , packet filtering may include filtering packets based on a source or destination ip address , source or destination port , and / or a wildcard search of packet headers or payloads . in one embodiment , an application may use the packet filtering to identify dns packets . in another embodiment , the tool chain may include functions or libraries for implementing a data recorder . these functions or libraries may include , for example , functions that read up to 7 gigabits ( 9 million packets ), or more , of data per second directly from the network and write the data to memory . in another embodiment , the tool chain may include functions or libraries to divide a single network packet stream into multiple streams , wherein each stream may be directed to a different data file . the tool chain may include functions or libraries that insure that all packets between two servers are directed to the same data stream . the tool chain may include functions or libraries to time - stamp packets with millisecond or greater accuracy . unique timestamps on the packets may allow for the data files to be reconstituted into a single stream if needed . the tool chain may include libraries or functions that generate packets in the data plane . in one embodiment , an application may generate dns query packets . in another embodiment , the application may generate packets that respond to dns queries . this may take place in osi layer 6 . in an additional embodiment , the tool chain may include libraries or functions that perform load balancing . fig2 depicts a system consistent with an embodiment of the current disclosure . load balancing may include assigning one or more logical cores , such as icore ( 1 ) through icore ( n ), or rx / tx queue pairs , such as rx queue ( 1 ) through rx queue ( n ) and tx queue ( 1 ) through tx queue ( n ), per network port , such as rx port ( 1 ) through rx port ( n ) and tx port ( 1 ) through tx port ( n ). additionally , the load balancing may include assigning logical cores from different cores 103 a - d to the one or more rx / tx queue pairs for a network port . the memory 105 may store one or more applications that include one or more of the aforementioned functions or libraries , or any combination thereof . for example , an application may perform a dns look up , as depicted in fig5 . a dns look up may include a run - once routine that initializes a dns configuration , as in step 501 . in step 502 , the application may create an array of dns lookup instances . in step 503 , the application may execute a process query method in an assigned dns lookup instance . these methods may resolve a dns query by querying one or more databases storing dns information , as in option 505 . the application may also use the packet filtering to identify dns packets that need to be resolved in option 506 . finally , in step 504 , the application may generate a response packet that includes a response to the dns query . steps 503 through 506 may repeat in a loop without repeating steps 501 or 502 . this may take place in osi layer 6 . in certain embodiments , the applications perform these functions , as well as functions for osi layer 4 and above , in the data plane . in other words , these applications perform osi layer 4 and above functions without the need for an operating system or hypervisor . accordingly , these applications can share memories and information without the need to perform specific globalization functions . additionally , the applications operate without the overhead of running multiple operating systems . in certain embodiments , these applications may be operated in a userland mode . fig3 illustrates the functionality of a poll mode driver and an operating system in userland mode as consistent with disclosed embodiments . in userland mode , the applications , such as application 301 , may be implemented using one or more poll mode drivers , such as 302 , and an operating system , such as 303 . by way of example , the operating system may be microsoft windows ™, unix ™, linux ™, solaris ™, or some other operating system . in this mode , the poll mode drivers may acquire and send packets to and from the data plane . fig3 illustrates an exemplary process consistent with this embodiment where a poll mode driver 302 acquires a packet from an operating system in step 306 , processed the packet in step 307 , and sends the packet in step 308 . the operating system , however , such as operating system 303 , may access memory shared with the applications , such as memory 304 , including reading from memory in step 309 and writing to memory in step 311 . accordingly , the operating system may be used to monitor the performance of the applications running in the data plane and / or the poll mode drivers , as in step 310 . additionally , as in step 312 , the operating system may be able to provide management functions for the applications running in the data plane . alternatively , in certain embodiments , an application may be operated in a bare - metal mode . in bare - metal mode , the application may eliminate the need for an operating system by running as an executable byte code . features like disk - drive support are left to the user to implement . in another embodiment , the tool chain may include functions or libraries for protecting against a ddos attack . these functions or libraries may include , for example , functions that identify a ddos attack and / or establish a pipeline based on the identification of a ddos attack to protect against it . these functions or libraries may use a single security appliance to read the data once by the data plane and may operate on the packets n number of times . the packets then may continue through the system or exit the system . the foregoing descriptions have been presented for purposes of illustration and description . they are not exhaustive and do not limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise form disclosed . modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practicing the disclosed embodiments . for example , where the described implementation includes software , the disclosed embodiments may be implemented as a combination of hardware and software or in firmware . examples of hardware include computing or processing systems , including personal computers , servers , laptops , mainframes , micro - processors , and the like . additionally , although disclosed aspects are described as being stored in a memory on a computer , one skilled in the art will appreciate that these aspects can also be stored on other types of computer - readable storage media , such as secondary storage devices , like hard disks , floppy disks , a cd - rom , usb media , dvd , or other forms of ram or rom . computer programs based on the written description and disclosed methods are within the skill of an experienced developer . the various programs or program modules can be created using any of the techniques known to one skilled in the art or can be designed in connection with existing software . for example , program sections or program modules can be designed in or by means of . net framework , . net compact framework ( and related languages , such as visual basic , c , etc . ), xml , java , c ++, javascript , html , html / ajax , flex , silverlight , or any other now known or later created programming language . one or more of such software sections or modules can be integrated into a computer system . the embodiments described herein are exemplary only , and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the disclosed systems and processes without departing from the scope of the invention . for example , embodiments may be practiced using some or all of the features discussed herein . other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein . it is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only , with a true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims and their full scope equivalents . further , it should be understood that , as used herein , the indefinite articles “ a ” and “ an ” mean “ one or more ” in open - ended claims containing the transitional phrase “ comprising ,” “ including ,” and / or “ having .” | 7 |
fig1 shows a schematic block diagram of an led lighting apparatus 1 as a first exemplary embodiment of the invention , which can be arranged or is arranged in an aircraft as passenger space lighting . by way of example , the led lighting apparatus 1 is in the form of a surface luminaire or in the form of indirect lighting for lighting a ceiling of the passenger space in the aircraft . the aircraft provides an ac power supply 2 having an ac voltage . the rms voltage of the ac voltage is 115 volts , for example , and the frequency of the ac power supply 2 is between 150 hertz and 400 hertz . both the rms voltage and the frequency of the ac voltage can fluctuate to a great extent during operation . a connection interface 3 for coupling the led lighting apparatus 1 to the ac power supply 2 is optionally followed by a mains filter 4 , which is designed to filter perturbations that could be fed back into the ac power supply 2 . the mains filter 4 has a rectifier 5 connected downstream of it , which is designed to convert the applied ac voltage or the filtered ac voltage into a rectified ac voltage as a supply voltage . by way of example , the rectifier 5 is in the form of a bridge rectifier . the supply voltage is in the form of a rectified ac voltage , particularly in the form of a pulsed dc voltage , with temporarily successively half - cycles . by way of example , the supply voltage is formed by juxtaposition of sinusoidal half - cycles at twice the frequency of the ac voltage of the ac power supply 2 . the repetition rate of the half - cycles of the supply voltage defines a voltage frequency . the supply voltage provided by the rectifier 5 , or the corresponding supply current , is subsequently forwarded to a current sink device 6 — also called an electronic load . the current sink device 6 is designed to draw current and hence power from the circuit in regulated or controlled fashion by converting it into heat . from the current sink device 6 , an led voltage and an led current are forwarded to a colour mixing unit 7 . the led lighting apparatus 1 additionally comprise a control device 8 that , as shown in this case , can be of single - part or alternatively multi - part design and that is at least designed to actuate the colour mixing unit 7 and the current sink device 6 . the control device 8 may be in the form of a programmable microcontroller , for example . as an input signal , the control device 8 is provided with the supply voltage or the ac voltage or an equivalent or synchronized signal . the colour mixing unit 7 can be controlled by the control device 8 so as firstly to be able to be matched to different amplitudes of the supply voltage and secondly to be able to produce different mixed colours . the colour mixing unit 7 comprises three colour groups 9 a , b , c , each of the colour groups 9 a , b , c having a plurality of leds ( light - emitting diodes ), with the leds in the colour groups 9 a , b , c differing by virtue of the light colour . by way of example , the colour group 9 a has only red ( r ) leds , the colour group 9 b has only green ( g ) leds and the colour group 9 c has only blue ( b ) leds . by way of example , each of the colour groups 9 a , b , c , comprises at least three , preferably at least six , leds in a light colour . in order to produce a mixed colour , the led lighting apparatus 1 and particularly the colour mixing unit 7 comprises a device 10 for changing over the colour groups 9 a , b , c , wherein the device 10 can be actuated by the control device 8 , so that the control device 8 can use the device 10 to selectively activate and deactivate the colour groups 9 a , b , c . the device 10 may — as fig1 shows — be in the form of a separate device , and alternatively may also be integrated in the colour groups 9 a , b , c . when considered from a functional point of view , it is possible for the actuation via the control device 8 to control the device 10 such that the colour mixing unit 7 produces a mixed colour . in addition , the colour groups 9 a , b , c , each comprise a switching arrangement 11 that allows the colour groups 9 a , b , c to be switched to different switching states by means of the control device 8 in order to be able to react to different amplitudes of the supply voltage . fig2 a shows one of the colour groups — in this example the colour group 9 a — with a switching arrangement 11 in a highly schematic illustration by way of example . the colour group 9 a comprises an input e and an output a or a first and a second pole , by which the colour group 9 a is connected to the power supply shown in fig1 . in this example , the colour group 9 a comprises four led subgroups 12 a , b , c , d , each led subgroup 12 a , b , c , d having at least one led . in particular , each led subgroup 12 a , b , c , d has the same on - state voltage — also called forward voltage . the leds in the led subgroups 12 a , b , c , d may — as shown symbolically in fig2 a , b , c — be connected in series with one another in each of the led subgroups 12 a , b , c , d . in modified exemplary embodiments , the leds in the led subgroups 12 a , b , c , d may also be connected up to one another in parallel , in series or in a mixture of in parallel and in series . in this exemplary embodiment , each led subgroup 12 a , b , c , d has the same on - state voltage . the four led subgroups 12 a , b , c , d are arranged in electrical parallel with one another in the first switching state i — shown in fig2 a — of the colour group 9 a , so that the on - state voltage of the colour group 9 a corresponds to the on - state voltage of one of the led subgroups 12 a , b , c , d . fig2 b shows a second switching state ii , wherein the led subgroups 12 a , b , c , d in the colour group 9 a are connected to one another in electrical series only in part . by way of example , in the first group the led subgroups 12 a , b are arranged in parallel with one another and in the second group the led subgroups 12 c , d are likewise arranged in parallel with one another , but the two groups are arranged in series with one another . in the switching state ii , the on - state voltage of the colour group 9 a now corresponds to twice the on - state voltage of one of the led subgroups 12 a , b , c , d . fig2 c shows a third switching state iii , all four led subgroups 12 a , b , c , d now being arranged in electrical series with one another . the on - state voltage of the colour group 9 a now corresponds to four times the on - state voltage of one of the led subgroups 12 a , b , c , d . the circuit arrangement 11 is designed to switch the colour group 9 a to the different switching states i , ii , iii . an appropriate circuit arrangement 11 for this type of changeover can be realized using diodes and transistors , for example . the type of changeover to different switching states is not limited to the example described , however , but rather can also be achieved , by means of other circuit arrangements , such as the led lighting apparatuses cited in the introduction . it is also possible for the led subgroups 12 a , b , c , d to be deactivated in the switching states . the other colour groups 9 b , c can likewise have circuit arrangements 11 , as a result of which these colour groups 9 b , c can also be put into different switching states with different on - state voltages . the selection of the switching states is made by the control device 8 . in particular , it is possible for the device 10 to be integrated in the circuit arrangements 11 . in fig3 , half - cycles h 1 , h 2 , h 3 of the supply voltage 13 are plotted over time t in a highly schematic fashion , the figure showing that the switching states i , ii — initially considered independently of a light colour — are always chosen such that the on - state voltage is lower than an instantaneous value of the supply voltage 11 . on the other hand , the colour mixing unit 7 is always set to the switching state that has the maximum on - state voltage in order to minimize power losses . without further measures , the led current and , as a result of that , the supply current and ultimately the mains current would lead to a mains current profile that is characterized by inhomogeneities and spikes , owing to the changeover operations in the colour mixing unit 7 . however , in order to achieve a high power factor of greater than 0 . 99 , for example , the control device 8 actuates the current sink device 6 such that the supply current and hence the mains current has a profile in sync with the supply voltage or in sync with the ac voltage or with the mains voltage . in particular , during normal operation , the current sink device 6 is actuated to convert current and hence power into heat in order to keep the power factor high . fig3 schematically shows that the switching state i is adopted until the supply voltage 13 has reached a value above the on - state voltage of the switching state ii . the colour mixing unit 7 is then changed over , so that the switching state ii is used . it would also be possible to activate a third switching state iii . following the maximum of the half - cycle , the supply voltage 13 falls , and as soon as it is below the on - state voltage of the switching state ii the colour mixing unit 7 is changed over to the switching state i . it can also be seen that as soon as the instantaneous value of the supply voltage 13 is below the on - state voltage of the switching state i the colour mixing unit 7 is deactivated completely — for example by a shorting device —, since the instantaneous value of the supply voltage 13 is no longer sufficient . in these phases , the supply current is converted into heat in the current sink device 6 , so that the power factor remains high . the profile of the supply current 14 is therefore always in sync with the supply voltage 13 . in order to produce a mixed colour using the colour mixing unit 7 , time - division multiplexing is implemented , with the colour groups 9 a , b , c being activated serially in succession and exclusively alternatively and / or alternatively activated and deactivated . in particular , only a single colour groups 9 a , b or c is active each time . the led lighting apparatus 1 comprises a control device 15 that allows the selection of a mixed colour for the colour mixing unit 7 . the mixed colour is produced by virtue of the colour groups 9 a , b , c being activated in succession within a colour time window f , so that the light perceived by a user is a mixed colour . in order to produce any desired colour that can be achieved in the rgb colour space , the components of the activation times for the colour groups 9 a , b , c within the colour time window f can be set by the control device 15 . thus , in the example shown in fig3 , first the colour group 9 c is activated in the first half - cycle h 1 , then the colour group 9 a from the first half - cycle h 1 to the third half - cycle h 3 , and at the end of the third half - cycle h 3 the colour group 9 b is activated . hence , during the colour time window f , the timing of which comprises at least one half - cycle , in this example three half - cycles h 1 , h 2 , h 3 , the colour groups 9 a , b , c , and thus all of the colour groups 9 a , b , c of the led lighting apparatus 1 are activated in succession . fig4 a , b , c show different mixed colours m 1 , m 2 , m 3 , the mixed colours m 1 , m 2 , m 3 being produced by different time components for the colour groups 9 a , b , c within the colour time window f . in the circular representation , the colour time window occupies 360 ° and the half - cycles h 1 , h 2 , h 3 each occupy 120 °. thus , for the transitions from the mixed colour m 1 to the mixed colour m 2 , for example , the green component is raised by extending the activation time for the colour group 9 b and the red component is lowered by shortening the activation time for the colour group 9 a . changeover of the colour groups 9 a , b , c involves a respective changeover operation u . the changeover operations u are placed such that only one respective changeover operation u is implemented per half - cycle h in order to keep down switching time losses . this is made possible by virtue of the colour time window f being shifted through a phase angle in comparison with the half - cycles h 1 , h 2 , h 3 , as indicated in fig4 c in comparison with fig4 b , in order to shift the timing of the changeover operations u relative to the half - cycles h 1 , h 2 , h 3 . in fig4 a , b , the colour time window f has a first phase angle , which in this case is 0 °, relative to the half - cycles h 1 , h 2 , h 3 and hence relative to the voltage period sp defined by the three half - cycles h 1 , h 2 , h 3 , as a result of which the colour time window f and the three half - cycles h 1 , h 2 , h 3 have no phase shift . in fig4 c , the colour time window f and the half - cycles h 1 , h 2 , h 3 have a phase angle that is different from 0 °. such a phase shift is attained by appropriately changing the duration of the colour time window f relative to the duration of the half - cycles h 1 , h 2 , h 3 or relative to the duration of the voltage period sp . following such a transition in the state from fig4 b to the state in fig4 c , the phase angle between the colour time window f and the half - cycles h 1 , h 2 , h 3 again remains constant . this means that before and after such a transition the duration of the colour time window f corresponds to the duration of the voltage period sp . in the state shown in fig4 c , the phase angle between colour time window f and voltage period sp is then again constant , but — in contrast to the state shown in fig4 b — not equal to zero . returning to fig3 , it is shown that the colour time window f forms a colour period fp in the three half - cycles form a voltage period sp , the colour period fp and the voltage period sp being in a form with the same length , being shifted through a phase angle of 0 ° in fig3 , and also being able to be arranged in manner staggered over time in relation to one another by a phase angle not equal to 0 °, as shown in fig4 b , for example . | 7 |
in the subsequent description , it is explicitly claimed that the invention is not limited to all or several features of the described combinations , but each individual sub - feature of the exemplary embodiment can rather have inventive importance in connection with or in combination with other features , as well as also independently from the feature combinations . as shown in fig1 , the plug - in connector 1 embodying the principles of the invention has a housing 2 with a sleeve section 3 at one end . at the other end , the housing 2 has a plug - in section 4 , for example for plugging into a fluid line or a line connector . this plug - in section 4 can however also be configured as a receiving section for receiving insertion of a fluid line , for example via a releasable plug connection . the housing 2 can alternatively also be connected at the other end to a unit via such a plug connection . the plug - in connector 1 can be configured as an angular plug - in connector as shown in fig1 . the plug - in connector 1 can alternatively not be angled between the sleeve section 3 and the plug end section 4 , so that it can be configured straight , or any angles can be present between sections 1 and 4 . also possible are t - shaped or y - shaped plug - in connectors . the plug - in connector 1 can also be a component of a distributor housing with additional further connections for a fluid line or for a measuring connection or the like . the housing 2 has a passage channel 5 . the passage channel 5 has a channel section 6 with an especially enlarged diameter in the area of the sleeve section 3 . an adapter sleeve 7 is inserted into the sleeve section 3 with the enlarged diameter channel section 6 of the housing 2 . this adapter sleeve 7 has an opening 8 , see fig1 and 2 . the adapter sleeve 7 furthermore has a sleeve wall 9 , which encloses the opening 8 . locking means are configured in the sleeve wall 9 especially in two mutually diametrically opposite sections . these locking means preferably consist of two locking arms 10 , which are radially elastic with respect to a longitudinal center axis x - x of the adapter sleeve 7 . the locking arms 10 run , for example , parallel to the longitudinal center axis x - x and are separated from the sleeve wall 9 at their longitudinal sides by means of slot - shaped clearances 11 . the locking arms 10 are connected to the sleeve wall 9 at the front end of the adapter sleeve 7 in direction of insertion z . the locking arms 10 have in this case , preferably , a lesser thickness than the wall thickness of the sleeve wall 9 , so that a stepped surface 9 a running in the direction of the longitudinal center axis x - x is configured between the outer periphery of the sleeve wall 9 and the locking arms 10 . as can furthermore be seen in fig1 , it may be practical to configure an annular step 9 b at the front end of the adapter sleeve 7 in insertion direction z . guide grooves 9 c , whose groove base rests on the same radius around the longitudinal center axis x - x as the periphery of the annular step 9 b , extend around the periphery of the adapter sleeve 7 starting from this annular step 9 b . the guide grooves 9 c each have a widening funnel - shaped insertion opening 9 d , which expands in insertion direction z . the guide grooves 9 c serve to guide guiding ribs 9 e configured along the inner wall in the interior of the channel section 6 , wherein the adapter sleeve 7 is oriented in such a way that the guiding ribs 9 e are inserted into the guide grooves 9 c . in this way is attained a correct positioning of the adapter sleeve 7 in the channel section 6 . four guide grooves 9 c offset with respect to each other by 90 ° are preferably configured . the locking arms 10 have , for example , locking cams 12 at their free ends , which are oriented radially in the direction of the longitudinal center axis x - x . these locking cams 12 lock into a locking groove 13 of an inserted mating plug - in 14 connector with the adapter sleeve 7 inserted into the passage opening 8 ; see fig1 and 17 . these locking cams 12 are located outside of the sleeve section 3 with the adapter sleeve 7 inserted into the sleeve section 3 . as can be seen , for example , in fig4 , the passage opening 8 has the same inner diameter over its entire length , so that a continuous smooth , step - free inner wall is present , which transfers over into an opening area located in the rear , particularly an angled insertion surface in the opening area of the passage opening 8 in insertion direction z . it can furthermore be practical if the adapter sleeve 7 has an annular collar 15 over the periphery of its passage opening 8 , that is in an opening area located in the rear seen in insertion direction z . this annular collar 15 runs radially outwardly offset with respect to the sleeve wall 9 , so that its outer diameter and its inner diameter are especially larger than the outer diameter of the sleeve wall 9 . the outer diameter of the annular collar 15 is suitably equally as large as that of the sleeve section 3 . the annular collar 15 a is thus circumferentially separated from the adapter sleeve 7 by means of circumferential gap sections 32 between the locking arms 10 . the annular collar 15 is connected on its outer side via webs to the locking arms 10 in the area of the locking cams 12 of the locking arms 10 . the annular collar 15 accordingly encloses the adapter sleeve 7 in the area of the free ends of the locking arms 10 . it is advantageous according to the invention if the annular collar 15 has two diametrically opposite deformation sections 33 in the center between the locking arms 10 . in the area of the deformation sections , the annular collar 15 can be deformed radially inwardly by means of a force p to be applied radially from outside towards the longitudinal center axis x - x in such a way that the locking arms 10 are spread radially outwardly in such a way that their locking cams 12 are disengaged from the locking groove 13 of the plug shaft 14 a of the inserted mating plug - in connector 14 ; see fig8 . the annular collar 15 adopts an oval shape as a result of this external force exerted on the deformation sections 33 ; see fig9 . such a deformation also takes place during the insertion of the plug shaft 14 a into the mating plug - in connector 14 a . release of the mating plug - in connector 14 from the plug - in connector 1 is possible in this way . the outer diameter of the annular collar 15 is especially equal in size to the outer diameter of the sleeve section 3 . the deformation sections 33 are suitably formed , for example , by rib - like projections of the annular collar 15 , which are radially outwardly directed with reference to the longitudinal center axis x - x . it is practical according to the invention if the locking cams 12 have a radial distance to the longitudinal center axis x - x , which is smaller than an inner radius of the passage opening 8 . it is also of further advantage , if a radial distance of the locking arms 10 with reference to the longitudinal center axis x - x is at least equal to the inner diameter of the passage opening 8 in the area adjacent to the locking arms 12 . according to the invention , the adapter sleeve 7 is positively fixed in the axial direction and preferably also in the peripheral direction within the sleeve section 3 by means of positively locking elements . these positively locking elements consist of radially elastic locking elements 29 configured over the periphery of the adapter sleeve 7 between the locking arms 10 . the locking elements 29 are formed in particular by two radially elastically bendable arms 29 a running axially parallel to the longitudinal center axis x - x . these arms 29 a are arranged respectively offset by 90 ° with respect to each other towards the locking arms 10 . the arms 29 a are separated by a u - shaped slot 29 b from the wall of the adapter sleeve 7 and are connected as one piece to the wall of the adapter sleeve 7 with their end that faces opposite the direction of insertion z ; see fig7 . the arms 29 a have locking cams 29 c , which project radially and outwardly at their free ends and also have an inclined surface 29 d facing the direction of insertion , as well as a locking surface 29 e extending perpendicular to the longitudinal axis x - x , which encloses an acute angle at its outer free end with the inclined surface 29 d ; see fig3 . the peripheral circle on which the locking cams 29 c rest with their free ends has a diameter that is larger than the inner diameter of the channel section 6 of the sleeve section 3 and smaller than the outer diameter of the channel section 6 . it is practical if a bracing base 29 f is formed behind the respective locking cams 10 seen from the direction of insertion . the thickness of the arms 29 a is preferably less than the thickness of the wall of the adapter sleeve 7 . the spring elasticity of the arms 29 a can be adjusted via the length and the thickness of the arms 29 a . the locking cams 29 c correspond to recesses 30 in the peripheral wall of the sleeve section 3 in such a way that the adapter sleeve 7 in the sleeve section 3 positively engages the locking cams 29 c in the recesses 30 with the adapter sleeve 7 inserted . the recesses 30 are advantageously configured as breakthroughs of the wall of the sleeve section 3 . four recesses 30 arranged offset by 90 ° with respect to each other are preferably provided in the sleeve section 3 . the locking cams 29 c are dimensioned in particular in such a way that their free ends do not project out of the breakthroughs 30 when inserted . the adapter sleeve 7 can be inserted in positions mutually rotated by 90 ° by configuring four recesses 30 that are offset with respect to each other by 90 °. it is likewise within the scope of the invention if the breakthroughs 30 are configured as inner indentations , so that the peripheral wall of the sleeve section 3 is closed . reference can be made to the exemplary embodiment ( see fig1 ) with regard to this . the locking cams 29 c engage with their locking surfaces 29 e running perpendicularly to the longitudinal center axis x - x , and the recesses 30 have contact surfaces opposite the locking surfaces 29 e , which likewise extend perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis x - x . this configuration of the mutually opposite surfaces causes a positive locking in the axial direction when in locked state . the locking cams 29 c and the recesses 30 are suitably adapted to each other in such a way that a twisting of the adapter sleeve 7 becomes impossible in locked state . the assembly of the adapter sleeve 7 is carried out according to the invention in such a way ( see fig1 ) that first a peripheral seal 26 is inserted into the sleeve section 3 . the adapter sleeve 7 is thereafter inserted into the sleeve section 3 until the end of the locking elements 28 , that is the locking cams 29 c , are engaged in the recesses 30 ; see fig7 . in the fully assembled plug - in connector according to the invention , the plug shaft 14 a is inserted into the mating plug - in connector 14 ; see fig8 . the locking arms 10 are spread apart as a result of this insertion ( see fig8 ) and the annular collar 15 takes on an oval shape ; see fig9 . this happens in such a way that its outer diameter in the area of the actuating sections 33 is smaller than that in the area of the locking cams 12 . the latter is then greater than the outer diameter of the sleeve section 3 . the locking arms 12 of the locking arms 10 positively engage in the locking groove 13 of the mating plug - in connector 14 in the inserted state of the mating plug - in connector 14 ( see fig1 ), wherein the annular collar 15 again assumes its original circular shape . as can be seen in fig1 to 11 , it may be practical according to the invention to displaceably arrange a release safeguard 60 on the outer periphery of the sleeve portion 3 in longitudinal direction of the longitudinal axis x - x . this release safeguard 60 is displaceably mounted between two positions , specifically locking positions . the first position is an assembly position , in which the mating plug - type connector 14 can be inserted into the plug - in connector 1 , and specifically into the adapter sleeve 7 ; see fig7 . the second position is a position in which the release safeguard 60 is pushed in the direction of the annular collar 15 in such a way , that the release safeguard 60 prevents a radial spreading of the locking arms 10 ; see fig1 . the release safeguard 60 according to this invention preferably consists of a sleeve 61 , which positively encloses the socket section 3 . this sleeve 61 is displaceably mounted on the sleeve section 3 , and specifically between the two aforementioned positions . in the first position , the sleeve 61 is located completely on the sleeve section 3 , so that the annular collar 15 is freely accessible and a spreading the locking arms 10 is possible by means of the vertical force p on the annular collar 15 or the locking arms 10 can alternatively be spread during the insertion of the mating plug - in connector 14 ; see fig8 . the sleeve 61 positively locks in this position , for example , with the configured locking lugs 63 configured on its peripheral edge 62 , with locking projections 64 located on their ends , that is , releasably in a recess 65 in the peripheral wall of the sleeve section 3 . two locking lugs 63 offset with respect to each other by 180 ° and two recesses 65 offset with respect to each other by 90 ° are preferably provided . in the second position , specifically a locking position , the sleeve 61 also encloses the annular collar 15 ; see fig1 . a spreading of the locking arms 10 is hereby no longer possible , so that the undesirable release of the plug - in connection according to the invention , which consists of a plug - in connector 1 and mating plug - in connector 14 , is prevented . in this second locking position , the sleeve 61 positively locks with the locking lugs 63 in the recesses 65 a , which can coincide with the recesses 30 , that are provided in the peripheral wall of the sleeve section 3 . the sleeve 61 is suitably provided over its periphery with indentations 66 , which are designed in such a way that the protrusions 33 a provided on the annular collar 15 reside the indentations 66 , so that a displacement of the sleeve 61 is not hindered in this second position . the indentations 66 can be configured , as represented in fig1 , as either axial indentations 66 or alternatively as radial indentations of the sleeve wall , so that in this embodiment of the release safeguard 60 a , the sleeve wall is closed on the outside and the protrusions 33 a are completely enclosed by the indentations 66 . four longitudinal ribs 67 that are arranged mutually offset by 90 ° are formed over the outer periphery of the sleeve section 3 . in adaptation thereto , the sleeve 61 is provided with guide grooves 68 in its sleeve wall for accommodating the longitudinal ribs 67 . a correct insertion of the sleeve 61 on the sleeve section 3 is obtained in this way , if the adapter sleeve 7 has not yet been introduced into the socket section 3 ; see fig1 . it can be advantageous if the annular collar has a modified shape . the annular collar 15 a has herein an oval shape in the non - spread position of the locking arms 10 ; see fig1 , 13 , so that the outer diameter of the annular collar 15 a in the area of the locking cams 12 is smaller than in the area of the actuating sections 33 . its largest outer diameter is thus configured in the area of the actuating sections 33 and its smallest outer diameter is configured in the area of the locking cams 12 , and the largest outer diameter is greater than the outer diameter of the circular peripheral contour of the sleeve section 3 , and its smallest external diameter is smaller than the outer diameter of the sleeve section 3 . the outer diameter of the annular collar 15 a is hereby greater than the outer diameter of the sleeve section 3 in the area of the actuating sections 33 . the radial distance of the locking arms 10 in the area of the locking cams 12 is smaller than the inner diameter of the passage opening 8 in the unassembled state ; see fig1 , 14 a . the locking arms 10 positively engage hereby in the locking groove 13 of the mating plug - in connector when the plug - in connector is inserted ( see fig1 ), on the one hand , and the locking arms 10 are spread in such a way during insertion of the mating plug - in connector 14 with its plug shaft 14 a , on that other hand , that the annular collar 15 a assumes an opposite oval peripheral contour , wherein the outer periphery of the annular collar 15 a projects with respect to the outer periphery of the sleeve section 3 , and specifically in the area of the locking cams 12 ; see fig1 , 16 . the radial distance of the locking arms 10 , including the locking cams 12 , is dimensioned in such a way when locked in the locking groove 13 , that the annular collar 15 a has a circular shape that is such that its outside diameter is smaller than / equal to the outer diameter of the sleeve section 3 ; see fig1 , 18 . the configuration of the annular collar 15 a makes possible that in the unassembled position of the mating plug - in connector 14 ( see fig1 a ) and during the insertion of the mating plug - in connector into the adapter sleeve 7 ( see fig1 ), the sleeve 61 , 61 a cannot be displaced over the annular collar 15 a , but can be displaced over the annular collar 15 a into its second position in the inserted state of the mating plug - in connector 14 ; see fig1 . the oval configuration of the annular collar 15 a thus makes possible , as described above , a double safeguard for the plug - in connection against the undesirable displacement of the sleeve 61 and release of the mating plug - in connector 14 from the plug - in connector 1 according to the invention . a connection section 24 of the mating plug - in connector 14 can be configured as a connection sleeve for the inserting or screwing - in of a fluid line port or another connector part ; see fig1 . the connection section 24 can alternatively also be used as a connection pin to plug in a fluid line . a fluid channel 34 , which suitably has an inner channel diameter that corresponds to the inner diameter of the passage channel 5 of the housing 2 , runs through the mating plug - in connector 14 . the mating plug - in connector 14 has a plug shaft 14 a with a circular cross section perpendicular to its center axis . the outer diameter of the plug shaft 23 is greater than a radial distance of the locking cams 12 , so that the locking arms 10 are bent radially outwardly during insertion of the plug shaft 23 ; see regarding this fig8 . the connector shaft 23 is provided with the circumferential locking groove 13 at its front end in the direction of insertion z . this locking groove 13 has a front contact surface that extends perpendicularly to the center axis x - x , and a contact surface , which contacts with a contact surface of the locking cam 12 , which is likewise perpendicular to the longitudinal axis x - x , in such a manner that a positive locking is obtained in the locked state in the axial direction , so that an autonomous release of the connector pin or the plug shaft 14 a cannot occur under tensile stress . the connection section 24 is provided at the end of the mating plug - in connector 14 opposite the plug - in shaft 14 a for connection of a fluid line or a unit . an annular shoulder , which can serve as stop , is formed between the connection section 24 and the locking groove 13 . the length of the plug shaft 14 a is especially dimensioned in such a manner that it extends with its free end into the adapter sleeve 7 , and from the adapter sleeve 7 to the passage channel 5 of the housing 2 in the inserted state . it is furthermore suitably provided according to the invention ( see fig2 ) that the peripheral seal 26 is arranged ahead of the adapter sleeve 7 within the sleeve section 3 in direction of insertion z . this peripheral seal 26 seals the peripheral gap between the plug shaft 14 a in its inserted state and is encased between an annular shoulder 27 at the transition of the sleeve section 3 and a front end surface 6 a of the adapter sleeve 7 . a receiving groove for the peripheral seal 26 can be omitted because of this embodiment according to the invention , so that the configuration of undercuts is not required in terms of manufacturing technology . the peripheral seal 26 is moreover protected in the interior of the sleeve section 3 in the assembled state of the adapter sleeve 7 . the inner diameter of the passage throughflow channel 5 of the housing 2 and the inner diameter of the passage opening 8 of the adapter sleeve 7 are adapted to the outer diameter of the plug shaft 14 a of the mating plug - in connector 14 . the inner diameter of the throughflow channel 5 and the passage opening 8 suitably have the same size . as a result of an elastic deformation of the sealing ring 26 , which is caused by the insertion of the plug shaft 14 a , takes place , on the one hand , a sealing to the outside and , on the other hand , a fixation of the plug shaft 14 a in the adapter sleeve 7 or in the sleeve section 3 by means of the deformation stress generated inside the o - seal . the annular step 9 b of the adapter sleeve 7 has a circumferential contact surface 27 a that runs radially to the longitudinal center axis x - x . as shown in fig2 , in particular the channel section 6 has an annular - shaped stop surface 27 b configured in the sense of a diameter enlargement , which is arranged in such a way that the peripheral seal 26 runs between the annular shoulder 27 and the stop surface 27 b . the adapter sleeve 7 with its contact surface 27 a rests against the stop surface 27 b in the inserted state , and the adapter sleeve 7 projects with its annular step 9 b into the section 6 a of the channel section 6 , which is sealed by means of the peripheral seal 6 [ 26 ]. a geometric termination of the receiver for the peripheral seal 26 , a boundary for the plug - in path during assembly of the adapter sleeve 7 , a reception and further forwarding of the spreading force as well as a maintaining of a gap between the sleeve section 3 of the housing 2 and of the adapter sleeve 7 take place as a result of the preceding embodiment . it is furthermore advantageous according to the invention if a radially directed stop surface 27 c is configured in the interior of the passage bore 6 behind the annular shoulder 27 in the sense of a diameter reduction , whereby a depth stop 27 c is created ; see fig7 . as shown in fig8 and 15 , 16 , the annular collar 15 , 15 a with its sections that are connected to the locking arms 10 projects radially outwardly if the mating plug - in connector 14 is not yet fully inserted , so that the annular collar 15 , 15 a acquires an oval shape . a visual control as to whether the locking position has been achieved or not is thus provided . when in locking position , the annular collar 15 closes flush with its outer periphery with the outer periphery of the sleeve section 3 , wherein the annular collar 15 , 15 a has then a circular peripheral contour . in fig1 is depicted an embodiment of the plug - in connector 1 , which shows a production by metal cutting . the recesses 30 are not realized hereby as breakthroughs , but rather form a peripheral edge that effects an axial fixing of the adapter sleeve 7 . a twisting of the adapter sleeve 7 is however possible . it is furthermore advantageous according to the invention if the radial height of the stepped surface 9 a and the length of the locking arms 10 within the sleeve section 3 is dimensioned in such a way that the radial distance of the locking cams is smaller than the inner diameter of the adapter sleeve 7 and smaller than the outer diameter of the plug shaft 14 a of the mating plug - in connector 14 . the present invention also relates to a plug - in coupling consisting of a plug - in connector 1 and a mating plug - type connector 14 , such as described above . furthermore , as can be seen in fig1 , it is practical according to the invention if two diametrically opposite receiving pockets 2 a at are configured at the transition of the sleeve section 3 into the remaining plug - in connector housing 2 . these receiving pockets 2 a serve for accommodating the gripping devices for the assembly of the plug - in connector 1 according to the invention . the invention is not limited to the depicted and described exemplary embodiments , but also comprises all equally effective embodiments in the sense of the invention . it is explicitly emphasized that the exemplary embodiments are not limited to all features in combination , but that rather each individual partial feature can have inventive importance by itself independently from the others . the invention is moreover also not limited to the feature combination defined in claim 1 , but can also be defined by any other combination of specific features of all overall disclosed individual features . this means that , in principle , virtually each individual feature of claim 1 can be omitted or substituted by at least an individual feature disclosed at another point of the application . | 5 |
in order to better show the purpose and mode of operation of the invention , a simplified diagram of an ideal human gait cycle is shown in fig1 , which shows the positions of the major parts of the legs ( e . g . the femur , the tibia , the knee , ankle and foot ) during the stance ( 100 ) and swing ( 102 ) phases of the normal gait cycle . note that in a proper or normal stance phase , the angle of the knee ( 104 ), ( 106 ) will be somewhat less than 180 °, thus allowing the knee of the stance ( weight bearing ) leg to bend inward slightly , and absorb some of the shock of supporting the weight of the walkers body . by contrast , fig2 shows a common gait abnormality that is often caused by a misadjusted prosthetic leg . here again , both stance phase ( 200 ) and swing phase ( 202 ) are shown . this problem frequently happens when an amputee using a prosthetic leg that is otherwise properly adjusted for walking with shoes attempts to walk without the shoes . here during the stance phase ( 200 ), the angle of the knee becomes hyperextended beyond 180 ° ( 204 ), ( 206 ). this results in several problems , including prosthetic posterior lean . additionally , if the amputee is a transtibial amputee with a functional natural knee joint , this knee hyperextension can put unnatural pressure on the amputee &# 39 ; s natural knee tissue , resulting in higher risk for subsequent knee joint damage . fig3 shows a detail of a prosthetic foot ( 300 ), prosthetic foot shell ( 302 ), and the invention &# 39 ; s improved prosthetic foot covering ( 304 ) which has at least an internal heel height insert ( 306 ) which often may extend to adjusting for the overall shoe height as well . in some embodiments , this may be an integral part of the foot covering ( 304 ). in other embodiments , this insert may be detachable . the invention adjusts the elevation of the prosthetic foot to compensate for the height of the missing shoe , and also provides a natural covering that can be made to resemble the appearance of natural foot skin . as previously discussed , in a preferred embodiment , the invention &# 39 ; s improved prosthetic foot covering is a removable flesh colored prosthetic covering that enables the same prosthetic foot , without readjustment , to be used by an amputee with either one or two prosthetic feet for ( when the covering is off ) walking with shoes , or walking without shoes ( when the covering is on ). assuming that the prosthetic foot or feet are properly adjusted for walking with shoes , then the invention &# 39 ; s covering automatically provides the proper height adjustment to the soles of the prosthetic foot or feet to enable the amputee to walk “ barefoot ” without encountering a higher risk for prosthetic posterior lean or knee hyperextension . as previously discussed , that although heel height adjustments will primarily be used in this disclosure as an example of this type of shoe height adjustment , other types of shoe height adjustment , such as overall shoe sole height , may also be compensated for by embedding the proper type of insert into the prosthetic covering . thus in this discussion , all shoes are presumed to have at least shoe heels with a shoe heel height of at least ⅜ ″, but these shoes may also have an overall sole height as well throughout , and the insert may include this overall sole height adjustment as well . also as previously discussed , in some embodiments , the internal heel and optional sole insert may be an integral part of the covering , in that it is inseparable from the covering . in other embodiments , the internal heel and optional sole insert may be attached to the covering after the covering is manufactured , and may even be user replaceable or adjustable as desired . when the invention &# 39 ; s skin or covering is applied to a prosthetic foot , the skin or covering , aided by the internal insert , thus elevates at least the heel of the prosthetic foot to a sufficient height above the floor as to reduce the risk of knee hyper extension or prosthetic posterior lean . this effect is shown in fig4 . fig4 shows a profile of an artificial foot shell ( 400 ), an artificial foot shell now wearing the invention &# 39 ; s improved prosthetic foot covering ( 402 ), and the height differences between the two ( 404 ), thus illustrating at least the heel height adjustments produced by the invention &# 39 ; s improved prosthetic foot covering ( 406 ). here the prosthetic foot covering ( 402 ) is shown as not quite fully covering the top of the prosthetic foot shell , thus creating a small gap ( 408 ) exposing the prosthetic foot shell underneath the covering . the insert is also shown in cross section ( 410 ). note that from the outside , all an observer will see is an apparently natural looking foot ( 402 ). that is to improve the cosmetic appearance ; the covering will be designed to minimize the visual impact of the internal insert and the sole of the covering from outside observers . of course since there are natural color variations between the sole and heel of a natural human foot and the surrounding skin , the color of the covering or skin need not be totally uniform , but the general goal is , within the available cost budget , to strive to create a natural looking color pattern rather than , for example , making the sole of the covering a completely non - natural color . the insert will often be made a semi - rigid but partially compressible material that returns to its natural shape and configuration during the swing phase of the amputee &# 39 ; s gait . at a minimum , the insert will be a heel insert with a heel height of ⅜ ″ or higher , and at a maximum , the insert may additionally have an overall thickness throughout the sole region of the foot , and usually also have an additional heel height of ⅜ ″ or higher above this basic sole region as well . in this manner the insert can compensate for differences in overall shoe height as well as in shoe heel elevation . although , as will be discussed , in many embodiments the insert will be formed along with the rest of the skin or covering in the same molding process , and thus may be an integral part of the skin or covering ( e . g . non - removable ), in other embodiments , the insert may be removable , and indeed a plurality of inserts of different heights may be placed in said skin or covering . the invention &# 39 ; s skin or covering may cover as little as the prosthetic foot shell , or as much as the entire prosthetic foot , or anywhere inbetween . for example , fig5 shows two alternate embodiments of the invention . in one embodiment , the covering ( 500 ) extends only over the prosthetic foot shell , while in the other embodiment ( 502 ), the covering covers both the prosthetic foot shell , the shaft , the socket and other elements of the prosthetic foot , thus producing a more natural “ skin like ” appearance that covers nearly all of the prosthetic foot , from the prosthetic foot shell ( 504 ) to the prosthetic foot socket ( 506 ). fig6 shows one mechanism by which the invention may act to reduce the problem of knee hyperextension . in fig6 ( 600 ), an transtibial amputee with a functional natural knee joint is attempting to walk barefoot using a prosthetic leg adjusted for walking with shoes , using only a prior art skin or covering without any height adjustment insert ( 602 ) as a result , some knee hyperextension ( 604 ) occurs during stance phase . by contrast , in ( 606 ), the same amputee is walking with same prosthetic foot covered with the invention &# 39 ; s improved covering ( 608 ) that now has a at least a heel height adjustment insert ( 610 ). due to the heel height adjustment , during stance phase , the added heel height ( and other heel height ) helps position the amputee &# 39 ; s foot at a more favorable angle , thus reducing the problem of knee hyperextension ( 612 ). the invention may often be conveniently produced from a moldable synthetic polymer , such as silicone , polyurethane , synthetic rubber , or other natural polymer , synthetic polymer , or synthetic organic polymer . the covering may either be composed entirely of the moldable synthetic material , or often may comprise an embedded woven or nonwoven fabric coated or embedded in the moldable synthetic polymer to give the skin or covering extra tear resistance and elasticity . fig7 shows a low - cost method of producing the invention . this method uses a single mold ( 700 ) or “ last ” configured in the shape of a typical prosthetic foot shell and lower foot region . an insert ( 702 ) may be placed on the sole of this mold or “ last ”, and as needed held in place by small snaps or other detents ( not shown ). in some embodiments , to provide a woven or nonwoven fabric inner core , the mold and detent may then be covered by smooth stocking - like woven or nonwoven fabric ( 704 ). the mold or “ last ” may then be dipped into a liquid form of the moldable synthetic polymer ( 706 ), and then removed from the dip ( 708 ). the moldable synthetic polymer will harden , forming the skin or covering , with the insert held firmly inside the outer layer of the synthetic polymer . once hardened , the skin or covering can be stripped from the outer surface of the mold ( 710 ). this skin or covering can then be further processed , for example by cutting appropriate slits and adding suitable fasteners ( e . g . zippers , hook and clasp fasteners , and the like , preferably durable , inconspicuous , and flesh colored ) as desired to allow the user to rapidly put on and take off the covering in use . many other types of molding process , as well as more complex molds ( e . g . injection molding between both an inner and outer mold , etc .) may also be used . the net result will be to produce a covering or skin where the internal heel or sole insert is positioned inside the outer surface of the moldable synthetic polymer so that the sole of said skin has a natural skin color that is substantially similar to other portions of said skin . in some embodiments , either as part of the molding process , or as a secondary operation afterward , the outside of the skin or covering can be further differentially colored or textured so as to increase the similarity of appearance between the outside of the skin and either the skin of the amputee &# 39 ; s natural foot ( if the amputee has a natural foot ), or the appearance of a typical natural foot if the amputee does not have a natural foot . when the user is walking with shoes and one or more prosthetic legs configured for shoes , the invention &# 39 ; s covering will usually not be worn , but rather may be inconspicuously kept by the user ( e . g . in the user &# 39 ; s pockets , purse , suitcase , etc .). when the user encounters a situation where socially , the appearance of waking barefoot is desirable ( for example when entering a home where shoes are not worn ), the user will then apply the skin or covering to the prosthetic foot or feet , and then will be able to walk “ barefoot ” with minimal risk of knee hyperextension or prosthetic posterior lean , and with minimal social embarrassment . the device may be made commercially in a range of different sizes and insert types . in some situations , in order to insure the best quality fit , it may be useful to first analyze the user &# 39 ; s walking gate patterns under various conditions , and use these walking gate patterns to select various parameters such as the height or shape of the insert and / or the compressibility or other characteristics of the insert material . as previously discussed , the mechanical portions of the artificial foot are usually covered by a foot shell , which is a relatively thick , skin - colored plastic covering , molded in the general shape of a natural foot ( i . e . often with toes ) designed to allow the artificial foot to fit into the shoe that the lower limb amputee intends to wear . at present , foot shells are generally designed for very secure attachment to the mechanical portions of the artificial foot , and it takes a considerable amount of effort to attach or remove a foot shell from the mechanical portions of the artificial foot . in principle , however , the foot shell could be redesigned for easier attachment and detachment from the underlying mechanisms of the artificial foot , for example by cutting a slit ( fig3 ( 303 ) in the foot shell to make it easier to deform while taking on and off . in an alternative embodiment of the invention , the removable cosmetic skin covering device for a prosthetic foot , enabling the same prosthetic foot , without readjustment to be used by an amputee with a prosthetic foot for either walking with shoes having shoe heels or walking barefoot with minimal risk of knee hypextension or prosthetic posterior lean may instead comprise a flesh covered foot shell that is configured to cover the mechanical portions of at least the prosthetic foot . in this case , one version of the foot shell would be configured for walking with shoes , while an alternate version of the foot shell would have an internal heel or sole insert with an insert height , such that when the foot shell is applied to the mechanical portions of the prosthetic foot , the foot shell elevates at least the heel of the prosthetic foot to a sufficient height above the floor as to reduce the risk of knee hyperextension or prosthetic posterior lean when the amputee walks barefoot . alternatively , the alternate version of the foot shell configured for walking barefoot could have a very thick heel and possibly thick sole as well , so as to elevate at least the heel of the prosthetic foot to a sufficient height above the floor as to reduce the risk of knee hyperextension or prosthetic posterior lean when the amputee walks barefoot . | 0 |
fig1 illustrates a system for reconstructing a video stream according to some embodiments of the invention . the embodiments of the invention can be used with a video conferencing station to improve the quality of the reconstructed video . this paragraph lists the elements of fig1 and describes their interconnections . fig1 includes a video conferencing station 120 and a video conferencing station 122 . the video conferencing stations 120 - 122 are coupled in communication by a communication channel 104 . the video conferencing station 120 includes a computer 100 coupled to an audio / video display 108 and an audio / video source 110 . the computer 100 includes an audio / video codec 106 . the term codec stands for compressor - decompressor and refers a software and / or hardware unit capable of compressing and decompressing audio / video streams . the video conferencing station 122 includes a computer 102 coupled to an audio / video display 116 and an audio / video source 118 . the computer 102 includes an audio / video codec 112 , a vector reconstructor 114 and an interpolator 115 . the following describes the uses of the elements of fig1 . the video conferencing station 120 is a video conferencing station such as an h . 320 terminal , an h . 321 terminal , an h . 323 terminal , an h . 324 terminal , a personal computer , and / or some other type of video conferencing station . the computer 100 may be a personal computer , a thin client computer , a server computer , a dedicated video conferencing computer , and / or some other type of computer . the audio / video display 108 may be a television , a computer monitor and speakers , and / or some other type of display and / or speakers . the audio / video source 110 may be a video camera , a digital camera , a computer camera and speakers , and / or some other type of audio / video source . for example , the audio / video source might include a previously recorded event from a memory within the computer 100 or a video cassette recorder coupled to the computer 100 . the audio / video codec 106 may be implemented in software , hardware , or a combination of the two . typically the audio / video codec 106 implements one or more encoding and decoding protocols such as mpeg - 1 , mpeg - 2 , mpeg - 4 , h . 261 , h . 263 , and / or some other protocols . more generally , an audio / video codec is capable of supporting motion compensated waveform encoding and decoding . in some embodiments , the audio / video codec 106 can support the encoding of a video stream at the same time another video stream is being decoded . in other embodiments , the audio / video codec 106 is comprised of multiple audio / video codecs to support video conferencing . the communication channel 104 represents any communications linkage between the two video conferencing stations 120 - 122 . the communication channel may be a switched channel , e . g . through the public switched telephone network ( pstn ), a packet switched channel , e . g . through the internet or some other network , a wireless channel , and / or combinations of different types of channels . in this example , the communication channel 104 represents a packet switched channel through the internet . using the communication channel 104 , users of the respective video conferencing stations 120 - 122 may communicate with each other in video and / or audio modes . the video conferencing station 122 includes many components similar to the video conferencing station 120 . the audio / video display 116 could be any audio / video display and may be the same or different than the audio / video display 108 . for example , the audio / video display 108 might be a television , while the audio / video display 116 is a computer monitor and speakers . the audio / video source 118 could be any audio / video source and may be the same or different than the audio / video source 110 . the video conferencing station 122 includes the computer 102 . the computer 102 may be any type of computer and may be the same or different than the computer 100 . the computer 102 includes an audio / video codec 112 . the audio / video codec 112 could be any type of audio / video codec . in order for the video conferencing station 120 and the video conferencing station 122 to communicate with one another the audio / video codec 106 and the audio / video codec 112 should support compatible formats . for example , if the audio / video codec 106 supports h . 263 and mpeg - 4 , in order for the two video conferencing stations to communicate , the audio / video codec 112 should support at least one of h . 263 and mpeg - 4 . the video conferencing station 122 also includes additional components to improve the quality of reconstructed video : the vector reconstructor 114 and the interpolator 115 . the vector reconstructor 114 and the interpolator may be implemented in hardware , software , or a combination of the two . in some embodiments , the interpolator 115 may be present without the vector reconstructor 114 . in other embodiments , the vector reconstructor 114 may be paired with different types of interpolators other than the interpolator 115 . for example , the interpolator 115 might be replaced with a generic motion compensated interpolator designed to produce in - between frames . one such replacement interpolator is described by guido m . schuster and aggelos k . katsaggelos in “ rate - distortion based video compression ”, kluwer academic publishers , 1997 , pp 142 - 150 . pairing the vector reconstructor 114 with schuster may produce better quality interpolated frames than using the schuster interpolation alone . however , the problem of jerky and unnatural motion may remain unless a motion compensated interpolator such as the interpolator 115 is used . the processes used by the vector reconstructor 114 are discussed in greater detail below in the section “ vector reconstruction ”. the processes used by the interpolator 115 are discussed in greater detail below in the section “ adjusted motion compensation interpolation ”. the processes used by some embodiments of the invention to reconstruct additional motion vectors on a receiving video conferencing station will now be discussed in conjunction with fig2 and 4 . fig2 is a process flow diagram for constructing additional motion vectors on a computer receiving an encoded video stream . fig4 illustrates the problem caused by an inadequate search for motion vectors by a transmitting computer . the process could be used by the vector constructor 114 to construct additional motion vectors on a computer for use in conjunction with a motion compensated interpolation process and address the problem demonstrated by fig4 . fig4 shows several reconstructed frames from a video stream to explain the problem of inadequate search and how the process of fig2 can allow a computer receiving such a video stream to address the problem . the first frame 400 is an “ i ” frame . thus , the first frame 400 is transmitted as an entire still image . the first frame includes two regions , or blocks in mpeg terminology , the region 410 a and the region 414 a . these could be any two regions in the first frame 400 . in mpeg terminology , each region may be a block and / or some other portion of a frame . for example , the region 414 a might include part of a remote video conference participant &# 39 ; s hand and the region 410 a might include part of a remote video conference participant &# 39 ; s face . the second frame 402 is a “ p ” frame . that means that regions of the second frame are either described as still images or a motion vector describing where a particular region was in the previous frame . in the example , on the second frame 402 , the region 410 b has moved down slightly from its position in the first frame 400 . this movement is represented by the vector 412 that describes the region 410 b as being related to a block at a certain position in the previous frame . in contrast , the region 414 b , which has the same content as the region 414 a , was not detected as being related to the region 414 a and thus had to be transmitted as a still image region . while this is not a problem for the display of an ordinary video stream in terms of being able to decode and display the third frame 404 , it is a problem for creating an intermediate frame 406 using motion compensate interpolation . that is because , the motion information about the region 414 a and the region 414 b was not captured due to the low quality search for motion vectors by the transmitting , or encoding , computer . thus , it is not possible to predict where the region 414 b should be positioned on the intermediate frame 406 . thus , while it is possible to predict the movement of the region 410 b on the intermediate frame 406 , it is not possible to predict the movement of the region 414 b on the intermediate frame 406 . the result is that the receiving , or decoding , computer can actually improve the quality of the displayed video when interpolation is used . for example , if the interpolator 115 is used without the process of fig2 then the region 414 b would be shown statically on the intermediate frame 406 because there is a lack of motion information about the region 414 b . in reality however , the region 414 b was in motion and the transmitting , or encoding , computer failed to detect the movement , e . g . due to a lack of an exhaustive search . by applying the process of fig2 the motion information for the region 414 b can be recaptured by the receiving , or decoding , computer for use in motion compensated interpolation . the effect is apparent when the third frame 404 is examined . the region 410 c has continued to moved down slightly and the region 414 c has continued to move up and across slightly . the vector 414 would allow the region 410 b to be interpolated to multiple intermediate positions between the position in the second frame 402 and the third frame 404 . in contrast , the absence of a vector for the region 414 b prevents the prediction of motion for the region 414 b between the second frame 402 and the third frame 404 . the following explains the process of fig2 in greater detail . this process can be used by the vector reconstructor 114 to allow the generation of higher quality motion compensated interpolated video by the interpolator 115 . first , at step 200 a portion of the audio / video stream is received and reconstructed by a receiving video conferencing station , e . g . the video conferencing station 122 . to simplify the discussion let us consider a video stream s ={ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , . . . } comprised of frames . at the transmitting side , e . g . the video conferencing station 120 , the frames are encoded by the audio / video codec 106 to form an encoded stream s ′={ 1 ′, 2 ′, 3 ′, 4 ′, 5 ′, } of compressed frames . frames in the encoded stream s ′ are typically represented by vectors describing the relation of regions of a frame , e . g . 2 ′, to regions in a previously transmitted frame , e . g . 1 ′. in mpeg terms , frame 1 ′ might be an “ i ” frame , while frame 2 ′ might be a “ p ” frame . at the receiving side , e . g . the video conferencing station 122 , the frames are reconstructed by the audio / video codec 112 to form a reconstructed video stream ŝ ={{ circumflex over ( 1 )},{ circumflex over ( 2 )},{ circumflex over ( 3 )},{ circumflex over ( 4 )},{ circumflex over ( 5 )}, . . . }. because most video compression streams are lossy , the frames of the reconstructed video stream may not be identical to the frames of the original video stream s . next at step 202 , the vectors of the encoded video stream are examined . the quality of motion compensated interpolation will depend on the quality of the search performed by the encoding system , e . g . how large a window does the encoding system use to find matching regions . if the encoding system , e . g . the video conferencing station 120 , often limited its search to a range of ± 16 pixels horizontally and ± 8 pixels vertically because of processing constraints , then the vectors may not be adequate for motion compensated interpolation . in some embodiments , a predetermined threshold is used to determine whether there are adequate vectors . for example , the number of regions coded as still images in frames could be used to assess the quality of the search performed . video conferencing applications tend to have relatively little movement from frame to frame . further , the contents of the frames do not change greatly . this makes the images in video conferencing highly susceptible to encoding frames with vectors to describe one frame in relation to a previous frame . therefore , if the receiving computer is sent a large number of frames that include regions encoded as still images , then a determination can be made that the quality of the search is inadequate for motion compensate interpolation . a threshold of no more than n still image regions per non -“ i ” frame could be set on a per application and per format basis . for example , for video conferencing n might be set to 20 for a quarter common intermediate format ( qcif ) video conferencing data with 16 pixel by 16 pixel square regions . quarter common intermediate format provides a 176 pixel by 144 pixel image and with 16 pixel by 16 pixel regions , there are 99 square regions . the exact value of n can be adjusted up or down . alternatively , the number of vectors can be compared to a threshold , e . g . at least 79 vectors . in still other embodiments , the number of vectors can be determined as a percentage of the total number of regions for a particular application , e . g . 80 % of regions should be described as vectors . in other embodiments , the size of the blocks is used to determine whether or not there are adequate motion vectors , e . g . always perform new vector generation if block size is greater than 8 pixel by 8 pixel blocks . in some embodiments , the process occurs a single time , early in the receipt of a video stream . in other embodiments , the process may be repeated periodically to reassess the quality of the received motion vectors . for example , the process could be repeated once per minute . in other embodiments , the process occurs on an ongoing basis with all of the encoded frames of the video stream analyzed . if adequate vectors are found , the process ends . however , if there are not adequate vectors , the process continues at step 204 . at step 204 , a codec such as the audio / video codec 112 and / or a different codec is used on the reconstructed frames to create a new set of vectors by performing a more exhaustive search . so for example , if there were not adequate vectors , then the reconstructed frames { circumflex over ( 1 )} and { circumflex over ( 2 )} can be used to generate a second set of vectors , e . g . 2 ″. that second set of vectors can then be used for motion compensated interpolation . some embodiments of the invention can couple this process with an interpolator such as the interpolator 115 . other embodiments of the invention use other interpolation techniques . notably this process can be implemented solely on the receiver side without any modification to the transmitting side , the transmitting system , or the original encoding of the video stream . fig3 is a process flow diagram for reconstructing a video stream with interpolated frames . this process could be used by the interpolator 115 . in some embodiments , this process could be used in conjunction with the process of fig2 such as with a vector reconstructor 114 . the process of fig3 will be described with reference to fig5 that illustrates the use of the reconstruction process . first , at step 302 , the first two encoded frames are received , e . g . 1 ′ and 2 ′. the frames can be reconstructed and be displayed in sequence . turning to fig5 a region 500 a within the first reconstructed frame is shown . then , the actual motion vector 502 is used to adjust the position of the region 500 a within the second frame . the adjusted position is shown as the region 500 b . a motion vector is directly related to the vectors in the encoded stream , but the motion vector is the forward predicted direction for a region . for example , returning to fig4 the vector 414 describes where the region 410 b was in the previous frame . for purposes of motion compensated interpolation , the goal is to predict the location of the region 410 b in subsequent frames . therefore , the motion vector would be equal in magnitude to the vector 412 , but in the opposite direction , e . g . the motion vector is the inverse of the vector . then , at step 304 , one or more intermediate frames can be predicted from the motion vectors . in some embodiments , the frames are predicted on the assumption that the motion vectors continue in the same direction . thus , the intermediate frame 2 . 5 could be generated , using a predicted and generated motion vector 504 . this is shown as the region 500 c . next , at step 306 , the actual motion vector 506 is received with the encoded third frame , e . g . 3 ′, but the reconstructed third frame is not entirely displayed . if the reconstructed third frame was entirely shown , the movement could be unnatural and jerky . for example , here , if the region 500 a - c was a person &# 39 ; s head , suddenly the head would jerk down to the position shown for the region in the third frame as the region 500 d . showing the third frame can cause the appearance of the motion compensated interpolation sequence to look like the television character “ max headroom ”. finally , at step 308 , one or more replacement frames generated to move to a predicted fourth frame . for example , using the actual motion vector 506 , a predicted motion vector 508 between the third and fourth frames is predicted . the prediction can use the assumption that the region &# 39 ; s movement will continue in the same direction . then , one or more motion vectors is generated , e . g . the generated motion vectors 510 a - b , to move the region 500 c to its predicted location in the fourth frame . this may involve the generation of several replacement frames . the path created by the motion vectors may first move towards the actual position of the third frame , e . g . the generated motion vector 510 a , or may move more directly to the predicted position in the fourth frame , e . g . the generated motion vector 510 b . the term replacement frame refers to a reconstructed frame comprised of a mixture of regions from the reconstructed frame as well as interpolated regions . thus a replacement frame , e . g . r 3 , may actually be comprised of some regions from reconstructed frame three , e . g . { circumflex over ( 3 )}, and some regions positioned according to interpolation from an intermediate frame . thus , for example if regions other than the region 500 b followed the predicted and generated motion vectors between reconstructed frame two and reconstructed frame three , those regions of reconstructed frame three might be included in r 3 . however , the region 500 c of reconstructed frame three would not be used and instead the region would be shown according to the generated motion vector 510 a or the generated motion vector 510 b . in some embodiments of the invention a curve is fit to the motion vectors derived from a previously received frame , e . g . 2 ′, and a newly received frame , e . g . 3 ′. this curve fitting approach reduces the unnatural motion otherwise seen and leads to the position of the regions in the replacement frame , e . g . r 3 , as well as the position of the region in subsequent intermediate frames . the process of fig3 can continue as additional frames are received . for example , additional intermediate frames based off of r 3 could be generated to precede frame four . periodically , a fully reconstructed frame , e . g . 8 , can be shown to insure that the video stream being displayed to the user is not overly diverging from the original video stream . in some embodiments , all “ i ” frames are shown to ensure that the displayed stream does not overly diverge from the original stream . any unnatural movement introduced by this could be reduced by introducing additional intermediate frames immediately prior to the display of the “ i ” frame . in the example of fig5 the entire reconstructed frame four could be shown if the actual motion vectors are within a certain tolerance of the predicted vectors . the euclidean distance between the actual and predicted motion vectors can be used to determine whether or not replacement frames should be generated . if the euclidean distance exceeds a threshold amount for one or more regions , then a replacement frame could be used with those regions replaced . otherwise , the reconstructed frame can be used entirely . in fig5 the euclidean distance between the predicted and generated motion vector 504 and the actual motion vector 506 exceeded the threshold for the region 500 b . as a result , reconstructed frame three was not shown entirely and a replacement frame three was generated that included a replacement for the region 500 d . if however , reconstructed frame four exhibits close to the predicted motion vector 508 for the region 500 d , then the corresponding region on reconstructed frame four can be shown . to help compare the different approaches , various frame sequences are shown in table 1 according to different embodiments of the invention . the notation used in table 1 is as follows . an intermediate frame , or frames , is indicated by decimal points , e . g . 3 . 5 is an intermediate frame between frames three and four . the letter “ r ” in front of a frame indicates a replacement frame , or frames , e . g . r 3 refers to a frame displayed instead of frame three according to the process of fig3 . as shown in ŝ 4 , the number of intermediate frames can vary . typically , after a replacement frame additional intermediate frames are shown to gradually bring regions back along the path of newly predicted motion vectors . in some embodiments , the audio / video codec 112 , the vector reconstructor 114 , and the interpolator 115 can be hardware based , software based , or a combination of the two . in some embodiments , vector reconstructor programs and programs for the interpolator programs are included in one or more computer usable media such as cd - roms , floppy disks , or other media . some embodiments of the invention are included in an electromagnetic wave form . the electromagnetic wave form comprises information such as vector reconstructor programs and interpolator programs . the electromagnetic waveform might include the vector reconstructor programs and the interpolator programs accessed over a network . some embodiments of the invention can use the vector reconstructor 114 and / or the interpolator 115 on video streams from sources other than video conferences , e . g . a cd - rom , an mpeg encoded video stream , an avi encoded video stream , etc . for example , a web site might have an encoded video stream . embodiments of the invention could be used to enhance the playback quality and frame rate of the video stream , e . g . through motion compensated interpolation of additional frames . this can have a beneficial effect on the playback quality of low frame rate video streams . the foregoing description of various embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed . many modifications and equivalent arrangements will be apparent . | 7 |
accordingly , with reference to the figure , pulverulent coal is passed via line ( 1 ) into a coal dryes ( 2 ) where the coal is dried , suitably at a temperature of about 200 ° c . the dry coal is subsequently discharged through a line ( 3 ) and passed into a gasification reactor ( 4 ) where it is gasified at a temperature of about 1500 ° c . to about 2000 ° c ., a pressure of about 35 atmospheres abolute , with oxygen , which is supplied through a line ( 5 ). dual coal injection is also contemplated . the gasification produces a product or synthesis gas which is removed from the upper portion ( 6 ) of the reactor , and a slag which is removed form the lower portion of the reactor via line ( 7 ). the gasification product is removed via conduit ( 8 ) where it is quenched and then passed through a boiler or heat exchange zone ( 9 ) where it is cooled to a temperature of about 200 ° c . in the heat exchange ( 9 ), water which is supplied through line ( 10 ) is converted by indirect heat exchange to high pressure steam , the steam being discharged through line ( 11 ). the cooled gasification product is passed through a line ( 12 ) to a series of cyclones ( 13 ) where the bulk of the particulates ( flyslag ) is removed and sent via line ( 14 ) to storage in vessel ( 15 ). the synthesis gas then passes via line ( 16 ) to treating zone ( 17 ) where it is contacted with slag carrier particles . the slag from gasification reactor ( 4 ) and / or vessel ( 15 ) is sent via lines ( 18a ) and / or preferably ( 18b ) to the carrier selection unit ( 21 ) where it is processed , e . g ., screened , to select carrier grade slag particles , e . g . from about 0 . 5 mm to about 10 mm , for utilization as a catalyst carrier and the remainder of the slag is removed via exit line ( 22 ) for other utilization or disposal . the size slag particles suitable for a carrier is not critical but of a size generally useful in the catalyst art . the slag selected as suitable for use as a carrier is passed via line ( 20 ) to treating zone ( 17 ) wherein it is contacted with synthesis gas , preferably in cartridge units . the treating zone is maintained at elevated temperatures and pressures and flow rates sufficient to aid deposit of the metal sulfide . while this may vary to some degree depending on the metal sulfide , such conditions are within the conventional skill of the catalyst art . the synthesis gas stream entering the treating zone usually will have a temperature of about 150 ° c . to about 400 ° c . and a pressure of about 20 - 30 atmospheres . after the treating , synthesis gas passes from zone ( 17 ) through line ( 19 ) on to further treatment and / or recovery . inorganic metal sulfide catalyst having the slag support is removed via line ( 23 ). while the invention has been illustrated with particular apparatus , those skilled in the art will appreciate that , except where specified , other equivalent or analogous units may be employed . the term &# 34 ; zone &# 34 ;, as employed in the specification and claims , includes , where suitable , the use of segmented equipment operated in series , or the division of one unit into multiple units to improve efficiency or overcome size constraints , etc . for example , a series of treating zones might be employed , with different carriers . parallel operation of units is , of course , well within the scope of the invention . | 1 |
in fig1 a vehicular receiver is shown that includes a receiver element 38 having a loudspeaker 40 and a decoder 10 connected to the output side of the receiver element . the decoder 10 serves to decode digitally encoded , received traffic announcements , specifically in the case of the rds data packet or telegram the data contained in blocks 2 , 3 and 4 . the decoder 10 is connected via an address line to a memory device 12 . the memory device 12 includes memory fields 16 that are selectable via address inputs 26 and in which memory locations are present . an output 28 of the memory device 12 leads via a logic linking member 30 to a demultiplexer 36 . subsequent to the demultiplexer 36 , the lines branch out to display fields of a visual output device 14 . an evaluation circuit 18 for control signals contained in the rds data packet or telegram is also provided . these control signals pertain to detours , direction and route segments . one output 32 is carried to the aforementioned logic linking member 30 , so that a logical linkage can be made between the signals appearing at the output 28 of the memory device 12 and those appearing at the output 32 of the evaluation circuit 18 . an event memory 42 is also provided , the address inputs of which are likewise triggered by the decoder 10 . the output of the event memory 42 leads via a logic linking member 44 to one field of the visual display device 14 . a restriction of the route specific characteristics can be made by means of an input device 22 , which is followed on its output side by a further memory device 24 , the output 34 of which likewise leads to the logic linking member 30 . in the memory device 12 , memory fields 16 are addressed via addresses h . the addressing is done via address input 26 . the memory fields 16 have memory locations 20 in which place names a each of which occurs only once are stored in memory . the other memory locations , not specifically identified by reference symbols , include further route - specific characteristics g such as autobahns or federal highways with exit numbers , memory locations with region names f and memory locations with detour route names b . the detour route names b designate detour routes that in each case extend from an entrance or exit or intersection or interchange , or in other words from one connecting print to the next . the detour route names are chosen such that the detour routes in one direction have only even numbers , and those in the other direction have only odd numbers . thus at least two detour route names are associated with each connecting point . in cases where several roads intersect , however , a plurality of detour route names may also be assigned . by the storage in the memory of the place names a and detour route names b in the same memory fields 16 , it is achieved that when a place is named a possible detour route is already defined . the only decision that then needs to be made is whether the detour recommendation is output or not . compared with an announcement that already includes place information , travel direction and factual information , the additional decision as to whether a detour recommendation will be made or not means only a slight increase in the total data scope required . the evaluation of corresponding detour control signals included in the rds data packet or telegram takes place in the evaluation circuit 18 . if the control signal containing the detour recommendation is encoded for detour recommendation , then upon readout of the detour route names b from the memory device 12 , these names are passed on to the demultiplexer 36 via the logic linking member 30 , and from the demultiplexer are displayed on the display field for detour recommendations . contrarily , if the control signal is not encoded for any detour recommendation , then although all the other information from the memory device 12 is delivered to the demultiplexer 36 via the loqic linking member 30 , the logic state is changed upon reaching the detour route names b , and the further transmission of this information is suppressed . if a plurality of detour route names b are assigned to one place name a , as is the case here with the division of the detour route names in terms of travel directions , then in order to select the correct travel direction a travel control signal included in the rds data packet or telegram is evaluated . a further feature of the invention makes it possible to make detour recommendations over a plurality of connecting points . this situation can occur if the entrances and exits are very close together and a backup extends over a plurality of connecting points . in that case , a segment control signal contained in the rds data packet or telegram makes it possible to determine the number of connecting points beyond the one the place name of which is named . in the detour recommendation , the sequential detour route names are transmitted from the succession of detour route names each leading from one connecting points to the next . before reaching the next connecting point , the driver then merely needs to look for the next traffic sign with the adjoining detour route , and he can take this detour route or one following it until all the detour routes recommended have been covered . the association , performed in the memory device 12 , of autobahns ( interstates ) and federal highways ( e . g . u . s . routes ) having exit numbers with the place names , each of which is stored only once , makes it possible to considerably reduce the memory capacity for place names , so that 2 16 different addresses for place names within one advisory area for the federal republic of germany are sufficient . the additionally provided storage in memory of names f for regions makes it possible , in combination with the input device 22 and the further memory device 24 , to make a regional selection of traffic announcements . for example region names f can be specified with which the logio linking member 30 is controlled such that only traffic announcements that match this region are displayed . the region may also be individually selected and in other words is independent of the rds data packet or telegram . in the event memory 42 , factual information is stored corresponding to standardized advisories . by correspondingly addressing the memory fields in the event memory 42 , the corresponding factual information is read out , and on the condition that the other local selected conditions apply , this information is output to the applicable display field in the display device 14 , via the logic linking member 44 . fig2 shows a detail from an rds data packet or telegram for traffic announcements . the significant blocks here are blocks 2 , 3 and 4 . each of these blocks includes 16 bits . in block 2 , a detour control signal c is present , which is suitably occupied whenever a detour recommendation is made in addition to the traffic announcements . in block 3 , routing names with exit numbers are present , and in addition there is a direction control signal d and a segment control signal e . the direction control signal d indicates the travel direction to which the traffic announcement relates ; the segment control signal e indicates the number of connections that are affected by the traffic obstruction . in block 4 , finally , addresses for place names and standard texts are stored in memory . if 256 different place names are to be addressable , then eight bits of the place code number from block 4 are used for this purpose . fig3 shows a table of a memory portion from the memory device 12 . place names a , route names with exit numbers g , region names f and detour route names b are stored in memory fields 16 . for the area of the federal republic of germany , 65 , 536 different place names for local identification of traffic events are thus available . the other aforementioned information is associated in the same memory fields with the place names , each of which is stored only once , so that the other information can be read out via a common address h and from the read - out information only a selection needs to be made relating to which of the items of information are to be shown on the display device . fig4 shows a route segment of the autobahn a7 from flensburg to fessen in which the exit numbers , place names and detour route names are shown for the segment from hannover to kassel . arrows indicate that the odd numbers apply to the detour route names for the north - south direction , while even numbers apply to the south - north direction . traffic announcements pertaining to this segment of the route are shown in fig5 and 6 . in fig5 and 6 , the rds data packet or telegram is shown at the top , and on the bottom the clear text that appears on the display device after evaluation of the data packet or telegram is shown on the bottom . in fig5 the detour control signal is c 0 , which is evaluated as &# 34 ; no detour recommendation &# 34 ;. the routing name a7 needs no further explanation ; the direction control signal d is positive and means that the traffic obstruction affects the north - south direction . this is followed by a connection number that can be read from the table shown in fig4 . the numeral 69 indicates the connecting point hildesheim - drispenstedt . by using the segment control signal e as an aid , it can be found that the next exit past the end of the traffic obstruction is three segments farther , or in other words is derneburg / salzgitter . the last indication is a factual indication and stands for a two - kilometer - long backup , or traffic jam . fig6 shows a traffic report for the opposite travel direction . in this case the detour control signal c is set to 1 , meaning that a detour recommendation is made . the direction control signal d is negative ; that is , the obstruction affects the south - north direction . the segment control signal e indicates that the obstruction extends onward for three segments , that is , beginning at exit 72 and extending to exit 69 . from the concordance of the table shown in fig4 this means that the obstruction is between derneburg / salzgitter and hildesheim - drispenstedt . the digit 5 in the factual information this time stands for a six - kilometer - long jam or backup . for the detour recommendation , the even - numbered detour route names are selected by means of the direction control signal d . from the evaluation of the segment control signal e , it is determined that three segments are affected and thus three detour route names are selected . finally , the detour control signal c has the effect that the selected detour route names , in this case u48 , u46 , u44 , are also displayed . various changes and modifications may be made , and features described in connection with any one of the embodiments may be used with any of the others , within the scope of the inventive concept . | 6 |
boron nitride ceramic is used as an exhaust seal for automotive applications . the material is formed as a cold pressed powder or fired ceramic , is stable in . the operating temperatures of an exhaust system , has high lubricity , has a small deformability , and can have very low gas permeability and adsorption . boron nitride ceramic can be advantageously used in applications relating to egr gaskets , exhaust pipe joint gaskets , and manifold gaskets . the figure shows a simplified section of an exhaust gas oxygen sensor . a tubular zirconia ceramic sensing element 2 is attached to an exhaust pipe 4 by threading a metal shell 3 into a boss 5 in pipe 4 . exhaust gas from a cavity 6 must be sealed from an air reference cavity 7 . to do this a gasket 1a , lb is sealed to sensing element 2 by a mechanical force provided from a plunger 8 and a crimp in shell 3 . sensing element 2 must be completely electrically isolated from metal shell 3 . gasket 1a , 1b or both are composed of primarily boron nitride . a sensor using gasket 1b made of hot pressed , machined boron nitride has a low gas permeability of & lt ; 0 . 004 cc per minute . design validation tests show that the resistance to fuel ingress , fuel vapor characteristics shift down , and air leakage is improved with respect to other known sealing materials such as talc and metal composites . a metal can ( 8 ) protects the reference air ( 7 ) from external contaminants . can ( 8 ) may be crimped ( 12 ) to a plunger ( 8a ) or welded to a shell ( 3 ). on top of can ( 8 ) an elaster wire seal ( 14 ) keeps contaminants out of the reference air cavity ( 7 ), while allowing into the sensor a signal wire ( 13 ) and a signal return wire ( 15 ). various connection means are possible from the wires ( 13 , 15 ) to a sensor element ( 2 ). these connections are shown in schematic form as a signal connection ( 11 ) and a signal return connection ( 10 ). clean air can be brought to the air reference chamber ( 7 ) by either conduction through the porous wires ( 13 , 15 ) or through a filter ( not shown ) in can ( 8 ) that keeps out water and hydrocarbons . the replenishing of the oxygen in reference air chamber ( 7 ) is difficult , because of the necessity to make the sensor water submersible . therefore , the restricted entry of oxygen makes the sensing element ( 2 ) sensitive to the entry of only small amounts of hydrocarbons into the air reference cavity ( 7 ). a hydrocarbon pathway is shown as an arrow ( 20 ). the hydrocarbons react with the oxygen in the air reference cavity ( 7 ) and deplete the free oxygen . this causes free oxygen ( typically 20 % of cavity ( 7 ) volume ) to be used up and this affects the sensor signal ( i . e . the voltage between the signal and signal return wires ( 13 , 12 )). boron nitride ( bn ) gaskets 1a and 1b can be reduced to only a gasket 1a or a gasket 1b , if the mechanical force of shell ( 3 ) thru the crimp ( 12 ) can be made and still keep the outer electrode conductor ( 10 ) electrically isolated from the exhaust pipe ( 4 ). thus fig1 shows the permeability and the adsorption properties of gasket ( 1 ) to hydrocarbons ( arrow 20 ) are important . various modification and variations will no doubt occur to those skilled in the arts to which this invention pertains . such variations which basically rely on the teachings through which this disclosure has advanced the art are properly considered within the scope of this invention . | 6 |
with reference to the drawings and in particular to fig1 thereof , the present invention mainly comprises a compressor 12 , an evaporator 1 , a cooling fan 7 , a condenser outlet pipe 3 , a condenser inlet pipe 8 , a radiator 11 , a cooling motor 10 , a condenser 4 , a first sensor 13 , and a second sensor 22 . the compressor 12 is used to compress the refrigerant , which is well known in the art and need not be described here in detail . the evaporator 1 is a device where the liquid refrigerant is evaporated rapidly thereby providing a cooling effect . further , the evaporator 1 is connected to the condenser 4 through the condenser outlet pipe 3 , a filter6 and a capillary tube 2 . the cooling fan 7 is mounted beside the evaporator 1 and is used to make a current of air across the evaporator 1 thereby lowering the temperature ofthe air current . the condenser outlet pipe 3 is used to connect the outlet at the lower portion of the condenser 4 with the evaporator 1 so as to transmit the liquid refrigerant from the condenser 4 . the radiator 11 is provided with a water tank 16 and utilizes a pump 17 to force the cooling water to flow through a throttle valve 21 into the coil pipe of the condenser 4 . then , the cooling water will flow into the water tank 16 under the selection control of a three - way solenoid valve 15 or will flow out from the hot water outlet 14 of the three - way solenoid valve the cooling motor 10 is used to drive the cooling fan 5 to make air currentacross the radiator 11 so as to further lower the temperature thereof . the condenser 4 is a coil pipe which the high temperature and high pressurerefrigerant will be forced into and will become liquid in . the first sensor 13 is mounted on the upper portion of the condenser 4 for detecting the temperature flowing out of the condenser 4 and is used to control the opening of a water control valve 20 . in addition , the first sensor 13 is set at a temperature such as , for example , of 50 degrees centigrade , so that when the temperature of the water exceeds 50 degrees centigrade , the water control valve 20 will be turned open at a larger degree , so as to increase the amount of water into the condenser 4 from the water supplying source 19 . the second sensor 22 is installed approximately on the intermediate portionof the coil pipe of the condenser 4 and located under the first sensor 13 . the second sensor 22 is used to control the shut - off of the water control valve 20 and set at a temperature such as , for example , of 45 degrees centigrade so that when the water temperature is below 45 degrees centigrade , the water control valve 20 will be turned open at a smaller degree thereby keeping the water at a temperature between 45 - 50 degrees centigrade . the present invention resides in four characteristics , i . e . the structure of the coil pipe of the condenser , the structure of the radiator , the hot water supplying system , and the rapid connector . the characteristics will be described in detail as follows . as illustrated in fig2 and 2a , the condenser 4 is composed of a coil pipe which includes an outer pipe 41 and a plurality of inner pipes 42 . the relationship between the outer pipe 41 and the inner pipes 42 is that the center lines of these pipes 41 and 42 are not coincident with each other . that is , a plurality of inner pipes 42 with smaller diameter than the outer pipe 41 are inserted into the outer pipe 41 . the inner pipes 42 are designed for the passage of cooling water while the outer pipe 41 for the passage of high temperature and high pressure refrigerant . thus , the heat exchanging area between the refrigerant and the cooling water will beequal to the sum of the outer surface areas of the inner pipes 42 thereby effectively increasing the temperature of the cooling water . hence , the refrigerant may be effectively reduced in temperature at one hand , and thecooling water may be effectively increased at the other . fig2 b shows another preferred embodiment of the coil pipe of the condenser 4 . as may be seen , the coil pipe of the condenser 4 is composed of an outer pipe 41 , an intermediate pipe 43 and an inner pipe 44 . the relationship between the outer pipe 41 , the intermediate pipe 43 and the inner pipe 44 are that their center lines lie on the same axis . in short , the inner pipe 44 is inserted into the intermediate pipe 43 and the intermediate pipe 43 is in turn inserted into the outer pipe 41 . the innerpipe 44 and the outer pipe 41 are designed for the passage of cooling water , while the intermediate pipe 43 for the passage of high temperature and high pressure refrigerant . hence , the heat exchanging area between therefrigerant and the cooling water will be equal to sum of the outer area ofthe intermediate pipe 43 and the outer area of the inner pipe 44 . the other characteristic of the present invention resides in the structure of the radiator ! ! . as shown in fig3 the water from the water supplying source 19 will first flow into the water tank 16 through the water control valve 20 and then into the radiator 11 . then , the pump 17 will force the cooling water to flow through the throttle valve 21 . thereafter , the cooling water will enter into the coil pipe of the condenser 4 via the water inlet 9 , where the cooling water exchanges heat with the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant . thus , the coolingwater becomes hot water and flows out of the coil pipe of the condenser 4 . then , the cooling water will flow into the water tank 16 and the radiator 11 . the fan 5 is used to expedite the cooling of the radiator 11 and the cooling water is circulated . further , the cooling fan 5 and the radiator 11 may be separated from the apparatus so as to be adapted for use in various circumstances . when desired to use hot water , the three - way solenoid 15 is controlled to cause the hot water to flow out of its hot water outlet 14 . the third characteristic of the present invention resides in the retrieval of the cooling water after exchanging heat with the refrigerant thereby saving energy and reducing heat pollution . as illustrated in fig4 the cooling fan 5 and the radiator 11 are separated from the apparatus and connected with the water outlet of the apparatus via piping 52 and with the water inlet of the apparatus via piping 53 . the piping 52 is connectedwith the hot water supplying piping of residential housing so that when thehot water faucet is open , the hot water derived from the cooling water , by exchanging heat with the refrigerant will be transmitted to the hot water faucet through the piping 52 . further , the water tank 16 is provided with a float bowl 51 for measuring the water level . as the water level is foundlowered than a predetermined value , the float bowl 51 will send a signal toopen the water inlet control valve 20 so as to supplement water from the water supplying source 19 . when it is not desired to use hot water , the cooling water from the present invention will flow back into the water inlet 50 and will be circulated therein . the fourth characteristic of the present invention is directed to a rapid connector which is used to connect a water supplying source 19 to the water tank 16 . referring to fig5 and 6a , the rapid connector mainly comprises a male member 90 , a female member 97 , a latch bolt 99 , and a spring 102 . the female member 97 is connected with the water supplying source by screw threads or the like and is formed with two opposite protuberances 95 , an upper inclined edge 96 under the protuberances 95 , and a lower inclined edge 98 under the upper inclined edge 96 . the intermediate portion of the latch bolt 99 is provided with a rubber ring 101 adapted for engaging with the lower edge 98 of the female member 97 . the male member 90 has an end 91 for engaging with a flexible pipe ( not shown ), two opposite slots 93 adapted to receive the protuberances 95 of the female member 97 , and a rubber ring 94 for engaging with the upper inclined edge 96 of the female member 97 . in use , the female member 97 is connected with the water supplying source and the male member 90 is connected with the flexible pipe connected with the water control valve 20 . in the meantime , the rubber ring 101 will bearagainst the lower edge 98 of the female member 97 thereby preventing water leakage . for coupling the male and female members , the slots 93 of the male member 90 are aligned with the protuberances 95 of the female member 97 and then the male member 90 is rotated so as to prevent the male member 90 from detaching from the female member 97 . as the male member 90 is inserted into the female member 97 , the rubber ring 94 of the male member 90 will first bear against the upper inclined edge 96 of the female member 97 so as to prevent water from leaking out of the female member 97 . then , as themale member 90 is further inserted into the female member 97 , the latch bolt 99 will be forced to go backward and so the rubber ring 101 of the latch bolt 99 will no longer bear against the lower inclined edge 98 of the female member 97 thereby enabling water to flow into the male member 90 through the clearance between the latch bolt 99 and the female member 97 . when not is use , the male member 90 is rotated to align the slots 93 with the protuberances 95 and the male member 90 is then withdrawn from the female member 97 . meanwhile , the spring 102 will urge the latch bolt 99 to go upwards and the rubber ring 101 will bear against the lower inclined edge 98 of the female member 97 thereby preventing water from spraying out of the female member 97 . although the present invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity , it - is understood that the present disclosure is made by wayof example only and that numerous changes in the detail of construction andthe combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed . | 5 |
according to fig1 , a mechanical arrangement 1 for punching processing of workpieces in the form of ( blank ) metal sheets 2 comprises a punching machine 3 and an automation unit 4 . the punching machine 3 has a c - shaped machine frame 5 having an upper frame member 6 and a lower frame member 7 . at the free end of the upper frame member 6 is a punch drive 8 of a punching station 9 of the punching machine 3 . at the punching station 9 , a punching stamp which is guided on the upper frame member 6 is moved in conventional manner relative to a punching die which is provided on the lower frame member 7 in a stroke direction 10 . a workpiece support 11 is supported on the lower frame member 7 and comprises two movable support portions 12 , 13 which are arranged on either side of a stationary support portion 14 . the movable support portions 12 , 13 can be moved by means of a drive ( not illustrated ) in a movement direction ( double - headed arrow ) 15 along the lower frame member 7 . both the movable support portions 12 , 13 and the stationary support portion 14 of the workpiece support 11 are provided with conventional support brushes 16 at the upper side thereof . in the jaw space of the machine frame 5 of the punching machine 3 , a coordinate guide 17 of conventional structural form is accommodated . this conventionally comprises a transverse rail 18 and a transverse guide 19 which is provided therefor . the transverse rail 18 is movably guided on the transverse guide 19 in a movement direction ( double - headed arrow ) 20 . the movement direction 20 of the transverse rail 18 extends perpendicularly relative to the movement direction 15 of the movable support portions 12 , 13 of the workpiece support 11 . in conventional manner , clamping claws for fixing the workpieces which are to be processed ( not shown for reasons of simplicity ) are fitted to the transverse rail 18 . furthermore , the transverse rail 18 of the punching machine 3 , which is illustrated by way of example , is also used as a linear magazine for punching tools . together with the transverse guide 19 and the movable support portions 12 , 13 of the workpiece support 11 that are connected thereto , the transverse rail 18 can move in the movement direction 15 of the movable support portions 12 , 13 . owing to the movement possibilities of the transverse rail 18 , workpieces which are secured to the transverse rail 18 by means of the clamping claws can be moved with respect to the punching station 9 in a horizontal plane which is defined by means of the movement directions 15 , 20 . in conventional manner , the movement possibilities of the transverse rail 18 are also used for tool changing at the punching station 9 . the automation unit 4 is located in the direct vicinity of the punching machine 3 . it forms a separate unit without any mechanical connection to the machine frame 5 of the punching machine 3 . the automation unit 4 has a guiding column 21 and a cantilever arm 22 which protrudes therefrom in a horizontal direction . the cantilever arm 22 is movably guided on the guiding column 21 in a vertical movement direction 23 ( double - headed arrow ). during movements in the movement direction 23 , the cantilever arm 22 is driven by a motorized drive 24 , which in turn is accommodated in a drive housing mounted on the guiding column 21 . a suction member frame 25 is suspended from the lower side of the cantilever arm 22 . it is provided with a plurality of holding elements which are constructed as suction members 26 in the example shown . the cantilever arm 22 , the suction member frame 25 and the suction members 26 form a workpiece holding member 27 . the cantilever arm 22 assumes the function of a carrier structure of the workpiece holding member 27 . the workpiece holding member 27 having the cantilever arm 22 , the suction member frame 25 and the suction members 26 can be raised in the movement direction 23 above the workpiece support 11 of the punching machine 3 and be lowered below the workpiece support 11 . this movement possibility of the workpiece holding member 27 is used to load the workpiece support 11 with ( blank ) metal sheets 2 . in this regard , the automation unit 4 , which is provided with the workpiece holding member 27 , forms a loading device of the mechanical arrangement 1 . fig1 shows the workpiece holding member 27 in the upper end position on the guiding column 21 . below the suction member frame 25 and the suction members 26 , in the remaining free space at that location , a blank metal sheet pallet 28 is arranged with blank metal sheets 2 to be processed . the blank metal sheet pallet 28 is supported on a pallet carriage 29 . this can be moved manually on guide rails 30 . substantially concealed in fig1 is a completed part pallet 31 , which can move in the same direction as the pallet carriage 29 . to this end , the completed part pallet 31 is supported on guide rails 32 by means of an undercarriage 33 . the movement unit , which comprises the undercarriage 33 and the completed part pallet 31 , engages over the pallet carriage 29 with the blank metal sheet pallet 28 , which is supported thereon in the manner of a portal . consequently , the completed part pallet 31 can move along the guide rails 32 over the blank metal sheet pallet 28 . the height of the undercarriage 33 is selected in such a manner that the completed part pallet 31 is located with the upper side thereof below the workpiece support 11 of the punching machine 3 . the completed part pallet 31 can therefore move below the workpiece support 11 in the direction of the guide rails 32 , which extend in the movement direction 15 , or can be passed over by the workpiece support 11 in the mentioned direction . also concealed to a great extent in fig1 are workpiece fixing devices 34 which are secured to the rear side of the cantilever arm 22 remote from the observer of fig1 . in the example shown , a total of three workpiece fixing devices 34 are arranged along the cantilever arm 22 . together , the workpiece fixing devices 34 serve to sweep processed workpieces from the workpiece support 11 of the punching machine 3 for unloading . in this regard , the automation unit 4 , which is provided with the workpiece fixing devices 34 , forms an unloading device of the mechanical arrangement 1 constructed as a sweeping device . one of the three structurally identical workpiece fixing devices 34 is illustrated in detail in fig2 and 3 . on a transverse member 35 of a securing angled member 36 , the workpiece fixing devices 34 are screwed to the rear longitudinal side of the cantilever arm 22 in fig1 and consequently connected to the cantilever arm and the entire workpiece holding member 27 mechanically and also in terms of movement . a longitudinal member 37 of the securing angled member 36 carries a first drive unit 38 . together with a second drive unit 39 , the first drive unit 38 forms an activation / deactivation drive 40 for a fixing member 41 of the workpiece fixing device 34 , constructed as a stop . both the first drive unit 38 and the second drive unit 39 are pneumatic piston / cylinder units . a retention element 43 which is provided with a peripheral groove 42 is located on the piston rod of the first drive unit 38 . in the peripheral groove 42 of the retention element 43 , a plate 44 engages with a fork - like end . at the opposing end , the plate 44 is welded to a carrying and guiding plate 45 for the second drive unit 39 . by the first drive unit 38 being actuated , the second drive unit 39 can be moved back and forth via the plate 44 and the carrying and guiding plate 45 in the direction of a double - headed arrow 46 . this movement direction of the second drive unit 39 extends coaxially with the movement direction 15 of the movable support portions 12 , 13 of the workpiece support 11 . during the movement in the direction of the double - headed arrow 46 , the second drive unit 39 is guided at the inner side of the securing angled member 36 remote from the first drive unit 38 . a guide rail 47 at the inner side of the longitudinal member 37 of the securing angle 36 can be seen in fig3 . a piston rod 48 of the second drive unit 39 engages via a yoke 49 on a guiding rod 50 . the guiding rod 50 is supported on the yoke 49 so as to be rotationally movable about the longitudinal axis thereof . it is a component of a vertical guide 51 for the fixing member 41 . the vertical guide 51 is a slotted guiding member having a guide pin 52 fitted to the guide rod 50 and having a guide slot 53 integrated in the axially parallel wall of a guide pipe 54 fitted to the carrying and guiding plate 45 for the guide rod 50 . the guide slot 53 comprises end portions 55 , 56 which extend linearly in a vertical direction and which are offset relative to each other in the peripheral direction of the guide pipe 54 and a transition portion 57 , which connects the linear end portions 55 , 56 to each other and which is inclined with respect to the vertical . at the end located in the direction towards the fixing member 41 , an arm 58 is fitted to the guide rod 50 . the arm 58 itself carries the fixing member 41 , which protrudes downwards . this member is arranged eccentrically relative to the longitudinal axis of the guide rod 50 . overall , there is produced at the lower end of the guiding rod 50 a crank - like arrangement with the fixing member 41 as a crank pin . a guiding plate 59 projects beyond the arm 58 in the longitudinal direction thereof and is fitted to the lower side of the arm 58 . by the second drive unit 39 being actuated , the guide rod 50 can be raised and lowered together with the fixing member 41 , which is fitted thereto in a vertical direction ( double - headed arrow ) 60 . associated with the vertical movement is a rotational movement of the guide rod 50 , which is brought about by the vertical guide 51 about the longitudinal axis of the guide rod 50 . a pivot movement of the fixing member 41 and the guiding plate 59 about the longitudinal axis of the guide rod 50 results from the rotation movement of the guide rod 50 . in fig2 and 3 , the piston rod of the first drive unit 38 of the workpiece fixing device 34 is retracted in the associated piston . the second drive unit 39 is consequently moved in the direction of the double - headed arrow 46 into the end position thereof , which is located in the direction towards the cantilever arm 22 in the assembly position . at the same time , the guiding rod 50 of the second drive unit 39 assumes the upper end position thereof in the direction of the double - headed arrow 60 . linked with this is an orientation of the arm 58 which is mounted on the guiding rod 50 in a rotationally secure manner and the guiding plate 59 parallel with the longitudinal direction of the cantilever arm 22 . on the whole , the workpiece fixing device 34 is deactivated in fig2 and 3 . the fixing member 41 is located in the non - operational position . in order to activate the workpiece fixing device 34 or to move the fixing member 41 into the operational position , the first drive unit 38 and the second drive unit 39 are to be actuated starting from the state shown in fig2 and 3 . owing to the actuation of the first drive unit 38 , the second drive unit 39 moves in the direction of the double - headed arrow 46 into a position in which it has maximum spacing from the cantilever arm 22 in the direction of the double - headed arrow 46 . the actuation of the second drive unit 39 results in the guide rod 50 moving in the direction of the double - headed arrow 60 into the lower end position thereof . a rotation movement of the guide rod 50 brought about by the vertical guide 51 is associated with this linear movement of the guide rod 50 . owing to the rotation movement of the guide rod 50 , the fixing member 41 pivots about the longitudinal axis of the guide rod 50 into a position in which the arm 58 extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal side of the cantilever arm 22 and in which the fixing member 41 is consequently moved as close as possible to the cantilever arm 22 . at the end of the partially linear , partially rotational activation movement , the fixing member 41 is in the operational position . the same applies to the guiding plate 59 which , owing to the movement of the guide rod 50 , also carries out a linear movement in the direction of the double - headed arrow 60 and a pivot movement about the longitudinal axis of the guide rod 50 . in the same manner as all the remaining significant components of the mechanical arrangement 1 , the workpiece fixing devices 34 are also controlled by a numerical machine control unit 61 shown in fig1 . an operating cycle in the mechanical arrangement 1 begins with the operating state illustrated in fig1 . the workpiece holding member 27 with the cantilever arm 22 , the suction member frame 25 and the suction members 26 is arranged over the blank metal sheet pallet 28 . in the movement direction 23 , the workpiece holding member 27 is in the upper end position , in which the suction members 26 protruding downwards on the suction member frame 25 are located higher than the upper side of the movable support portions 12 , 13 of the workpiece support 11 . the workpiece fixing devices 34 at the rear side of the cantilever arm 22 are in the deactivated state of fig2 and 3 . the second drive unit 39 of each of the workpiece fixing devices 34 is moved as close as possible to the cantilever arm 22 in the direction of the double - headed arrow 46 . the guiding rod 50 of the second drive units 39 is located in the upper end position thereof and the fixing members 41 of the workpiece fixing devices 34 accordingly assume their non - operational position . the arm 58 and the guiding plate 59 of the workpiece fixing devices 34 extend parallel with the longitudinal side of the cantilever arm 22 and consequently also parallel with the front longitudinal edge of the movable support portion 13 of the workpiece support 11 facing the cantilever arm 22 . overall , the projection of the workpiece fixing devices 34 is minimized in the direction towards the movable support portion 13 . below the movable support portion 13 , the completed part pallet 31 is moved into the rear end position thereof located in the direction towards the transverse rail 18 of the punching machine 3 . the movable support portion 13 of the workpiece support 11 also takes up the rear end position thereof in the movement direction 15 in fig1 . starting from the relationships shown in fig1 , the workpiece holding member 27 is lowered by means of the motorized drive 24 in the movement direction 23 until the suction members 26 on the suction member frame 25 touch the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 , which is placed on the blank metal sheet pallet 28 in the uppermost position . the operating state shown in fig4 is consequently produced . the cantilever arm 22 and with it the entire workpiece holding member 27 is now arranged below the workpiece support 11 . during the lowering movement , inter alia the cantilever arm 22 with the workpiece fixing devices 34 fitted thereto must pass the workpiece support 11 , more specifically the movable support portion 13 , in the vertical direction . regardless of this , the automation unit 4 can be constructed close to the front end of the movable support portion 13 that is arranged in the rear end position , which front end extends parallel with the longitudinal direction of the cantilever arm 22 , since the workpiece fixing devices 34 are in the deactivated state during the lowering movement of the cantilever arm 22 . their protrusion with respect to the rear side of the cantilever arm 22 is consequently minimized . after being placed on the uppermost ( blank ) metal sheet 2 of the blank metal sheet pallet 28 , the suction members 26 are activated by applying a vacuum . subsequently , the workpiece holding member 27 with the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 fixed to the suction members 26 is raised by the motorized drive 24 with a loading movement in the direction towards the upper end position thereof . in the reached position , the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 held by the workpiece holding member 27 ( cantilever arm 22 , suction members frame 25 , suction members 26 ) is also located above the workpiece support 11 . consequently , the movable support portion 13 of the workpiece support 11 may move in the movement direction 15 from the rear into the front end position thereof below the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 held on the suction members 26 . the resultant relationships are illustrated in fig5 . the suction members 26 are now deactivated and the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 previously held on the suction members 26 is transferred to the workpiece support 11 or the movable support portion 13 and taken up at that location by the clamping claws of the coordinate guide 17 . after the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 has been taken up , the workpiece support 11 first moves in the movement direction 15 from the front end position as shown in fig5 into the rear end position thereof . when the workpiece support 11 has reached the rear end position thereof , the workpiece holding member 27 , with the workpiece fixing devices 34 still deactivated , is lowered again below the level of the workpiece support 11 into the position shown in fig4 . the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 is then processed . the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 is moved , by means of the coordinate guide 17 and with the workpiece support 11 being moved , relative to the punching station 9 of the punching machine 3 . from the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 , completed parts are cut out until they are connected to the remaining metal sheet only by means of so - called micro - joints . owing to the micro - joints , the completed parts remain in the composite metal sheet . during the metal sheet processing operation , the workpiece support 11 with the movable support portion 13 moves over the tool holding member 27 which has previously been lowered into the lower end position . as illustrated in fig6 , at the end of the processing operation , the ( processed ) metal sheet 2 is supported to a great extent on the movable support portion 12 of the workpiece support 11 . at this time , the movable support portions 12 , 13 of the workpiece support 11 are located close to the front end position thereof . in fig6 , the movable support portion 13 consequently allows the completed part pallet 31 to be seen on which already ( processed ) metal sheets 2 are placed . after the processing operation has ended , the transverse rail 18 moves in the movement direction 20 into the end position thereof on the movable support portion 13 . the transverse rail 18 carries the ( processed ) metal sheet 2 which is held thereon by means of the clamping claws . at the same time , the workpiece support 11 with the movable support portion 13 moves into the rear end position in the movement direction 15 . the workpiece holding member 27 is lowered as before . the suction members 26 of the workpiece holding member 27 , during the previous sheet metal processing operation , have taken up another ( blank ) metal sheet 2 from the blank metal sheet pallet 28 . the workpiece fixing devices 34 at the rear side of the extension arm 22 of the workpiece retention member 27 are still in the deactivated state . the relevant operating state of the mechanical arrangement 1 is illustrated in fig7 . starting therefrom , the workpiece holding member 27 with the metal sheet 2 fixed thereto is raised with a loading movement in the direction towards the upper end position . at the same time , the workpiece fixing devices 34 which are mounted on the cantilever arm 22 and which are further deactivated are thereby moved with a positioning movement in the movement direction 23 into the sweeping position . with the workpiece fixing devices 34 being deactivated as before , the workpiece support 11 now moves with the movable support portion 13 in the movement direction 15 from the rear into the front end position thereof . the ( processed ) metal sheet 2 on the workpiece support 11 consequently arrives below the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 which is held on the workpiece holding member 27 and which is still to be processed ( fig8 ). at the rear side of the cantilever arm 22 , the fixing members 41 of the deactivated workpiece fixing devices 34 are located above the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 which is fixed to the workpiece holding member 27 and consequently also above the ( processed ) metal sheet 2 which rests on the workpiece support 11 . as seen in fig9 , the arms 58 and the guiding plates 59 of the workpiece fixing devices 34 that are raised into the sweeping position extend substantially parallel with the rear longitudinal edges of the two mentioned metal sheets 2 . the arms 58 and the guiding plates 59 and the fixing members 41 of the workpiece fixing devices 34 are located in the movement direction 15 or in the direction of the double - headed arrow 46 over the metal sheets 2 . starting from these relationships , the first drive units 38 of the workpiece fixing devices 34 are actuated first ( fig2 , 3 ). consequently , the second drive units 39 of the workpiece fixing devices 34 move in the direction towards the transverse rail 18 of the coordinate guide 17 . the arms 58 and the guiding plates 59 of the workpiece fixing devices 34 remain in a state orientated parallel with the edges of the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 on the workpiece holding member 27 and the ( processed ) metal sheet 2 on the workpiece support 11 but are now offset with respect to the mentioned sheet metal edges in the direction towards the transverse rail 18 . the second drive units 39 of the workpiece fixing devices 34 are now activated . consequently , the guiding rods 50 with the fixing members 41 move downwards from their upper end position . referring also to fig3 , as long as the guiding pin 52 on the guiding rods 50 moves in the linear end portion 55 of the guiding slot 53 on the guiding pipe 54 , the guiding rod 50 and with it the arm 58 , the guiding plate 59 and the fixing member 41 of each workpiece fixing device 34 carries out only a downwardly directed translation movement . if , during this translation movement the arm 58 of the workpiece fixing devices 34 has passed the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 held on the workpiece holding member 27 , the guiding pin 52 of the guiding rods 50 reaches the transition portion 57 of the associated guiding slot 53 in each case . consequently , the guiding rods 50 of the workpiece fixing devices 34 rotate about their longitudinal axis and thereby pivot the arms 58 with the fixing members 41 fitted thereto and the guiding plates 59 below the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 fixed to the workpiece holding member 27 . the arms 58 and the guiding plates 59 of the workpiece fixing devices 34 reach the intermediate space between the lower side of the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 on the workpiece holding member 27 and the upper side of the ( processed ) metal sheet 2 placed on the workpiece support 11 . the fixing members 41 of the workpiece fixing devices 34 , at the end of their activation movement , are adjacent the rear longitudinal edge of the ( processed ) metal sheet 2 resting on the workpiece support 11 ( fig1 ). below the workpiece support 11 , the completed part pallet 31 has moved from the rear end position into the front end position thereof , where it is located with the upper side thereof below the movable support portion 13 and extends over the blank metal sheet pallet 28 in the manner of a portal . the workpiece support 11 with the movable support portion 13 is now moved in the movement direction 15 from the front end position into the rear end position . the ( processed ) metal sheet 2 on the movable support portion 13 abuts the fixing members 41 of the workpiece fixing devices 34 with the rear longitudinal edge thereof . the fixing members 41 bear against the ( processed ) metal sheet 2 and thereby prevent a common movement with the movable support portion 13 , which is moving into the rear end position thereof . the movable support portion 13 is thereby pulled out from below the ( processed ) metal sheet 2 . the ( processed ) metal sheet 2 is swept off from the workpiece support 11 and reaches the completed part pallet 31 which is located in the front end position thereof ( fig1 ). when moving into the rear end position , the workpiece support 11 is passed by the fixing members 41 of the stationary workpiece fixing devices 34 protruding beyond the lower side of the ( processed ) metal sheet 2 in the movement direction 15 . this is readily possible since the upper side of the workpiece support 11 is provided with support brushes 16 whose resilient bristles can deviate laterally with respect to the fixing members 41 . the guiding plates 59 act as a guide for the ( processed ) metal sheet 2 , which has been swept from the workpiece support 11 when it is transferred onto the completed part pallet 31 . in particular , the guiding plates 59 ensure that the workpiece swept from the workpiece support 11 does not pivot upwards with the rear longitudinal edge thereof in an uncontrolled manner and thereby damage the lower side of the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 held on the workpiece holding member 27 or the workpiece holding member 27 itself . when the ( processed ) metal sheet 2 is swept from the workpiece support 11 and transferred to the completed part pallet 31 , the workpiece fixing devices 34 are changed into the deactivated state and the workpiece support 11 moves with the movable support portion 13 , which is now unloaded , from the rear end position into the front end position below the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 fixed to the workpiece holding member 27 . in order to deactivate the workpiece fixing devices 34 , the second drive units 39 of the workpiece fixing devices 34 are actuated first . the arms 58 and the guiding plates 59 of the workpiece fixing devices 34 are thereby orientated parallel with the rear longitudinal edge of the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 and lifted above the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 . subsequently , the second drive units 39 are pulled towards the cantilever arm 22 of the workpiece holding member 27 by the first drive units 38 being actuated . the deactivation movement of the fixing members 41 is thereby ended . as soon as the workpiece support 11 has been moved with the movable support portion 13 below the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 on the workpiece holding member 27 , the ( blank ) metal sheet 2 can be transferred to the workpiece support 11 and the coordinate guide 17 in order to carry out the punching workpiece processing operation . a number of embodiments of the invention have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims . | 1 |
in this detailed description , for purposes of explanation , numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention . one skilled in the art will appreciate , however , that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , structures and devices are shown in block diagram form . furthermore , one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the specific sequences in which methods are presented and performed are illustrative and it is contemplated that the sequences can be varied and still remain within the spirit and scope of embodiments of the present invention . fig1 a , 1b and 1 c are functional block diagrams of general applications of a removable electronic device 30 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . electronic device 30 , tentatively named the “ mu card ,” which is able to support modes of operations compatible with usb and at least one of mmc , cf ( compact flash ), sm ( smart media ) and sd ( security digital ) applications . for example , the usb compatible mode includes usb 2 . 0 application , and the mmc compatible mode includes one of mmc 4 . 0 or mmc spi ( serial - peripheral interface ) applications . for the purpose of simplicity , only the mmc compatible mode is illustrated in the following embodiments . skilled persons in the art will understand that the present invention is equally applicable to the cf , sm and sd modes . electronic device 30 includes a 1 -, 4 -, 8 - or 16 - bit interface , and provides low voltage support of 5v / 3 . 3v / 11 . 8v , with zero power consumption during standby . in addition , electronic device 30 is able to support a wide bandwidth from approximately 50 kb / s to 120 mb / s . in contrast , mmc 4 . 0 supports 1 -, 4 - or 8 - bit data transfer at a maximum speed of 52 mb / sec , and usb 2 . 0 supports data transfer at a maximum speed of 60 mb / sec . consequently , electronic device 30 provides high - speed applications while retaining backward compatibility at least with regard to usb , mmc and mmc spi applications . fig1 a is a functional block diagram of electronic device 30 operating in a usb mode . referring to fig1 a , electronic device 30 includes an interface ( if ) mode detector 32 , a multi - media card ( mmc ) device controller 34 , a wrapper 35 , a universal serial bus ( usb ) physical layer ( phy ) circuit 36 , a usb device controller 37 , and an application module 38 . if mode detector 32 detects a mode of operation to distinguish among an mmc mode , a usb mode or a mu mode when electronic device 30 is inserted into a host 40 . host 40 , for example , a notebook , a personal computer ( pc ), a cell phone , a tablet pc , a pda or a dv / dsc , may include a card reader ( not shown ) for receiving electronic device 30 . in the present embodiment , if mode detector 32 detects whether a host 40 , to which electronic device 30 is connected , is in compliance with the usb specifications . usb device controller 37 controls data transfer over a common bus 42 between host 40 and application module 38 via usb phy circuit 36 . application module 38 functions to serve as a memory storage or an input / output ( i / o ) interface , depending on the operation mode detected . fig1 b is a functional block diagram of electronic device 30 operating in a mu mode . referring to fig1 b , if mode detector 32 detects that a host 40 , to which electronic device 30 is connected , is in compliance with the mu specifications . usb device controller 37 controls data transfer between host 40 and application module 38 via wrapper 35 . wrapper 35 , which wraps a call to a function or program inside another function or program , functions to convert 16 - bit data into serial data recognizable by usb device controller 37 , or vice versa . as such , wrapper 35 functions to bridge between a mu bus and a utmi ( usb 2 . 0 transceiver macrocell interface ) bus . utmi , which has been developed to define the interface specifications of the physical layer circuits and part of the logical layer circuits of the usb 2 . 0 , enables a data transfer rate of 480 mbps in high speed ( hs ) mode , which is significantly higher than that of the usb 1 . 1 , while maintaining backward compatibility with the usb 1 . 1 standard . fig1 c is a functional block diagram of electronic device 30 operating in an mmc mode . referring to fig1 c , if mode detector 32 detects that a host 40 , to which electronic device 30 is connected , is in compliance with the mmc specifications . mmc device controller 34 controls data transfer between host 40 and application module 38 . the mmc application includes one of mmc 4 . 0 , a 1 -, 4 - or 8 - bit interface , or mmc spi , a 1 - bit interface . fig2 is a flow diagram of a method for detecting a mode of operation in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig2 , on the device side , host 40 to which electronic device 30 is connected is turned on at step 50 . the power source voltage , vdd , for host 40 is detected at step 52 to determine whether the vdd is equal to or greater than a voltage level a usb application requires . normally , a usb application is operated at a voltage level ranging from approximately 4 . 5v ( volts ) to 5 . 5v , while an mmc or an mu application is operated at a voltage level of approximately 1 . 8v or 3 . 3v . in one embodiment , if the vdd level for host 40 is equal to or greater than 4 . 4v , a determination is made at step 54 that the mode of operation is usb 2 . 0 . if the vdd level for host 40 is smaller than 4 . 4v , a determination is made that the mode of operation is either a mu application or an mmc application . next , a determination is made at step 56 whether a command signal cmd 0 sent from host 40 is received by electronic device 30 . detection of the command signal cmd 0 is performed within a predetermined time period at step 58 . if the predetermined time expires , host 40 is turned off , or “ timed out ” to save power at step 60 . if the predetermined time does not expire , the detection of the command signal continues . when a command signal is received , a determination is made at step 62 whether the command signal indicates a mu application . if the command signal is not a mu command signal , a determination is made at step 64 that the mode of operation is an mmc application . if the command signal is determined to be a mu command signal , electronic device 30 responds to host 40 that the mode of operation is a mu application at step 66 . electronic device 30 then waits for a predetermined time , for example , 8 clocks , at step 68 for synchronization . generally , the clock rate depends on the speed of host and system clocks . electronic device 30 then switches at step 70 to a mu interface for a mu application at step 72 . fig3 is another flow diagram of a method for detecting a mode of operation in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig3 , at the host side , host 40 sends a mu command signal mu cmd 0 to electronic device 30 at step 80 . if electronic device 30 at step 82 does not send a response signal , host 40 sends an mmc command signal mmc cmd 0 at step 84 , indicating that the mode of operation is the mmc application at step 86 . if electronic device 30 at step 82 replies with a mu response signal , host 40 sends a predetermined number of clocks , for example , 8 clocks , for synchronization at step 88 . electronic device 30 switches at step 90 to the mu mode . at step 92 , electronic device 30 may optionally send a signal to host 40 , indicating that a mu interface is ready . by way of example , the command signals mmc cmd 0 and mu cmd 0 are defined in a 6 - byte format as “ 40h , 00h , 00h , 00h , 00h , 95h ” and “ 40h , 4dh , 55h , bfh , b2h , aah ,” respectively . furthermore , the mu response signal is defined in a 6 - byte format as “ 19h [ 4 - byte operating parameters ] ffh .” fig4 a is a proposed pin assignment chart of a removable electronic device in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig4 a , all of the pins at the device side are kept as hiz ( high impedance ) state until a mode of operation between a host and the removable electronic device is determined . the first pin of the removable electronic device for the mmc 4 . 0 mode , i . e ., dat 3 , is defined to switch the mmc 4 . 0 mode to the mmc spi mode , which has been defined in the mmc specification . the second pin for the mu interface mode , i . e ., dat 8 , is used to identify that the mmc mode or mu interface mode is selected . the fourteenth and fifteenth pins for the usb mode , i . e ., d + and d −, are a pair of data signals , which may be used to determine whether the usb mode is selected . the pair of data signals ( d +, d −) is a complementary pair in which one is at a high level when the other is at a low level . pins 18 , 19 and 20 are reserved for simm ( single in - line memory module ) card applications . thus , the removable electronic device of the present invention is able to support mmc compatible , usb compatible and mu - interface applications , and simultaneously retains the flexibility of working for the simm applications . an exemplary interface protocol of the present invention is described as follows : where “ x ” refers to a condition that is not relevant for the protocol . where “ npid ” refers to an inverted signal of pid . the pid data transaction is protected by the inverted mirror data of pid and npid . the controller in both the host and device sides should verify the validity of the pid . pid codes are defined in table 1 given below . where tcrc is a 5 - bit token crc , and the crc on the mu card is optional . if crc is turned on , the crc check must exist on both of the host and device . if , however , crc is disabled , wrapper must generate a crc for a usb controller . since default is disabled crc , there is no crc field when crc is disabled . where “ x ” refers to a “ don &# 39 ; t care ” condition . for solving an even / odd byte issue on the 16 - bit mode transaction , oddbyte bit is added on the b [ 15 ] of the eop field . if oddbyte = 1 , then the last byte on the data [ 15 : 8 ] is invalid . if oddbyte = 0 , then the last word on the data [ 15 : 0 ] is valid . token packet is composed of 3 - byte sync and eop . the token packet supports at least the 1 - bit , 4 - bit and 8 - bit modes . 6 . data packet format 6 . 1 . data field format ( i ) 1 - bit : ( lsb first ) ( ii ) 4 - bit ( iii ) 8 - bit ( iv ) 16 - bit where the 16 - bit mode is used only in data packet . 6 . 2 . data packet format sync + { not ( pid ) & amp ; pid } + { dat [ 7 : 0 ]}*( 0 ˜ 1024 ) + { dcrc [ 15 : 8 ]} + { dcrc [ 7 : 0 ]} + eop where dcrc is data crc with 16 - bit polynomial : x 16 + x 15 + x 2 + 1 ( seed = 800dh ) the transfer types are inherent from the usb standard , including ( 1 ) control , ( 2 ) interrupt , ( 3 ) bulk , and ( 4 ) isochronous . a signal or data transportation in the bus has 3 kinds of protections : ( 1 ) pid is protected by inverted mirror of pid and npid . where the npid is an inverted signal of pid . ( 2 ) token packet and start - of - frame are protected by crc5 , of which the polynomial and the seed are as follows : ( 3 ) data packet is protected by crc16 , of which the polynomial and the seed are as follows : the device is powered at the 1 - bit bus mode . the host can set the bus width of 1 - bit ( initial ), 4 - bit , 8 - bit , or 16 - bit to be operated on both sides . fig4 b is a proposed pin assignment chart of a removable electronic device in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention . unlike the 20 - pin assignment for a 16 - bit application illustrated in fig4 a , fig4 b illustrates a 13 - pin assignment for an 8 - bit application . the eleventh and twelfth pins for the usb mode , defined for d − and d +, respectively , are used to determine whether the usb mode is selected . furthermore , pins 11 , 12 and 13 are defined for simm card applications . fig5 is a diagram of a removable electronic device 100 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig5 , electronic device 100 includes a notch 102 on the upper left - hand corner to prevent incorrect insertion of electronic device 100 . in addition , notch 102 and related counter parts serve to allow for backward compatibility of mmc and usb applications , but not vice versa . in one aspect , notch 102 intersects the adjacent sides 104 and 106 with substantially the same angle , approximately 45 degrees . electronic device 100 also includes a plurality of interweaving contact pads labeled 1 to 20 , which correspond to the pins illustrated in fig4 a . the interweaving design in the contact pads allows additional pins to be present in the same real estate . as a result , a different number of contact pads may alternately be used . the contact pads , connected with a memory circuit chip ( not shown ) within electronic device 100 , are positioned in twenty recesses on a top surface along front side 104 and notch 102 . the contact pads may be divided into a first row and a second row . each of the contact pads includes a substantially tapered end such that contact pads of the first row are arranged with the corresponding contact pads of the second row by their substantially tapered ends . the substantially tapered ends allow smooth contact with the host &# 39 ; s contact terminals . fig6 a and 6b are diagrams of a removable electronic device 120 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention . fig6 a is a top view of electronic device 120 having a housing ( not numbered ). referring to fig6 a , the housing includes a top surface , a bottom surface and a periphery . electronic device 120 includes a notch 122 and a substantially “ u - shaped ” indentation 124 on the periphery of the housing to allow for a low - profile design . specifically , indentation 124 allows a card reader ( not shown ) in the host to grasp electronic device 120 and secure electronic device 120 through indentation 124 , as opposed to the conventional application of using the bulk of the memory card to secure its position in the host . as such , the notch design of the memory card of the present invention obviates this consideration in the memory card design and in turn allows the design of the memory card to be minimized . accordingly , the profile of the card reader in the host may also be minimized . in addition to a plurality of interweaving contact pads ( not numbered ) positioned in a first row and a second row , electronic device 120 includes a contact pad 128 extending across the first row to the second row . in one embodiment , the total number of the first row of contact pads and the second row of contact pads is 20 . fig6 b is a bottom view of electronic device 120 . referring to fig6 b , electronic device 120 includes additional indentations 126 on the periphery to allow for locking of electronic device 120 to the housing at the host side . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof . it is understood , therefore , that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed , but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
the present invention is a food / drink container with a multimedia module . a multimedia module is combined with a food / drink container for sounding voices and / or projecting images or movies in a predetermined condition e . g ., when opening the container or when removing a label . the system can be built with the container as a common part or is produced to install with any existing food / drink container as a retrofit . the present invention provides a food / drink container with a multimedia module for providing multimedia , sound and music and / or projecting an image or a movie from inside the container such that the image or movie are readily viewable from the exterior of the container . the music , sound and multimedia are readily audible and / or visible to users by way of a speaker or speakers . the multimedia module preferably includes a laser or light projector for projecting images and / or movies , a speaker or speakers for sounding the music , sound and / or audio , a memory that stores the sound , multimedia and the images and movies , an electronic system for projecting the images via the projector and speakers for providing sound , audio and music capabilities , a sensor or switch for recognizing that the container is being used or / and going to be use . the invention further includes a power source for operating the system and the projected walls are made of a material facilitating viewing from the exterior of the container of images projected inside the container . in a preferred embodiment , the food / drink container can includes either a system for reproducing music or a system for projecting movies and / or images or both . the present invention includes a sensor or switch to recognize a predetermined condition for operating the system , as a switch or sensor to recognize opening of the container or recognize users &# 39 ; action in order to operate the multimedia module . the sensors can include a variety of sensors e . g ., a pressure sensor for sensing the pressure of a spoon on the floor of the container or sense the users &# 39 ; pressure on the container walls , a sensor for sensing the removal of a label from the container , a photoelectric cell for sensing light entering the container pursuant to opening the container and / or other switches and sensors for recognizing a condition for activating the multimedia module . the multimedia module is operated by an action of the user e . g ., opening the container , removing a label and so on . in the embodiment of music only , the electronic system starts to play a music that is held in a memory and sound the music via a speaker or speakers . in the embodiment of full multimedia , the multimedia module of the present invention has a laser or light projector that project images on the inside walls , in some cases by using mirrors , and the walls are made of a material that enables these images to be seen from the outside while sounds are played via speaker . the voice and the images are stored in a memory and operated by an electronic system that includes a disposal power source . the principles and operation of the food / drink container with a multimedia module , according to the present invention may be better understood with reference to the drawing and the accompanying description . referring now to the drawing , fig1 illustrates a drink container 63 with a closure 202 . drink container 63 preferably includes a multimedia module 62 . preferably , drink container 63 includes an earphone jack 65 for readily accommodating an earphone plug 66 of an earphone 68 or an earphone set 70 . preferably , drink container 63 accommodates an electronic and projecting unit 20 . preferably , drink container 63 includes at least one speaker 16 ( two speakers 16 are shown in fig1 ). when the user uses an opener 72 to open drink container 63 , the opening of drink container 63 is sensed by a sensor 74 and operates electronic and projecting unit 20 . optionally , a control module 295 uses images and sounds that are held in memory unit 296 to project images on a wall 14 of drink container 63 and sound voices via speakers 16 for a period of time . preferably , control module 295 is electronically attached to or integrally formed with a radio device 28 facilitating a user to listen to radio device 28 at will . preferably , radio device 28 is preset to a given station according to the intended consumers of drink 18 contained in drink container 63 . preferably , drink container 63 includes a cellular module 76 for readily facilitating a user to use drink container 63 as a cellular phone pre - charged with a predetermined value of calls . thus , cellular module 76 can utilize an earphone jack 78 for readily accommodating an earphone plug 80 , which earphone plug 80 is attached to , or integrally formed with an earphone 82 or earphone set 84 . preferably earphone 82 or earphone set 84 includes or is integrally formed with a microphone 86 for readily facilitating two - way conversations with cellular module 76 . preferably , drink container 63 includes an array of photo - electric cells 220 for readily generating power for drink container 63 . preferably , drink container 63 includes a component array 250 . component array 250 includes a drink conduit 230 for readily facilitating flow of drink 18 and / or activation of components within component array 250 . drink conduit 230 includes an inflow duct 276 for readily facilitating flow of drink 18 subsequently to opening of closure 202 . drink conduit 230 also preferably includes an outflow duct 208 for readily facilitating flow of liquids into drink container 63 . outflow duct includes a unidirectional flow control 206 for preventing drink 18 from entering component array through outflow duct 208 . preferably , a purification filter 224 purifies liquids flowing through outflow duct 208 into drink 18 . for the purpose of sealing drink conduit 230 to a bottom 278 of drink container 63 , drink container 63 further includes a sealer 212 . drink conduit 230 is preferably secured to drink container 63 by way of a conduit securer 214 . optionally , outflow of liquids through outflow duct 208 is enhanced by a liquid pump 216 . liquid pump 216 is powered by a power supply selected from the group consisting of : a main power supply 240 , a fuel cell 280 and photo electric array 220 . optionally , a fiber optic controller 222 is configured to fiber optically control at least one component of component array 250 . an activator 226 is activated subsequent to opening drink container 63 with opener 72 . optionally , drink 18 is carbonated and thus a pressure larger than one atmosphere is created in drink container 63 . subsequently to opening drink container 63 with opener 72 , pressure in drink container 63 drops to the same pressure as the surrounding environment . thus , the pressure reduction reduces the pressure applied by drink 18 on activator 226 and bias 275 displaces displacement element 273 thereby activating activator 226 . preferably , activator 226 is selected from the group consisting of : a pressure switch , an electrical switch , an electronic switch , a mechanical switch and an acoustic switch . optionally , for the purpose of preventing flow of drink 18 out of drink container 63 a seal 288 is attached to or integrally formed with drink conduit 230 . a seal breaker 292 is attached to , or integrally formed with component array 250 such that attaching component array 250 to drink container 63 breaches seal 288 and readily facilitates of drink 18 into drink conduit 230 . preferably , component array 250 includes a compressed hydrogen container 260 for readily providing hydrogen to fuel cell 280 by way of a gas pipe 232 . preferably , conduit securer 214 readily secures fuel cell 280 and aligns inflow duct 206 and outflow duct 208 . a pressure valve 261 is attached to , or integrally formed with , compressed hydrogen container 260 for readily controlling the pressure and / or quantities of hydrogen flowing from hydrogen container 260 to fuel cell 280 . optionally , a hydrogen container securing element 228 is provided for securing hydrogen container 260 to component array 250 . fuel cell 280 is geared towards an electrochemical conversion . fuel cell 280 preferably produces electricity from fuel on an anode side 234 and an oxidant on a cathode side 281 , which react in the presence of an electrolyte 244 . the reactants flow into fuel cell 280 , and the reaction products flow out of fuel cell 280 by way of flow pipe 236 , while electrolyte 244 remains within fuel cell 280 . fuel cell 280 preferably operates substantially continuously as long as the flow to anode side 234 and cathode side 281 is maintained . fuel cell 280 is selected from the group consisting of an electrochemical cell , at least one battery which at least one battery consumes a reactant from an external source , which must be replenished , a thermodynamically open system , at least one battery storing electrical energy chemically and a thermodynamically closed system . preferably and as shown in fig1 , fuel cell 280 is a hydrogen fuel cell including hydrogen as its fuel and oxygen from air as its oxidant . hydrogen flows from hydrogen container 260 to anode side 234 and comes into contact with oxygen flowing from air flowing from outside drink container 63 through a filtered aperture 268 formed in drink container 63 . air flowing from filtered aperture 268 formed in drink container 63 travels through air pipe 269 to cathode side 281 , thereby providing the oxygen as the oxidant . alternatively and by way of example only , other usable fuels instead of hydrogen include hydrocarbons and alcohols . by way of example only , other oxidants can include chlorine and chlorine dioxide . optionally , a catalyst 242 is situated between anode side 234 and cathode side 281 . preferably , drink container 63 includes a component array closure 290 . preferably , component array closure 290 is secured to drink container by locking mechanism 254 . locking mechanism 254 is geared toward securing and locking component array closure 290 to drink container 63 . preferably , component array closure 290 is readily removable by the manufacturer or filler of drink 18 for the purpose of access , refueling fuel cell 280 and maintenance of component array 250 . by way of an example only , an electromechanical solenoid 252 includes an electromagnetically inductive coil 256 , wound around a displaceable armature 248 . electromagnetically inductive coil 256 is shaped such that displaceable armature 248 is readily displaced in and out of the center of electromechanical solenoid 252 , altering inductance of electromagnetically inductive coil 256 and thereby becoming an electromagnet . displaceable armature 248 is geared towards providing a mechanical force to locking mechanism 254 . the force applied to displaceable armature 248 is proportional to the change in inductance of electromagnetically inductive coil 256 with respect to the change in position of displaceable armature 248 , and the current flowing through electromagnetically inductive coil 256 . the force applied to displaceable armature 248 will displace displaceable armature 248 in a direction that increases the inductance of electromagnetically inductive coil 256 . component array 250 preferably includes an antenna 270 for transceiving responsively to cellular module 76 . for the purpose of enhancing output and reception levels , antenna 270 is preferably a directional antenna or a horn antenna . component array 250 preferably includes at least one interface selected from the group consisting of : a usb interface 258 , a pda interface 262 , a cellular interface 264 , a memory card interface 266 , a computer interface 272 and a control interface 274 . component array 250 preferably includes a photographic module 299 geared towards capturing still images , clips and video images . component array 250 preferably includes an omni - directional antenna 298 for low power transmission . component array preferably utilizes drink 18 for cooling at least one component of component array 250 . drink 18 flows through a cooling mechanism 286 . preferably a valve mechanism 284 controls the flow of drink 18 through cooling mechanism 286 . cooling mechanism is geared towards cooling a management module 294 , control module 295 and memory unit 296 . a cooling exit 297 readily facilitates flow of drink 18 subsequent to drink 18 cooling at least one component of component array 250 . preferably , a unidirectional valve 285 connects cooling exit 297 and facilitates flow of drink 18 from cooling exit 297 into flow pipe 236 . preferably , component array 250 is secured to drink container 63 by way of a locking mechanism 231 . locking mechanism 231 is geared towards fitting , replacing and / or recycling , maintenance and re - use of component array 250 in additional drink containers 63 . management module 294 preferably manages and controls energy consumption of component array 250 . for the purpose of sealing an upper surface 282 of component array 250 , drink container 63 further includes a drink conduit 230 . drink conduit 230 is preferably secured to drink container 63 by way of a conduit securer 214 . fig2 illustrates a bottled drink container 500 . preferably bottled drink container 500 includes a bottle closure 501 . like above , bottled drink container 500 preferably includes a multimedia module 62 . preferably , bottled drink container 500 includes an earphone jack 65 for readily accommodating an earphone plug 66 of an earphone 68 or an earphone set 70 . preferably , bottled drink container 500 accommodates an electronic and projecting unit 20 . preferably , bottled drink container 500 includes at least one speaker 16 . when the user uses opens bottle closure 501 , the opening of bottled drink container 500 is sensed by a sensor 74 and operates electronic and projecting unit 20 . optionally , a control module 295 uses images and sounds that are held in memory unit 296 to project images on a wall 14 of bottled drink container 500 and sound voices via speaker 16 for a period of time . preferably , control module 295 is electronically attached to or integrally formed with a radio device 28 facilitating a user to listen to radio device 28 at will . preferably , radio device 28 is preset to a given station according to the intended consumers of drink 18 contained in bottled drink container 500 . preferably , bottled drink container 500 includes a cellular module 76 for readily facilitating a user to use bottled drink container 500 as a cellular phone pre - charged with a predetermined value of calls . thus , cellular module 76 can utilize an earphone jack 78 for readily accommodating an earphone plug 80 , which earphone plug 80 is attached to , or integrally formed with an earphone 82 or earphone set 84 . preferably earphone 82 or earphone set 84 includes or is integrally formed with a microphone 86 for readily facilitating two - way conversations with cellular module 76 . preferably , bottled drink container 500 includes an array of photo - electric cells 220 for readily generating power for bottled drink container 500 . preferably , bottled drink container 500 includes a component array 250 . component array 250 includes a drink conduit 230 for readily facilitating flow of drink 18 and / or activation of components within component array 250 . for the purpose of sealing an upper surface 282 of component array 250 , drink conduit 230 is preferably secured to bottled drink container 500 by way of a conduit securer 214 . similarly , drink conduit 230 includes an inflow duct 276 for readily facilitating flow of drink 18 subsequently to opening of bottle closure 501 . drink conduit 230 also preferably includes an outflow duct 208 for readily facilitating flow of liquids into bottled drink container 500 . outflow duct includes a unidirectional flow control 206 for preventing drink 18 from entering component array through outflow duct 208 . preferably , a purification filter 224 purifies liquids flowing through outflow duct 208 into drink 18 . for the purpose of sealing drink conduit 230 to a bottle bottom 503 of bottled drink container 500 , bottled drink container 500 further includes a sealer 212 . drink conduit 230 is preferably secured to bottled drink container 500 by way of a conduit securer 214 . optionally , outflow of liquids through outflow duct 208 is enhanced by a liquid pump 216 . liquid pump 216 is powered by a power supply selected from the group consisting of : a main power supply 240 , a fuel cell 280 and photo electric array 220 . optionally , a fiber optic controller 222 is configured to fiber optically control at least one component of component array 250 . an activator 226 is activated subsequent to opening bottled drink container 500 with bottle closure 501 . optionally , drink 18 is carbonated and thus a pressure larger than one atmosphere is created in bottled drink container 500 . subsequently to opening bottled drink container 500 , pressure in bottled drink container 500 drops to the same pressure as the surrounding environment . thus , the pressure reduction reduces the pressure applied by drink 18 on activator 226 and bias 275 displaces displacement element 273 thereby activating activator 226 . preferably , activator 226 is selected from the group consisting of : a pressure switch , an electrical switch , an electronic switch , a mechanical switch and an acoustic switch . optionally , for the purpose of preventing flow of drink 18 out of bottled drink container 500 a seal 288 is attached to or integrally formed with drink conduit 230 . a seal breaker 292 is attached to , or integrally formed with component array 250 such that attaching component array 250 to bottled drink container 500 breaches seal 288 and readily facilitates of drink 18 into drink conduit 230 . preferably , component array 250 includes a compressed hydrogen container 260 for readily providing hydrogen to fuel cell 280 by way of a gas pipe 232 . preferably , conduit securer 214 readily secures fuel cell 280 and aligns inflow duct 206 and outflow duct 208 . a pressure valve 261 is attached to , or integrally formed with , compressed hydrogen container 260 for readily controlling the pressure and / or quantities of hydrogen flowing from hydrogen container 260 to fuel cell 280 . optionally , a hydrogen container securing element 228 is provided for securing hydrogen container 260 to component array 250 . fuel cell 280 is geared towards an electrochemical conversion . fuel cell 280 preferably produces electricity from fuel on an anode side 234 and an oxidant on a cathode side 281 , which react in the presence of an electrolyte 244 . the reactants flow into fuel cell 280 , and the reaction products flow out of fuel cell 280 by way of flow pipe 236 , while electrolyte 244 remains within fuel cell 280 . fuel cell 280 preferably operates substantially continuously as long as the flow to anode side 234 and cathode side 281 is maintained . fuel cell 280 is selected from the group consisting of an electrochemical cell , at least one battery which at least one battery consumes a reactant from an external source , which must be replenished , a thermodynamically open system , at least one battery storing electrical energy chemically and a thermodynamically closed system . preferably and as shown in fig2 , fuel cell 280 is a hydrogen fuel cell including hydrogen as its fuel and oxygen from air as its oxidant . hydrogen flows from hydrogen container 260 to anode side 234 and comes into contact with oxygen flowing from air flowing from outside bottled drink container 500 through a filtered aperture 268 formed in bottled drink container 500 . air flowing from filtered aperture 268 formed in bottled drink container 500 travels through air pipe 269 to cathode side 281 , thereby providing the oxygen as the oxidant . alternatively and by way of example only , other usable fuels instead of hydrogen include hydrocarbons and alcohols . by way of example only , other oxidants can include chlorine and chlorine dioxide . optionally , a catalyst 242 is situated between anode side 234 and cathode side 281 . preferably , bottled drink container 500 includes a component array closure 290 . preferably , component array closure 290 is secured to drink container by locking mechanism 254 . locking mechanism 254 is geared toward securing and locking component array closure 290 to bottled drink container 500 . preferably , component array closure 290 is readily removable by the manufacturer or filler of drink 18 for the purpose of access , refueling fuel cell 280 and maintenance of component array 250 . by way of an example only , an electromechanical solenoid 252 includes an electromagnetically inductive coil 256 , wound around a displaceable armature 248 . electromagnetically inductive coil 256 is shaped such that displaceable armature 248 is readily displaced in and out of the center of electromechanical solenoid 252 altering inductance of electromagnetically inductive coil 256 and thereby becoming an electromagnet . displaceable armature 248 is geared towards providing a mechanical force to locking mechanism 254 . the force applied to displaceable armature 248 is proportional to the change in inductance of electromagnetically inductive coil 256 with respect to the change in position of displaceable armature 248 , and the current flowing through electromagnetically inductive coil 256 . the force applied to displaceable armature 248 will displace displaceable armature 248 in a direction that increases the inductance of electromagnetically inductive coil 256 . component array 250 preferably includes an antenna 270 for transceiving responsively to cellular module 76 . for the purpose of enhancing output and reception levels , antenna 270 is preferably a directional antenna or a horn antenna . component array 250 preferably includes at least one interface selected from the group consisting of : a usb interface 258 , a pda interface 262 , a cellular interface 264 , a memory card interface 266 , a computer interface 272 and a control interface 274 . component array 250 preferably includes a photographic module 299 geared towards capturing still images , clips and video images . component array 250 preferably includes an omni - directional antenna 298 for low power transmission . component array preferably utilizes drink 18 for cooling at least one component of component array 250 . drink 18 flows through a cooling mechanism 286 . preferably , a valve mechanism 284 controls the flow of drink 18 through cooling mechanism 286 . cooling mechanism is geared towards cooling a management module 294 , control module 295 and memory unit 296 . a cooling exit 297 readily facilitates flow of drink 18 subsequent to drink 18 cooling at least one component of component array 250 . preferably , a unidirectional valve 285 connects cooling exit 297 and facilitates flow of drink 18 from cooling exit 297 into flow pipe 236 . preferably , component array 250 is secured to bottled drink container 500 by way of a locking mechanism 231 . locking mechanism 231 is geared towards fitting , replacing and / or recycling , maintenance and re - use of component array 250 in additional bottled drink containers 500 . management module 294 preferably manages and controls energy consumption of component array 250 . fig3 illustrates a food container 10 includes a food 305 . food container 10 includes a semi flexible floor 50 . preferably , a user inserts an article such as a spoon 52 for the purpose of consuming food 305 . preferably , thereafter spoon 52 displaces flexible floor 50 thereby triggering a pressure switch 316 , which pressure switch 316 activates an audio device 54 . audio device 54 plays music , tones or a voice recording via a speaker 56 substantially during , before or after food 305 is consumed . preferably , an electronic and projecting unit 20 is electronically attached to or integrally formed with radio device 28 facilitating a user to listen to radio device 28 at will . preferably , radio device 28 is preset to a given station according to the intended consumers of food 305 contained in food container 10 . like above , food container 10 includes a cellular module 76 for readily facilitating a user to use food container 10 as a cellular phone pre - charged with a predetermined value of calls . thus , cellular module 76 can utilizes earphone jack 32 for readily accommodating earphone plug 34 , which earphone plug 34 is attached to , or integrally formed with earphone 36 or earphone set 38 . preferably earphone 36 or earphone set 38 include or are integrally formed with microphone 40 for readily facilitating two - way conversations with cellular module 76 . preferably , food container 10 includes food 305 and a communication module 58 . communication module 58 is preferably selected from the group consisting of , a cellular communication module , a satellite communication module , a bluetooth communication module , an rf communication module , a local area network communication module an ir communication module and a wired communication module . communication module 58 preferably readily facilitates communication with a remote apparatus 60 . preferably , remote apparatus 60 is selected from the group consisting of : a computer , a pda and a cell phone . preferably , a multimedia module 375 is electronically attached to , or integrally formed with food container 10 such that multimedia module 375 can be remotely activated by a user , thereby inducing a child to consume the contents of food container 10 . food container 10 includes a food closure 310 and accommodates an electronic and projecting unit 20 . when the user uses opens food closure 310 and enters an a article such as spoon 52 , into food container 10 is sensed by an entry sensor 251 and optionally operates electronic and projecting unit 20 . optionally , a control module 365 uses images and / or sounds held in a memory unit 380 to project images on a wall 318 of food container 10 and sound voices via speaker 56 for a period of time . preferably , control module 365 is electronically attached to or integrally formed with radio device 28 facilitating a user to listen to radio device 28 at will . preferably , food container 10 includes an array of photo - electric cells 220 for readily generating power for food container 10 . preferably , food container 10 includes a food component array 350 . food component array 350 includes a plunger 330 for readily facilitating displacement by spoon 52 displacing flexible floor 50 and / or activation of components within food component array 350 . optionally , remote apparatus 60 controls food component array 350 . for the purpose of sealing plunger 330 to an upper surface 282 of food component array 350 , food container 10 further includes a plunger conduit 340 . plunger conduit 340 is preferably secured to food container 10 by way of a plunger conduit securer 325 . optionally , a fiber optic controller 222 is configured to fiber optically control at least one component of food component array 350 . a food activator 316 is activated subsequent to displacing plunger 330 . preferably , food activator 316 is selected from the group consisting of : a pressure switch , an electrical switch , an electronic switch , a mechanical switch and an acoustic switch . like above , food component array 350 includes a compressed hydrogen container 260 for readily providing hydrogen to a fuel cell 280 by way of a gas pipe 232 . preferably , plunger conduit securer 325 readily secures fuel cell 280 . a pressure valve 261 is attached to , or integrally formed with , compressed hydrogen container 260 for readily controlling the pressure and / or quantities of hydrogen flowing from hydrogen container 260 to fuel cell 280 . optionally , a hydrogen container securing element 228 is provided for securing hydrogen container 260 to food component array 350 . fuel cell 280 is geared towards an electrochemical conversion . fuel cell 280 preferably produces electricity from fuel on an anode side 234 and an oxidant on a cathode side 281 , which react in the presence of an electrolyte 244 . the reactants flow into fuel cell 280 , and the reaction products flow out of fuel cell 280 by way of a flow pipe 236 , while electrolyte 244 remains within fuel cell 280 . fuel cell 280 preferably operates substantially continuously as long as the flow to anode side 234 and cathode side 281 is maintained . fuel cell 280 is selected from the group consisting of an electrochemical cell , at least one battery which at least one battery consumes a reactant from an external source , which must be replenished , a thermodynamically open system , at least one battery storing electrical energy chemically and a thermodynamically closed system . preferably and as shown in fig3 as well , fuel cell 280 is a hydrogen fuel cell including hydrogen as its fuel and oxygen from air as its oxidant . hydrogen flows from hydrogen container 260 to anode side 234 and comes into contact with oxygen flowing from air flowing from outside food container 10 through a filtered aperture 268 formed in food container 10 . air flowing from filtered aperture 268 formed in food container 10 travels through an air pipe 269 to cathode side 281 , thereby providing the oxygen as the oxidant . alternatively and by way of example only , other usable fuels instead of hydrogen include hydrocarbons and alcohols . by way of example only , other oxidants can include chlorine and chlorine dioxide . optionally , a catalyst 242 is situated between anode side 234 and cathode side 281 . preferably , food container 10 includes a component array closure 290 . preferably , component array closure 290 is secured to drink container by a locking mechanism 254 . locking mechanism 254 is geared toward securing and locking component array closure 290 to food container 10 . preferably , component array closure 290 is readily removable by the manufacturer or filler of food 305 for the purpose of access , refueling fuel cell 280 and maintenance of food component array 350 . by way of an example only , an electromechanical solenoid 252 includes an electromagnetically inductive coil 256 , wound around a displaceable armature 248 . electromagnetically inductive coil 256 is shaped such that displaceable armature 248 is readily displaced in and out of the center of electromechanical solenoid 252 , altering inductance of electromagnetically inductive coil 256 and thereby becoming an electromagnet . displaceable armature 248 is geared towards providing a mechanical force to locking mechanism 254 . the force applied to displaceable armature 248 is proportional to the change in inductance of electromagnetically inductive coil 256 with respect to the change in position of displaceable armature 248 , and the current flowing through electromagnetically inductive coil 256 . the force applied to displaceable armature 248 will displace displaceable armature 248 in a direction that increases the inductance of electromagnetically inductive coil 256 . food component array 350 preferably includes a multi channel antenna 298 for transceiving responsively to cellular module 76 . food component array 350 preferably includes at least one interface selected from the group consisting of : a usb interface 258 , a pda interface 262 , a cellular interface 264 , a memory card interface 266 , a computer interface 272 and a control interface 274 . food component array 350 preferably includes a photographic module 299 geared towards capturing still images , clips and video images . preferably , multi channel antenna 298 is an omni - directional antenna for low power transmission . component array preferably utilizes food 305 for cooling at least one component of food component array 350 . cellular module 76 is powered by a power supply selected from the group consisting of : a main power supply 240 , a fuel cell 280 and photo electric array 220 . preferably , food component array 350 is secured to food container 10 by way of a locking mechanism 231 . locking mechanism 231 is geared towards fitting , replacing and / or recycling , maintenance and re - use of food component array 350 in additional food containers 10 . for the purpose of controlling energy output and energy consumption of food component array 350 , an energy controller 360 is provided . for the purpose of remote control of management of food component array 350 , a remote controller 370 is provided . optionally , flow pipe 236 has a flow reservoir 390 for collection of output from flow pipe 236 . food component array 350 preferably includes an antenna 270 for transceiving responsively to cellular module 76 . for the purpose of enhancing output and reception levels , antenna 270 is preferably a directional antenna or a horn antenna . fig4 illustrates array adapter 400 with an audio device 54 geared towards playing music , tunes or voice recordings , via a speaker 56 . preferably , an electronic and projecting unit 20 is electronically attached to or integrally formed with radio device 28 facilitating a user to listen to radio device 28 at will . preferably , radio device 28 is preset to a given station . array adapter 400 includes a cellular module 76 for readily facilitating a user to use array adapter 400 as a cellular phone pre - charged with a predetermined value of calls . thus , cellular module 76 can utilizes earphone jack 32 for readily accommodating earphone plug 34 , which earphone plug 34 is attached to , or integrally formed with earphone 36 or earphone set 38 . preferably earphone 36 or earphone set 38 include or are integrally formed with microphone 40 for readily facilitating two - way conversations with cellular module 76 . preferably , array adapter 400 includes a communication module 58 . communication module 58 is preferably selected from the group consisting of : a cellular communication module , a satellite communication module , a bluetooth communication module , an rf communication module , a local area network communication module an ir communication module and a wired communication module . communication module 58 preferably readily facilitates communication with a remote apparatus 60 . preferably , remote apparatus 60 is selected from the group consisting of : a computer , a pda and a cell phone . preferably , a multimedia module 375 is electronically attached to , or integrally formed with array adapter 400 such that multimedia module 375 can be remotely activated by a user . preferably , a control module 365 is electronically attached to or integrally formed with radio device 28 facilitating a user to listen to radio device 28 at will . preferably , array adapter 400 includes an adapter component array 450 . adapter component array 450 includes an external hydrogen supply 430 . for the purpose of sealing external hydrogen supply 430 to an upper surface 282 of adapter component array 450 , array adapter 400 further includes an external supply conduit 444 . external supply conduit 444 is preferably secured to array adapter 400 by way of an external supply conduit securer 414 . optionally , a fiber optic controller 222 is configured to fiber optically control at least one component of adapter component array 450 . for the purpose of controlling energy output and energy consumption of adapter component array 450 , an energy controller 360 is provided . energy controller 360 also controls flow of hydrogen through external hydrogen supply 430 by way of a flow controller 428 geared towards controlling flow of hydrogen through external hydrogen supply 430 . like above , adapter component array 450 includes a compressed hydrogen container 260 for readily providing hydrogen to a fuel cell 280 by way of a gas pipe 232 . preferably , an external supply conduit securer 414 readily secures fuel cell 280 . a pressure valve 261 is attached to , or integrally formed with , compressed hydrogen container 260 for readily controlling the pressure and / or quantities of hydrogen flowing from hydrogen container 260 to fuel cell 280 . preferably , energy controller 360 controls opening and closing pressure valve 261 as well as the quantity of hydrogen passing from compressed hydrogen container 260 . optionally , a hydrogen container securing element 228 is provided for securing hydrogen container 260 to adapter component array 450 . fuel cell 280 is geared towards an electrochemical conversion . fuel cell 280 preferably produces electricity from fuel on an anode side 234 and an oxidant on a cathode side 281 , which react in the presence of an electrolyte 244 . the reactants flow into fuel cell 280 , and the reaction products flow out of fuel cell 280 by way of a flow pipe 236 , while electrolyte 244 remains within fuel cell 280 . fuel cell 280 preferably operates substantially continuously as long as the flow to anode side 234 and cathode side 281 is maintained . fuel cell 280 is selected from the group consisting of an electrochemical cell , at least one battery which at least one battery consumes a reactant from an external source , which must be replenished , a thermodynamically open system , at least one battery storing electrical energy chemically and a thermodynamically closed system . preferably and as shown in fig4 as well , fuel cell 280 is a hydrogen fuel cell including hydrogen as its fuel and oxygen from air as its oxidant . hydrogen flows from hydrogen container 260 to anode side 234 and comes into contact with oxygen flowing from air flowing from outside adapter component array 450 through a filtered aperture 268 formed in adapter component array 450 . air flowing from filtered aperture 268 formed in adapter component array 450 travels through an air pipe 269 to cathode side 281 , thereby providing the oxygen as the oxidant . alternatively and by way of example only , other usable fuels instead of hydrogen include hydrocarbons and alcohols . by way of example only , other oxidants can include chlorine and chlorine dioxide . optionally , a catalyst 242 is situated between anode side 234 and cathode side 281 . preferably , adapter component array 450 includes a locking mechanism 254 . locking mechanism 254 is geared toward securing and locking adapter component array 450 to array adapter 400 . preferably , a component array closure 290 is readily removable by the manufacturer or a technician of array adapter 400 for the purpose of access , refueling fuel cell 280 and maintenance of adapter component array 450 . by way of an example only , an electromechanical solenoid 252 includes an electromagnetically inductive coil 256 , wound around a displaceable armature 248 . electromagnetically inductive coil 256 is shaped such that displaceable armature 248 is readily displaced in and out of the center of electromechanical solenoid 252 , altering inductance of electromagnetically inductive coil 256 and thereby becoming an electromagnet . displaceable armature 248 is geared towards providing a mechanical force to locking mechanism 254 . the force applied to displaceable armature 248 is proportional to the change in inductance of electromagnetically inductive coil 256 with respect to the change in position of displaceable armature 248 , and the current flowing through electromagnetically inductive coil 256 . the force applied to displaceable armature 248 will displace displaceable armature 248 in a direction that increases the inductance of electromagnetically inductive coil 256 . adapter component array 450 preferably includes a multi channel antenna 298 for transceiving responsively to cellular module 76 . adapter component array 450 preferably includes at least one interface selected from the group consisting of : a usb interface 258 , a pda interface 262 , a cellular interface 264 , a memory card interface 266 , a computer interface 272 and a control interface 274 . adapter component array 450 preferably includes a photographic module 299 geared towards capturing still images , clips and video images . multi channel antenna 298 is preferably an omni - directional antenna for low power transmission . cellular module 76 is powered by a power supply selected from the group consisting of : a main power supply 240 , a fuel cell 280 and photo electric array 220 . preferably , adapter component array 450 is secured to array adapter 400 by way of a locking mechanism 231 . locking mechanism 231 is geared towards fitting , replacing and / or recycling , maintenance and re - use of adapter component array 450 in additional adapter component arrays 450 . for the purpose of remote control of management of adapter component array 450 , a remote controller 370 is provided . preferably , array adapter 400 includes a coupler 410 for readily coupling and / or attaching array adapter 400 to electronic equipment , utility items , food containers , drink containers and the like . preferably , array adapter 400 includes an external power supplier 420 for external power supply to at least one component in adapter component arrays 450 . preferably , array adapter 400 includes an external control channel 440 for the purpose of wired communicating with external components and equipment as well as electronic equipment , utility items , food containers , drink containers and the like . a unidirectional valve 408 is attached to or integrally formed with external supply conduit 444 for the purpose of controlling flow of hydrogen from external hydrogen supply 430 . external supply conduit 444 optionally includes an attachment element 404 for the purpose of attaching and / or securing external supply conduit 444 , unidirectional valve 408 and / or external hydrogen supply 430 . preferably , external supply conduit 444 is attached to , or integrally formed with external control channel 440 by way of a conduit attachment 460 . optionally , external supply conduit 444 includes a control channel link 418 for readily relaying command and control links and / or instructions from external control channel 440 to adapter component array 450 . for the purpose of relaying commands and / instructions to fiber optic controller 222 , a fiber optic attachment 480 is attached to , or integrally formed with external supply conduit 444 . for the purpose of relaying power from external power supply 420 to fiber main power supply 240 , a power attachment 470 is attached to , or integrally formed with external supply conduit 444 . preferably , external supply conduit 444 includes a power link 448 for readily relaying power from external power supply 420 to adapter component array 450 . preferably , power link 448 is attached to , or integrally formed with power supply 240 by way of a power attachment 490 . for the purpose of controlling the content of flow reservoir 390 and / or drainage of flow reservoir 390 , a drainage pipe 434 is attached to or integrally formed with flow reservoir 390 . preferably , drainage from flow reservoir 390 can be readily controlled upon demand or alternatively can readily facilitate drainage of flow reservoir 390 substantially continuously . preferably , drainage pipe 434 readily facilitates removal of any material to the exterior of adapter component array 450 by way of a drainage aperture 438 formed in adapter component array 450 . optionally a drainage valve 422 is attached to drainage aperture 438 formed in adapter component array 450 for the purpose of selective drainage of flow reservoir 390 . optionally , control module 365 uses images and / or sounds held in a memory unit 380 . preferably , a hydrogen connector 424 connects between unidirectional valve 408 and flow controller 428 . fig5 illustrates a transport container 600 for transporting goods , food , drink and commodities . preferably , an array adapter 400 of fig4 is attached to , or integrally formed with , transport container for control and management of transport container 600 . like above , array adapter 400 includes an audio device 54 of fig4 geared towards playing music , tunes or voice recordings , via a speaker 56 of fig4 . preferably , an electronic and projecting unit 20 is electronically attached to or integrally formed with a display 612 of fig5 and a radio device 28 of fig4 facilitating a user to listen to radio device 28 at will . as shown in fig4 , array adapter 400 includes a cellular module 76 for readily facilitating a user to use array adapter 400 as a cellular phone pre - charged with a predetermined value of calls . thus , cellular module 76 can utilizes earphone jack 32 for readily accommodating earphone plug 34 , which earphone plug 34 is attached to , or integrally formed with earphone 36 or earphone set 38 . preferably earphone 36 or earphone set 38 include or are integrally formed with microphone 40 for readily facilitating two - way conversations with cellular module 76 . for the purpose of clarity , array adapter 400 of fig4 is expressly incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto . energy controller 360 also controls flow of hydrogen through external hydrogen supply 430 by way of flow controller 428 geared towards controlling flow of hydrogen through external hydrogen supply 430 . like above , adapter component array 450 includes a compressed hydrogen container 260 for readily providing hydrogen to a fuel cell 280 by way of a gas pipe 232 . preferably , external supply conduit securer 414 readily secures fuel cell 280 . preferably , an external hydrogen supply 620 is attached to , or integrally formed with transport container 600 . preferably , an external hydrogen supply valve 605 is controlled by array adapter 400 for controlling the quantity , rate and closure of supply valve 605 . preferably , an attachment pipe 606 connects between hydrogen supply valve 605 and external hydrogen supply 430 . preferably , transport container 600 includes a first closure 603 and a second closure 604 similarly to transport containers known in the art . optionally , second closure 604 includes a command panel 610 for readily controlling and displaying telemetry of transport container 600 . preferably , transport container 600 includes at least one telemetry sensor 611 selected from the group consisting of : a temperature sensor , a humidity sensor , a motion sensor , a security sensor , and an integrity sensor . preferably , command panel 610 includes an access control biometric mechanism 608 . for the purpose of readily facilitating transmission and / or receipt of commands from remote sources , an antenna 601 is attached to , or integrally formed with , transport container 600 and responsive to array adapter 400 . by way of example only , array adapter 400 may be retrofitted to transport containers 600 by way of situating array adapter 400 in upper part 607 of transport container 600 . alternatively , by way of an additional non limiting example only , array adapter 400 may be retrofitted to transport containers 600 by way of situating array adapter 400 in a compartment 602 formed in first closure 603 , thereby readily facilitating retrofitting of transport container 600 by way of replacing first closure 603 . fig6 illustrates a vending machine 88 with a multimedia module 90 for projecting an image or movies viewable on a display 94 . multimedia module 90 is geared towards producing sound , music and audio by way of a speaker 96 . vending machine 88 contains at least one food package 98 . multimedia module 90 is operated according to predetermined criteria e . g ., activating vending machine 88 , entering payment to vending machine 88 and the like . an electronic unit 100 and a projecting unit 102 project images 104 such that images 104 are viewable and images 104 can be seen from outside of vending machine 88 . preferably , substantially contemporaneously with electronic unit 100 playing sounds via speaker 96 , images 104 or a movie , substantially together with audible music and sound are played during consumption of food package 98 by the user . preferably , electronic unit 100 is electronically attached to or integrally formed with a radio device 106 facilitating a user to listen to the radio at will . preferably , radio device 106 is preset to a given station according to the intended consumers of the food / drink in vending machine 88 . preferably , electronic unit 100 is electronically attached to or integrally formed with a radio 106 facilitating a user to listen to radio device 106 at will . preferably , radio 106 is preset to a given station according to the intended consumers of food package 98 contained in vending machine 88 . preferably , vending machine 88 includes a cellular vending module 108 for readily facilitating a user to use a cellular phone to pay for food package 98 by billing the account of the user . preferably , vending machine 88 includes a door shaped closure 110 for closing vending machine 88 . preferably , vending machine 88 includes a remote control sub - system 113 for readily facilitating remote access to multimedia module 90 , a cooling unit 700 and an array adapter 400 . preferably , array adapter 400 includes a remote command module 370 . optionally , a remote apparatus 122 readily controls remote command module 370 . for the purpose of clarity , array adapter 400 of fig4 is expressly incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto . like above , array adapter 400 includes an adapter component array 450 . adapter component array 450 includes an external hydrogen supply 430 . optionally , remote apparatus 122 readily controls array adapter 400 of fig4 . preferably , vending machine 88 includes a communication module 120 . communication module 120 is preferably selected from the group consisting of : a cellular communication module , a satellite communication module , a bluetooth communication module , an re communication module , a local area network communication module an ir communication module and a wired communication module . communication module 120 preferably readily facilitates communication with a remote apparatus 122 . preferably , remote apparatus 122 is selected from the group consisting of : a computer , a pda and a cell phone . thus , multimedia module 90 is electronically attached to , or integrally formed with such that vending machine 88 can be remotely activated by a user . preferably , vending machine 88 includes an access control biometric mechanism 608 for the purpose of controlling access and / or replenishing or replacement of food packages 98 . preferably , multimedia module 90 can be used for projecting an image or movies viewable on an outside wall 92 . multimedia module 90 is operated according to predetermined criteria e . g ., opening vending machine 88 . preferably , substantially contemporaneously with electronic unit 100 playing sounds via speaker 96 , images 104 or a movie , substantially together with audible music and sound are played during consumption of food package 98 by the user . for the purpose of readily facilitating transmission and / or receipt of commands from remote sources , an antenna 710 is attached to , or integrally formed with , vending machine 88 and responsive to array adapter 400 . preferably , an adjustable display mount 720 situates and / or displaces display 94 to a pre - set direction . alternatively , adjustable display mount 720 is responsive to array adapter 400 to readily control displacement of display 94 to a specific angle or substantially continuously displace display 94 . an illumination source 730 is attached to vending machine 88 and responsive to commands from array adapter 400 . by way of a non - limiting example only , illumination source 730 includes and light emitting diodes ( led ) matrix 735 . light emitting diodes ( led ) matrix 735 is geared towards providing enhanced energy consumption properties and / or providing a plurality of colored illumination schemes . door shaped closure 110 preferably includes a handle 740 for readily facilitating of access and / or replenishing or replacement of food packages 98 . a plurality of food package bases 750 are provided for the purpose of situating , storing or securing food packages 98 in vending machine 88 . preferably , an external vending hydrogen supply 770 is attached to , or integrally formed with vending machine 88 . preferably , an external hydrogen vending supply valve 780 is controlled by array adapter 400 for controlling the quantity , rate and closure of vending supply valve 780 . preferably , an attachment vending pipe 790 connects between hydrogen vending supply valve 780 and external hydrogen supply 430 . optionally , multimedia module 375 is electronically attached to , or integrally formed with vending machine 88 such that multimedia module 375 can be remotely activated by a user , thereby inducing consumption of the contents of vending machine 88 . a control module 365 is electronically attached to or integrally formed with radio device 28 facilitating a user to listen to radio device 28 at will . preferably control module 365 controls cellular module 76 , projecting ; unit 102 , multimedia module 90 , electronic unit 100 and / or radio device 106 . fig7 shows a first drink dispenser 800 which utilizes a drink container 810 for the purpose of dispensing a drink 805 . preferably , drink container 810 attaches to drink dispenser 800 by way of a drink attachment 820 . preferably , drink attachment 820 attaches drink container 810 to drink dispenser 800 according to the methods known in the art for attaching drink containers to drink dispensers . similarly to methods known in the art , a drink pipe 802 is provided for readily facilitating transfer of drink 805 from drink container 810 to a dispensing unit 835 . here as well , array adapter 400 of fig4 is expressly incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto . fig7 shows array adapter 400 is preferably connected to dispensing unit 835 for the purpose of controlling and / or supervising dispensing unit 835 . preferably , a dispensing command panel 850 includes an access control biometric mechanism 608 . preferably , a temperature controlled outlet 860 is geared towards lowering the temperature of drink 805 to a prerequisite temperature . preferably , an enhanced temperature outlet 865 is geared towards raising the temperature of drink 805 to a prerequisite temperature . thus , either heated of cooled drinks 805 are readily dispensed by drink dispenser 800 . a drainage system 870 is provided for draining any overflow or spillage of drink 805 according to methods known in the art . a drainage pipe 804 preferably connects array adapter 400 and drainage system 870 . namely , drainage valve 422 is attached to drainage aperture 438 formed in adapter component array 450 for the purpose of selective drainage of flow reservoir 390 through drainage pipe 804 to drainage system 870 . here as well , external vending hydrogen supply 770 of fig6 is expressly incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto . external vending hydrogen supply 770 is attached to , or integrally formed with array adapter 400 for the purpose of providing hydrogen to array adapter 400 . preferably , drink dispenser 800 includes a plurality of indicators 840 for readily indicating proper function of drink dispenser , dispensing , drink , cooling , heating and proper function of array adapter 400 . fig8 shows a second drink dispenser 900 which utilizes an external drink supply 830 for the purpose of dispensing a drink . preferably , external drink supply 830 attaches to second drink dispenser 900 by way of an external drink attachment 920 . preferably , external drink attachment 920 attaches external drink supply 830 to second drink dispenser 800 according to the methods known in the art for attaching external drink supplies to drink dispensers . similarly to methods known in the art , a second drink pipe 902 is provided for readily facilitating transfer of drink from external drink supply 830 to a dispensing unit 835 . here as well , array adapter 400 of fig4 is expressly incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto . fig8 shows array adapter 400 preferably connected to dispensing unit 835 for the purpose of controlling and / or supervising dispensing unit 835 . here as well , a dispensing command panel 850 includes an access control biometric mechanism 608 . preferably , a temperature controlled outlet 860 is geared towards lowering the temperature of drink to a prerequisite temperature . preferably , an enhanced temperature outlet 865 is geared towards raising the temperature of drink to a prerequisite temperature . thus , either heated of cooled drinks are readily dispensed by second drink dispenser 900 . similarly , a drainage system 870 is provided for draining any overflow or spillage of drink according to methods known in the art . a second drainage pipe 904 preferably connects array adapter 400 and drainage system 870 . namely , a drainage valve 422 is attached to drainage aperture 438 formed in adapter component array 450 for the purpose of selective drainage of flow reservoir 390 through second drainage pipe 904 to drainage system 870 . here as well , external vending hydrogen supply 770 of fig6 is expressly incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto . external vending hydrogen supply 770 is attached to , or integrally formed with array adapter 400 for the purpose of providing hydrogen to array adapter 400 . preferably , second drink dispenser 900 includes a plurality of indicators 840 for readily indicating proper function of drink dispenser , dispensing , drink , cooling , heating and proper function of array adapter 400 although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof it is evident that many alternatives , modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art , accordingly , it is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims . | 0 |
referring to fig1 therein is depicted an agricultural sprayer 10 including a main frame 12 supported for forward movement over a field by front and rear ground wheels 14 and 16 powered by a conventional hydraulic drive arrangement ( not shown ). a vertically adjustable boom support frame 20 is connected to the rear of the frame 12 and supports a multi - section folding boom assembly 22 shown in the fully extended field working position for spraying a wide area . the assembly 22 is shown with five sections , including a center ( c ) section 30 , a left center ( lc ) section 31 and a right center ( rc ) section 32 connected to the center section 30 , and a left ( l ) outer section 33 and a right ( r ) outer section 34 connected to the sections 31 and 32 , respectively . the sprayer 10 may be generally of the type exemplified by the commercially available john deere model 4710 sprayer and includes an operator station 35 having a control console 36 ( fig3 a and 3 b ) and a main control handle 38 for controlling various sprayer and boom functions including sprayer drive functions . each of the sections 30 - 34 include spray nozzles 40 providing a desired spray pattern across the width of the sprayer . the sections are controlled by a spray control circuit 44 illustrated in fig2 and including electrically controlled valves 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , and 54 operably connected to the sections 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 and 34 , respectively . the valves 50 - 54 are connected to a main spray controller 60 which , in turn , is connected to a data entry and display device 62 , a rate selector switch 64 , and a bank of individual section control switches 66 , a master boom control switch structure 68 and a toggle switch structure 69 . although the spray control circuit 44 will be described using a conventional microprocessor - based device , it is to be understood that other types of controllers , such as conventional relay - based controllers or simple logic controllers , could also be utilized with the switching structure . in addition , section control can include individual nozzle or boom area control and control of devices other than valves to effect different types of spray patterns . the bank of control switches 66 includes manual switches 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 and 74 establishing a preselected condition for any one or more of the associated sections 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 and 34 , respectively . preferably , the preselected operating condition is a disable mode so that when one of the switches 70 - 74 is moved to disable position , the corresponding one of the spray valves 50 - 54 will remain off regardless of any other control inputs to the controller 60 . the switches 70 - 74 can , for example , be used to shut off the outer sections 33 and 34 when these sections are folded inwardly out of use . in addition , if a particular spray pattern is required that is not available utilizing the simplified toggle switching arrangement on the control handle , such as center section 30 off and the remaining sections on , the pattern can be easily provided with the control switches 66 . additional switches such as indicated at 75 and 76 may also be provided to control additional spray nozzles or additional sections on machines with more than five sections . only the sections which are not disabled by the control switches 66 of fig3 a ( non - disabled sections ) will be affected by operation of switch structure located on the control handle 38 . preferably the bank of control switches 66 is located on the console 36 at the operator station 35 adjacent but offset from the control handle 38 so the handle layout is simplified while still retaining full control of spray section patterns . the control handle 38 ( fig3 a and 3 b ) includes toggle or boom indexing switch structure 88 having reset , index left and index right momentary on switches 90 , 91 and 92 , respectively , connected to the controller 60 . the switches 91 and 92 are utilized to sequentially select spray sections which are not disabled by the switches 66 and to toggle the condition of the selected section . the switch 91 sequences the sections from right to left along the boom , while the switch 92 sequences the sections in the opposite direction or from left to right along the boom . the controller 60 polls the state of the switches 90 - 92 , and if , for example , the index left switch 91 is depressed with all the non - disabled sections in the on condition , the right - most non - disabled section is toggled to the off condition and the next section to the left is selected . pressing the switch 91 again turns off that next section . a non - disabled section is turned off and the next section is selected each time the switch 91 is depressed until the last non - disabled section is turned to the off condition . at that time , the right - most non - disabled section is again selected , and if the switch 91 is depressed without a reset via switch 90 , the right - most non - disabled section is returned to on condition , and the sequence continues . the index right switch 92 works in a similar fashion with the exception that sequencing is in the direction from the left side of the boom towards the right side . a flow chart for the toggling of the selected section is shown in fig4 . depressing the index right switch 92 after the index left switch 91 has turned a section off will cause the controller 60 to return the last toggled section back to the on condition . depressing the index left switch 91 after the index right switch 92 has turned a section off will return that section to the on condition . therefore , the outermost operating section on either side can be conveniently toggled on and off by alternately hitting the index left and index right switches 91 and 92 . at any time , the reset switch 90 may be depressed to return all the non - disabled sections to the on condition . once the non - disabled sections are returned to the on condition , repeatedly depressing the left index switch 91 will cause the controller 60 to turn off the non - disabled sections in turn from the right side of the boom towards the left side . after reset utilizing the switch 90 , depressing the index right switch 92 repeatedly will cause the controller to turn off the non - disabled sections sequentially from the left side of the boom towards the right . if the controller 60 detects that the master boom control switch 68 has been depressed during operation , the controller turns off all the nozzle sections on the sprayer . depressing the master switch 68 again causes the controller 60 to return the sprayer sections to their last operating conditions , unless a new spray pattern is selected by the switches 90 - 92 and / or the control switches 66 after the nozzle sections are turned off by the master switch 68 . the data entry and display device 62 includes a spray section condition panel 100 ( fig5 ) with sprayer section indices l , lc , c , rc , and r for a five - section machine . additional indices may be added to the panel 100 for machines with more sections . if a section is in the on condition , that section is visually highlighted so the operator can quickly and easily determine the spray pattern selected . the spray pattern may be easily changed utilizing the switches 90 - 92 and / or the switches 66 , while the master switch 68 is on or off , and the display panel 100 will highlight the nozzle sections ( see , for example , c , lc and rc of fig5 ) which are spraying or will be spraying when the master switch 68 returns the boom to the operating condition . in operation ( fig6 ) assuming the operator has all the spray sections 30 - 34 on , the sprayer 10 is driven forwardly with a full spray pattern until the right - most section 34 encounters an area 101 of a waterway or the like which is not to be sprayed . the operator depresses the index left switch 91 , and the controller 60 turns off the spray valve 54 so the section 34 stops spraying . as the spray boom approaches each of the non - spray areas 102 , 103 , 104 and 105 , the index left switch 91 is depressed to cause the sections 32 , 30 , 31 and 33 to stop spraying in that order until the entire boom is in a non - spraying condition for passing over the waterway . as the section 34 approaches an area 107 where spraying is to resume , the operator depresses the index left switch 91 again , which returns the section 34 to a spraying condition . the switch 91 is repeatedly pressed for the areas 108 , 109 , 110 and 111 until the entire boom is again spraying . depressing the index left switch 91 twice at the boundary to a non - spray area 114 sequentially turns off the sections 34 and 32 in turn to better follow the non - spray boundary . upon reaching the area 116 where spraying is to resume , the operator simply depresses the index right switch 92 to toggle the section 32 on . depressing the index right switch 92 again at the area 118 returns the section 34 to the spraying condition . as the sprayer 10 approaches an angled headland 120 , the index left switch 91 is depressed repeatedly to prevent spraying in the headland while providing optimum spray coverage at the end of the spray area . while turning on the end , the operator can hit the master switch 68 to turn off the entire boom . during the turn , the off conditions can be selected for all the sections except the right - most section 34 which will first encounter a spray area . since the boom sections were all toggled off already prior to the turn , the index left switch 91 may simply be depressed once to toggle the right - most section on . when spray area 130 is first encountered , the operator can then switch on the boom by briefly depressing the master switch 68 so the section 34 begins spraying . the index left switch 91 is depressed each time an adjacent section reaches a corresponding spray area . in a spray area where a skip pattern is required or where only one or more of the centrally located spray sections are to be turned off or left on , such as at area 140 , the operator can establish the desired pattern utilizing the section control switches 66 in combination with the toggle switch structure 69 . approaching the area 140 , the operator depresses the index left switch 91 twice to turn off the spray from sections 34 and 32 in turn and operates the individual switches 73 and 71 to turn off the sections 33 and 31 , respectively , one after the other as the sections begin to encounter the non - spray areas in the headland . having described the preferred embodiment , it will become apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims . | 1 |
detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein . it is to be understood , however , that the present invention may be embodied in various forms . therefore , specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system , structure or manner . the invention relates to a system 1 and method 2 to identify and authenticate the users and their transactions to increase security in e - commerce . fig1 illustrates a system to positively identify the users 10 in e - commerce based on digital identity . the system 1 comprises a plurality of users 10 , a plurality of external - entities 20 with goods and services that are desired by the users 10 and a central - entity 30 providing a unique username and password to the users 10 and generating dynamic , non - predictable and time dependent securecode for the users 10 per user &# 39 ; s request . there are also communication networks 50 for the user 10 , the central - entity 30 and the external - entity 20 to give and receive information between each other . it would be desirable to develop a new system 1 and method 2 to centralize user &# 39 ; s personal and financial information in a secure environment and to offer digital identity to the users 10 in order to provide privacy , increase security and reduce fraud in e - commerce . ideally , a secure identification and authentication system 1 would identify legitimate users 10 and unauthorized users 10 . this would increase the user &# 39 ; s trust , which leads to more sales and cash flow for the merchants / service providers . the present invention relates to a system 1 and method 2 to support this ideal identification and authentication system . for identification purpose , a digital identity ( a unique username and a dynamic , non - predictable and time dependent securecode ) is used by the user 10 at the time of ordering or at the time of accessing a restricted internet site . a series of steps describing the overall method are conducted between the users 10 , the central - entity 30 and the external - entity 20 and are outlined in fig3 , 5 . there are three distinct phases involved in using the centralized identification and authentication system fig2 , the first of which being the registration phase , which is depicted in fig3 . during the registration phase , the user 10 provides his personal or financial information to the central - entity 30 . the user 10 registers at the central - entity 30 , 100 , 104 and receives his account and login information such as username and password 108 . user 10 can access his account at any time by accessing the central - entity &# 39 ; s system using a communication network 50 and logging into the system . next is the transaction phase , where the user 10 attempts to access a restricted web site or attempts to buy services or products 110 , as illustrated in fig4 , through a standard interface provided by the external - entity 20 , similar to what exists today and selects digital identity as his identification and authorization or payment option . the external - entity 20 displays the access or purchase authorization form requesting the user 10 to authenticate himself using his username and securecode as digital identity . the user 10 requests securecode from the central - entity 30 by accessing his account over the communication network 50 , 114 . the central - entity 30 generates dynamic , non - predictable and time dependent securecode 118 for the user 10 . the central - entity 30 maintains a copy of the securecode for identification and authentication of the user 10 and issues the securecode to the user 10 . when the user 10 receives the securecode 120 , the user 10 provides his username and securecode as digital identity to the external - entity 20 , 124 , fig4 . the third phase is identification and authorization phase . once the user 10 provides his digital identity to the external - entity 20 , the external - entity 20 forwards user &# 39 ; s digital identity along with the identification and authentication request to the central - entity 30 , 130 , as illustrated in fig5 . when the central - entity 30 receives the request containing the user &# 39 ; s digital identity , the central - entity 30 locates the user &# 39 ; s digital identity ( username and securecode ) in the system 134 and compares it to the digital identity received from the external - entity 20 to identify and validate the user 10 , 138 . the central - entity 30 generates a reply back to the external - entity 20 via a communication network 50 as a result of the comparison . if both digital identities match , the central - entity 30 will identify the user 10 and will send an approval of the identification and authorization request to the external - entity 20 , 140 , otherwise will send a denial of the identification and authorization request to the external - entity 20 , 150 . the external - entity 20 receives the approval or denial response in a matter of seconds . the external - entity 20 might also display the identification and authentication response to the user 10 . to use the digital identity feature , the central - entity 30 provides the authorized user 10 the capability to obtain a dynamic , non - predictable and time dependent securecode . the user 10 will provide his username and securecode as digital identity to the external - entity 20 when this information is required by the external - entity 20 to identify the user 10 . the central - entity 30 may add other information to the securecode before sending it to the user 10 , by algorithmically combining securecode with user &# 39 ; s information such as username . the generated securecode will have all the information needed by the central - entity 30 to identify the user 10 . in this case the user will only need to provide his securecode as digital identity to the external - entity 20 for identification . in the preferred embodiment , the user 10 uses the communication network 50 to receive the securecode from the central - entity 30 . the user 10 submits the securecode in response to external - entity &# 39 ; s request 124 . the securecode is preferably implemented through the use of an indicator . this indicator has two states : “ on ” for valid and “ off ” for invalid . when the user 10 receives the securecode , the securecode is in “ on ” or “ valid ” state . the central - entity 30 may improve the level of security by invalidating the securecode after its use . this may increase the level of difficulty for unauthorized user . two events may cause a valid securecode to become invalid : 1 . timer event : this event occurs when the predefined time passes . as mentioned above the securecode is time dependent . 2 . validation event : this event occurs when the securecode forwarded to the central - entity 30 ( as part of digital identity ) corresponds to the user &# 39 ; s securecode held in the system . when this happens the central - entity 30 will invalidate the securecode to prevent future use and sends an approval identification and authorization message to the external - entity 20 , 140 . a valid digital identity corresponds to a valid securecode . when the securecode becomes invalid , the digital identity will also become invalid . while the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment , it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth , but on the contrary , it is intended to cover such alternatives , modifications , and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 6 |
it is realized herein that a reduction in the quantity of catastrophic failures of electronic devices due to drops translates to potentially significant cost savings in refurbishments . glass display and touch screen component failures are very common with drops . it is realized herein that drops can be mitigated without additional padding , hard - side cases or protective shells . it is realized herein that impacts on certain points of electronic devices are statistically more catastrophic than others . for example , a corner impact is more likely to cause catastrophic failure than a full - edge impact . likewise , an impact on the display is more likely catastrophic than an impact on the opposite back shell . catastrophic failures may not be entirely eliminated , but a reduction in the likelihood of a catastrophic failure yields savings when applied over hundreds of thousands or even millions of electronic devices . many modern electronic devices employ motion sensors for a variety of purposes , including user input and video output orientation . it is realized herein that these same sensors may be employed to detect and mitigate a free - fall . the sensors are capable of generating orientation and acceleration data sufficient to detect the fall , predict an impact and influence the dynamics of the remaining duration of the fall . it is realized herein that catastrophic impacts can be mitigated with a roll compensation calculated to bring about a full - edge strike as opposed to a corner strike . robust surfaces of the electronic device can be favored in a free - fall and the more sensitive surfaces protected . it is further realized herein the roll compensation can be achieved by an electrically actuated mass coupled to the electronic device . precise actuation of the mass can generate the necessary accelerations ( e . g ., manipulations ) to effectively dictate the impact point on the electronic device . an alternative embodiment employs an active response that is not mass - based . for example , one or more air bags or edge cushions could deploy automatically upon detection of a fall to cushion the landing . having generally described mitigation of shock due to dropping an electronic device , various embodiments of the system or method for mitigating shock failure introduced herein will be described . fig1 is a diagram of one embodiment of an electronic device 110 incorporating a system or method for mitigating shock failure therein . electronic device 110 includes a screen 120 and a roll compensation system having sensors 130 , a controller 140 and a compensator 150 . electronic device 110 may , in certain embodiments , be a cellular phone or tablet computing device . in other embodiments , electronic device 110 is a hand - held digital media device , such as an mp3 player . many modern devices employ screen 120 as a primary user interface , often employing touch - screen capability and adding to the criticality of a glass failure . sensors 130 are coupled to controller 140 and are configured to detect orientation of and accelerations along three orthogonal axis . as electronic device 110 enters into a free - fall , gravitational accelerations are induced over a period of time . sensors 130 measure the accelerations and the free - fall is recognized . upon the recognition , controller 140 makes a determination of an initial orientation and rotation of electronic device 110 . the determination is based on orientation and acceleration data generated by sensors 130 . given the initial orientation and rotation ( and , in some embodiments , an assumed initial height of the free - fall ), controller 140 projects what the orientation of electronic device 110 will be upon impact , otherwise known as a terminal orientation . in certain embodiments , the assumed initial height is configurable by user input , while in others initial height is derived from collected data from previous free - falls and impacts . the terminal orientation may indicate an impact point that is statistically more catastrophic than others . for instance , impacts on a corner of electronic device 110 deliver a larger shock to screen 120 making it more likely the glass or touch screen components of screen 120 break . conversely , if the impact point is a full edge of electronic device 110 , the shock is more likely to be dampened and absorbed , and more likely that screen 120 survives the impact . in one embodiment , a manufacturer models for a particular device an “ optimal ” strike orientation based on a knowledge of component and material properties and assembly data , such as solder stress , plastic brittleness , attachment strength and adhesive shear strength . given the projected terminal orientation , controller 140 determines a statistically more favorable terminal orientation such that the impact point is less likely to cause a catastrophic failure of screen 120 or electronic device 110 as a whole . the favored terminal orientation will be achievable by a roll compensation carried out by compensator 150 . in some embodiments , controller 140 calculates accelerations and moments necessary to generate the desired roll compensation . in some scenarios the desired roll compensation accelerates the roll induced by the free - fall . in other scenarios the desired roll compensation decelerates the roll induced by the free - fall . by either speeding or slowing the rotation of electronic device 110 , the terminal orientation is changed and provides for a statistically more survivable impact . in some embodiments , compensator 150 is an electrically actuated mass that is coupled to and controlled by controller 140 . in the embodiment of fig1 , compensator 150 includes a massive disk as a rotor configured to rotate about one axis of electronic device 110 . the massive disk configuration allows for two - dimensional roll compensation . alternate embodiments may provide for three - dimensional roll compensation by employing an electrically actuated massive sphere or a second , orthogonally oriented massive disk . in other embodiments , battery cells may be used as a moveable mass in lieu of a dedicated mass as just described . accordingly , one or more batteries may be movably mounted such that various moments could be induced into them to provide roll compensation . in principle , anything that could be moved “ far enough ” or “ fast enough ” with “ sufficient mass ” can be employed . it will be apparent to those skilled in the pertinent art that the more mass or acceleration , the greater the response can be . in the embodiment of fig1 , controller 140 commands compensator 150 to accelerate the massive disk to generate a moment about the axis of rotation . this moment , over time , is calculated to manifest as roll compensation , which statistically mitigates the free - fall and impending impact . in certain embodiments , a mass is accelerated ( manipulated ) such that a falling , spinning , electronic device can be reoriented and stabilized at a desired orientation . such embodiments may employ an active , perhaps continuous , feedback control loop operable to adjust , moment by moment , the massive disk such that the electronic device reaches a target orientation . thus , one should understand that the teachings herein do not preclude repeatedly reassessing and adaptively changing orientation such that reorientation is at least a continual and active process . fig2 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method of mitigating shock failure in an electronic device . the method begins at a start step 210 . at a step 220 , the electronic device is detected to be in a state of free - fall . upon this detection , an initial orientation and rotation of the electronic device is determined at a step 230 . given the determine initial orientation and rotation , an orientation at impact , or terminal orientation , is determined at a step 240 . estimating the terminal orientation requires knowledge or an assumption of a height of the fall . the height may , in certain embodiments be retrieved from data collected during previous falls . alternatively , the height may be configured by a user or manufacturer of the electronic device . at a step 250 , the estimated terminal orientation is employed in determining a desired terminal orientation that is calculated to be statistically less catastrophic than the estimated terminal orientation . this determination is based on the achievability of the desired terminal orientation with respect to its proximity to the estimated terminal orientation , an estimated duration of the fall and the speed with which the rotation of the electronic device can be controlled and ultimately accelerated or decelerated . a necessary compensating acceleration is determined at a step 260 . the compensating acceleration is then translated to a command for a compensator that is driven accordingly at a step 270 . the acceleration of the compensator is calculated to either slow or speed the rotation of the electronic device , thus achieving the desired terminal orientation . the method then ends at a step 280 . those skilled in the art to which this application relates will appreciate that other and further additions , deletions , substitutions and modifications may be made to the described embodiments . | 6 |
fig2 shows a portion of a resistive memory device according to the invention . the device includes an array 200 of magnetic random access memory ( mram ) elements , a plurality of electrically conductive row lines 210 , and a plurality of electrically conductive column lines 220 . each row line is connected to each of the plurality of column lines by a respective mram resistive element 230 . a plurality of switches 240 , typically implemented as transistors , are each switchingly connected between one of the row lines and a first source of constant potential ( ground ) 250 . a plurality of sensing circuits 260 , are respectively connected to the plurality of column lines 220 . each sensing circuit 260 includes a source of constant electrical potential ( v a ) which is applied to the respective column line . a plurality of pull - up voltage sources 215 , supplying voltage v a , are respectively connected to each of the plurality of row lines 210 . in operation , an exemplary switch 240 , such as switch 270 associated with a particular row line 280 , is dosed so as to bring that row line to ground potential and a particular column line , e . g ., 320 is sensed to read the resistance value of a particular resistor 310 . fig3 , shows the resulting electrical circuit for the relevant portion 300 of the memory array when row 280 is grounded . as shown , memory element 310 to be sensed is connected between a grounded row line 280 and a particular column line 320 . also connected to the column line 320 are a plurality of other resistive memory elements ( e . g . elements 330 , 340 , 350 , 360 , 370 ) each of which is connected at its opposite end to a pull - up voltage source v a 215 through a respective row line 210 . in addition , a respective sensing circuit 400 is connected to the column line 320 . the sensing circuit 400 includes a voltage supply that maintains the column line 320 at electrical potential v a . the other resistive memory elements ( those tied to ungrounded row lines ) 330 , 340 , 350 , 360 , 370 , form an equivalent resistance referred to as sneak resistance . the effective resistance of the sneak resistance is small . a typical value for sneak resistance might be 1 kω . nevertheless , because both ends of each ungrounded resistor are ideally maintained at the same potential ( here v a ) as the column line 320 , net current flow through the sneak resistance is desirably nearly zero . in contrast , a measurable current flows through the grounded resistor memory element 310 . this measurable current allows evaluation of the resistance of the memory element 310 by the sensing circuit 400 . one proposal for sensing the resistance value of a memory cell is to charge a capacitor to a predetermined first voltage and then discharge the capacitor through the memory cell resistance until it holds a second lower predetermined voltage . the time taken for the capacitor to discharge from the first to the second voltage is a measure of cell resistance . a problem with this approach is that since the resistance values representing the different logic states of a cell are very dose in value ( only 5 % difference ) it is difficult to obtain an accurate and reliable resistance measurement , even if digital counting techniques are employed to measure the discharge time of the capacitor . thus , even when using digital counting techniques , the discharge time of the capacitor must be counted quite precisely to sense the different resistance values and distinguish logic states . to achieve this precision , either the counting clock must be operated at a high frequency or the capacitor must be disc relatively slowly . neither of these options is desirable , since slow capacitor discharge means slow reading of stored memory values , and a high dock frequency requires high frequency components . in either case , a counter having a large number of stages is also required . the present invention provides a resistive measuring circuit and operating method which rapidly ascertains a resistive value without storing large data counts , and without requiring highly precisioned components . fig4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a resistance sensing circuit 500 constructed in accordance with the invention . sensing circuit 500 relies on the cyclical discharge of a capacitor 510 to determine the value of a memory cell resistance 520 . the duty cycle of a recharging signal for the capacitor 510 represents a value of resistance 520 . the resistance measuring circuit 500 outputs a bit stream from an output 900 of a comparator 910 . the ratio of logic one bits to a total number of bits ( or , in and other aspect of the invention , the ratio of logic one bits to logic zero bits ) in the bit stream yields a numerical value . this numerical value corresponds to the current that flows through the resistance 520 in response to a known applied voltage . for example , assume that a current source can deliver current at two discrete current levels , corresponding to two different states of a logical input signal . when the signal is in logic one state , the source delivers , for example , 2 μa . when the signal is in a logic zero state , the source delivers , for example , 0 μa . the logical input signal is monitored over a finite time span corresponding to a number of bit - length time periods . over that time span , the number of logic one and logic zero bits arc recorded . by straightforward algebra , the average current delivered by the current source over the corresponding time span may be calculated as follows : iavg = ( number of logic 1 bits ) * 2 μa + ( number of logic 0 bits ) * 0 μa total number of bits in the signal as an example , if , over a time span corresponding to 4 cycles , there is one logic one bit and three logic zero bits then the average current over the four cycles is 0 . 5 μa . iavg = 1 * 2 μa + 3 * 0 μa 4 = 0 . 5 μa the operation of the fig4 sensing circuit is now described in greater detail . an mram resistive memory element 520 to be sensed has a first end 530 connected to a column line 540 and a second end 550 connected to ground 250 through a row line 560 and switch 565 . also connected to the column line 540 is a first end 570 of a sneak resistance 580 . the sneak resistance has a second end 590 connected to a source of constant potential v a 215 . the sneak resistance 580 represents a plurality of mram resistive elements associated with the particular column line 540 and with a respective plurality of unselected row lines , as described above with reference to fig3 . a first operational amplifier ( op - amp ) integrator 600 is provided which has a non - inverting ( positive ) input 610 , an inverting ( negative ) input 620 , a calibrate offset input 630 , and an output 640 . the output 640 of the first op - amp 600 is connected to a control input ( gate ) 700 of a first transistor 710 , which in this exemplary embodiment is an n - channel transistor . the first transistor 710 includes a drain 720 connected to both the selected column line 540 and the inverting input 620 of the first op - amp 600 . the first transistor also includes a source 730 operatively connected to a first terminal 740 of a capacitor 510 . the capacitor 510 includes a second terminal 750 operatively connected to a ground potential 250 . the source 730 of the first transistor 710 is also connected to a drain 760 of a second transistor 770 . in this exemplary embodiment , this second transistor 770 is a pmos transistor . the second transistor 770 includes a source 780 and a gate 790 , in addition to the drain 760 . the source 780 is operatively connected to a supply voltage 800 , which in this exemplary embodiment is 2 . 5 volts . the gate 790 is operatively connected to an output 900 of a docked comparator 910 . the docked comparator 910 , shown as a docked second operational amplifier , includes the output 900 , a non - inverting ( positive ) input 920 , an inverting ( negative ) input 930 , and a dock input 940 connected to a source of a dock signal 950 . the comparator 910 may be implemented as a simple docked latch , or the comparator 910 may be simply enabled by the dock clk signal . the output 900 of the second op - amp is also connected to a counter 1000 which counts the rising transitions at the comparator output 900 . the non - inverting input 920 of the second op - amp 910 is connected to a source of a reference voltage 960 ( 1 volt in the exemplary embodiment shown ). a second counter 1010 counts the total number of transitions of the dock 950 during a measuring cycle . this counter 1010 includes an input 1020 for receiving dock signal 950 and at output 1030 that exhibits a signal when counter 1010 reaches a predetermined count . the output 1030 is connected to a latch input 1040 of a latching buffer 1050 . the latching buffer 1050 includes a data input 1060 and data output 1070 . the data input 1060 is connected to a data output 1080 of the first counter 1000 . the data output 1070 is connected to a first data input 1090 of a digital comparator 1100 . the digital comparator 1100 includes a second data input 1110 connected to a data output 1120 of a source of a reference value 1130 . in one embodiment , the source of the reference value 1130 is a buffer or other device holding a digital number . the sensing circuit 500 operates in the following manner when activated when a row line is grounded and a resistance value is to be sensed . capacitor 510 is initially discharged , resulting in a negative output signal on the output 900 of the second op - amp 910 . this causes the second transistor 770 to be placed in a conductive state , permitting capacitor 510 to begin charging . when the voltage on capacitor 510 equals that applied to the non - inverting input 920 of the second op - amp 910 ( here 1 volt ), the output 900 of the second op - amp changes state to a positive value at the next transition of the dock 950 . this turns off the second transistor 770 . the charge stored on capacitor 510 is discharged through the first transistor 710 and cell resistance 520 under the control of the first op - amp 600 . the first op - amp 600 tries to maintain a constant voltage va on the selected column line 540 . as charge is depleted from capacitor 510 the voltage on the capacitor drops until it falls below the voltage ( 1 volt ) applied to the reference input 920 of the clocked comparator 910 . after this threshold is passed , the next positive dock transition applied to the dock input 940 causes the output of comparator 910 to go low again turning on the second transistor 770 and causing current to begin flowing through the second transistor 770 to recharge capacitor 510 . in one embodiment , the capacitor 510 is recharged during one dock cycle of dock source 950 , so the comparator output 900 switches to high and the second transistor 770 is shut off again at the next positive dock transition . transistor 770 is sized to allow a substantially constant current ( e . g ., 2 . 5 μa ) to flow to capacitor 510 when transistor 770 is in a conductive state . the described charging and discharging of capacitor 510 under the control of the first 710 and second 770 transistors occurs repeatedly during one sense cycle . each time the output of the comparator 910 goes low , a current pulse is allowed to pass through the second transistor 770 and the first counter 1000 incremented . each time the dock signal 950 transitions positive , the second counter 1010 is incremented . when the second counter 1010 reaches a preset value , it triggers the latch 1050 , which latches that number of pulses counted by the first counter 1000 during the sensing period . the number of pulses counted is latched onto the data output 1070 ( and data input 1090 ). the comparator 1100 then evaluates the values presented at the first and second data inputs 1090 , 1110 , and ascertains whether the value at the first data input 1090 is larger or smaller than the reference value at the second data input 1110 . the reference value at input 1110 is set between two count values which correspond to “ hi ” and “ low ” resistance states for resistor 520 . thus if the value of the first data input 1090 is larger than the reference value , then a first logical value ( e . g . logic one ) is output on an output 1140 of the digital comparator 1100 . if the value of the first data input 1090 is smaller than the reference value , then a second logical value ( e . g . logic zero ) is output on the output 1140 of the digital comparator 1100 . in a variation , a comparator 1100 capable of comparing the digital value applied at the data input 1090 to a plurality of reference values 1110 can distinguish a value stored in a single resistive memory element as between multiple resistance values . in a further variation , the capacitor 510 is pre - charged prior to a measuring cycle . by pre - charging the capacitor 510 , the number of cycles of the dock signal 950 required to measure the state of the memory element is reduced . in another variation the capacitor is not pre - charged , in which case sensing the resistance of the memory dement takes longer , but the circuitry and / or process is simplified . fig5 and 6 show an exemplary relationship between the output signal produced at output 900 of the clocked comparator 910 and the voltage on capacitor 510 over time . fig5 shows the output signal produced by the , docked comparator when a 100 mhz dock signal is applied to the clock input 940 . at a dock frequency of 100 mhz , clock pulses are spaced at an interval of 10 ns . in the example shown , the output of the clocked comparator is high 1160 for one dock pulse ( 10 ns ) and low 1170 for three dock pulses ( 30 ns ). this corresponds to the voltage waveform shown in fig6 . in fig6 , the voltage of the capacitor 510 is shown to begin rising when the output 900 of the clocked comparator goes low ( time a ), thereby turning on the pmos transistor 770 . the voltage rises for 30 ns , or three clock pulses until time b . at time b , the output of the clocked comparator goes high again , turning off the pmos transistor . the voltage on the capacitor 510 then begins to drop again while the pmos device remains off for one clock pulse , or 10 ns ( until time c ). accordingly , in the example shown , the duty cycle of the signal output by the docked comparator 910 is 75 % ( three on - pulses for every off - pulse ). fig9 shows a computer system 1200 including a digital memory 1210 having a resistance measuring memory cell sensor according to the invention . the computer 1200 , as shown includes a central processing unit ( cpu ) 1220 , for example , a microprocessor , that communicates with one or more input / output ( i / o ) devices 1230 over a bus 1240 . the computer system also includes peripheral devices such as disk storage 1250 and a user interface 1260 . it may be desirable to integrate the processor and memory on a single ic chip . while preferred embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated above , it should be understood that these are exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting . additions , deletions , substitutions , and other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention . accordingly , the invention is not to be considered as limited by the foregoing description but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
as shown in fig1 an end fitting grid plate 10 meshes with a parallel pair of end fitting grid plates 11 , 12 . as shown in the drawing , the grid plate 10 has a pair of parallel slots 13 , 14 that extend from transverse edge 15 of the plate 10 through about half the width of the plate . the slots 13 , 14 , moreover , are just slightly wider than the thicknesses of the respective grid plates 11 , 12 that are nested within these slots . thus , as shown in fig1 the grid plates 11 , 12 are perpendicular to and mesh with the plate 10 . the grid plates 11 , 12 also have widths that are essentially equal to the width of the plate 10 . the plates 11 , 12 also are provided with mating slots , as shown by means of broken lines 16 , 17 which illustrate the continuation of these plates in a direction that is perpendicular to the plate 10 beyond the plane of fig1 . further in this respect , the meshed grid plates 10 , 11 and 10 , 12 each form mutual intersection lines 20 , 21 respectively . further recesses 22 , 23 are formed at the intersections of the grid plates 10 , 11 and 10 , 12 , respectively to extend below the transverse edge 15 of the grid plate 10 . the widthwise edges of the recesses 22 , 23 also are equidistantly spaced from the respective mutual intersection lines 20 , 21 as indicated in the drawing . in this way , the recesses 22 , 23 that are formed in the grid plates 10 , 11 , 12 all combine to form wells 28 , 29 . hollow , generally cylindrical sockets 24 , 25 are received in respective recesses 22 , 23 . the outside diameters of the sockets 24 , 25 are sufficient to provide a snug fit in the respective recesses . with respect to the length of the sockets 24 , 25 , however , in the illustrative embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing , the sockets protrude well above the transverse edge 15 of the grid plate 10 , the protrusion above the edge 15 in the direction of the intersection lines 20 , 21 , the extension above the edge 15 being slightly greater than the depths of the recesses 22 , 23 that receive the respective sockets 24 , 25 . in accordance with a feature of the invention , two separate sets 26 , 27 of three detents 30 , 31 each are pressed into the surface of the socket 24 . as illustrated , the detents 30 , 31 in the sets 26 , 27 , respectively are arranged in general parallel alignment with the mutual intersection line 20 . these detents , moreover , protrude inwardly into the hollow center of the socket 24 . similar sets of detents , of which only detent set 32 is shown in fig1 of the drawing , also are formed in the socket 25 . for illustrative purposes , an end portion of a long , slender and generally cylindrical fuel rod 33 is shown in its engaged position within the socket 25 . the terminal portion of the fuel rod 33 has a substantially cylindrical plug 34 with an outside diameter that is appreciably smaller than the general outside diameter of the main portion of the fuel rod 33 . as shown , the plug 34 has a length that is slightly greater than the length of the cylindrical axis of the socket 25 . further in accordance with the invention , the extreme end portion of the plug 34 that is received within the socket 25 is provided with an annular groove 35 that matches in depth the radially inward extension of the individual detents in the detent set 32 . thus , a detent 36 in the detent set 32 , and a detent in a set in the socket 25 that is out of the plane of the drawing that corresponds , however , to the detent set 27 in the socket 24 also engages the groove 35 . the combination of detents and the groove in the end portion of the fuel rod 33 is sufficient to keep the rod mounted in its respective socket . although it is not shown in the drawing , an equivalent end fitting grid structure engages the opposite end of the fuel rod 33 . in accordance with the invention , each fuel rod in the fuel assembly is engaged at its extremeties by means of individual sets of sockets in the manner described with respect to the socket 25 and the fuel rod 33 . consequently , each fuel rod ( in a fuel assembly that might accommodate two hundred or more of these rods ) need sustain only its own weight and the proportionate share of the weight of the associated grid structures that are used to enhance the structural integrity of the fuel assembly . thus , the individual detent and groove construction described herein is sufficiently strong to permit the fuel assembly to be handled as a single unit during reactor core loading , spent fuel removal , and the like . in operation , an array of grid plates 37 , 40 , 41 , 42 as shown in fig2 are meshed together to form the rectangular end fitting cell structure that is shown in fig2 . through welding , brazing or other suitable means the meshed grid plates are secured together to form the preferred cellular structure . hollow annular sockets 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 are seated in respective recesses formed at the mutual intersections of the grid plates 37 , 40 , 41 , 42 and , as illustrated in fig2 and are welded , brazed or otherwise secured to the grid structure . fuel rod ends of the type shown in fig1 are aligned each with one of the respective sockets 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 and pressed into the sockets with sufficient force and to a sufficient depth within the individual sockets to establish engagement between detents and grooves in the manner that is shown in fig1 with respect to the detent 36 and the groove 35 . the grid structures that sustain the mid - portion of the fuel rods in the assembly are positioned on these rods . a typical structure of this character is described in more complete detail in f . s . jabsen u . s . pat . no . 3 , 665 , 586 granted may 30 , 1972 for &# 34 ; nuclear fuel rod supporting arrangements &# 34 ;. the remaining unsecured ends of the array of fuel rods in the fuel assembly are pressed into another end fitting grid structure ( not shown in the drawing ). this final end fitting is , in its essential parts that relate to engaging the fuel rod ends essentially as shown in fig1 and 2 . because the detent - groove combination in each fuel rod and associated pair of sockets need sustain only a small portion of the overall weight of the fuel assembly , this connection provides adequate strength for raising a complete fuel assembly from a transportation container and positioning the assembly within a reactor core . the strength provided by these connections , moreover , is sufficient to preserve the structural integrity of the fuel assembly against earth tremors , hydraulic forces and the like , while permitting a used or partially used fuel assembly to be lifted out of the reactor core for inspection or replacement . naturally , the detent and groove structure described herein also is suitable for application to control rod guide tubes and other fuel assembly structures with equal advantage . | 6 |
fig1 , 2 and 3 show a traction element 10 with an edge region 16 which extends from the side edge 18 in the width direction , a first roller 12 , a second roller 26 and a guide roller 14 . for purposes of better illustration , the second roller 26 is not shown in fig1 . the traction element 10 is deflected over the second roller 26 and the first roller 12 in the direction of the arrow 20 . the rollers 12 , 26 determine the movement plane of the traction element 10 , wherein the traction element 10 is pre - stressed by the rollers 12 , 26 . in the illustration according to fig2 , the movement plane of the traction element 10 corresponds to the tangential plane which is formed by the rollers 12 , 26 and which is indicated in fig2 by the dashed line 38 . in the movement direction of the traction element 10 in front of the first roller 12 , a guide roller 14 is arranged , the guide roller 14 acting on the surface of the traction element 10 in the edge region 16 thereof and deflecting the edge region 16 out of the movement plane 38 of the traction element 10 before the traction element runs onto the first roller 12 . the traction element 10 runs through here between the guide roller 14 and the first roller 12 . the guide roller 14 has a conical casing shape , wherein the diameter decreases in the width direction of the traction element 10 . the axis 24 of the guide roller 14 extends at an angle relative to the axis 22 of the first roller 12 , with the result that the magnitude of the defection of the edge region 16 decreases continuously starting from the side edge 18 thereof . the width of the deflected edge region 16 is determined by the width of the contact face of the guide roller 14 with the traction element 10 . as is apparent from fig2 , the edge region 16 is deflected out from the movement plane of the traction element 10 , with the result that the traction element 10 runs onto the first roller 12 starting from the first side edge 18 . furthermore , fig1 and 3 show that a lateral offset of the side edge 18 in the direction of the axis 22 of the first roller 12 additionally results from the deflection of the edge region 16 via the guide roller 14 . fig3 shows in this connection oblique running of the traction element 10 which is corrected by the deflection of the edge region 16 . in order to illustrate better the magnitude of the lateral offset 42 of the side edge 18 , fig3 shows a dashed line 40 which indicates the course of the side edge 18 , as it would be if not for the deflection of the edge region 16 by the guide roller 14 . as can also be discerned from the illustration in fig3 , the first roller 12 and the second roller 26 are mounted so as to be rotatable between two side elements 28 , 30 . the guide roller 14 is , on the other hand , mounted in a cantilevered fashion on just one of the side elements 28 . the side elements 28 , 30 can , for example , be components of a frame of a round baler ( not illustrated ). fig4 shows a further embodiment of the device which is illustrated in fig3 and in which , in addition to the traction element 10 , a second traction element 110 , a second guide roller 36 and a third guide roller 120 are also provided . the traction element 10 has , in addition to the edge region 16 , a second edge region 32 on the opposite side , which second edge region 32 extends from the second side edge 34 of the traction element 10 in the direction of the width thereof or in the direction of the side edge 18 . the second traction element 110 and the third guide roller 120 are arranged in mirror - symmetrical fashion with respect to the traction element 10 and the guide roller 14 in fig4 , wherein the second traction element 110 also has two edge regions 112 , 116 which extend from the side edges of the traction element 110 . the edge region 112 of the second traction element 110 is assigned here to the third guide roller 120 , wherein the latter is deflected by the third guide roller 120 , like the edge region 16 of the traction element 10 . in order to avoid repetitions , reference is therefore made to the description of fig1 to 3 . the function of the guide roller 14 which extends along the axis 24 and deflects the edge region 16 of the traction element 10 corresponds here to the function of the third guide roller 120 which extends along the axis 124 and which deflects the edge region 112 of the second traction element 110 . the second guide roller 36 , which is in the shape of a double cone , is arranged between the two traction elements 10 , 110 . each of the traction elements 10 , 110 is assigned here a conical section 44 , 122 , wherein the conical section 44 deflects the second edge region 32 of the traction element 10 , and the second conical region 122 deflects the second edge region 116 of the second traction element 110 . the axis 46 of the second guide roller 36 extends here essentially parallel to the axis 22 of the first roller 12 . the adjacent second edge regions 32 , 116 of the traction element 10 , 110 which run one next to the other are deflected by the second guide roller 36 in the same way as the edge region 16 of the traction element 10 . reference is made in this respect to the description of fig1 to 3 . having described the preferred embodiment , it will become apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims . | 0 |
the making and using of the presently preferred embodiments are discussed in detail below . it should be appreciated , however , that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts . the specific embodiments discussed are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention , and do not limit the scope of the invention . fig1 illustrates an interchangeable corner hanger 102 placed on a corner structure 104 protruding from a supporting wall 103 in accordance with an embodiment , wherein the corner hanger 102 is shaped as a dog such that the leg of the dog hangs over a corner of the corner structure 104 to provide stability . in this embodiment , the corner structure 104 is illustrated as trim around a doorway for illustrative purposes only . in other embodiments , the corner structure 104 may be trim around a window , a mirror , a light plate switch , or the like . the corner hanger 104 may be formed of any suitable material , such as wood , plastic , or the like , and be of any suitable thickness . in an embodiment in which the corner structure 104 is trim around a doorway , the corner hanger 102 is formed of wood having a thickness of about one - eighth of an inch . the corner hanger 102 has a horizontal portion 106 and a vertical portion 108 . the horizontal portion 106 has one or more contact points 107 designed to rest upon an upper surface 112 of the corner structure 104 . while the embodiment illustrated in fig1 illustrates that substantially all of a bottom surface 110 of the corner hanger 102 contacts the upper surface 112 of the corner structure 104 , in other embodiments , portions of the bottom surface 110 may have multiple contact points such that not all of the bottom surface 110 contacts the upper surface 112 of the corner structure 104 . the vertical portion 108 extends over a corner of the corner structure 104 and provides stability and balance to the corner hanger 102 , allowing the corner hanger 102 to stay in place without need of fasteners , such as glue , velcro , nails , screws , or the like . by extending a portion of the corner hanger 102 over the corner of the corner structure 104 in the manner illustrated in fig1 , the center of gravity is effectively lowered relative to the upper surface 112 of the corner structure 104 . it has been found that in this manner , it allows the corner hanger 102 to remain in place , even over a door trim with the door being repeatedly slammed shut . without the vertical portion 108 , the center of gravity would be considerably higher and provides a much less stable structure . in an embodiment , the center of gravity is lower than about two inches above the upper surface 112 of the corner structure 104 . for example , in an embodiment , the center of gravity is lower than the upper surface 112 of the corner structure 104 . the vertical portion 108 may further rest against the supporting wall 103 , such that the supporting wall 103 provides an anti - tipping effect . as can be appreciated , a structure comprising only the horizontal portion has a fulcrum or point of rotation along a joint between the contact points 107 and the upper surface 112 of the corner structure 104 and , as a result , could easily tip over . the vertical extension of the vertical portion 108 , however , restricts the tipping motion , because as the horizontal portion 106 tips , the vertical portion 108 is “ pushed into ” the wall . in this manner , as the wall prevents the vertical portion 108 from rotating into the wall , the horizontal portion 106 is prevented from tipping over . it should be appreciated that the larger the vertical portion 108 is relative to the horizontal portion 106 , the more stable the corner hanger 102 may be . further , it should be noted that the vertical height of the horizontal portion 106 also affects the stability , wherein the greater the vertical height of the horizontal portion 106 , the less stable . accordingly , the greater the vertical height of the horizontal portion 106 , it may be desirable to increase the size of the vertical portion 108 . embodiments of the corner hanger 102 may be easily replaced to provide different themes to a room . for example , seasonal themes may be used for valentine &# 39 ; s day , easter , christmas , halloween , fourth of july , thanksgiving , and the like , throughout the year . fig2 - 11 are examples of types of corner hangers that may be used in accordance with various embodiments . referring first to fig2 , the corner hanger 102 has a shape of a snake , wherein the head of the snake is elevated above the upper surface 112 of the corner structure 104 . further , fig2 illustrates that the entirety of the vertical portion 108 does not necessarily rest against the corner structure . for example , the curve of the snake around the corner of the corner structure 104 extends past the corner , thereby leaving a gap between the corner structure 104 and the corner hanger 102 . the lower portion of the snake rests against the trim , thereby aiding in providing a solid , stable base . in fig3 , the corner hanger 102 has a shape of a sleeping baby , wherein a head and body of the sleeping baby rests on the upper surface 112 of the corner structure 104 , and feet of the sleeping baby hang over the corner of the corner structure 104 to provide stability . fig4 illustrates the corner hanger 102 shaped as a boy with angel wings . similar to the embodiment illustrated in fig3 , the legs hang over the corner of the corner structure 104 to provide support . fig4 also illustrates an embodiment in which multiple contact points 107 are used for the interface between the horizontal portion 106 and the corner structure 104 . fig5 and 6 illustrate the corner hanger 102 as a bear and a girl , respectively , with angel wings . similar to the embodiment illustrated in fig4 , the legs hang over the corner of the corner structure 104 to provide support . fig7 and 8 illustrate various corner hangers of a cat , wherein fig7 is illustrated to hang from the right side and fig8 is designed to hang from the left side . it should also be noted that the vertical portion of the cat in fig7 comprises the back legs of the cat , while the vertical portion of the cat in fig8 comprises the tail . fig9 and 10 illustrate that embodiments of the corner hanger 102 may use shapes or configurations other than animals or people . for example , in the embodiment illustrated in fig9 , the word “ peace ” is used , wherein the “ p ” hangs over the edge to provide stability . fig9 further illustrates that a flat edge is not necessarily present to rest against the top surface of the corner structure 104 . fig1 illustrates a similar embodiment in which the corner hanger 102 is shaped as the word “ joy ,” wherein the “ y ” hangs over the corner of the corner structure 104 . in these embodiments , the corner hanger has multiple points of contact . fig1 illustrates the corner hanger 102 shaped as a giraffe . in this embodiment , the corner hanger 102 is designed such that the vertical portion 108 of the corner hanger 102 contacts the corner structure 104 to keep the corner hanger 102 from rotating and swinging off of the corner structure 104 . in particular , the single , relatively small , contact point 107 of the giraffe acts as a point of rotation aided by the weight of the giraffe &# 39 ; s body hanging over the corner of the corner structure . the giraffe rotates thus until the one or more portions of the vertical portion 108 of the giraffe contacts the corner structure 104 . fig1 - 14 illustrate embodiments of the corner hanger 102 wherein the horizontal portion 106 is small compared to the overall size of the corner hanger 102 . for example , in fig1 , the horizontal portion 106 comprises only a hand of a monkey , while remaining portions of the body of the monkey hang over the corner of the corner structure 104 . similarly , in fig1 , the dog is hanging by only the lower portions of the back legs of the dog , and in fig1 , an elf hangs only by the lower legs . in embodiments such as those illustrated in fig1 - 14 , the center of gravity is sufficiently close to the vertical surface of the corner structure 104 such that the corner hanger 102 does not rotate off the corner structure 104 . for example , in an embodiment the center of gravity is within two inches of the vertical surface of the corner structure 104 . fig1 - 17 illustrate an embodiment of a corner hanger including one or more suspended interchangeable elements . for example , the corner hanger 1600 includes a support portion 1602 and one or more interlocking elements , illustrated in fig1 by an interlocking element 1604 . the support portion 1602 may exhibit characteristics as discussed above in addition to a first interlocking pattern 1606 . the first interlocking pattern 1606 is designed to accept the interlocking element 1604 , thereby supporting or suspending the interlocking element 1604 from the support portion 1602 . for example , as illustrated in fig1 , the first interlocking pattern 1606 is complimentary to a second interlocking pattern 1608 included on the interlocking element 1604 . fig1 illustrates the support element 1602 connected to the interlocking element 1604 , wherein the first interlocking pattern 1606 has been illustrated with cross - hatching to distinguish from the second interlocking pattern 1608 for illustrative purposes . while fig1 and 16 illustrate one interlocking element 1604 for illustrative purposes , other embodiments may utilize two or more interlocking elements . for example , fig1 illustrates an embodiment in which the interlocking element 1604 may further include an interlocking pattern , such as a third interlocking pattern 1610 . the use of the third interlocking pattern 1610 on the interlocking element 1604 allows further shapes , patterns , letters , phrases , or other features to be suspended from the interlocking element 1604 , such as interlocking element 1612 having a fourth interlocking pattern 1614 complimentary to the third interlocking pattern 1610 , wherein the first interlocking pattern 1606 and the third interlocking pattern 1610 have been illustrated with cross - hatching to distinguish from the second interlocking pattern 1608 and the fourth interlocking pattern 1610 for illustrative purposes . the use of the first interlocking pattern 1606 and the second interlocking pattern 1608 allow the patterns suspended from the support portion 1602 to be interchanged . for example , different words , phrases , and / or different shapes ( e . g ., fish , birds , characters , etc .) may be suspended as desired for different times of the year ( e . g ., valentine &# 39 ; s day , christmas , halloween ), events ( e . g ., birthdays ), and the like . although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail , it should be understood that various changes , substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . for example , other types of interlocking patterns may be used , as well as other types of connectors , such as hooks , eye - hooks , or the like . furthermore , the interlocking patterns may be hidden , such as a snap or interlocking pattern behind the top element . this embodiment may have a further embodiment of hiding the interlocking pattern from view as well as the interlocking pattern being hidden on the bottom element . moreover , the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process , machine , manufacture , and composition of matter , means , methods and steps described in the specification . as one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention , processes , machines , manufacture , compositions of matter , means , methods , or steps , presently existing or later to be developed , that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention . accordingly , the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes , machines , manufacture , compositions of matter , means , methods , or steps . | 8 |
the device with heating and temperature monitoring systems includes a thermally protected storage box ( 01 ), with a also thermally protected lid ( 02 ), and a supporting frame ( 03 ) for holding and storing the containers or packages of parenteral solutions . the thermal box ( 01 ) is equipped with a central control unit ( 04 ) consisting of a totally independent power supply unit that converts public electrical supply to a 40 to 60 volt range feeding the shielded resistors ( 05 ), which internally heat up the thermal box ( 01 ). this whole system is operated by an on / off key ( 06 ). the central control unit ( 04 ) is also , equipped with programming buttons ( 07 ), which allow the setting of the desired temperature . this temperature can be checked in the digital display ( 08 ) located on the outside front of the central control unit ( 04 ). this unit monitors the internal temperature through a temperature sensor ( 12 ), a device activates the central thermostat control unit ( 04 ), turning it on or off whenever inside temperature is not leveled with the one programmed in the controller ( 07 ). the electrical supply for the central control unit ( 04 ) derives from the power supply unit ( 09 ), which is thermally shielded from the electrical network and is electrically fed by the power cable ( 10 ). the storage box with its thermal shield ( 01 ) is integral part of the current invention and is used to store and keep the parenteral solutions &# 39 ; containers or packages ( 11 ) within a set temperature , so that these solutions may always be in ideal temperature for usage with patients . with this goal in view , the current invention is also equipped with a heating bag ( 15 ), which is used together with the individual container for storing and keeping the preprogrammed temperature of the individual container or package ( 11 ) with the solution to be fed to the patient . this heating bag ( 15 ) is equipped with : a zipper ( 16 ) for closure and internal protection ; an electrically shielded resistor ( 23 ), which heats it up ; the bag ( 15 ) includes a hooker ( 17 ) for hanging it on appropriate resting - places ; and also a protracted thermal bag ( 18 ) for heating and keeping the temperature of the solution within the catheter ( 42 ) all way down to the patient . this protracted thermal bag ( 18 ) is equipped all along with a thermally shielded resistor ( 22 ), of course ; with a transparent display ( 19 ), which allows visualization of the dripping reservoir &# 39 ; s cup ( 41 ); as well as the opening ( 21 ), which allows the control of solution &# 39 ; s flow rate through the regulator ( 43 ). the protracted thermal bag ( 18 ) is directly set on along the catheter ( 42 ) of the iv device so as to heat up and maintain the solution &# 39 ; s temperature all its way down to the needle . this protracted thermal bag ( 18 ) also has a zipper ( 24 ) running all along , allowing its removal and fastening for easy storage of the iv device for parenteral feeding . it also has a transparent display ( 25 ) next to the tip of the catheter ( 42 ) allowing visual control of the solution &# 39 ; s exiting rate and so checking the final feeding of the parenteral solution to the patient through the needle ( 44 ). the protracted thermal bag ( 18 ) also has a temperature sensor ( 20 ) set next to the end of the catheter ( 42 ) so as to allow monitoring of the temperature at the very tip of the duct and consequently allowing possible readjustments . both the heating bag ( 15 ) and the protracted thermal bag ( 18 ) are electrically fed by the externally placed central control unit ( 30 ). this unit includes a power supply unit , which creates an independent internal electrical network and converts the electrical supply into a 40 to 60 volt range . the unit feeds the electrical resistors ( 23 and 22 ) that heat up the heating bag ( 15 ) and the protracted thermal bag ( 18 ). the system is operated by an on / off key ( 33 ). the central control unit ( 30 ) also includes programming buttons ( 31 ) for adjustment of the desired temperature , which can be checked in the digital display ( 32 ). the electrical supply is done by the power cable ( 34 ) connected to the central control unit ( 30 ), which , by way of the cable ( 35 ), feeds converted electrical power to the electrical resistors ( 22 and 23 ) and to the temperature sensor ( 20 ), which in its turn monitors the solution &# 39 ; s temperature in the catheter ( 42 ) inside of the protracted thermal bag ( 18 ). the proposed system is thus highly effective in heating and monitoring the temperature of the most diverse parenteral solutions used in human and in veterinarian treatment . it allows the heating and temperature monitoring either of a single container or package or even set of several packages together , keeping them all in an ideal temperature for medical proceedings . it goes without saying that such practical and efficient device could be manufactured so as to be able to store and heat up the most diverse sizes and models of solutions &# 39 ; packages known today or even future ones . | 0 |
fig1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment in which a dvr 102 in location 100 is shown playing back a previously recorded program on tv 106 , under the general control of the user of remote control 104 . it will be appreciated that although an exemplary embodiment is presented hereinafter in the context of previously recorded tv programs on a dvr , the systems and methods described may be generally applied to any audiovisual media content , for example radio broadcasts , prerecorded cd or dvd based material , internet webcasts , vcr or cassette tape based material , etc ., without limitation . commands 105 initiated by user interaction with remote control 104 are received and acted upon by dvr 102 as is well known in the art . in the illustrated embodiment , software algorithms within dvr 102 also monitor commands received from the remote control 104 for the purpose of generating metadata regarding the program content currently being viewed , as will be described in more detail hereafter . once collected , this metadata may be stored locally within the dvr for future use . the metadata may also be communicated to a remotely located server 140 via an external network 108 , 130 , 148 such as , for example , the internet , the public switched telephone network ( pstn ), a cable television distribution system , etc . once transferred to server 140 , the metadata may be processed and merged with similarly received metadata created during viewing of the same content by other viewers , for example , a viewer accessing the content on dvr 112 at location 110 . as will be further described herein , it is believed that processing and merging metadata from multiple viewers of the same content may help to improve the overall accuracy of the metadata . metadata stored on the server 140 may then be made available to subscribing dvrs , for example dvr 122 at location 120 , for use during playback of the content to which retrieved metadata applies which content has been locally recorded by the subscribing dvrs . it will be appreciated that transfer of metadata via an external network may be accomplished by any network capable dvr using well know wired and / or wireless networking technologies such as for example ethernet , 802 . 11 wireless , bluetooth , and the like and that there is provided a means to associate generated metadata with the program content to which the metadata applies . turning now to fig2 , the general sequence of events that occur during playback of content on dvr 102 is shown . the sequence would generally commence with a user selecting an item of stored program content and issuing a playback command whereupon the internal logic of the dvr first checks 202 if metadata regarding this item is available locally . if the metadata regarding the content to be played is available locally , it loads this metadata and proceeds to playback 208 . if the metadata regarding the content to be played is not locally available , the dvr logic may then check 204 whether appropriate metadata is available online , for example from a server 140 . if the metadata regarding the content to be played is available on line , it may be downloaded 206 and stored locally for use during the playback of the content . if no metadata for the content to be played is available either locally or retrievable from a remote source , the dvr logic commences playback 210 without use of any existing metadata . during metadata - enhanced playback 208 , 212 the dvr logic utilizes the metadata values to skip , fast - forward , remove , or otherwise modify commercial or other predetermined segments within the recorded program content as indicated . if the user at any time finds it necessary to make manual adjustments due to imperfect metadata values — for example , incremental forward or reverse motion due to a metadata - provided segment duration being too short or too long — these activities may be captured 212 by the dvr logic for local storage during subsequent playback operations , or later upload to the server from which the original metadata was obtained , as desired for a particular application . metadata - enhanced playback is described in greater detail hereafter in conjunction with fig6 . during non metadata - enhanced playback such as occurs at 210 when no metadata can be located for the currently selected content to be played , the dvr logic monitors user actions during playback 214 and uses this information to create a new set of metadata specific to the content being played back , as will be described in more detail hereafter in conjunction with fig3 . on completion of playback , or at any time after capture as desired to accomplish a particular application , the newly created ( from 214 ) or freshly updated ( from 212 ) metadata values may be uploaded to the server 140 where this metadata may be used to initiate or further refine a metadata set for the associated program content for sharing with others . in this context , server 140 may make use of various algorithms and statistical methods as are well known in the art in order to continuously refine sharable metadata sets based upon new or updated values received from a multiplicity of subscribing playback systems 102 , 112 , 122 , etc . the monitoring of user actions and generation of metadata will now be described in greater detail in conjunction with fig3 . when playback commences , the dvr logic 310 first normalizes the starting point for the program content and starts a timer running at that point . by way of example , some dvrs , as a safety measure , may begin the recording process a short period of time prior to the actually scheduled start time of the broadcast — in some cases this may even be a user adjustable option . since various dvr models may use different parameters for this aspect of their recording process , and the metadata to be gathered is intended to be generally applicable across multiple brands and models of dvrs , it is important that time values within the metadata are relative to the true start of the program content , or are otherwise synchronized such that a desired application ( e . g ., skipping of program content portions ) works properly during playback . accordingly , the dvr may start the elapsed time timer to be used for metadata capture a short time after actual playback has commenced . alternatively , for even greater accuracy a user input ( e . g ., a button on the remote control ) may be provided which can be activated to indicate the exact starting point of the program and / or the start of some universally recognized portion of program content , e . g ., the first commercial break . once a reference time point for the content has been established and the timer started , normal playback operation 312 commences and continues until either the end of the stored program content is reached 314 or a user action occurs 316 , in this example receipt of a “ fast forward ” command . upon this action , the current elapsed time timer value is captured and saved as a beginning timestamp and the fast forward action is performed . fast forwarding continues until receipt of a play or pause command 324 . upon cessation of the fast forward action , the elapsed time timer value is once again captured and the difference between this and the saved beginning timestamp value , together with the known speed of the fast forward function , is used to calculate the duration of the skipped over program segment in actual elapsed program time . this is then saved 328 together with the starting and ending timestamps for use in generating metadata . it should be noted that although not illustrated , many dvrs support multiple fast forward speeds — for example repeated “ fast forward ” commands may result in forward speeds of 4 ×, 16 ×, 32 ×, etc .— so in some embodiments the calculation of the duration of the skipped over period may be required to take into account that the monitored activity may comprise multiple steps at differing speeds , i . e . the general algorithm for calculation of skip duration may be of the form : it will be appreciated that in embodiments where a “ skip forward ” command is available ( for example , as provided on certain replay tv products in accordance with the teachings of the above referenced u . s . pat . no . 6 , 360 , 053 ) and this is used in place of the “ fast forward ” command , the duration may be more simply calculated by multiplying the number of skip commands received by the predetermined skip time . it will be further appreciated that in the event a “ pause ” command is received at 324 instead of a “ play ” command , the processing is essentially the same as described above except that the elapsed time timer is also halted until a subsequent “ play ” command is received . likewise in embodiments where a “ scrub ” function is available ( typically operated via a slider bar interface ) in order to allow a user random access to any point in the program , the duration , or new playback location may be calculated either by reference to timecode values embedded in or associated with the program , or through reference to the proportional value of progress through the program ( generally as indicated by the slider bar location during scrub operations ) as compared to the total time length of the program and its associated metadata values . upon completion and recording of the initial forward skipping activity , the dvr logic may enter an adjustment period 332 during which user activity is monitored for corrections to any overshoot or undershoot that may have occurred in the primary skipping process ( e . g ., the logic may adjust the duration time value associated with operation being tracked taking into consideration the degree to which the viewing of the content is fine tuned forward or backward in time after the operation is initially requested rather than store the duration times associated with the fine tuning operations themselves , if any ), after which the dvr logic returns to the normal playback mode 312 , 314 , 316 . on reaching the end 314 of the stored program content , the dvr logic post - processes the saved timestamp and duration values , formats them into metadata entries , and saves these together with header information regarding the content to which the metadata entries apply . an exemplary structure for such metadata is discussed hereafter in conjunction with fig5 . with respect to the above mentioned post - processing , to allow the metadata to be universally applicable the metadata time values are preferably absolute , i . e ., the metadata values represent true elapsed time displacements measured from the reference time point , e . g ., a start of the program , or other uniquely identifiable time such as the start of the first commercial break , as if all commercial content had been played back at regular speed . this thereby allows the metadata to be equally applicable to any dvr playback model regardless of that device &# 39 ; s fast forward speeds ( or predetermined “ skip forward ” times ) as well as allowing the metadata to be used to manage content originating from different transmission systems ( e . g ., different cable systems , different time zones , different networks , etc . which may have different relative time starts for the content ). to achieve this goal , when timestamps captured during playback are real time values , all timestamps after the first time stamp would be adjusted to compensate for the amount of fast forwarding action that has occurred . for example , the captured timestamp for the beginning of a second commercial segment would be incremented in order to compensate for fast forwarding activity that occurred during the first commercial segment ; the captured timestamp for the beginning of a third commercial segment would be incremented to compensate for fast forwarding that occurred during both the first and second commercial segments , and so on . the increments may be derived from the known fast forward speed values ( or from known “ skip forward ” times ). thus , by way of still further example , if skipping through a commercial segment was monitored to take 15 seconds at an 8 × forward rate , then the increment by which all subsequent metadata times should be adjusted is ( 8 − 1 )* 15 or 105 seconds , i . e ., the commercial segment was actually 120 seconds in length . in the exemplary embodiment presented above , this increment value may be readily determined by subtracting the measured fast forwarding period ( i . e ., end timestamp minus start timestamp ) from the previously calculated and stored skip duration . it will also be appreciated that in certain recording embodiments absolute time values may be embedded within the recorded data , and in these instances metadata time values may be more conveniently derived by reference to the recorded material itself . once the metadata has been created , the created metadata may be saved locally 322 for future use in automatic skipping of content segments when the same content is re - viewed or transferred to other media . such local metadata may be stored separately from the associated recorded program material , or may be embedded or appended to the recorded material . if the dvr is configured to share metadata with the network , the newly - created metadata may also be uploaded 330 to a remote server for communal storage and ultimate sharing with other users . turning now to fig4 , an exemplary adjustment period processing 332 algorithm will be discussed in greater detail . typically , when a user is manipulating the fast forward and play keys on a remote control to skip through commercial advertising content , a certain amount of overshoot or undershoot is inherent due to factors such as inattentiveness , reaction time , premature resumption of play mode , etc . certain prior art dvr devices , e . g ., some tivo brand dvrs , are equipped to automatically compensate for this ( mostly with respect to reaction time ) by backing up the playback point a small fixed or user adjustable amount whenever the unit transitions from fast forward to regular playback speed , as described for example in the previously referenced u . s . pat . no . 6 , 850 , 691 . while the above techniques are suitable for situations where a user is manually controlling playback , capture of metadata information for use in automatic skipping of commercial advertising segments may require a higher degree of accuracy . accordingly in an exemplary embodiment , after completion of a commercial skip ( either user - initiated or automatic based on previously acquired metadata ) the dvr logic may first apply any automatic compensation 402 in a manner consistent with the prior art and , thereafter , the dvr logic may additionally treat any user - initiated fast forward or rewind activity 404 during the first five seconds of resumed playback as an adjustment to the recently completed skip , rather than the start of a new action . the arithmetic sum of all such incremental steps forward and backward may be accumulated 406 until such time as a five second playback period elapses without any further activity 408 , at which point the adjustment period is deemed complete and the accumulated incremental value applied 410 to the previously calculated ( or loaded ) commercial duration contained in the metadata . though not illustrated in detail , it will be appreciated that as further indicated at 410 , upon completion of this adjustment period metadata absolute time values might also be adjusted as previously described to compensate for any additional fast forward or rewind activity that has occurred . if automatic adjustment is enabled , all or part of the accumulated incremental value may also be used to improve the accuracy of future automatic actions . it will also be appreciated that an elapsed time other than five seconds may be used to define the expiry of the adjustment period , as appropriate to various embodiments . it will be further understood and appreciated that the calculations and / or algorithms used in connection with the above described error correction and adjustment operations with respect to the user activity / command capture , or subsequent modified playback of a program using metadata , will be well within the ordinary abilities of those skilled in the art without undue experimentation . turning now to fig5 , an exemplary set of metadata for a specific item of program content may comprise a header section 502 which includes the information necessary to uniquely identify the content , followed by a body section 504 which consists of a tabulation of the start time and length of all commercial advertising segments in that program . header 502 may contain , for example , the title of the program , the name of the broadcast network , the air date ( including time zone , since different time zones may receive slightly different programming , especially as regards commercial breaks ), the published duration of the program , and the service from which the content was recorded including the zip code in which the receiving dvr is located , the name of the service provider ( or “ air ” if from over - the - air antenna ) and the channel number . it will be appreciated that the same program may be broadcast simultaneously on multiple channels by the same service provider , e . g ., regular definition and high definition versions , once again with a possibility of minor timing differences . some of the data items contained in the header may be input by the user during initial set - up of the dvr ( e . g ., zip code , service provider ) while others may be derived from the program guide database maintained within or accessible to the dvr at the time of original recording and stored together with or associated with the recorded content ( e . g ., program name , network , original airtime ). the main body of the exemplary metadata 504 comprises a series of individual entries , each containing the start time ( expressed as an absolute time offset from the beginning of the normalized recorded content ) duration of one commercial advertising segment . turning now to fig6 an exemplary method for utilizing commercial metadata during program playback ( corresponding to blocks 208 and 212 of fig2 ) is illustrated . upon receipt of a playback command , the dvr logic loads the offset value of the first commercial advertising segment 602 from the metadata file , starts a timer and begins playback of the program content 604 . playback continues until the timer value matches that of the currently loaded offset 608 . the commercial duration value corresponding to that offset entry is then loaded 610 and the dvr skips forward by that amount . it will be appreciated that the actual technique used to achieve this forward skip may differ between dvr models — some may be capable of instantaneously stepping forward to any location within the digitally recorded content file , others may only support a conventional “ fast forward ” operation , yet others may be able to step forward digitally in fixed increments to be followed by a short fast forward operation for final positioning , etc . it will also be appreciated that more advanced operations may be enabled by an appropriately configured dvr using the metadata , such as for example removing the data corresponding to the commercial portions prior to playback such that the entire program may subsequently be viewed free of “ skipped over ” content and without further use of the metadata as described herein . the stored metadata values are however independent of physical dvr parameters , thus allowing each dvr to act appropriately to achieve the desired skip forward or other desired action . after the forward skip action is completed , dvr logic adjusts the timer 614 to compensate for the fast forward actions ( i . e ., to maintain time as an absolute value relative to the start of the program content ) and resumes playback 616 . upon resumption of playback , an adjustment period similar to that previously described in conjunction with fig4 may be observed in order to capture any user - initiated corrections , after which the next commercial offset value is loaded 622 from the metadata file and playback continues . when the end of the program content is reached 606 , the metadata file may be processed to incorporate any user corrections captured during the before mentioned adjustment period and playback processing is complete . adjusted metadata values may be stored locally and / or uploaded to a remote server as previously described in conjunction with fig2 . while the above system and method have been described as using an appropriately configured dvr or similar device to effect both user input capture and modified playback functions , in one alternate embodiment described below a remote control can be configured to effect the featured and functions of the current invention . looking now to fig7 , remote control 704 , in conjunction with pc 706 , is configured to perform the capture , storage , and processing of metadata derived from user interactions with remote control 704 while viewing content stored on dvr 702 . this illustrated embodiment is of particular utility in locations 700 where the dvr in use does not fully support the subject metadata . in one embodiment , remote control 704 is capable of wireless communication 708 with pc 706 using a protocol such as wifi ( ieee 802 . 11 ), bluetooth , zigbee , proprietary point - to - point , etc . remote control 704 may be shipped with metadata gathering and maintenance application software 710 which is to be installed on the user &# 39 ; s local pc 706 . besides program logic to perform metadata capture and formatting in the manner described earlier , application 710 may include a database comprising the device characteristics of various dvrs , for example fast forward speed increments , default overshoot correction values , etc . during the installation process the user may be requested to identify their dvr model , or alternatively manually enter the above data . during playback of previously recorded program content , remote control 704 may echo user entered dvr commands such as “ fast forward ”, “ play ”, etc . to pc 706 via wireless link 708 . the application software in the pc may thus monitor these actions and , using the known characteristics of the dvr model , derive and store the commercial skip metadata entries 504 applicable to the content being viewed . upon conclusion of playback , or at some other convenient time , the user may then be prompted to enter the balance of the variable data needed to complete the metadata header , e . g ., program name and time , either on the remote control itself or at the pc . it will be appreciated that once a minimal amount of identifying information has been obtained from the user , much of the balance of the required header information may be derived , either from initial set - up parameters or from program guide data resident on or accessible to the pc or remote control . for example , once the program name and time are known , data such as network , channel , and duration may be derived from archived program guide data . after the metadata file is complete , it may be stored on pc 706 for later re - use by the remote control and / or uploaded to a remote server 140 for sharing with other users . it will also be appreciated that various permutations and combinations of this method are possible : for example , some or all of the processing described as occurring in pc 706 may instead be performed in remote control 704 itself . one or more buttons of remote control 704 may also be configured such that during viewing of either a live broadcast or prerecorded program , user interaction with the button ( s ) at predetermined times ( e . g ., at the start point and end point of all commercial portions of the program ) may be stored by memory available to the remote for later processing of the data associated with such user interactions ( e . g ., timestamp data , etc ) into metadata useable in conjunction with the program skip operations described above . in this way data related to a particular program may be captured by a user without the use of any dvr or similar device , even during viewing of a live broadcast such that later upload of the data to a pc and / or server for further processing allows for the fastest possible generation of metadata for the particular program . during playback operations for the current embodiment ( assuming the user does not have an appropriately configured dvr or other playback device which is able to use metadata associated with a desired program for skip operations during viewing ), the remote control may be configured either automatically or via user interaction with the appropriate metadata ( generally via download from pc 706 , or access of data stored on the remote from previous user capture sessions ) to effect skip operations during viewing of a prerecorded or time - delayed program by automatically sending commands to the device controlling playback of the program at appropriate times . by way of example , using metadata containing commercial skip data such as described in conjunction with fig5 , the remote control 704 would automatically send , as appropriate for the particular playback device to be controlled , fast forward , play , skip , or scrub based command codes at and / or for pre - determined times or periods of time during playback such that portions of the program are effectively removed during playback . the metadata and program playback may be synchronized by , for example starting playback of both metadata and program content simultaneously upon transmission of a “ play ” command from the remote , or as described above , initiating metadata playback in response to an indication by the user that the first commercial portion of the program has started , generally via a button press . it will be appreciated that the particular methods for synchronizing metadata and program playback , and also effecting error correction and adjustment operations during playback ( generally due to additional fast forward , skip , pause , etc commands being initiated by the user ) in the current embodiment may be similar to those described above . it will be further appreciated that in order to accomplish the skip operations described above the remote control should be placed or located such that it can maintain communication with the particular playback device to be controlled for the duration of the program for which modified playback is desired . it will be yet further appreciated that , in the event that a playback device does not itself support skip functionality , the remote control may for example use the techniques described in commonly assigned u . s . pat . no . 6 , 781 , 638 , which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety , to nevertheless provide the playback device with simulated skip searching capabilities where the remote control would use the metadata and timer to automatically initiate the transmission of appropriate commands . while various concepts have been described in detail , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those concepts could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure . for example , in an alternate embodiment , dvr logic may be implemented that requires a user to actively view commercial advertising segments the first time the content is played back ( for example , by disabling the “ fast forward ” or “ skip forward ” functionality ) while still allowing the user to tag the start and end point of commercial segments ( e . g ., using specially provided buttons on the remote control ) thereby creating metadata that may then be used to automatically skip the commercial advertising segments on subsequent playbacks of the content . metadata could also be used by an appropriately configured dvr to rearrange the commercial portions of a program , for example placing all commercial portions at the beginning or end of a particular program such that users could enjoy viewing of the program itself commercial free while still having access to the commercial advertisements stored before or after the commercial free content . it will also be understood that while certain aspects of the current invention are directed toward capture and uploading of metadata to a central server for later use in playback operations ( which collected metadata for a particular program can be processed using conventional statistical measures to provide the “ best ” metadata for downloading ), metadata may be made available by program providers , either separately or as embedded data accompanying the broadcast of a particular program , and such metadata may be used interchangeably with the “ captured ” metadata without limiting the inventive concepts described herein . further , while described in the context of functional modules and illustrated using block diagram format , it is to be understood that , unless otherwise stated to the contrary , one or more of the described functions and / or features may be integrated in a single physical device and / or a software module , or one or more functions and / or features may be implemented in separate physical devices or software modules . it will also be appreciated that a detailed discussion of the actual implementation of each module is not necessary for an enabling understanding of the invention . rather , the actual implementation of such modules would be well within the routine skill of an engineer , given the disclosure herein of the attributes , functionality , and inter - relationship of the various functional modules in the system . therefore , a person skilled in the art , applying ordinary skill , will be able to practice the invention set forth in the claims without undue experimentation . it will be additionally appreciated that the particular concepts disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any equivalents thereof . all patents cited within this document are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety . | 7 |
fig2 shows an exemplary agricultural combine 200 , which may also be referred as a combine or harvester throughout this specification . as shown in fig2 , the combine 200 can include a longitudinally axially arranged threshing and separation system 212 , and a concave 220 within the threshing and separation system 212 . the threshing mechanism may also be of any well - known construction and operation . in some embodiments , the concave 220 may also be used with combines having transversely aligned threshing and separation system in a combine . as shown , threshing and separation system 212 is axially arranged , in that it includes a cylindrical threshing rotor 214 conventionally supported and rotatable in a predetermined direction about a rotational axis therethrough for conveying a flow of crop material in a helical flow path through a threshing chamber 216 extending circumferentially around the rotor 214 . as shown , concaves 220 may extend circumferentially around the rotor 214 and the flow of crop may pass in the space between the spinning rotor and the concaves . as the crop material flows through the threshing and separation system 212 , the crop material including , for example , grain , straw , legumes , and the like , will be loosened and separated from crop residue or mog ( material other than grain ) such as , for example , husks , cobs , pods , and the like , and the separated materials may be carried away from the threshing and separation system 212 in a well - known conventional manner . crop residue can be redistributed to the field via a spreader assembly 222 , located at the back of the harvester . the remaining threshed crop , which includes the grain to be collected , is then cleaned via a cleaning system ( not shown ). the cleaning system can include conventional winnowing mechanisms including a fan that blows air across a series of reciprocating sieves . through the winnowing action of the air and the reciprocating sieves , clean grain may be collected and sorted from the remaining chaff . the clean grain may be conveyed to the grain tank 250 via a cross auger that conveys grain laterally from the bottom of the cleaning system to a vertical conveyor ( or elevator ) that conveys grain up a load tube to be spilled into grain tank 250 . at the bottom of grain tank 250 , a one or more cross augers move grain laterally from the bottom of the grain tank 250 to vertical tube 262 of unload tube 260 representing a turret style system of offloading . vertical tube 262 may include an auger for propelling grain up and to another auger within the unload tube 260 . unload tube 260 may be rotated such that it may extend its full length laterally for unloading grain from the grain tank 250 to a support vehicle , such as a truck that is driving along the side of the combine 200 . unload tube 260 may also be oriented to the rear for storage , as shown . in a swivel style offloading system ( not shown ), the vertical tube 262 and unload tube 260 is replaced by an unloading auger that is attached to the one or more cross augers conveying grain from the cleaning system and may pivot from side to side from the combine 200 , conveying grain from the combine 200 . as discussed above , typically a first stream of straw is windrowed while a second stream of chaff is separately moved through the combine . however , it may be desirable to provide a combine configured to accommodate additional combinations . for example , it may be desirable for a combine to windrow the first stream while spreading the second stream , or to combine the two streams into either a single windrow or to spread both streams simultaneously . in an exemplary embodiment , the present disclosure teaches a combine having a windrow door positioned above the spreader disks and configured to pivot upward and rearward to divert the first stream of straw rearward and over the spreader disks , thereby bypassing the spreader disks so that the first stream is deposited in a continuous mound behind the combine . the second stream of chaff will be spread via the spreader disks and , thus , there will be no interruption to the harvesting process . in the exemplary embodiment as illustrated in fig3 and 4 a - 4 c , the spreader assembly does not include frame cross - members that would interrupt the flow of the first stream of straw as it transitions from either the upper or lower position to the opposite position , thereby providing a seamless transition from spreading to windrowing , and from windrowing to spreading . in other examples , removing the frame cross - members permits the spreader disk orientation to be changed ( e . g ., about a fore / aft axis for fluffing the windrow ), or rotating the disks rearward and sideward about a vertical axis for providing axis to additional spreader assembly or combine components . fig3 illustrates an exemplary spreader assembly 300 that reduces the problems addressed above in reference to traditional spreader assemblies , particularly straw and chaff becoming caught on cross - members of a spreader assembly frame and causing a bale to form at or near the spreader assembly , or to cause a blockage to the flow of material through the spreader assembly . the spreader assembly 300 includes two spreader disks 302 and 304 . each spreader disk 302 and 304 includes a plurality of radial ridges or paddles 306 spaced and configured to catch a portion of the chaff when the spreader disks are spinning . spreader disk 302 is operably connected to motor 308 via a driveshaft and framing assembly 310 . similarly , spreader disk 304 is operably connected to motor 312 via a driveshaft and framing assembly 314 . by providing two motors 308 and 310 , each disk 302 and 304 can be operated separately . additionally , the belts / drive assembly required in a typical spreader arrangement to power both disks from a single motor is eliminated , thereby removing the cross - shaft as one potential obstacle to straw and chaff when the combine is windrowing . each of disks 302 and 304 ( and the associated motors and drive / frame assemblies ) may be operably connected to a frame assembly 316 . the frame assembly 316 may include a lower cross - member 318 as well as side - members 320 and 322 . it should be noted that frame assembly 316 as shown in fig3 is shown by way of example only . as shown in fig4 a - 4c , certain spreader assembly configurations may eliminate all cross - members . the design of frame assembly 316 provides a large , open space 324 through which straw can pass when the combine is windrowing , thereby eliminating the prior art frame cross - members that interfered with the flow of the chaff . additionally , the frame assembly 316 may be pivotally attached to pivot arms 326 and 328 at fixed pivot points 330 and 332 . this arrangement results in the frame assembly 316 to be rotated for storage or non - use . a proximity sensor may be provided that detects when the frame assembly is rotated into the storage position and disables the motors 308 and 312 , thus stopping their operation . for example , the motors 308 and 312 may be hydraulic motors . when rotated into storage position , the proximity sensor may cut off hydraulic oil flow , thereby disabling the operation of the motors 308 and 312 . similarly , the proximity sensor may cut off electricity to the motors 308 and 312 if the motors are electric motors . similarly , each spreader disk arrangement may be rotationally mounted onto frame assembly 316 at pivot points 334 and 336 respectively . this provides each spreader disk 302 and 304 with an independent movement relative to the other disk . additionally , the axis of rotation about the pivot points 334 and 336 may be in the same direction of travel as the combine , thus permitting a sideways rotation of the disks 302 and 304 . this arrangement allows the disks 302 and 304 to be at an angle such that the center location of the disks is lower than the outer perimeter of the disks , such that the crop material deflected onto the disks may be permitted to fall between the disks onto the ground , while some of the crop momentum is slowed by the rotating disks . this may allow the windrow material to be “ fluffed ” in the process , which incorporates air into the windrow for faster drying time . positioning the disks 302 and 304 in the sideways position may be accommodated by a rigid member ( e . g ., a strap ) with positioning holes and a latching pin to secure the disk in a desired position , or through the use of a hydraulic or electric actuator . the position and arrangement of the various components of spreader assembly 300 provides a versatile system that overcomes many of the drawbacks of prior art approaches . as outlined above , the spreader assembly 300 eliminates the cross - members interfering with the flow of straw when windrowing . additionally , the position of the spreader disks 302 and 304 when rotated into storage position provides an operator of the combine with access to the cleaning system at each side of the spreader assembly 300 . fig4 a - 4c illustrate additional exemplary embodiments for a spreader assembly . as shown in fig4 a , a first spreader assembly 400 includes two disks 402 and 404 independently supported with no frame cross - members . rather , each of disks 402 and 404 is supported at each side by one of support arms 406 or 408 . this permits each disk 402 and 404 to be rotated into a storage or non - use position independently of the other disk . an additional advantage of this embodiment is no cross - members to collect crop residue that may lead to blockage of the combine . similarly , fig4 b illustrates multiple isometric views of a spreader assembly 410 including a disk 412 independently mounted and supported on support arm 416 . this arrangement permits rotation of the disk 412 in a first direction ( e . g ., rearwards ) as well as about a fore / aft axis to permit sideways rotation . as before , this embodiment has no cross - members to collect crop residue that may lead to blockage of the combine . fig4 c illustrates a left side of a spreader assembly 420 including a disk 422 mounted on a support arm 426 . this arrangement provides the disk 422 may rotate about a vertical axis ( in a similar direction to the support arm 426 ), thereby allowing the disk to rotate and pivot to the rear and side of the combine to provide access to the cleaning system . the right side of this arrangement is similar to the left side but in a mirrored configuration . as before , this embodiment has no cross - members to collect crop residue that may lead to blockage of the combine . it should be noted the embodiments illustrates in fig4 a - 4c are shown by way of example only to illustrate the freedom of movement of the spreader disks resulting from the elimination of the frame cross - members . in addition to removing obstacles to windrowing material , the elimination of the frame cross - members provides for additional degrees of movement for the spreader disks , thereby providing new alternatives for moving the disks to storage or cleaning positions for improved access to the internal working components of the combine , as well as new alternatives for operating the disks in different positions ( as discussed above with fluffing the windrow ). it should also be noted that the arrangements discussed herein are shown by way of example only , and are intended to increase the ease with which a combine customer or operator can switch from spreading to windrowing while maintaining high efficiency without sacrificing any potential performance of the combine . although the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments , it is not limited thereto . for example , two pairs of opposing compression rollers can be employed to ensure completely crushed crop materials . those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous changes and modifications may be made to the preferred embodiments of the invention and that such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the true spirit of the invention . it is therefore intended that the appended claims cover be construed to all such equivalent variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention . | 0 |
in thin - walled and therefore light - weight and flexible reinforced tubes , reinforcing elements extending essentially in an axial direction are preferably applied over the entire periphery of the thin inner tube ( german offenlegungsschrift no . 2 , 261 , 126 ). wire turns and parallel strips made of relatively hard thermoplastic or elastomeric material are wound helically over the reinforcing elements . the inner tube , strips and outer tube are connected firmly to one another . the reinforcing elements may consist of strips of pvc reinforced with textile threads ( german offenlegungsschrift no . 1 , 629 , 830 ). these pvc strips can be connected to the other pvc components of the tube , so that the strips appear as a continuous layer in the tube wall . production of these tubes presents no problems when it is carried out on a production mandrel over which the inner tube is extruded , since this production mandrel can absorb directly the winding stresses which the stiff reinforcing strips or wire turns generate . a method of manufacturing a thin - walled tube with spiral armoring has been proposed which avoids the known disadvantages of production mandrels which are also designated as production assistance mandrels . by this method , the thin - walled tube is fed through a cylindrical guide while the tube is maintained under internal pressure . spiral armoring is fed onto the outside of the guide and several turns of the armoring are accumulated on the guide . pressure is applied lengthwise of the guide against the last accumulated turn , so that as the tube leaves the guide , the foremost turn slides off the guide onto the periphery of the tube . ( german auslegeschrift no . 2 , 700 , 056 ). however , it has been shown here that even relatively slight fluctuations in the internal pressure of the inner tube can have an adverse effect on the regularity of the turns . expensive pressure regulation is therefore necessary . in addition to the absorption of the windng stresses by the inner tube , a further problem is the bonding of the inner tube , a supporting spiral which is present if appropriate , and the outer tube . this bonding is usually carried out by activating an adhesive by supplying heat . this is the case , for example , with a flexible reinforced plastic tube having an inner tube , an outer tube made of plastomeric or elastomeric material and a reinforcing strip extending spirally between the inner tube and the outer tube and consisting of relatively hard material . the turns of the spiral may be axially spaced . the reinforcing strip may be provided with a sheathing made of a relatively soft plastomeric or elastomeric material and that sheathing may be connected firmly to the inner tube and to the outer tube ( german offenlegungsschrift 3 , 017 , 326 ). at the same time , the inner tube may be provided on its outside with reinforcing elements , preferably textile threads , extending essentially axially , and the sheathed reinforcing strip can be bonded to the inner tube over them . here too , pvc strips reinforced with textile threads can be used as reinforcing elements . however , an adverse effect may be encountered when the inner tube , supporting spiral and outer tube are bonded together , if too high a temperature is used for reactivating the adhesive , which can be applied to the inner tube or to the supporting spiral . that adverse effect is that under the internal pressure the inner tube may be pressed between the turns of the supporting spiral , be deformed three - dimensionally and in an extreme case even burst . the finished tube thus exhibits permanent buckling and a rough inner wall . on the other hand , the temperature for bonding should not be too low , since otherwise sufficient adhesion between the inner tube , the supporting spiral and the outer tube is not obtained . if , in order to overcome the difficulties mentioned above , an adhesive is used which acquires adhesive capacity at relatively low temperatures as result of reactivation , then the finished tube should not be used subsequently at higher temperatures . this results in a substantial restriction to the practical use of such tubes which are thus not permitted to carry hot water for a long period of time . the prior art also includes a process for producing a composite tube consisting of a woven - fabric tube with an inner tube made of rubber or plastic , in which the inner casing is coated with adhesive and is fed continuously to the woven - fabric tube during the operation of weaving the latter , and is carried along in the woven - fabric tube . the tube blank formed in this way is heated over a heating stage to activate the adhesive . during the heating operation , the inner tube is subjected to internal pressure , thereby expanding the tube . subsequently the pressure is relieved ( german offenlegungsschrift no . 2 , 121 , 146 ). however , this production process is relatively slow and expensive because of the operation of weaving the woven - fabric tube . furthermore , the woven - fabric tube builds up to a considerable extent , so that the tube wall is relatively thick and prevents the desired fold formation . a further coating of adhesive would be necessary for further tube construction . the object of the present invention is , therefore , to produce a reinforced tube without using a production mandrel , by first reinforcing an inner tube in a suitable way , so that a pressure - resistant and heat - resistant light - weight flexible reinforced tube can be built up on the inner tube simply by using only inexpensive production means . the inner tube is made of thermoplastic or elastomeric material , the wall thickness of which is 0 . 3 - 0 . 5 mm . this inner tube is subjcted to a relatively low internal pressure , which , however , is sufficiently greater than the ambient external pressure to expand the tube . a first layer of reinforcing strips is then applied in an axial direction between the inner tube and an encircling guide . the second layer of reinforcing strips is then wound spirally on the reinforced inner tube after it leaves the guide . the strips of the second layer are bonded immediately by heating to the first layer of reinforcing strips . this results in a doubly reinforced tube which can withstand relatively high internal pressures directly without the need for a production assistance mandrel . consequently , it is possible to apply such a relatively high internal pressure to the tube so that especially resistant armoring , such as supporting spirals , in the form of relatively stiff strips or wires can be applied to this reinforced tube . instead of the armoring , an outer tube can alternatively be extruded directly onto the reinforced tube . the internal pressure of the reinforced tube can amount to 20 bar and above . it is not necessary , but nevertheless possible , to attach the supporting spiral to the reinforced inner tube with as little tension as possible . strips which can be used for reinforcing the inner tube are those which consist of pvc and are provided throughout their entire cross - section with finely distributed embedded textile fibers . these strips can be coated thinly on both sides with adhesives , preferably solvent adhesives . this does away , in an advantageous way , with the necessity of adhesively coating the inner tube for subsequently attaching it to an enveloping spiral or sheath . instead of the strips coated with adhesive , it is possible to use , in an especially advantageous way , strips in which untwisted yarn is guided through and coated with a heated high - viscosity hot - melt adhesive , preferably on a copolyamide base , instead of pvc paste . subsequently , this coated yarn is rolled flat to form the strips . the strips possess , without further coating , the desired adhesive properties , namely an adhesive capacity at between 130 ° and 150 ° c ., with the resulting bond becoming firm upon cooling to a temperature range of 100 ° to 110 ° c . the strips preferably have a width of approximately 3 mm and a thickness of 0 . 05 to 0 . 1 mm . they are as soft and as flexible as possible , so that they do not impede the formation of folds to facilitate bending of the inner tube and the outer tube . the strips become adhesive at the extrusion temperature of the thin - walled inner tube . that tube is expanded under pressure against the strips , which adhere quickly to the tube . an axial driving force applied to the strips is therefore effective to transport the tube along with the strips . these parallel axial strips abut one another and may even overlap one another in the most favorable case . these strips reinforce the inner tube to such an extent that the latter withstands winding stresses with a relatively low internal pressure . it therefore becomes possible to wind a second layer of the same strip spirally over it . the composite tube consisting of the inner tube reinforced axially and spirally by strips now withstands such high pressures and temperatures that it resists the forces incidental to the further application of tube armoring in the form of rigid supporting spirals . there is therefore no need for a supporting mandrel . the strip layers act between the inner tube and the further tube construction as an adhesion promoter which can be activated easily at readily achievable temperatures . an especially resistant reinforcement for the tube may be produced by winding a third layer spirally over the second layer and in the opposite direction . in this way , distortion of the inner tube by the intended internal pressure is reliably prevented . the inner tube reinforced in this way can therefore subsequently be subjected without difficulty to a relatively high internal pressure for winding on a supporting spiral , which is then heated and finally provided with an extruded outer tube . the temperature range in which the adhesive used for producing or for coating the strip acquires adhesive capacity is preferably coordinated with the outlet temperature of the inner tube when it emerges from the extrusion nozzle . a material which becomes adhesive in the range between 130 ° and 150 ° c ., is preferably used for this purpose . after adhesion , the resulting bond is cured to substantial working strength by cooling to 100 ° c . a reinforced tube constructed in accordance with the invention may be provided with an outer sheath by extruding thereon a thin layer of pvc with a thickness of 0 . 2 to 0 . 3 mm . this plastic bonds well to the outermost layer of strips of the reinforced inner tube , since the extrusion temperature is above the melting point of the adhesive on the strip . this adhesive is selected in accordance with the preferred specifications mentioned above . a very light - weight , but extremely pressure - resistant resistant composite tube is thus obtained . even if the diameter is relatively large the tube can be laid flat for transport and storage and can therefore be coiled up in a space - saving way . however , if the wall thickness of the outer tube is relatively thick , the tube cross - section can remain round even under bending stress . a reinforced tube which is light - weight , but especially resistant to pressure and bending stress can be produced , without using an assistance mandrel , by means of a supporting spiral made of relatively stiff material and bonded both to the reinforced inner tube and the extruded sheath . the adhesive strips can also be used to connect the supporting spiral to an outer tube extruded over it . as a result of the outer tube as a sheathing over the supporting spiral , the tube is protected additionally against external effects and the surface is made smooth . a further reinforcement of the tube can advantageously be achieved by means of the same strips if these are applied tautly to the supporting spiral in an axial direction before the outer tube is extruded and are connected to the supporting spiral without the use of an additional adhesion promoter . advantageously , these additional strips are applied to the inner tube reinforced with the supporting spiral , as that reinforced tube approaches the crosshead which is used for extrusion and by means of which sheathing is carried out . the textile - reinforced strips serve , here again , as an adhesion promoter between the supporting spiral and the outer tube in order to improve the connection between them . moreover , the strips absorb forces during the stretching and compression of the tube as a result of bending and thus prevent tearing in the region of folding . in addition , the protection against external mechanical damage is improved . folding inwards , that is to say between the turns of the supporting spiral , is obtained forcibly because the outer tube is usually applied in such a way that a partial vacuum is established in the sheathing - extrusion head . it causes the outer tube to fit closely against the existing tube construction . the result of this inward folding is , in turn , that the distance ( clearance ) between the supporting spirals is reduced by at least double the wall thickness of the outer tube , and consequently the bending radius of the tube is increased considerably , that is to say flexibility is impaired . if the strips are applied tautly , they prevent the ductile outer tube from being drawn in between the supporting spirals under the effect of the necessary vacuum . the gap between the supporting spirals remains free , and folding during the bending of the tube takes place forcibly outwards . the finished tube has a very small bending radius and is therefore highly flexible . a spiral cavity is defined by the distance between the turns and the height of the supporting spirals , the reinforced inner tube and the outer tube lying tautly over the spiral and reinforced with strips . this spiral cavity is protected on all sides and can be used as an additional conveyor in the tube for other liquid or gaseous media . the composite tube produced according to the processes mentioned above thus has numerous advantages . in particular , the tube can be especially heat - resistant since it is possible to use adhesives which are reactivated only at relatively high temperatures . in the manufacture of this composite tube , there is practically no danger that the inner tube will burst because of the internal pressure , with the result that continuous production of the composite tube would be interrupted . the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings in which : fig1 shows somewhat diagrammatically , an apparatus for carrying out the process of the invention , fig2 shows the composite structure of a tube produced by means of the apparatus according to fig1 fig4 shows a longitudinal sectional view , partly diagrammatic , of one wall of the composite tube according to fig2 in particular the arrangement of the strips in a longitudinal direction on the supporting spiral , with the tube being straight , and fig5 shows a sectional view similar to fig4 but with the tube bent . in fig1 denotes an extrusion nozzle from which an inner tube 2 made of pvc with a wall thickness of 0 . 3 to 0 . 5 mm is extruded . the inner tube 2 , which is subjected by the extrusion nozzle to an internal pressure indicated by the arrow 3 , first passes , in the production direction indicated by the arrow 4 , into a pipe or sizing guide 5 and is expanded against the inner wall of the latter . before the tube 2 enters the pipe , textile - reinforced strips 6 consisting of a hot - melt adhesive are brought up to the inner tube in an axial direction , that is to say parallel to the direction of transport . for this purpose , the strips are drawn off from suppy rolls 7 arranged concentrically around the pipe 5 . the inner tube together with the strips is transported in the production direction 4 through draw - off and pinching rolls 8 . the draw - off and pinching rolls flatten the inner tube 2 and the strips 6 applied to it and thus form a seal for maintaining the internal pressure . the inner tube subjected to the internal pressure , together with the strips running in an axial direction , is pressed against the pipe 5 on the inside and immediately forms a close bond with the strips , since the temperature of the inner tube when it emerges from the extrusion nozzle 1 activates the adhesive strips 6 . the pipe 5 serves to set the outside diameter of the tube and also as a pressing zone in which the strips 6 are pressed onto the inner tube 2 . it moreover cools the inner tube 2 to such an extent that the connection between the strips and the inner tube becomes firm . furthermore , air can be blown into the pipe interior , outside the strips 6 , in order to reduce the friction between the strips 6 and the inner face of the pipe 5 . this flow of air forms a pneumatic cushion between the strips 6 and the pipe 5 . the longitudinal strips 6 connected to the inner tube 2 in the pipe 5 cover the surface of the inner tube and may even overlap one another somewhat at the edges . in this way , the inner tube reinforced in a longitudinal direction with the strips withstands the limited internal pressure of 0 . 5 to approximately 1 bar even after it has emerged from the pipe . the internal pressure stiffens the reinforced tube 2 , so that at least one further strip 10 may be wound spirally over the layer of axial strips 6 , as soon as the inner tube has left the pipe 5 . because of the internal pressure , the tube 2 is not constricted by the spirally wound strip 10 . the device for applying the strip 10 in spiral form is designated by 9 . after the strip 10 has been wound on in spiral form , the inner tube passes through a first heating zone 11 in which the textile - reinforced strip 10 made of hot - melt adhesive is connected firmly to the strips 6 . after passing through the draw - off and pinching rolls 8 , the inner tube 2 reinforced with the strips 6 and 10 is subjected , from the coiling - up side , to an increased internal pressure which is indicated by the arrow 13 . the internal pressure can amount to 20 bar . it is propagated through the inner tube 2 up to the draw - off and pinching rolls 8 . the composite tube structure , consisting of inner tube 2 and reinforcing strips 6 and 10 , is hereinafter identified by the reference numeral 14 . following the draw - off and pinching rolls 8 in the direction of transport , a supporting spiral 15 is wound , with distances 16 between the turns , onto the composite tube 14 . the supporting spiral 15 is produced from a plastic strip which has a preferably rectangular cross - section and which is wound from a winding device 17 onto the composite tube which is under internal pressure . the composite tube supported by the relatively high internal pressure thus withstands the relatively high winding stress of the winding device 17 without undue deformation , so that there is no need for expensive means to relieve that stress . the composite tube reinforced by means of the supporting spiral 15 now passes through a second heating zone 18 . here , the adhesive property of the material of the strips 10 is activated to such an extent that the supporting spiral is connected firmly to the strips , without the need to apply an adhesion agent to the composite tube or the supporting spiral . an outer sheath 20 is formed over the strengthened and reinforced inner tube as the latter passes in the production direction through a crosshead with an extrusion nozzle 19 . the inner face of the sheath 20 is strengthened by further strips 21 of hot - melt adhesive which are drawn off from supply rollers 22 and applied in an axial direction to the reinforced inner tube by running them into the extrusion nozzle 19 over the supporting spiral 15 . when the strips 21 are applied tautly to the supporting spiral 15 , so that they do not sag when the tube is extended ( see the longitudinal section through the tube wall according to fig4 ), the sheath 20 and strips 21 bulge outwardly between the turns of the spiral 15 when the tube is bent , see fig5 . however , when the strips 21 are applied to the supporting spiral practically without tension , that is to say loosely before they are connected to it , then the sheath 20 and strips 21 fold inwardly between the turns of the spiral 15 as the tube is bent . in either case , a secure connexion between the supporting spiral 15 and the outer tube 20 is achieved , without further adhesion means , by the strips 21 , which as mentioned above , are made with hot - melt adhesive . fig2 shows , by means of parts of the composite tube which have been removed in steps in the periphery , the reinforced tube produced as described above , with a supporting spiral . fig3 shows , in a similar representation , a tube produced in a comparable way , but without a supporting spiral and additional strips . here the sheath 20 is applied and bonded directly onto the strips 10 which reinforce the inner tube 2 . | 1 |
referring to fig1 four yarn ends 10 , 10a , 10b and 10c are passed at uniform rate through photoelectric transducers 21 , 21a , 21b and 21c , respectively , by means not shown . output electrical lines 100 , 100a , 100b and 100c connect the transducers through cable 401 to the input side of multiplexer 421 . in the preferred embodiment the transducers 21 are loepfe model fr30 optical transducers and the multiplexer 421 is a model 606 manufactured by vidar corporation . the output of multiplexer 421 is connected over line 101 to the self - calibration - zero reference circuit 420 which includes a variable gain amplifier 22a connected to a summing amplifier 23 via line 102 which in turn is connected over line 103 past connector point a to the input terminal of electronic switch 426 , the output of which extends over line 106 to integrator 24 . the output of the latter is connected to line 107 and back to the agc ( automatic gain control ) terminal of amplifier 22a . a reference voltage source 23a is connected to an input of amplifier 23 . an output line 109 from point a in circuit 420 is first connected over line 113 to slub diameter discriminator 27 . the output line 115 from discriminator 27 extends to a terminal b and thence over line 141 to slub length discriminator 41 . line 111 connects terminal b to the control terminal of switch 426 . discriminators 27 and 41 are the slub diameter and length discriminators , respectively , that are fully described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 887 , 814 . discriminator 41 is connected over line 155 to counter 40 and over line 157 to network 48 . a second branch line 125 from output line 109 is connected to potentiometer 33 and thence over line 127 to slug diameter discriminator 27 &# 39 ;, the output of which extends over line 135 to an input terminal of network 48 . the output of network 48 is connected to counter 39 . a reset switch 59 is connected over branched line 177 to the reset terminals of counters 40 and 39 . details of the self - calibration - zero reference circuit are shown by the schematic circuit diagram of fig2 . thus , the output line 101 from multiplexer 421 extends to the negative input terminal of a first operational amplifier a 1 which is typically a teledyne - philbrick co ., model 1426 . the positive input terminal is grounded and the output terminal is connected to line 102 . gain control properties are provided by a resistance network comprising fixed resistors r 1 and r 2 series connected in feedback between the output and input terminals of amplifier a 1 and resistor r 3 connected from the juncture of r 1 and r 2 to ground . r 3 is the photoconductive resistor part of an optical isolator , typically a clairex co . type clm6000 . this isolator provides a transfer of signals from line 107 . line 107 extends from the output of integrator circuit 24 and carries a feedback current which activates and determines the amount of light produced in the light emitting diode d 1 , the other element of the optical isolator . the magnitude of this feedback current is determined by the combination of the output voltage level of integrator 24 through resistor r 9 and a bias voltage v b applied to resistor r 10 . amplifier a 1 along with the gain control network forms the variable gain amplifier 22a of fig1 . the output from amplifier 22a is connected over line 102 through an input resistor r 4 to the negative input terminal of a second operational amplifier a 2 . a reference voltage vr from source 23a ( fig1 ) of opposite polarity to the output from 22a is connected through an input resistor r 5 to the same terminal of a 2 . the positive input of a . sub . 2 is grounded . a feedback resistor r 6 is connected around the input and output terminals of amplifier a 2 . this amplifier and its associated feedback and input resistors comprise the summing amplifier 23 of fig1 . the output of amplifier 23 extends over line 103 through a terminal a and to one side of switch 426 which comprises in effect , a solid - state switch which includes two input branches , one having input resistor r 7 and the other input resistor r 8 connected to a siliconix dual fet electronic switch type dg200ba . control line marked &# 34 ; reset &# 34 ; for the r 7 branch of switch 426 is used to change the integrator rate ( r 7 & lt ;& lt ; r 8 ) for rapid recalibration when multiplexing to the next transducer . the control terminal for the r 8 branch is connected to line 111 . both switch output sides are connected to line 106 . line 106 then connects to the input side of integrator 24 , specifically to the negative terminal of a third operational amplifier a 3 . this amplifier has capacitor c1 connected in feedback between input and output terminals . the output from amplifier a 3 is connected through resistor r 9 to feedback line 107 . a fixed voltage power source v b is connected through resistor r 10 also to line 107 . amplifiers a 2 and a 3 are typically models 1426 from teledyne - philbrick co . in the operation of this self - calibration - zero reference circuit 420 , amplifier 22a accepts a transducer signal i y and since it is an inverting amplifier , produces a negative voltage , - v y , which then is summed with a positive reference voltage vr so that amplifier 23 which is also an inverting amplifier provides an output voltage k ( v y - v r ) where k is the gain of this amplifier . this amplified sum is integrated in integrator circuit 24 and then fed back as an automatic gain control ( agc ) signal to adjust the gain g of amplifier 22a forcing this gain to change until the value of k ( v y - v r ) equals zero , at point a . when this occurs the transducer signal is calibrated . calibration occurs automatically while a section of yarn having no slubs ( i . e ., of substantially constant diameter ) is passed through the particular transducer then connected by the multiplexer into the circuit . when unslubbed yarn is passing through the transducer the average voltage at point a is zero . if a slub or other increased yarn diameter section passes through the transducer , the shadow cast on the photodetector increases which decreases the output current i y of that transducer . this produces a negative voltage at a ( since as previously taught in the referenced patent , the time constant of integrator 24 is chosen to be slower than the slub events of interest ). this voltage at a appears on line 109 and is applicable to operate the discriminator circuit 27 of fig1 and provide a control signal at point b which is fed over line 111 to operate switch 426 . this switch removes the input signal to integrator 24 and causes it to hold its output level at the value attained for unslubbed yarn . this is a relatively long term average value and in this way this circuit provides a stable reference level at zero representating the average yarn diameter exclusive of slubs and other large diameter excursions . that a self - calibration results is understood from the following analysis . a loepfe fr30 optical transducer 21 provides an electrical output signal proportional to the diameter of yarn passing through it . basically , the transducer contains a light source producing light and by use of a light pipe , forms a light beam having an essentially rectangular cross section which is directed toward a silicon cell photodetector . the yarn is guided through the light beam . with no yarn in the transducer , the photodetector receives all the light . when yarn is present , a shadow whose area is proportional to the yarn diameter is present on the photodetector . the signal produced by the photodetector with no yarn present is described by the following equation : when a yarn bundle having a diameter , d , is placed in the optical path , the signal i y becomes : where it is seen that the initial signal is reduced by the area of the yarn bundle shadow ( wd ). this equation can also be written : from this latter equation ( 2a ) it can be seen that the signal current is determined by transducer electro - optical factors ( l , t , s ), mechanical design factors ( w , h ) and the measurement of interest ( d ). each transducer can be expected to produce a particular signal due to its electro - optical ( l , t , s ) characteristics and these will differ from one transducer to another . in addition , any transducer can be expected to change its sensitivity as its light source dims , or the photodetector ages or changes sensitivity with ambient temperature , or the path transmittance changes caused by dust or oil deposits or light pipe yellowing . factors less likely to vary widely or change significantly are the mechanical factors , the beam cross - sectional dimensions ( w , h ). the self - calibration action will be more clearly understood by considering the following circuit analysis . with switch 426 permitting signals to pass to integrator 24 and with normal unslubbed yarn in the transducer head : where d o is the normal unslubbed yarn diameter and g is the gain of amplifier 22a . and the gain , g , of variable gain amplifier 22a can be expressed as ## equ1 ## when a slub with a diameter , d s , passes through the transducer head , the gain g does not change because switch 426 opens the circit to integrator 24a holding the integrator value being fed back to 22a as an agc signal at the &# 34 ; pre - slub &# 34 ; value . now , the transducer signal during a slub event i s becomes : and since - v s = gi s , then substituting for g from ( 5 ) gives ## equ2 ## thus , v s is independent of the electro - optical factors ( lts ). the output , v o , of summing amplifier 23a during a slub event will be note that the only remaining transducer factor which could vary from one transducer to another is the beam width h in the direction of the yarn diameter . if , for a given feed yarn normal diameter , the average measured diameter , d o , which will be substantially constant is much smaller than h ( e . g ., for 120 denier yarn , d o ˜ 0 . 02 h ), the differences in h among transducers can be compensated for by making v r / h a constant . in practice a value v r / h = 5 was used . this permits v r to be adjusted the small amount required to account for the variations in h among the multiplexed transducers . in the preferred embodiment a digital computer is used to program the individual corrections to v r for individual values of h . correction is accomplished through a digital to analog converter means ( not shown ) connected as a control input to voltage source 23a of fig1 for maintaining v r / h constant . the general equation for any of the multiplexed transducers when the gain k of amplifier 23 is 4 then becomes effectively the average value of v o will be zero for normal feed yarn . slubs are measured with respect to the base yarn diameter with a sensitivity ( at the indicated gain ) of about 0 . 1 volts / mil . this is more than adequate to ensure consistent slub and slug detection and does not require unusual performance from any circuit components . thus , a yarn diameter monitoring system of the type described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 887 , 814 has been modified in a novel way to provide not only for sequentially analyzing the diameter variability of a multiplicity of separate yarn ends but also to provide self - calibration characteristics which compensate for variability among yarn diameter transducers due to differences in design factors and compensates for temporal changes in the conversion efficiency of each transducer with time such as by accumulation of dust or ageing of optical light source and detector components . in the preferred embodiment , the readout system takes the form of a conventional printout apparatus which sequentially prints out the yarn characteristics after each individual yarn transducer has been connected into the circuit by means of the multiplexer circuit . | 6 |
in one embodiment the subject matter of the present invention provides an enhanced biohazard detection system that incorporates a device for detecting biological agents using immunoassay detection technology . the immunodetection assay may be used as a prescreen assay to make the present pcr - based systems more efficient and economical to operate or as a stand alone assay to detect the presence of biohazardous agents that cannot be detected using the pcr detection assays . in addition , it may be used to detect the presence of biohazardous agent in parallel to the pcr detection assays as a method of improving accuracy and reducing the system false alarm rate . in a further embodiment the present invention provides an enhanced biohazard detection system having an enhanced fluidics module that allows a collected sample to be tested with a pcr device and / or an immunoassay device , in parallel , in series , or after two or more samples are pooled . in one embodiment the system is used to test air surrounding moving equipment that transports items that may be contaminated with biohazardous agents , such as pieces of mail . a schematic diagram of an enhanced biohazard detection system 100 according to the present invention is shown in fig1 . the system 100 includes a collection device 102 that draws an air sample 104 from an area to be sampled and a fluidics handling module 108 that provides a means for a collected sample to be tested in an immunoassay detection device 110 and / or a pcr detection device 112 . system 100 also includes a control system 114 , a waste storage area 118 and an optional archive storage area 116 . in one embodiment , the air sample 104 is drawn through an anti - static , smooth bore flexible collection hose into a suitable filter , such as , for example , a dry cyclone filter . in a preferred embodiment , the sample is drawn through a collection hood with or without a filter . in one embodiment of the aerosol collection device 102 , particles in the air sample 104 are collected in a liquid to produce a liquid sample 106 for analysis . a suitable collection device is described in u . s . patent publication no . 2004 / 0063198 , although an appropriate collector - concentrator that is efficient for collecting bio - aerosols , particulate matter and soluble vapors can be used . in one embodiment , the collection device 102 may be a spincon ® collection and concentration system developed by sceptor industries to collect bio - aerosols , particulate matter and soluble vapors at strategically placed locations . alternatively , separate collection and concentration devices can be used . the collection device 102 can advantageously be placed at a location adjacent to a transport path for items that may be contaminated with a biological agent , for example , adjacent mail sorting and handling equipment . in a preferred embodiment of the collection process , a collection fluid is injected into a vertical glass tube or contactor of the aerosol collector - concentrator . air is drawn into the contactor through a slit partially covered by a collection fluid . the fluid across the slit is atomized into small water droplets by the incoming air , greatly increasing the surface area in contact with the air . in one embodiment the collector - concentrator impinges the air into about 12 milliliters ( ml ) of a collection fluid , which can be a variety of different fluid types . in one preferred embodiment the collection fluid may be de - ionized sterile water , which has been filtered through a 0 . 2 μm filter . after particles in the air sample are picked up by the liquid , the sample , which is now a liquid sample , is transferred from the collector to a fluidics module 108 . the fluidics handling module 108 provides means for a collected sample to be tested in an immunoassay detection device 110 and / or a pcr detection device 112 by storing and delivering aliquots of the liquid sample 106 to receptacles in which detection and identification assays are carried out . the fluidics handling module 108 allows the collected sample to be tested in both modules in parallel , or to be tested in first one module , then the second module , in series . the system immunoassay detection device 110 detects the reaction products of an immunodetection assay on a first portion or aliquot of the original sample 106 from a first or second reservoir in the fluidics handling module 108 . the immunoassay detection device 110 may have one , two or an array of photodiode detectors , or another means of measuring light , such as a ccd camera . the device may also include an automated plate carriage for transporting a multi - well plate from a liquid fill area to a position under the light measuring component ( s ). the device may also include an interface for reporting the test results provided by the immunoassay device to the control system 114 of the biohazard detection system . in preferred embodiments , the immunoassay device 110 provides an antibody based assay in which antibodies that recognize and capture antigens present on biohazardous agents are used to detect the presence of the agents in samples of particles taken from air . the immunodetection assay utilizes antibodies directed to known biohazardous agents , such as agents designated as bioterrorism agents by governmental agencies such as the center for disease control . such biohazardous agents may include , for example , bacteria that cause anthrax ( bacillus anthracis ), botulism ( clostridium botulinum ), tularemia ( francisella tularensis ) or plague ( yersinia pestis ). the assay may also use antibodies directed at viruses , such as smallpox virus ( variola major ) and filoviruses and arenaviruses that cause viral hemorrhagic fevers . in addition , the system may use antibodies directed at toxins such as the epsilon toxin of clostridium perfringens and the ricin toxin from ricinus communis . in preferred embodiments , the assay of the immunoassay device 110 may be any immunoassay method in which the final read - out detects an antibody - antigen reaction by measuring a signal produced using a reagents and appropriate labels where detection of the label can be correlated with the presence of an antigen of interest . suitable detection methods include colorimetry , fluorescence , radioactivity and chemiluminescence . preferred methods include fluorescence and chemiluminescence . in some preferred embodiments electrochemiluminescence detection methods may be used . immunoassay devices known to those of skill in the art may be adapted for use in the enhanced biological detection system of the present invention . for example , the sector pr devices of meso scale discovery or the luminex system of luminex corporation may be adapted for use as a subsystem in the enhanced biological detection system 100 . immunoassays such as enzyme linked immunosorbent assays ( elisas ) that are known in the art may be readily adapted for use in the immunoassay device . enzyme conjugated antibodies may be used in automated assays include horseradish peroxidase and alkaline phosphatase . useful substrates for detecting bound antibodies include colorimetric , fluorometric , and chemiluminescent substrates that provide very high sensitivity and low background signals and allow accurate detection of a specific bacteria , virus or toxins , which may be present in very low amounts in a sample . the immunoassay device may include an automated filling station at which samples and other reagents are added to an assay reservoir , such as the well of a microtiter plate . in one preferred embodiment the immunoassay reservoir is one or more wells of a standard ninety - six well microtiter plate . the filling station may further include a probe or pipette that is connected to the fluidics handling module 108 which delivers a liquid sample 106 to the assay reservoir or well . the fluidics handling module may also store and deliver enzyme linked secondary antibodies and reagents for developing the immunodetection assay . a photometer or other detection device is used for measuring emitted light , fluorescence or chemiluminescence produced by enzymes linked antibodies such as those known to those of skill in the antibody art when those antibodies are bound to the agent of interest . a carriage mechanism may be used to move an assay plate from a liquid filling station to the photometer or detection device . in one embodiment the biohazard detection system provides a method of detecting a biohazard using an immunoassay as a prescreen assay . when the immunoassay device 110 detects the presence of a bacterial or viral biohazard , the apparatus sends a “ preliminary positive ” signal to the control system 114 , which may include one or more computers . the control system 114 may then send a signal to the fluidics module 108 to transfer a second portion or aliquot of the original sample from the first sample reservoir , to a second analysis apparatus 112 which may be a pcr - based biological agent identifier system . one pcr method that may be used is described in detail in u . s . patent publication no . 2004 / 0063198 . one of skill in this art may identify or design other suitable pcr assay devices ( or devices that incorporate other detection technologies with similar or better sensitivity and specificity as pcr ) for incorporation into the biohazard detection system . in one embodiment , the pcr - based biological agent identifier system 112 consists of two components , a multi - chamber cartridge and a pcr analysis instrument . on receipt of a signal from the control system 114 , the fluidics handling module 108 transfers a portion or aliquot of the original sample from its reservoir into the multi - chamber cartridge for confirmation of the preliminary positive signal by a pcr assay . in one preferred embodiment the pcr assay device extracts nucleic acid from material present in the sample prior to analyzing extracted nucleic acids by pcr using methods known in the art . the pcr detection apparatus may be set to run a series of tests using different sets of dna probes and primer pairs designed for individual biohazard agents to confirm the presence of and identity of the agent in the sample . if the immunodetection assay identifies a bacteria , virus or toxin biohazard for which no pcr test exists , a second immunoassay analysis may be performed , preferably using a different antibody or set of antibodies to confirm or verify the preliminary positive result of the first immunoassay . in one preferred embodiment the biological detection system 100 of the present invention advantageously provides a method for identifying a toxin in the sample of particles collected from a monitored location . because toxins are generally not nucleic acids , the presence of a toxin cannot be confirmed with a nucleic acid based pcr detection assays . pcr assays can detect only the presence of a bacteria or other organism that produces a toxin . thus , in one embodiment , an immunoassay device 110 will be used to confirm the presence of a toxin by performing a second immunodetection assay using an antibody that may differ from the antibody of the first screening assay . an unused liquid sample 106 may be held in the sample reservoir of the fluidics handling module 108 until analysis is complete . when a particular sample 106 is determined to be positive for a biohazard , the remaining sample may be transferred to an archive storage area or container 116 , as shown in fig1 , and eventually be removed from the biohazard detection system 100 for further testing . liquids from analysis assays may be transferred to a waste storage area or container 118 as shown in fig1 . in one application two or more samples may be pooled and held for further testing to confirm the results of a first detection test by use of a fluidics handling module with a plurality of reservoirs . in one embodiment , shown in fig2 , the fluidics handling module 108 includes a first reservoir 202 and a second reservoir 204 . a first portion or aliquot of the sample from reservoir 202 is tested using the immunoassay device 110 as described above . samples which test negative for a biohazard agent in the immunodetection assay can be collected in the second sample reservoir 204 , which may serve as a pooling reservoir . pooled samples may be stored and subsequently tested using the pcr detection device to confirm the results of a prescreen immunodetection assay . alternatively , the pooled samples may be tested in a second immunodetection assay . in one embodiment the enhanced fluidics module 108 is a mission configurable fluidics module 300 such as the module 300 of fig3 . the configurable layout of module 300 allows the biohazard detection system to be readily reconfigured should it be desirable to use the system to detect a new agent , to incorporate a new detection assay or to otherwise modify the assays carried out by the system . in a preferred embodiment , the configurable fluidics module 300 includes a manifold 302 that forms a common base which can be customized to have reservoirs for the specific solutions required by a detection system . the manifold may contain large volume reservoirs 304 that can be used to store consumables , such as , water , test buffers and reagents which are used in large volumes relative to standard sample volumes . small volume fluid reservoirs 306 may be used for holding and storing samples . the small volume fluid reservoirs 306 may also be used for storing consumables , particularly in multiple , smaller volumes . smaller volume reservoirs may be equipped with volume sensors and multiple extraction points to allow for the processing of samples from different points within a water column using methods known to those of skill in the art . consumables and samples can be transported to and from reservoirs 304 and 306 using fluid handling methods and mechanisms known to those of skill in the art . for example , the configurable fluidics module 300 can include one or more onboard pumps 308 in fluid communication with the reservoirs , e . g ., via conduits integrally formed in the manifold and / or other parts of the module such that the reservoirs are operably connected to one another . various valves and sensors can also be provided as part of the fluidics module 300 to control the flow of fluids to and from the reservoirs as well as to provide information to the system about reservoir conditions ( e . g ., fluid level , temperature , etc .) and the fluids contained therein . alternatively , the fluid handling mechanism may include an automated pipette device movable between reservoirs and / or detection devices . in one embodiment , the reservoirs for smaller volumes of solution may be modular ( i . e ., line replaceable units ) so that they are exchangeable with other reservoir modules . exchangeable modules allow for easy cleaning or replacement if changes to the system exceed the inherent variability of the system . a complementary fluidics loading station ( not shown ) can be provided for a quick changeout of all consumables to facilitate loading . optionally , the loading station may be connected to the manifold system . the software used to program the computer control system 114 of the biohazard detection system may include an address for each reservoir and to allow easy modification of fluid routing from application to application or detection assay to detection assay . the mission configurable fluidics module 306 may further comprise a long , thin pump cylinder that allows for accurate measurements and long service life . the piston of the pump may serve as a neutral reservoir for transfers of fluids or solutions . in one embodiment metering of volumes occurs only on injection , and not on aspiration of fluid . in this embodiment more fluid will be drawn into the pump cylinder than the small volume that will be distributed or injected . thus , the remainder of any uninjected fluid will be returned to a starting reservoir or sent to a waste reservoir . to mitigate failures , one embodiment of the mission configurable fluidics module may contain redundant pumps 308 . in one embodiment the configurable fluidics module 108 may contain a cleaning or rinsing reservoir of gray , i . e ., recycled , water that will allow for multiple rinses of the system without consuming large quantities of water . gray water will be sent to the waste reservoir and replaced after a determined number of rinses are done . the enhancements provided by the mission configurable fluidics module allows for more economical use of consumables and a lower overall cost of operation for the biohazard detection system . the variable configuration allows the detection system to be easily adapted to different detection assays with minimal or no changes to the system . for example , the module can be adapted to provide a surfactant that will prevent binding of toxins or proteins to material present in a liquid sample . the surfactant may be stored in a large volume reservoir 304 of the module and injected directly into the aerosol collection device during sample collection in controlled metered doses . while various embodiments / variations of the present invention have been described above , it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only , and not limitation . thus , the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above - described exemplary embodiments , but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents . | 6 |
referring now to the drawings and , first , particularly to fig1 there is shown therein , in a perspective view , a sheet delivery , of which one of the side walls 1 has been omitted in the interest of clarity . the side wall 1 of the sheet delivery is supported , on the one hand , on two columns 4 and , on the other hand , adjoins at the right - hand side thereof a sheet delivery section of an otherwise non - illustrated rotary printing press . the side wall 1 is provided with openings 2 and 3 , which serve for the lateral insertion of carrier elements , which are thus easily exchangeable . shown at the bottom of the side wall 1 is a pallet 6 resting on a stack carrier 5 , which can be conveyed up and down , fastened to a lifting device . arranged above an auxiliary stack frame 13 is a frame structure 7 which is provided on both sides with deflection rollers 9 and 10 . a separating band 8 , which is moved by a drive mounted in the crossmember 11 , revolves around the deflection rollers 9 and 10 . furthermore , a sheet brake 12 is mounted on the frame structure 7 . the auxiliary stack frame 13 is formed by two parallel hollow profiles 14 and 15 which are connected to one another by a front crossmember 16 and a rear crossmember 17 . an auxiliary stack receiving element 19 is movable horizontally in the auxiliary stack frame 13 . provided on the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 are driver strips 20 and 21 which are movable by dogs 30 ( note fig2 ) passing through the hollow profiles 14 and 15 at the inner side thereof . in the exemplary embodiment of fig1 a rake 23 having rake tines extending alongside one another in the paper running or travel direction is received in the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 on the crossmember 22 . the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 , which is movable with low friction in the horizontal direction in linear guides 32 provided on the hollow profiles 14 and 15 , has runners 26 and 27 , respectively , at the sides thereof . the auxiliary stack frame 13 is articulatedly connected at corner locations thereof to a lifting device 36 , which affords a vertical movement of the entire auxiliary stack frame 13 upwardly or downwardly . both the drive 39 for the lifting device 36 and a chain storage are indicated by dash - dot or phantom lines . the upper ends of the chains carrying the auxiliary stack frame 13 are wound up by the chain storage . fig2 is a plan view of the auxiliary stack frame having an auxiliary stack receiving element whereon a rake 23 is mounted in this embodiment of the invention . the rake 23 has rake strips 24 by which it is fastened to the crossmember 22 of the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 . provided on both sides of the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 are driver or entrainer strips 20 and 21 , which are connected to the crossmember 22 . on the upper driver strip 21 , the positions at which the runners are fastened to the driver strip 21 are designated by reference numerals 26 and 27 . for reasons of symmetry , this also applies to the opposite driver strip 20 . shown underneath the driver strips 20 and 21 and partly concealed thereby are the linear guides 32 wherein runner rollers of the runners 26 and 27 move and in this way ensure exact guidance of the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 in the horizontal direction . shown with a dash - dot or phantom line directly opposite the front crossmember 16 of the auxiliary stack frame 13 is the rake 23 in the position thereof wherein it has been moved forward into the main stack area . provided on the front crossmember 16 are holding fingers 18 , by which the front regions of the individual rake tines 25 are supported . in the interest of safety , these holding fingers 18 are pretensioned by spring elements , in order to keep the risk of injury low . by supporting the front regions of the rake tines 25 , the curvature of the auxiliary stack surface is kept within limits and a higher delivery accuracy is achievable . in the plan view of the auxiliary stack frame 13 , it is possible , moreover , to see the articulation point 28 for the pulling device 36 . in order to prevent the auxiliary stack frame 13 from sliding , guide elements are mounted on the outer sides of the auxiliary stack profiles 14 and 15 . accommodated in the hollow profile 14 is an adjusting element 29 , preferably formed as a pneumatic cylinder without a piston rod , whereon a laterally projecting dog 30 is mounted . the dog 30 is positively or formlockingly connected to the respective dog strip 20 or 21 assigned thereto and , in this manner , transmits the movement of the adjusting elements 29 in the hollow profiles 14 and 15 to the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 . in the foregoing regard , it is noted that a formlocking connection is one which connects two elements together due to the shape of the elements themselves , as opposed to a forcelocking connection , which locks the elements together by force external to the elements . the dogs 30 of the adjusting elements 29 move along the travel path in the hollow profiles 14 and 15 in slot - like openings 43 , which extend along the hollow profiles 14 and 15 . at front ends of the driver strips 20 and 21 , there are stops 44 for stillage or hurdle boards 34 to be inserted . the stillage boards 34 are fitted from the side through slot - like openings 2 onto the respectively provided auxiliary stack receiving element 19 . the aforementioned hollow profiles 14 and 15 are equipped with sensors which sense the position of the runner to which the dog 30 of the adjusting elements 29 is fastened . with these sensors integrated into the adjusting elements 29 , it is possible to sense whether the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 has or has not reached the front or rear position thereof in the auxiliary stack frame 13 . the front and the rear crossmembers 16 and 17 , respectively , of the auxiliary stack frame 13 are provided with shock absorber units 45 which damp the accelerated mass during braking and stopping of the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 in its end positions . furthermore , a further transmitting element 46 . 2 of a light barrier is accommodated in the crossmember 22 . the front crossmember 16 of the auxiliary stack frame 13 has a receiver part 46 . 1 of a light barrier which senses elements coming from below , such as , for example , the stack carrier 5 and the pallet 6 . fig3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the auxiliary stack frame 13 . both the holding fingers 18 and the shock absorbers 45 are mounted on the front crossmember 16 . the lower part of the hollow profile 14 of the auxiliary stack frame 13 carries the linear guide 32 , whereon the runner rollers 31 of the two runners 26 and 27 move in the horizontal direction . the two runners 26 and 27 are fastened to the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 and ensure the low - friction horizontal movement thereof . mounted on the rear crossmember 17 of the auxiliary stack frame 13 is a pneumatic manifold 35 . the loading of the adjusting elements 29 , which are accommodated in the hollow profiles 14 and 15 , and are preferably constructed as pneumatic cylinders without piston rods , is additionally performed by the pneumatic manifold 35 . if a floating table 33 is used as the base in the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 , the rear crossmember 17 can be connected to a blower , by which an air cushion is built up on the floating table 33 by low - pressure air . the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 is in the position thereof wherein it is withdrawn from the main stack area , as shown in fig3 . the articulation point for a pulling device 36 is identified by reference numeral 28 . further articulation points 28 for the respective pulling device 36 are located at the corners of the auxiliary stack frame 13 . fig4 is an enlarged cross - sectional view of one of the hollow profiles shown in fig2 . one of the pulling devices 36 with which the auxiliary stack frame 13 is moved up and down is fastened to the articulation point 28 of the auxiliary stack frame 13 . accommodated within the hollow profile 14 is the adjusting element 29 , which is connected via the dog 30 ( note fig2 ) to the driver strip 21 and ensures the movement of the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 . fastened underneath the driver strip 21 are the runners 26 and 27 , the runner rollers 31 of which are guided on a linear guide 32 which is provided on the hollow profile 14 . in the exemplary embodiment of fig4 a rake 23 is fastened to the crossmember 22 of the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 . the rake strip 24 , whereon the individual rake tines 25 are provided , is connected to the crossmember 22 of the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 . fig5 is a cross - sectional view of the auxiliary stack frame 13 over the entire width thereof . the hollow profiles 14 and 15 , wherein the adjusting units 29 are accommodated , are fastened to the auxiliary stack frame 13 which is suspended on both sides in respective pulling devices 36 . the driver strips 20 and 21 , to which the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 is fastened , are moved by the adjusting units 29 . mounted on the crossmember 22 of this auxiliary stack receiving element 19 is a rake 23 having tines 25 whereon a build - up of a new auxiliary stack can take place . fig6 is a side elevational view of the sheet delivery . the respective pulling devices 36 moving the auxiliary stack frame 13 up and down are moved by the drive 39 and are guided deflection wheels 40 and 41 . the drive 39 for the pulling devices 36 is mounted in side walls 1 supported in the main stack area by columns 4 which ensure the accessibility of the main stack . the sheets , which are transported in the paper running or travel direction 42 , are held in gripper bars 38 , which circulate or revolve on transport chains 37 . the build - up of the auxiliary stack is performed following the movement of the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 in the paper running direction 42 into the main stack area . the main stack is discharged and processed further , while the copies from the continuous production printing on the press are delivered on the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 . the rake 23 can be let into or embedded in the latter , as mentioned hereinbefore , or else the floating table 33 , which is provided with low - pressure air to build up an air cushion , or a stillage or hurdle board 34 may be so embedded . the auxiliary stack receiving element 19 has , on the driver strips 20 and 21 thereof , runners 26 and 27 having runner rollers 31 which are guided on the hollow profiles 14 and 15 . the slot - shaped openings 43 ( note fig3 ), respectively , are traversed by the dogs 30 , which are connected to the driver strips 20 and 21 . | 1 |
a first embodiment of the invention is shown in fig1 . the first embodiment includes a pair of breaker rollers ( 12 ) connected together by a shaft ( 14 ). the breaker rollers ( 12 ) are mounted onto the shaft in any conventional manner such that the breaker rollers are rotatable about the shaft ( 14 ). alternatively the rollers can be non - rotatably fixed to the shaft the breaker device ( 10 ) includes a cylindrical chamber body ( 16 ), positioned between the breaker rollers ( 12 ). in the present embodiment the chamber body ( 16 ) encloses the shaft ( 14 ). the ends of the chamber body ( 16 ) are closed with caps ( 18 ). the chamber body includes buoyant material ( 20 ) such as polystyrene or polyurethane , secured to the upper end of the chamber ( 16 ). alternatively the chamber body can contain a small quantity of free floating buoyant material . apertures ( 26 ) are provided at the top and bottom ends of the chamber . when the apparatus is made from light material such as plastics , the overall specific gravity of the entire device is less than that ambient water than buoyant material need not be introduced into the chamber body . in a variation of the above embodiment , a pair of discs ( 13 ) or a pair of rollers ( 12 ) can be secured to the ends of the cylindrical chambers instead of to a shaft ( see fig3 ). as before , the terminal ends of the cylindrical chamber body are closed by cap means ( 18 ). the cylindrical chamber body ( 16 ) if necessary can contain buoyant material such as polystyrene or polyurethane material or any other suitable non - biodegradable material . referring back to fig1 the chamber body ( 16 ) includes at least one aperture ( 26 ) each at the lower and upper end of the chamber respectively through which water flows into the chamber . a plurality of pairs of breaker rollers are stringed together to form a collar ( 22 ) ( see fig5 ) each pair of breaker roller being spaced apart from the adjacent pair . any suitable connecting means can be adopted to string together the pairs of breaker rollers . the mode of attachment of the pair of breaker rollers to the connecting means would depend on the nature of connecting means employed . preferred connecting means are extruded plastics straps , and other long lasting non - biodegradable , non - rusting and flexible material is suitable . steel cables , ropes or natural fibrous material can be used as connecting means . it is generally advisable to use more lasting , non - deteriorating material to form the connecting means . appropriate aperture can be provided at the upper and lower end of the chamber body through the connecting means can be stringed to form a ring . alternatively each pair of breaker rollers can be independently connected to an adjacent pair of breaker rollers . two sets of collars consisting of a plurality of pairs of breaker rollers can be attached together at , at least two vertically spaced apart positions . if necessary additional sets of collars consisting of pairs of breaker rollers can be attached to form a stacked series of collars . ( see fig9 ) the working of the apparatus and other additional features of the apparatus will be described now in relation to an offshore tubular support structure as seen often in wharves and in offshore oil exploration rigs . a collar whose length exceeds the circumference of the submerged support structure is prepared . the pairs of breaker roller units are stringed spaced apart in the collar ( see fig5 and 9 ). the free ends of the collar are secured together by any conventional means known to the art . if the submerged structure is deep , then additional collars with breaker rollers stringed thereon can be linked together in spaced apart vertical stacks to give the required depth ( see fig9 ). when a collar of stringed breaker rollers is introduced into the water , water flows into the cylindrical chamber via the apertures ( 26 ) at the lower end of the chamber , displaced atmospheric air from within the chamber escaping out via the apertures at the upper end of the chamber . each breaker device ( 10 ) filled with water knocks against the side wall of the submerged structure ( 28 ), by the force of ambient force originating from wave action , undersea current etc . the swaying action of the collar with the stringed breaker device results in the breaker rollers exerting intermittent hammering force against the aquatic fouling matter on the submerged structure , such as barnacles colonies . as the other collar of stringed breaker devices ( 12 ) is not secured to the submerged structure , but is free moving , the collar is free to rotate around the submerged structure . to produce a more effective hammering action against the fouling matter , the breaker roller ( 12 ) can be grooved or geared ( see fig3 ). in environments where there is more calcerous fouling matter to be removed , the external contact surface of the breaker roller with the calcerous fouling matter can be further hardened by the provision of hardened surface material , such as steel or other suitable durable material . the collars can further include vanes , fins , etc to facilitate the rotational movement of the collars around the submerged structure . other embodiments within the scope of the invention concept can be envisaged . fig4 shows another variant of embodiment . the breaker rollers ( 30 ) are substantially larger than the breaker rollers shown in fig1 . these rollers are hollow and are designed to receive and hold water . apertures ( 32 ) are provided to facilitate the inflow of water . the shaft ( 34 ) can be hollow and be designed to receive water as in the shaft ( 14 ) of the first embodiment , or alternatively be solid or sealed . the mounting of the breaker rollers ( 30 ) onto the shaft ( 34 ) can be according to any known means . the breaker rollers ( 30 ) are stringed to a collar means by conventional means . alternatively the rollers ( 30 ) can be non - rotatably secured to the shaft ( 34 ). fig1 and 11 illustrate yet another embodiment of the invention . the embodiment is similar to the embodiment illustrated in fig1 except that the cylindrical chamber ( 16 ) is replaced with a plurality of individual chambers ( 17 ). each chamber ( 17 ) is tubular with a central hole ( 19 ) running therethrough , and at least two aperture holes ( 26 ) through water enters the chamber and the air is displaced . the chambers are stacked onto the shaft ( 14 ). the size of the breaker device can be varied by the addition or subtraction of the number of individual chambers ( 17 ) along the shaft ( 14 ). the length of the shaft ( 14 ) is selected according to the number of chambers that are to be used on a specific configuration of the breaker of the device . it will be appreciated that this configuration permits convenient transportation of the breaker device to the site . although each breaker device described so far illustrates the provision a roller at each end of a shaft , it can be envisaged that additional rollers can be provided along the shaft ( 14 , 34 ) or the rollers can be provided at any place along the shaft and need not be restricted to the terminal ends of the shaft member . further in a collar of stringed breaker devices , each device can be of different configuration according to the embodiments describes herein . fig7 and 8 shows yet another embodiment of the invention consisting of a hollow chamber ( 36 ) encapsulatingly secured around a shaft member ( 38 ). the chamber body ( 38 ) includes apertures ( 26 ) at the upper and lower ends of the chamber body to facilitate the inflow and outflow of water and the displacement of atmosphere air inside the chamber . the chamber body can be partially filled with floating material such as polystyrene or polyurethane . as in earlier embodiments of the apparatus , the chamber bodies can be stringed together to form a collar . when the breaker device is of large dimension , it can be used as a device to eliminate the aquatic foul up . a large sized breaker device exerts greater hammering force on the aquatic foul up material as compared to a smaller size breaker device . thus once the aquatic foul - up is broken up or eliminated , smaller size breaker device can introduced onto the sub - structures . the smaller size breaker device can function as a device to prevent subsequent growth or establishment of aquatic foul - up material . other types of preventive device can be used , such as brushes on the collar ring . the size of a breaker device to be used at a given site would depend on such parameters as nature and size of aquatic foul - up on the submerged structure ; the size of natural forces for example , the wave and tide action , underwater currents , etc . the collars can advantageously include , fins , vanes or other devices to facilitate the rotation of the collar around the submerged elongate body . further features can be secured to the collar to inhibit the settlement of new underwater growth . the latter features include scrapers and brushes . | 1 |
with regard to its software aspects , the present invention can be implemented by suitable programming of the control software of known pacemakers . the invention can in particular be applied to the implantable devices marketed by ela médical , montrouge , france , such as the symphony and rhapsody branded devices . these are programmable devices with memory and microprocessors comprising circuits for receiving , formatting , and processing electric signals collected by implanted probes bearing cardiac electrodes , and delivering stimulation impulses to these electrodes . it is possible to transmit to the device by telemetry the software , which will be stored and carried out to implement the functions of the invention described below . adaptation of these apparatuses and creation of suitable software programming to implement the functions of the inventions described herein are deemed to be within the abilities of a person of ordinary skill in the art and a matter of design choice and will not be described in detail herein . in fig1 , reference number 10 indicates , generally , an intracardiac bio - impedance measuring circuit , incorporated in the circuit of the implanted generator . reference number 12 indicates an endocavitary probe implanted in the myocardium 14 and comprising , in the illustrated example , an atrial electrode 16 , a proximal ventricular electrode 18 , and a distal ventricular electrode 20 . for measurement of the intracardiac impedance ( in this example a trans - valvular impedance ), the device injects by means of generator 22 a current i inj between the atrial electrode 16 and the distal ventricular electrode 20 . a corresponding voltage v in is then collected between the atrial electrode 16 ( which is thus an electrode common to both the injection and the collection ) and the proximal ventricular electrode 18 . this voltage is amplified by an amplifier 24 and digitized by an analog / digital converter 26 , to give a coded value representative of the voltage v in . this measurement technique in itself is known and therefore will not be described more in anymore detail . one will note that the described technique is only one example of an intracardiac configuration of bio - impedance measurement . the first stage ( in itself known ) of treatment of the signals consists of evaluating the impedance starting from the values of the injected current i inj and of the collected differential voltage v in . this impedance is given by the relation : z = k 1 * ( v in - k 3 ) i inj - k 2 ( k 1 being the factor of proportionality between the input voltage and a step of converter 26 ( expressed in μv ), k 2 being the internal impedance of the implant , symbolically illustrated as 28 by resistance r ( expressed in ohms ), and k 3 being the shift value , i . e ., the value delivered by converter 26 for a null voltage v in in input ( expressed in step of code ). to determine the three constants k 1 , k 2 , and k 3 , it is necessary to operate beforehand three measurements with different values i inj1 and i inj2 from the injection current and values different from the impedance between the terminals . this calibration can be carried out , for example , by substituting at probe 12 a resistance 30 of a fixed known value r 0 or r 1 , one of the two values being able to be for example r 0 = 0 ( short - circuiting the input ). calibration can be carried out for each implant , during a test automated on a production line , the specific values of the constants k 1 , k 2 , and k 3 being memorized in the implant after being determined : k 1 is the drift of the input voltage for step i of the converter , expressed in μv by step of code : k 2 is the internal impedance of the implant , expressed in ohms : k 3 is the value of exit of the converter for a voltage of null input ( expressed in step of code ): in the alternative , it is possible to carry out a calibration only for some representative samples of implants , to determine an average value for the constants k 1 , k 2 , and k 3 , and to then apply these constants to all implants . this last manner of proceeding is less precise , but appears in practice sufficient for most current needs , except for some research protocols requiring a higher precision . the following stage , characteristic of the present invention , concerns determining the absolute dynamic value of the endocavitary volume starting from the impedance signal thus obtained . in the first embodiment , volume ( vol ) is given starting from a linear volume / impedance characteristic , i . e ., a relation of the general form vol =( a * z )+ b . to determine the two constants a and b , a calibration is carried out starting from two initial known points , determined for each patient , for example , the systolic volume vol 1 and diastolic volume vol 2 , determined by echography . these two volume values vol 1 and vol 2 , correspond to impedance values z 1 and z 2 , as follows : in the second , preferred , embodiment , the volume is given starting from a hyperbolic volume / impedance characteristic , i . e . a relation of the general form vol = a /( z + b ) or , in other words : the two constants k 4 and k 5 are obtained starting from initial measurements obtained for each patient : k 4 is the constant of proportionality of volume , expressed in milliliters per ohm : k 5 represents the level of the asymptote for a volume tending towards infinite , expressed in ohms : fig2 shows the results of an estimate of the volume carried out in the way indicated above , either by a linear conversion ( shown by dashes ), or by a hyperbolic conversion ( shown by full lines ). the squares represent the points of measurement of a test carried out in vitro on a dog heart , documented in the article by raul chirife titled “ intracardiac impedance for hemodynamic assessment ,” cardiac pacing , rome ( 2004 ). as one can see , the value of the volume estimated by using a hyperbolic conversion is extremely close to physical reality , though a linear conversion , which is simpler to implement , can also give satisfactory results when less precision is required , or when the range of variation of volume is relatively small that the linear characteristic will suffice . fig3 illustrates , as for fig2 , the results of an estimate of volume carried out in the way indicated above , by a hyperbolic conversion , for two values d = 22 mm and d = 44 mm of the diameter of a test chamber made of silicone and filled with a saline solution , compared to : ( i ) on the one hand the in vitro values actually measured ( squares and stars ) and , ( ii ) on the other hand the values resulting from a digital simulation by a finite elements analysis ( diamonds and triangles ). the measured and estimated comparative values are documented in the article of k . hoekstein and g . f . inbar , titled “ cardiac systolic volume estimate ,” ee pub . no 974 , february 1994 , technion , israel . analysis of this figure shows the relevance of a volume / impedance conversion realized according to the teachings of the invention , particularly of a conversion of a hyperbolic type . one skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments , which are presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation . | 0 |
the invention will now be illustrated with respect to the following example . seven day old fischer rat neonates were injected subcutaneously with sodium hyaluronate ( mw 300 , 000 daltons ) in the back 1 / 2 hour before the operation with 0 . 6 mg of sodium hyaluronate / 60ul / animal . animals were then injected once a day for seven days after the operation and euthenized 14 days after the operation . the right carotid artery was ligated for 1 hour ( induced stroke ). the animals were then placed in incubators containing 8 % oxygen . ( the left side was not tied off and provided a suitable control .) brain damage was readily produced in control animals by day 4 and 7 as determined by nissl staining ( for nerves ) and for gliosis including increased staining for gfap , connexin 43 , and macrophages ( ed - 1 epitope ). as well increased staining for hyaluronan receptors was observed with cd44 increased in macrophages and astrocytes while rhamm was increased in neuronal cells and subsets of macrophages . as well damage was observed morphologically where neuronal loss was evident and the right half of the brain had collapsed . animals treated with ha for 7 days were euthanized at 14 days ( as were controls run with these experiments ) and none of the above parameters were positive . that is there is no evidence of brain collapse , neuronal loss , macrophage influx or increase in the expression of gliotic proteins or hyaluronan receptors . the hyaluronan treated animal &# 39 ; s brains appeared morphologically normal , although functional test for neuronal activity have not yet been done . in the absence of any obvious morphological changes , extensive functional damage would not be expected . the dose used for each animal was 0 . 6 mg of sodium hyaluronate ( molecular weight 300 , 000 daltons ) per 23 g animal by subcutaneous administration so for a human of 70 kg this would mean a 1 . 8 g subcutaneous dose / person . an intravenous dose would be smaller . there are approximately 85 cc blood / kg in humans . therefore an average adult would have about 6000 cc ( 70 kg person ). thus the concentration achieved is in the order of 0 . 3 mg of sodium hyaluronate / 1 ml or cc of blood . administration to achieve this concentration is in the order of 25 mg / kg of body weight for humans . experiment 2 repeated experiment 1 only the right carotid artery was ligated for 3 hours ( 2 hours longer than the 1 hour specified in experiment 1 ) to accrue more brain necrosis . in experiment 2 the same amount of sodium hyaluronate ( ha ) ( 0 . 6 mg of sodium hyaluronate ) was administered to each neonate ( regardless of the actual weight of the neonates ) and each animal received an injection of sodium hyaluronate subcutaneously at the time of the operation . twelve hours after subcutaneous administration , blood levels of 15 - 20 mg / kg of ha are obtained . continued analysis of blood levels indicates that ha levels remain at 15 mg / kg for 24 hours . after the operation , we continued to inject ha in the same dosage amounts every 24 hours for 7 days . at no time during the 7 days did the ha levels drop below 15 mg / kg . the brains of the animals ( including controls ) were examined at 2 weeks . of the three animals injected with ha , the brains were in the same condition as the brains of the neonates administered with ha in experiment 1 . the one control suffered excessive brain damage . as a result of these tests , we have concluded that dose amounts of as low as 1 mg / kg of body weight of the animal will be therapeutic ( e . g . for blocking the infiltration of macrophages , neutrophiles and other white blood cells into the area ( to the site ) of the stroke . dose amounts of 10 mg or more of ha / kg of the animal ( human ) are preferred for example 10 - 20 mg / kg of body weight . while humans and adult rats are able to tolerate excesses of sodium hyaluronate ( ha ), rat neonates are not as tolerant . thus , in experiment 3 , where the rate neonates were smaller , dosage amounts of 25 mg / kg of ha , administered in experiment 3 , resulted in damage to the brains of the neonates . four rats were each exposed to isoproteranol to induce myocardial infarction ( heart attack ) in each . the administration of isoproteranol for inducing an infarct is a commonly known technique as would be understood by persons skilled in the act and is not elaborated herein . each of two of the rats was immediately after the infarct injected with sodium hyaluronate ( molecular weight 300 , 000 daltons ) ( ha ) in the amount of 15 mg / kg . the subcutaneous injections continued for seven days ( one subcutaneous injection each day ). twelve hours after the initial injection , the blood levels of ha were 10 mg / kgm body weight in the blood system of each rat . the other two rats were immediately after the induction of the infarct each injected subcutaneously with saline ( as a control ). the subcutaneous injections continued for seven days , one injection per day . the rats were then sacrificed . in the saline - treated animals , heart tissue was necrotic with massive amounts of accumulated white cells . in the ha - treated rats , no damage was observed in the heart tissue and no white cells were apparent ( as determined by e0 - 1 staining of frozen sections ). as a result , we have concluded that dosage amounts of 10 - 25 mg / kg of body weight administered to humans is appropriate . while lesser amounts can still be therapeutic , they will not give optimal results . optimal results are the goal in the treatment of each of a stroke and myocardial infarction . preferably the chosen dosage amount of the ha is initially given intravenously to establish the desired levels of ha in the blood . thereafter , these levels are maintained for example by administration subcutaneously ( subcutaneous injection ). preferred blood levels appear to be starting in the order of 10 mg / kg . as many changes can be made to the preferred embodiments of the invention without departing from the scope of the invention , it is intended that all material contained herein be interpreted as illustrative of the invention and not in a limiting sense . | 0 |
the following is a description of the preferred embodiments of a motorcycle lift utilizing the foot pegs of a motorcycle for stable lifts . [ 0028 ] fig1 is a perspective drawing of embodiment 100 of the motorcycle lift comprising first peg support 101 a , second peg support 101 b , first lift arm 103 a , second lift arm 103 b crossbar 105 , and lever 107 . first lift arm 103 a and second lift arm 103 b connect respective peg supports 101 a , 101 b to crossbar 105 so that the lift arms are generally perpendicular to crossbar 105 . lever 107 is fastened to crossbar 105 so that it is generally perpendicular to the plane of lift arms 103 a , 103 b , and crossbar 105 . in the preferred embodiments , crossbar 105 is a rectangular tube of steel construction . the first lift arm and peg support components are described below . the respective second lift arm and peg support components are similar to the first lift arm and peg support components . first peg support 101 a comprises a peg support sleeve 109 a enclosed by a sleeve attachment portion 111 a . in the preferred embodiments , sleeve attachment portion 111 a is a tube or cylinder totally enclosing respective sleeve 109 a . in the preferred embodiments , first lift arm 103 a comprises a base portion 113 a , slide post 115 a , and adjustable base sleeve 117 a . base portion 113 a and slide post 115 a are rectangular tubes sized so that slide post 115 a slides into base portion 113 a with a loose or sliding fit . an attachment means such as weld 119 a attaches base portion 113 a to base sleeve 117 a . a height adjustment means such as pin 121 a , insertable through hole 123 a of base portion 113 a and one of a plurality of holes 124 a of slide post 115 a , allows quick adjustment of the length of lift arm 103 a . other height adjustment means , such as clamp bolts , through bolts , clamp bands , turn bolts , eccentric cams and other mechanical adjusting means may be utilized . adjustable base sleeve 117 a is a rectangular tube selected to provide a sliding fit with crossbar 105 . in the preferred embodiments , a width adjusting means , such as clamp bolt 125 a threaded into boss 127 a of adjustable sleeve 117 a , allows adjustment of sleeve 117 a longitudinal position along crossbar 105 when clamp bolt 125 a is loosened . tightening clamp bolt 125 a clamps base portion 117 a in the desired position . in other embodiments , other width adjustment means , such as hole and pin designs , through bolts , clamp bands , turn bolts and other mechanical adjusting means may be utilized . lever 107 comprises lever arm 129 , lever engagement element 131 , and lever height adjustment means 133 . in the preferred embodiment , lever engagement element 131 is a sleeve selected for a sliding fit on crossbar 105 . clamp bolt 135 , threaded in boss 137 of element 131 allows longitudinal adjustment of lever 107 position along crossbar 105 , and clamping in the desired position . lever engagement element 131 also allows engagement with first end 139 a or second end 139 b of crossbar 105 . other lever engagement and adjustment means may be used such as socket engagement , slot engagement , and use of various mechanical fasteners . in the preferred embodiments , lever height adjustment means 133 comprises a height adjustment screw 141 threaded in threaded hole or boss 143 on the outboard end of lever 107 . knob or head 145 allows easy adjustment of screw 141 . pivot feet 147 attached to the bottom portion of crossbar 105 provide pivot support to cross bar 105 from a supporting surface ( 303 of fig3 ). in the preferred embodiments , pivot feet 147 are tubes welded to the crossbar side opposite lift arms 103 a and 1103 b . [ 0035 ] fig1 a is a cross section detail drawing of peg support 101 a taken through lines 1 a - 1 a of fig1 . a foot peg 150 inserted into peg support 101 a is shown in phantom lines . the diameter of inner diameter or aperture 151 of sleeve 109 a is chosen to provide a loose or sliding fit with the outer diameter of foot peg 150 . sleeve 109 a encloses and preferably totally encloses foot peg 150 to provide stable support for the motorcycle when it is lifted by lift 100 . surprisingly , it has been found that a small diametrical clearance between the outer diameter of foot peg 150 and the inner diameter or aperture 151 of peg support sleeve 109 a and a relatively long sleeve length provides stable support of the motorcycle , even if the peg is a folding - type foot peg . a minimum diametrical clearance , preferably at least a sliding fit , facilitates insertion of foot peg 150 into sleeve 109 a and allows rotation between foot peg 150 and sleeve 109 a when the motorcycle is raised or lowered . in a similar manner , sleeve attachment portion 111 a attaches sleeve 109 a to lift arm 103 a . in the preferred embodiment , sleeve attachment portion 111 a encloses and , preferably totally encloses sleeve 109 a . a sliding fit diametrical clearance between the outer barrel diameter ( surface 154 ) of sleeve 109 a and the inner diameter or aperture 155 of sleeve attachment portion 111 a allows easy insertion and removal of sleeve 151 . [ 0037 ] fig1 b shows an alternative embodiment of peg support 101 a showing support sleeve 110 bonded to sleeve attachment portion 111 a . bonding may be by adhesives , or by interference fit , or sleeve 110 may be a coating bonded to aperture 151 of sleeve attachment portion 111 a . diametrical clearances between foot peg 150 and peg support sleeve 110 are similar to those described in fig1 a . in the preferred embodiments , sleeve 110 is made of a polymeric material such as pvc , pe , pa , pi , or abs , preferably of a material having a hardness less than structural components such as sleeve attachment portion 111 a . coating materials which may be used to form sleeve 110 include polymers such as epoxies , other thermo sets , or thermoplastics . high density , high - strength foamed polymers may also be used . the polymeric material is chosen to provide abrasion protection to foot peg 150 . [ 0038 ] fig2 is a cross - sectional drawing of peg support 101 a taken through lines 2 - 2 of fig1 . sleeve attachment portion 111 a encloses and supports peg support sleeve 109 a . sleeve 109 a comprises body portion 161 , flange portion 163 , and groove 165 . flange portion 163 and snap ring 167 retain sleeve 109 a in sleeve attachment portion 111 a . snap ring 167 serves as releasable retainer means to allow quick removal and installation of a new or different sleeve in sleeve attachment portion 111 a . adequate sleeve length 169 and limited diametrical clearance between peg 150 diameter and sleeve aperture 151 diameter as shown in fig1 a and 1b are especially important for use with folding foot peg designs . in the preferred embodiments , sleeve length 169 is at least 1 . 5 ″. in the more preferred embodiments , sleeve length 169 is at least 2 ″. in the still more preferred embodiments , sleeve length 169 is at least 3 ″. in the most preferred embodiments , sleeve length 169 is at least 4 ″. sleeve length 169 is preferably at least 50 %, more preferably 75 %, and most preferably 90 % or more of the length of foot peg 150 . sleeve attachment portion length 171 must be sufficient to provide adequate support of sleeve 109 a and is preferably at least 50 %, more preferably at least 75 %, and most preferably at least 90 % of the length of the sleeve 109 a . in embodiments not utilizing a separate sleeve 109 a , the length and diametrical clearances of attachment portion 111 a should meet the requirements of sleeve 109 a . in the preferred embodiments , the diametrical clearance between the inner diameter of sleeve 109 a and the outer diameter of foot peg 150 is less than 0 . 5 ″. in the more preferred embodiments , the diametrical clearance is less than 0 . 25 ″, and in the most preferred embodiments , the diametrical clearance is less than 0 . 125 ″. small diametrical clearance is most important when the lift is used on motorcycles with folding type foot pegs . peg support 101 a may accommodate different foot peg sizes by substitution of a support sleeve 109 a with aperture 151 diameter chosen to meet the diametrical clearance requirements of fig1 a and 1b . in the preferred embodiments , sleeve 109 a is made of a polymeric material with a hardness less than the structural components such as sleeve attachment portion 111 a or lift arm 103 a and foot peg 150 to prevent abrading or scratching foot peg 150 . in the preferred embodiments , the structural components of lift 100 including lift arms 103 a , 103 b , crossbar 105 , and lever 107 , are made of structural steel shapes such as steel tubes . other structural materials and shapes may be used such as aluminum , stainless steel , or high strength plastics . in the preferred embodiments , sleeve attachment portions 111 a , 111 b are made of steel tube . [ 0044 ] fig3 is a front elevation drawing of a motorcycle 301 being supported in a lifted condition from support surface 303 by lift device 100 . sleeves 109 a and 109 b of peg supports 101 a and 101 b support folding foot pegs 150 a and 150 b . meeting the adequate length and diametrical clearance requirements of fig1 a , 1b , and 2 allows stable support of motorcycle 301 by foot pegs 150 a and 150 b , even though the foot pegs are foldable , such as by hinges 305 a and 305 b . [ 0045 ] fig4 is a perspective drawing of another embodiment 401 of peg support sleeve 109 a . flange 403 provides a retaining means at one end of sleeve attachment portion 111 a , 111 b , and spring flange 405 provides a releasable retaining means at a second end of the sleeve attachment portions . slots 407 provide resilience to flange 405 and allow sleeve 401 to be snapped into aperture 151 of the sleeve attachment portion . [ 0046 ] fig5 a is a side elevation drawing showing employment of lift 100 for lifting motorcycle 301 . before attaching lift 100 , at least one of the clamp bolts 125 a , 125 b ( fig1 ) are loosened and one or both lift arms 103 a , 103 b adjusted outward to allow insertion of foot pegs 150 a , 150 b ( only one side is shown , the back side is similar ). the lift arms are adjusted inwardly until foot pegs 150 a , 150 b are fully enclosed as shown in fig3 and the respective clamp bolts 125 a , 125 b are tightened . optionally lift arm 103 a , 103 b lengths are adjusted by removal of lock pins 121 a , 121 b ( fig1 ) and re - secured in the desired holes 124 a , 124 b to provide the desired lift height . rotating lever arm 107 in the direction of arrow 501 rotates lift arms 103 a and 103 b about pivot foot 147 and raises foot pegs 150 a and 150 b to raise motorcycle 301 from supporting surface 303 in the raised position of fig5 b . lever height adjustment knob 145 may be used to adjust height of lever 107 to ensure adequate rotation about pivot foot 147 to ensure stability , and to provide a fine height adjustment for motorcycle 301 . lowering motorcycle 301 is performed by reversing the lift procedure . lever 107 is rotated in a direction opposite from arrow 501 to lower the vehicle to support surface 303 . the clamp bolt of at least one lift arm is loosened to allow removal of peg supports 101 a and 101 b from foot pegs 150 a and 150 b . lift 100 may be used from either side of motorcycle 301 , or the device may be used in a mirror - image location as shown in the phantom lines of fig5 a accordingly , the reader will see that motorcycle lift provides a quick and secure method to raise a motorcycle . the device provides the following additional advantages : the lift can be used with motorcycles having foot pegs which fold ; quick - change sleeves allow proper fit with virtually any foot peg design ; full encapsulation of the foot pegs provides stability even upon upset ; the lift can be reversed or used from either side of the motorcycle ; and although the description above contains many specifications , these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention . for example , the peg support sleeve may be connected directly to the lift arm so that the sleeve attachment portion is a simple fastening method such as welding or use of mechanical fasteners . or , a separate support sleeve may be omitted and the dimensions of sleeve attachment portions 111 a , 111 b may be adjusted to the requirements of the invention . or , the sleeve attachment portions may be rectangular tubes and the support sleeves comprising a similar cross - sectional shape on their outer diameters . thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents , rather than by the examples given . | 1 |
referring now to fig1 , a cellular signal transduction pathway profiling device 100 includes a porous support member 110 , such as a porous membrane or the like . support member 110 may be fabricated from any material into which fluids may flow and readily pass through , such as nitrocellulose , cellulose , glass , nylon , or other fibrous material . on the support 110 , two or more , preferably three or more , distinct binding site regions or trapping zones 116 are formed by applying and immobilizing within each region a substance capable of reaction with an analyte contained within the test sample . in a preferred embodiment , each region contains a single purified ligand , such as a protein , peptide , antibody , or drug capable of trapping a specific protein or modification thereof involved in a selected transduction pathway . alternately , the immobilized materials at the binding sites are complex mixtures ( e . g ., cellular lysates ). by “ immobilized ” is meant that the substance capable of holding an analyte is applied in a confined area on the surface of the membrane such that it is permanently bound or otherwise incapable of substantial movement to positions elsewhere on the support . a lysate application region 114 and a chase application region 112 are provided at one end of the device 100 . in this manner the lysate can be applied to the support 110 , followed by a chase , such as a buffer or other physiological solution , to cause the lysate to flow through the trapping zones 116 to an outflow region 118 . preferably , the lysate is drawn through the reaction zones via wicking or capillary action , although other methods are contemplated as well , such as gravity , application of a pressure differential , electrical pumping , and so forth . the trapping zones are applied in a manner such that subsequent capillary wicking of material for analysis will pass through the immobilized protein zone and not around it . in one embodiment , the support material 110 forms a strip and the reaction zones 116 are applied in a line traversing the width of the strip . when antibodies are used for trapping , they may be from any species , including but not limited to human , goat , rabbit , mouse , etc . the antibodies can be either anti - protein specific ( e . g ., anti - erk kinase ) or anti - modified protein specific ( e . g ., anti - phosphorylated erk kinase ). for signal transduction profiling , the sequence of the applied antibodies in the multiple reaction zones 116 are preferably ordered such that the protein components of a pathway that are activated last are captured first , although the ordering is otherwise not necessarily critical . for example , the analysis of egf signaling profiles from cells that are expressing differential amount of the erb receptor family can be analyzed by imprinting antibodies recognizing the phosphorylated forms of proteins in the egf receptor signaling cascade . the order of imprinting , from first capture zone to last capture zone , is shown below in table 1 . once the trapping zones 116 have been imprinted on the support 110 , cellular lysates , dna aptomer libraries , focussed or unfocussed drug libraries , and / or phage display libraries , can be applied to the top of the detection device 100 in the defined application zone 114 and allowed to actively wick through the support 110 by active capillary action using a buffer chase applied to region 112 . again , other methods of drawing the lysate through the zones 116 are also contemplated . analytes in the material for analysis , such as proteins , drugs , dna , phages , will , depending on their abundance , specifically bind to a corresponding trapping zone region 116 having a substance capable of reaction therewith . all other components will wick through the zone into the waste outlet region 118 at the bottom of the chip 100 . because these analyses are performed under native conditions , protein complexes , comprising activated proteins ( e . g ., phosphorylated proteins ) and their binding partners will be trapped in each of the subsequent zones , depending on the degree of phosphorylation and the presence of the binding partners . subsequent analysis and / or identification of proteins trapped in the zones 116 is performed by countercurrent extraction , treatment with enzymes ( e . g ., trypsin ), mimetics ( e . g ., phenylphosphate for the removal of phosphotyrosine - containing proteins ), and so forth . analysis of extracted material can be performed by elution into other trap zones ( three - dimensional separation ) or by mass spectrometry ( e . g ., lcq - ms , ce - esi - ms ) for identification and discovery purposes . additionally , quantitative analysis of trapped analyte composition can be performed by querying each trap zone with a tagged or detectably labeled antibody ( e . g ., biotinylated or alkaline phosphatase tagged ) to generate a signal . exemplary methods for detecting the bound proteins are illustrated in fig2 - 6 . an exemplary embodiment in which each trapping zone 116 is imprinted with lysates from cells of different types or different pathological states is illustrated in fig7 . phage and / or dna aptamer libraries 220 , such as random phage and / or random aptamer libraries , can be screened and analyzed by successive rounds of trapping with a plurality of protein lysate zones 216 a - 216 c . for example , in a first binding site 216 a , there is applied and immobilized a normal cell lysate . in a second binding site 216 b , there is applied and immobilized a lysate of cells in a predisease state . in a third binding site 216 c , there is applied and immobilized a lysate of diseased cells . each round of trapping is followed by amplification . for example , each binding site can be cut out and amplified using pcr ( for aptomer libraries ) or amplification by infection ( e . g ., in e . coli for phage display peptide libraries ). alternately , small molecule drugs can be identified by nmr or other like methodologies . the amplified entities 222 can then be used for potential targeting therapies , e . g ., as toxin - conjugated vehicles . for example , an amplified entity which selectively binds to a protein representative of a disease state , such as cancer , can be conjugated or linked to a toxin for efficient delivery of the vehicle to the targeted cells . likewise , an amplified entity can be conjugated to an imaging reagent for diagnostic imaging of the targeted cells , such as x - ray contrast agents , mri contrast agents , radiopharmaceuticals for nuclear medicine diagnostic imaging , and so forth . these entities can be further screened for dna or peptide sequences that bind to unique cell - specific or tissue - specific proteins by repanning against immobilized bait trap surfaces . referring now to fig8 , there is shown another embodiment of the present invention in which a molecular detection device 300 comprises a plurality of support members 310 arranged in a multiplexed format . each support member includes a plurality of binding sites 316 to which is applied and immobilized a series of proteins and modifications thereof involved in a selected signal transduction pathway . such a format is suitable for high - throughput drug screening using cell lines and / or microdissected tissue cell lysates . a lysate application zone 314 is provided for each strip 310 . in alternate embodiments , the zones 314 are cell growth zones for selected cell lines , in which case an optional lysing buffer application zone 322 is provided such that the cells are lysed prior to reaching the trapping zones 316 . a chase application zone 312 is provided for application of a buffer or other physiological solution to carry the lysate through the trapping regions 316 . analytes in the lysate will specifically bind to a corresponding trapping zone region 316 having a substance capable of reaction therewith and all other components will wick or otherwise be drawn through the zones into the waste outlet region 118 at the bottom of the device 300 . the reduction of this method to practice has been demostrated in the following tests . a pure nitrocellulose membrane ( 0 . 45 micron pore size , shleister and schuell ) was cut as a 6 cm × 1 strip beginning and ending with wider 3 cm × 3 ends . the following commercially available rabbit polyclonal antibodies ( new england biolabs , upstate biotechnology ) at 100 microgram / ml concentration were applied undiluted in total applied volume of 2 microliters as traping zone “ stripes ” perpendicular to the length of the menbrane as shown in fig9 . the antibodies were applied in bands approximately 2 - 3 mm wide , spaced at repeated 0 . 5 cm intevals , and ordered from top to bottom as shown in table 2 . the antibodies were allowed to bind to the membrane overnight , after which the entire strip was immersed in a commercially available casein blocking solution ( superblock , pierce chemical ) for 2 hours . the membrane was then washed 3 times for 10 minutes with 20 milliliters of a 50 mm tris , 100 mm nacl , 0 . 5 % tween - 20 solution ( tbst ). the strip was then allowed to air - dry for 5 hours . lysates comprised of 1500 cells procured via laser capture microdissection ( lcm ) of two human breast cancer specimens , one known to be highly reactive for erb2 ( erb2 +), and the other known to be weakly reactive ( erb2 −), were applied to the top of the strip ( lysate application region ) in a volume of 5 microliters of commercially available lysing buffer ( t - per , pierce chemical ) with a commercially available protease inhibitor cocktail ( complete tablets , boehringer mannheim ) and 1 μl sodium vanadate as a phosphotyrosine phosphatase inhibitor . 25 microliters of the t - per solution was applied as a chase immediately after the application of the lysate , and the lysates were allowed to actively “ wick ” through the strip over a period of 60 minutes . an additional volume of 25 microliters of t - per was applied to the chase zone when the buffer front was approximately ½ of the way through the strip . five minutes after the buffer front had passed through the last antibody trap zone , the entire strip was immersed and washed 3 times for 10 minutes in tbst . the strip was then immersed in tbst + mouse monoclonal anti - erk ( transduction laboratories ) at a 1 : 2000 dilution for 1 hour . the strip was then washed 3 times for 10 minutes each time with tbst , and then incubated for 1 hour with a biotinylated goat anti - mouse igg antibody ( vector laboratories ) at a 1 : 5000 dilution . the strip was then washed 3 times for 10 minutes each time in tbst , and developed according to the package insert from vector laboratories using a commercially available kit ( abc reagent ) which generates luminescent output . the strips were then exposed to standard autoradiography for 1 second to 30 second exposures . the results of the autoradiography are illustrated in fig1 . the following experimental example demonstrates the recapitulation of the state of a cellular signal pathway using proteins dissociated from lysed human cells treated with a drug known to activate the selected signal pathway . the janus kinase - signal transducer and activator of transcription ( jak - stat ) signaling pathway is important in the interferon alpha ( ifna ) cellular response . binding of ifna induces the following sequence of events : fusion of interferon alpha receptor ( ifnar ) 1 and ifnar2 ; jak1 and tyk2 are phosphorylated ; ifnar1 is phosphorylated allowing docking of stat2 ; stat2 is phosphorylated allowing stat1 to dock ; stat1 is phosphorylated ; stat1 ( pi )- stat2 ( pi ) heterodimer is released . peripheral blood lymphocytes ( pbls ) were isolated using histopaque - 1077 ( sigma ). the pbls were suspended in pbs ( 0 . 01 m phosphate buffered saline , 0 . 138 m nacl , 0 . 0027 m kcl ), ph 7 . 4 , and allowed to acquiesce overnight at 4 ° c . the cells were pelleted by centrifugation at 5000 × g for 5 minutes . the supernatant was decanted off , and the cells resuspended in rpmi - 1640 media ( bio - whittaker ) at approximately 20 million cells / ml . the cells were treated with 13 , 500 units / ml of recombinant human interferon alpha ( biosource ) for 0 , 3 , 10 or 30 minutes . once the incubation was complete , cells were pelleted by centrifugation at 5000 × g for 5 minutes . cells were washed with ice - cold pbs and resuspended in lysis buffer (( t - per , pierce ), 10 mm beta - glycerophosphate , 1 mm sodium molybdate , 2 mm sodium orthovanadate , 2 . 5 mm aebsf and 5 % glycerol ). the cells were vortexed and placed on ice for 5 minutes , repeated . lysates were clarified by centrifugation at 10 , 000 × g for 5 minutes . the supernatant was snap frozen and stored at − 80 ° c . peripheral blood lymphocytes ( pbls ) were isolated using histopaque - 1077 . the pbls were suspended in pbs and allowed to acquiesce overnight at 4 ° c . the cells were pelleted by centrifugation at 5000 × g for 5 minutes . the supernatant was decanted off , and the cells resuspended in rpmi - 1640 media at approximately 20 million cells / ml . a pervanadate solution was made as follows . 882 μl of 0 . 10 m sodium orthovanadate was added to a mixture containing 832 μl rmpi - 1640 media and 50 μl 30 % h 2 o 2 , mixed at room temperature , and let stand for 15 minutes . the cells were treated with pervanadate 1 μl to 500 μl of cells for 30 minutes at 37 ° c . cells were pelleted at 5700 × g for 5 minutes . pellets were washed with ice - cold pbs and snap frozen . t - per ( salt concentration was adjusted from 0 . 150 m to 0 . 20 m ) was added to the pellet and the resulting lysate was vortexed rapidly for 1 minute . the lysate was clarified by centrifugation at 15 , 000 × g for 10 minutes . the supernatant was snap frozen and stored at − 80 ° c . ff85 ( schleicher and schuell ) nitrocellulose membranes were cut into approximately 8 cm × 1 cm strips . stat2 antibody ( c - 20 , santa cruz biotechnology ) was spotted down at 0 . 5 μl increments / 2 . 5 μl total across the 1 cm width of the strip at approximately 6 . 0 cm from the top . stat1αp91 antibody ( c - 24 , santa cruz biotechnology ) was strided down at 0 . 5 μl increments / 2 . 5 μl total across the 1 cm width of the strip at approximately 7 . 0 cm from the top . the treated membranes were dried for 45 minutes at room temperature and 6 % relative humidity . the strips were blocked in superblock ( pierce chemical company ) for 3 hours at room temperature with shaking . the strips were washed 3 times with tbs - t ( 0 . 20 m tris , 0 . 50 m nacl , 0 . 1 % tween20 ), ph7 . 5 , then dried at 37 ° c ./ 6 % relative humidity . the ifna treated pbl lysates ( 25 μl ) were placed approximately 1 cm from the top of the strip . the lysate was moved through the strip upon addition of tbs - t to the top of the strip . every 20 minutes over a period of 3 hours , 50 μl of tbs - t was placed at the top of the strip . upon completion the entire strip was washed 1 time with tbs - t . the strips were incubated overnight at 4 ° c . with p - stat1 ( a - 2 , santa cruz biotechnology ) diluted at an appropriate concentration in superblock . the strips were washed 3 times with tbs - t . the strips were then incubated at room temperature for 3 hours with goat anti - mouse : alkaline phosphatase ( fortran , in house conjugation to ap ) diluted in superblock . the strips were washed 3 times with tbs - t . the strips were incubated with cdp - star ( tropix ) for 5 minutes . light output / binding of p - stat1 antibody was recorded using a ccd imager ( nightowl , berthold technologies ). as shown in fig1 , the invention method was able to detect ifna stimulation of the jak - stat signal pathway in the expected time - dependent manner . the following example demonstrates how parallel arrays of flow - through binding zones useful for practicing the subject invention can be manufactured by using a laser engraver to build up porous matrix columns . the raised columns on a plastic backing contain and direct the flow of solubilized proteins to be analyzed . the example indicates the quantitative dose - dependent detection of troponin , an intracellular myofibril component of human cardiac muscle cells . nitrocellulose , purchased from schleicher and schuell , comprises an inert plastic ( mylar ) backing support onto which a layer of directly cast nitrocellulose is deposited . during our investigation of this matrix for flow - through diagnostic applications , it was discovered that it is possible to create channels in the material . this was achieved by using the cutting power of a co 2 laser . the laser is programmable through a computer software application , which enables the creation of highly complex patterns on the surface of the nitrocellulose . briefly , the laser vaporizes the cellulose beneath the beam , exposing the underlying mylar surface . one of the simplest applications of this process is to take a 4 cm × 4 cm square of nitrocellulose ( or any other desired size ) and use the laser to cut a series of vertical slots in the material . in this manner , one creates in the nitrocellulose a number of “ columns ”, each column separated by an inert mylar barrier . interpreted another way , a series of “ usable ” ridges are manufactured on the matrix , each ridge usable for a similar or dissimilar diagnostic application . the number of ridges created on the material varies with the width of the ridge and the length of the nitrocellulose piece . the laser action also scores the upper surface of the mylar , allowing for easy detachment of a single column or multiple columns from the sheet . a series of columns ( 3 mm wide ) were cut into a 4 cm × 4 cm length of nitrocellulose . seven columns were detached and treated as follows . 1 μl of a 1 mg / ml solution of neutravidin ( pierce chemical co ., rockford , ill .) was applied to each ridge . the protein was heat ( 37 *) cured on the matrix for 2 hrs . after washing , a 1 μl aliquot of biotinylated anti - cardiac troponin i antibody was overlayed onto the original neutravidin spot . thirty minutes later , excess antibody was removed and the whole surface of the matrix blocked in a peg / pvp solution . a series of troponin i calibrators ( purified from human heart muscle ), ranging in concentration from 0 to 160 ng / ml were reacted individually with an anti - troponin i antibody conjugate . the latter recognizes a site on troponin i , which differs from the site recognized by the neutravidin bound antibody . a 1 μl aliquot of each antigen / conjugate reaction was placed onto individual columns . the placement of the liquid was immediately below the neutravidin complex . the lower edge of the seven column composite was placed into a buffer allowing the latter to move through the material via capillary action ( conventional tlc ). the length of time required for the buffer to reach the top of the device was 45 seconds . the device was removed and coated in cdp * substrate ( tropix corporation , bedford , mass . ), light emission was recorded on a nightowl ccd scanner of light emission . the flow - through trapping zones created in nitrocellulose porous matrix columns efficiently retained antibody antigen complexes such that the troponin analyte could be measured in a dose - dependent manner as shown in fig1 and table 3 . the porous matrix material through which the cellular protein flows has been successfully reduced to practice with porous or fibrous materials , such as nylon , cellulose or silica , and can be configured as raised porous interconnecting columns or suitably packed particles or beads . the following example demonstrated the use of activated glass beads to construct a flow through matrix of the present invention . controlled pore glass ( cpg ) is a matrix whose surface is readily modified by reaction with a wide variety of bifunctional silanes . the material exhibits a significant surface area to weight ratio . the rigid nature of the glass , high porosity and non - compressibility lends itself to rapid passage of liquids or biological fluids through the matrix . the present invention employing a series of capture zones having differing specificity for removal and quantitation of phosphorylated and non - phosphorylated protein complexes from stimulated cells can be achieved through the use of cpg . by confining specific capture zones of cpg in a micro - capillary tube , each zone separated by either inert glass or an inert cellulose plug , biological fluids can be drawn through each zone ( e . g ., using a vacuum or positive displacement pump , or the like ), to capture the desired entities in the zones . the microenvironment of the capillary minimizes diffusion limitations thereby enhancing acceleration of the rate of binding of the ligand to the capturing agent . accordingly , cpg ( sigma corporation , st . louis , mo .) was reacted with 3 - aminopropyl trimethoxysilane ( sigma corporation , st . louis , mo .) using standard published procedures . subsequently , the amino modified glass was reacted with iminothiolane ( traut &# 39 ; s reagent , pierce chemical co ., rockford , ill .). the latter procedure provides a sulphydryl group ( thiol ) for further reaction with maleimido modified proteins , drugs , nucleotides and other entities so modified . maleimido horseradish peroxidase was reacted with 20 mg of iminothiolane cpg . after washing , small portions ( 2 mg × 3 ) of the beads were loaded into a micro - capillary tube . each zone was separated by an inert glass or plug . a chemiluminescent substrate ( duolux , lumigen , southfield , mich .) was pulled rapidly into the capillary using vacuum . the tube was transferred to a light measuring device ( nightowl ccd light scanner ) and the light output read for 1 sec . the results are shown in fig1 a . in either case , three illumination zones are indicated , thereby demonstrating the feasibility of the system . in a further iteration , an epitope of cardiac troponin i ( p14 ctni epitope , research genetics , huntsville , ala . ), conjugated to thyroglobulin ( porcine thyroglobulin , sigma corporation , st . louis , mo .) was reacted with cpg . an antibody ( p3 ctni antibody , fortron bioscience inc ., morrisville , n . c . ), conjugated to peroxidase or alkaline phosphatase ( ap ), was introduced into the requisite capillary , excess conjugate was removed through rapid washing and the bound antibody enzyme visualized with an appropriate chemiluminescent substrate . the results are recorded in fig1 b and 13c . a single peroxidase bead , 100 - 200 microns in diameter , was exposed to duolux and the light output recorded , compared with substrate background . the calculated signal to noise ratio was 3 . 5 , indicating that the system has the potential of being reasonably sensitive . the results are shown in fig1 a . in order to provide a generic cpg system , maleimido - neutravidin ( neutravidin and maleimido peroxidase were purchased from pierce chemical co ., rockford , ill .) was reacted with iminothiolane glass . neutravidin binds biotinylated species aggressively . such biotinylated species include peptides , proteins , drugs , nucleotides and other entities so modified . in this example , biotin containing stat 1 and phosphorylated stat 1 antibodies ( stat1 { py 701 } peptide , biosource international , camarillo , calif .) were attached to cpg . bovine serum albumin ( sigma corporation , st . louis , mo .) containing phosphorylated stat 1 peptide was drawn into a capillary , in which a zone of each was antibody was deposited . after washing , the zones were probed with rc20 - ap ( rc20 - ap antibody conjugate purchased from transduction laboratories , lexington , ky .). following a further wash , substrate was introduced and the light output recorded . in this experiment it was anticipated that the luminescence from the p - stat 1 zone would be greater than that from the stat 1 zone . this turned out to be the case . the light output from the stat1 zone is related to the poor quality of the rc - 20 ap conjugate and probably represents non - specific binding to the bound matrix antibody . to demonstrate that binding to a zone is reversible in the presence of a appropriate ligand , p - stat 1 antibody beads were exposed to p - stat 1 peptide peroxidase , both in the absence and presence of p - stat1 peptide albumin ( blocking agent ). as anticipated , the presence of the peptide reduced the binding of the conjugate , resulting in less light output . the results are shown in fig1 b . to further demonstrate the utility of our cpg capillary approach , neutravidin beads were reacted with a biotinylated antibody which recognizes a specific epitope on cardiac troponin i ( ctni ). a negative serum sample was drawn through the capillary ( vacuum ). after washing , a secondary ap labeled antibody , with a different specificity for ctni was introduced and excess conjugate removed immediately by washing . exposure of the beads to substrate produced the light output shown in fig1 (-⋄-). using the same capillary and procedure , a positive sample of ctni ( 490 pg / ml ) was examined for light yield (-□-). the calculated signal to noise ratio of 5 to 1 indicates that the system is capable of extreme sensitivity . an overlay of the light output from the capillary is included in fig1 . peripheral blood lymphocytes ( pbls ) were exposed to alpha - interferon . the cells were lysed and cellular debris removed by centrifugation . in a similar fashion , non - treated cells were and lysed and the cell contents collected . fifty microliters of each lysate were drawn through separate capillaries , each containing stat 1 antibody cpg beads . the capillaries were probed with rc20 - ap . after washing , substrate ( cdp *) was drawn into the tubes and the light emission recorded in a tube luminometer ( junior luminometer , berthold technologies ) or the nightowl ccd scanner . the data indicates that stimulation of pbls with interferon , induces an increase of phosphorylated tyrosine species , which bind to stat 1 protein . this is indicative of binding of tyrosine phosphorylated stat 2 to stat 1 , thus forming the recognized heterodimer , known to be part of the alpha - interferon / lymphocyte signaling cascade . the results are illustrated in fig1 an additional approach to confirm the observations from fig1 is described here and shown in fig1 . instead of probing with rc20 - ap , a non - labeled mouse antibody specific for phosphorylated tyrosine in conjunction with a goat anti - mouse ap conjugate were employed sequentially . negatively and positively , alpha - interferon stimulated pbl lysates were drawn through individually packed capillaries containing stat 1 antibody cpg . after washing , etc ., and exposure to the primary and secondary antibodies , the beads were exposed to cdp * substrate . the increase in positive light emission supports our contention that stimulation of pbls with alpha - interferon leads to an increase in phosphorylated stat2 , which in turn binds to stat 1 protein . the phosphatase activity of pbls is significantly reduced in the presence of pervanadate . inhibition of phosphatase activity enhances the overall level of phosphorylated proteins within the lymphocyte . the experiment shown and described with reference fig1 illustrates this phenomenon quite nicely . briefly , cpg stat 1 antibody beads ( 10 mg ), were placed in a z - spin well ( z - spin columns were obtained from fisher scientific , pittsburgh , pa .). as a control , plain neutravidin cpg was used . to each well , 50 μl of pervanadate treated pbl lysate was added . the wells were centrifuged , washed and then exposed sequentially to mouse anti - phosphorylated tyrosine antibody and goat anti - mouse ap conjugate . each addition was followed by a wash / centrifuge cycle . the addition of cdp * substrate induced light emission which was recorded in the nightowl . the data indicates that inhibition of phosphatase activity enables measurement of the basal level of phosphotyrosine proteins in non stimulated pbls . in this instance , the data suggest that this type of methodology is capable of discriminating phosphorylated stat2 from a whole range of known and as yet unknown phosphorylated signaling intermediates . the following are experimental examples of more than 20 specific different trapping ligands that were successfully used in the subject invention for protein network profiling . the invention methods led to identification of phosphorylated proteins and assignment of their functional participation in signal pathways . the information derived is relevant to the following : a ) identifying specific protein - protein interactions ; b ) assignment of the specific interactions into larger functional circuits and networks ; c ) downstream ordering of protein components in a given pathway ; d ) specific disruptions caused by drug treatments , disease , or toxicity ; and e ) identifying patterns of protein interactions or phosphorylations that are unique to disease state , drug treatment or toxicity . 1 . 100 , 000 primary human lymphocytes and 100 , 000 primary human monocytes obtained by tangential centrifugal elutriation and differential ficoll - percoll gradient selection were resuspended in 5 ml ( each cell type ) rpmi - 1640 media . 3 . a 100 × cocktail ( herein referred to as pi or phosphatase inhibitor cocktail ) consisting of the following : 2500 nm okadaic acid ( cell - permeable inhibitor of protein phosphatase ); 500 micromolar sodium pervandate ( membrane soluble form of sodium orthovanadate and an inhibitor of tyrosine phosphatases ), 500 nm calyculin a ( cell - permeable inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2a and protein phosphatase ); and 2500 micromolar phenylarsine oxide ( cell - permeable phosphotyrosine phosphatase inhibitor ). 4 . the following experimental treatment protocol was then set up and performed with each 1 ml cell suspension ( 20 , 000 cells / ml ): iii . primary human lymphocytes / monocytes + 1 × pi ½ hour + 10 micromolar sb 203589 ( p38 kinase inhibitor ) ½ hour . 5 . cells were pulse centrifuged at 5000 × g for 2 minutes , washed twice in ice cold pbs and the resultant cell pellet lysed in 100 microliters lysing solution ( tper ( pierce chemical )+ 2 mm sodium orthovanadate ( tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor ), 10 mm b - glycerol phosphate ( serine phosphatase inhibitor ), 300 mm nacl , 4 nm aebsf ( protease inhibitor )), vortexed rapidly for 1 minute and clarified by centrifugation for 5 minutes . at this point the lysates are analyzed by 4 main methods . i . open faced array of antibodies immobilized on nitrocellulose ( see no . 6 list below ). ii . flow - through devices striped with trapping zones containing protein binding ligands . 6 . the resultant whole cell lysate was then incubated overnight at 4 degrees c . on an oncyte multiwell ( grace biolabs , inc ) nitrocellulose slide that was spotted with rabbit polyclonal phospho - specific antibodies recognizing the following 20 proteins : egfr ( tyr1173 ); tyk2 ( tyr1054 / 1055 ); atf - 2 ( thr71 ); eif2a ( ser51 ); eif4e ( ser209 ); cdc2 ( tyr15 ); p38 ( thr180 / tyr182 ); cdk1 ( thr14 / tyr15 ); creb ( ser133 ); akt ( ser473 ); enos ( ser1177 ); creb ( ser133 ); c - jun ( ser63 ); elk - 1 ( ser383 ); erbb2 ( tyr1248 ); bad ( ser112 ); jak1 ( tyr1022 / 1023 ); p70 s6 ( thr421 / ser424 ); erk1 / 2 ( thr202 / tyr204 ); and cdc25 ( ser216 ). 7 . the slide was washed 3 × with tbc - tween for 5 minutes , then incubated with a horseradish peroxidase - conjugated goat anti - rabbit antibody for 1 hour at 4 degrees c . 8 . chemiluminescent detection was performed using the ecl - plus kit from amersham following recommended manufacturer procedures . 9 . proteins whose phosphorylation is dependent upon p38 kinase activity and lie downstream of the p38 kinase are subsequently identified by their inhibition of phosphorylation due to the pre - incubation of the specific p38 kinase inhibitor . 10 . for 2d - page applications , the lysates are enriched for phosphorylated proteins via : i . affinity chromatography - based or immuno - precipitation - based methods ( i . e ., using a anti - phosphotyrosine antibody , anti - phosphoserine antibody , etc . ); and ii . eluted by a competitive mimetic such as phenylphosphate or sodium pyrophosphate or a specific peptide used as the antigen for the development of the antibody . iii . the resultant eluate is then run on the gels directly , and phosphorylated proteins detected by traditional staining procedures compatible with mass spectroscopy - based protein identification ( e . g ., colloidal coomassie , ponceau s , sypro ruby - red ( molecular probes , eugene , oreg . ), and so forth ). iv . the visualized proteins are identified by mass spectroscopy and proteins whose activity lie downstream and are substrates for the p38 kinase are identified by the absence of the signal on the gel which separated lysates that were pre - treated with the specific kinase inhibitor . 11 . for flow - through applications see the previous example for ifna and erb2 . 12 . for mass - spectrophotometric applications a ciphergen inc . mass spec . instrument was employed . the resultant phosphoprotein - enriched eluates or whole cell extracts are incubated on bait traps that specifically bind phosphorylated proteins . such baits may be protein - based ( e . g ., anti - phosphotyrosine antibody ) or chemical ( e . g ., iron , gallium ion , etc .). the surfaces are then washed and phosphorylated proteins detected and identified by time - of - flight or collision - induced daughter ion spectral analysis . novel circuit profiles and maps were successfully obtained using ligands that recognized the phosphorylated versions of the 20 proteins listed in above . 1 . the following proteins were identified to lie downstream of p38 kinase : creb , cd25 , cjun , cdk1 , and e1f2a . 2 . the following proteins can be activated in primary human monocytes : egfr , tyk2 , e1f2a , e1f4e , p38 , cdk1 , creb , c - jun , elk - 1 , bad , jak1 , erk 1 / 2 , cd25 . the following were specific to monocytes and not found in lymphocytes from the same patient : egfr , tyk2 , e1f2a . 3 . the following proteins are specifically activated in primary human lymphocytes but not monocytes from the same patient : erb2 . 4 . the following new unknown proteins changed their phosphorylation state in response to treatment with sb203589 : mw . 100 kda ; mw . 85 kda ; mw . 35 kda ; mw . 30 kda ; mw . 25 kda ; mw . 20 kda . 5 . erb2 positive primary human breast cancer cells show that erk is interacting and binding with the following proteins to a greater level than erb2 negative human breast cancer cells : perb2 , perb1 , pelk , p70s6k . 6 . fresh human brain and prostate tissue cells can be treated ex vivo with phosphatase inhibitors under the subject invention resulting in the identification of proteins that are phosphorylated in a tissue and disease specific manner . fig1 is a flow chart of a molecular detection method in accordance with the present invention . as indicated in step 402 , the method includes arranging a series of recognition molecules or binding reagents which selectively bind to the various proteins , their phosphorylated or activated state , and their binding partners , of a signal transduction pathway to form a signal transduction pathway profiling chip 100 as described above by way of reference to fig1 . the method further includes applying ( step 404 ) a cell lysate from a tissue of interest to the profiling chip . thereafter , the sample is allowed to bind or hybridize with the recognition molecules at the binding sites 116 ( fig1 ) as indicated by step 406 . at step 408 , binding events at the plurality of binding sites 116 are detected . the detection can be performed by a number of labeling or other techniques to produce a detectable signal , such as spectrophotometric , fluorometric , colorimetric , chemiluminescent , radiometric , electrochemical , photochemical , enzymatic , or optical readout techniques , and the like . in one embodiment , the step of detecting the binding events provides a qualitative indication of binding at each binding site . more preferably , however , a quantitative determination of binding at each binding site is made at step 408 , for example , by determining an intensity or magnitude of the detectable signal at each binding site . at step 410 , the detected binding events are used to determine a characteristic of the analyzed sample . by identifying at which sites binding events occurred , the status of the selected pathway can be determined . the determination can be made by visual detection of the binding sites . alternately , the characteristics can be determined automatically , for example , using a binding event sensor and pattern recognition software so that the pathway status can be determined under preprogrammed control . furthermore , heuristic algorithms are used to correlate binding patterns and / or pathway status with cellular conditions , such as normal , pre - disease , or disease states . the use of patterns for the identification of a pathway and / or disease state of a cell sample is illustrated in fig2 and 21 . appendix a of 17 pages is incorporated herein by reference . appendix a presents further exemplary embodiments related to the protein interaction profiling system and method of the present invention . the description above should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention , but as merely providing illustrations to some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention . in light of the above description and examples , various other modifications and variations will now become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims . accordingly , the scope of the invention should be determined solely by the appended claims and their legal equivalents . | 6 |
hereinafter , embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings . in the explanation , like parts in each of the several figures are identified by the same reference numerals . [ 0056 ] fig1 is a block diagram showing a constitution of a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to a first embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 a fuse set block ( fuse block ) 1 includes the number n in total of fuses to be blown by laser , or electric means such as electric current and the like , and outputs a parallel fuse data f & lt ; 1 : n & gt ; that shows whether the fuses are blown or not . the parallel fuse data f & lt ; 1 : n & gt ; is used as data for trimming circuit characteristics . a clock generating circuit ( control clock generator ) 2 receives an external clock signal clk 1 , and generates a plurality of internal clock signals clk_p / clk_o / clk_i that controls actions inside of a chip . the clock generating circuit 2 trims the generating timing of the above internal clocks clk_p / clk_o / clk_i into the optimized value on the basis of the above fuse data f & lt ; 1 : n & gt ;. a peripheral circuit 3 , whose actions are controlled by the internal clock signal clk_p generated by the clock generating circuit 2 , takes in an external command signal in synchronization with the internal clock signal clk_p , and carries out calculations , and generates a plurality of address signals of queue and a plurality of internal control signals . an i / o circuit 4 includes : a data input buffer ( data in buffer ) that , in synchronization with the internal clock signal clk_i generated by the clock generating circuit 2 , takes in an external serial data signal having a data width of , for example , q bits and transfers the external serial data signal to an internal serial data signal line having a data width of q bits ; and a data output buffer ( data out buffer ) that , in synchronization with the internal clock signal clk_o generated by the clock generating circuit 2 , takes in an internal serial data signal having a data width of , for example , q bits and transfers the internal serial data signal to an external serial data signal line having a data width of q bits . a memory cell array 5 comprises a plurality of memory cells selected by a plurality of address signals . reading data from and writing data into the memory cell array 5 is controlled by the peripheral circuit 3 and the i / o circuit 4 . further , the device according to the present embodiment includes a trimming register circuit ( trimming register block ) 6 that outputs a trimming data signal ft & lt ; n & gt ; that trims the generating timing of the internal clock signals clk_p / clk_o / clk_i generated by the clock generating circuit 2 . the trimming register circuit 6 converts and outputs any one of the parallel fuse data f & lt ; 1 : n & gt ; output from the fuse set block 1 and a data - rewritable and parallel data r & lt ; 1 : n & gt ; transferred from a trimming register ( whose detailed described hereinafter ) arranged in the trimming register circuit 6 as a trimming data ft & lt ; 1 : n & gt ;. in the device shown in fig1 the internal clocks clk_p / clk_o / clk_i generated from the clock generating circuit 2 are internal clocks for controlling the peripheral circuit 3 , the data output buffer in the i / o circuit 4 , and the data input buffer respectively . in the device according to the present embodiment , as shown in fig2 a to 2 c , as same as in the prior art , by changing the internal clock generating timing , it is possible to adjust the action timing in the peripheral circuit 3 , the data input timing , and the data output timing to the optimized values . hereafter the trimming register circuit 6 in the present embodiment will be explained . [ 0067 ] fig3 is a circuit diagram showing a circuit constitution example of the trimming register circuit 6 according to the present invention . as shown in fig3 the trimming register circuit 6 in the present embodiment comprises three circuits , i . e ., trimming blocks ( trimming block 1 to trimming block 3 ) 11 - 1 to 11 - 3 , a trimming register ( trimming register ) 12 that can freely read and write data of n bits , and a trimming block ( trimming block ) selecting circuit 13 . the trimming blocks ( trimming block ) 11 - 1 to 11 - 3 are divided for clk_o , for clk_i , and for clk_p , and each of them comprises the number n of data ( data ) transfer selecting circuits 14 - 1 to 14 - n same as the number of bits necessary for trimming the internal clocks clk_o / clk_p / clk_i . each of the number n of the data transfer selecting circuits 14 - 1 to 14 - n that output the trimming data ft & lt ; 1 : n & gt ; of n bits comprises two transfer gates , and controls outputting either the data f & lt ; 1 : n & gt ; from the fuse set or the data r & lt ; 1 : n & gt ; from the trimming register 12 as trimming data ft & lt ; 1 : n & gt ;. the control over a gate level of transfer gates in the data transfer selecting circuits 14 - 1 to 14 - n , and the selection of the trimming blocks 11 - 1 to 11 - 3 are made by four control signals pg 1 / ng 1 / pg 2 / ng 2 output from the trimming block selecting circuit 13 . the trimming register 12 is a read and write register of bit of the same number as the number of bits necessary for trimming the internal clocks clk_o / clk_p / clk_i . the trimming block selecting circuit 13 creates control signals pg 1 / ng 1 / pg 2 / ng 2 for selecting the trimming blocks 11 - 1 to 11 - 3 corresponding to the internal clock that carries out trimming . the trimming blocks 11 - 1 to 11 - 3 are divided into three states , i . e ., ( 1 ) normal state , ( 2 ) write state , and ( 3 ) read state according to the conditions of the above four control signals pg 1 / ng 1 / pg 2 / ng 2 . in the next place , the trimming block selecting circuit 13 will be explained . [ 0076 ] fig4 a is a diagram showing an example a circuit constitution of a trimming block selecting circuit 13 according to the present embodiment . as shown in fig4 a , the trimming block selecting circuit 13 in the present embodiment comprises a trimming block selecting register ( trimming block selecting register ) 21 , and data transfer control logic sections ( data transfer control logic section 1 to data transfer control logic section 3 ) 22 - 1 to 22 - 3 . the data transfer control logic sections 22 - 1 to 22 - 3 are divided into three corresponding to the above trimming blocks 11 - 1 to 11 - 3 . the conditions of the data transfer control logic sections 22 - 1 to 22 - 3 are determined by address signals ( add 1 / add 2 ) of 2 bits output from the trimming block selecting register 21 , and a mode signal read that determines the conditions of the trimming blocks . [ 0079 ] fig4 b shows an example of the results of calculations of the data transfer control logic section 22 - 3 to the trimming block 11 - 2 for the internal clock clk_i . as shown in fig4 b , when both the addresses add 1 / add 2 from the trimming block selecting register 21 are not “ high ”, the trimming block 11 - 2 gets always in the normal state . on the contrary , when both the addresses add 1 / add 2 are “ high ”, the trimming block 11 - 2 gets in read state if the mode signal read is “ high ”, while in write state if the mode signal read is “ low ”. it is determined which of the trimming blocks 11 - 1 to 11 - 3 is selected according to the conditions of the addresses add 1 / add 2 input into a nand logic circuit in the data transfer control logic sections 22 - 1 to 22 - 3 . hereafter there will be explained the three states of the trimming block 11 , i . e ., ( 1 ) normal state , ( 2 ) write state , and ( 3 ) read state . first ( 1 ) normal state will be explained . fig5 shows a condition of the data transfer circuit 14 in the normal state . in the ( 1 ) normal state , as shown in fig5 a transfer gate trs 1 is in an on state , while a transfer gate trs 2 is in an off state . for this reason , trimming data ft output to the clock generating circuit 2 becomes data f from the fuse set block 1 , and the trimming of the internal clocks is made on the basis of the data f . next , the ( 2 ) write state will be explained hereafter . fig6 shows a condition of the data transfer selecting circuit 14 in the trimming clock 11 in the write state . in the ( 2 ) write state , as shown in fig6 the transfer gate trs 1 is in the off state , while the transfer gate trs 2 is in the on state . for this reason , the trimming data ft output to the clock generating circuit 2 becomes data r from the trimming register 12 . the data r from the trimming register 12 may be set freely by writing data into the trimming register 2 from , for example , an external pad rio . therefore , it is possible to freely carry out the trimming of the internal clocks . in the next place , the ( 3 ) read state will be explained . fig7 shows a condition of the data transfer circuit 14 in the trimming block 11 in the read state . in the ( 3 ) read state , as shown in fig7 both the transfer gates trs 1 and trs 2 are in on state . as a result , the trimming data ft output to the clock generating circuit 2 becomes data f from the fuse set block 1 . in this case , since the transfer gate trs 2 is also in the on state , it is possible to read the data f from the fuse set block 1 , namely , the trimming data ft , by use of the trimming register 12 through , for example , the external pad rio . [ 0091 ] fig8 is a diagram showing an example of a circuit constitution of a fuse set block 1 according to the present embodiment . as shown in fig8 the fuse set of the present embodiment comprises a laser fuse block ( laser fuse block ) 31 , and an electric fuse block ( electric fuse block ) 32 . for example , a laser melt down type fuse is arranged on the laser fuse block 31 , while for example , a electric current melt down type fuse is arranged on the electric fuse block 32 . by such a constitution mentioned above , after a chip is trimmed by a laser fuse before packaging , even if it is required to carry out re - trimming owing to influence by packaging , it is possible to carry out trimming . [ 0095 ] fig9 is a diagram showing a relation between the trimming register 12 and the trimming block 11 in the present embodiment , while fig1 is a diagram showing an example of a circuit constitution of the trimming register 12 . by the way , in this circuit configuration example , it is supposed that trimming data ft is of 8 bits . as shown in fig9 and fig1 , the trimming register 12 includes eight flip flop ( ff ) circuits 41 - 1 to 41 - 8 , eight multiplex ( mx ) circuits 42 - 1 to 42 - 8 , eight write output circuits 43 - 1 to 43 - 8 , and a read output circuit 44 . each output node fuse & lt ; 1 : n & gt ; of the flip flop circuits 41 - 1 to 41 - 8 in this configuration example of the circuit is connected to a first input of the multiplex circuits 42 - 1 to 42 - 8 , and also connected to inputs of the write output circuits 43 - 1 to 43 - 8 . each output of the write output circuits 43 - 1 to 43 - 8 is connected to a connection node dregbit & lt ; 1 : n & gt ; between the trimming register 12 and the trimming block . further , the connection node dregbit & lt ; 1 : n & gt ; is connected to a second input of the multiplex circuits 42 - 1 to 42 - 8 . the multiplex circuits 42 - 1 to 42 - 8 respectively select any one of the output node fuse & lt ; 1 : n & gt ; and the connection node dregbit & lt ; 1 : n & gt ; on the basis of a signal fuse data en , and connect to the inputs of the flip flop circuits 41 - 2 to 41 - 8 , and the input of the read output circuit 44 . the output of the read output circuit 44 is connected to a connection node core data between the trimming register 12 and the external pad rio . further , the connection node core data is connected to the input of the flip flop circuit 41 - 1 at the first stage , among the flip flop circuits 41 - 1 to 41 - 8 . at write process , first , the flip flop circuits 41 - 1 to 41 - 8 are reset by use of a reset signal fuse rst . further , the signal fuse data en is set to , for example , “ high ” so that the multiplex circuits 42 - 1 to 42 - 7 respectively select an output node fuse & lt ; 1 : 7 & gt ;. by the way , the multiplex circuit 42 - 8 at the final stage is controlled by a signal of phase opposite to that of the fuse data en , and at write process , it does not select an output node fuse & lt ; 8 & gt ;. in this state , data is input in serial manner to the input of the flip flop circuit 41 - 1 at the initial stage from the external pad rio via the connection node core data . the flip flop circuits 41 - 1 to 41 - 8 respectively work in synchronization with a control clock fuse clk , and output the input data according to the fall or rise of the control clock fuse clk . for example , by toggling the control clock fuse clk eight times , data is set to the respective eight flip flop circuits 41 - 1 to 41 - 8 . after data is set , the signal write is set , for example , “ high ” level , and the write output circuits 43 - 1 to 43 - 8 are enabled respectively . as a result , the data set to the flip flop circuits 41 - 1 to 41 - 8 is output as data r & lt ; 1 : n & gt ; to the trimming block 11 . thereby , from the trimming block 11 , as mentioned above , the data r & lt ; 1 : n & gt ; is output as a trimming data ft & lt ; 1 : n & gt ; to the clock generating circuit 2 . while , at read process , the flip flop circuits 41 - 1 to 41 - 8 are reset by use of the reset signal fuse rst . further , the signal fuse data en is first set , for example , “ low ”, so that the multiplex circuits 42 - 1 to 42 - 7 respectively select the connection node dregbit & lt ; 1 : 7 & gt ;. by the way , the multiplex circuit 42 - 8 at the final stage is controlled by a signal of phase opposite to that of the fuse data en , and at this moment , it does not select a connection node dregbit & lt ; 8 & gt ;. in this state , the data f & lt ; 1 : 7 & gt ; from the fuse set block 1 is input to the inputs of the flip flop circuits 41 - 2 to 41 - 8 at the initial stage , from the trimming block 11 , via the connection node dregbit & lt ; 1 : 7 & gt ;. then , the signal fuse data en is set from “ low ” into “ high ”, and the multiplex circuits 42 - 1 to 42 - 7 are made to select the output node fuse & lt ; 1 : 7 & gt ; respectively . at the same time , the multiplex circuit 42 - 8 at the final stage is made to select the connection node dregbit & lt ; 8 & gt ;. thereby , the data f & lt ; 8 & gt ; from the fuse set block 1 is input to the read output circuit 44 . in this state , the signal read is set , for example , “ high ” level , and the read output circuit 44 is enabled , thereby the data f & lt ; 8 & gt ; is output via the connection node core data to the external pad rio . then , the signal fuse data en is set from “ high ” into “ low ” once again , and the multiplex circuit 42 - 8 at the final stage is made to select the output node fuse & lt ; 8 & gt ;. thereby , to the read output circuit 44 , the data f & lt ; 7 & gt ; from the fuse set block 1 set in the flip flop circuit 41 - 8 is input , and following the data f & lt ; 8 & gt ;, the data f & lt ; 7 & gt ; is output via the connection node core data from the external pad rio . hereafter , the above actions are repeated until the data f & lt ; 1 & gt ; is output , and thereby , the data f & lt ; 1 : 8 & gt ; set in the fuse set block 1 can be read . in the next place , the entire actions of the present embodiment are explained hereafter . first the case of trimming of data input timing will be explained . as same as the prior art , when the internal clock clck_i is delayed by + δt in the chip inside as shown in fig2 b , it is required to carry out trimming to fasten by δt the generation timing of the internal clock clk_i by the clock generating circuit . when carrying out trimming , in the prior art , it has been not possible to check actual trimming amount and the like until a fuse is actually blown , while according to the present invention , before a fuse if actually blown , the state of the trimming block 11 of the trimming register circuit 6 is set to the write state , and trimming data same as a trimming forecast value by fuse blow is written in via the trimming register 12 . thereby , it is possible to check trimming effects in the same conditions as fuse blown state . at this stage , if it is judged that expected effects are attained as planned by the trimming data ft from the trimming register circuit 6 , then a fuse may be blown first . on the contrary , if it is judged that effects are insufficient or to excess , the trimming data ft from the trimming register 6 may be adjusted and optimized , and on the basis of the value , a fuse may be blown . [ 0116 ] fig1 shows a flow chart of trimming method in the present invention . in the case of carrying out trimming by a laser fuse before a chip is packaged too , first , trimming is carried out on the basis of the data from the trimming register circuit 6 , and a fuse blow value is determined ( st . 1 ). then , according to the above fuse blow value , a laser fuse is blown ( st . 2 ), and it is checked whether the fuse has been blown correctly or not by use of the trimming register ( st . 3 ). if the fuse has not been blown ( ng ), then the procedures go back to fuse blow process , where the fuse is blown once again . if it is found that the fuse has been blown correctly ( ok ), then the chip is filled into the package ( st . 4 ). then , product test is carried out ( st . 5 ), and if there is no problem , products are shipped ( st . 6 ). if trimming is required once again owing to influence of packaging ( ng ), then by use of the trimming register circuit 6 , a fuse value of trimming by an electric fuse is determined ( st . 7 ). in the next place , on the basis of the above fuse value , the electric fuse is blown ( st . 8 ), and it is checked whether the fuse has been blown correctly or not by use of the trimming register circuit 6 ( st . 9 ). if the fuse has not blown ( ng ), then the procedures go back to fuse blow process , where the fuse is blown once again . if it is found that the fuse has been blown correctly ( ok ), product test is carried out ( st . 10 ), and if there is no problem , products are shipped ( st . 11 ). if there is a problem , for example any nonconformity has been found ( ng ), by use of the trimming register circuit 6 , a fuse value may be determined once again . from the above , according to the present invention , it is possible to carry out trimming with the optimized value to all the chips , different from the prior art where it can be found that trimming effects are insufficient or to excess only after a fuse is blown . further , according to the present invention , it is possible to check whether a fuse has been blown correctly or not even after packaging in easy manners by use of the trimming register circuit 6 , therefore , in the case of fuse blow by use of an electric fuse , the invention is also effective in verification of fuse blow . by the trimming method shown in fig1 , it is possible to remedy a device where fuse blow has been incomplete , as a result , it is possible to increase yield further . [ 0129 ] fig1 a is a block diagram showing a constitution of a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to a second embodiment of the present invention . fig1 b is a diagram showing a constitution of a fuse set block thereof . as shown in fig1 a , the semiconductor memory device according to the second embodiment , as well as the first embodiment , includes a fuse set block 1 having fuse data f & lt ; n & gt ; of the number n in total of fuses for circuit characteristic trimming , a clock generating circuit 2 that can trim the clock generation timing to the optimized value by the fuse data f & lt ; n & gt ;, a trimming register circuit 6 that creates a trimming data signal ft & lt ; n & gt ; to control clock generating circuits , a peripheral circuit 3 controlled by the internal clock generated by the clock generating circuit 2 , an i / o circuit 4 consisting of two circuits , i . e ., a data output buffer ( data out buffer ) and a data input buffer ( data in buffer ), and a memory cell array 5 whose data writing and reading are controlled by the two circuits controlled by the internal clocks . however , in this second embodiment , as shown in fig1 b , different from the configuration of the fuse set block 1 in the first embodiment , the fuse comprises only a laser fuse 31 . in the semiconductor memory device according to the second embodiment of the present invention , in the same manner as in the first embodiment , by use of the trimming register circuit 6 , it is possible to determine the most suitable fuse value by confirming fuse blow effects in advance , and it is possible to carry out trimming to all the chips with the most suitable value . [ 0134 ] fig1 a is a block diagram showing a constitution of a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to a third embodiment of the present invention . fig1 b is a diagram showing a constitution of a fuse set block thereof . as shown in fig1 a , the semiconductor memory device according to the second embodiment , as well as the first embodiment , includes a fuse set block 1 having fuse data f & lt ; n & gt ; of the number n in total of fuses for circuit characteristic trimming , a clock generating circuit 2 that can trim the clock generation timing to the optimized value by the fuse data f & lt ; n & gt ;, a trimming register circuit 6 that creates a trimming data signal ft & lt ; n & gt ; to control clock generating circuits , a peripheral circuit 3 controlled by the internal clock generated by the clock generating circuit 2 , an i / o circuit 4 consisting of two circuits , i . e ., a data output buffer ( data out buffer ) and a data input buffer ( data in buffer ), and a memory cell array 5 whose data writing and reading are controlled by the two circuits controlled by the internal clocks . however , in this third embodiment , as shown in fig1 b , different from the configuration of the fuse set block in the first and second embodiments , the fuse comprises only an electric fuse 32 . in the semiconductor memory device according to the third embodiment of the present invention , in the same manners as in the first and second embodiments , by use of the trimming register circuit 6 , it is possible to determine the most suitable fuse value by confirming fuse blow effects in advance , and it is possible to carry out trimming to all the chips with the most suitable value . [ 0139 ] fig1 is a block diagram showing a constitution of a semiconductor integrated circuit device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , the semiconductor memory device according to the fourth embodiment includes a fuse set block 1 comprising of the number n in total of fuses having fuse data f & lt ; n & gt ; for circuit characteristic trimming , and the number m in total of fuses for redundancy replacement of queue address having fuse data f & lt ; m & gt ;, a clock generating circuit 2 that can trim the clock generation timing to the optimized value by the fuse data f & lt ; n & gt ;, a trimming register circuit 6 that creates a trimming data signal ft & lt ; n & gt ; to control the clock generating circuits 2 , and a redundancy signal fr & lt ; n & gt ; to control the redundancy replacement of queue address , a peripheral circuit 3 controlled by the internal clock generated by the clock generating circuit 2 , and the redundancy signal fr & lt ; m & gt ; output from the trimming register circuit 6 , an i / o circuit 4 consisting of two circuits , i . e ., a data output buffer ( data out buffer ) and a data input buffer ( data in buffer ), and a memory cell array 5 whose data writing and reading are controlled by the two circuits controlled by the internal clocks . in the semiconductor memory device according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention , in the same manners as in the first , second , and third embodiments , by use of the trimming register circuit 6 , it is possible to determine the most suitable fuse value by confirming fuse blow effects in advance , and it is possible to carry out trimming to all the chips with the most suitable value . furthermore , in the fourth embodiment , in the case of redundancy replacement of queue address too , it is possible to carry out testing in the same conditions as the case where redundancy replacement has been carried out , by the use of the trimming register circuit , therefore , it is possible to conduct a precise redundancy replacement . according to the present invention mentioned heretofore with the above first to fourth embodiments , when carrying out the trimming of chip internal timing by fuse blow and the redundancy replacement of queue address , before a fuse if blown actually , trimming of internal timing and redundancy replacement are carried out by use of the register circuit , and on the basis of the results thereof , a fuse value for actual fuse blow is determined . by reading the conditions of fuse by use of the above register circuit , it is possible to precisely judge whether fuse blow is successful or not , and to grasp the redundancy replacement information per chip . by this method shown and described heretofore , it is realized to obtain a semiconductor memory device that enables to determine the most suitable fuse value to carry out timing trimming per chip , and to carry out precise redundancy replacement to queue address . as described heretofore , the present invention has been explained in reference to the first to fourth embodiments thereof , however , the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . it may be well understood by those skilled in the art that the above respective embodiments may be embodied by single or by combination . further , each of the embodiments mentioned above includes various steps of invention , and by appropriate combinations of a plurality of structural components disclosed in each of the embodiments , it is possible to extract various stages of invention , which is apparent to those skilled in the art . additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art . therefore , the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described herein . accordingly , various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents . | 6 |
the open , wraparound , sleeved garment that is the subject of the invention herein will be described with regard to the accompanying drawings . with regard to the drawings , fig1 illustrates a garment blank 10 which can be used to construct the open , wraparound , sleeved garment which is shown in fig2 in a partially formed state and in its completed state in fig3 . the description of the garment herein will be described first with regard to fig1 and the description of the garment blank shown therein . the garment blank 10 shown in fig1 can be formed through subsequent steps into the partially formed garment shown in fig2 and subsequently into the completed garment shown in fig3 . the garment blank 10 is a flat sheet of flexible material which can be used to construct a garment . generally , such flexible material can include any suitable flexible material whether it be woven or nonwoven . a nonwoven material can be selected and such material consists of material which is made by processes other than knitting or weaving . in a preferred embodiment of the invention herein where the garment to be formed is to be used as a surgical gown , the material selected is a nonwoven material . the garment blank 10 is a flat sheet of flexible material 12 which is defined by its edges cut in the manner depicted in fig1 . the garment blank has a first edge 14 which is generally a straight edge and a second straight edge 16 which extends parallel to and spaced from the first edge 14 . the spacing between the first edge 14 and second edge 16 comprises a length greater than the length of the garment to be formed as will hereinafter become apparent . the first edge 14 is bisected into two equal parts which form a first portion 18 and a second portion 20 . the first edge 14 is bisected by a slit 22 which forms the first and second portions . the garment blank also includes two pair of sleeve edges which will form the sleeves on the finished garment . the first pair of sleeve edges consists of a first sleeve edge 24 and a second sleeve edge 26 . extending between the first sleeve edge 24 and second sleeve edge 26 is a first sleeve end edge 32 which forms the lower end of the sleeve of the garment ( see fig3 ). the first sleeve edge 24 extends between the first sleeve end edge 32 and an end of the first edge 14 . the second sleeve edge 26 is a slit into the flexible material 12 of the garment blank along at least a portion of its length . the second sleeve edge 26 extends a length equal to the length of the first sleeve edge 24 and is parallel to both the first edge 14 and second edge . 16 . the second pair of sleeve edges consists of a first sleeve edge 28 and a second sleeve edge 30 . the first and second sleeve edges of the second sleeve edge pair are joined by a second sleeve end edge 34 extending between the first and second sleeve edges . the second sleeve end edge forms the lower end of the sleeve on the garment as is shown more fully in fig3 . as with the first pair of sleeve edges , the first sleeve edge 28 of the second sleeve edge pair extends between the second sleeve end edge 34 and an end of the first edge 14 . the second sleeve edge 30 extends from the remaining end of the second sleeve end edge 34 and is a slit extending into the flexible material 12 at least along a portion of its length . the second sleeve edge has a length equal to the length of the first sleeve edge 28 . of course , for the sleeves to be of the same length , the first sleeve edge and second sleeve edge of the first pair of sleeve edges are equal in length to the first sleeve edge and second sleeve edge of the second pair of sleeve edges . the respective portions of each of the second sleeve edges 26 and 30 which are slits extending into the flexible material 12 also form temporary edges on the two flap panels . as indicated above , the slit in the flexible material 12 ( e . g . the line shown as a &# 39 ; b &# 39 ; in fig1 ) extends a length equal to one - half of the length of the first edge 14 . stated in a different manner , the length of the slit in the flexible material is equivalent to the length of either the first portion 18 or second portion 20 of the first edge 14 . the reason for the length of the slit being equivalent to the lengths of the first and second portions will be apparent hereinafter but briefly is necessary as the first portion and second portion of the first edge are joined to the two seam edges formed respectively by the slits extending through the flexible material . the slits in the material form a first seam edge and a second seam edge , a &# 39 ; b &# 39 ;. the garment blank 10 is further defined by a first exposed edge 38 which extends between an end of the second edge 16 and the outer end of the slit forming the second sleeve edge of the first sleeve edge pair ; i . e ., an end of the first seam edge . correspondingly , a second exposed edge 40 extends between the remaining end of the second edge 16 and the outward end of the slit forming the second sleeve edge 30 of the second sleeve edge pair ; i . e ., an end of the second seam edge . the exposed edges 38 and 40 form at least a portion of the exposed edges of the finished garment . the remaining portions of the exposed edges of the finished garment being formed from the length of material along slit 22 . the garment blank also includes a circular opening which forms the head or neck opening of the garment . the circular opening is defined by a circular neck edge 36 . the circular neck edge 36 is centered between the first edge 14 and the two second sleeve edges 26 and 30 . the two second sleeve edges 26 and 30 are aligned with one another . if they were extended , they would meet . that is , the two second sleeve edges 26 and 30 are at a 180 ° angle to one another . the circular neck edge 36 is also positioned such that it is diametrically bisected by the slit 22 , which slit also bisects the first edge 14 and which slit is perpendicular to such first edge 14 . more simply stated , the slit 22 , if extended , would form a diameter extending through the center of the circular neck opening 36 while also extending through the midpoint of first edge 14 at a right angle . the open , wraparound , sleeved garment that is formed from the garment blank 10 is formed by the following steps . the garment blank 10 is cut from a sheet of flexible material in the pattern shown in fig1 . after cutting the garment blank 10 , the garment blank includes the sections identified in fig1 which would include two shoulder sections , the neck portion , two sleeve portins , two flap panels which will overlap , and a face panel . with regard to fig1 the garment blank therein can be folded either into or away from the plane of the material to form the garment . for simplicity and in order to describe the method of forming the garment , the method will be described with regard to folding the garment blank outwardly in the direction of arrows 46 and 48 away from the plane of the material . that is , the surface of the material facing outwardly of the page will become the inside surface of the garment . to form the garment , the first sleeve edge 24 is folded toward the second sleeve edge 26 so that the two sleeve edges coincide and can be seemed along a first seam 42 as shown in fig2 . the right hand flap panel including the first exposed edge 38 is folded inward of the flexible material so that the portion of the flap panel formed by the slit coinciding with the second sleeve edge 26 ( i . e . first seam edge ) mates with the first portion 20 of the first edge 14 . the mating or joining forms a continuation of the first seam 42 as is shown in fig2 . the first seam 42 extends between points d and e in one continuous seam line . the seam can be formed by any acceptable seaming technique such as by sewing , adhesively joining , heat forming , and the like . when the first seam 42 is formed , then one - half of the garment has been constructed as is shown in fig2 . such one - half of the garment includes a formed sleeve and a completed back panel having an open edge coinciding with the first exposed edge 38 . the lower terminus of the sleeve is formed by the first sleeve end edge 32 . the garment is completed by performing the same steps on the left hand portion of the garment blank . that is , the first sleeve edge 28 and second sleeve edge 30 of the second pair of sleeve edges are folded such that the first sleeve edge 28 coincides with the second sleeve edge 30 . with reference to fig1 the material is folded such that the first sleeve edge defined by line cb is moved to coincide with a second sleeve edge shown by line c &# 39 ; b &# 39 ;. point c is mated with point c &# 39 ; and point b is mated with point b &# 39 ;. concomitantly , the second portion 18 of the first edge 14 is folded to coincide with the upper portion of the flap panel defined by the second seam edge a &# 39 ; b &# 39 ;. a &# 39 ; b &# 39 ; is the slit in the garment which forms a portion of the length of the second sleeve edge 30 . the left flap panel is folded inward of the flexible material and since point b has been mated with point b &# 39 ;, point a is mated with point a &# 39 ;. that is , the second portion 18 of the first edge 14 is moved in the direction of the arrow 48 and the second exposed edge 40 is moved in the direction of arrow 46 to align the edges shown respectively by lines ab and a &# 39 ; b &# 39 ;. as stated above , it should be recalled that the length of ab is equivalent to the length of a &# 39 ; b &# 39 ; and the length of the line bc is equivalent to the length of line b &# 39 ; c &# 39 ;. after rotating and aligning the edges , a second seam 44 completes the formation of the garment as is shown in fig3 . the second seam is then a seam joining an edge illustrated as ac to an edge illustrated as a &# 39 ; c &# 39 ;. in regard to fig3 a finished garment is illustrated which consists of an open , wraparound , sleeved garment having a face panel and two side flap panels , each of which has an open exposed edge and which are designed to overlap along or at their exposed edges to close the garment . the garment includes a circular neck edge 36 , two sleeves formed by lower or sleeve end edges 32 and 34 , and a lower portion formed by the second edge 16 of the garment blank . the two exposed edges overlap and in the illustration of fig3 the second exposed edge 40 is shown as overlapping the first exposed edge . the garment is formed by two continuously extending seams which are illustrated in phantom by a first seam 42 and the second seam 44 . the garment thus formed is an improvement over the state of the garments in that it can be simply and economically formed by cutting the garment blank pattern shown in fig1 and joining the edges of the garment blank to form a completed , finished garment with but two seam lines . | 0 |
the authors of the invention have identified peptide sequences capable of interacting with the bacterial membrane and hence potentially to perform an antibiotic effect according to the mechanism proposed for natural antimicrobial peptides . therefore , the object of the present invention is an antibacterial peptide having one of the following amino acid sequences from the amino to the carboxylic terminal : qekirvrlsa [ seq id no : 1 ], qakirvrlsa [ seq id no : 2 ], qkkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 4 ], kirvrlsa [ seq id no : 3 ] or any derivative thereof , wherein one amino acid residue is replaced by an alanine residue or wherein one positively charged amino acid is replaced by another positively charged amino acid . preferably the peptide has one of the following amino acid sequences from the amino to the carboxylic terminal : akkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 5 ], qakirvrlsa [ seq id no : 2 ], qkairvrlsa [ seq id no : 6 ], qkkarvrlsa [ seq id no : 7 ], qkkiavrlsa [ seq id no : 8 ], qkkirarlsa [ seq id no : 9 ], qkkirvalsa [ seq id no : 10 ], qkkirvrasa [ seq id no : 11 ], qkkirvrlaa [ seq id no : 12 ]. more preferably the peptide has the amino acid sequence qkairvrlsa [ seq id no : 6 ]. alternatively the peptide has one of the following amino acid sequence : qrkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 13 ], qkrirvrlsa [ seq id no : 14 ], qrrirvrlsa [ seq id no : 15 ]. in an embodiment the peptide is of linear form , preferably multimerised on a skeleton of polyacrylamide , on a skeleton of dextrane units or on a skeleton of ethylene glycol units . in a preferred embodiment the peptide is in the form of multiple antigenic peptides ( map ), having the following formula : in which r is the peptide as claimed in claim 1 - 4 ; x is a trifunctional molecule ; m = 0 or 1 ; n = 0 , if m = 0 ; n = 0 or 1 , if m = 1 . preferably x is an amino acid having at least two functional aminic groups , more preferably x is lysine , ornithine , nor - lysine or amino alanine . the peptides of the invention are used for the preparation of a medicament with antibacterial activity . the person skilled in the art will choose the appropriate form of administration and dosage , selecting suitable dilutants , coadjutants and / or excipients . preferred forms are eyewashes , mouthwashes , solutions for topical use . the peptides of the invention are also used for the preparation of disinfectant and / or detergent products with antibacterial activity . the peptides of the invention are also used as preservatives for the preparation of food products and / or of cosmetic products and / or of homeopathic products . fig1 . antibacterial activity of l 1 and m1 on e . coli ( tg1 strain ) compared to non correlated map ( mnc ) used as negative control . the effect on bacterial growth was assessed at various concentrations ( 2 - 0 . 12 mg / ml ). m1 and l1 inhibited significantly e . coli growth while mnc , as expected , exhibited no antibacterial activity . fig2 . antibacterial activity of ( a ) monomeric linear peptides l1 (▪), l4 (▪), l5 (▪) and l6 (□) and ( b ) tetrabranched map4 form m1 (▪), m4 (▪), m5 (▪) and m6 (□). experiments were performed incubating e . coli tg1 cells ( 8 × 10 7 cfu / ml ) with the indicated amounts of peptide . the survival percentage is the number of living colonies with respect to the number of colonies in controls without peptides . fig3 . time - kill kinetics of m6 against e . coli atcc 25922 ( a ) and p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 ( b ). symbols : ♦, growth control ; ▪, 2 × mic concentration ( 16 μg / ml ) for e . coli atcc 25922 and 8 μg / ml for p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 ); ▴, 4 × mic ( 32 μg / ml ) for e . coli atcc 25922 and 16 μg / ml for p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 ). fig4 . cytotoxicity of m1 on j774 a . 1 , cho and spo cells . the figure shows the cytotoxicity of the map m1 peptide expressed in terms of percent of survival evaluated on murine macrophage cells ( j774 a . 1 ), murine myeloma ( spo ) and chinese hamster ovary epithelium cells ( cho k1 ) by means of a colorimetric assay ( mtt ). m1 was added to the various cell lines ( 6 × 10 4 cells / well ) at three different concentrations and incubated for 24 hours at 37 ° c . then 100 μl of mtt were added to each well and incubated for 90 min at 37 ° c . the absorbance values at 595 and 650 nm were measured . fig5 . toxicity of m4 (*), m5 (▴) and m6 (●) dendrimeric peptides on ( a ) mouse macrophage cell line j774 . a1 and ( b ) human hacat keratinocytes . cell viability was measured by a colorimetric assay ( mtt ). data points represent means of three replicates . fig6 . stability of m1 peptide in solution . time course of antibacterial activity of m1 on e . coli strain tg1 . map m1 peptide was dissolved in pbs at a concentration of 0 . 5 mg / ml and bactericide activity was measured 1 , 48 and 72 hours after re - suspension in pbs . fig7 . hplc profiles of linear ( l1 ) and dendrimeric ( m1 ) peptides in serum . ( a ) l 1 in serum at 0 h . ( b ) l 1 after incubation in serum for 2 h : the peptide is no longer detectable . ( c ) m1 in serum at 0 h . ( d ) m1 after incubation in serum for 24 h : the peptide is still present . the vertical bar indicates peptide retention time ( min ). experiments performed in plasma were comparable . fig8 . stability of m4 , m5 and m6 peptides in solution . time course of antibacterial activity of m4 , m5 and m6 on e . coli strain tg1 . m4 , m5 and m6 peptides were dissolved in pbs at a concentration of 0 . 5 mg / ml and bactericide activity was measured 1 , 48 and 144 hours after re - suspension in pbs . fig9 . effect of m5 and m6 on haemolysis of human erythrocytes . the figures show the haemolytic activity of map m5 and m6 peptides on human erythrocytes evaluated by means of erythrocyte osmotic resistance of parpart method in nacl . the percentage of haemolysis is calculated by means of a calibration curve obtained by incubating erythrocytes with increasing concentrations of nacl . after 30 min of incubation , m5 and m6 ( at the maximum concentration tested ) displayed only a weak haemolytic activity (& lt ; 5 %). after 19 hours of incubation , the haemolysis induced by m6 and m5 at 125 μg / ml is 7 % and 19 %, respectively . the percentage of haemolysis of untreated blood after 19 hours ( control ) is very limited (& lt ; 1 ). fig1 . kinetics of membrane permeabilization of ml - 35 e . coli by m4 (*), m5 (▴), m6 (●) and of untreated cells (□). permeabilization was determined by spectrophotometric recording of hydrolysis of p - nitrophenyl - β - d - galactopyranoside , a substrate for β - galactosidase in the cytosol of bacterial cells . bacteria were treated with 16 μg / ml of dendrimeric peptides . fig1 . binding analysis between map m6 peptide and lps in biacore . the figure shows the sensorgram derived from the binding of lps on map m6 immobilised in the dextrane matrix of the biacore sensorchip . on the y - axis are shown the units of response derived from the binding between lps and m6 as a function of time expressed in seconds ( on the x - axis ) fig1 . gel retardation assay . binding was assayed by the inhibitory effect of peptides on the migration of dna . various amounts of m6 peptide were incubated with 200 ng of e . coli plasmid vector pcep4 at room temperature for 1 h and the reaction mixtures were applied to a 1 % ( w / v ) agarose gel electrophoresis . fig1 . clsm image of tg1 e . coli cells treated with rhodamine - labelled m6 after ( a ) 5 min and ( b ) 240 min of incubation . fig1 . bacterial inner - membrane permeation induced by m6 and visualized by fitc fluorescence . fig1 . detection of membrane - perturbed bacteria using double staining with fitc and pi fluorescent probes . ( a ) m6 at 5 μg / ml and ( b ) m6 at 40 μg / ml . the authors have produced and used a phage library of peptides with random sequence at high variability (˜ 10 10 ), in which each peptide is formed by 10 amino acid residues . the selection of the specific ligands was made by incubating the entire library with a solution of whole cells of e . coli , strain tg1 ( at the od 600 of about 0 . 1 ) in pbs . after 1 hour of incubation , the bacteria were centrifuged and the supernatant was eliminated . several washings with pbs - tween followed by centrifugation and elimination of the supernatant were performed to eliminate all the phages which bind aspecifically to the bacterial surface or which expose peptides with low affinity for the bacterial membrane . a glycine solution ( 0 . 2 m , ph 2 . 2 ) was added to the test tube containing bacteria and specific phages for 10 minutes , in order to determine the detachment of the phages bound to the membrane . after further centrifugation , the supernatant containing the eluted phages was collected . the selected phages were amplified in bacterial cells and used for two more rounds of selection . at the end of the process , the presence of specific phages was verified by elisa assay . dna analysis revealed the predominance of a sequence with potential amphipathic properties and positive net charge : qekirvrlsa [ seq id no : 1 ] ( l1 ). the letters are the acronyms of the aminoacids in accordance with iupac - iub nomenclature . it should be noted that the isolated sequence has the typical pattern of antimicrobic peptides which is characterised by alternating hydrophobic residues and positively charged residues ( k and r ). the peptide in question was synthesised in linear form and in tetrabranched multimeric form map ( multiple antigen peptide ) ( 20 ), in which four identical peptides are bonded to a lysine core ( u . s . pat . no . 5 , 229 , 490 ). it has been shown that map multimeric forms , due to the presence of 4 peptides in the same molecule , displayed increased antimicrobial activity . in addition , map multimeric form constitute peptides that are more resistant to the peptidase activity of blood , compared to their homologous linear peptides ( 22 , 23 ), enabling to overcome the bottleneck of the development and in vivo use of new peptide drugs . m1 efficacy showed a drop in activity over time ( fig6 ), once resuspended in solution . mass spectrometry analysis performed on the peptide at various time points indicated that the loss of activity was probably due to amide bond formation between the carboxylic group of the glutamic acid ( e ) in position two and the adjacent aminic group of lysine ( k ), with the elimination of an h 2 o molecule ( not shown ). in order to potentially improve the characteristics of the original sequence qekirvrlsa [ seq id no : 1 ], three peptides were synthesised , starting from the original sequence and replacing glutamic acid ( e ) with a hydrophobic residue such as alanine ( a ), or with a positively charged residue such as lysine ( k ), and lastly performing a deletion of the first two aminoacids at the amino - terminal end . the sequences of the map peptides thus modified are qakirvrlsa [ seq id no : 2 ] ( m4 ), qkkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 4 ]( m6 ), kirvrlsa [ seq id no : 3 ] ( m5 ) ( table 1 ). the bactericidial activity of m4 , m5 and m6 was stable over time ( up to 144 hours after solubilization , fig8 ). the antimicrobic activity of the peptides in linear form ( l1 , l4 , l5 , l6 ) and in map form ( m1 , m4 , m5 , m6 ) was assayed on the tg1 strain of e . coli . the peptides were incubated at various concentrations ( 2 - 1 - 0 . 5 - 0 . 25 - 0 . 12 mg / ml ) with cells of e . coli ( od 600 = 0 . 2 ) for about 1 hour at 37 ° c . subsequently , the cells were plated on agar at dilution such to allow counting of individual colonies . the antimicrobic activity of the synthesised peptide l 1 and m1 is shown fig1 and is compared to a non correlated map peptide ( mnc ) used as negative control . while the non correlated map peptide exhibits no activity on bacterial colony growth , the authors observed that the inhibitory activity of the peptide m1 in dendrimeric form is greater than the one of the linear peptide , l1 . this demonstrates that the efficacy of the antibacterial peptide depends exclusively on its primary sequence . the survival percentage ( number of living colonies with respect to the number of colonies in control conditions without peptide ) after treatment with the original peptide and with the modified peptides was determined ( fig2 ). the authors observed that in dendrimeric map4 form the peptides m1 , m4 , m5 and m6 presented a greater activity than their linear counterparts ( l1 , l4 , l5 and l6 ) ( fig2 a and b ). the modified peptides ( m4 , m5 , m6 ) showed good antibacterial activity . notably , m5 and m6 ( which contain one and two additional positive charges , respectively ) prevented tg1 e . coli colony growth at concentrations down to 6 . 25 μg / ml , whereas m1 and m4 appeared less effective at the same concentrations ( fig2 b ). minimum inhibitory concentrations ( mic ) of m4 , m5 and m6 were determined for the reference strains : s . aureus atcc 25923 , e . coli atcc 25922 , chryseobacterium meningosepticum ccug 4310 and p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 , as well as for a number of recent clinical isolates ( including multidrug - resistant ones ) of various species ( table 2 ). mic is defined as the lowest concentration , in an antibiotic dilution range , that inhibits visible bacterial growth . the importance of mic sensitivity test is based on the principle that in vitro sensitivity provides a predictive indication of the in vivo efficacy of the antibiotic therapy . values are expressed as molar concentration and compared to mic values obtained with commercially available antibiotics such as amikacin , ceftriaxone and levofloxacin ( table 3 ). from these data , it is readily apparent that the values of mic for m4 , m5 and m6 are low ( in the order of 10 − 6 - 10 − 7 m ) whereas the best antimicrobic peptides known in the literature reach mic values of around 10 − 6 m ( 0 . 25 - 4 μg / ml ) ( 25 ). all peptides showed relatively poor activity against s . aureus , appearing to be more active against gram - negative bacteria , with m6 being the most active against all species . m6 presented also a good inhibitory activity against e . coli , klebsiella pneumoniae , enterobacter spp . and p . aeruginosa , including clinical isolates showing a multiple - drug resistance phenotype . a somewhat lower activity was observed against citrobacter freundii and acinetobacter baumannii , and even lower activity against proteus mirabilis , morganella morganii , providencia stuartii , stenotrophomonas maltophilia , burkholderia cepacia , and chryseobacterium meningosepticum ( table 2 ). subsequently , the minimal concentration of the m4 , m5 and m6 peptides able to kill 99 . 9 % of the original bacterial inoculum ( mbc ) was evaluated . the mbc was calculated on strains of e . coli atcc 25922 and p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 and it was found to be equal to the calculated values of mic for the same strains . the equality of the values of mic and mbc provides the indication that m4 , m5 and m6 peptides are bactericidal and not bacteriostatic . time - kill experiments demonstrated that m6 exhibited rapid bactericidal activity against e . coli atcc 25922 and p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 , reducing an inoculum larger than 10 7 cfu by & gt ; 99 . 9 % in 4 h , at a concentration of 16 μg / ml ( fig3 ). bactericidal activity appeared to be concentration - dependent , especially with p . aeruginosa . due to their low mic values , the peptides could be administered at low doses , improving patient compliance , but also the cost - effect ratio of such therapy . the cytotoxicity of antibacterial map peptides was evaluated on different eukaryotic cell lines by a colorimetric assay ( mtt ). this assay measures the cells &# 39 ; ability to convert a soluble tetrazolium salt into an insoluble precipitate : formazan . the cytotoxicity of m1 was evaluated on murine macrophagic cells ( j774 a . 1 ), murine myeloma cells ( spo ) and chinese hamster ovary epithelium cells ( cho k1 ). as shown fig4 , even at high concentrations ( 1 mg / ml ) m1 cytotoxicity on cho k1 cells and on spo cells is low ( percent survival is 80 - 90 %). by contrast , murine macrophage cells , j774 a1 were found to be more sensitive to m1 ( percent survival ˜ 50 %). the toxicity of m4 , m5 and m6 towards mouse macrophage cells j774 . a1 was also tested by mtt and is shown in fig5 a . treatment of cells overnight with 30 μg / ml of m4 , m5 or m6 , did not substantially affect cell viability , whereas a drop in cell viability was evident after treatment with peptide m4 at concentrations of 250 μg / ml and over , and with peptides m5 and m6 at 125 μg / ml and over . the same dendrimeric peptides showed low toxicity for human keratinocyte hacat cells ( fig5 b ) even when used at high concentration ( 1 mg / ml ). moreover , the effect of m4 , m5 and m6 on the pichia pastoris yeast , strain x33 , was evaluated . the number of colonies of yeast treated with the three antimicrobial peptides did not differ from the negative control suggesting an absence of toxicity of the peptides on yeast ( data not shown ). since the use of peptides as therapeutic agents is severely limited by their in vivo half - life , the stability to human serum protease of the linear peptide l1 and of the map peptides m1 , m4 , m5 and m6 was evaluated . the peptides were incubated at the concentration of 10 mm with plasma and with human serum for 2 and 24 hours ; the samples were subsequently analysed in hplc on column c18 ( see materials and methods ) to evaluate the presence of linear and map peptide not digested by the protease . the authors observed that monomeric peptide l1 was completely degraded within 2 h in serum , whereas the dendrimeric form of the same peptide ( m1 ) was still detected after 24 h in plasma and serum ( fig7 , table 4 ). comparable results were obtained with dendrimeric peptides m4 , m5 and m6 ( table 4 ). the haemolytic activity of m5 and m6 was also evaluated and is represented fig9 . haemolysis of fresh human erythrocytes was determined at peptide concentrations ranging from 1 to 125 μg / ml . at a concentration of 125 μg / ml all dendrimeric peptides showed very poor haemolytic activity ( less than 5 %) after an incubation of 30 min . by contrast , after 19 hours of incubation , the haemolysis induced by m6 and m5 at 125 μg / ml is 7 % and 19 %, respectively . the percentage of haemolysis of untreated blood after 19 hours ( control ) is very limited (& lt ; 1 %). the ability of map peptides to perforate the bacterial membrane was evaluated measuring the activity of cytoplasmatic beta - galactosidase ( 24 ) in surpernatants of e . coli strain ml - 35 incubated with the peptide and using p - nitrophenyl - β - d - galactopyranoside ( pnpg ) as a substrate . pnpg is digested by beta - galactosidase , therefore releasing p - nitro - phenolate detectable by spectrophotometric reading at 420 nm ( fig1 ). the permeabilization assays showed that peptides m4 , m5 and m6 permeabilize the bacterial inner membrane , unmasking cytoplasmic β - galactosidase in ml - 35 e . coli permease - negative mutant . the activity of dendrimeric peptides against the inner membrane was evaluated at concentrations of 16 , 32 and 64 μg / ml . all dendrimeric peptides permeabilized bacterial inner membrane at 16 μg / ml ( fig9 ). permeabilization occurred after a lag of less than 1 minute , and the rate of permeabilization depended on peptide concentration ( not shown ). moreover , the ability of the m6 map peptide to bind the bacterial lipopolysaccharide ( lps ) was assayed by plasmon surface resonance in a biacore 1000 instrument ( fig1 ) using a protocol perfected by the authors ( 26 ). the sensorgram shows the rapid binding of m6 to the lps . this experiment suggests that m6 might have a detoxifying activity . in an attempt to clarify the molecular mechanism of action , the authors examined the binding properties on dna exerted by m6 dendrimeric peptide and magainin 2 , an antimicrobial peptide which has a pore - forming activity on the cell membrane . the dna binding abilities of m6 and magainin 2 were examined by analyzing the electrophoretic mobility of dna bands at the various weight ratios of peptides to dna on a 1 % ( w / v ) agarose gel . m6 inhibited the migration of dna above weight ratio of 0 . 2 ( fig1 ) while magainin 2 did not suppress the migration of dna until the weight ratio of 5 . this result indicates that m6 binds to dna at least over 25 times tightly than magainin 2 . clsm experiments showed that rhodamine - labelled m6 is able to enter the cells within 5 minutes and tends to cluster in discrete patches , often situated at the cell poles , instead of distributing evenly inside the bacteria ( fig1 ). moreover , there are no significant differences between e . coli images taken after 5 ( fig1 a ) or 240 min ( fig1 b ) of incubation with 20 μg / ml m6 . to further visualize the membrane - perturbing activity of m6 , the authors used fitc , a low molecular - mass ( 389 . 4 da ) green fluorescent probe . fitc was unable to cross the cytoplasmic membrane of control intact cells . indeed , when e . coli tg1 cells were incubated with the probe without pretreatment with the peptide , no appreciable fluorescent signal was discerned ( data not shown ). in contrast , fitc was readily accumulated in bacteria after their exposure to 20 μg / ml m6 , suggesting that m6 increases the permeability of the bacterial membrane as assessed by clsm analysis ( fig1 ). the results obtained with the double fitc - pi staining approach are illustrated in fig1 . e . coli cells were incubated respectively with 5 μg / ml ( fig1 a ), and 40 μg / ml of m6 (( fig1 b ). the authors observed that microbial cells treated with the highest peptide concentration display an increased membrane permeability to both fitc and pi ( fig1 b ). the lowest concentration of m6 lead to a limited alteration of bacterial membrane ( fig1 a ). surprisingly , the membrane remained almost impermeable to the smaller dye ( fitc , 389 . 4 da ) but was permeable to the larger dye ( pi , 668 . 4 da ). this finding could be explained by electrostatic interactions of the dye with the bacterial outer membrane : fitc in solution is negatively charged while pi has two positive charges that can promote its uptake . all treated bacteria maintain a typical “ stick ” shape without losing their nucleic acids content , as manifested by their clear , intense red fluorescence due to propidium iodine binding to dna . in order to identify the critical residues responsible for the antibacterial activity of m6 , the sequence of m6 was subjected to “ alanine scanning ”. “ alanine scanning ” is a procedure in which every amino acid of the peptide in question is sequentially replaced by an alanine . a mini - library in map form of 9 peptides was thereby synthesised ( table 5 ). for each map peptide , mic was then calculated on three reference strains : e . coli atcc 25922 , p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 ( gram negative ) and attc25923 ( gram positive ) mic values obtained for the m6 derivative peptides show that the replacement of alanine with any hydrophobic residue led to a significant increase in mic reflecting (?) a diminished antimicrobic activity . from the mini - library , the peptide m33 was identified as particularly active against the gram negative bacteria , e . coli atcc 25922 , and p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 with mic values , expressed in molarity , of 1 . 5 × 10 − 6 m for both strains . lastly , the effect of replacing the lysines of the m6 peptide with another positively charged aminoacid , arginine ( r ) was evaluated . arginine has a more distributed positive charge than lysine , due to the presence of the guanidinium group . the primary amine of lysine and the guanidinium group of arginine appear to interact differently with the bacterial phospholipids ( 27 ). for this purpose , 3 peptides in map form were synthesised ( table 7 ). for each peptides , mic was calculated on three reference strains : e . coli atcc 25922 , p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 ( gram negative ) and s . aureus attc25923 ( gram positive ). mic values obtained from replacing m6 lysines with the arginines show that the replacement of lysine in position 2 with an arginine does not influence the antimicrobial activity of map ( table 8 ). from this mini - library , the petide m28 was identified as particularly active against the gram negative bacteria e . coli atcc 25922 and p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 with mic values , expressed in molarity , respectively of 3 . 8 × 10 − 7 and 7 . 6 × 10 − 7 m . from this mini - library , the peptide m28 was identified as particularly active against the gram negative bacteria e . coli atcc 25922 and p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 with mic values , expressed in molarity , respectively of 3 . 8 × 10 − 7 and 7 . 6 × 10 − 7 m . in one example , the tetrabranched map peptides with the amino acid sequence : qakirvrlsa [ seq id no : 2 ], kirvrlsa [ seq id no : 3 ], qkkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 4 ] are used individually in a bacterial colony growth inhibition test . the test is conducted by incubating different concentrations of map peptides with e . coli ( strain tg1 ) and plating bacterial cells on agar at a dilution such to allow for individual colonies counting . the following day , the number of colonies grown after treatment with the three map peptides is compared . the map peptides with sequence kirvrlsa [ seq id no : 3 ] and qkkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 4 ] exhibit a bactericidal activity on tg1 cells down to a concentration of 6 . 25 μg / ml . in an additional example , the minimum inhibitory concentration ( mic ) of the tetrabranched map peptides having the sequence : qakirvrlsa [ seq id no : 2 ], kirvrlsa [ seq id no : 3 ], qkkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 4 ] was calculated on different gram negative bacterial strains . the mic values of kirvrlsa [ seq id no : 3 ] and qkkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 4 ], expressed in molarity , are in the order of 10 − 6 - 10 − 7 m for the gram negative bacteria e . coli atcc 25922 and p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 . in an additional example , the minimum inhibitory concentration ( mic ) of the tetrabranched map peptides having the sequence : qakirvrlsa [ seq id no : 2 ], kirvrlsa [ seq id no : 3 ], qkkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 4 ] was calculated on different gram positive bacterial strains , such as s . aureus attc25923 . the values of mic computed for the three map peptides are in the order of 10 − 5 m . in another example , the minimal concentration able to kill 99 . 9 % of the micro - organisms ( mbc ) of the tetrabranched map peptides having the sequence : qakirvrlsa [ seq id no : 2 ], kirvrlsa [ seq id no : 3 ], qkkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 4 ], was evaluated . the mbcs were calculated on strains of e . coli atcc 25922 and p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 and were found to be equal to the corresponding mic values for the same strains . in a further example , the haemolytic activity on human erythrocytes of the tetrabranched map having the sequence : kirvrlsa [ seq id no : 3 ], qkkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 4 ] was calculated . the percentage of haemolysis is calculated using the parpart method by means of a calibration curve obtained incubating the erythrocytes with increasing concentrations of nacl . at a concentration of 125 μg / ml qkkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 4 ] and kirvrlsa [ seq id no : 3 ] showed very poor haemolytic activity ( less than 5 %) after an incubation of 30 min . by contrast , after 19 hours of incubation , the haemolysis induced by qkkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 4 ] and kirvrlsa [ seq id no : 3 ] at 125 μg / ml is 7 % and 19 %, respectively . in another example , the tetrabranched map peptides having the sequence : qakirvrlsa [ seq id no : 2 ], kirvrlsa [ seq id no : 3 ], qkkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 4 ] are tested in an in vitro assay , in which their cytotoxicity on murine macrophage j774 a . 1 cells and on human hacat keratinocytes is determined by a colorimetric assay ( mtt ). as the concentration of map peptides increases , the vitality of j774 a . 1 cells decreases , whilst human hacat keratinocytes are particularly resistant to the peptides even when administered at a concentration of 1 mg / ml . in a further example , the map peptide m6 ( sequence qkkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 4 ]) demonstrated that it effectively binds the bacterial lipopolysaccharide when it is passed on a sensorchip of a biacore instrument , previously sensitised with the same map peptide m6 . in an additional example , the map peptides derived from “ alanine scanning ”, conducted on the sequence of m6 peptide ( table 6 ) are each one used to calculate their minimum inhibitory concentration ( mic ) on the bacterial strains e . coli atcc 25922 , p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 and s . aureus attc25923 . alanine scanning by replacing sequentially every amino acid of m6 with an alanine , allows to identify the critical residues responsible for bactericidal activity of the peptide . from this mini - library , a peptide was identified ( m33 ) which proved to be particularly active against the gram negative bacteria e . coli atcc 25922 and p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 with mic values of 1 . 5 × 10 − 6 m for both strains ( table 6 ). in an additional example , map peptides obtained by replacing the lysines ( k ) with arginines ( r ) of the map peptide m6 ( table 7 ) are each used to calculate their minimum inhibitory concentration ( mic ) on the bacterial strains e . coli atcc 25922 , p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 and s . aureus attc25923 . from this mini - library , a peptide was identified ( m28 ) which proved to be particularly active against the gram negative bacteria e . coli atcc 25922 and p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 with mic values of 3 . 8 × 10 − 7 and 7 . 6 × 10 − 7 m , respectively ( table 8 ). the peptides able to have an antibacterial effect were selected using a phage library of random peptides of 10 mer , following standard protocols for the use of these libraries . the peptides were selected by means of three pannings . 1 ml of cells of e . coli strain tg1 at the od 600 = 0 . 1 ( about 0 . 8 × 10 7 cells ) was centrifuged at 17000 × g for 3 min . the pellet was re - suspended in 1 ml of pbs and incubated under slow agitation for about 10 14 phages for 60 minutes at ambient temperature . cells and phages were recovered after a centrifugation at 17000 × g for 3 min . the supernatant was aspirated and the pellet washed 10 times with pbs - tween 0 . 1 % to remove the phages not bound in the first selection round and washed with pbs - tween 0 . 5 % in the subsequent rounds . the cells with the phages attached were centrifuged at 17000 × g for 3 min and the pellet was re - suspended in 1 ml of elution buffer [ 0 . 2 m glycine - hcl ( ph 2 . 2 )] leaving under slow agitation for about 5 minutes at ambient temperature . the sample was centrifuged as done previously and the supernatant transferred into an eppendorf tube and neutralised with 150 μl of 1m tris - hcl ( ph 9 . 1 ). 100 μl of eluted phage were used to infect 10 ml of e . coli tg1 in exponential growth phase for 30 min at 37 ° c . after the infection , the bacteria were centrifuged for 10 minutes at 3300 × g , re - suspended in 1 ml of 2 × ty ( descrivere ) and plated on agar containing ampicillin ( 100 μg / ml )- glucose ( 1 %). after overnight incubation ( o . n .) at 30 ° c ., the colonies were recovered from the plate by adding 5 - 10 ml of 2 × ty in such a way as to obtain an homogeneous suspension . 100 ml of 2 × ty - ampicillin ( 100 μg / ml )- glucose ( 1 %) were inoculated with 100 μl of a bacterial suspension until obtaining an od 600 = 0 . 4 - 0 . 5 , 10 ml of culture were drawn and infected with 100 μl of the phage helper vcs . m13 (& gt ; 10 11 transforming unit ( tu )/ ml ). the infected bacteria were centrifuged at 3300 × g for 10 min , the recovered pellet was then re - suspended in 100 ml of 2 × ty - ampicillin ( 100 μl / ml )- kanamycin ( 25 μg / ml ) and agitated over night at 30 ° c . the phages were purified and concentrated for precipitation with peg / nacl ( 20 % polyethylene glycol 6000 - 2 . 5 m nacl ) and re - suspended in 2 ml of pbs . the eluted phages were recovered , amplified and used for two more selection cycles . at the end of the process , the presence of specific phages for the bacterial surface was verified by elisa assay . the solid phase synthesis of the linear peptides was conducted by means of syro multisyntech ( wittenbochum , d ) peptide synthesiser , using a resin of p -( 2 , 4 - dimethoxyphenyl - fmoc - aminomethyl )- phenoxyacetamidonorleucyl -( 4 - methylbenzydryl - amine ) ( rink - mbha ) and the chemistry of fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl ( fmoc ). the de - protection reaction was obtained by adding 40 % of piperidine in n - methylpyrrolidone and , for the attack reaction , n - hydroxybenzotriazole esters of f - moc - aminoacids prepared in situ were used for the conjugation reaction . the peptides were detached from the resin and simultaneously de - protected using a trifluoroacetic acid / thioanisole / ethaneditiol / water mixture ( 93 / 2 / 3 / 2 ) for 3 hours at ambient temperature . the peptides were purified by means of reverse phase hplc on a vydac c18 semi - preparative column using a 30 min gradient of buffer b from 0 % to 100 % ( buffer a : 0 . 1 % trifluoroacetic acid / water ; buffer b : 0 . 1 % trifluoroacetic acid / methanol ). the synthesis of the multiple tetraramified antigenic peptides ( map ) was achieved by a solid phase procedure on wang fmoc 4 - k 2 — k - a resin , using fmoc chemistry . the map peptides were separated from the support using standard techniques and purified by means of reverse phase hplc . the peptides were checked by mass spectrometry . antimicrobic tests were conducted incubating for 75 min at 37 ° c ., 25 μl of e . coli at the od 600 of 0 . 2 with 25 μl of map peptide dissolved in pbs at the various concentrations . the different incubations were further diluted 1 : 1000 in 2 × ty medium and 100 μl were plated on solid 2 × ty medium . the plates were left overnight at 30 ° c . and the individual grown colonies were counted and compared with a control , not treated with map peptide . reference strains ( escherichia coli atcc 25922 , pseudomonas aeruginosa atcc 27853 , staphylococus aureus atcc 25923 and chryseobacterium meningosepticum ccug 4310 ) and several recent clinical isolates ( including multidrug - resistant ones ) of various species ( table 2 ) were used for conventional susceptibility testing experiments . minimum inhibitory concentration ( mic ) was determined by a standard microdilution assay as recommended by the national commitee for clinical laboratory standards ( nccls ) using cation - supplemented mueller - hinton ( mh ) broth ( oxoid ltd . basingstoke , uk ) and a bacterial inoculum of 5 × 10 4 cfu per well , in a final volume of 100 μl . results were recorded by visual inspection after 24 h of incubation at 37 ° c . minimum bactericidal concentration ( mbc ), defined as the concentration at which ≧ 99 . 9 % of the bacterial inoculum is killed , was determined as recommended by the nccls after mic testing . the mbc is defined as the minimal concentration of antibiotic able to kill 99 . 9 % of the micro - organisms of the original inoculation of the species in question . the mbc was determined as recommended by the national committee for clinical laboratory standards ( nccls ) on strains of e . coli atcc 25922 and p . aeruginosa atcc 27853 . assay of bactericidal activity in time - kill experiments was carried out as follows . the peptide was added , at the desired concentration , to exponentially growing cultures of the test strain in mh broth containing a total inoculum of 5 × 10 7 cfu ( 1 × 10 7 cfu / ml ) at 37 ° c . samples were drawn at different times and suitable dilutions were plated on mh agar to score the residual number of cfu . a culture without peptide was always grown in parallel as control . for cytotoxicity tests , different cell lines were used : murine myeloma cells spo , hamster ovary epithelium cells cho k 1 , murine macrophage cells j774 a . 1 and human keratinocytes hacat . the cells were plated in medium in rpmi 1640 ( spo and cho k 1 ) and dmem ( j774 a . 1 and hacat ) with antibiotics and bovine foetal serum at 10 %, in 96 - well plates at the concentration of 6 × 10 4 ( spo , cho k1 and j774 a . 1 ) and 3 × 10 4 ( hacat ). peptides , previously filtered with a 0 . 2 μm filter disk ( whatman ), were added at various concentrations to the different cell lines and left in incubation over night at 37 ° c . cell viability was determined adding the mtt tetrazolium salt at the concentration of 0 . 5 mg / ml and incubating for 90 min . the cells were solubilised with a solution at ph 4 . 5 containing sds 10 % and dimethylformamide 45 % and read at the dual wavelength of 595 / 650 nm with a plate reader . effect of qakirvrlsa ( m4 ), kirvrlsa ( m5 ) and qkkirvrlsa ( m6 ) on the pichia pastoris yeast strain x33 to a volume of 50 μl of culture of pichia pastoris grown 24 hour at 30 ° c . in ypd ( yeast extract / peptone / dextrose ) medium , 50 μl of map peptides ( 2 mg / ml ) were added and left in incubation 150 min at 37 ° c . subsequently , 50 μl of each incubation were plated on ypd solid medium and it was allowed to grow for 48 hours at 30 ° c . the number of colonies grown was compared with a control , where the yeast was not treated with the map . the various peptides in map form and the linear peptide ( l1 ) were dissolved in h 2 o at the concentration of 10 mm and incubated with 10 μl of plasma and human serum for 2 and 24 hours at 37 ° c . to each sample were added 150 μl of methanol to block the proteolytic reaction ; each sample was then centrifuged at 13 , 000 rpm for 2 min and to the supernatant were added 0 . 75 ml of 0 . 1 % trifluoroacetic acid . the samples were analysed in reverse phase hplc on a vydac c18 semi - preparative column using a 30 min gradient of buffer b from 20 % to 95 % ( buffer a : 0 . 1 % trifluoroacetic acid / water ; buffer b : 0 . 1 % trifluoroacetic acid / methanol ), to evaluate the presence of linear and map peptide after the proteolytic treatment . the haemolytic activity of the kirvrlsa [ seq id no : 3 ] ( m5 ) and qkkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 4 ] ( m6 ) peptides was evaluated by the parpart erythrocyte osmotic resistance assay in nacl . the percentage of haemolysis was calculated by means of a calibration curve obtained incubating the erythrocytes with increasing concentrations of nacl and measuring the absorbance increase , due to haemolysis , at 540 nm . 0 . 9 % nacl solutions containing the map peptides at different concentrations were then prepared , whereto was added human blood in the ratio of 1 : 100 ( v / v ). the samples were left at ambient temperature for 30 min and 19 hours ; subsequently , a portion was drawn for each incubation , centrifuged at 1500 rpm for 5 min and the absorbance of the super was measured with the spectrophotometer at 540 nm . the ability of the qakirvrlsa [ seq id no : 2 ] ( m4 ), kirvrlsa [ seq id no : 3 ] ( m5 ) and qkkirvrlsa [ seq id no : 4 ] ( m6 ) map peptides to perforate the bacterial membrane was evaluated measuring the activity of cytoplasmatic beta - galactosidase using as a substrate p - nitrophenyl - β - d - galactopyranoside ( pnpg ), which , digested by the beta - galactosidase , frees the p - nitro - phenolate detectable by spectrophotometric reading at 420 nm . in order to do this , e . coli cells of the strain ml - 35 were used : they constitutively produce beta - galactosidase and their lactose transporter is deactivated . the bacterial cells were drawn during the logarithmic growth phase ( od 600 = 0 . 4 - 0 . 5 ) and re - suspended in phosphate buffer 10 mm containing nacl 100 mm ( ph 7 . 4 ) and 1 . 5 mm pnpg . at time zero , the peptide in map form was added at the final concentration of 16 , 32 and 64 μg / ml and the absorbance change was measured at 420 nm . gel - retardation experiments were performed by mixing 200 ng of the e . coli plasmid vector pcep4 ( invitrogen ) with increasing amounts of m6 peptide in 20 μl of binding buffer ( 5 % glycerol , 10 mm tris - hcl ( ph 8 . 0 ), 1 mm edta , 1 mm dtt , 20 mm kcl and 50 μg / ml bsa ). the reaction mixtures were incubated at room temperature for 1 h . subsequently , 4 μl of native loading buffer was added ( 40 % saccarose , 0 . 25 % bromophenol blue ) and an aliquot of 12 μl was applied to a 1 % agarose gel electrophoresis in 1 mm tris borate - edta buffer . tg1 e . coli cells were grown overnight in 2 × ty . after dilution 1 : 10 in cell medium , 5 × 1 ml aliquots were prepared , washed two times with 10 mm sodium phosphate buffer ( pbs ) ph 7 . 4 and incubated in 200 μl of a tetramethylrhodamine ( tmr ) labelled peptide solution ( 20 μg / ml in pbs ) for 5 min at 37 ° c . after washing with pbs , each aliquot of the cells were resuspended in 200 μl of pbs and kept in the dark at 37 ° c . respectively for 2 , 30 , 60 , 120 , 240 min . the cells were then mounted in a glass slide and observed with a bio - rad mrc600 laser scanning confocal microscope ( clsm ). fluorescent images were obtained with a 568 nm bandpass filter for excitation of tmr . software merging of images was carried out by using a comos software . a double - staining method was developed to visualize , with two marker at the same time , the membrane perturbating activity induced by m6 on bacteria . the following fluorochromes were used : ( i ) the propidium iodide ( pi ), a dna - staining fluorescent ; and ( ii ) the green fluorescent probe fluoresceine iso - thiocyanate ( fitc ), which is unable to traverse the cytoplasmic membrane of cells unless permeabilized by a peptide . e . coli cells were prepared as described above and treated with 5 , 10 , 20 , 40 μg / ml of peptide for 30 min at 37 ° c . the cells were then washed with pbs , and a fitc solution ( 6 μg / ml in pbs ) was added . after 30 min at 37 ° c ., the fitc solution was removed and the cells were washed again with pbs . a dapi solution ( 6 μg / ml in pbs ) was then added to the cells . fluorescent images were obtained with a 568 nm bandpass filter for excitation of tmr and with a 488 nm bandpass filter for fitc . 1 . zasloff m . antimicrobial peptides of multicellular organisms . nature . 2002 jan . 24 ; 415 ( 6870 ): 389 - 95 . 2 . boman , h . g . peptide antibiotics and their role in innate immunity . annu . rev . immunol . 1995 ; 13 , 61 - 92 . 3 . steiner h , hultmark d , engstrom a , bennich h , boman h g . sequence and specificity of two antibacterial proteins involved in insect immunity . nature . 1981 jul . 16 ; 292 ( 5820 ): 246 - 8 . 4 . selsted m e , novotny m j , morris w l , tang y q , smith w , cullor j s . indolicidin , a novel bactericidal tridecapeptide amide from neutrophils . j biol . chem . 1992 mar . 5 ; 267 ( 7 ): 4292 - 5 . 5 . agerberth b , lee j y , bergman t , carlquist m , boman h g , mutt v , jornvall h . amino acid sequence of pr - 39 . isolation from pig intestine of a new member of the family of proline - arginine - rich antibacterial peptides . eur j biochem . 1991 dec . 18 ; 202 ( 3 ): 849 - 54 . 6 . romeo d , skerlavaj b , bolognesi m , gennaro r . structure and bactericidal activity of an antibiotic dodecapeptide purified from bovine neutrophils . j biol . chem . 1988 jul . 15 ; 263 ( 20 ): 9573 - 5 . 7 . lehrer r i , ganz t . defensins : endogenous antibiotic peptides from human leukocytes . ciba found symp . 1992 ; 171 : 276 - 90 ; discussion 290 - 3 . review . 8 . agerberth b , boman a , andersson m , jornvall h , mutt v , boman h g . isolation of three antibacterial peptides from pig intestine : gastric inhibitory polypeptide ( 7 - 42 ), diazepam - binding inhibitor ( 32 - 86 ) and a novel factor , peptide 3910 . eur j biochem . 1993 sep . 1 ; 216 ( 2 ): 623 - 9 . 9 . matsuzaki k . why and how are peptide - lipid interactions utilized for self - defence ? magainins and tachyplesins as archetypes . biochim biophys acta . 1999 dec . 15 ; 1462 ( 1 - 2 ): 1 - 10 . 10 . yang l , weiss t m , lehrer r i , huang h w . crystallization of antimicrobial pores in membranes : magainin and protegrin biophys j . 2000 october ; 79 ( 4 ): 2002 - 9 . 11 . shai y . mechanism of the binding , insertion and destabilization of phospholipid bilayer membranes by alpha - helical antimicrobial and cell non - selective membrane - lytic peptides biochim biophys acta . 1999 dec . 15 ; 1462 ( 1 - 2 ): 55 - 70 . 12 . hanckok r e . peptide antibiotics . lancet . 1997 feb . 8 ; 349 ( 9049 ): 418 - 22 . review . 13 . bessalle r , kapitkovsky a , gorea a , shalit i , fridkin m . all - d - magainin : chirality , antimicrobial activity and proteolytic resistance . febs lett . 1990 nov . 12 ; 274 ( 1 - 2 ): 151 - 5 . 14 . wade d , boman a , wahlin b , drain c m , andreu d , boman h g , merrifield r b . all - d amino acid - containing channel - forming antibiotic peptides . proc natl acad sci u s a . 1990 june ; 87 ( 12 ): 4761 - 5 . 15 . merrifield e l , mitchell s a , ubach j , boman h g , andreu d , merrifield r b . d - enantiomers of 15 - residue cecropin a - melittin hybrids . int j pept protein res . 1995 september - october ; 46 ( 3 - 4 ): 214 - 20 . 16 . brotz h , josten m , wiedemann i , schneider u , gotz f , bierbaum g , sahl h g . role of lipid - bound peptidoglycan precursors in the formation of pores by nisin , epidermin and other lantibiotics . mol microbiol . 1998 october ; 30 ( 2 ): 317 - 27 . 17 . lam k s , salmon s e , hersh e m , hruby v j , kazmierski w m , knapp r j . a new type of synthetic peptide library for identifying ligand - binding activity . nature . 1991 nov . 7 ; 354 ( 6348 ): 82 - 4 . 18 . houghten r a , pinilla c , blondelle s e , appel j r , dooley c t , cuervo j h . generation and use of synthetic peptide combinatorial libraries for basic research and drug discovery . nature . 1991 nov . 7 ; 354 ( 6348 ): 84 - 6 . 19 . smith g p . filamentous fusion phage : novel expression vectors that display cloned antigens on the virion surface . science . 1985 jun . 14 ; 228 ( 4705 ): 1315 - 7 . 20 . tam j p . synthetic peptide vaccine design : synthesis and properties of a high - density multiple antigenic peptide system . proc natl acad sci usa . 1988 august ; 85 ( 15 ): 5409 - 13 . 21 . tam j p , lu y a , yang j l . antimicrobial dendrimeric peptides . eur j . biochem . 2002 february ; 269 ( 3 ): 923 - 32 . 22 . bracci l , falciani c , lelli b , lozzi l , runci y , pini a , de montis m g , tagliamonte a , neri p . synthetic peptides in the form of dendrimers become resistant to protease activity . j biol . chem . 2003 nov . 21 ; 278 ( 47 ): 46590 - 5 . 23 . lozzi l , lelli b , runci y , scali s , bernini a , falciani c , pini a , niccolai n , neri p , bracci l . rational design and molecular diversity for the construction of anti - alpha - bungarotoxin antidotes with high affinity and in vivo efficiency . chem biol . 2003 may ; 10 ( 5 ): 411 - 7 . 24 . lehrer r i , barton a , daher k a , harwig s s , ganz t , selsted m e . interaction of human defensins with escherichia coli . mechanism of bactericidal activity . j clin invest . 1989 august ; 84 ( 2 ): 553 - 61 . 25 . hancock r e , lehrer r . cationic peptides : a new source of antibiotics . trends biotechnol . 1998 february ; 16 ( 2 ): 82 - 8 . review . 26 . demitri m t , velucchi m , bracci l , rustici a , porro m , villa p , ghezzi p . journal of endotoxin research . vol . 3 ( 6 ), 1996 , pp . 445 - 454 . 27 . yang s t , shin s y , lee c w , kim y c , hahm k s , kim j i . selective cytotoxicity following arg - to - lys substitution in tritrpticin adopting a unique amphipathic turn structure . febs lett . 2003 apr . 10 ; 540 ( 1 - 3 ): 229 - 33 . | 0 |
the flow chart presented in fig1 represents the general steps or phases of the integrated stuttering treatment protocol . each step represented in the flow chart in fig1 is more fully defined in the fig2 , 3 and 4 . block 10 , multi - dimensional diagnostic procedure , is more fully represented and / or defined by the flow chart in fig2 . block 12 , attitude modification , is more fully represented and / or defined by the flow chart in fig3 . block 14 , fluency enhancing techniques , is more fully represented and / or defined by the flow chart in fig4 . block 16 , post analysis / consultation / maintenance , is more fully represented and / or defined by the flow chart in fig5 . the broken line between blocks 12 and 14 represents that these functions are executed simultaneously . as represented by the flow chart in fig2 , the multi - dimensional diagnostic procedure , block 10 , is defined by a protocol where a patient initially goes through a comprehensive series of evaluation and analysis of factors that may have an effect on the stuttering problem of the patient . the objective of psychological evaluation , block 18 is to define the feelings and attitude of the patient caused by or developed as a result of stuttering . the objective of the vocal parameters analysis , block 20 , is to analyze and establish the vocal pitch , vocal intensity and vocal cycle of the patient , for determining the depth of the patient &# 39 ; s fluency disorder . this may be accomplished with the assistance of a computer programmed to interrogate these parameters of the patient and record the results . the patient &# 39 ; s respiratory pattern , block 22 , respiratory pattern analysis , is analyzed and evaluated to determine functional problems that must be addressed with respect to the patient &# 39 ; s use of his or her breathing capabilities . this may be accomplished by using a device that measures the efficiency of the use of the breath for phonation . facial muscle activity analysis , block 24 provides data on the patient &# 39 ; s use of facial muscles relative to phonation . facial muscle activity may be analyzed using a non - invasive electrode instrumentation system where sensor contact is made on specific areas of the face which relate to phonation . measure articulatory mobility , block 26 may be accomplished using real time video processing , which may permit the examining person to view the patient &# 39 ; s oral motor function during simple and complex motor speech acts . the function and use of the larynx is measured and analyzed , laryngeal function analysis , block 28 . larynx usage may be determined using an instrument which includes non - invasive electrode sensors which are placed at the thyroid region for detecting and measuring the lx wave format , characterizing the impedance changes that occur during a vocal cord vibration cycle . the results of the examinations are evaluated , defining the following clinical results ; respiratory - communicative patterns ; vocal pitch ; vocal intensity ; vocal cycle periodicity / aperiodicity pattern ; lingual - alveolar position and movement ; lingual - palatal position and movement ; lingual - velar position and movement localization of facial spasms ; and degree of facial contractions . the results of the several examinations and analyses are recorded and stored for study and displayed to the patient and the medical personnel who have responsibility for the patient , block 30 , data storage / display and the collective data is analyzed , block 32 , collective data analysis . the medical team of healthcare professional people , including at least a psychologist , a speech and / or language pathologist and a complementary medicine specialist , review and correlate the collected data and develop a treatment program , block 34 , inter - disciplinary team treatment formulation , that is personal and specific , block 35 , personal program , for the interrogated patient . fig3 represents and / or defines more fully , block 12 , the attitude modification step of the integrated stuttering treatment program represented in the general flow chart , fig1 . the emotional attitude is addressed psychologically , block 36 , psychological , and the physical aspect is addressed with non - invasive medicine , block 38 , physiological complementary medicine . complementary medicine may include low level laser sessions , acupuncture and homeopathic formulations which address symptoms of , for example , anxiety , emotional communicative stress and tonic / clonic spasms . the stages of coping with emotional stress and anxiety associated with stuttering consist of : as the patient gains control over his or her emotional disorder , the patient simultaneously goes through a program of fluency enhancing techniques , specifically designed for the patient . fig4 represents and / or defines a preferred embodiment of block 14 , fluency enhancing techniques , represented generally in fig1 . the fluency enhancing techniques are visual , tactic and audio aids , designed to interact and complement each other , such as these techniques are designed to teach the stuttering patient , or stutterer how to establish control over various motor speech acts ; to teach the patient how to apply minimal pressure during motor speech acts and how to utilize breathing as the main source of energy for effective communication . stuttering therapy exercises , in each of two protocols , are selected , block 40 , therapy exercise selection , for the patient , based on the protocol defined in fig2 . one protocol of exercise is stimuli , another protocol of exercise is phoneme . utilization of the respiration function , respiratory pattern monitoring , block 46 , is monitored and administratively adjusted during performance of these exercises . the stimuli component selection , block 41 , is preferably defined in a plurality of phases , phase i is an exercise covering the repetition of isolated syllable segments . the phase i exercise covers speech sounds which are individual , in single syllable units . phase ii is an exercise covering the repetition of integrated syllable segments . the phase ii exercise covers speech sounds in varying complexity syllable units . phase iii is an exercise covering the repetition of sentence construction units . the phase iii exercise covers the vocalizing of sentences in systematic complexity containing the elements of phases i and ii . phase iv is an exercise covering interactive dialogues during which the patient practices making statements with computer follow - up of the statements . a stimuli component , phase v exercise may cover interactive dialogue with programmed disturbances . during phase v of the exercise , the patient practices making statements in the face of interruptions during presentation of a statement , the interruptions occur randomly , in various duration and intensity . stimuli exercises may also include additional phases , such as practicing conversations between and / or among persons on a particular topic ; role - playing , as in acting , for example ; giving directions ; and , simulated interview , such as simulated job interview , for example . the phoneme level selection , block 42 , is preferably defined in four ( 4 ) levels , a phoneme level comprising speech sounds that are organized based on vocal tract constriction and vocal pressure initiation onset . the four phoneme levels are defined as phoneme level i , vowels ; phoneme level ii , sustained consonants ; phoneme level iii , partial vocal tract constriction consonants ; and , phoneme level iv , complete vocal tract constriction consonants . the time elements , represents in blocks 41 a and 42 a , time period selection , are defined by intervals of time of the exercise periods and the time intervals between exercise periods . these time intervals are selected by the patient where the patient is capable of meaningful selection of time . block 44 , exercise program is represented in an expanded form in the flow chart in fig4 a . the exercise program is a series of therapeutic exercises for overcoming the problem of stuttering . during the exercise program , the breathing or respiratory pattern of the patient is monitored and administrated , block 46 , respiratory pattern monitoring . if patient response , block 48 , to the exercise program is incorrect , 49 , team corrective feedback is provided , block 50 , corrective feedback presentation . this may include a repeat , in whole or in part of the last completed exercise session , by the patient , as represented by 50 ′. when the patient &# 39 ; s response to the exercise program is satisfactory or correct , 51 , or the exercise program is completed , block 52 exercise program complete , and the patient moves on , therapy - wise , to the self - administered , portion of the stuttering treatment program . this is a portion of the stuttering treatment program that may be referred to as a preventive maintenance portion of the program . the self - administrated portion of the stuttering treatment program is a self - disciplined , self - treatment and self - monitored portion of the stuttering treatment program . in order to enter the post treatment phase of the stuttering treatment program self - administered exercises are selected , block 53 , child selected exercise . if the patient has adult status , the exercises are elected , block 54 , adult elected exercise . the patient has overcome those physical and / or mental problems , with attendant emotional problems , that have caused the patient to stutter . these are usually persistent problems that , if ignored , will reoccur . preventive maintenance is a positive part of the stuttering treatment program designed to prevent reoccurrence of the problems that originally caused the patient to stutter . for a patient who is a child and / or is considered incapable of making his or her own decision , with respect to the stuttering treatment exercises , self - disciplined exercise is suggested and / or selected by the attending team , block 52 . the selected exercise or exercises , at this stage of the stuttering treatment program , will be self - administrated , self - monitored and self - evaluated , for personal maintenance of speech fluency . this is represented by post treatment / maintenance / monitoring . the term , maintenance , block 56 , is defined as “ preventive maintenance ”. block 56 is more fully defined in the flow chart in fig4 b . if the patient is an adult , he or she may elect the self - disciplined exercise or exercises , block 54 , adult elective exercise . the present stuttering treatment program positively includes a post treatment period of maintenance or preventive maintenance , to prevent return of the stuttering problem . while full participation in the stuttering program &# 39 ; s post treatment is highly recommended , full participation in the post treatment program is optional , 55 , to adult patients . attention is directed to fig4 a , which is a flow chart defining , more fully , the exercise program , block 44 in fig4 . the active exercise program is a series of exercises relating to stimuli and phoneme with monitoring and administration of respiratory action of the patient during the exercises . the initial stimuli and phoneme exercises are at the lowest complexity or stage and each increases in complexity until mastered or handled correctly . block 60 - 1 , phoneme level 1 represents the least complex level of phoneme exercise , for that particular patient . block 62 - 1 , stimuli component 1 represents the least complex component of stimuli for that particular patient . if the patient &# 39 ; s response , blocks 61 - 1 and 63 - 1 is correct 68 - 1 and 69 - 1 the patient advances to the next complexity of exercises , blocks 60 - 2 and 61 - 2 . if patient response , blocks 61 - 1 and / or 62 - 1 is incorrect 64 - 1 and / or 65 - 1 , the particular exercise to which the response was incorrect will be repeated by the patient . if the patient is not satisfied with his or her response , voluntary 66 - 1 and / or 67 - 1 , repetition of the exercise or exercises are provided for . a full record , block 70 - 1 ( and 70 - 2 ) is maintained at each stage of exercise . the next exercise stage is phoneme level 2 , block 60 - 2 and stimuli component , block 62 - 2 with patient response 61 - 2 and 63 - 2 . as in the first stage of the exercises , incorrect 64 - 2 and / or 65 - 2 patient response provides a repeat of the last performed exercise . a voluntary 66 - 2 and / or 67 - 2 repeat of exercise is also provided . block 60 - 3 + and 62 - 3 + each represent the next and / or subsequent exercise stages in the program , each with increasing complexity and each with the same repetitive capability . when the last in the series of exercises has a correct 68 - 3 and 69 - 3 , patient response 61 - 3 and 63 - 3 , the hands - on exercise program is completed , block 75 . attention is directed to fig4 b , which is a flow chart which represents or defines more fully , block 56 in fig4 . block 80 , self therapy / self monitoring / self analysis effectively defines the therapeutic environment of the patient . the exercises selected or elected , as represented by blocks 53 and 54 of fig4 , are self - administered during this phase of the stuttering treatment program for maintaining the speech fluency developed during the hands - on phase of the stuttering treatment program . self - monitoring and self - analysis of the effectiveness of the self - administered exercises serves as preventive maintenance and prevents regression of the patient to former poor speech habits . through self - analysis the status of speech fluency is recognized . block 82 , report to center , represents patient responsibility for communicating the status data of the patient to the center . the exercise performed by the patient under the patient &# 39 ; s supervision is known and with the status data from the patient full review , block 84 of the patient may be accomplished . consultation , block 86 , with the patient provides guidance and / or up - dates the self therapy , block 88 . the self - administered therapy with self - monitoring and self - evaluation is repeated , as represented by the return line 90 . fig5 represents and / or defines the interaction provisions between the patient and the center , during the self - administered therapy phase of the stuttering treatment program . at the patient &# 39 ; s option , block 92 , contact with the center may be made direct , block 94 , or indirect , block 98 . direct contact may be via mail , block 95 or by phone , block 96 . indirect contact is provided over the internet . the stuttering treatment program provides for a website on the internet for those patients who use the internet . the patient accesses the website , block 99 , at which is provided an interactive maintenance program , block 100 . the interactive maintenance program includes a broad form questionnaire with questions covering potential problematic areas . the patient uses the questionnaire for identifying troublesome areas and scores himself or herself , block 102 . the data is recorded in the center database , block 104 and is reviewed by a therapist , block 106 . follow - up contact by personnel at the center may be by phone or mail , block 108 , u . s . mail or e - mail for example . as represented by the return line 110 , the patient continues the post treatment portion of the stuttering treatment program . in the foregoing description of the invention , referenced to the drawings , certain terms have been used for conciseness , clarity and comprehension . however , no unnecessary limitations are to be implied from or because of the terms used , beyond the requirements of the prior art , because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed . furthermore , the description and illustration of the invention are by way of example , and the scope of the invention is not limited to the exact details shown , represented or described . having now described a preferred embodiment of the invention , in terms of features , discoveries and principles , along with certain alternative construction and suggested changes , other changes that may become apparent to those skilled in the art may be made , without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims . | 6 |
the attached drawings for illustrating embodiments of the inventive concept are referred to in order to gain a sufficient understanding of the inventive concept and the merits thereof . hereinafter , the inventive concept will be described in detail by explaining embodiments of the inventive concept with reference to the attached drawings . like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements . fig1 is a cross sectional view of a pixel array 100 of a 3d image sensor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept . referring to fig1 , the pixel array 100 may include one or more unit pixels . the pixel array 100 may include photocharge storage regions 11 and 12 ( or , collectively a photocharge storage region 10 ), storing photocharges , gating regions 21 and 22 ( or , collectively a gating region 20 ), controlling the photocharge storage region 10 , and a photocharge generation region 30 providing photocharges to the photocharge storage region 10 . as shown in fig1 , the photocharge generation region 30 may be doped into a first type , for example , an n - type . also , the photocharge generation region 30 may absorb externally incident light and generate photocharges in response to the absorbed light . in detail , the photocharge generation region 30 may absorb the incident light emitted by a light source ( not shown ) and reflected by a subject ( not shown ). also , according to an exemplary embodiment , photocharges in an amount proportional to the intensity of the absorbed light may be generated in the photocharge generation region 30 . the photocharge storage region 10 may store the photocharges generated by the photocharge generation region 30 . the photocharge storage region 10 may be doped into the first type , for example , the n - type . in detail , as illustrated in fig1 , the photocharge storage region 10 may be implemented in form of a buried well . accordingly , the photocharges generated by the photocharge generation region 30 may be efficiently stored in the photocharge storage region 10 . the photocharge generation region 30 and the photocharge storage region 10 may be doped into the same type , for example , the n - type . according to an exemplary embodiment , the doping concentration of the photocharge storage region 10 may be higher than that of the photocharge generation region 30 . also , to gather the photocharges generated in a deep area , the photocharge generation region 30 may be doped at a low concentration or made in an intrinsic state . the photocharges generated in the photocharge generation region 30 may be selectively transmitted to the photocharge storage region 10 in response to any one of voltages vgate 1 and vgate 2 applied to the gating region 20 . the gating region 20 may be formed in one surface of the photocharge storage region 10 . the gate voltages vgate 1 and vgate 2 may be respectively input to the gating region 20 . as illustrated in fig1 , the gate region 20 may be doped into a second type , for example , a p - type . also , a first voltage , for example , vgate 1 , applied to a first gating region ( or first gate ) 21 , for example , and a second voltage , for example , vgate 2 , applied to a second gating region ( or , second gate ) 22 , for example , may have a phase difference of 180 ° from each other . according to an exemplary embodiment , the first and second voltages vgate 1 and vgate 2 may be square wave type voltages . also , according to an exemplary embodiment , the amplitudes of the first and second voltages vgate 1 and vgate 2 may be not greater than 1v . thus , since the square wave voltages having a phase difference of 180 ° are input to the first and second gates 21 and 22 , the first and second gates 21 and 22 are not gated at the same time . thus , the pixel array 100 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept may be implemented such that the voltage may be selectively supplied to any one of the first and second gates 21 and 22 . for example , when the first voltage vgate 1 has a first level , for example , a low level , since the second voltage vgate 2 has a phase difference of 180 ° from the first voltage vgate 1 , the second voltage vgate 2 may have a second level , for example , a high level . in this case , as the area of a second photocharge storage region 12 , for example a second well 12 formed by contacting the second gate 22 extends and is deepened , the photocharges generated in the photocharge generation region 30 may be accumulated in the second well 12 . similarly , when the first voltage vgate 1 has a second level , for example , a high level , the second voltage vgate 2 may have the first level , for example , the low level . in this case , as the area of a first photocharge storage region 11 , for example a first well 11 formed by contacting the first gate 21 extends and is deepened , the photocharges generated in the photocharge generation region 30 may be accumulated in the first well 11 . also , the pixel array 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment may further include a substrate 40 that is formed under the photocharge generation region 30 . the substrate 40 may be doped into the second type , for example , the p - type . although in fig1 the photocharge generation region 30 and the photocharge storage region 10 are doped into the n - type and the substrate 40 and the gating region 20 are doped into the p - type , the doping types of the elements may be reversely implemented according to an exemplary embodiment . fig2 is a timing diagram for explaining a principle to measure the distance from a subject by using a 3d image sensor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept . referring to fig1 and 2 , the light emitted from a light source ( not shown ) may be reflected by a subject ( not shown ) and reflected light may be incident on a 3d image sensor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept . as illustrated in fig2 , the light emitted from the light source may be a square wave . when the reflected light reflected from the subject is absorbed in the photocharge generation region 30 , photocharges may be generated in the photocharge generation region 30 . the first voltage vgate 1 input to the first gate 21 may have the same phase as that of the light emitted from the light source . the second voltage vgate 2 input to the second gate 22 may have a phase difference of 180 ° from that of the first voltage vgate 1 . thus , while the reflected light is incident on the photocharge generation region 30 , a time period “ a ” during which the first voltage vgate 1 applied to the first gate 21 has a second level , for example , a high level , and a time period “ b ” during which the second voltage vgate 2 applied to the second gate 22 has the second level , for example , the high level , may be determined . the photocharges may be stored in the first and second wells 11 and 12 during the time periods “ a ” and “ b ”. the distance from the subject may be calculated by using a difference in the amount of photocharges stored in the first and second wells 11 and 12 . fig3 is a cross sectional view of a pixel array of a 3d image sensor according to another exemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept . referring to fig1 - 3 , the pixel array 100 a according to the present exemplary embodiment may further include a leakage current restriction region 50 which restricts leakage current generated in the gating region 20 . since the operations or structures of the substrate 40 , the photocharge generation region 30 , the photocharge storage region 10 , and the gate region 20 are substantially the same as those of ones illustrated in fig1 , detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted herein . according to an exemplary embodiment , when the amplitude of a voltage applied to any one of the first and second gates 21 and 22 is increased , leakage current may be generated between the first and second gates 21 and 22 . accordingly , the leakage current restriction region 50 may be provided to restrict the generation of leakage current at its maximum . in detail , as illustrated in fig3 , the leakage current restriction region 50 may be implemented by surrounding each of the first and second gates 21 and 22 or in a space between the first and second gates 21 and 22 . also , the leakage current restriction region 50 may be doped into the first type , for example , an n - type . the doping concentration of the leakage current restriction region 50 may be lower than that of the first well 11 and the second well 12 and higher than that of the photocharge generation region 30 . referring to fig1 and 3 , the size of the photocharge storage region 10 of the fig1 may be smaller than the size of the photocharge storage region 10 ′ of the fig3 . thus , as the distance between the first and second wells 11 ′ and 12 ′ increases further , a larger potential difference may be generated between the first and second wells 11 ′ and 12 ′. fig4 is a cross sectional view of a pixel array of a 3d image sensor according to another exemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept . referring to fig1 - 4 , the photocharge storage regions 10 are not separated from each other as in those illustrated in fig1 and 3 , but are continuously connected to each other . as a voltage is applied to the first and second gates 21 and 22 , the well under the first and second gates 21 and 22 may expand to a buried well . thus , the pixel array 100 b illustrated in fig4 may obtain substantially the same effect as those of the pixel array 100 illustrated in fig1 and 3 . fig5 is an extended cross sectional view of a pixel array of a 3d image sensor according to another exemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept . referring to fig1 - 5 , the pixel array 100 c separately includes a plurality of floating diffusion layers 70 corresponding to the first and second wells 11 and 12 . the photocharges stored in each of the first and second wells 11 and 12 may be transferred to the floating diffusion layers 70 in response to the gating operation of a plurality of transfer gates 60 . for example , the photocharges stored in the first well 11 in response to a voltage applied to the first gate 21 may be transferred to the floating diffusion layers 70 in response to the gating operation of any one , for example , transfer gate 1 , of the transfer gates 60 . that is , an inversion channel is formed between the floating diffusion layers 70 and each of the first and second wells 11 and 12 by the gating operation of the transfer gates transfer gate 1 60 . the photocharges stored in each of the first and second wells 11 and 12 may be transferred to the floating diffusion layers 70 along the inversion channel . the photocharges accumulated in the floating diffusion layers 70 may be sensed by being amplified by a sensing amplifier amp 90 . after sensing is completed , the photocharges may be reset to the floating diffusion layers 70 by the gating operation of the reset gate 80 . in this case , since one time of sampling may not provide a sufficient amplitude of a signal , the pixel array 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment may be implemented such as the sensing operation can be performed after the photocharge accumulation operation is performed several times . accordingly , the voltages vgate 1 and vgate 2 applied to the first and second gates 21 and 22 may be controlled . fig6 a - 6c are plan views of a pixel array according to an exemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept . fig6 a is a plan view of the pixel array 100 c of fig5 , illustrating the structure to transfer the photocharges stored in each of the first and second wells 11 and 12 to the floating diffusion layers 70 in a lateral direction . also , fig6 b illustrates another structure of the pixel array 100 e of the present exemplary embodiment , in which the photocharges stored in each of the first and second wells 11 and 12 may be transferred in a vertical direction , that is , in a direction to penetrate in or out a drawing sheet . for this purpose , any one of the first and second gates 21 and 22 may be disposed at the front surface of the drawing sheet while the other one may be disposed at the rear surface thereof . fig6 c illustrates the structure of the pixel array 100 f according to another exemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept , which is suitable for implementing a pixel of a large area . for example , as illustrated in fig6 c , each of the first and second gates 21 and 22 includes a plurality of sub - gates and each sub - gate may be alternately arranged . thus , each of the first and second gates 21 and 22 may efficiently store the photocharges formed by the light incident on a large area . also , a pixel array having a large area may be implemented by using a gate in a zigzag format as illustrated in fig6 c . fig7 is a block diagram of a 3d image sensor 200 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept . referring to fig1 - 7 , the 3d image sensor 200 may include a photoelectric conversion unit 210 and an image processor ( isp ) 230 . each of the photoelectric conversion unit 210 and the image processor 230 may be implemented by a separate chip or module unit . the photoelectric conversion unit 210 may generate an image signal of a subject based on the incident light . the photoelectric conversion unit 210 may include a pixel array 211 , a row decoder 212 , a row driver 213 , a correlated double sampling ( cds ) block 214 , an output buffer 215 , a column driver 216 , a column decoder 217 , a timing generator 218 , a control register block 219 , and a ramp signal generator 220 . the pixel array 211 may include any one of the pixel arrays of fig1 , 3 , 4 , and 5 and a plurality of pixels , in each of which a plurality of row lines ( not shown ) and a plurality of column lines ( not shown ) are connected in a matrix format . the row decoder 212 may decode a row control signal , for example , an address signal , generated by the timing generator 218 . the row driver 213 may select at least any one of the row lines included in the pixel array 211 , in response to the decoded row control signal . the cds block 214 may perform correlated double sampling with respect to a pixel signal output from a unit pixel connected to any one of the column lines constituting the pixel array 211 to generate a sampling signal ( not shown ), compare a sampling signal with a ramp signal vramp , and a digital signal according to a comparison result . the output buffer 215 may buffer and output signals output from the cds block 214 in response to a column control signal , for example , an address signal , output from the column driver 216 . the column driver 216 may selectively activate at least any one of the column lines of the pixel array 211 in response to a decoded control signal , for example , an address signal , output from the column decoder 217 . the column decoder 217 may decode a column control signal , for example , an address signal , generated by the timing generator 218 . the timing generator 218 may generate a control signal to control the operation of at least one of the pixel array 211 , the row decoder 212 , the output buffer 215 , the column decoder 217 , and the ramp signal generator 220 , based on a command output from the control register block 219 . the control register block 219 may generate various commands to control elements constituting the photoelectric conversion unit 210 . the ramp signal generator 220 may output a ramp signal vramp to the cds block 214 in response to a command output from the control register block 219 . the image processor 230 may generate an image of the subject based on pixel signals output from the photoelectric conversion unit 210 . fig8 is a block diagram of a semiconductor system 1 having the 3d image sensor 200 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present inventive concept . for example , the semiconductor system 1 may be a computer system , a camera system , a scanner , a navigation system , a videophone , a supervision system , an automatic focus system , a tracing system , an operation monitoring system , and an image stabilization system , but the present inventive concept may not be limited thereto . referring to fig8 , a computer system that is a sort of the semiconductor system 1 may include a bus 500 , a central processing unit ( cpu ) 300 , a 3d image sensor 200 , and a memory device 400 . also , the semiconductor system 1 may further include an interface ( not shown ) that is connected to the bus 500 and capable of communicating with an external device . the interface may be , for example , an i / o interface , and may be a wireless interface . the cpu 300 may generate a control signal to control the operation of the 3d image sensor 200 and provide the control signal to the 3d image sensor 200 via the bus 500 . the memory device 400 may receive and store an image signal output from the 3d image sensor 200 via the bus 500 . the 3d image sensor 200 may be integrated with the cpu 300 and the memory device 400 . in some cases , a digital signal processor ( dsp ) is integrated with the cpu 300 and the memory device 400 or the 3d image sensor 200 only may be integrated in a separate chip . as described above , since the 3d image sensor according to the present inventive concept includes a pixel having a junction gate structure , a light use efficiency may be increased . also , according to the 3d image sensor according to the present inventive concept , since the generated photocharges are stored in the well by avoiding the boundary surface of si or sio 2 , noise due to dark current may be greatly decreased . furthermore , the 3d image sensor according to the present inventive concept may be easily implemented because an operation at a low operation voltage is possible . while the inventive concept has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof , it will be understood that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims . | 7 |
[ 0012 ] fig1 is an exemplary system block diagram 10 of an electrical interface circuit 12 connected to a hvac system 14 and a controller 16 , which is connected to a thermostat 18 . hvac system 14 includes an electronically commutated motor 20 ( ecm ) including a microcontroller 22 . in one embodiment , ecm 20 is a variable speed ecm . interface circuit 12 includes a controller interface circuit 24 and a motor control interface circuit 26 . motor control interface circuit 26 is connected to microcontroller 22 within ecm 20 . hvac system 14 communicates with ecm 20 through controller interface circuit 24 via a serial communications link 28 , e . g ., a shielded cable . in another embodiment , controller interface circuit 24 communicates with motor control interface circuit 26 via a wireless digital communications link ( not shown ). in yet another embodiment , control interface circuit 24 communicates with motor control interface circuit 26 using wireless technology , e . g ., infrared and rf technology ( not shown ). interface circuit 12 receives information from controller 16 as to a specific torque , speed , or airflow ecm 20 is to be set based on a desired temperature from thermostat 18 . in one embodiment , interface circuit 12 is a digital interface . [ 0013 ] fig2 is an exemplary embodiment of a schematic diagram for controller interface circuit 24 . controller interface circuit 24 includes a transmit circuit 30 and a receive circuit 32 . controller transmit circuit 30 includes a tx terminal 34 connected to a resistor 36 that is connected to a node 38 . node 38 is connected to a base 40 of transistor 42 . node 38 is also connected to a resistor 44 that is connected to an emitter 46 of transistor 42 . a power supply 47 is connected to emitter 46 of transistor 42 . a collector 48 of transistor 42 is connected to a txout terminal 50 . controller receive circuit 32 includes a power terminal 52 and a rxin terminal 54 . rxin terminal 54 is connected to a resistor 56 that is connected to a node 58 . resistor 60 is connected between node 58 and a node 62 . node 62 is connected to power terminal 52 and power supply 47 . node 62 is connected to an emitter 64 of transistor 66 and node 58 is connected a base 68 of transistor 66 . a collector 70 of transistor 66 is connected to a node 72 that is connected to a resistor 74 and a rx terminal 76 . resistor 74 is tied to a node 78 that is tied to ground , a ground terminal 80 , and a common terminal 82 . of course , controller interface circuit 24 is not limited to practice in hvac system 10 and can be utilized in connection with many other types and variations of controllers , besides controller 16 ( shown in fig1 ). [ 0016 ] fig3 is an exemplary embodiment of a schematic diagram for motor control interface circuit 26 . motor control interface circuit 26 includes a receive circuit 90 and a transmit circuit 92 . motor receive circuit 90 includes a terminal rxin 94 connected to a resistor 96 . resistor 96 is connected to a node 98 . resistor 100 is connected between node 98 and a node 102 . node 102 is connected to motor transmit circuit 92 at node 104 . nodes 98 and 102 are connected to an optocoupler 106 . optocoupler 106 is connected to a node 108 , which is connected to a resistor 110 and microcontroller 22 . resistor 110 is connected to a power supply 111 . motor transmit circuit 92 includes a power terminal vcc 112 , a transmit terminal txin 114 , and a ground terminal com 116 . a zener diode 118 is connected between txin terminal 114 and com terminal 116 . terminal vcc 112 is connected to a node 120 , which is connected to a zener diode 122 and resistors 124 and 126 . zener diode 122 is connected to a node 104 , which is connected to terminal com 116 . resistor 124 is connected to a node 128 which is connected to a base 130 of transistor 132 and a collector 134 of transistor 136 . a collector 138 of transistor 132 is connected to terminal txin 114 and an emitter 140 of transistor 132 is connected to node 104 . collector 134 of transistor 136 is connected to base 130 of transistor 132 via node 128 , and an emitter 142 of transistor 136 is connected to node 104 . a base 144 of transistor 136 is connected to a node 146 . node 146 is connected to resistor 126 and to an optocoupler 148 that is connected to node 104 . optocoupler 148 is also connected to power supply 111 and to a resistor 150 , which is connected to microcontroller 22 . controller interface circuit 24 is electrically connected by a serial cable 28 to motor control circuit 26 . in one embodiment , the connection of controller interface circuit 24 to motor control circuit 26 enables controller 16 to communicate with ecm 20 . serial cable 28 in one embodiment is a four - wire serial interface . in one embodiment , serial cable 28 has a length of ten feet . in an alternative embodiment , serial cable 28 has a length of one - hundred feet . referring specifically to fig2 and fig3 in one embodiment , controller receiver circuit 32 is electrically connected to motor transmitter circuit 92 , and controller transmitter circuit 30 is electrically connected to motor receiver circuit 90 . in order for controller interface circuit 24 to send and receive messages to / from motor control circuit 26 , txout terminal 50 is connected to rxin terminal 94 , ground terminal 80 is connected to com terminal 116 , rxin terminal 54 is connected to txin terminal 114 , and vcc terminal 52 is connected to vcc terminal 112 . controller interface circuit 24 accepts signals from controller 16 ( shown in fig1 ). once a signal is received from controller 16 , the signal is converted to a voltage level that can be accepted by ecm 20 . in one embodiment , the signal is converted by controller interface circuit 24 to at least an infrared signal , an rf signal , and digitally encoded over a power line prior to output to motor control interface 26 . in one embodiment , controller interface circuit 24 and motor control interface 26 are configured for bi - directional communication with one another . in one embodiment , motor control interface 26 is configured to accept at least one of a voltage signal , an infrared signal , an rf signal , and a digitally encoded power line signal . motor receiver circuit 90 accepts the signal from controller transmitter circuit 30 and transmits the signal through optocoupler 106 to ecm 20 . ecm 20 then responds by transmitting a voltage signal to motor transmitter circuit 92 . in one embodiment , ecm 20 transmits at least one of an infrared signal and a rf signal to motor transmit circuit 92 . the transmitted signal is converted by motor transmit circuit 92 and transmitted to controller receiver circuit 32 where the signal is adjusted to a voltage level to communicate with controller 16 . in addition , motor control interface circuit 26 provides isolation between controller 16 and ecm 20 . microcontroller 22 in one embodiment , is not isolated from an ac powerline ( not shown ). optocouplers 106 and 148 are , therefore , utilized to isolate motor control interface circuit 26 from microcontroller 22 . the interface between control interface circuit 24 and motor control circuit 26 is a four - wire serial interface . the four - wire serial interface is utilized for noise immunity . electrical interface 12 commands ecm 20 ( shown in fig1 ) to be configured in various embodiments , e . g ., as a constant torque machine , a constant airflow machine , or a constant speed machine . as a constant torque machine , motor torque is regulated by controlling motor current , regardless of operating speed . when operating as a constant torque machine , torque production is linearized and speeds are compensated over the motor &# 39 ; s operating speed / torque plane . when operating as a constant airflow machine , a set of constants that describe hvac system 14 for constant airflow are downloaded to motor 20 . the constants optimize ecm 20 operation to provide more accurate airflow regulation in a given operating region . therefore , as a constant airflow machine , ecm 20 acts as an airflow sensor delivering constant airflow for a given system . as a constant speed machine , ecm 20 will regulate speed regardless of torque requirements provided that a maximum torque value is not exceeded . in alternative embodiments , interface circuit 12 controls operating profiles , delay profiles , slew rates , speed limit , dynamic braking and control of inrush current of ecm 20 . in an alternative embodiment , interface circuit 12 interrogates ecm 20 to determine operating status , operating speed , operating torque , input power consumption , under speed condition , and a time of operation at a given power level . in yet another embodiment , interface circuit 12 can access read / write data and program data to control memory of ecm 20 . in another embodiment , interface circuit 12 is connected to residential hvac furnaces , fan coils , heat pumps , and heat recovery ventilators . in still another embodiment , interface circuit 12 is connected to residential hvac air conditioners ( not shown ) where a blower motor ( not shown ) is connected to a hvac system controller ( not shown ). in an additional embodiment , interface circuit 12 is used in a clean room environment ( not shown ). in a further embodiment , interface circuit 12 is used in a commercial variable air volume system ( not shown ). when used in a clean room environment or in a commercial variable air volume system , a dedicated controller ( not shown ) is electrically connected to interface circuit 12 , or a centralized controller ( not shown ) is connected to interface circuit 12 to provide individual control via a common communications bus ( not shown ). as a result , a cost - effective and reliable electrical interface circuit , including a motor control interface circuit and a controller interface circuit , that couples a controller to an ecm is provided . while the invention has been described in terms of various specific embodiments , those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims . | 5 |
fig1 is a diagrammatic representation of a dual wavelength infrared fluorescence video imaging system ; fig2 is a circuit diagram of an image processing system ; fig3 a , b and c are photographs of images obtained with an image processing system ; fig4 is a diagrammatic representation of an indocyanine green fluorimeter ; and fig5 and 6 are graphical representations of fluorescence ratios with infrared and ultraviolet light , respectively . referring to figs . 1 and 2 , there is shown in diagrammatic form the general structure of an image processing system for use in the method of this invention . video imaging system 10 is provided with an excitation light source 12 chosen from continuous wave xenon or mercury lamps ( ilc technology ) or a pulsed xenon lamp ( eg & amp ; g industries ). in one embodiment , the light source is an international light corporation ceermax xenon lamp cx300 uv which provides broad spectrum excitation radiation to fluoresce the target and its vital dye either in the uv , visible , or infrared ( ir ) spectrum . the light from this source is caused to pass through excitation filters 14 . these filters select excitation radiation wavelengths for fluorescence image capture and quantification analysis via the ccd or iccd camera and major computer system . these are interchangeable variable filters for exciting both fluorescein and indocyanine green dyes in the visible , ultraviolet and infrared regions of the light spectrum . for example , a narrow band interference filter at either 805 or 380 nanometers ( esco industries ), a long pass 710 nanometers filter or short pass 450 nanometers filter ( corion , inc . ), or an 850 nanometers narrow band interference filter ( esco industries ) may be used . the band width of these excitations filters may vary from 5 to 40 nanometers , with the optimal center band excitation wavelengths being chosen as follows : fluorescein excitation : 490 nanometers ; indocyanine green ( uv excitation ): 400 nanometers ; and indocyanine green ( infrared excitation ): 780 nanometers . the filtered light may also be delivered as a beam or through a fiber 16 , for example , a bifurcated round bundled silica fiber ( fiberguide industries ) to a target 18 , for example , burned or unburned skin . the fluorescent radiation of the target is detected by a camera 20 , which is an image intensified ccd camera ( iccd ) manufactured by clifftondale electronics , inc ., model # ft450 with 100 times more sensitivity than the ccd camera , customized for gain control . this camera captures selected fluorescing photons . each pixel or photon capturing detector in the camera stores the emission photon energy , and converts it to electrical current of a corresponding intensity . prior to detection by the camera , the light is caused to pass through barrier filters 22 which are interchangeable variable emission filters designed to select the fluorescing radiation from the tissue , caused by fluorescence of indocyanine green or fluorescein dyes , in the visible and infrared regions of the spectrum . band widths of these barrier filters may vary from 5 to 40 nanometers with optimal center band emission barrier filter wavelengths as follows : fluorescein fluorescence : 550 nanometers , indocyanine green fluorescence ( uv excitation ): 840 nanometers , and indocyanine green fluorescence ( infrared excitation ): 850 nanometers . other filters from other filter manufacturers , for example , melles griot , schott , and omega corporations , may be used . for example , the esco # 5 - 92 - 8400 ( 840 nm ) is used for infrared fluorescence from either uv or ir excitation of indocyanine green in target skin ; corlon s - 10 - 560s is used for visible fluorescence from fluorescein . the light detected by the camera is intensified by an image intensifier 24 . information from the image intensifier is passed to various electronic components including a major computer 28 , and a monitor 38 , for analysis by standard technique . computer 28 is a unitech thinkmate 386 - based ibm compatible with an 80 megabit hard drive , a data translation video frame grabber board (# 2862 - 60 ) which converts the electrical output from the video camera to a digital signal which can be used by the computer ; and imagepro ii ( media cybernetics co . ), a standard image processing software adapted for use in this application . this is a comprehensive image processing software package designed for microcomputers . image pro ii clarifies images , removes haze , improves contrast , outlines edges , zooms in to study detail , and changes light intensity to help read information hidden to the human eye ; it also performs analysis and enhancement functions , including filtering operations to detect edges and outlines , contrast management , and pixel replacement to change contrast and brightness , histogram sliding and stretching , equalization , contouring , and thresholding of images and false coloring . this program is useful to identify and quantify fluorescing intensities of images within and around burned or damaged skin . once quantified , fluorescing intensity values below a predetermined threshold value is set to represent areas which have deep burns , and values above a certain threshold represents shallow burns or unburned tissue . thus , the computer is designed for quantitative image analysis , densitometry , image segments , digital substraction imagine , area measurements , and false coloring . an optical storage device is also provided ; this is a write once read many times computer hardware optical disc storage system capable of storing large quantities of data on a library with 940 megabits of memory . this is useful because each processed image consumes about 250 k of memory in the computer . a color monitor 36 ( e . g ., a sony pvm 1271q ) is used to display the output of computer 28 . output from the image intensifier and camera 20 is monitored with monitor 38 , e . g ., a black and white panasonic tr - 930 which allows the operator to visually observe and monitor the fluorescence which the camera captures before processing in the computer . information is passed from monitor to computer via black and white ( b & amp ; w ) signal cable . hard copy from computer 28 is obtained using a laser printer 40 ( hewlett packard laser jet series ii ). a third monitor 42 is also provided , e . g ., an nec multisync 3 - d color monitor to visually access the computer and software information and data . color monitor 36 ( sony 8vm 1271q ) allows the user to observe pre processed and processed images in color . it is capable of receiving , via red green - blue - primary color cables , images processed from the computer , and capable of sending color signals to a video printer ( 44 , sony ) via r -- g -- b primary color cables for color hard paper copies of the images . it is also capable of transferring images to a video cassette recorder ( 46 , vcr ) from the video printer via light analog input and output cables ( lai ). this allows recording , via ntsc cable ( standard video cable ), the entire imaging process and data translation process on videotape . referring to fig4 there is shown a basic system useful for collecting rat burn data to show that full from partial thickness burns can be distinguished on the basis of their fluorescence intensity after uv and ir excitation of intravenously administered indocyanine green . a light source 50 , is the same as that described above , using a handmade water container 52 which filters out infrared radiation above 2 microns wavelength . this prevents heat denaturation and overload of equipment . filters 54 are the same as described for the above video imaging device . bifurcated fiber 56 is provided to take filtered excitation radiation from source 50 and transmit it to a target 58 , and to take the fluorescing radiation response from the target tissue and deliver it to a detector via a barrier filter 60 , similar to that described above . a photomultiplier tube 62 ( hamamatsu # r829 ) is provided to detect , amplify , and quantify the photons fluorescing from the tissue target . a lock in amplifier 64 ( stanford research systems dual channel lock in amplifier # sr510 ) includes an electronic filter to eliminate background static ( electrical noise ) from the system , and amplify the signal from the photomultiplier tube for guantification of the fluorescence signal . the above described dual wavelength fluorescence fluorimeter and fluorescent videoimaging system are used generally as follows : a fluorescing vital dye excited by infrared light is injected into a mammal , and allowed to perfuse through viable skin via patent viable cutaneous circulation . the dye is then excited with either short or long wavelength radiation . the fluorescence of the vital dye is quantified either through fiberoptics and a photomultiplier tube ( in the case of the fluorimeter ), or via a videocamera and image processing computer ( in the case of the videoimaging device ). we have found that the quantified fluorescence intensity is directly related to the cutaneous blood volume , and thus viablility of the observed tissue ( skin ). the intensity is inversely related to the thickness of the overlying burnt or necrotic tissue . the stronger or more intense the fluorescence , the more blood in the tissue , the thinner the burn , and the less the tissue is injured . the weaker or less intense the fluorescence , the less blood in the tissue , and the more tissue that is injured or burned . since ultraviolet excitation excites vital dye near the surface of the skin , and infrared light excites vital dyes deeper in the tissue , various tissue depths can be examined for viability . the recorded and quantified fluorescence of the target or burned tissue perfused with dye , is corrected for any autofluorescence of the tissue ( from endogenous chromophores ), by subtracting the fluorescence of target which occurs before injection of dye . corrected burned or target tissue fluorescence values are then compared to normal tissue as fluorescence ratio &# 39 ; s ( fr ). this fluorescence ratio relates to the relative blood volume , and thickness of the necrotic tissue in the target area , and is calculated as burn tissue fluorescence intensity ( post dye minus pre dye injection ) divided by normal tissue fluorescence intensity ( post dye minus pre dye injection ). indocyanine green is injected intravenously into the patient to be analyzed . the dye enters the blood system and passes within capillaries which are adjacent and beneath the area of skin burn . the dye will not significantly pass into capillaries which are damaged by the burn . prior to injection of this dye , one of the above described devices is used to determine natural or background fluorescence of the skin in the burnt area and in the adjacent unburnt skin . after injection , fluorescence is again detected , and the background level of fluorescence subtracted from that in the presence of the fluorescent dye . the ratio of fluorescence in the area of skin burn to unburnt skin is determined . similarly , the ratio of fluorescence after excitation with ultraviolet or infrared light is determined . referring to fig5 and 6 , male hairless fuzzy rats ( 6 - 11 weeks old , weighing at least 250 grams ) were selected for burns . anesthesia was by use of inhaled anhydrous ether and intramuscular ketamine and xylazine prior to burning and injection of the indocyanbine green . the burns were induced with heated brass blocks heated to 100 ° c . in boiling water and applied to the skin for either 20 seconds for the full thickness burn , or 2 seconds for the partial thickness burn . the full thickness burn was placed on the right paraspinal area at least 3 cm cephalad to the partial thickness burn which was induced on the contralateral side . normal unburned skin at the same level and on the contralateral side to the burn was used for controls . on day zero identical full and partial thickness burns were induced on the backs of 24 rats . four rats were selected from this group on days 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 and 14 post burn for fluorescence studies . in this rat model , the above fiberoptic system , with the particular characteristics described below , was used to determine the fr on certain days post burn wound induction . the fiberoptic fluorimeter is designed to emit two wavelengths and quantify indocyanine green infrared tissue fluorescence . excitation light was produced by an ilc technology r300 - 3 xenon lamp . narrow band excitation filters interposed between the lamp and the bifurcated fiberoptic bundle ( fiberguide industries ) delivered the desired wavelength of light to the skin , ( 369 nm df 39 omega optical inc ., or 780 nm df 20 esco industries ). light produced by fluorescence passed from the vasculature in the skin or eschar , through the fiberoptic fiber towards barrier filters ( 840 nm df 20 omega optics , 850 nm df 20 esco industries ) permitting transmission of near infrared ig fluorescent light while blocking light of lower or higher wavelengths . the intensity of the fluorescence was detected in the photomultiplier tube , and quantified through the lock in amplifier . background fluorescence readings were performed on burned and normal skin prior to injection of indocyanine green ( 10 mg / kg ). injections were performed under anesthesia , via the femoral vein . indocyanine green infrared fluorescence intensity was quantified during one hour after injection and at 24 hours after intravenous bolus of indocyanine green . immediately after the 24 hour post injection fluorescence assessment , the rates were sacrificed , and tissue from the burned sites sent for histopathyology . the intensity of indocyanine green infrared fluorescence for both burn areas and their contralateral normal skin was evaluated on days 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 and 14 post burn induction . four previously noninjected burned rats were taken out of the original group of 24 and studied on each of these days . fluorescence intensity for each type of burn were expressed as a ratio of burned to normal skin after subtracting out pre - indocyanine green background fluorescence values . certain frs were found to represent either full or partial thickness wounds , as shown in the figures . the graphs shown in fig5 and 6 represent some of the data collected from burned rats using this system . the first graph ( fig 5 ) is an example of infrared excitation of ft ( full thickness ) and pt ( partial thickness ) burns and the corresponding fluorescence ratios of the burned tissue to normal tissue . whether excited by shallow penetrating uv or deep penetrating ir radiation , the full and partial thickness burns were distinguishable by their fluorescence ratios on days 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 7 , and 14 post burn wound induction after injection of 10 mg / kg indocyanine green . the fluorescence of indocyanine green in normal skin , partial thickness burns , and full thickness burns after excitation with ultraviolet light ( 369 nm , which fluoresces at 840 nm ), and after excitation with infrared light ( 780 nm , which fluoresces at 850 nm ), was determined on the aforementioned days post burn . full thickness burns had a fluorescence intensity not significantly greater than that of normal skin lacking fluorescent dyes incorporated into capillaries . partial thickness burns had a fluorescence intensity 2 - 3 fold greater than that of the background level , with both ultraviolet and infrared radiation . the following algorithm is applicable when indocyanine green is used as the vital fluorescing dye in the video imaging device ( where + represents degrees of ir fluorescence intensity , with ++++ being the highest , --- represents nil ir fluorescence ): ______________________________________ superficial deep full normal dermal dermal thickness skin burn burn burn______________________________________uv excitation : ++++ +++- +--- ---- ir excitation : ++++ ++++ ++-- ---- ______________________________________ referring to fig3 a , b , and c , using video imaging system 10 described above , the 3 images shown in the figures were obtained with burns created as described in example 2 . areas of full thickness burns ( e . g ., area 50 ) had little or no fluorescence compared to areas of unburned tissue ( e . g ., area 52 ). in each of these figures between 5 and 10 milligrams per kilogram of indocyanine green was injected , as described above , and fluorescence detected in the infrared range after excitation with infrared light . fig3 a shows the image a few hours after burning , whereas fig3 b and 3c show the image 1 and 2 days , respectively , after burning . these data demonstrate that a full thickness burn can be detected within a few hours after burning . this allows immediate removal of the burned tissue and grafting of the burnt area , to provide rapid recovery of the burn area . the video imaging technique can be used prior to removal of eschar , at the same time as removal of eschar , or after removal of eschar . thus , it allows continuous monitoring of burn depth and the amount of eschar still to be removed . this permits a surgeon to excise eschar until only a few micron thickness remains , without damaging underlying viable tissue . we have found that removal of burn eschar is readily achieved with a pulsed co 2 laser . a conventional pulsed co 2 laser is provided with a pulse width of less than 200 microseconds , preferably between 100 to 200 microseconds ; at a fluence between 5 . 0 and 19 joules / cm 2 ; and at a repetition rate of delivery to one spot of tissue not greater than 50 pulses per second . such a laser limits the zone of thermal damage to less than 150 microns in tissue subjacent to that excised , and allows removal of tissue from the surface of skin burns precisely , with an accuracy of tens of microns . the tissue is removed efficiently and blood loss prevented by hemostasis . normal healing of the tissue , and normal skin graft take , is achieved . burn tissue is excised by surface removal of an area exceeding about 0 . 5 cm 2 . a tangential type of excision is used to remove the surface tissue , and to conserve viable structures . freshly excised burned ( 48 hour ) and unburned swine skin was exposed to a pulsed co 2 laser having parameters set as described above . the threshold radiant exposure per pulse for ablation in normal skin and eschar was 1 . 9 to 3 . 2 joules per centimeter square and 2 . 5 to 3 . 5 joules per centimeter square respectively . the operating radiant exposures for most efficient ablation was between 5 . 0 and 19 joules per centimeter square . at these fluences with a spot size of 1 . 9 mm , 0 . 00015 grams of tissue were ablated per pulse . radiant exposures above 19 joules per centimeter square produced plasma , which decreased the efficiency of laser ablation . the heats of ablation for normal and burned skin was 2706 and 2416 joules per cubic centimeter of tissue ablated , respectively . a mechanically scanned pulsed co 2 laser was used for in vivo surface eschar excision . the laser performed bloodless excisions of 48 hour old full thickness burns on the backs of male hairless rats . only visual feedback was needed to allow laser ablation to be stopped within microns of the viable underlying muscle fascia . in partial thickness of laser excisions , the laser created a thermal damage of 85 microns over the fascia . polymorphonuclear leucocytes and foreign body giant cells removed the denatured collagen within the laser created zone of thermal damage through day 7 post excision . by day 7 , epithelial coverage of the laser created wounds was not significantly different from dermatome created wounds . dermal collagen reformation was more vigorous in the healing laser created wounds on days 7 , through 28 . by day 35 post excision the two excisional modalities demonstrated no difference in the thickness of the new granulating dermis . at 42 days the two wounds were virtually indistinguishable histopathologically . there was no significant difference in area of the two wounds over 42 days . the above video imaging system and pulsed co 2 laser are useful in other applications . for example , the above video imaging system in combination with an infrared excited dye , e . g ., indocyanine green , can be used to predict the viability of arterialized flaps , determine the degree of peripheral vascular disease , and delineate the margins of necrotic tissues and infarcted organs . the pulsed co 2 laser described above is also useful for removal of the dye associated with a tattoo in the mid dermis or higher regions of the skin ; for precise diepithelialization ; for cosmetic surgery , for example , breast reconstructions ; for surface surgery , for example , removal of moles and skin cancers ; for internal organ removal , for example , conization ; and for removal of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia . | 0 |
the following detailed description describes various embodiments of the invention as described by the following general equations presented in the preceding summary : in the discussion below , poly will often be referred to for convenience as peg or as poly ( ethylene glycol ). however , it is to be understood that other related polymers are also suitable for use in the practice of the invention in place of peg and that the use of the term peg or poly ( ethylene glycol ) is intended to be inclusive and not exclusive in this respect . poly ( ethylene glycol ) is preferred in the practice of the invention . peg is used in biological applications because it has properties that are highly desirable and is generally approved for biological or biotechnological applications . peg typically is clear , colorless , odorless , soluble in water , stable to heat , inert to many chemical agents , does not hydrolyze or deteriorate , and is non - toxic . poly ( ethylene glycol ) is considered to be biocompatible , which is to say that peg is capable of coexistence with living tissues or organisms without causing harm . more specifically , peg is not immunogenic , which is to say that peg does not tend to produce an immune response in the body . when attached to a moiety having some desirable function in the body , the peg tends to mask the moiety and can reduce or eliminate an immune response so that an organism can tolerate the presence of the moiety , in pegylated form . accordingly , the activated pegs of the invention should be substantially non - toxic and not tend to substantially produce an immune response or cause clotting or other undesirable effects . water - soluble polymers other than peg are suitable for similar modification in accordance with the invention described herein . these other polymers include poly ( vinyl alcohol ) (“ pva ”); other poly ( alkylene oxides ) such as poly ( propylene glycol ) (“ ppg ”) and the like ; and poly ( oxyethylated polyols ) such as poly ( oxyethylated glycerol ), poly ( oxyethylated sorbitol ), and poly ( oxyethylated glucose ), and the like . the polymers can be homopolymers or random or block copolymers and terpolymers based on monomers of the above polymers , straight chain or branched , substituted or unsubstituted , e . g ., similar to mpeg and other capped , mono - functional pegs having a single active site available for attachment to a linker . specific examples of such suitable polymers include poly ( oxazoline ), poly ( acryloylmorpholine ) (“ pacm ”), and poly ( vinylpyrrolidone )(“ pvp ”). pvp and poly ( oxazoline ) are well - known polymers in the art and their preparation and use in the syntheses described herein for embodiments based upon mpeg should be readily apparent to the skilled artisan . pacm and its synthesis and use are described in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 629 , 384 and 5 , 631 , 322 , the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties . it should be understood that by “ drug ” is meant any substance intended for the diagnosis , cure , mitigation , treatment , or prevention of disease in humans and other animals , or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well - being . the invention is useful , for example , for delivery of biologically active substances that generally have some activity or function in a living organism or in a substance taken from a living organism . the terms “ group ,” “ functional group ,” “ moiety ,” “ active moiety ,” “ reactive site ,” and “ radical ” are all somewhat synonymous in the chemical arts and are used in the art and herein to refer to distinct , definable portions or units of a molecule and to units that perform some function or activity and are reactive with other molecules or portions of molecules . the term “ linkage ” is used herein to refer to groups that are normally formed as the result of a chemical reaction . herein , such linkages are typically covalent linkages . “ hydrolytically stable linkage ” means a linkage that is stable in water and does not react with water under useful or normal conditions of ph for an extended period of time , potentially indefinitely . “ hydrolytically unstable linkage ” is a linkage or functionality that reacts with water , typically causing a molecule to separate ( or cleave ) into two or more components . such a linkage is said to be “ subject to hydrolysis ” and to be “ hydrolyzable ”. the time it takes for the linkage to react with water is referred to as the rate of hydrolysis and is usually measured in terms of its half - life . in a particular embodiment , the invention includes poly ( ethylene glycols ) containing , for example , an ester group as the weak linkage and a succinimidyl ester as the reactive group useful for coupling to amine - containing molecules . the resulting conjugates can be delivered in vivo or into a substance taken from a living entity . exemplary polymers , and in particular , linkages , are provided below . — o —( ch 2 ) b co 2 —( ch 2 ) c — b = 1 - 5 , c = 2 - 5 — o —( ch 2 ) b — co 2 —( ch 2 ) c — o — b = 1 - 5 , c = 2 - 5 the invention also encompasses poly ( ethylene glycols ) containing an ester group as the weak linkage and an isocyanate as the reactive group useful for coupling to amine - and alcohol - containing molecules , as exemplified below . where w =— o —( ch 2 ) b — co 2 —( ch 2 ) c — b = 1 to 5 , c = 2 to 5 as a further example , the invention also includes poly ( ethylene glycols ) containing an acetal as the weak linkage and a succinimidyl ester as the reactive group useful , for example , for coupling to an amine - containing molecule . o = 1 - 10 , z =— o — c 6 h 4 — and — o —( ch 2 ) d — ch 2 — d = 1 - 5 r ′= alkyl or h . in yet another embodiment , the invention emcompasses poly ( ethylene glycols ) containing an imine group as the weak linkage and a succinimidyl ester as the reactive group , e . g ., useful for coupling to , for example , an amine - containing molecule . according to yet another embodiment , the invention also includes poly ( ethylene glycols ) containing a phosphate ester group as the weak linkage and a succinimidyl ester as the reactive group , e . g ., useful for coupling to an amine - containing molecule . where w =—( ch 2 ) b — opo 3 —( ch 2 ) b ′ — b and b ′= 1 - 5 according to yet another exemplary embodiment , the invention includes poly ( ethylene glycols ) containing an ester - linked amino acid as the weak linkage and a succinimidyl ester as the reactive group , e . g ., useful for coupling to an amine - containing molecule . an advantage of this derivative is that its hydrolytic breakdown results in a biologically acceptable amino acid attached to the released molecule : in yet a further embodiment , the invention includes poly ( ethylene glycols ) containing a peptide as the weak linkage and a succinimidyl ester as the reactive group useful for coupling to an amine - containing molecule . an advantage of this particular type of derivative is that its hydrolytic breakdown typically results in a biologically acceptable peptide fragment attached to the released molecule : r = the set of substituents typically found on α - amino acids in yet another exemplary embodiment , the invention includes poly ( ethylene glycols ) containing an oligonucleotide forming the weak linkage and a succinimidyl ester as the reactive group , e . g ., useful for coupling to an amine - containing molecule . an advantage of this particular type of derivative is that its hydrolytic breakdown results in a biologically acceptable oligonucleotide fragment attached to the released molecule : as previously described , polymers for use in the invention can be straight chain or branched . that is to say , branched activated pegs can be prepared in accordance with the invention where such pegs possess weak linkages near the reactive end of the polymer for controlled hydrolytic degradation . illustrative branched pegs are described in international publication no . wo 96 / 21469 , entitled , “ multi - armed , monofunctional , and hydrolytically stable derivatives of poly ( ethylene glycol ) and related polymers for modification of surfaces and molecules ”, filed jan . 11 , 1996 , the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . branched pegs such as these can then be modified in accordance with the present teachings . the invention is illustrated with respect to several particular examples below , including determination of hydrolysis half - lives for representative hydrolyzable polymer derivatives and conjugates . ch 3 o - peg 3000 - o —( ch 2 ) 1 , 2 — cooh ( 3 . 0 g , 1 mmol , mpeg - cm or mpeg - pa ) was azeotropically dried with 60 ml of toluene under n 2 . after two hours , the solution was cooled to room temperature , followed by injection of a solution of thionyl chloride ( 2 ml , 4 mmol ) in ch 2 cl 2 . the resulting solution was stirred at room temperature overnight . the solvent was condensed on a rotary evaporator and the residual syrup was dried in vacuo for about four hours over p 2 o 5 powder . glycolic acid ( 0 . 2 g , 2 . 7 mmole ) was azeotropically distilled with 70 ml of 1 , 4 - dioxane and the distillation was stopped when approximately 20 ml of solution remained . the solution was slowly cooled to room temperature under n 2 . the glycolic acid / dioxane solution was then added to the dried peg acyl chloride . after the peg was dissolved , 0 . 6 ml of dry triethylamine was injected to the system ( precipitate formed immediately ) and the solution was stirred overnight . the salt was removed by filtration and the filtrate was condensed on a rotary evaporator at 55 ° c . and dried in vacuo . the crude product was then dissolved in 100 ml of distilled water and the ph of the solution was adjusted to 3 . 0 . the aqueous phase was extracted three times with a total of 80 ml of methylene chloride . the combined organic phase was dried over sodium sulfate , filtered to remove salt , condensed on a rotary evaporator , and added to 100 ml of ethyl ether . the precipitate was collected by filtration and dried in vacuo . yield 2 . 55 g ( 85 %). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ 3 . 5 ( br m , peg ), 4 . 3 - 4 . 6 ( s , pegoch 2 cooc h 2 cooh ), 2 . 59 ( t , pegoch 2 c h 2 coo ( pa )), 4 . 19 ( s , pegoc h 2 coo ( cm )). difunctional carboxymethyl peg 20 , 000 - ester benzyl glycolate : difunctional carboxymethyl peg 20 , 000 ( 4 gram , 0 . 4 mmol acid group ), benzyl glycolate ( 0 . 6 mmol ), dimethylaminopyridine ( 0 . 44 mmol ), 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole ( 0 . 4 mmol ) and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide ( 0 . 56 mmol ) were dissolved in 40 ml of methylene chloride . the solution was stirred at room temperature under n 2 overnight . the solvent was then removed under vacuum and the resulting residue was added to 20 ml of toluene at 40 ° c . the undissolved solid was removed by filtration and the filtrate was added to 200 ml of ethyl ether . the precipitate was collected by filtration and dried in vacuo . yield : 4 gram ( 100 %). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ 3 . 5 ( br m , peg ), 4 . 81 ( s , pegoc h 2 cooch 2 cooch 2 c 6 h 5 ), 5 . 18 ( s , pegoch 2 cooch 2 cooc h 2 c 6 h 5 ), 7 . 37 ( s , pegoch 2 cooch 2 cooch 2 c 6 h 5 ), 4 . 24 ( s , pegoch 2 cooch 2 cooch 2 c 6 h 5 ). difunctional carboxymethyl peg - ester benzyl glycolate 20 , 000 ( 3 gram ) and pd / c ( 10 %, 0 . 8 gram ) were added to 30 ml of 1 , 4 - dioxane . the mixture was shaken with h 2 ( 40 psi ) at room temperature overnight . the pd / c was removed by filtration and the solvent was condensed by rotary evaporation . the resulting syrup was added to 100 ml of ether . the precipitated product was collected by filtration and dried in vacuo . yield 2 . 4 gram ( 80 %). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ 3 . 5 ( br m , peg ), 4 . 56 ( s , pegoch2cooc h 2 cooh ), 4 . 20 ( s , pegoc h 2 cooch 2 cooh ). preparation of ch 3 o - peg - o —( ch 2 ) 1 , 2 — coo — ch ch 2 — coonhs ch 3 o - peg - o —( ch 2 ) 1 , 2 — coo — ch 2 — cooh ( 1 g , approx . 0 . 33 mmol ) and 42 mg n - hydroxysuccinimide ( nhs ) ( 0 . 35 mmol ) was dissolved in 30 ml of dry methylene chloride . to this was added dicyclohexylcarbodiimide ( dcc ) ( 80 mg , 0 . 38 mmol ) in 5 ml of dry methylene chloride . the solution was stirred under nitrogen overnight and the solvent was removed by rotary evaporation . the resulting syrup was re - dissolved in 10 ml of dry toluene and the insoluble solid was filtered off . the solution was then precipitated into 100 ml of dry ethyl ether . the precipitate was collected by filtration and dried in vacuo . yield 0 . 95 g ( 95 %). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ 3 . 5 ( br m , peg ), 5 . 15 - 5 . 21 ( s , pegoch 2 cooc h 2 coonhs ), 2 . 67 ( t , pegoch 2 c h 2 coo ( pa )), 4 . 27 ( s , pegoc h 2 coo ppm ( cm )), 2 . 82 ( s , nhs , 4h ). ch 3 o - peg - o —( ch 2 ) 1 , 2 — coo — ch 2 — cooh ( 1 . 5 g , approx . 0 . 5 mmol ), 140 mg p - nitrophenol ( 1 mmol ) and 65 mg dimethylaminopyridine ( dmap ) ( 0 . 525 mmol ) were dissolved in 30 ml of dry methylene chloride . to the resulting solution was added dicyclohexylcarbodiimide ( dcc ) ( 120 mg , 0 . 575 mmole ) in 5 ml of dry methylene chloride . the solution was stirred under nitrogen overnight and the solvent was removed by rotary evaporation . the resulting syrup was redissolved in 10 ml of dry toluene and the insoluble solid was removed by filtration . then the solution was precipitated into 100 ml of dry ethyl ether . the product was reprecipitated with ethyl ether , then collected by filtration and dried in vacuo . yield 1 . 425 g ( 95 %). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ 3 . 5 ( br m , peg ), 5 . 01 ( s , pegoch 2 cooc h 2 coonp ), 2 . 69 ( t , pegoc h 2 ch 2 coo ( pa )), 8 . 35 & amp ; 7 . 48 ( d & amp ; d , h a & amp ; h b in np , 4h ). preparation of ch 3 o - peg - o —( ch 2 ) n — coo — ch ( ch 3 ) ch 2 — coonhs ( n = 1 : mpeg - cm - hba - nhs and n = 2 : mpeg - pa - hba - nhs ch 3 o - peg - o —( ch 2 ) n — cooh 3000 ( 3 . 0 g , 1 mmol ) was azeotropically dried with 60 ml of toluene under n 2 . after two hours , the solution was slowly cooled to room temperature . to the resulting solution was added thionyl chloride solution ( 3 ml , 6 mmol ) in ch 2 cl 2 , and the solution was stirred overnight . the solvent was condensed by rotary evaporation and the syrup was dried in vacuo for about four hours over p 2 o 5 powder . 3 - hydroxybutyric acid ( hba , 0 . 30 g , 2 . 7 mmol ) was azeotropically dried with 70 ml of 1 , 4 - dioxane on a rotary evaporator . the distillation was stopped when approximately 20 ml of solution remained . this solution was then slowly cooled to room temperature under n 2 , and the solution was added to the dried peg acyl chloride . after the peg was dissolved , 0 . 6 ml of dry triethylamine was injected to the system ( precipitate formed immediately ) and the solution was stirred overnight . the salt was removed by filtration and the filtrate was condensed on a rotary evaporator at 55 ° c . and dried in vacuo . the crude product was then dissolved in 100 ml of distilled water and the ph of the solution was adjusted to 3 . 0 . the aqueous phase was extracted three times with a total of 80 ml of methylene chloride . the organic phase was dried over sodium sulfate , filtered to remove salt , condensed on a rotary evaporator , and added to 100 ml of ethyl ether . the precipitate was collected by filtration and dried in vacuo . yield 2 . 76 g ( 92 %). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ 3 . 5 ( br m , peg ), 2 . 54 ( d , pegoch 2 cooch ( ch 3 ) c h 2 cooh ), 5 . 1 ( h , pegoch 2 cooc h ( ch 3 ) ch 2 cooh ), 1 . 2 ( d , peg - och 2 cooch ( c h 3 ) ch 2 cooh ), 2 . 54 ( t , pegoch 2 c h 2 coo ( pa )), 4 . 055 ( s , pegoc h 2 coo ( cm )). mpeg - ester butyric acid nhs ester ( cm - hba - nhs or pa - hba - nhs ): mpeg 3000 - ester butyric acid ( 1 g , approx ., 0 . 33 mmol , cm - hba - cooh or pa - hba - cooh ) and 42 mg n - hydroxysuccinimide ( nhs ) ( 0 . 35 mmol ) were dissolved in 30 ml of dry methylene chloride . to this solution was added dicyclohexylcarbodiimide ( dcc ) ( 80 mg , 0 . 38 mmole ) in 5 ml of dry methylene chloride . the solution was stirred under nitrogen overnight and the solvent removed by rotary evaporation . the residual syrup was re - dissolved in 10 ml of dry toluene and the insoluble solid was removed by filtration . the solution was then precipitated into 100 ml of dry ethyl ether . the precipitate was collected by filtration and dried in vacuo . yield 0 . 94 g ( 94 %). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ 3 . 5 ( br m peg ), 3 . 0 - 3 . 2 ( m , cooch ( ch 3 ) c h 2 coonhs ), 5 . 26 ( h , cooc h ( ch 3 ) ch 2 — coonhs ), 1 . 3 ( d , cooch ( c h 3 ) ch 2 coonhs ), 2 . 54 ( t , och 2 c h 2 coo ( pa )), 4 . 1 ( s , oc h 2 coo ( cm )), 2 . 81 ( s , nhs ). determination of the hydrolytic half - lives of the ester linkages contained in four exemplary peg - peg conjugates a . preparation of ch 3 o - peg - o —( ch 2 ) n — coo — ch 2 — conh - peg - och 3 ( peg - peg conjugates ): ch 3 o - peg 3000 - o —( ch 2 ) n — coo — ch 2 — cooh ( 0 . 5 g ), 1 equiv . of mpeg 2000 - nh 2 and 1 equiv . of 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole ( hobt ) were dissolved in 50 ml of methylene chloride . to this solution was added one equivalent of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide ( dcc ) and the solution was stirred at room temperature overnight . the solvent was partially evaporated , the insoluble salt was filtered , and the filtrate was added into a large excess of ethyl ether . the precipitate was collected by filtration and dried in vacuo . yield : 0 . 8 g ( 95 %). 1 h mnr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ 3 . 5 ( br m , peg ), 2 . 34 ( t , — conhc h 2 ch 2 o - peg -). b . determination of hydrolytic half - lives of peg ester conjugates formed by reaction of cm - ga , pa - ga , cm - hba or pa - hba with a peg amine : the conjugates from a . above and 20 wt % peg 20 , 000 ( as an internal standard ) were dissolved in a buffer solution . the concentrations of each of the conjugates ( c ) and their hydrolysis products were monitored by hplc - gpc ( ultrahydrogel 250 column , 7 . 8 × 300 mm , waters ) at predetermined times . the hydrolytic half - lives were obtained from the slope of the natural logarithm of c at the time , t , minus c at infinite time versus time assuming 1 st order kinetics . determination of hydrolysis half - lives of peg active esters : measurements were conducted using a hp8452a uv - vis spectrophotometer . in an experiment , 1 mg of a given peg active ester was dissolved in 3 . 0 ml of buffer solution and shaken promptly to obtain dissolution as soon as possible . the solution was then transferred into a uv cuvette and the absorbance at 260 nm ( for nhs ester ) or at 402 nm ( for the p - nitrophenyl ester ) was followed as a function of time . the hydrolytic half - life was determined from the first order kinetic plot ( natural logarithm of final absorbance minus absorbance at the time t versus time ). modification of subtilisin with an illustrative peg derivative : to a subtilisin solution ( 1 ml , 2 mg / ml in 0 . 2m boric buffer , ph 8 . 0 ) was added 15 mg mpeg 3000 - cm - hba - nhs . the solution was placed in an automatic shaker at room temperature . at predetermined time periods , 50 μl of the solution was removed and preserved in a refrigerator for maldi - tof ms measurement . maldi analyses : maldi spectra were measured on a perseptive biosystems &# 39 ; voyager linear time - of - flight ( tof ) instrument . briefly , a nitrogen laser lamda = 337 nm , 10 ns pulse width ) was used to generate ions which were extracted with a potential of 30 kv . ions drifted through a 1 . 3 m drift tube and were monitored in positive ion mode . protein samples were dissolved in deionized h 2 o or 50 mm nacl solution to a concentration of approximately 10 pmol / μl . the matrix , 3 , 5 - dimethoxy - 4 - hydroxycinnamic acid ( sinapinic acid ), was dissolved in an 80 : 20 by volume ratio of acetonitrile to deionized water at a concentration of 10 mg / ml . 1 μl of the solution was deposited on the sample plate and then mixed with 1 μl of matrix solution . the sample was allowed to crystallize by solvent evaporation under ambient conditions . maldi - ms spectra of the molecular weight distribution of mpeg - hba and its subtilisin conjugate are shown in fig1 through 3 . each of the figures represents the solution at a different time subsequent to preparation . fig1 is at 1 day . fig2 is at 8 days . fig3 is at 14 days . ch 3 o - peg - o — ch 2 — cooh 5000 ( 3 . 0 g , 0 . 6 mmol ), 2 -( 2 - pyridyldithio ) ethanol ( 342 mg , 1 . 5 mmol ), dmap ( 180 mg , 1 . 44 mmol ) and hobt ( 93 mg , 0 . 61 mmol ) were dissolved in 60 ml of dichloromethane . to this solution was added dcc ( 138 mg , 0 . 66 mmol ) in 5 ml of dichloromethane . the solution was stirred at room temperature under n 2 overnight . the solvent was removed by rotary evaporation and 15 ml of toluene was added to the residue . after all peg was dissolved , the solution was filtered to remove dicyclohexyl urea . to the solution was added 45 ml of methylene chloride and the solution was washed with sodium acetate buffer ( 0 . 1m , ph 5 . 0 ) containing 10 % sodium chloride . the organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , filtered to remove salt , condensed on a rotary evaporator , and precipitated into 100 ml of ethyl ether . the product was collected by filtration and dried in vacuo . yield 2 . 85 g ( 95 %). 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ 3 . 5 ( br m , peg ), 4 . 11 ( s , pegoc h 2 coo —), 4 . 30 ( t , cooc h 2 ch 2 ss —) 7 . 29 ( t , one aromatic proton ), 7 . 77 ( t + d , two aromatic protons ), 8 . 46 ( d , one aromatic proton ). determination of the hydrolysis half - life of an ester linkage in an illustrative peg derivative mpeg - cm - ssp and 20 % peg 20 , 000 ( wt ) ( as internal standard ) were dissolved in 10 mm phosphate buffer ( ph 7 . 2 ) and a series of ampoules were sealed with each containing about 0 . 25 ml of above solution . the ampoules were stored as two groups , with one group at room temperature and the other at 37 ° c . for each measurement , one ampoule in each group was opened and the solution was analyzed . the concentrations of mpeg - cm - ssp and its hydrolysis product were determined by hplc - gpc ( ultrahydrogel 250 column , waters ; 5 mm phosphate buffer ph 7 . 2 as mobile phase ). the hydrolytic half - life was obtained from the slope of the natural logarithm of c at the time t minus c at infinite time versus time , assuming 1st order kinetics . in a 100 ml round - bottom flask , a solution of ch 3 o - peg - o —( ch 2 ) n — co 2 h ( mw = 2000 , 2 g , 1 mmol ) was dissolved in toluene and azeotropically dried for two hours . after slowly cooling to room temperature , the solution was added to thionyl chloride ( 3 ml , 6 mmole ) in methylene chloride and then stirred under n 2 overnight . the solvent was then removed by rotary evaporation and the residual syrup was dried in vacuo for about four hours over p 2 o 5 powder . to the solid was added 5 ml of anhydrous methylene chloride and a solution ( 20 ml ) of azeotropically dried bzo - peg - oh ( mw = 3400 , 2 . 04 g , 0 . 60 mmol ) in toluene . to the resulting solution was added 0 . 6 ml of freshly distilled triethylamine and the solution was stirred overnight . the triethylamine salt was removed by filtration and the crude product was precipitated with ethyl ether and collected by filtration . the mixture was then purified by ion - exchange chromatography ( deae sepharose fast flow column , pharmacia ). pure ch 3 o - peg - o —( ch 2 ) n — co 2 - peg - obz was obtained . yield : 2 . 6 g ( 80 %). nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ 3 . 5 ( br m , peg ), 2 . 55 ( t , — och 2 c h 2 coopeg -), 4 . 14 ( s , - pegoc h 2 coopeg -), 4 . 13 ( t , - pegoch 2 ch 2 — cooc h 2 ch 2 opeg -), 4 . 18 ( t , - pegoch 2 — cooc h 2 ch 2 opeg ), 4 . 49 ( s , - peg - o — c h 2 — c 6 h 5 ), 7 . 33 ( s + com , - peg - o — ch 2 — c 6 h 5 ). ( b ) preparation of ch 3 o - peg - o —( ch 2 ) n — co 2 - peg - oh a solution of 2 g of ch 3 o - peg - o —( ch 2 ) n — co 2 - peg - obz in 1 , 4 - dioxane was hydrogenolyzed with h 2 ( 2 atm ) on 1 gram pd / c ( 10 %) overnight . the catalyst was removed by filtration , the solvent was condensed under vacuum and the solution was added to ethyl ether . the product was collected by filtration and dried under vacuum at room temperature to yield : 1 . 5 g ( 75 %) of ch 3 o - peg - o —( ch 2 ) n — co 2 - peg - oh . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ 3 . 5 ( br m , peg ), 2 . 55 ( t , — och 2 c h 2 coopeg -), 4 . 14 ( s , - peg - oc h 2 coopeg -), 4 . 13 ( t , - pegoch 2 ch 2 cooc h 2 ch 2 opeg -), 4 . 18 ( t , - pegoch 2 — cooc h 2 ch 2 opeg ). ( c ) preparation of ch 3 o - peg - o —( ch 2 ) n — co 2 - peg - ocoonhs ch 3 o - peg - o —( ch 2 ) n — co 2 - peg - oh 5400 ( 1 . 25 g , 0 . 23 mmole ) was azeotropically distilled with 100 ml acetronitrile and then cooled to room temperature . to this mixture was added disuccinimidyl carbonate ( 245 milligram , 0 . 92 mmole ) and 0 . 1 ml of pyridine , and the solution was stirred at room temperature overnight . the solvent was then removed under vacuum , and the resulting solid was dissolved in 35 ml of dry methylene chloride . the insoluble solid was removed by filtration , and the filtrate was washed with ph 4 . 5 sodium chloride saturated acetate buffer . the organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , filtered , condensed by rotary evaporation , and precipitated into ethyl ether . the product was collected by filtration and dried in vacuo . yield : 1 . 20 g ( 96 %), 100 % substitution of succimidyl carbonate and no reagent left . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ 3 . 5 ( br m , peg ), 2 . 55 ( t , — och 2 c h 2 coopeg -), 4 . 14 ( s , - peg - oc h 2 coopeg -), 4 . 13 ( t , - pegoch 2 ch 2 cooc h 2 ch 2 opeg -), 4 . 18 ( t , - pegoch 2 — cooc h 2 ch 2 opeg ), 4 . 45 ( t , - pego - ch 2 c h 2 oconhs ), 2 . 81 ( s , nhs ). the invention has been described in particular exemplified embodiments . however , the foregoing description is not intended to limit the invention to the exemplified embodiments , and the skilled artisan should recognize that variations can be made within the scope and spirit of the invention as described in the foregoing specification . on the contrary , the invention includes all alternatives , modifications , and equivalents that may be included within the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 2 |
the compositions of the present invention are prepared by reacting the mixtures conform to the following structures : cl — ch 2 — ch ( oh )— so 3 m ; cl — ch 2 — ch ( oh ) ch 2 — so 4 m ; cl — ch 2 — ch ( oh )— ch 2 — op ( o )—( om ) 2 ; r 1 is ch 3 —( ch 2 ) n — m is needed for charge balance and is selected from the group consisting of it will become clear that the compositions of the present invention need to be claimed as product by process , since they are the reaction product of a multi - hydroxyl product and a di - chloro intermediate . since there is not a great deal of group specificity in the reaction of the various hydroxyl groups , cross linked polymers result . the degree of cross linking depends upon the ratio of 1 , 3 dichloro isopropanol to hydroxyl groups chosen . the functionalizing agent likewise reacts with hydroxyl groups , providing a multifunctional polymer . by considering the reaction in steps , it will make the reaction pathway clearer . the 1 , 3 dichloro - isopropanol reacts with the first hydroxyl group giving an intermediate : the above reaction shows one of the possible reacted hydroxyl groups . there is a potential for reaction of the other hydroxyl groups as well . subsequently , another hydroxyl group reacts to give : the functionalization group is added to one of the additional hydroxyl groups for example : as the reaction continues more and more hydroxyl groups react with either the polymerizing agent or the functionalizing agent . the structure is complicated not only by the fact that many hydroxyl groups can react with the different types of agent , but also by the fact that commercial polyglycosides are mixtures having an average dp of 1 . 5 . the resulting products are hydroxypropyl cross linked polymers having branching present . this is the reason for claiming the products in a product by process format . another aspect of the present invention is a process for conditioning hair and skin which comprises contacting the hair and skin with an effective conditioning concentration of a composition prepared by reacting a composition conforming to the following : cl — ch 2 — ch ( oh )— so 3 m ; cl — ch 2 — ch ( oh ) ch 2 — so 4 m ; cl — ch 2 — ch ( oh )— ch 2 — op ( o )—( om ) 2 ; r 1 is ch 3 —( ch 2 ) n — m is needed for charge balance and is selected from the group consisting of r 1 is ch 3 —( ch 2 ) n — m is needed for charge balance and is selected from the group consisting of m is needed for charge balance and is selected from the group consisting of m is needed for charge balance and is selected from the group consisting of cl — ch 2 — ch ( oh )— so 3 m ; cl — ch 2 — ch ( oh ) ch 2 — so 4 m ; and cl — ch 2 — ch ( oh )— ch 2 — op ( o )—( om ) 2 ; r 1 is ch 3 —( ch 2 ) n — m is needed for charge balance and is selected from the group consisting of in a preferred embodiment the effective conditioning concentration ranges from 0 . 1 to 25 % by weight . in a preferred embodiment the effective conditioning concentration ranges from 1 % to 15 % by weight . alkyl glycosides are raw materials used to make the surface - active polyglycoside derivatives of the present invention . saccharides useful in the process of making alkyl glycosides are saccharides that can be alkylated in the “ 1 ” position , commonly referred to as “ reducing saccharides ”, or higher saccharides that can be hydrolyzed to provide such a saccharide . these saccharides are typically comprised of aldo - or keto - hexoses or pentoses . examples of saccharides include glucose ( dextrose ), fructose , mannose , galactose , talose , allose , altrose , idose , arabinose , xylose , lyxose , and ribose . examples of hydrolyzable saccharides that are a source of reducing saccharides include starch , maltose , sucrose , lactose , maltotriose , xylobiose , mellibiose , cellobiose , raffinose , stachiose , methyl glycosides , butyl glycosides , levoglucosan , and 1 , 6 - anhydroglucofuranose . the physical form of the saccharide may vary . the saccharide will typically be in a fluid ( as opposed to a solid ) state , e . g . as a melt or an aqueous syrup , during at least a portion of the period of reaction , if not for a predominant portion of the period of the reaction . crystalline ( e . g . anhydrous or hydrates ) or amorphous saccharide solids in various particle sizes , e . g . granules , powders , etc ., can be used , but the heating of the reaction medium may well fluidize at least a portion of a solid reactant , if not a predominant portion of the saccharide reactant . aqueous syrups of saccharides , typically at saccharide solids of between about 10 % and 90 % dry solids by weight can also be used . indeed , the use of the hydrophobic catalysts of this invention should show the most improved results over conventional catalysts in the context of the use of aqueous syrup reactants as compared with processes which employ solid saccharide reactants , particularly with respect to avoiding the formation of deleterious amounts of polysaccharides and very high dp alkyl glycosides during the glycoside formation reaction . the preferred saccharides are glucose , galactose , xylose and arabinose , or mixtures thereof , for reasons of availability , low cost , and convenience . glucose in the anhydrous crystalline form is preferred , although dextrose monohydrate , corn syrups of high dry solids ( typically 50 % to 80 % dry solids ) and a high dextrose equivalence ( d . e .) ( typically greater than 90 d . e and most commonly 95 d . e .) can be commonly employed . indeed , while the higher the purity of the dextrose source , the better the quality of the product ( other things being equal ), the catalysts of this invention allow the use of a lower purity dextrose source and yet yield a product of substantially equivalent quality as compared with prior catalysts . because of the ready availability of glucose and its oligomers , much of the remaining description is particularly suited to the use of glucose in its various forms . alcohols useful in the process of this invention are hydroxyl - functional organic compounds capable of alkylating a saccharide in the “ 1 ” position . the alcohol can be naturally occurring , synthetic , or derived from natural sources and / or derivatized . examples include monohydric alcohols ( more fully discussed below ) and polyhydric alcohols ( e . g . ethylene glycol , propylene glycol , polyethylene glycols , polypropylene glycols , butylene glycol , glycerol , trimethylolpropane , pentaerythritol , polyester polyols , polyisocyanate polyols , and so on ). other examples include aromatic alcohols such as benzyl alcohol , phenol , substituted phenols ( e . g . alkylphenols ) and alkoxylates of each . preferred alcohols are monohydric alcohols containing from about 1 to about 30 carbon atoms . they may be primary or secondary alcohols , straight or branched chain , saturated or unsaturated ( e . g . allyl alcohol , 2 - ethylhexenyl alcohol and oleyl alcohol ) alkyl or aralkyl alcohols , ether alcohols , cyclic alcohols , or heterocyclic alcohols . in general , these alcohols have minimal solvent power for the saccharide molecule . examples of the monohydric alcohols which may be employed in the present invention include methyl alcohol , isopropyl alcohol , butyl alcohol , octyl alcohol , nonyl alcohol , decyl alcohol , dodecyl alcohol , tridecyl alcohol , tetradecyl alcohol , pentadecyl alcohol , hexadecyl alcohol , pentacosyl alcohol , oleyl alcohol , linoleyl alcohol , isoborneol alcohol , hydroabietyl alcohol , phenoxyethanol , phenoxypolyethoxyethanol containing five ethoxy groups , 2 - methyl - 7 - ethyl - 4 - undecanol , and mixtures of one or more of the above . a preferred group of alcohols are alkanols having the formula roh wherein r represents an alkyl group having from 8 to 30 carbon atoms . a particularly preferred group of alcohols are those wherein r represents an alkyl radical having from 8 to 20 , preferably 11 to 18 , carbon atoms . the alkyls can be straight or branched chain . a one - liter , four - necked , round - bottomed flask was equipped through its center neck with an overhead mechanical stirrer , through a second neck with a distillation head fitted with an addition funnel and a condenser / receiver / vacuum take - off assembly , through a third neck fitted with a three hole rubber stopper with a capillary nitrogen bleed , a calibrated mercury thermometer and a vacuum tight temperature controller probe , and on the fourth neck with a septum for sampling . the flask was charged with 602 . 4 g ( 3 . 105 moles ) of a commercial mixture of c 11 to c 15 ( 98 % c 12 and c 13 ) straight and branched alkanols ( neodol 23 available form shell chemical co .) and 136 . 6 g ( 0 . 69 moles ) of a commercially available dextrose monohydrate ( staleydex 333 , available from a . e . staley mfg . co . at 9 . 0 % moisture ). the slurry was heated at a vacuum of 30 mm hg ( absolute ). water was released starting at about 57 . degree . c . and heating was continued until the slurry had reached 110 . degree . c . at this time 3 . 2 g ( 0 . 00345 mole of a commercially available mixture of 50 % dinonylnaphthalenesulfonic acid in heptane ( available from king industries ) was added as a catalyst and the theoretical volume of water distilled at about a linear rate over 8 hours . after stirring an additional hour , a stoichiometric amount of aqueous naoh ( 33 % in h 2 o ) was added . an aliquot of the neutralized reaction mixture ( 3 . 39 g , 1 g dissolved substance ) was dissolved in a total volume of 10 ml with 1 : 1 isopropanol : water . the ph of this solution was 7 . 8 . the remainder of the reaction mixture was evaporated to a clear melt at 200 . degree . c . and 1 mm pressure using a leybold - heraeus distact ™ wiped film evaporator operating at a feed rate of 700 ml / hr . the residue was analyzed using a combination of gas and liquid chromatographic techniques as well as nmr spectroscopy and was shown to contain less than 0 . 2 % free alcohol and less than 2 % polar species ( hplc ) and an nmr mole ratio of glucose rings to fatty chains of about 1 . 4 . the same one - liter , four - necked , round - bottomed flask was equipped through its center neck with an overhead mechanical stirrer , through a second neck with a distillation head fitted with an addition funnel and a condenser / receiver / vacuum take - off assembly , through a third neck fitted with a three hole rubber stopper with a capillary nitrogen bleed , a calibrated mercury thermometer and a vacuum tight temperature controller probe , and on the fourth neck with a septum for sampling . the flask was charged with 3 . 105 moles of the specified alcohol and 136 . 6 g ( 0 . 69 moles ) of a commercially available dextrose monohydrate ( staleydex 333 , available from a . e . staley mfg . co . at 9 . 0 % moisture ). the slurry was heated at a vacuum of 30 mm hg ( absolute ). water was released starting at about 57 . degree . c . and heating was continued until the slurry had reached 110 . degree . c . at this time 3 . 2 g ( 0 . 00345 mole of a commercially available mixture of 50 % dinonylnaphthalenesulfonic acid in heptane ( available from king industries ) was added as a catalyst and the theoretical volume of water distilled at about a linear rate over 8 hours . after stirring an additional hour , a stoichiometric amount of aqueous naoh ( 33 % in h 2 o ) was added . an aliquot of the neutralized reaction mixture ( 3 . 39 g , 1 g dissolved substance ) was dissolved in a total volume of 10 ml with 1 : 1 isopropanol : water . the ph of this solution was 7 . 8 . the remainder of the reaction mixture was evaporated to a clear melt at 200 . degree . c . and 1 mm pressure using a leybold - heraeus distact ™ wiped film evaporator operating at a feed rate of 700 ml / hr . the residue was analyzed using a combination of gas and liquid chromatographic techniques as well as nmr spectroscopy and was shown to contain less than 0 . 2 % free alcohol and less than 2 % polar species ( hplc ) and an nmr mole ratio of glucose rings to fatty chains of about 1 . 4 . the hydroxyl value was run on the resultant product and is indicated below . there are a number of water - soluble groups that can be introduced into the finished alkyl polyglycoside . these include phosphates ; sulfates , alkoxylate and quaternary groups . it will be clearly understood that the alkyl polyglycosides of the present invention have a number of hydroxyl groups present in the molecule . the number of hydroxyl groups functionalized will have a profound effect upon the degree of increased water solubility of the molecule . the present invention includes a functionalization of a low number of hydroxyl groups ( one per molecule ) to a high number ( all groups on the molecule ). the preferred number to functionalize is an intermediate number of groups ( approximately half of the number present ). 1 , 3 dichloro isopropanol is an item of commerce commercially available from dixie chemical . it is an item of commerce available from siltech corporation in toronto canada . it is an item of commerce available from siltech corporation in toronto canada . it is an item of commerce available from siltech corporation in toronto canada . it is an item of commerce available from siltech corporation in toronto canada . general procedure — to a flask equipped with agitation , heat , thermometer and nitrogen sparge is added the specified amount of the specified alkyl polyglycoside ( example 1 - 9 ) and enough water to make the final product have a solids of 35 % by weight . the alkyl polyglycoside is heated to melt . next , the specified amount of 1 , 3 dichloro isopropanol is ( example 10 ) added under good agitation and nitrogen sparge . next is added 0 . 5 % sodium methylate . next add the specified number of grams of the specified functionalizing agent ( examples 11 - 19 ). the % is by weight and is based upon the total amount of all materials reacted . nitrogen sparge is simply nitrogen bubbled through the liquid contents of the flask . this keeps the color light , minimizing oxidation and color formation . the reaction mass is heated to 90 - 100 ° c ., and is held for 5 - 8 hours . the reaction progress is monitored by formation of chloride ion . once the theoretical value is reached , the reaction is terminated and the product is used without additional purification . it will be clearly understood that the alkyl polyglycoside has on average five hydroxyl groups when the d . p . is 1 . 4 . the phosphation can include all five , but in a more preferred embodiment includes between one and three hydroxyl groups . this ratio provides the best degree of water solubility . the compounds of the invention range from clear yellow liquids to pastes . the compounds are compatible with anionic surfactants like lauryl ether sulfates and are highly conditioning to the hair , providing soft smooth hair . the ability to formulate clear products with anionic surfactants makes these compounds of particular importance for use in personal care applications like bubble bath , shampoos and body wash . they are also very good additives for hard surface cleaners and detergent systems . the products of the current invention differ significantly from the alkyl polyglycosides that have not been polymerized in several key respects . the polymerized materials are less sticky , glossier and provide much improved softening and conditioning properties to the skin . while the illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described with particularity , it will be understood that various other modifications will be apparent to and can be readily made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , it is not intended that the scope of the claims appended hereto be limited to the examples and descriptions set forth hereinabove but rather that the claims be construed as encompassing all the features of patentable novelty which reside in the present invention , including all features which would be treated as equivalents thereof by those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains . | 0 |
an exemplary embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings . fig1 is a sectional view illustrating a conceptual configuration of a mass spectrometer according to an embodiment of the invention . for example , electron ionization ( ei ), chemical ionization ( ci ), electron spray ionization ( esi ), nano - electron spray ionization , atmospheric pressure chemical ionization ( apci ), fast atom bombardment ionization ( fab ), electric field ionization ( fi ), electric field desorption ionization ( fd ), matrix - assisted laser desorption ionization ( maldi ), desorption electrospray ionization ( desi ), desorption electrospray ionization ( dart ), or barrier discharge ionization is used for ionization of an ion source 1 . an ion beam 2 is extracted from the ion source 1 by an extraction electric field that is applied between a first orifice 3 and an ion source electrode ( not illustrated ). air containing the ion beam 2 flows through a fine hole of the first orifice 3 in a first differential pumping chamber 4 connected to a rough vacuum pump 5 . similarly , the air flows through a fine hole of a second orifice 6 in a second differential pumping chamber 7 connected to a second pumping port ( low pumping speed side ) of a main vacuum pump 18 . an octopole 8 is disposed in the second differential pumping chamber 7 . in the octopole 8 , eight multipole rod electrodes are disposed in an axially symmetric manner in parallel with one another , a potential having an identical phase is provided to the rod electrodes that are opposite to each other , and a potential having a constant phase difference is provided to the adjacent rod electrode . in the octopole 8 , an octopole high - frequency electric field is generated to form a potential that becomes convex on the axis , which allows the ion to be focused near the axis . potentials of tens volts are provided to the first orifice 3 and the second orifice 6 in order to extract the ion beam , and the ion is accelerated by a potential difference between the first orifice 3 and the second orifice 6 . the air containing the ion beam 2 flows through a fine hole of a third orifice 9 in an analytical chamber 10 . the analytical chamber 10 is evacuated by connection with a first pumping port ( high pumping speed side ) of the main vacuum pump 18 . a background of the main vacuum pump 18 is evacuated by the rough vacuum pump 5 . the analytical chamber 10 includes a quadrupole mass separator 11 and a detector 20 . the quadrupole mass separator 11 includes a front electrode 12 , a quadrupole rod 13 , a blade electrode 14 , a front wire 15 , a rear wire 16 , and a rear electrode 17 . in the quadrupole rod 13 , an identical ac voltage ( identical amplitude and phase ) is provided to the electrodes that are opposite each other , and an ac voltage whose phase is inverted is applied to the adjacent electrode . generally the ac voltage ranges from several hundred volts to 5 kv and the frequency ranges from 500 khz to 2 mhz . in a radial direction of the quadrupole rod 13 , a concave potential is formed in an axis center portion to focus the ion around the axis by the applied ac voltage . in an axial direction of the quadrupole rod 13 , an inclined dc potential is formed on a beam axis by mainly the front electrode 12 and the rear electrode 17 . the ion is trapped in the quadrupole mass separator 11 by the concave potential and the inclined dc potential . accumulation and emission of the ion are sequentially performed by mainly changing the voltages at the front electrode 12 and the rear electrode 17 . ms analysis and ms n analysis can be cited as an example of the mass spectrometry sequence . in the ms analysis , an amplitude of an ac voltage is changed to trap the ion , the ion is selectively ejected in an ion beam traveling axial direction , the ion is detected by the detector 20 , and a molecular structure and a molecular formula of the sample are fixed from a relationship between a mass - to - charge ratio m / z and a detected ion current strength ( relative value ). in the ms n analysis , a specific ion ( precursor ion ) is caused to selectively remain in the quadrupole mass separator 11 , collision induced dissociation ( cid ) of the precursor ion is generated to create a fragment ion , and mass scanning and mass separation of the fragment ion are performed to finely investigate the molecular structure of the sample . the ms n analysis will be described in detail below . a filtered noise field ( fnf ) having frequencies except a specific frequency is provided to the blade electrode 14 to eject ions except the specific precursor ion to the outside of the quadrupole mass separator 11 , thereby selecting the specific precursor ion . the ac voltage having a resonant frequency of the precursor ion is applied to the precursor ion remaining in the quadrupole mass separator 11 . at this point , a gas ( such as helium , nitrogen gas , or argon ) for collision induced dissociation is caused to flow in the quadrupole mass separator 11 to collide with the precursor ion , and the precursor ion is dissociated to create a product ion . the ion scanning and the mass separation of the created product ion are performed by changing the amplitude of the ac voltage amplitude applied to the quadrupole rod 13 and the blade electrode 14 . at this point , only the product ion overcoming a potential barrier caused by a dc voltage applied to the front wire 15 is incident to the detector 20 by the extraction electric field of the rear wire 16 . a variation in ion energy flowing in the ion detector is reduced by the front wire 15 and the rear wire 16 , so that resolution can be improved . magnetic field ( sector type ) mass spectrometry , time of flight mass separation ( tofms ), ion trap mass spectrometry ( itms ), fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry ( ft - icrms ) in which the mass separation is performed by utilizing ion rotation motion generated by the magnetic field , or orbitrap mass spectrometry in which the ion rotation motion generated by the electric field is utilized can be used as a mass separation method except the quadrupole mass separator in which the quadrupole rod is used . in fig1 , the detector 20 exhibits a secondary electron photomultiplier provided with a conversion dynode 21 . the ion is caused to collide with the conversion dynode 21 by the electric field that is generated by the voltage of several kilovolts applied to the conversion dynode 21 , and the generated secondary electron 28 is amplified to a degree of the sixth power of ten by a multi - stage dynode 22 . the amplified secondary electron 28 is taken out to the atmosphere using a current introduction terminal 25 , further amplified by an amplifier circuit 26 , and captured in a micro ammeter 27 to perform monitoring . for example , a farady cup in which the ion is received by a cup - shaped electrode to measure an amount of generated secondary electron , a channeltron in which the electrode is not independently formed but constitutes a high - resistance pipe , a micro channeltron including channeltrons having diameters range from 10 to 20 micrometers and arrayed in plate , or a photomultiplier in which light is converted into a photoelectron by a photoelectric surface to amplify the generated secondary electron can be used as the ion detector . the mass spectrometer includes an axis adjusting mechanism 30 on the ion traveling axis connecting a center axis of an ion beam outgoing port of the ion source 1 and a center axis of an incident port of the detector 20 such that center axes of the fine holes of the first orifice 3 , the second orifice 6 , and the third orifice 9 are aligned with one another . therefore , in the mass spectrometer , the axis position adjustment can be performed at a micrometer level . the components , such as the octopole 8 and the quadrupole mass separator 11 , which are disposed between the ion source 1 and the detector 20 can be adjusted by an axis adjusting mechanism ( not illustrated ). for the octopole 8 and the quadrupole mass separator 11 , plural axis adjusting mechanisms 30 may be provided near the incident port and the outgoing port so as not to deviate ( incline ) the axis . fig2 a and 2b illustrate positional relationships between a fine hole 35 of the second orifice and an ion beam 36 passing through the fine hole of the first orifice when the small and large axis deviations are generated between the first orifice and the second orifice ( left side ), and intensity distributions 38 of the ion beam passing through the first orifice on the second orifice surface and states of an ion beam 37 passing through the second orifice ( right side ). because a diameter of the first orifice is larger than a diameter of the second orifice , the ion beam 36 incident to a surface of the second orifice through the first orifice does not interfere with the fine hole 35 of the second orifice in case of small axis deviation . on the other hand , part of the ion beam passing through the first orifice does not pass through the fine hole 35 of the second orifice in case of large axis deviation , and the ion beam current reaching the detector is decreased to generate troubles such as sensitivity degradation of an apparatus and resolution degradation . therefore , the axes ( positions ) of the first orifice and the second orifice are adjusted to align the center axes by means of the axis adjusting mechanism 30 such that the ion beam passing through the first orifice can pass through the second orifice . although the relationship between the first orifice and the second orifice is adjusted in the embodiment , the axis position adjustment may be performed in the components disposed between the ion source and the detector . the invention will be described below referring to embodiments applied to specific apparatuses . fig3 illustrates an entire configuration of an apparatus in which apci ( atmospheric pressure chemical ionization ) is used as the ion source in the apparatus of fig1 . in fig1 , the octopole 8 and the quadrupole mass separator 11 are illustrated in the perspective views . on the other hand , in fig3 , the octopole 8 and the quadrupole mass separator 11 are illustrated in a plan view . hereinafter , the overlapping description is omitted . air 45 is taken in the ion source 1 by a suction pump 40 . at this point , tcp ( trichlorophenol ) that is of a standard sample 41 is heated and vaporized by a heater 42 . after a vaporized gas amount becomes constant while the standard sample 41 is maintained at a constant temperature , a flow rate of the air 45 is set through a filter 44 by a mass flow controller 43 . the heater 42 is wound around pipe 46 located on a downstream side such that adhesion of a vaporized component of tcp to the pipe 46 is suppressed as much as possible . a voltage of several kilovolts is applied to a discharge needle 50 through a power cable 51 and a holder 52 , which are connected to a power supply ( not illustrated ). a voltage lower than the voltage applied to the discharge needle 50 is applied to a counter electrode 53 that located several millimeters from a leading end of the discharge needle 50 ( for positive ion ). a corona discharge 55 is generated in the air by the potential difference . a voltage of several tens of volts is applied to the first orifice 3 . the ion beam is extracted toward the detector 20 by the differential voltage . as illustrated in fig3 , contrary to the ion beam extraction direction , the air 48 containing the tcp sample gas flows from the counter electrode 53 to the discharge needle 50 . the reason that the flow of the sample gas is set to the opposite direction to the ion beam extraction direction is that a reaction area where the desired ion reacts with radical and other ions is reduced to the minimum . the sample gas flows in the corona discharge area to generate the radical and other ions , which are the electrically neutral , in addition to the desired ion . the radical and other ions block the desired ionization to lower the desired ion current . therefore , the flow of the sample gas is set to the opposite direction to the ion beam extraction direction in order to minimize the reaction area where the desired ion reacts with the radical and other ions . the whole of ion source is heated to a high temperature by a heater ( not illustrated ). the first orifice 3 includes an elongated pipe in the center portion thereof . the elongated pipe has an inner diameter of about 100 micrometers and a length of 10 millimeters . the first differential pumping chamber 4 located on the downstream side of the first orifice 3 is connected to a diaphragm pump ( not illustrated ) having a pumping speed of several tens of liters per minute , and the degree of vacuum of the first differential pumping chamber 4 becomes about 1000 pascals . because the air containing the sample gas is adiabatically expanded when flowing in the first orifice 3 , the temperature of the air containing the sample gas is lowered to generate clustering of the ion . when the clustering of the ion is generated , the mass spectrometry cannot correctly be performed . the sample gas adheres to the surface of the first orifice 3 to form an insulating film , and the charge is accumulated on the insulating film to generate a drift of the ion beam . therefore , the first orifice 3 is heated to several hundreds of degrees celsius by a heater ( not illustrated ) in order to prevent the drift from generating . similarly the second orifice 6 is heated by a heater ( not illustrated ). the first orifice 3 is fixed to a vacuum chamber 58 with an insulator 47 and a vacuum o - ring 59 interposed therebetween . the o - ring 59 is used to retain the vacuum . the ion is accelerated to enter the octopole 8 by the potential difference between the first orifice 3 and the second orifice 6 . a hole having a diameter of several hundreds of micrometers is made in the second orifice 6 . the second differential pumping chamber 7 located on the downstream side of the second orifice 6 is connected to a split - flow turbo molecular pump ( not illustrated ) having a pumping speed of several liters per second through a second pumping port . the air containing the sample gas flowing in the second differential pumping chamber 7 is restricted by a flow rate narrowing - down effect of the second orifice 6 , and the degree of vacuum of the second differential pumping chamber 7 becomes several pascals . the octopole 8 is disposed in the second differential pumping chamber 7 . the octopole 8 performs the above - described operation , and causes the ion beam to be focused and to pass through the fine hole of the third orifice 9 , so that the ion beam is incident to the analytical chamber 10 . the third orifice 9 has the hole diameter of about 1 millimeter . the pumping port of the analytical chamber 10 located on the downstream side of the third orifice 9 is connected to a split - flow turbo molecular pump ( not illustrated ) having a pumping speed of several tens of liters per second through a first pumping port . the analytical chamber 10 becomes the degree of vacuum of the minus third power of ten . the operation of the quadrupole mass separator 11 disposed in the analytical chamber 10 is described above . the scanned and separated ion having the mass - to - charge ratio m / z is incident to the detector 20 . the output of the detector 20 is obtained as follows . fig4 illustrates a temporal change of the total ion current value that is the output of the detector 20 when the quadrupole mass separation is not performed . fig4 shows that the total ion current value has a variation of about plus or minus several percent . although the total ion current value has the above - described variation when the apparatus runs normally , the total ion current value of the detector is largely decreased , when the amount of sample gas that is source material flowing in the ion source is decreased due to the adhesion of the sample on a cold spot on a pipe , or when an ion beam passage rate is decreased due to clogging of the orifice . fig5 illustrates a relationship between the mass - to - charge ratio m / z and the ion strength ( relative value ) when the quadrupole mass separation is performed at a time t 1 of fig4 . because tcp is used as the standard sample , a peak is observed at the mass - to - charge ratio m / z of 195 . a specific configuration of the axis adjusting mechanism 30 will be described below . fig6 illustrates the axis adjusting mechanism between the first orifice and the second orifice as an example of the axis adjusting mechanism . a adjustment screw mounting plate 60 is fixed to the vacuum chamber 58 . screw holes are made in the first orifice 3 , and adjustment screws 61 are threaded in the screw holes . an elastic member such as a spring 62 is fixed to a position opposite the adjustment screws 61 . the position of the first orifice 3 can be adjusted by a balance between a spring repulsive force 63 of the spring 62 and a pressing force 64 of the adjustment screw 61 . a trapezoidal disc spring as the spring 62 is used to generate the large repulsive force in the narrow area . the identical mechanism is provided in a direction orthogonal to the adjustment direction , and the identical adjustment can be performed . the adjustment can be performed in the two directions orthogonal to each other by the method . alternatively , the position of the fine hole may be adjusted not two - dimensionally but three - dimensionally including a trolling angle by additionally providing an inclination mechanism ( not illustrated ). fomblin having a sufficiently low saturated vapor pressure is applied to the o - ring 59 such that friction between the first orifice 3 and the vacuum chamber 58 is reduced to improve slippage and such that apparatus performance is not adversely affected . the first orifice 3 can be fixed using a fixing screw 66 after the axis adjustment . a distance of movement and adjustment of the first orifice 3 is several hundreds of micrometers . similarly the second orifice 6 is fixed to the vacuum chamber 58 with the insulator 47 interposed therebetween . the ion beam 2 is extracted onto the detector side by the potential difference between the first orifice 3 and the second orifice 6 . when a fine screw having a screw pitch of 0 . 5 mm is used as the adjustment screw , because the screw travels by 0 . 5 mm per rotation of 360 °, the movement and adjustment of about 10 μm can be performed by 7 °. for the finer adjustment , a piezoelectric element , a servo motor and a ball screw , and a precisely direct acting stage may be used as a driving structure , to allow the adjustment to be performed at a nanometer level at the minimum . fig6 illustrates the axis position adjusting mechanism between the first orifice and the second orifice . similarly the axis position adjusting mechanism ( not illustrated ) may be provided among the first orifice 3 , the quadrupole mass separator 11 , and the detector 20 to perform the axis adjustment . sometimes the vaporized gas of the lubricant agent is generated when the lubricant agent is used in the o - ring . in such cases , possibly the ionization of the sample is blocked to decrease the necessary ion current value . also , a noise component is increased to possibly degrade an s / n ratio . on the other hand , when the lubricant agent is not used , the friction between the first orifice 3 and the o - ring 59 is increased to twist the o - ring 59 , which sometimes causes a leak of the vacuum chamber . therefore , as illustrated in fig9 , a mechanism that moves the first orifice 3 in the direction identical to that of the beam axis is provided to separate the first orifice 3 and the o - ring 59 , and the first orifice 3 is moved in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction . a dovetail groove ( a sidewall of a groove in which the o - ring is accommodated is inclined ) is provided in order that the generation of the twist of the o - ring 59 and the generation of the leak are prevented to lessen the motion of the o - ring 59 as much as possible . at this point , the first orifice 3 is moved as illustrated in fig1 a to 10d . the first orifice 3 is moved from a state ( fig1 a ) in the beam axis direction to the upstream side ( the side of the ion source 1 ) by a screw 67 ( fig1 b ). the first orifice 3 is moved in the direction orthogonal to the beam axis by the adjustment screw 61 ( fig1 c ). the first orifice 3 is moved in the beam axis direction to the downstream side ( the side of the detector 20 ) by the screw 67 and fixed by the fixing screw 66 ( fig1 d ). the mechanism is used in each orifice and each mass separator to adjust the axis position . fig7 illustrates a method for adjusting the axis deviation . the first orifice 3 is moved along an axis 1 - 1 ′. the right side in the upper stage of fig7 illustrates a transition of the beam current value when the first orifice 3 passes through the fine hole of the second orifice 6 . in fig7 , the first orifice 3 is moved in the direction of a → e . the output signal of the detector becomes the maximum at the position c . then the adjustment is performed in the direction of 2 - 2 ′ illustrated in the lower stage of fig7 . first the first orifice is located in the position c . when the first orifice is moved in the direction of c → a *→ b *, the detected current value is decreased . therefore , the first orifice is returned and moved in the direction of b *→ c *→ d *. the right side in the lower stage of fig7 illustrates the change of the detected signal . the detected signals are connected by an approximate curved line to determine the first orifice position in which the detected signal is maximized , and the first orifice is adjusted to the position and fixed . then the axis deviation adjusting work is ended . in the embodiment , the axis adjustment is less frequently performed . however , actually it is necessary to repeatedly perform the adjustment plural times . in the embodiment , the adjustment is manually performed . alternatively , the adjustment may automatically be performed such that the current value of the detector becomes the maximum , when a combination of a motor ( stepping motor ) and a ball screw is used to drive the orifice , or when a combination of the piezoelectric element and precision stage is used to drive the orifice . because sizes of maintenance components such as the orifice vary within mechanical tolerances , it is necessary to perform the axis adjustment after the maintenance . because the orifice is heated by the heater as described above , the center axis position of the fine hole changes in the transient state . therefore , the adjustment is efficiently performed after the apparatus is thermally stabilized in the running state . whether the apparatus is thermally stabilized can be determined based on whether the signal of the detector 20 in the ion beam detecting state is substantially kept constant ( the variation falls within a predetermined range ). it is necessary that the axis position adjustment is performed when the apparatus runs normally . the stability of the apparatus is confirmed by the variation in total ion current value that is a kind of the detector output and the mass - to - charge ratio m / z in which the peak of the ion intensity ( relative value ) is observed as illustrated in fig4 and 5 . the variation in total ion current value and the mass - to - charge ratio m / z are monitored in performing the axis adjustment . when an abnormality is generated , if a warning is issued to an operator to stop the axis adjustment and the repair or maintenance of the apparatus is performed , operability , performance , and reliability of the apparatus are improved . fig1 illustrates an example of test result . in fig1 , a horizontal axis indicates a movement distance in the direction orthogonal to the beam axis , and a vertical axis indicates the total ion current value ( tcp signal intensity ). the change of maximum / minimum = about two times is generated by the axis adjustment , and the maximum performance can be exerted by the current correction using the axis adjustment mechanism . thus , the axis adjusting mechanism is used to effectively reduce the mechanical tolerance . fig8 illustrates a tof ( time of flight ) mass spectrometer provided with the axis adjusting mechanism . the ion is accelerated in the orthogonal direction by an acceleration electric field of several hundreds of volts to several kilovolts applied to a push - out electrode 71 and an acceleration pull - out electrode 72 , the ion deflects through the ion reflector 73 which is called a reflector reaches the detector , and the ion reaches the detector such as a multi channel plate 74 . the variation in initial energy of the ion is corrected to equalize a total flight time of the ions having the identical mass - to - charge ratio m / z using the reflector , so that mass resolution can be enhanced . the miniaturization of the mass spectrometer can also be implemented by utilizing the axis adjusting mechanism 30 in each orifice . | 7 |
the present invention will be described as set forth in the preferred embodiments illustrated in fig4 - 8 . other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention . fig4 illustrates in schematic diagram form a delay line circuit 400 in accordance with the present invention . a clk in signal is input at node 410 . the delay circuit 400 of fig4 consists of a series of n delay stages , each stage consisting of two nand gates and one inverter . each stage is either an odd stage or an even stage , depending upon its position in the line . thus , the first stage 401 is an even stage , the second stage 411 is an odd stage , a third stage ( not shown ) would be an even stage , etc . even stage 401 consists of nand gates 405 , 406 and inverter 407 . nand gate 405 acts as a switch connecting together upper delay line 402 and lower delay line 403 . the transistor gates of nand switch 405 become the load for the upper delay line 402 . shift register 415 provides a signal to open or close nand switch 405 . the delay of the lower delay line 403 slightly exceeds that of the upper delay line 402 . this delay difference becomes the unit delay time of the delay line circuit 400 . by reducing the gate count of the unit delay to one gate , i . e . inverter 407 , the unit delay time td is reduced to approximately 50 picoseconds . by reducing the unit delay time td , the resolution of each stage is increased . fig4 a illustrates in block diagram form the functioning of the circuit 400 of fig4 . each unit delay 450 , 451 , 452 , 453 , 454 in upper delay line 402 has a delay time of td , and each unit delay 460 , 461 , 462 , 463 , 464 in lower delay line 403 has a delay time of td + δ , where td is the unit delay time of the delay generator . these unit delays 450 - 454 and 460 - 464 are serially connected through switches 470 , 471 , 472 , 473 , and 474 . if only switch 470 closes , the circuit generates a delay of 5 ( td + δ ) from in node 440 to out node 499 . similarly , if switch 471 closes , the circuit generates a delay of td + 4 ( td + δ ) from in node 440 to out node 499 . since the unit time delay of the circuit 400 is now 50 picoseconds as compared to the prior art of 200 - 300 picoseconds , the resolution of the delay time is significantly increased . another aspect of the structure of delay stage 401 of delay circuit 400 is that because of the relatively low number of gates , it provides substantially symmetrical pulse widths for the input signal and output signal . this is depicted in fig5 b , where pw 1 ′ is very close to pw 2 ′. this is a significant advantage over the prior art shown in fig3 where each delay stage consists of five gates . because the transistors forming the inverters and the nand gates in each delay element do not have identical rise and decay times , the signal at the output of the prior art delay line circuit 300 has asymmetrical rising and falling edges as compared to the input signal . the output signal will therefore differ in pulse width from the input signal , leading to inaccuracies . a further aspect of the structure of delay line circuit 400 is the significant reduction in the amount 6 f gates necessary to implement the delay line . each stage of the delay line circuit 400 consists of a total of three gates , i . e . two nands and one inverter . each stage of the prior art line delay circuit 300 consists of five total gates , i . e . three nands and two inverters . the reduction of the total number of gates from five to three by the present invention allows the delay line circuit 400 to occupy approximately 40 % less space than the prior art circuit 300 . this results in significant savings when each stage is replicated 50 - 100 times to target a clock input frequency of 100 mhz . in order to implement the delay line circuit 400 into a ddll , it is necessary to precharge the first stage of the delay line by toggling the first stage input at node 420 between a high logic level , i . e . “ 1 ”, and a low logic level , i . e . “ 0 ”, for every cycle that a new switch is enabled over the previous cycle . when the switch selected is an even switch , node 420 must be precharged to a logic high level , i . e . “ 1 .” when the switch selected is an odd switch , node 240 must be precharged to a logic low level , i . e . “ 1 ”. fig6 illustrates in block diagram form a ddll circuit 600 which uses the delay line circuit 400 in accordance with the present invention . ddll circuit 600 consists of delay line circuit 400 , shift register 605 , phase detect 610 , and control circuitry to perform the necessary precharging of the first stage of delay line circuit 400 , which consists of a gate 620 , which can be either an or gate as shown or an exclusive or ( xor ) gate , and t flip - flop 621 . the precharging is done in the following manner . the shift left ( sl ) and shift right ( sr ) signals sent from the phase detect circuit 610 to shift register 605 are input into the gate 620 . the output of gate 620 is input into t flip - flop 621 . the output of t flip - flop 621 is connected to node 420 of delay line circuit 400 . t flip - flop 621 will maintain its binary state , i . e . either a “ 0 ” or a “ 1 ” until directed by the input signal from gate 620 to switch states . in order to select a new switch in delay line circuit 400 , phase detect 610 will send a signal to shift register 605 , indicating either a shift left ( sl ) or shift right ( sr ) depending upon the shift required to synchronize the clock pulses . the signals on the sl and sr lines are input into the gate 620 . if either of the output lines from the phase detect goes high , indicating a shift is required and a new switch is being chosen , the output of gate 620 will cause the t flip - flop 621 to change states , i . e . toggle . if no shift is necessary , a new switch need not be selected , and t flip - flop will not toggle . thus , the appropriate signal will be applied to the input node 420 of delay line circuit 400 . fig7 shows printed circuit board ( pcb ) 700 with multiple ics 701 , 702 , 704 having differences in the phases of the ic generated internal clocks . ddll 703 operates to align the phases of the internally generated clock signals of ics 701 and 702 utilizing a delay line according to the present invention . pcb 700 could be used in a computer system where one of ics 701 and 702 is a microprocessor and the other is a memory device , a storage device controller , or an input / output device controller . a typical processor system which includes a ddll according to the present invention is illustrated generally at 800 in fig8 . a computer system is exemplary of a device having digital circuits which require synchronization of the components in the system . other types of dedicated processing systems , e . g . radio systems , television systems , gps receiver systems , telephones and telephone systems also contain electronic circuits which can utilize the present invention . a processor system , such as a computer system , generally comprises a central processing unit ( cpu ) 844 that communicates to an input / output ( i / o ) device 842 over a bus 852 . a second i / o device 846 is illustrated , but may not be necessary depending upon the system requirements . the computer system 800 also includes random access memory ( ram ) 848 , read only memory ( rom ) 850 , and may include peripheral devices such as a floppy disk drive 854 and a compact disk ( cd ) rom drive 856 which also communicate with cpu 844 over the bus 852 . a ddll circuit 860 in accordance with the present invention as described with respect to fig6 is included in the system . utilizing the method of the present invention , the phases of the internally generated clock signals of the ics in each of the devices can be aligned . it must be noted that the exact architecture of the computer system 800 is not important and that any combination of computer compatible devices may be incorporated into the system . reference has been made to preferred embodiments in describing the invention . however , additions , deletions , substitutions , or other modifications which would fall within the scope of the invention defined in the claims may be found by those skilled in the art and familiar with the disclosure of the invention . any modifications coming within the spirit and scope of the following claims are to be considered part of the present invention . | 8 |
preferred embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a cross - sectional view showing a multichip package according to a first embodiment of the present invention . fig2 is a top view illustrating the multichip package according to the first embodiment of the present invention . a structure of the multichip package 100 shown in fig1 and 2 will first be explained . a first semiconductor element 23 is bonded onto a die pad 25 by a first adhesive agent 24 . a second semiconductor element 27 is bonded onto the first semiconductor element 23 by a second adhesive agent 26 . a junction member 29 is adhered onto the first semiconductor element 23 by a third adhesive agent 28 . first pads 30 are formed over the first semiconductor element 23 . second pads 22 are formed substantially in the center on the second semiconductor element 27 . junction pads 2 and pad connecting portions 3 that electrically connect between the junction pads 2 are formed on the junction member 29 . the second semiconductor element 27 is bonded onto the first semiconductor element 23 in such a manner that the distance l 9 between the end of the second semiconductor element 27 and each of the first pads 30 ranges from approximately 0 . 2 to 1 . 0 mm . the junction member 29 is bonded onto the first semiconductor element 23 in such a manner that the distance l 10 between the end of the second semiconductor element 27 and the end of the junction member 29 ranges from approximately 0 . 2 to 1 . 0 mm and the distance l 11 between the end of the junction member 29 and each of the first pads 30 ranges from approximately 0 . 4 to 1 . 0 mm . the first pads 30 and lead frame terminals 21 are respectively electrically connected to one another by first metal wires 31 . the second pads 22 and lead frame terminals 21 are respectively electrically connected to one another by second metal wires 32 . the second pads 22 and the junction pads 2 are respectively electrically connected to one another by third metal wires 33 . the junction pads 2 and the first pads 30 are respectively electrically connected to one another by fourth metal wires 34 . although the lead frame terminals 21 are illustrated by way of example in the present embodiment , any one may be used if connecting terminals are taken . it is needless to say that no limitation is imposed on the lead frame terminals 21 . in the present embodiment , the junction member 29 comprises the junction pads 2 and the pad connecting portions 3 . patterning for forming each circuit is not effected on the junction member 29 . the junction member 29 has the function of bypassing electric signals sent from the second semiconductor element 27 to their corresponding first pads 30 of the first semiconductor element 23 . also the junction member 29 has a thickness equal to or larger than that of the second semiconductor element 27 . the first semiconductor element 23 , the second semiconductor element 27 and the junction member 29 are sealed with a mold resin . the multichip package 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention makes it possible to cause the second semiconductor element 27 to approach the first pads 30 by having the above configuration . owing to the above configuration , the distance from each of the second pads 22 to the end of the second semiconductor element 27 can be set to more than or equal to ¾ of the distance between the first pad and the second pad . thus , the second metal wires 32 can be kept short , thereby preventing deformation of each wire upon sealing by the mold resin 35 . it is also possible to prevent shorts between the second metal wires 32 . owing to the mounting of the junction member 29 , the direct electrical connections of the second pads 22 to the first pads 30 are avoided so that the third metal wires 33 can be held to 3 mm or less . since the thickness of the junction member 29 is set equal to or greater than that of the semiconductor element 27 , short - circuiting of the third metal wires 33 to the end of the second semiconductor element 27 can be prevented . fig3 is a top view showing a junction member according to a second embodiment of the present invention . fig4 ( a ) is a top view illustrating a portion a of the junction member according to the second embodiment of the present invention shown in fig3 . fig4 ( b ) is a cross - sectional view taken along line b - b , of the junction member according to the second embodiment of the present invention shown in fig3 . fig5 is a cross - sectional view at wire bonding , of the portion a of the junction member according to the second embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig3 and 5 , the junction member 1 is rectangular . although the rectangle is illustrated by way of example in the present embodiment , the present invention is not limited to it alone . any one may be used if rectangular . it is also considered that a plurality of the junction members 1 are used according to circumstances . in the present embodiment , the length of the short side of the junction member 1 is approximately 3 mm and the length of the long side thereof is about 10 mm or so . in the junction member 1 , a first insulating film 5 is formed on a silicon substrate 4 . junction pads 2 , pad connecting portions 3 and an interlayer insulating film 6 are formed on the first insulating film 5 . the junction pads 2 are arranged in matrix form . the junction pads 2 adjacent to one another in the short - side direction of the junction member 1 are respectively electrically connected to one another by means of the pad connecting portions 3 . in the present embodiment , the junction pads 2 and the pad connecting portions 3 are formed of metal wirings such as aluminum or copper . areas in which the junction pads 2 and the pad connecting portions 3 are formed and an area in which the interlayer insulating film 6 is formed , are provided on the first insulating film 5 . passivation films 7 made of glass or the like each used as a first protective film cover the interlayer insulating film 6 and the pad connecting portions 3 from thereabove . the passivation film 7 is formed even on the inner periphery of each junction pad 2 as the case may be . now , the inner periphery of the junction pad 2 indicates the inside that extends along the outer sides of the junction pad 2 . a buffer coat film 8 made of an insulating material such as polyimide is formed on the passivation films 7 and in the inner periphery of the junction member 1 . the buffer coat film 8 may be formed in the longitudinal direction of the junction member 1 at the minimum . however , the formation of the buffer coat film 8 along only one side extending in the longitudinal direction of the junction member 1 is most suitable where the cutting - out to be described later is taken into consideration . although the silicon substrate 4 is taken as the substrate by way of example in the present embodiment , the substrate is by no means limited to it alone . a sapphire substrate and a glass substrate or the like may be used . however , the use of the semiconductor substrate brings about the advantage that a semiconductor process is applicable using the already - existing device . a scribe line 9 corresponding to each of cut widths at fractionalizing processing of on - assembly chips is provided at the inner peripheral end of the junction member 1 . the junction member 1 according to the present embodiment does not include wirings other than the junction pads 2 and the pad connecting portions 3 and has no circuit function virtually . referring to fig4 ( a ), the detailed sizes of the respective portions will be shown . the lengthwise and crosswise sizes of each of the junction pads 2 are both about l 1 = about 90 μm . a width l 2 of each of the pad connecting portions 3 is smaller than an interval l 3 between the mutually connected junction pads 2 and ranges from approximately 5 to 50 μm . the interval l 3 between the junction pads 2 connected to each other ranges from approximately 50 to 100 μm . pitches l 5 of the junction pads 2 adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction of the junction member 1 are arranged so as to range from approximately 150 to 200 μm . a width l 4 of each of the passivation films 7 on the junction pads 2 is about 5 μm . a width l 6 of the buffer coat film 8 ranges from approximately 50 to 100 μm and its thickness ranges from about 3 μm to about 8 μm . fig6 is a top view showing positions at the cutting of the junction member according to the second embodiment of the present invention . a method of applying the junction member 1 will be explained with reference to fig6 . the present figure shows , as an example , the case in which the buffer coat film 8 is formed on only one side of the junction member 1 . when the required sizes are determined , scribe positions 10 are determined . the scribe positions 10 are cut in the neighborhood of the positions where the necessary sizes are obtained , with the end of the side on which the buffer coat film 8 exists being regarded as the reference . as to the cutting of the junction member 1 as viewed in its transverse direction , cutting is done between the junction pads 2 adjacent to one another in the longitudinal direction of the junction member 1 . as to the cutting of the junction member 1 as viewed in its longitudinal direction , the neighborhood of the center of each pad connecting portion 3 is cut . incidentally , the cutting is executed in a scribed process corresponding to a conventional chip cutting process . owing to the above configuration of the junction member 1 according to the second embodiment , the distance l 8 between each of the third metal wires 33 and a silicon exposed portion 11 exposed upon cutting of the junction member 1 can sufficiently be ensured because the buffer coat film 8 is provided , where the third metal wires 33 are wired . thus , the third metal wire 33 and the silicon exposed portion 11 can be prevented from being electrically short - circuited . further , since the width l 2 of each pad connecting portion 3 is set smaller than the interval l 3 between the junction pads 2 connected to one another , the length of a cut chip of the pad connecting portion 3 , which occurs upon the cutting in the scribe process , becomes shorter than the interval l 3 between the junction pads 2 connected to each other . it ranges from l 5 to l 1 ≧ l 2 . thus , it is possible to prevent a short developed between the junction pads 2 adjacent to one another in the longitudinal direction of the junction member 1 due to the cut chip . further , the interval l 3 between the junction pads 2 connected to one another ranges from 50 μm to 100 μm and the pitch l 5 of each of the junction pads 2 adjacent to one another in the longitudinal direction of the junction member 1 ranges from 150 μm to 200 μm . therefore , the interval necessary for the cutting in the scribe process can be set larger than 50 μm and the junction member 1 can be cut out without contacting the junction pads 2 . furthermore , since the junction member 1 is cut out after the sizes have been determined with the end of the buffer coat film 8 as the reference , it can easily be changed to various sizes as needed , thereby improving general versatility . a spot to cut the buffer coat film 8 becomes only one spot , and the direction to cut it becomes only the transverse direction of the junction member 1 . the buffer coat film 8 has the feature that it is apt to be peeled due to damage of cutting upon the scribe process . since , however , the number of cuttings of the buffer coat film 8 and its cut distance can be respectively suppressed to the minimum , the peeling of the buffer coat film 8 can be prevented from occurring . a third embodiment of the present invention will next be explained . fig7 ( a ) is a top view of a junction member according to the third embodiment . fig7 ( b ) is an enlarged view of a portion b of the junction member according to the third embodiment . incidentally , the same elements of structure as those employed in the second embodiment are respectively identified by the same reference numerals upon explanation of a structure of the junction member according to the third embodiment and its manufacturing method . a point of difference between the structure of the junction member 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention and the structure of the junction member 12 according to the third embodiment of the present invention resides in that sub pads 13 and sub pad connecting portions 14 have been added . the sub pads 13 are formed between pad connecting portions 2 adjacent to one another as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the junction member 12 . the sub pad connecting portions 14 , which electrically connect the adjoining sub pads 13 , are formed in the longitudinal direction of the junction member 12 . the sub pads 13 and the sub pad connecting portions 14 substantially vertically intersect an arrangement of the junction pads 2 and their corresponding pad connecting portions 3 . since , however , the arrangement of the junction pads 2 and the pad connecting portions 3 , and the sub pads 13 and the sub pad connecting pads 14 are respectively formed in different layers , they are not short - circuited to one another . the sub pads 13 and the sub pad connecting portions 14 are arranged on alternate columns with respect to columns of the junction pads 2 as viewed in the transverse direction of the junction member 12 . however , the sub pads 13 and the sub pad connecting portions 14 may be arranged on alternate plural columns as needed and are not limited to the alternate columns . similarly , although the sub pads 13 are arranged every rows as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the junction member 12 as shown in fig7 , the sub pads 13 may be arranged on alternate plural rows . fig8 is a top view showing positions at the cutting of the junction member according to the third embodiment of the present invention shown in fig7 ( a ). a method of applying the junction member 12 will be explained with reference to fig8 . however , the description of the contents similar to fig6 illustrative of the positions at the cutting of the second embodiment of the present invention will be omitted . a description will be made of the difference between the positions at the cutting of the third embodiment of the present invention and the positions at the cutting of the second embodiment . each of the cutting positions of the junction member 12 as viewed in the transverse direction thereof is placed between the junction pads 2 between which no sub pads 13 are disposed . each of the cutting positions of the junction member 12 as viewed in the longitudinal direction thereof is placed between the junction pads 2 between which the sub pads 13 and the sub pad connecting portions 14 are not provided . owing to the setting of the above cutting positions , the number of times in which the sub pad connecting portions 14 are cut , can be suppressed to the minimum . it is thus possible to prevent shorts developed between the junction pads 2 and the sub pad connecting portions 14 due to the cut chip . fig9 is a wired example using the junction member according to the third embodiment of the present invention shown in fig7 . of second pads 22 of a second semiconductor element 27 , ones marked with black dots are second pads 22 for a power supply . there may be cases in which the power supply second pads 22 are connected to their corresponding lead frame terminals 21 corresponding to power supply pins 15 a and connected to their corresponding sub pads 13 of the junction member 12 . the sub pad 13 and its corresponding junction pad 2 are wire - bonded to each other by a pad junction wire 18 . the other junction pad 2 electrically made conductive to its corresponding previous junction pad 2 , and a lead frame terminal 21 for a power supply pin 15 b are wire - bonded to each other by a pad junction wire 19 . the address second pads 22 of the second semiconductor element 27 are electrically connected to their corresponding lead frame terminals 21 for address pins 20 b by wire bonding , using desired junction pads of the junction member 12 . a partial flow of an electric signal is indicated by a dotted line . owing to the execution of above connections , the layout of the power pins 15 a and 15 b and the layout of the address pins 20 can freely be changed , thus making it possible to improve the degree of freedom of wiring . while the present invention has been described with reference to the illustrative embodiments , this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense . various modifications of the illustrative embodiments , as well as other embodiments of the invention , will be apparent to those skilled in the art on reference to this description . it is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will cover any such modifications or embodiments as fall within the true scope of the invention . | 7 |
the following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention . furthermore , there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background of the invention or the following detailed description . in fig1 , vehicles 1 , 2 are located on a first road 4 and a vehicle 3 on a road 5 transversely enters the road 4 . the roads 4 , 5 are partly flanked by high buildings 6 which impair the reception of satellite navigation signals by the vehicles 1 , 2 . the vehicles 1 , 2 , 3 are each equipped with a satellite navigation system known per se , which is capable of estimating , based on received satellite navigation signals , the position p 1 , p 2 and p 3 respectively of the vehicle concerned . the reliability of this estimate is different depending on the strength of the received signals , number of receivable satellites and their position on the sky and is also shown in fig1 by the ellipses s 1 , s 2 , s 3 surrounding the estimated positions p 1 , p 2 , p 3 . each of these ellipses si ( where i is 1 , 2 , 3 . . . ) surrounds those points for which the sojourn probability of the vehicle estimated by way of the satellite signal of the vehicle i at this point exceeds a limit value , wherein the limit value for each ellipse is determined so that the sojourn probability integrated over the entire ellipse si reaches a value just under 1 that is the same for all ellipses . the dimensions of the ellipses s 1 , s 2 , s 3 are thus inversely proportional to the quality of the position is estimate . in the case of vehicle 1 , the ellipse s 1 does not overlap with the vehicle 1 . the estimate position p 1 is thus clearly detective which can be attributable to deflection of the satellite signal on a wall of the building 6 . adjacent to the vehicle 1 a reference station 7 is located on the shoulder of the road which like the navigation system of the vehicle 1 receives and evaluates the satellite signals , obtaining as result a position p 7 and as dimension for its reliability an ellipse s 7 . the ellipse s 7 will generally be smaller than the ellipse s 1 since the reference station 7 is unmoved and therefore through long measurement times or means via repeated measurements can achieve a more reliable estimate than the navigation system of the vehicle 1 . the reference station 7 knows its exact geographical position and can compare the same with the position p 7 that was estimated by way of the satellite system . the offset between estimated and true position of the reference station 7 is a vector d 7 . the reference station 7 emits a correction signal in which the vector d 7 , the quality of its estimate and the true geographical position p 7 of the reference station 7 are encoded . on the part of the vehicle 1 , the estimate of the own position is corrected to pc 1 , in that it is shifted corresponding to the offset d 7 . the systematic error attributable to reflection on the building front is now rectified and as to be expected , the corrected ellipse c 1 overlaps with the vehicle . since accidental measurement errors of the vehicle navigation system and of the reference station 7 are superimposed on one another with the corrected position estimate , the accuracy of the corrected position estimate pc 1 cannot be better than the estimates of vehicle 1 and reference station 7 on which it is based ; hence the ellipse c 1 is drawn slightly larger than s 1 . in the case of the vehicle 2 , the quality of the satellite signal is poor for example because of an unfavorable position or low number of the received satellites so that the ellipse s 2 about p 2 , within which the vehicle 2 is located with predetermined probability , is large . here , too , a reference station 8 is located on the shoulder of the road which likewise carries out a position estimate and in the process obtains as result the position p 8 with the ellipse s 8 that is representative for the measurement accuracy or an offset d 8 between the estimated position p 8 and the true position . when the vehicle 2 receives the correction signal of the reference station 8 and corrects its own estimated position p 2 by the offset d 8 , the result pc 2 is still located within the ellipse s 2 . other than in the case of the vehicle 1 there is thus no reason for assuming a systematic error of the position estimate . although the corrected estimate cannot be more reliable than that of the reference station 8 however it is definitely more reliable than the original estimate , which is why the ellipse c 2 about pc 2 , of which it is now assumed that the position of the vehicle with high probability is within it , is at least as large as s 8 , but smaller than s 2 . on the road 5 flanks on both sides by buildings 6 , the vehicle 3 has particularly poor reception conditions with weak signals which is why the position estimate in this case is afflicted by particular uncertainty and the ellipse s 3 about the estimated position p 3 accordingly is particularly large . the vehicle 1 is equipped with a camera or a radar device which allows it to detect objects of its surroundings such as for example the reference station 7 and to vectorially measure the distance to them . the result of such a measurement is the vector v 1 drawn into fig2 and connection vehicle 1 and the reference station 7 . based on this vector v 1 and the true position of the reference station 7 which is encoded in the correction signal of the reference station 7 , the navigation system of the vehicle 1 is able to determine its position with a high degree of accuracy and reliability so that the result can be assumed as true position of the vehicle 1 . when the vehicle 1 moves on the road 4 it uses odometric information of distance counters and steering in order to continuously update its true position . inevitable odometric measurement inaccuracies result in that the reliability of the position information decreases to the extent in which the vehicle 1 distances itself from the reference station 7 , as illustrated in fig2 by ellipses c 1 ′, c 1 ″ that gradually become larger along the route of the vehicle 1 via positions 1 ′, 1 ″. from time to time , in the case under consideration here at position 1 ″ shortly after turning into the road 5 , the vehicle 1 again carries out a position estimate by way of the satellite signal . the result of the estimate is the ellipse s 1 ″, its center point compared to the true position of the vehicle in the center of the ellipse c 1 ″ is offset by the vector d 1 ″. it can therefore be assumed that the measurements at the position 1 ″ have a systematic deviation d 1 ″. the vehicle 1 therefore emits a correction signal in the same manner as the reference stations 7 , 8 which contains the position of the vehicle 1 to be assumed true in the center of c 1 ″, the offset vector d 1 ″ and the dimensions of the ellipse s 1 ″. based on the reception of this correction signal , the vehicle 3 corrects its own position estimate , in this case by d 1 ″, and can assign it a degree of reliability that is substantially improved compared with s 3 , as symbolized in fig2 by the ellipse c 3 , the dimensions of which are between those of the ellipses s 3 and c 1 ″. in other words , the vehicle 3 profits from the highly - accurate position that the vehicle 1 has been able to carry out on the reference station 7 without it having to enter into communication with the reference station 7 itself or having to get near it . alternatively , the vehicle 3 could also correct its own position estimate by a vector cd 1 ″, wherein c is a scaler quantity between 0 and 1 . the precise numerical value of c depends on the reliability of the positions of the vehicles 2 and 3 , i . e . the smaller the ellipses s 1 ″, c 1 ″ are , the more reliable the offset vector d 1 ″ consequently is , and the greater s 3 is , the nearer to 1 is c . when the vehicle 3 , as described above for the vehicle 1 , is equipped with a camera or radar device , which is capable of identifying the passing vehicle 1 , a distance vector v 3 between the vehicles 1 and 3 can also be determined with the help of this camera or radar device , and the vehicle 3 is able to utilize the true position of the vehicle 1 contained in the correction signal in that it calculates its own position by adding the vector v 3 to the position of the vehicle 1 . when the vehicle 3 later on turns into the road 4 , it will soon come towards the vehicle 2 , as shown in fig3 . since the exchange of information with the vehicle 1 or with the reference station 8 , both vehicles have updated their own true position , in each case in the center of the ellipses c 2 ′, c 3 ′, by way of odometric data and are thus able to determine a current offset d 3 ′ or d 2 ′ between the updated true position and the position estimated by way of satellite signals in each case in the center of the ellipses s 2 ′, s 3 ′ and to transmit the same within the scope of a correction signal to the respective other vehicle . since the offset vectors d 2 ′, d 3 ′ have materialized in different ways , the probability that they are correct is high in the case of agreement . in the case of fig3 there is a useful agreement both in the amount and also in the direction of the vectors d 2 ′, d 3 ′, so that both vehicles can assign their true positions a higher degree of reliability , illustrated in fig3 by a reduction in size of the ellipses c 2 ′, c 3 ′ to c ′ 2 ′ respectively c ′ 3 ′. in the version shown in fig4 , the two vehicles each form a weighted mean value d of the two offset vectors d 2 ′, d 3 ′. the weight , with which each offset vector d 2 ′, d 3 ′ is included in the averaging is proportion to its reliability , for example inversely proportional to the area of the ellipses s 2 ′ and c 2 ′ or s 3 ′ and c 3 ′. the positions which are obtained by vectorially adding the offset vector d to the positions in the center of the ellipses s 2 ′, s 3 ′ estimated by way of the satellite signals are now assumed as true positions of the vehicles 2 , 3 . by many vehicles in dense traffic interchange correction signals among one another in the described manner , a high degree of consensus regarding the offset between the position estimated by way of the satellite signal and the true position is achievable on a given road section , which advantageously enables the vehicles especially with high traffic density to automatically navigate with high accuracy relative to one another . while at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description , it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist . it should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples , and are not intended to limit the scope , applicability , or configuration of the invention in any way . rather , the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing an exemplary embodiment , it being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims and their legal equivalents . | 6 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.