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specific embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . this invention may , however , be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein ; rather , these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete , and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art . the terminology used in the detailed description of the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings is not intended to be limiting of the invention . in the drawings , like numbers refer to like elements . fig1 shows an expanded , deployed frame 10 of a shelter according to one embodiment of the present invention . fig2 a shows the same frame 10 in the collapsed , non - deployed state from a side view , and fig2 b shows the same frame 10 in the collapsed , non - deployed state from a plan view . for the sake of clarity , in the figures , the present invention is shown without a canopy attached to the frame 10 . broadly speaking , the frame 10 employs posts 12 extending upward from post bases 13 to corner assemblies 14 . the corner assemblies 14 function to associate the posts 10 with side trusses 16 , peak trusses 18 , and eave assemblies 30 . fig1 is a simplified plan view of the frame 10 shown in fig1 . for the sake of clarity , an outer perimeter or envelope 72 is shown in fig1 that represents the outer boundary of the shade or shelter provided by expanded shelter having a canopy according to the present invention . it is noted that while fig1 and 14 shows the frame 10 as having an approximately rectangular footprint or floor plan , it is contemplated that the present invention may employ frames 10 that have alternative footprints such as circles , squares , or ovals . in a preferred embodiment , the posts 12 have an approximately rectangular cross - sectional shape . each post 12 has an interior side 66 , an exterior side 68 , and two intermediary sides 70 . with reference to fig1 and 14 , a peak junction 20 functions to associate the peak trusses 18 to one another at a location in the approximate center of the horizontal area occupied by the shelter at an elevation above a height of the top of the posts 12 . in this manner , the peak junction 20 forms a peak or high - point of the roof of the frame 10 . an expanded view of an underside of the peak junction 20 is shown in fig3 . as shown in fig1 , the peak trusses 18 employ peak truss hinges 22 that allow the peak trusses 18 to be folded in order that they may achieve a more compact size when the frame 10 is collapsed . fig4 shows an expanded view of the peak truss hinge 22 . the peak trusses 18 are supported by peak truss supports 19 . a proximal end 17 of the peak truss support 19 is attached to the corner assembly 14 and a distal end 21 of the peak truss support 19 is attached to the peak truss 18 . the side trusses 16 employ a scissor - like assembly spanning between posts 12 . the side trusses 16 have an upper arm 24 and a lower arm 26 that cross one another and attached to one another at a side truss hinge 28 . fig5 shows an expanded view of the side truss hinge 28 . as best shown in fig6 , the eave assembly 30 employs an eave strut 32 having a proximal end 34 attached to the corner assembly 14 and a distal end 36 extending outward from the frame 10 . the eave assembly 30 further comprises a strut support 38 having a proximal end 40 attached to the corner assembly 14 and a distal end 42 attached to the eave strut 32 . when the frame 10 is in a collapsed , non - deployed state , such as shown in fig2 , the distal end 36 of the eave strut 32 pivots towards the post base 13 . when the frame 10 is expanded to an open state , the distal end 36 of the eave strut 32 pivots outward away from the post 12 . as shown in fig6 and 7 , the corner assemblies 14 employ an upper coupling 44 fixed to a upper portion 45 of the post 12 , a lower coupling 46 slidably attached to the post 12 , and a eave slider 48 slidably attached to the post 12 between the upper coupling 44 and the lower coupling 46 . as shown in fig8 a in which the frame 10 is in the deployed , expanded state , the upper coupling 44 serves to attach and associate one post 12 with the upper arms 24 of two different side trusses 16 , one peak truss 18 , and one eave strut 32 . these components are attached to the upper coupling 44 by insertion of an end of the component , for example the proximal end 34 of the eave strut 32 , into a receiving portion 50 formed in and / or by the upper coupling 44 . the component end is secured within the receiving portion 50 by passing a member such as a bolt 52 through a first side of the receiving portion 50 , through the component end , such as the proximal strut end 34 , and through a second side of the receiving portion 50 . the bolt 52 may , for example be secured in position by threading a nut 56 over an end of the bolt 52 opposite a bolt head 54 . fig8 b shows an plan view of the upper coupling 44 when the frame 10 is in the non - deployed , collapsed state . as shown in fig9 and 10 , the lower coupling 46 employs a lower coupling post aperture 58 through which the post 12 is slidably positioned . as seen in fig9 - 11 , the lower coupling 46 serves to attach and associate one post 12 with the lower arms 26 of two different side trusses 16 and the proximal end 17 of one peak truss support 19 . these components are attached to the lower coupling 46 as described above regarding the attachment of components to the upper coupling 44 . as shown in fig5 and 6 , the lower coupling 46 further employs coupling lock 64 which functions to secure the lower coupling 46 at the desired location along the post 12 . the lower coupling lock 64 is a biased or spring - loaded pin lock that is incorporated into the body of the lower coupling 44 . the coupling lock 64 engages a receiving aperture , not shown , formed in post 12 . it will be understood that while the coupling lock 64 has been shown incorporated into an interior side of the lower coupling 46 , the coupling lock 64 may alternatively be incorporated into any of the exterior sides of the lower coupling 46 . with reference to fig6 , 7 , and 9 - 12 , the eave slider 48 is positioned on the post 12 between the upper coupling 44 and the lower coupling 46 . the eave slider 48 employs a post aperture 60 through which the post 12 is slidably positioned . the eave slider 48 serves to attached and associate the post 12 with the proximal end 40 of the eave strut support 38 . the proximal end 40 of the eave strut support 38 is attached to the eave slider 48 as described above regarding the attachment of components to the upper coupling 44 . fig1 shows a side view of the eave slider 48 when the frame 10 is in the non - deployed , collapsed state . while fig1 , 2 a , 6 , 7 , 9 , 10 , and 12 show that the proximal end 40 of the strut support 38 is attached to the eave slider 48 on the exterior side 68 of the post 12 , it will be understood that other attachment configurations are contemplated . for example , the proximal end 40 of the strut support 38 may alternatively attach to the eave slider 48 on one of the intermediary sides 70 of the post 12 , as shown in fig1 a - 15c . in another embodiment , instead of one longitudinal element , the strut support 38 comprises two longitudinal elements and the proximal ends 40 of the strut supports 38 attach to the eave slider 48 at each of the two intermediary sides 70 . in a preferred embodiment , instead of one longitudinal element , the strut support 38 comprises two longitudinal elements . the proximal ends 40 of the two longitudinal elements of the strut supports 38 pass by each of the two intermediary sides 70 of the post 12 and attach to the eave slider 48 on the interior side 66 of the post 12 , as shown in fig1 . this configuration provides at least two advantages to the frame 10 . first , by positioning the pivot point for the proximal end 40 of the strut supports 38 on the interior side of the post 12 , a sharper angle is formed at the point where the strut supports 38 attach to the eave strut 32 . this , in turn provides for smoother operation , i . e . smoother expanding and collapsing of the eave assemblies 30 and the frame 10 . second , employing two longitudinal elements of the strut support 38 increases strength of the eave assemblies 30 and , more particularly , aids in preventing the eave assemblies from moving laterally . this advantage is further enhanced by the increased rigidity provided by passing the longitudinal elements of the strut support 38 on each side of the post 12 . the post 12 serving as a lateral truss between the two longitudinal elements . in one embodiment of the present invention , the corner assembly 14 and hence the frame 10 , is further improved by employing an eave stop 62 . with reference to fig6 , 7 , 8 a , 9 - 11 , and 15 a , the eave stop 62 is a projection from the post 12 that is fixed at a desired distance along a length of the post 12 above which it is undesirable for the eave slider 48 to travel . as shown in the figures , in one embodiment of the present invention , the eave stop 62 employs a bolt 52 passed through the post 12 with a nut 56 threaded onto the end of the bolt 52 opposite the bolt head 54 . the eave stop 62 may be positioned on one side of the post 12 but is preferably positioned on two opposite sides of the post 12 . for example , it is contemplated that eave stops 62 be placed on both of the intermediary sides 70 of the post 12 or one eave spot 62 on the interior side 66 of the post 12 and one eave stop on the exterior side 68 of the post 12 . the eave stop 62 is particularly advantageous in that the eave stop 62 assists in securing the eave slider 48 in the desired position on the post 12 . in operation , when the frame 10 is transitioned from a collapsed state to an expanded , deployed state , the lower coupling 46 is urged upward towards the upper portion 45 of the post 12 causing expansion of the truss network comprising the peak trusses 18 and side trusses 16 . the lower coupling 46 contacts the eave slider 48 and urges the eaves slider 48 upward along the post 12 . as the eave slider 48 moves upward along the post 12 , the eave slider 48 causes the eave strut 32 to pivot outward away from the exterior side 68 of the post 12 , thereby providing support for a canopy eave , not shown , that is configured to extend beyond the perimeter of the posts 12 of the frame 10 . the lower coupling lock 64 eventually locks into place on the post 12 when the frame 10 is in the fully expanded , deployed state . in harsh environmental conditions such as high winds , there is a risk that the canopy of the shelter is caught by the wind and is caused move or deform the frame 10 that supports the canopy . this is especially problematic due to cantilever - like configuration of the eave assemblies 30 . in order to prevent the eave assemblies 30 from being forced upward in such a circumstance , the eave stop 62 is disposed on the post 12 . in the event the wind on the canopy urges the eave assembly 30 in the upwards direction , an upper surface of the eave slider 48 contacts the eave stop 62 . the eave stop 62 thereby prevents the upward movement or the eave slider 48 and , hence , the deformation of the eave assembly 30 . of particular importance to certain embodiments of the present invention is the orientation of the rectangular posts 12 relative to the other components of the frame 10 . as best shown in fig7 - 11 and particularly in fig1 , the posts 12 of the frame 10 of the present invention are rotated approximately 45 degrees relative to the envelope 84 of the deployed frame 10 . stated alternately , the posts 12 are rotated such that the peak trusses 18 attach to the upper coupling 44 which is attached to the post 12 such that a angle 72 of approximately 90 degrees is formed between the peak trusses 18 and the with the interior side 60 of the posts 12 . likewise , the eave struts 32 extend perpendicularly from the exterior side 68 of the posts 12 . in contrast , the side trusses 16 attach to the upper coupling 44 and lower coupling 46 which are attached to the post 12 such that a angle 74 of approximately 45 degrees is formed between the side trusses 16 and the with the intermediary sides 70 of the posts 12 . by way of comparison , as shown in fig1 , prior art collapsible shelter frames 80 employ posts 12 that are positioned such that the sides of the posts 12 are parallel to the sides of the shelter envelope 82 . likewise , the peak trusses 18 of the prior art shelter frames 80 attach to the posts 12 at a corner of the posts 12 and form an angle of approximately 45 degrees with the sides of the post 12 . the orientation of the posts 12 relative to the envelope 84 and other components of the frame 10 of the shelter of the present invention provides distinct advantages over the prior art shelters . for example , the rotation of the posts of the frame 10 of the present invention results in a space occurring between the exterior side 68 of the post 12 and the corner of the shelter envelope when the frame 10 is in the collapsed state . within this space , the eave strut 32 and strut support 38 of the eave assembly 30 are disposed , when the frame 10 is in the collapsed state . as a result , a collapsible shelter having an eave feature according to the present invention can be collapsed into substantially the same envelope as that of a shelter that does not provide an eave . further advantages are provided by the orientation of the post 12 of the frame 10 by imparting increased resistance to lateral forces , such as wind , to the frame 10 . one of skill in the art will understand that the frame structure 10 of the present invention may be constructed from a variety of materials known in the art to facilitate light - weight designs and foldability . for example , the posts 12 , the peak trusses 18 , the peak truss supports 19 , the side trusses 16 , the eave struts 32 , and the strut supports 38 may be formed of an alloy including , but not limited to , tubular and / or solid aluminum . the upper coupling 44 , the lower coupling 46 , the eave slider 48 , the peak junction 20 , the side truss hinges 28 , and other similar components may be formed of , for example , a solid alloy or a molded plastic . although a particular embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described , various changes may be made in the form , composition , construction and arrangement of the parts herein without departing from the scope of the invention . accordingly , the examples discussed above should be taken as being illustrative and not limiting in any sense . | 4 |
before explaining the disclosed embodiment of the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the particular arrangement shown since the invention is capable of other embodiments . also , the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation . this invention is related to u . s . pat . no . 6 , 010 , 306 to bucher et al . and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 171 , 059 to bucher et al . ; and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 213 , 716 to bucher et al ., each having the same inventors and assignee as the subject invention and each being incorporated by reference . fig2 a is a perspective view of a first embodiment 100 of the hook and fold ceiling fan blade with a blade 1110 ready to be attached to a motor / arm 140 . fig2 b is a top view of fig2 a along arrow t . fig2 c is a side cross - sectional view of fig2 b along arrows a — a . referring to fig2 a - 2c , ceiling fan blade 110 can have a medallion cover 112 , attached thereon with fasteners 112 , such as screws , and the like . attached to the medallion 112 can be a connector section 120 having two raised wall type members 122 , 124 with a pin member 123 connected attached therebetween . the bottom of connector 120 has an upper bottom surface 126 , which steps down at 127 to a lower bottom surface 128 . a raised ridge type member 129 is positioned in front of wall members 122 , 124 . a ceiling fan motor arm 140 has one end 142 that can be attached to a motor / rotor 50 such as that shown in fig1 . arm 140 can be a solid member or be hollow or have an open upper surface such as a half cylinder . the outer dimensions of the arm can be of any desired shape , such as but not limited to cylindrical , rectangular , and the like . the opposite end 144 of arm 140 can include a hook connector 130 , having a hook portion 132 and a mid narrow raised body portion 134 that attaches the hook portion 132 to the arm 140 . hook connector 130 can be formed with arm 140 or be separately attached at end 136 by conventional fasteners such as screws , and the like . on the underside of hook connector 130 can be an indentation 135 . the subject invention can be assembled by initially hanging the ceiling fan motor as shown in fig1 with the blades to be attached thereafter . the method of attaching the blade 110 to the motor / arm of the ceiling fan 140 will be described in reference to fig2 c and 3 - 4 . an installer can initially orient the blade 110 off axis to the longitudinal axis l , of the motor arm 140 . fig3 the hook portion 132 starting to be inserted about the pin 123 . next , the installer can pull or push the blade 110 in the direction of arrow p so that the hook portion 132 is fully attached . fig4 is another view of fig3 with the hook being fully wrapped about the pin . finally , the blade 110 is folded down in the direction of arrow r . fig5 is another view of fig4 with the blade in a folded down position with the blade 110 in the same plane as the axis l of the arm 140 . fig6 is a perspective view of the final folded down position of the blade 110 . the two different techniques of locking the blade 110 to the arm 130 will now be discussed in reference to fig2 a , 2 b , 5 and 6 . the narrow body portion 134 of hook connector 130 slides into and becomes sandwiched between the raised edges 122 , 124 of connector 120 . a tight sized space between edges 122 , 124 allows for a tight fit when the narrow body portion 134 of hook connector 130 has been placed therein . the bottom uneven surface 134 of hook connector 130 abuts against the inner step surface 127 and inner lower bottom surface 128 of connector 120 to complete the first locking technique . a second locking technique occurs when raised ridge member 129 of connector 120 can become mateably seated into the indentation groove 135 of hook connector 130 locking the blade 110 to the arm 140 . a tight and / or snap fit between the raised ridge member 129 and indentation groove 135 can also be used . either or both locking techniques described will restrict any lateral ( side - to - side ) movement of the blade 110 relative to the arm 140 . although , the two locking techniques are shown the invention can be practiced with either one . using both locking techniques acts as an extra safety feature to lock the blade 110 to the motor / arm 140 . a second embodiment of the subject invention hook and lock blades will be described in reference to fig7 a - 14d . fig7 a is a perspective view of a second embodiment 200 of the hook and fold ceiling fan blade invention with the blade 210 ready to be attached to a motor / arm 240 . fig7 b is a top view of fig7 a along arrow s . fig7 c is a side cross - sectional view of fig7 b along arrows b — b . fig1 a is a perspective view of the lower medallion cover 212 b of the second embodiment 200 . fig1 b is a top view of the cover 212 b of fig1 a along arrow x 1 . fig1 c is a side view of the cover 212 b of fig1 b along arrow x 2 . referring to fig1 a - 12c , medallion cover 212 b can include two arms 222 and 224 attached to and extending from a rear portion so that a rotation pin 223 can be fixably inserted into mounting holes 221 , 225 so that pin 223 can be fixably attached to both arms 222 and 224 . fig1 a is a perspective view of the upper medallion cover 212 a of fig7 a - 11 without pin support arms . fig1 b is a top view of the cover 212 a of fig1 a along arrow y 1 . fig1 c is a side view of the cover 212 a of fig1 b along arrow y 2 . the upper medallion cover 212 a can be attached to the lower medallion cover 212 b by positioning and sandwiching both covers 212 a and 212 b about an end portion of the blade 210 and using press fit type fasteners 213 a , 213 b , where for example male prong portions 213 a can be press fit into female receivers 213 b holding the medallion covers 212 a and 212 b to blade 210 . alternatively , conventional screw type fasteners can be substituted for fasteners 213 a and 213 b . the two sided medallion covers 212 a , 212 b allow the second embodiment to be able to reverse the blade 210 during use . thus , a blade 210 can be used that has different colors ( i . e . black on one side and white on other side , wood grain on one side and solid color on other side , and the like ) fig1 a is a perspective view of the arm 240 and hook connector 230 of the second embodiment 200 . fig1 b is a top view of fig1 a along arrow z 1 . fig1 c is a side view of fig1 b along arrow z 2 . fig1 d is a bottom view of fig1 c along arrow z 4 . referring to fig1 a - 14d , hook connector 230 includes a hook portion 232 facing toward the motor end 242 of arm 240 , with the hook portion attached by fasteners 233 such as screws and the like , to a narrow raised body portion 234 with a uneven surface 236 facing toward the blades 210 . the hook connector 230 can be fixably attached to the arm 240 by being molded into the arm , or attached by conventional fasteners ( not shown ) such as screws and the like . the second embodiment 200 of the subject invention can be assembled by initially hanging the ceiling fan motor as shown in fig1 with the blades to be attached thereafter . the method of attaching the blade 210 to the motor / arm 240 of the ceiling fan will be described in reference to fig7 c and 8 - 10 . an installer can initially orient the blade 210 off axis to the longitudinal axis l , of the motor arm 240 . fig8 is another view of fig7 c with the hook portion 232 starting to be inserted about the pin 223 . next , the installer can pull or push the blade 210 in the direction of arrow q so that the hook portion 232 is fully attached . fig9 is another view of fig8 with the hook portion 232 being fully wrapped about the pin 223 . finally , the blade 210 is folded down in the direction of arrow s . fig1 is another view of fig9 with the blade 210 in a folded down position with the blade 210 in the same plane as the axis l of the arm 240 . fig1 is a perspective view of the second embodiment 200 in a fully attached state . similar to the first embodiment 100 , there is at least one locking techniques for locking the blade 210 to the arm 240 . the narrow body portion 234 of hook connector 230 slides between and becomes sandwiched in the space between the two arms 222 , 224 of connector 220 . a tight sized space between arms 222 , 224 allows for a tight fit when the narrow body portion 234 of hook connector 230 has been placed therein . the bottom surface 245 ( shown more clearly in fig1 d ) on both sides of narrow body portion 234 of hook connector 230 abuts against the bottom of the arms 222 , 224 of connector 220 to complete the locking step . although not shown a second locking technique similar to the one described in reference to the first embodiment can also be used in the second embodiment . for example , a raised ridge and mateable indentation can be on either the rear surface 236 of hook connector 230 and surface 228 ( fig1 b ), respectively , and vice versa . while the preferred embodiments describe attaching ceiling fan blades while the motor has been previously hung on a ceiling , the blades can be attached before the motor is hung so that the entire ceiling fan and blades can be hung together from the ceiling . although the preferred embodiments show the arms of the motor having hook connectors thereon , the rotating portion of the motor such as the rotor can have the hook connectors thereon instead of the arms . still additionally , the blade ends can have the hook connectors thereon . still additionally , a portion of the blades can protrude therefrom with hook connectors . still additionally , the lock connectors can be located on portions of the rotor adjacent to the motor , the lock connectors can be located on the blade ends , and on protruding portions of the blades . additionally , the hook and lock members can be integrated to be inside of the edges of the rotor , inside of the outer edges of the blade , and the like . although the preferred embodiments show the hook and lock connectors on the upper surface portions of the blades and arms , the hook and loop connectors can be positioned on the sides of these components , or on the bottom of these components , as needed . while the locking techniques are shown with one component on one member and another component on another member , the component locations can be switched and their locations can be varied as desired and needed for the particular application used . additionally , the hook and lock blades can be easily removed by reversing any of the assembly steps described in reference to the embodiments described above . although the hook connectors and lock connectors are shown as being formed from separate piece components , the hook and lock connectors can include less and more components , and also be formed from injection molded plastic and the like , where the components are formed with the rotors or the arms or the blades or on protruding portions of the blades , and the like . for example , although some fasteners are shown for some of the pre - attached components in the preceding figures , some or all of these fasteners can be eliminated as needed by techniques such as injection molded plastics , and the like . the subject invention can also be packed and stored in similar boxes and packaging as u . s . pat . no . 6 , 213 , 716 to bucher et al ., the same assignees and inventors as that of the subject invention . for example , the blades of the subject invention can be stored vertically with their interior ends adjacent to the rotor / motor of the ceiling fans . additionally , the subject invention fan blades can be laid in a sandwich pattern above , below or both above and below the motor component in a packing box . while the invention has been described , disclosed , illustrated and shown in various terms of certain embodiments or modifications which it has presumed in practice , the scope of the invention is not intended to be , nor should it be deemed to be , limited thereby and such other modifications or embodiments as may be suggested by the teachings herein are particularly reserved especially as they fall within the breadth and scope of the claims here appended . | 5 |
the spacecraft shown in fig3 has thrusters t1 , t2 arranged in the same way as for the spacecraft shown schematically in fig2 i . e . the thrust acts through the centre of gravity of the spacecraft . it is standard practice in spacecraft to double - up on systems in order to minimise the risk of the spacecraft failing through failure at a single point and , to this end , redundant thrusters t3 and t4 , also acting through the centre of gravity of the spacecraft are also provided . the latter thrusters do not come into operation unless one or both of the primary thrusters t1 , t2 fails . the thrusters t1 to t4 are supplied with propellant from a tank 1 of propellant via respective valves v1 , v2 , v3 and v4 . valves v1 and v2 are operated by a switch s1 controlled by a power supply unit psu1 , which also supplies the thrusters t1 and t2 in order to provide , inter alia , a supply to the electrodes of the thrusters . redundant thrusters t3 and t4 are powered by redundant power supply unit 2 , which also controls switch s3 for controlling the valves v3 , v4 of the redundant thrusters . in operation , switching of switch s1 opens only valve vl or v2 at any one time , in order to power respective thruster t1 or t2 . the same applies for redundant thrusters t3 and t4 if they are brought into operation . a conventional spacecraft would have a dedicated power supply unit for each of the four thrusters , greatly increasing the weight of the spacecraft and reducing the weight of the payload . the thrusters t1 to t4 may be ion thrusters , described in more detail with reference to fig5 which relies on an exhaust of accelerated propellant ions to produce thrust , or it may be an arc - jet thruster , or other electrically - powered thruster which relies on a separate power supply unit . the arc - jet is described in more detail with reference to fig4 in which case the propellant exhaust velocity is increased by heating of the propellant gas by means of an arc struck between two electrodes . ( unlike ion thrusters , in which more ionisation implies more thrust , ionisation in arc - jets , while necessary for the flow of current which causes the heating of the propellant , should be kept to a minimum because more ionisation requires more power which is a loss and does not produce a proportional increase in thrust ). in all cases , the thrusters do not operate unless current flows through the propellant and , while it would be inconvenient to switch the electrodes on and off , since there are large potential differences between them and breakdown of the switching contacts could be caused , it is simply necessary to stop the flow of propellant to the relevant thruster because current is not drawn ( except for negligible currents drawn through leakage paths ) from the electrodes even when they are energised at their usual potential in the absence of propellant , because the current flows through the ionised propellant . thus , the electrodes of all the thrusters are energised , i . e . charged , when one thruster is brought into operation . the thruster which draws electrical power and produces thrust is the one which receives propellant . it may , however , be found to be desirable to switch on and off supplies to purely resistive loads such as cathode heaters and electro - magnets . since these would be low voltage supplies , the risk of contact breakdown is minimal in this case . the propellant may be xenon , argon or krypton , and may be stored in liquid form , or may be a solid such as caesium or mercury which is vapourised when heated . fig4 shows an arc - jet thruster suitable for use in the configuration of fig3 . the arc - jet is supplied with hydrazine ( n 2 h 4 ) from pipe 5 into a valve 2 which supplies a catalyst bed 3 via an injector 6 . the hydrazine dissociates on contact with the catalyst bed into ammonia , nitrogen and hydrogen , and the gases exhaust through the nozzle 4 . to switch the arc - jet on and off , it is simply necessary to switch the valve 2 on and off , and it is not necessary to switch off the supply to the electrode 6 , 7 , since current cannot be drawn from these electrodes if there is no flow of gases between them . alternative propellants to hydrazine could be used . fig5 shows in more detail the application of the arrangement shown in fig3 to the case of ion thrusters . the general configuration of the ion thruster will not be described in detail because it is known and has , for example previously been described in our british patent application no . 2 , 248 , 727 . briefly , the ion thruster t1 comprises a discharge chamber 8 to which propellant is supplied from a pipe 9 via a valve 10 and via further valves 11 , 12 and 33 to form respective main propellant flows , cathode propellant flows , and neutraliser propellant flows . the arc is initially struck in the ion thruster by providing a potential difference between hollow cathode 13 and cathode keeper 14 and electrons flow to annular anode 15 through a magnetic field generated by electro - magnets 16 , 17 which cause the electrons to undergo a spiralling path and increase the probability of collision with main propellant flow through opening 18 to provide the main ion beam . the latter passes through the perforated end of the discharge chamber 8a and through a perforated accelerator grid 19 which is maintained highly negative relative to the discharge chamber to accelerate the ion beam and hence provide the thrust of the thruster . the accelerator grid 19 ensures that there is a low divergence to the ion beam , hence preventing electrons from being attracted with the thruster . the resulting positive ion beam emerging from the thruster is neutralised by the further propellant flow through valve 13 and hollow cathode 20 . an arc is struck between hollow cathode 20 and cathode keeper 21 to generate an electron flow . the power supply unit psu1 feeds a number of subsidiary power supply units for the electrodes , as follows : the negative accelerator grid 22 , the beam power supply unit 23 , the cathode heater 24 , the cathode keeper unit power supply unit 25 , the anode power supply unit 26 , the solenoid power supply unit 27 , the neutraliser cathode heater 28 and the neutraliser keeper power supply unit 29 . all three propellant flows are controlled by control means 30 - 32 acting on control valves 11 to 12 and 13 , respectively . the power supply unit i also powers a thruster t2 provided with identical control circuitry to the left of power supply unit psu1 , but only the accelerator grid power supply unit 22a and beam power supply unit 23a have been shown . when thruster t1 is operating and it is desired to stop it , it is simply necessary to open contact s5 , which shuts valve 10 , and thruster t1 then ceases to draw the heavy beam current because there is no electron flow to the annular anode 15 because there is no propellant in the thruster to be ionised . a small current would nevertheless be drawn from cathode heater power supply unit 24 neutraliser cathode heater power supply unit 28 and via electro - magnets 17 and 18 from their power supply unit 27 and , for this reason , further switches s4 , s6 and s7 are provided to switch these power supplies off as well . switches s4 to s7 are for convenience ganged together . it will be noticed that the accelerator grid power supply unit , beam power supply unit , anode power supply unit and cathode keeper power supply unit remain connected , because no current will be drawn from them . the same psu1 also supplies power to thruster t2 , but the heaters , the electro - magnets and the propellant valve 10a may be switched off via switches identical to the switches s4 to s7 , and this thruster is brought into operation by closure of the switches . power supply unit psu1 could be supplied by the solar panels of the spacecraft or by an onboard battery charged by the solar panels . the various voltages provided within psu1 are conveniently provided by a switched mode power converter . of course ion thrusters generally have dedicated power supplies and the single power supply for the two thrusters could provide non - ideal electrode potentials . the power supply therefore includes active control of the thruster by means of control loops corresponding to the three propellant flows described , magnet current adjustment and anode current adjustment . thus , to get constant thrust , constant beam current from beam power supply unit 23 must be attained , and this is achieved by monitoring that current through a series resistor with control means 30 to vary the propellant flow by means of control valve 11 and / or magnet current by adjusting power supply unit 27 . the voltage difference between the anode power supply unit 26 ( constant current ) and the cathode keeper power supply unit 25 ( constant current ) is held fixed by adjusting the cathode propellant flow via control means 31 and control valve 12 , in order to ensure optimum propellant utilisation . the voltage difference between the neutraliser keeper 21 and the neutraliser cathode 20 , caused by the neutraliser keeper power supply unit 29 in constant current mode , is held constant to maintain fixed neutraliser plasma conditions whilst minimising neutraliser dissipation , thus optimising neutraliser life by controlling the neutraliser cathode propellant flow rate via control means 32 and control valve 33 . as an alternative to the use of active control loops , it would be possible to run two thrusters by setting up the power supply output to switch between two ( or more ) set points according to which thruster is in use . further thrusters , e . g . t5 , t6 for east - west station keeping may also be supplied from power supply unit psu1 , it again being necessary that only one of the thrusters t1 , t2 , t5 , t6 should be powered at any one time . if desired , however , switches s4 , s6 and s7 could be omitted and connections to these power supply units made permanent , since the current drawn from these power supplies will only be small in practice . as stated above , the invention is also applicable to an arrangement in which the ionised propellant is accelerated by means of a strong magnetic field , and active control of the thruster as described above may again be used , or alternatively set - point operation of more than one thruster is possible from one power supply . | 1 |
referring to the figures , there is shown a single blade 12 of a propeller 10 . the propeller 10 has a plurality of such blades 12 extending outwardly from a hub 14 . typically , a propeller 10 may have five or six blades 12 , however it will be appreciated that the present invention may be applied to propellers having any desired number of blades . the propeller 10 has a low - pressure or upstream side 16 and a high pressure or downstream side 18 . the blades 12 are all substantially similar in shape and configuration . each blade 12 has a high pressure face 20 substantially oriented towards the downstream side 18 of the propeller 10 , and a low pressure face 22 substantially oriented towards the upstream side 16 of the propeller 10 . each blade 12 has a leading edge 24 , a trailing edge 26 , and an inner edge 30 . the inner edge 30 of each blade 12 is joined to the hub 14 . the leading edge 24 forms a convex curve extending from the inner edge 30 to an outermost part of the propeller 10 . in the embodiment of the drawings the trailing edge 26 forms a generally concave curve from the inner edge 30 to the outermost part of the propeller . the curvature of the leading edge 24 is significantly greater than that of the trailing edge 26 , thus defining a bulbous shape for the faces 20 , 22 of the blade . in the embodiment shown in the drawings , each blade 12 curves away from the hub 14 , as best seen in fig2 . the inner edge 30 is oriented relatively along the hub 14 , making a blade angle relative to a longitudinal direction of the hub 14 . the blade angle will vary with distance from the boss and nominal design pitch . at its most curved outer portion , the leading edge 24 makes an angle of about 65 ° relative to a longitudinal direction of the hub 14 . it will be appreciated that all parameters of the propeller 10 as above described are substantially set during casting of the propeller . as such , they may be chosen and engineered to suit a particular application . the advantage of the present invention lies in the ability to modify the properties of the propeller without changing the engineered shape and configuration . each blade 12 includes an attachment portion in the form of a channel 32 . in a preferred embodiment , as shown in the drawings , the channel 32 is located on the high pressure face 20 of the blade adjacent to , but slightly spaced from , the trailing edge 26 . in the embodiment of the drawings the channel extends from a first end 34 , near the inner edge 30 , to a second end 36 , near the outermost end of the trailing edge 26 . the channel 32 substantially follows the contour of the trailing edge 26 . in particular , the channel 32 has a concave curve at its outer end 36 , following the contour of the trailing edge 26 as it meets the leading edge 24 . in the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings , the first end 34 is located at a point with a radial distance about 0 . 3 of the propeller radius . the second end 36 is located at a point with a radial distance about 0 . 925 of the propeller radius . as can be best seen in fig6 , the low pressure face 22 tapers towards the high pressure face 20 of the blade 12 at the trailing edge 26 . the channel 32 is located just inside this taper , within the full blade thickness . in the embodiment shown in the drawings the channel 32 is spaced about 15 mm from the trailing edge 26 , with the channel having a thickness of about 5 mm . in a preferred embodiment , as shown in the drawings , the channel 32 is in the shape of a ‘ dove - tail ’, as best seen in fig6 . the dove - tail has sides 37 oriented at about 60 ° to the surface of the high pressure face 20 . the channel has a base 35 substantially parallel to the surface of the high pressure face 20 . in the embodiment shown in the drawings , the channel 32 has a depth of about 3 . 4 mm , being about half the blade thickness . the channel 32 includes an introducing region 38 at the first end , the introducing region 38 being substantially rectangular in cross section , and being wider than the remainder of the channel 32 . the introducing region 38 is tapered in depth , from the surface of the high pressure face 20 to the depth of the remainder of the channel 32 . the channel 32 is arranged to receive an adjustment means in the form of a protruding strip 40 . a suitable protruding strip 40 can be seen in cross section in fig6 . the protruding strip 40 is elongate , and of substantially constant cross - sectional shape . it comprises an engaging portion 42 and an outwardly projecting portion 44 . the engaging portion 42 is complementary in shape to the channel 32 . in the embodiment of the drawings this is a ‘ dove - tail ’ configuration , but it will be appreciated that other configurations may be used . the outwardly projecting portion 44 extends away from the engaging portion 42 such that , when the engaging portion 42 is engaged within the channel 32 , the outwardly projecting portion 44 juts outwardly from the high pressure face 20 . in the arrangement of the drawings the outwardly projecting portion 44 is the protruding strip 40 may be made of any suitable material . possible materials include both nylon and polyurethane . the protruding strip 40 may be engaged with the channel 32 by sliding engagement . the strip 40 is introduced into the channel 32 through the introducing region 38 . the effect of the engagement of the protruding strip 40 into the channel 32 is to alter the hydrodynamic properties of the blade 12 and thus the propeller 10 . in particular , the engagement of strips 40 into each blade 12 has the effect of increasing the effective pitch of the propeller 10 . rather than water flowing over the propeller from the leading edge 24 to the trailing edge 26 in a substantially laminar fashion , the flow is instead from the leading edge 24 to an upper edge 46 of the outwardly projecting portion 44 . this reduces the angle of water flow relative to the longitudinal direction of the hub 14 , effectively increasing the pitch of the propeller 10 . it will be appreciated that the degree to which the effective pitch is altered is directly relative to the height of the outwardly projecting portion 44 . trials have suggested that the effective pitch is varied by two mechanisms , the altering of pitch due to the change in angle between the leading edge 24 and the upper edge 46 as discussed above , and also the pressure concentration along a leading face of the outwardly projecting portion 44 , causing a change in the direction of fluid flow . testing of propellers similar to those described above and shown in the drawings has suggested that the latter effect may be represented by pitch change due to deflection ( p d ) as a linear function of projecting portion height ( h t ). the measured relationship in tests conducted by the applicant is p d ( mm )= 45 + 25 . 4 ( h t − 1 ). this relationship is consistent for results for projecting portions having h t between 0 . 5 mm and 4 mm . as will be appreciated , this relationship suggests that the inclusion of a small projecting portion can still alter pitch by at least 20 mm . the total change in effective pitch is equal to a superposition of the pitch caused by angular increase ( p i ) and pitch change due to deflection ( p d ). the effective pitch ( p e ( r ) mm ) at a radius r ( mm ) is thus defined by p e ( r )= p d + tan ( α p + α i )· 2πr , in pitch angle . the total change in effective pitch over the blade can be obtained by averaging over a range of radii . it will be understood that the length of the channel 32 , and the location of its ends 34 and 36 , will significantly affect the change in hydrodynamic properties caused by use of the strips 40 . it is considered that having the curve at the second end 36 of the channel 32 increases the deflection effect caused by water pressure . it is also considered that having the lift generated by the portion of the blade close to the hub 14 is small , and therefore the position of the first end 34 of the channel may not be as significant . in use , it is anticipated that a propeller 10 will be supplied with a plurality of sets of protruding strips 40 , each set varying from another by the height of its projecting portions 44 . in this way , the effective pitch can be chosen according to the conditions in which the propeller 10 is to operate . the procedure for constructing a propeller begins by consideration of a desired mean pitch . when this has been determined , the above equation can be implemented to design a propeller having a nominal pitch less than the desired mean , but which achieves the desired mean with use of a strip having a projecting portion of , for instance , 1 . 5 mm . following casting of the propeller 10 , an appropriate channel 32 can then be machined into each propeller blade 14 . following completion of the machining process , an initial strip 40 ( with 1 . 5 mm height in this example ) can be inserted into the channel 32 . whilst the invention has been described with reference to the changing of pitch , it will be appreciated that suitable placement of the channel 32 may enable the invention to be used to vary other hydrodynamic properties of the blades 12 . it may be possible , for instance , to employ the invention on the low pressure face 22 to reduce or control the onset of cavitation . modifications and variations as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention . for instance , although perpendicularly to the high pressure face 20 , it will be appreciated that in some applications it may be desirable for the projecting portion 44 to make an acute or obtuse angle relative to the face from which it extends . | 1 |
fig1 shows a block diagram of an apparatus embodiment 10 for testing coolant recirculation systems , made in accordance with the invention . the apparatus 10 includes a monitoring unit portion 20 , which connects into an existing closed - loop heat - exchanger system 50 that uses chilled coolant to remove heat generated by heat - generating equipment 40 , such as high - power lasers , semiconductor processing equipment , high - power radio - frequency ( rf ) transmitters , or weapons systems . as shown in fig1 the monitoring unit portion 20 of apparatus 10 includes a mass flow sensor 80 , at least one pressure sensor 100 , and at least one temperature sensor 90 . these instruments are used to sense temperature , pressure , and flow rate . several methods are used in industry for measuring flow rates of liquids , including the differential pressure , turbine , coriolis mass , magnetic , positive displacement , ultrasonic , and vortex methods . the flow meter portion of the present apparatus may consist of commercially available flow - measuring instrumentation which has been built or modified to require only a single pipe penetration to monitor flow rate , static pressure , and temperature . in addition , the apparatus contains a data logger 70 that allows the user to track and record the sensed parameters over time . having the recorded parameter values , the user can create tables and trend plots , utilizing routines that are resident in the data logger or in a computer 60 , which may have a display 65 . thus , the data can be transferred , e . g ., by a serial i / o connection 75 to a computer 60 , such as a general purpose computer programmable with instructions to perform a variety of analyses . computer 60 may be integral with the apparatus or may be remotely located . the functions of data logger 70 may be performed by computer 60 , i . e ., data logger 70 may be integral with computer 60 , its functions being performed by a software program operable by computer 60 . in that case , serial i / o connection 75 may not be necessary and may be omitted or used for another purpose . the apparatus also comprises one or more heat - load emulators 30 ( i . e ., dummy heat loads ). data logger 70 may include meter transmitters powered by a 25 vdc power supply . primary power source 110 may be conventional ac power or batteries . typically , the facility &# 39 ; s chilled water supply is connected to the supply inlet leg 51 . the outlet port in the return leg 52 will be connected to the return piping for the same chilled water system . the heat - load emulator ( s ) 30 are connected between the supply outlet port 31 and the return inlet port 32 . a throttle valve 85 may be provided in supply inlet line 51 . an isolation valve 95 may be provided in return line 52 . heat - load emulator ( s ) 30 may be controlled by computer 60 or its equivalent through a control connection 35 . equivalents to computer 60 in this context include digital signal processors , programmable controllers , and embedded controllers such as embedded microcomputers , each being programmed to provide suitable control functions , described below . for various purposes , heat - load emulator ( s ) 30 may be connected either in parallel with heat - generating equipment 40 , as shown in fig1 in series with heat - generating equipment 40 , or in substitution for heat - generating equipment 40 . the latter substitutional mode is especially useful for preparing a coolant recirculation system for cooling heat - generating equipment 40 that is not yet available . for example , heat - generating equipment 40 itself may not yet be fabricated or even fully developed . for a given flow rate , the desired heat output is determined by calculating a differential temperature required for a specific output using a conventional known energy equations . the outlet temperature is set ( e . g ., by a thermostat ) to a value equivalent to the cumulative sum of the calculated differential and the inlet supply temperatures . fig2 shows a more detailed block diagram of apparatus 10 for testing coolant recirculation systems . the monitoring unit portion 20 , heat - load emulator 30 , supply outlet port 31 , return inlet port 32 , heat - generating equipment 40 , existing closed - loop coolant - recirculating system 50 to be tested , supply inlet line 51 , return line 52 , computer 60 , serial i / o connection 75 , throttle valve 85 , and isolation valve 95 all correspond to the elements having the same reference numerals in fig1 . in the following detailed description , specific sensors are described , corresponding to mass flow sensor 80 , pressure sensor 100 , and temperature sensor 90 of fig1 . coolant - recirculating system 50 has a heat exchanger 53 . as mentioned above , heat - load emulator 30 may be substituted for actual heat - generating equipment 40 in some circumstances . in the embodiment shown in fig2 data logger 70 is a signal processor which also receives inputs from temperature sensor 86 , mass flow sensor 87 , pressure sensor 88 , differential temperature sensor 96 , differential flow sensor 97 , and differential pressure sensor 98 . additional temperature sensors 89 and 91 are used to directly monitor temperatures of the heat exchanger 53 and / or heat - generating equipment 40 respectively . a programmable logic controller ( plc ) 71 or functional equivalent can increase or decrease water temperature . another plc 72 can trigger an alarm 77 and / or shut down the system if necessary . other plc &# 39 ; s 73 and / or 74 can select heat - load emulator 30 and / or additional heat - generating equipment 41 and / or 42 . each of the additional heat - generating equipment 41 and / or 42 can have a dedicated individual monitoring unit , e . g ., 21 , 22 , or 23 . another plc 76 can increase or decrease flow . the apparatus shown in fig1 and 2 and described above is especially adapted for use in the methods described below . fig3 shows a flow diagram of a method for testing coolant recirculation systems , performed in accordance with the invention . the overall method evaluates heat removal capacity of a coolant - recirculating heat exchanger system , by performing the steps of : s 1 providing a heat load having an inlet and an outlet , s 2 measuring coolant flow rate , s 3 measuring coolant temperature at the inlet and recording an inlet temperature , s 4 measuring coolant temperature at the outlet and recording an outlet temperature , and s 5 using the coolant flow rate , inlet temperature , and outlet temperature to calculate heat removal capacity of the system . optionally , according to the purpose and circumstances of the testing , a step s 6 may be performed of measuring one or more suitable temperatures of apparatus to be cooled by the coolant - recirculating heat exchanger system . to determine the maximum heat removal capacity of the system , the heat load of step s 1 is increased ( step s 7 ) and steps s 2 through s 5 are repeated , while monitoring a predetermined parameter sensitive to heat . when the predetermined heat - sensitive parameter reaches a predetermined threshold , the maximum heat removal capacity is recorded ( step s 8 ). the predetermined parameter sensitive to heat that is monitored in step s 7 may be the temperature measured in step s 6 at apparatus to be cooled by the coolant - recirculating heat exchanger system , and its predetermined threshold may simply be the maximum nominal apparatus temperature . or , for another example , the predetermined parameter sensitive to heat that is monitored in step s 7 may be a parameter of a product produced by the apparatus being cooled by the coolant - recirculating heat exchanger system . if , as mentioned above , a heat - load emulator 30 is substituted for the apparatus to be cooled , its heat load is the heat that is increased in step s 7 , and the predetermined parameter sensitive to heat that is monitored in step s 7 may be the coolant return temperature , for example . in situations where a heat - load emulator 30 is provided in parallel or in series with the apparatus to be cooled , again the heat load of heat - load emulator 30 is increased in step s 7 , and the predetermined parameter sensitive to heat that is monitored in step s 7 may again be the coolant return temperature , or may be a temperature of the apparatus to be cooled , or a parameter of a product produced by the apparatus being cooled , etc . in some cases , the threshold that triggers recording and reporting of the maximum heat removal capacity my be a minimum limit of the monitored parameter , rather than a maximum limit . the parameters of flow rate , pressure , and temperature ( s ) are monitored and recorded at programmable time intervals to the data logger for the inlet coolant coming through the supply leg from the facility &# 39 ; s chilled - coolant system . the coolant passes into the inlet port where it is heated to a specified temperature as set on a thermostat control . the heated coolant exits the heat - load emulator unit &# 39 ; s outlet port and enters the inlet of the return leg . the heated coolant temperature and pressure parameters are measured and recorded to the data logger as the water passes through to be returned to the facility &# 39 ; s chilled water system . the flow rates through the loop are varied with a throttle valve 85 in the inlet supply leg . the maximum heat removal capacity of coolant - recirculating heat exchanger system 50 is determined by increasing the heat load of heat - load emulator ( s ) 30 until a predetermined parameter limit is reached . some examples of such predetermined parameter limits are a maximum outlet coolant temperature , t out ( max ), a maximum operating temperature within heat - generating equipment 40 , t oper ( max ), and an out - of - tolerance value for a critical variable observed in use of heat - generating equipment 40 . a particular example of the latter type of variable is a critical dimension in semiconductor products made by semiconductor processing equipment cooled by coolant - recirculating system 50 . the calculation performed in step s 5 is based on a known relationship ( derived from the continuity of mass flow ): q in t = m f c p ( t out - t in ) - m f p ( 1 ) dq in / dt is the capacity in units of heat per unit time ( e . g ., btu / min . ), m f is the mass flow rate of the coolant ( e . g ., gallons per minute , gpm ), c p is the known heat capacity of the coolant substance , t out and t in are the outlet and inlet coolant temperatures respectively (° c . ), and fig4 shows a flow chart of a computer - aided method used in an embodiment of the invention , implementing the overall method described above in connection with fig2 . as shown in fig4 the computer - aided method comprises steps s 10 through s 46 , including nominal start and end steps ( s 10 and s 46 ). these steps are summarized in table 1 , following . in fig4 decision steps are conventionally denoted by diamond - shaped blocks with y and n denoting “ yes ” and “ no ” respectively ; the flow to actions taken at these steps are listed in table 1 under the headings “ if yes ” and “ if no .” tables 1 and 2 below list various steps employed , the action or decision taken in each step , and ( if a decision ) the result for a yes or no decision . fig5 and 6 show diagrams illustrating visual basic code and activex controls performing an embodiment of methods in accordance with the invention . steps s 200 - s 410 ( fig5 ) and s 500 - s 585 ( fig6 ) are listed in table 2 below . the invention will be further clarified by considering the following working example , which is intended to be purely exemplary of the use of the invention . a prototype system was made to verify the methods described and to test the system for a coolant recirculation system used in a high - power laser application . to ensure accuracy within the typical flow rate range , calculations were performed to establish the design boundaries for this application . the following information in table 3 itemizes the values for parameters and physical properties applicable to the system : the prototype system has two 24 kw electrically driven heat - load emulators or heat - generation units connected in parallel , allowing a heat - load emulation range of 0 to 48 kw . the heater elements are thermostatically controlled via the outlet temperature , so that the heat generation can be adjusted within a range from 0 to 48 kw . the adjustment range can of course be varied by varying the number and power of the heat - load emulators . the prototype system also includes an instrumentation unit interconnected with the heat - load emulator with 0 . 75 inch flexible hose with threaded female hose connectors compatible with an existing heat exchanger . the instrumentation unit has a supply leg and a return leg . each leg has an inlet and an outlet port having 0 . 75 inch threaded male ( hose ) pipe ends . valves are installed on the inlet / outlet ports as required for flow throttling and isolation during the attachment and / or removal from the facility &# 39 ; s chilled water system hook - ups . the supply leg has a multi - variable meter for measuring flow rate , supply pressure , and supply temperature with only one intrusion into the existing piping assembly . the return leg has two taps , for a pressure transmitter and thermistor ( or rtd ) which monitored pressure and temperature respectively . the analog output signals from the instrumentation in each leg is connected to a data logger for storing sequential information on the individual parameters being monitored . also , there is a power supply within the case , providing the required 25 volt dc voltage to the meter transmitters . this prototype system also requires a 3 - phase 480 volt external ac power source . the system is made of suitable size and weight so that it can be easily transported to a desired site for evaluating an existing chilled coolant system using various heat loads / flow rates for an extended time period . system parameters can be monitored and recorded at specific time intervals during this period . a general - purpose computer retrieves data from the data logger for plotting the performance trend of each parameter . from these trends , the system operation is evaluated as to capability and limitations for the chilled coolant supply . operational data from an existing heat exchanger ( used for a high - power laser system ) was reviewed , and the actual ranges and limits were established for the process parameters to be controlled and monitored . this review produced the following results for the chilled water supply / return connected to the existing heat exchanger ( table 4 ): the 55 kw upper limit was the maximum heat dissipation produced by the current / voltage capacity of the laser power supply . in this application , a portion of this energy is utilized by the laser , and a portion is radiated and / or convected to the local environment . it is estimated that only 50 % to 75 % of the heat generated was dissipated via the heat exchanger . for this working example of the present invention , commercially available instrumentation was modified as described above to provide a versatile meter which can measure multiple parameters . the modified instrumentation required only one penetration into the piping system for monitoring flow rate , static pressure , and temperature . the unit is comprised of a transmitter for calculating a fully compensated flow rate and formatting the data into a standard 4 to 20 milliampere output signal , and a primary element containing a flow meter sensor consisting of two annubars ( high and low pressure ) and a rtd thermowell within a threaded pipe section of 0 . 75 inch diameter . the transmitter is mounted on the primary element via a manifold interface with isolation valves for ease in disassembly . in the piping assembly , the transmitter is mounted so as to ensure proper venting . in order to ensure a fully developed flow profile for accurate measurement , an installation that maintains a straight run of piping eight pipe diameters in length upstream of the sensor and four pipe diameters in length downstream of the sensor is recommended . the output signal from the flowmeter assembly described above is connected to a tri - loop analog signal converter . with such a connection , the three primary signals associated with the measured parameters ( flow , pressure , and temperature ) are separately provided . the individual data for each parameter can be sent to a data logger for recording and storage . programmed into the transmitter electronics are the specified ranges of each measured parameter , conversion factors , settings , etc . furthermore , the output signal is calibrated for the low and high values of each range . to change any of the ranges and application settings , the transmitter can be reprogrammed in the field or at the factory , using suitable software and suitable conventional communication connections . thus , in using the apparatus of the present invention , the heat removal capacity of a coolant - recirculating heat exchanger system is evaluated by providing a heat load having an inlet and an outlet , measuring coolant flow rate , measuring coolant temperature at the inlet and recording an inlet temperature , measuring coolant temperature at the outlet and recording an outlet temperature , and using the coolant flow rate , inlet temperature , and outlet temperature to calculate heat removal capacity . the heat load may be the actual equipment to be cooled by the coolant - recirculating heat exchanger system , or it may be one or more heaters for emulating the equipment to be cooled by the heat exchanger system . the parameter measurements may be repeated at predetermined time intervals while recording the coolant flow rate , inlet temperature , and outlet temperature for each time interval . the heat removal capacity may also be calculated for each time interval . the heat removal capacity may thus be characterized as a function of time . such a time - dependent characterization is useful when various heat loads are varying or are being put into operation or shut down during the test period . the apparatus may also be used by measuring coolant pressure at the inlet and outlet , recording inlet and outlet pressures , and subtracting the outlet pressure from the inlet pressure to determine pressure drop across the heat load . again , the measurements of pressure and pressure drop can be repeated at predetermined time intervals while recording the inlet pressure and outlet pressure for each time interval to characterize pressure stability of the coolant - recirculating heat exchanger system . the apparatus and methods of the present invention are useful for testing , characterizing , and monitoring coolant recirculation systems in industrial applications . in use , the apparatus is connected into an existing heat - exchanger system ( either in place of the intended equipment to be cooled or in addition to existing equipment ). the actual flow rates , temperatures , and pressures are measured and logged by the data logger , at suitable predetermined programmable intervals , over a period that may include a number of days . logged data is analyzed by the computer , using known energy - transfer calculations , to provide various functions , e . g ., a ) informing a user about performance of a system by using spreadsheets and / or charts to display the data and derived parameters ; b ) informing a user about trends occurring in the existing heat - exchanger system , such as peak heat loads at certain times of the day , etc . ; c ) determining whether or not the existing heat - exchanger system has the actual capacity needed for new equipment to be installed ; and d ) verifying experimentally that an existing heat - exchanger system can actually handle a particular intended new heat load . this latter application is generally much more cost - effective than installing the actual planned equipment , and can be done before installing the planned equipment , to prevent delays and downtime when actual equipment is delivered and installed , and to prevent unexpected inadequate performance . from the foregoing description , one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention , and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof , can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions . other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of this specification or from practice of the invention disclosed herein . for example , the slope of a change or trend in coolant system parameters may be calculated in real time , so that the monitoring system can initiate a control action before a critical parameter is exceeded . for another example , logged data may be recorded in a storage medium such as a diskette , and the logged data may be analyzed offline using a general purpose computer . for yet another example , the data logger and / or computer may be disposed remotely from the system being characterized and connected to it only by network connections , such as the internet . this latter capability allows the cooling system to be remotely monitored and controlled by factory engineers and technicians . it is intended that the specification and examples disclosed herein be considered as exemplary only , with the true scope and spirit of the invention being defined by the following claims . accordingly , the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated , but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents . | 6 |
disclosed are a series of devices for concentrating aerosol particles from intake gas into small liquid volumes that are primarily intended for analysis of aerosol particles in air or other gases . the devices comprise : an air inlet ; solid surface ( s ) for collection of particles ; a water droplet dispenser ; and means of perambulating the droplet ( s ) formed by said dispenser across said solid surface ( s ). the devices can also optionally comprise : means of aerosol concentration ; means of particle size separation ; means of electrically charging aerosol particles ; and / or means of forcing air through an air path , at least partially formed by said air inlet and said solid surface . in one embodiment , the sample collector comprises an air inlet with a passthrough corona discharge arrangement ; an inlet air duct with parallel electrodes on opposite sides ; one or more louvers subdividing the airflow into multiple ducts ; at least one system of parallel plates forming some of the walls of said ducts and / or positioned parallel to said walls ; means of applying controlled charge to said plates , such as known high - voltage circuits ; and means of actuating the airflow , such as fans , vacuum pumps , and / or venturi tubes . it further comprises a droplet dispenser and a mechanical scanning means of moving a needle with a droplet ( or multiple needles with droplets ) attached to the needle ( s ) in a pattern over a plate with the droplet touching the plate as it moves over it . the pattern is preferably a meander pattern chosen to cover substantially the entire area of expected electrostatic deposition of aerosol particles , and its pitch should not exceed the width of the droplet footprint on the plate . the area of expected electrostatic deposition of aerosol particles should be made hydrophobic by choosing the appropriate hydrophobic material or applying a hydrophobic coating . fig1 shows an aerosol sample collector illustrating ( a ) collection of particles on a plate ; and ( b ) collection from plate into a droplet . this embodiment is operated as follows . during the first phase of operation , shown in fig1 ( a ), airflow is pulled through the air inlet 100 and past the corona charger 101 . aerosol particles in the airstream become charged . deflection plates 102 on both sides of the first air duct are charged to a high voltage of the same polarity as the particle charge , thus focusing the particles in the center of the airstream . louvers 103 deflect the portion of the airflow containing no particles away from the second air duct , which is formed by another of the deflection plates 102 and a collection plate 104 . the collection plate 104 , which should be made hydrophobic by an appropriate choice of material , surface coating ( or surface treatment ), is charged to a high voltage of opposite polarity to that of the particles , so that the particles are electrostatically attracted to the plate 104 and captured there . the airflow is actuated by a fan ( not shown ) in the airstream deflected by louvers 104 , and the airstream in the second air duct is connected to that airflow through a venturi tube , providing for an appropriate flow - rate ratio . after completion of a sampling period of a specified duration , a mechanical motion 105 is used to bring needle 106 , attached to liquid handling mechanism 107 , into proximity with the plate 104 . if necessary , some of the louvers 103 , plates 102 , and other parts may be repositioned to allow sufficient clearance , as shown in fig1 ( b ). droplet 108 of collection liquid is brought in contact with plate 104 , and motion 105 perambulates the droplet across substantially the entire area of particle deposition within the plate 104 . after the perambulation is complete , the droplet 108 can be sucked back into the needle 108 , or detached from it for further processing . fig2 shows an electrowetting - based collection mechanism . the mechanical scanning means are replaced with a plate carrying electrodes for electrowetting - based actuation of droplets . in a further variant , the electrode - carrying plate is the same as one of the charged plates , and is equipped with the means for controlling the distance from it to the opposing charged plate where the particles are collected . if electrowetting - based droplet actuation is employed , the device may be operated as follows . the first phase of operation is as described above . for the second phase , collection liquid is presented by the liquid handling mechanism 107 through needle ( s ) 200 to an electrowetting plate ( s ). the electrowetting plate ( s ) carries a pattern of electrodes 201 that can be controlled so as to transfer the droplet from one electrode ( or group of electrodes ) to the next . the electrodes are covered with a dielectric layer , which should be made hydrophobic by an appropriate choice of material , surface coating , or surface treatment . electrodes on the electrowetting plate are actuated to effect detachment of the droplet ( s ) 108 from the needle ( s ) 106 , optionally in conjunction with pulling collection liquid back through the needle ( s ) 106 by the liquid handling mechanism 107 . the droplet ( s ) are further actuated to effect movement of the droplet ( s ) along a predetermined path to perambulate the droplet ( s ) across substantially the entire area of particle deposition within the plate 202 . after the perambulation is complete , the droplet ( s ) 108 can be sucked back into the needle ( s ) 106 , or detached from the electrowetting plate by another mechanism , such as gravity . if gravity collection of droplets is employed , the active side of the electrowetting plate should be facing down , and the plate should be positioned to create an overhang over the collection plate ( s ) 202 . in another embodiment , the sample collector comprises : an air inlet ; filter , or multiple filters , for collecting aerosol particles ; a droplet dispenser and a mechanical scanning means moving a needle with a droplet ( or multiple needles with droplets ) attached to the needle ( s ) in a pattern over the filter ( s ) with the droplet touching the filter ( s ) as it moves over them . the chosen pattern should cover substantially the entire area of the filter ( s ), and its pitch should not exceed the width of the droplet footprint on the plate . in a variant of this embodiment , the filters are attached to porous backing material to improve rigidity and flatness . in another variant , the filter ( s ) themselves are moveable . in a further variant , both the filters and the droplet are moveable in complementary patterns ; for example , a filter in the shape of a disc rotates around its axis , and the droplet scans along its radius . the filters should be surface filters , and they should be made hydrophobic by appropriate choice of material , coating , and / or surface treatment . optionally , the sample collector disclosed in this invention can also comprise additional modules for controlling and / or measuring airflow and preconcentrating and / or preselecting aerosol particles of certain size ranges , including , but not limited to , cyclones , electrocyclones , virtual impactors , actuated louvers and flowmeters . for examples of droplet actuator architectures suitable for use with the present invention , see u . s . pat . no . 6 , 911 , 132 , entitled “ apparatus for manipulating droplets by electrowetting - based techniques ,” issued on jun . 28 , 2005 to pamula et al . ; u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 343 , 284 , entitled “ apparatuses and methods for manipulating droplets on a printed circuit board ,” filed on filed on jan . 30 , 2006 ; u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 773 , 566 , entitled “ electrostatic actuators for microfluidics and methods for using same ,” issued on aug . 10 , 2004 and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 565 , 727 , entitled “ actuators for microfluidics without moving parts ,” issued on jan . 24 , 2000 , both to shenderov et al . ; pollack et al ., international patent application no . pct / us 06 / 47486 , entitled “ droplet - based biochemistry ,” filed on dec . 11 , 2006 , the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference . methods of the invention may be executed using droplet actuator systems , e . g ., as described in international patent application no . pct / us2007 / 09379 , entitled “ droplet manipulation systems ,” filed on may 9 , 2007 . examples of droplet actuator techniques for immobilizing magnetic beads and / or non - magnetic beads in the context of bead washing and / or conducting assays are described in the foregoing international patent applications and in sista , et al ., u . s . patent application ser . nos . 60 / 900 , 653 , filed on feb . 9 , 2007 , entitled “ immobilization of magnetically - responsive beads during droplet operations ”; sista et al ., u . s . patent application ser . no . 60 / 969 , 736 , filed on sep . 4 , 2007 , entitled “ droplet actuator assay improvements ”; and allen et al ., u . s . patent application ser . no . 60 / 957 , 717 , filed on aug . 24 , 2007 , entitled “ bead washing using physical barriers ,” the entire disclosures of which is incorporated herein by reference . the gap will typically be filled with a filler fluid . the filler fluid may , for example , be a low - viscosity oil , such as silicone oil . other examples of filler fluids are provided in international patent application no . pct / us 06 / 47486 , entitled “ droplet - based biochemistry ,” filed on dec . 11 , 2006 . the filler fluid may be a gas , such as air . this specification is divided into sections for the convenience of the reader only . headings should not be construed as limiting of the scope of the invention . it will be understood that various details of the present invention may be changed without departing from the scope of the present invention . various aspects of each embodiment described here may be interchanged with various aspects of other embodiments . furthermore , the foregoing description is for the purpose of illustration only , and not for the purpose of limitation . | 8 |
referring initially to fig1 - 3 , the present invention involving a protective probe cover generally referenced 10 that will be described herein with regard to an infrared thermometer 11 . it should be clear to one skilled in the art , however , that the present invention can be used in conjunction with various other medical instruments having an extended probe for insertion into a body cavity . as pointed out above , disposable protective covers are placed over the probes to mitigate the danger of cross contamination occurring during and after an examination . the covers found in the prior art are typically made of plastic and are fabricated using various molding processes . many of these molding methods , however , create imperfections in the final product and are unable to hold the product to close tolerances . resulting in unwanted and potentially dangerous problems arising particularly during a medical procedure . testing has shown that probe covers that are fabricated by the injection molding process can be held to tight tolerances while still having a desired amount of flexibility that help overcome many fabrication problems . accordingly , any references made herein involving a protective probe cover embodying the present invention will be specifically directed to a plastic cover that has been injection molded . fig1 - 3 illustrate the top section of a hand held ir thermometer . the instrument includes a lower body section 12 and an upper head section 13 that contains an insertion probe 10 . that protrudes outwardly some distance from the head of the instrument . as best illustrated in fig3 , the proximal end section 15 of the probe is cylindrical in form and is secured by any suitable means to the head . the distal end 16 of the probe projects outwardly from the head and is conical shaped so as to taper downwardly from the cylindrical body of the probe towards the distal end tip 17 . an ir sensor 18 is mounted in the tip of the probe . although not shown , the sensor is connected by electrical leads to a processor that is located within the body of the instrument which provides an accurate temperature read out to the user . the probe cover 10 is shown in fig1 and 3 mounted upon the extended end of the probe 10 in a locked position wherein the cover is securely fastened to the probe . the inner wall surface 32 of the cover complement the conical wall surface of probe . as will be explained in further detail below , the cover is releasably secured to the probe by a series of snap - on fasteners 50 . a best illustrated in fig3 , an ejector mechanism , generally referenced 25 is slidably mounted inside the instrument head upon the cylindrical section of the probe . the ejector mechanism is equipped with a circular ring 24 that surrounds the cylindrical section of the probe to provide a close running fit there between so that the ejector can be moved axially along the centerline 29 of the probe between a first cover locking position and a second cover releasing position . the ring of the ejector contains a raised finger engagable control button 26 that passes upwardly through an opening 27 contained in the head of the instrument . when the control button is situated at the back of the opening as shown in fig1 , the ejector mechanism is in the first probe locking position . manual movement of the control button to the front of the opening as illustrated in fig2 places the ejector mechanism a second probe releasing position . turning now to fig4 - 6 there is illustrated the front circular shoulder mount 30 of the probe assembly which is retained within the front wall 31 of the instrument head to support the distal end 16 of the probe in assembly . fig4 shows probe without a cover . two opposed arcute shaped slots 33 - 33 are located in the probe mount 30 that are centered upon the longitudinal axis 29 of the probe . a pair of arcute shaped fingers 35 - 35 that are intragally joined to the ejector ring 24 and are slidably contained within the slots 33 - 33 . the fingers are arranged to be extended and retracted as the ejector moves between the first and second positions . a series of circumferentially spaced segmented detent beads 38 - 38 are mounted upon the probe and , as will be explained in greater detail below , each bead section is the male part of a two part snap on fitting for releasably securing the probe cover 10 to the instrument . preferably three equally spaced fittings are employed to secure the cover to the instruments , however , more or less fittings may be employed depending upon the particular application . fig5 illustrates a protective cover 10 mounted in a locked position upon the probe . at this time , the flange 40 of the cover has engaged the fingers 35 - 35 of the ejector mechanism and has moved the ejector back to the cover locking position due to the rearward movement of the cover over the probe . full reward movement is attained when the snap - on fasteners engage the bead segments on the probe . fig6 illustrates a probe cover located upon the probe with the ejector mechanism in the cover releasing position . at this time the control button 25 ( fig3 ) has been moved forward causing the ejector mechanism to unlock the fasteners thus releasing the cover . in addition the continued movement of the ejector toward the distal end of the probe frees the cover from the probe . fig7 a , 7 b and 8 illustrate a first embodiment of the invention detailing apparatus for securing and releasing a probe cover from the instrument . fig7 a shows the above described ejector mechanism 25 moved back into the first cover locking position and a snap - on fasteners generally reference 50 in a cover securing condition . at this time the cover is snuggly contained upon the probe . the cover contains an ir transparent lens or window 19 mounted in the distal tip thereof which is now located in close proximity with the ir sensor 18 ( see fig3 ). with further reference to fig7 b the securing and releasing apparatus is shown in further detail in the locked position . each snap - on fastener 50 includes two mating parts or sections . these include the previously noted bead segment 38 located upon the probe surface that mates with an arcuate shaped cove 42 that is contained in the inner wall 53 of the cover adjacent to the proximal end flange 40 . the cove preferable extends circularly about the axis of the cover and services each of the detent beads . the cover wall section that encircles the cove provides a weaker section in the cover about which the cover can flex when an upward force is applied to the outer face 56 of the flange . a circular camming surface 58 is contained in the outer face of the flange that rung along the rim of the flange . the camming surface is angularly offset with regard to the axis of the cover . the distal end of the two fingers 35 of the ejector mechanism is provided with a arcute surface 60 that is arranged to ride in contact with camming surface 58 as the ejector mechanism moves between the first and second positions . surface 60 thus serves as a cam follower in system . although surface 60 is shown arcute in form , it can , in practice , be a flat surface that rides in sliding contact with camming surface 58 without departing from the teachings of the present invention . fig7 b shows the probe cover 10 in a locked position with the snap fitting closed thereby securing the cover to the probe . at this time the ejector mechanism is in the cover locking position . moving the ejector button forward moves the cam follower against the camming surface of flange causing the lower portion of the cover to flex about the weakened wall section which surrounds the cove 42 . sufficient flexure is provided to free the detent beads 38 from the cove 42 . thus releasing the cover from the probe . as shown in fig8 further forward movement of the ejector moves the cover well clear of the probe surface so that it can fall easily from probe under the influences of gravity . a series of semi circular tabs 65 are circumferentially space upon the outer face of the flange that arranged to mate with openings 66 in the raised shoulder 30 of the probe so that the snap - on fittings will mate properly at the time of closure . turning now to fig9 a and 9b , there is illustrated a second embodiment of the invention in which the probe cover is generally referenced 70 . in this embodiment , the probe cover is also equipped with a series of snap - on fittings 50 as described above . the cove that is formed in the inner wall of the cover body adjacent to the flange is also provided with a weakened section about which the flange can flex . a circular groove 63 is provided in the outer face of the flange which contain a camming surface 65 that is angularly offset with regard to the longitudinal axis of the probe . the end 67 of each ejector mechanism finger 35 is arcuate shaped and acts as a cam followers that ride in sliding contact with the camming surface 65 . again , as the ejector is moved from the first cover locking position to the second release position , each snap on fitting 50 is opened and the cover is released from the probe . as noted , it is the general practice to package and ship the covers in stacks . a number of probe covers 10 - 10 are illustrated in fig1 in a stacked configuration . when stacked one on top of the other the semi circular tabs on the upper cover are arrange to seat upon the flange of the underlying cover to prevent the outer wall surface of the lower cover from moving into binding contact with the inner surface of the upper cover . in addition , the inclined edge surfaces 58 on the outer face of cover flange 40 provide an easily accessible space between each of the cover which can be utilized to further facilitate removal of individual covers from the stack . while the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof to adapt to particular situations without departing from the scope of the invention . therefore , it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention , but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope and spirit of the appended claims . | 6 |
the foregoing and other features of the embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent with reference to the drawings and the following description . in the description and drawings , particular embodiments of the present disclosure are disclosed , which show some embodiments in which the principle of the present disclosure may be employed . it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the described embodiments , on the contrary , the present disclosure includes all the modifications , variants and the equivalents thereof falling within the scope of the appending claims . an embodiment of the present disclosure provides configuration method for a coexistent interference frequency set , applicable to a target base station side . fig2 is a flowchart of the configuration method of the embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown in fig2 , the configuration method includes : step 201 : receiving , by a target base station , a first coexistent interference frequency set configured for ue transmitted by a source base station , when the ue is handed over from the source base station to the target base station ; and step 202 : comparing , by the target base station , the first coexistent interference frequency set with a preset second coexistent interference frequency set , and not reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue if a result of the comparison is that they are identical . in this embodiment , the first coexistent interference frequency set is configured by the source base station for the ue , and may include one or more pieces of frequency information . for example , the first coexistent interference frequency set may be denoted as follows : a ={ f 1 , f 2 , f 3 f 4 }. the ue may perform coexistent interference evaluation according to the first coexistent interference frequency set . the relevant art may be referred to for how to configure a coexistent interference frequency set and how to perform coexistent interference evaluation , which shall not be described herein any further . in this embodiment , different from the relevant art , the source base station transmits the first coexistent interference frequency set to the target base station . the first coexistent interference frequency set may be transmitted via a handover request message . for example , besides existing handover information , the handover request message may further include the first coexistent interference frequency set . however , it is not limited thereto , and other messages may be used according to an actual situation for transmitting the first coexistent interference frequency set . in particular implementation , transmission may be performed via an x2 interface , and may also be performed via an s1 interface . however , it is not limited thereto , and a particular manner of transmission may be determined according to an actual situation . the target base station may generate a second coexistent interference frequency set for the ue in advance . the second coexistent interference frequency set may be configured by the target base station according to situations of use of the frequencies of itself and neighboring base stations . for example , the target base station may configure the second coexistent interference frequency set according to frequencies supported by itself and a frequency load status of the neighboring base stations . the second coexistent interference frequency set may also include one or more pieces of frequency information ; wherein , the second coexistent interference frequency set may be identical to or different from the first coexistent interference frequency set ; and the second coexistent interference frequency set may contain the first coexistent interference frequency set , or the first coexistent interference frequency set may contain the second coexistent interference frequency set . in this embodiment , after receiving the first coexistent interference frequency set transmitted by the source base station , the target base station may compare the first coexistent interference frequency set with the second coexistent interference frequency set , and if the first coexistent interference frequency set is identical to the second coexistent interference frequency set ( for example , the second coexistent interference frequency set b ={ f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 }), the target base station does not reconfigure a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue , thereby reducing configuration of coexistent interference frequency sets . in particular implementation , the target base station may further transmit indication information on use of the first coexistent interference frequency set to the ue . the indication information may be transmitted during the handover process , and may also be transmitted after completion of the handover process , and the ue may proceed with use of the first coexistent interference frequency set . therefore , in a case where the ue does not receive the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set transmitted by the target base station or receives the indication information on using the first coexistent interference frequency set transmitted by the target base station , the ue may still perform coexistent interference evaluation on the frequencies ( such as f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 ) of the first coexistent interference frequency set . fig3 is another flowchart of the configuration method of the embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown in fig3 , the configuration method includes : step 301 : receiving , by a target base station , a first coexistent interference frequency set configured for ue transmitted by a source base station , when the ue is handed over from the source base station to the target base station ; step 302 : comparing , by the target base station , the first coexistent interference frequency set with a preset second coexistent interference frequency set , and judging whether a result of the comparison is that they are identical ; executing step 303 if the result of the comparison is that they are identical ; and executing step 304 if the result of the comparison is that they are different ; step 303 : not reconfiguring , by the target base station , a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue , or transmitting indication information on use of the first coexistent interference frequency set to the ue ; in this embodiment , if the first coexistent interference frequency set ( for example , set a ={ f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 }) is identical to the second coexistent interference frequency set ( for example , set b ={ f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 }), the target base station needs not to reconfigure a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue , or transmits an indication message indicating that the ue may use a coexistent interference frequency set identical to that of the source base station . in such a case , the ue may follow a set a of the source base station to perform coexistent interference evaluation ; step 304 : reconfiguring , by the target base station , a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue . in this embodiment , if the first coexistent interference frequency set is different from the second coexistent interference frequency set , the target base station needs to transmit information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set to the ue . it should noted that the process of reconfiguration may be performed during the handover process ; for example , the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set may be transmitted to the ue via a handover command ; however , it is not limited thereto , and it may also be performed after the process of the handover . in a mode of implementation , the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set may include the second coexistent interference frequency set , so that the ue performs coexistent interference evaluation on frequencies in the second coexistent interference frequency set . if set a ={ f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 }) and set b ={ f 3 , f 5 , f 6 }, the target base station may transmit { f 3 , f 5 , f 6 } to the ue , and the ue performs coexistent interference evaluation on { f 3 , f 5 , f 6 }. in another mode of implementation , if the first coexistent interference frequency set contains the second coexistent interference frequency set , the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set may include a third coexistent interference frequency set , frequencies in the third coexistent interference frequency set being contained in the first coexistent interference frequency set but not contained in the second coexistent interference frequency set . hence , the ue may perform coexistent interference evaluation on the frequencies contained in the first coexistent interference frequency set but not contained in the third coexistent interference frequency set . for example , the first coexistent interference frequency set a ={ f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 , f 5 , f 6 } and the second coexistent interference frequency set b ={ f 3 , f 4 , f 5 , f 6 }, then the third coexistent interference frequency set c ={ f 1 , f 2 }. therefore , the target base station needs only to transmit { f 1 , f 2 } to the ue , and the ue may determine to perform coexistent interference evaluation on { f 3 , f 5 , f 6 } according to { f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 , f 5 , f 6 } and { f 1 , f 2 }. in this mode of implementation , for example , in a case where the first coexistent interference frequency set contains the second coexistent interference frequency set and both of the first coexistent interference frequency set and the second coexistent interference frequency set are relatively large , the relatively small third coexistent interference frequency set may only be transmitted , thereby saving communication resources and improving the performance of the system . in another mode of implementation , if the second coexistent interference frequency set contains the first coexistent interference frequency set , the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set may include a fourth coexistent interference frequency set , frequencies in the fourth coexistent interference frequency set being not contained in the first coexistent interference frequency set and being contained in the second coexistent interference frequency set . therefore , the ue may perform coexistent interference evaluation on the frequencies contained in the first coexistent interference frequency set and frequencies contained in the fourth coexistent interference frequency set . for example , the first coexistent interference frequency set a ={ f 3 , f 4 , f 5 , f 6 } and the second coexistent interference frequency set b ={ f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 , f 5 , f 6 }, then the fourth coexistent interference frequency set c ={ f 1 , f 2 }. therefore , the target base station needs only to transmit { f 1 , f 2 } to the ue , and the ue may determine to perform coexistent interference evaluation on { f 1 , f 2 , f 3 , f 4 , f 5 , f 6 } according to { f 3 , f 4 , f 5 , f 6 } and { f 1 , f 2 }. in this mode of implementation , for example , in a case where the second coexistent interference frequency set contains the first coexistent interference frequency set and both of the first coexistent interference frequency set and the second coexistent interference frequency set are relatively large , the relatively small fourth coexistent interference frequency set may only be transmitted , thereby saving communication resources and improving the performance of the system . in particular implementation , the target base station may further transmit information indicating a coexistent interference frequency set . for example , in transmitting the third coexistent interference frequency set , a bit “ 0 ” may be transmitted , the bit identifying that the coexistent interference frequency set is the third coexistent interference frequency set . therefore , the ue may perform coexistent interference evaluation on the frequencies contained in the first coexistent interference frequency set but not contained in the third coexistent interference frequency set . in transmitting the fourth coexistent interference frequency set , a bit “ 1 ” may be transmitted , the bit identifying that the coexistent interference frequency set is the fourth coexistent interference frequency set . therefore , the ue may perform coexistent interference evaluation on the frequencies contained in the first coexistent interference frequency set and frequencies contained in the fourth coexistent interference frequency set . and the information indicating a coexistent interference frequency set may not be transmitted in transmitting the second coexistent interference frequency set , so that the ue may directly perform coexistent interference evaluation on the frequencies contained in the second coexistent interference frequency set . in particular implementation , different data structures may be defined for different coexistent interference frequency sets . for example , it may be achieved by an information element ( ie ), the first coexistent interference frequency set using a first type of an information element , the second coexistent interference frequency set using a second type of an information element , the third coexistent interference frequency set using a third type of an information element , and the fourth coexistent interference frequency set using a fourth type of an information element . in receiving the third type of an information element , the ue may determine that the information element correspond to the third coexistent interference frequency set , hence , it may perform coexistent interference evaluation on the frequencies contained in the first coexistent interference frequency set but not contained in the third coexistent interference frequency set . in receiving the fourth type of an information element , the ue may determine that the information element correspond to the fourth coexistent interference frequency set , hence , it may perform coexistent interference evaluation on the frequencies contained in the first coexistent interference frequency set and the frequencies contained in the fourth coexistent interference frequency set . in receiving the second type of an information element , the ue may determine that the information element correspond to the second coexistent interference frequency set , hence , it may directly perform coexistent interference evaluation on the frequencies contained in the second coexistent interference frequency set . it should be noted that the above modes of implementation are just illustrative explanation to how to reconfigure a coexistent interference frequency set . however , it is not limited thereto , and a particular mode of implementation may be determined according to an actual situation . it can be seen from the above embodiment that : receiving by a target base station a first coexistent interference frequency set configured for ue transmitted by a source base station when the ue is handed over from the source base station to the target base station , and not reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue by the target base station if the first coexistent interference frequency set and the second coexistent interference frequency set are identical , configuration of coexistent interference frequency by the base station may be reduced , waste of system resources may lowered , and performance of the system may be improved . an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a configuration method for a coexistent interference frequency set , which is described on the basis of embodiment 1 from a ue side , with the contents identical to those in embodiment 1 being not going to be described herein any further . fig4 is a flowchart of the configuration method of the embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown in fig4 , the configuration method includes : step 401 : performing , by ue , coexistent interference evaluation on frequencies in a first coexistent interference frequency set when the ue does not receive information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set ; wherein the first coexistent interference frequency set is configured by a source base station ; when the ue is handed over from the source base station to a target base station , the first coexistent interference frequency set is transmitted by the source base station to the target base station ; and the target base station does not reconfigure a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue if the first coexistent interference frequency set is identical to a preset second coexistent interference frequency set . in this embodiment , if the ue does not receive the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set transmitted by the target base station , it may proceed with using the first coexistent interference frequency set configured by the source base station , thereby reducing configuration of coexistent interference frequency sets . in particular implementation , the method may further include : receiving , by the ue , indication information for using the first coexistent interference frequency set transmitted by the target base station ; and performing coexistent interference evaluation on frequencies in the first coexistent interference frequency set by the ue according to the indication information . fig5 is another flowchart of the configuration method of the embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown in fig5 , the configuration method includes : step 501 : ue is handed over from a source base station to a target base station ; step 502 : judging , by the ue , whether information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set transmitted by the target base station is received ; executing step 503 if the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set is not received ; and executing step 504 if the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set is received ; in this embodiment , the ue may further receive indication information on using a first coexistent interference frequency set transmitted by the target base station , and step 503 is executed after the indication information is received ; step 503 : performing , by the ue , coexistent interference evaluation on frequencies in the first coexistent interference frequency set ; and step 504 : performing , by the ue , coexistent interference evaluation according to the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set . in a mode of implementation , the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set may include a second coexistent interference frequency set , and the ue performs coexistent interference evaluation on the frequencies in the second coexistent interference frequency set . in another mode of implementation , the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set may include a third coexistent interference frequency set ; wherein , the first coexistent interference frequency set contains the second coexistent interference frequency set , and frequencies in the third coexistent interference frequency set are contained in the first coexistent interference frequency set but are not contained in the second coexistent interference frequency set . and the ue performs coexistent interference evaluation on the frequencies contained in the first coexistent interference frequency set but not contained in the third coexistent interference frequency set . in a further mode of implementation , the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set may include a fourth coexistent interference frequency set ; wherein , the second coexistent interference frequency set contains the first coexistent interference frequency set , and frequencies in the fourth coexistent interference frequency set are not contained in the first coexistent interference frequency set but are contained in the second coexistent interference frequency set . and the ue performs coexistent interference evaluation on the frequencies contained in the first coexistent interference frequency and the frequencies contained in the fourth coexistent interference frequency set . it can be seen from the above embodiment that : receiving by a target base station a first coexistent interference frequency set configured for ue transmitted by a source base station when the ue is handed over from the source base station to the target base station , and not reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue by the target base station if the first coexistent interference frequency set and the second coexistent interference frequency set are identical , configuration of coexistent interference frequency by the base station may be reduced , waste of system resources may lowered , and performance of the system may be improved . an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a configuration method for a coexistent interference frequency set , which is fully described on the basis of embodiments 1 and 2 from a source base station side , a target base station side and a ue side , with the contents identical to those in embodiments 1 and 2 being not going to be described herein any further . fig6 is a flowchart of the configuration method of the embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown in fig6 , the configuration method includes : step 601 : transmitting , by a source base station to a target base station , a first coexistent interference frequency set configured for ue , when the ue is handed over from the source base station to the target base station ; wherein , the source base station may transmit the first coexistent interference frequency set via a handover request message . in particular implementation , transmission may be performed via an x2 interface , and may also be performed via an s1 interface . however , it is not limited thereto , and a particular message and a manner of transmission may be determined according to an actual situation . fig7 is another flowchart of the configuration method of the embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown in fig7 , the configuration method includes : step 701 : transmitting , by a source base station to a target base station , a first coexistent interference frequency set configured for ue , when the ue is handed over from the source base station to the target base station ; step 702 : comparing , by the target base station , the first coexistent interference frequency set with a preset second coexistent interference frequency set , after receiving the first coexistent interference frequency set configured for ue transmitted by the source base station ; step 703 : judging , by the target base station , whether a comparison result is that they are identical ; executing step 704 if the comparison result is that they are identical ; and executing step 706 if the comparison result is that they are different ; step 704 : not reconfiguring , by the target base station , the ue with a coexistent interference frequency set , or transmitting indication information on use of the first coexistent interference frequency set to the ue ; step 705 : performing , by the ue , coexistent interference evaluation on frequencies in the first coexistent interference frequency set ; in this embodiment , if the first coexistent interference frequency set ( set a ) is identical to the second coexistent interference frequency set ( set b ), the target base station needs not to reconfigure the coexistent interference frequency set for the ue , or may transmit an indication message indicating that the ue may use a coexistent interference frequency set identical to that of the source base station . in such a case , the ue may follow the set a of the source base station for performing the coexistent interference evaluation ; step 706 : transmitting , by the target base station to the ue , information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set ; and step 707 : performing , by the ue , the coexistent interference evaluation according to the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set . in this embodiment , if the set a is different from the set b , the target base station will reconfigure a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue . in particular implementation , the target base station may reconfigure the set b for the ue , and the ue performs coexistent interference evaluation on frequencies in the set b . or , if the set a contains the set b , the target base station may notify the ue that which frequencies in the original set ( i . e . the set a ) are not in the set b ( such as a redundant set c ), and the ue performs coexistent interference evaluation on frequencies belonging to the set a but not belonging to the redundant set c . or , if the set b contains the set a , the target base station may notify the ue that which frequencies ( such as a new frequency set d ) are added in the target base station besides the frequencies in the original set ( i . e . the set a ), and the ue performs coexistent interference evaluation on frequencies belonging to the set a and the new frequency set d . it can be seen from the above embodiment that : receiving by a target base station a first coexistent interference frequency set configured for ue transmitted by a source base station when the ue is handed over from the source base station to the target base station , and not reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue by the target base station if the first coexistent interference frequency set and the second coexistent interference frequency set are identical , configuration of coexistent interference frequency by the base station may be reduced , waste of system resources may lowered , and performance of the system may be improved . an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a base station , which is a target base station when ue is handed over . this embodiment corresponds to embodiment 1 , and the same contents shall not be described herein any further . fig8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the base station of the embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown in fig8 , the base station 800 includes : a first receiving unit 801 and a comparing unit 802 . the relevant art may be referred to for other parts of the base station 800 , which shall not be described herein any further ; wherein , the first receiving unit 801 is configured to receive a first coexistent interference frequency set configured for ue transmitted by a source base station , when the ue is handed over from the source base station to a target base station ; and the comparing unit 802 is configured to compare the first coexistent interference frequency set with a preset second coexistent interference frequency set ; wherein if a result of the comparison is that they are identical , the target base station does not reconfigure a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue . fig9 is another schematic diagram of the structure of the base station of the embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown in fig9 , the base station 900 includes : a first receiving unit 801 and a comparing unit 802 , as described above . as shown in fig9 , the base station 900 may further include : a first transmitting unit 903 configured to transmit indication information for using the first coexistent interference frequency set to the ue when the first coexistent interference frequency set and the second coexistent interference frequency set are identical . as shown in fig9 , the base station 900 may further include : a second transmitting unit 904 configured to transmit information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set to the ue , if a result of comparison of the comparing unit 802 is that the first coexistent interference frequency set is different from the second coexistent interference frequency set . in this embodiment , the second coexistent interference frequency set is configured by the target base station according to situations of use of the frequencies of itself and neighboring base stations . it can be seen from the above embodiment that : receiving by a target base station a first coexistent interference frequency set configured for ue transmitted by a source base station when the ue is handed over from the source base station to the target base station , and not reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue by the target base station if the first coexistent interference frequency set and the second coexistent interference frequency set are identical , configuration of coexistent interference frequency by the base station may be reduced , waste of system resources may lowered , and performance of the system may be improved . an embodiment of the present disclosure provides ue , which is handed over from a source base station to a target base station . this embodiment corresponds to embodiment 2 , and the same contents shall not be described herein any further . fig1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the ue of the embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown in fig1 , the ue 1000 includes : an evaluating unit 1001 . the relevant art may be referred to for other parts of the ue 1000 , which shall not be described herein any further ; wherein , the evaluating unit 1001 is configured to perform coexistent interference evaluation on frequencies in a first coexistent interference frequency set when no information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set is received ; wherein the first coexistent interference frequency set is configured by a source base station ; when the ue is handed over from the source base station to a target base station , the first coexistent interference frequency set is transmitted by the source base station to the target base station ; and the target base station does not reconfigure a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue if the first coexistent interference frequency set is identical to a preset second coexistent interference frequency set . fig1 is another schematic diagram of the structure of the ue of the embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown in fig1 , the ue 1100 includes an evaluating unit 1001 , as described above . as shown in fig1 , the ue 1100 may further include : a second receiving unit 1102 configured to receive indication information for using the first coexistent interference frequency set transmitted by the target base station . and the evaluating unit 1001 is further configured to perform coexistent interference evaluation on frequencies in the first coexistent interference frequency set after it receives the indication information . as shown in fig1 , the ue 1100 may further include : a third receiving unit 1103 configured to receive information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue transmitted by the target base station . and the evaluating unit 1001 is further configured to evaluate the coexistent interference according to the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set . in an embodiment , the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set includes the second coexistent interference frequency set ; and the evaluating unit 1001 performs coexistent interference evaluation on frequencies in the second coexistent interference frequency set . in another embodiment , the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set includes a third coexistent interference frequency set ; the first coexistent interference frequency set contains the second coexistent interference frequency set , and frequencies in the third coexistent interference frequency set are contained in the first coexistent interference frequency set but not contained in the second coexistent interference frequency set ; and the evaluating unit 1001 performs coexistent interference evaluation on frequencies contained in the first coexistent interference frequency set but not contained in the third coexistent interference frequency set . in still another embodiment , the information on reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set includes a fourth coexistent interference frequency set ; the second coexistent interference frequency set contains the first coexistent interference frequency set , and frequencies in the fourth coexistent interference frequency set are not contained in the first coexistent interference frequency set but contained in the second coexistent interference frequency set ; and the evaluating unit 1001 performs coexistent interference evaluation on the frequencies contained in the first coexistent interference frequency set and the frequencies contained in the fourth coexistent interference frequency set . it can be seen from the above embodiment that : receiving by a target base station a first coexistent interference frequency set configured for ue transmitted by a source base station when the ue is handed over from the source base station to the target base station , and not reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue by the target base station if the first coexistent interference frequency set and the second coexistent interference frequency set are identical , configuration of coexistent interference frequency by the base station may be reduced , waste of system resources may lowered , and performance of the system may be improved . an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a base station , which is a source base station when ue is handed over . this embodiment corresponds to embodiment 3 , and the same contents shall not be described herein any further . fig1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the base station of the embodiment of the present disclosure . as shown in fig1 , the base station 1200 includes : a third transmitting unit 1201 . the relevant art may be referred to for other parts of the base station 1200 , which shall not be described herein any further ; wherein , the third transmitting unit 1201 is configured to transmit a first coexistent interference frequency set configured for ue to a target base station , when the ue is handed over from a source base station to the target base station ; wherein , the third transmitting unit 1201 may transmit the first coexistent interference frequency set via a handover request message . it can be seen from the above embodiment that : receiving by a target base station a first coexistent interference frequency set configured for ue transmitted by a source base station when the ue is handed over from the source base station to the target base station , and not reconfiguring a coexistent interference frequency set for the ue by the target base station if the first coexistent interference frequency set and the second coexistent interference frequency set are identical , configuration of coexistent interference frequency by the base station may be reduced , waste of system resources may lowered , and performance of the system may be improved . an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer - readable program , wherein when the program is executed in a base station , the program enables a computer to carry out the configuration method for a coexistent interference frequency set as described above in the base station . an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a storage medium in which a computer - readable program is stored , wherein the computer - readable program enables a computer to carry out the configuration method for a coexistent interference frequency set as described above in a base station . an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer - readable program , wherein when the program is executed in ue , the program enables a computer to carry out the configuration method for a coexistent interference frequency set as described above in the ue . an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a storage medium in which a computer - readable program is stored , wherein the computer - readable program enables a computer to carry out the configuration method for a coexistent interference frequency set as described above in ue . the above apparatus and method of the present disclosure may be implemented by hardware , or by hardware in combination with software . the present disclosure relates to such a computer - readable program that when the program is executed by a logic device , the logic device is enabled to carry out the apparatus or components as described above , or to carry out the methods or steps as described above . the present disclosure also relates to a storage medium for storing the above program , such as a hard disk , a floppy disk , a cd , a dvd , and a flash memory , etc . the present disclosure is described above with reference to particular embodiments . however , it should be understood by those skilled in the art that such a description is illustrative only , and not intended to limit the protection scope of the present disclosure . various variants and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art according to the spirits and principle of the present disclosure , and such variants and modifications fall within the scope of the present disclosure . | 7 |
[ 0029 ] fig1 is a schematic diagram of an application environment of a multimedia messaging system 6 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the multimedia messaging system 6 is linked to a plurality of message providers 2 for receiving various original messages . the multimedia messaging system 6 processes received original messages , and generates corresponding first messages . the first messages comprise respective received original messages . the first messages then are changed into second messages in the multimedia messaging system 6 . the second messages comprise respective first messages . by means of a communication network 8 , the multimedia messaging system 6 sends various generated second messages to corresponding message receivers 4 . the message providers 2 may be any one or more of a short message service provider , an e - mail service provider , a fax service provider , a voice service provider , a pda ( personal digital assistant ) service provider , and an enterprise information system ( eis ). once registered in the multimedia messaging system 6 , each message provider 2 can provide various original messages for the multimedia messaging system 6 . the message receivers 4 may be any one or more of a personal computer , a mobile phone , a personal digital assistant , and a laptop computer . each message receiver 4 corresponds to a so - called client of the multimedia messaging system 6 . the communication network 8 may for example be the internet or a wireless network . [ 0030 ] fig2 is a block diagram of infrastructure of the multimedia messaging system 6 , also showing connection between the multimedia messaging system 6 and the message providers 2 and message receivers 4 . the multimedia messaging system 6 comprises a basic data setting module 60 , a database 61 , a message receiving module 62 , an original message cache 64 , a message processing module 66 , a second message cache 67 , and a message sending module 68 . the basic data setting module 60 is used for setting relevant basic data , which includes message classification data , group data , transmission mode data and message procedure data . the basic data are stored in various lists in the database 61 . the lists include a group data list 611 , a client data list 612 , a message classification data list 613 , a transmission mode data list 614 , a message procedure data list 615 , and a message processing record list 616 . the message receiving module 62 receives original messages from the message providers 2 , and stores the received original messages in the original message cache 64 . the message processing module 66 accesses the original message cache 64 to obtain original messages , and reconstitutes the original messages into a plurality of second messages according to correlative information stored in the database 61 . the second messages each comprise a transmission mode code , a client code , a receiving address , and an original message content . the second messages are stored in the second message cache 67 . the message sending module 68 retrieves the second messages from the second message cache 67 , and sends the retrieved second messages to corresponding message receivers 4 . [ 0032 ] fig3 is a schematic diagram of infrastructure of the basic data setting module 60 of the multimedia messaging system 6 . the basic data setting module 60 comprises a group data maintenance sub - module 601 , a client data maintenance sub - module 602 , a message classification maintenance sub - module 603 , a transmission mode data maintenance sub - module 604 , and a message procedure maintenance sub - module 605 . the group data maintenance sub - module 601 is used for adding , modifying , deleting and querying group data . the client data maintenance sub - module 602 is used for adding , modifying , deleting and querying client data . the message classification maintenance sub - module 603 is used for adding , modifying , deleting and querying data on message classifications . the transmission mode maintenance sub - module 604 is used for adding , modifying , deleting and querying data on transmission media . the message procedure data maintenance sub - module 605 is used for adding , modifying , deleting , and querying data on message procedures . [ 0033 ] fig4 a illustrates an exemplary group data list 611 in accordance with the present invention . the group data list 611 comprises columns for group name and group code . for example , a group name may be “ editorial ,” and a corresponding group code may be “ group_a ”. another group name may be “ retailer ,” and a corresponding group code may be “ group_b ”. [ 0034 ] fig4 b illustrates an exemplary client data list 612 in accordance with the present invention . the client data list 612 comprises columns for client name , group codes , and contact modes . group codes indicate one or more groups that each client belongs to . contact modes include mobile phone , e - mail , and fax . [ 0035 ] fig4 c illustrates an exemplary message classification data list 613 in accordance with the present invention . the message classification data list 613 comprises columns for message provider , message classification name , message classification code , and group codes . if more than one group code is indicated for a particular message classification name of a particular message provider , then any original message of that classification by that message provider is sent to all the client groups indicate by the group codes . [ 0036 ] fig4 d illustrates an exemplary message procedure data list 615 in accordance with the present invention . the message procedure data list 615 is used for recording a mode of transmission of each second message , a status of processing of a procedure corresponding to the second message , and a next procedure required for the second message . the message procedure data list 615 comprises columns for : classification code , procedure code , process time , transmission mode , sending overtime , sending failure , no feedback , feedback received , and current procedure . process time is an actual time needed by the multimedia messaging system 6 to process each procedure , and is used for determining whether processing of the procedure is overtime . transmission mode shows a transmission medium through which the multimedia messaging system 6 sends messages to clients for each procedure . for example , the transmission mode for the procedure “ news — 01 ” is sms . four statuses of processing of any procedure are defined : sending overtime , sending failure , no feedback , and feedback received . these processing statuses are used to determine a next procedure the system should process . sending overtime means that the actual processing time of a message procedure exceeds a predetermined scheduled time . sending failure means the message sending module 68 cannot send any second messages . no feedback means that the message sending module 68 has sent second messages , but has not received feedback messages from the message receivers 4 within a predetermined scheduled time . feedback received means that the message sending module 68 has sent second messages , and has received feedback messages from the message receivers 4 within the predetermined scheduled time . [ 0037 ] fig5 is a schematic diagram of infrastructure of the message processing module 66 of the multimedia messaging system 6 . the message processing module 66 comprises a message converting sub - module 661 , a time control sub - module 662 , a message procedure control sub - module 663 , a message status determination sub - module 664 , a message sending processing sub - module 665 , a message procedure record sub - module 666 , and a feedback receiving sub - module 667 . functions of the above - mentioned sub - modules 661 - 667 are detailed in the following description . [ 0038 ] fig6 is a flow chart of data transfer among the parts of the multimedia messaging system 6 . a system administrator sets basic data for sending second messages via the basic data setting module 60 . the basic data are stored in the database 61 . the message converting sub - module 661 receives an original message by accessing the original message cache 64 , obtains basic data relating to the original messages , and generates one or more corresponding first messages . each first message comprises a message classification , an original message content , and a client . the message procedure control sub - module 663 obtains an initial procedure for each of the first messages by querying data on message procedures stored in the database 61 and sets the initial procedure as a current procedure . said data comprise a message classification , a processing step , a client , and a transmission mode code . the time control sub - module 662 initializes the current procedure , and sets a scheduled processing time for the current procedure . the message sending processing sub - module 665 obtains the first messages and the data on message procedures , and generates corresponding second messages . the second messages each comprise a message classification , a processing step , a first message content , a client , a transmission mode code , and a sending address . the second messages are stored in the second message cache 67 . the message procedure record sub - module 666 generates a message processing record according to results of processing generated by the message sending processing sub - module 665 , and stores the message processing record in the message processing record list 616 of the database 61 . the message sending module 68 obtains the second messages from the second message cache 67 , selects modes of transmission according to the information on transmission modes in the second messages , and sends the second messages to corresponding messages receivers 4 . the message sending module 68 generates a sending result for each second message . the sending result may be either success or failure . the message receivers 4 send feedback messages after receiving second messages that need feedback confirmations . the feedback receiving sub - module 667 receives sending results and feedback messages . the message status determination sub - module 664 determines a status of processing of each second message according to the actual processing time of the second message , the sending result and the feedback message . the message status determination sub - module 664 then generates a status message , and sends the status message to the message procedure control sub - module 663 . the message procedure control sub - module 663 changes a processing procedure or ends processing of the second messages , based on the status message . [ 0039 ] fig7 is a flow chart of operation of the multimedia messaging system 6 . at step s 1 , the message converting sub - module 661 obtains an original messages by accessing the original message cache 64 and generates corresponding first messages according to basic setting data obtained by accessing the database 61 . at step s 2 , the message procedure control sub - module 663 obtains the first messages , and sets a procedure relating thereto as a current procedure . at step s 3 , the time control sub - module 662 initializes the current procedure , and sets a predetermined scheduled time for processing the current procedure . at step s 4 , the message sending processing sub - module 665 generates second messages corresponding to the first messages according to the current procedure and data on the first messages . the second messages each comprise a message classification , a processing step , a first message content , a client , a transmission mode code , and a sending address . at step s 5 , the message sending module 68 sends the second messages , and generates a sending result for each second message . at step s 6 , the feedback receiving sub - module 667 receives the sending results and feedback messages sent by the message receivers 4 . at step s 7 , the message status determination sub - module 664 determines a status of processing of the second messages . at step s 8 , the message status determination sub - module 664 determines whether further processing is required , based on the determination of a status of processing of the second messages . that is , if the status of sending failure , sending overtime and no feedback is “ failend ” and the status of feedback received is “ okend ,” then no further processing is required . otherwise , further processing is required . if no further processing is required , at step s 11 , a result of the processing is recorded , and the processing of the second messages is ended . if further processing is required , at step s 9 , a next procedure is selected . at step s 10 , the just - performed current procedure is logged out , and the next procedure selected is set as the current procedure . processing of the second messages then returns to step s 3 , with due alteration of details . although only preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above , those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications to the preferred embodiments are possible without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the present invention . accordingly , all such modifications are deemed to be covered by the following claims and allowable equivalents of the claims . | 7 |
fig1 is a perspective view of a surgical device embodying the invention . fig2 is a side view , partly in cross section , of the device of fig1 . fig3 is an enlarged view of the distal portion of the device of fig1 and 2 , including the rigid outer tube , rotating inner tube , and blade tip . fig4 is an exploded view of the blade tip and the distal end of the inner tube of fig3 including the arrangement of portions by which the two pieces are connectable . fig6 and 7 are side views , partly in cross section , of surgical devices having a curved distal portion , the first having an inner tube flexible at its distal portion , and the second having an inner tube flexible along all its length . referring to fig1 and 2 , a surgical device 10 , e . g ., for arthroscopic surgery on the knee , includes a rigid , stationary outer tube 12 , within which rotates a rigid inner tube 14 ( shown partly in dotted lines in fig2 ), and a separate removable blade 16 , also formed as a tube . the distal end of the outer tube 12 defines an opening 18 through which the blade 16 is exposed . another opening 20 is defined in the blade 16 . the sharpened edges 22 of the blade opening 20 cooperate with sharpened edges 24 of the outer tube opening 18 to shear tissue and bone during operation of the device . in addition , the blade opening 20 aligns with the outer tube opening 18 periodically as the inner tube 14 rotates , thereby admitting tissue and bone fragments into the interior of the blade 16 and connected inner tube 14 . these fragments are then removed by suction through a central opening 26 in the inner tube 14 as described later in connection with fig5 . device 10 further includes a hub 30 and a rotatable drive shaft 34 . the proximal end of the outer tube 12 is rigidly mounted to the hub 30 at a sealed joint 36 , while the proximal end of the inner tube 14 is mounted and sealed to the drive shaft 34 , which rotates within the hub 30 . the hub 30 and drive shaft 34 include short threaded portions 40 and 42 , respectively , which , after being engaged and screwed past each other , serve as abutments to prevent the drive shaft from sliding back out of the tube . a snap fit arrangement may be used instead of the threads to accomplish the same goal . the device 10 may be disposable or reusable . for example , a disposable device designed for general purpose arthroscopic surgery will include an outer tube 12 and a blade 16 made from stainless steel sufficiently hard to remove tissue or bone during operation of the device . the hub 30 and drive shaft 34 may be made of plastic , and the inner tube 14 may also be made of plastic since , as explained below in connection with fig3 and 4 , the blade 16 need not be welded to the inner tube . reusable devices , however , will typically be made wholly of stainless steel . referring again to fig1 the blade 16 is sized relative to the outer tube opening 18 so that it cannot fall out of the opening . the distal end of the blade 16 abuts the distal , partially capped , end of the outer tube 12 and is radially restrained within the outer tube . in addition , the motor housing within a handpiece 50 ( shown in fig5 ) presses axially on the drive shaft 34 to retain the connected inner tube 14 and blade 16 in close engagement with the outer tube 12 . referring to fig3 and 4 , the clearance between the blade 16 and the outer tube 12 , if desired , can be made less than that between the inner tube 14 and the outer tube so that the blade maintains a closer fit with the inner walls of the outer tube 12 and provides good cutting . this difference in clearance can be achieved by making the outer diameter of the blade 16 greater than that of the inner tube 14 , or by stepping down the diameter of the outer tube 12 towards its distal end . in an important aspect of the invention , the inner tube 14 is a thin - walled tube having a series of circumferentially spaced portions 60 at its distal end , which engage with a corresponding series of portions 62 on the proximal end of the blade 16 . the engaging portions 60 and 62 provide a loose attachment of the inner tube 14 and the blade 16 and transmit torque from the rotating inner tube to the blade without requiring a weld or other rigid attachment between the pieces . the loose attachment provides two degrees of freedom of motion between the tube 14 and the blade 16 , one generally along the axis of rotation 64 of the blade , and one transverse to the axis . the corners of the engaging portions 60 and 62 are rounded to facilitate engagement of the inner tube 14 and the blade 16 . in alternative embodiments , the walls of the engaging portions 60 and 62 on the tube 14 and the blade 16 may be slightly sloped to further ease the engagement of the tube and the blade . allowing play between the inner tube 14 and the blade 16 , and providing a blade which is separate from the inner tube , provides several advantages . during use of the device 10 , for example , the blade 16 movably adjusts so that it rotates in alignment with the outer tube 12 , because the blade is not rigidly attached to the inner tube 14 and is free to move relative to the inner tube . the separate inner tube and blade feature not only eliminates the expense and effort of welding , straightening , and centerless grinding the two pieces , but also avoids disadvantages of previously known welded blades and inner tubes , e . g ., adhesive wear on the blade and seizure , encountered when the blade is undesireably joined off - center or at an angle to the inner tube . furthermore , the present invention allows a standard inner tube to be joined with any number of different blades ; and tubes and blades made of materials that are difficult or impossible to weld or braze together , e . g ., ceramics , harder metals , and plastics , can , nonetheless , be used together effectively . fig6 shows a particularly advantageous use of the invention in a surgical device 90 having a curved distal portion , e . g ., as described in pending patent application u . s . ser . no . 07 / 477 , 223 , assigned to the assignee of the present application and incorporated herein by reference . the device 90 has an outer tube 92 , which is similar to the outer tube 12 described above in connection with fig1 - 5 , except that the outer tube 92 is curved at a distal portion 92a . an inner drive tube 94 , similar to the inner tube 14 described above in connection with fig1 - 5 , fits within the outer tube 92 and is slotted to make it flexible at a distal portion 94a so that it conforms with the curved portion 92a of the outer tube . removably connected to the distal end of the inner tube 94 is a blade tip 96 , similar to blade tip 16 described above in connection with fig1 - 5 . in alternative embodiments ( not shown ), the inner tube 94 can be made of a solid flexible plastic in the distal portion 94a , or can otherwise be made flexible , instead of being slotted . referring to fig7 an inner tube 100 , similar to the inner tubes 14 and 94 described in connection with fig1 - 5 and fig6 can be formed of a solid plastic material flexible along its length so that it conforms to a curved portion 102a in an outer tube 102 . alternative embodiments ( not shown ) include an inner tube slotted , or otherwise made flexible along its length , and further include surgical devices in which the outer tube itself is flexible , e . g ., so that it can be directed through a catheter arrangement used during surgery on the back and hip regions of the body . referring to fig5 in use , the proximal end of the drive shaft 34 is fitted into a handpiece 50 , which includes a motor ( not shown ) for rotating the drive shaft 34 , inner tube 14 , and blade tip 16 ( shown in fig1 - 2 ). an example of such a handpiece is described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 705 , 038 , which is incorporated herein by reference . for arthroscopic surgery of the knee , the device 10 is inserted onto the distal end of a handpiece 50 and then introduced through a puncture wound 70 into a knee joint 72 , below the patella . light is projected into the joint 72 through a second puncture wound 74 by a fiber optic light source 76 . a visual image of the surgical site is then returned through a separate optical path to a television camera 78 and displayed on a television screen 80 for the surgeon to view . ( alternatively , the surgeon can view the image through an eyepiece , or the image can be recorded .) to rotate the inner tube 14 and blade 16 , the surgeon activates a motor ( not shown ) in the handpiece 50 , which is connected to a power supply 56 . during surgery , the joint 72 is inflated with fluid introduced through a third puncture wound 82 by a fluid source 84 . the fluid distends the joint 72 , flushes blood out of the joint to give the surgeon a clear view of the area , and carries away any cut tissue . viewing the image of the site on the television screen 80 , the surgeon progressively cuts away the synovial tissue by moving the device 10 from side to side and axially . tissue fragments cut by the device 10 and fluids are simultaneously withdrawn from the site through the opening 26 in the inner tube 14 in response to suction applied by a vacuum source 88 . it will be appreciated that the device described above can have additional embodiments . for example , many types of arthroscopic cutting elements can be used as an alternative to the blade shown and described . these tools include shavers , cutters , and abraders , as described in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 203 , 444 , 4 , 274 , 414 , 4 , 522 , 206 , 4 , 662 , 371 , 4 , 834 , 729 , and 4 , 842 , 578 , all of which are incorporated by reference and assigned to the assignee of the present invention . | 8 |
detailed descriptions of specific embodiments of the vehicle windscreen cleaning systems and method of the present invention are disclosed herein . it will be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples of the way in which certain aspects of the invention can be implemented and do not represent an exhaustive list of all of the ways the invention may be embodied . indeed , it will be understood that the vehicles , windscreen cleaning systems , and methods described herein may be embodied in various and alternative forms . the figures are not necessarily to scale and some features may be exaggerated or reduced to show details of particular components . well - known components , materials or methods are not necessarily described in detail in order to avoid obscuring the present disclosure . any specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the invention . fig1 and 2 illustrate a windscreen cleaning system 10 for a windscreen 12 of a vehicle 14 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . generally , in this embodiment , cleaning system 10 comprises a set of air jets 16 , a set of cleaning jets 20 , one or more mechanical arms 22 , a group of sensors 24 , one or more video cameras 26 , and a processing unit 30 . in fig1 and 2 , the air - jets are represented at “ a ”, the cleaning jets are represented at “ c ”, the mechanical arms are represented at “ m ”, the sensors are represented at “ s ”, and the video cameras are represented at “ v ”. fig1 and 2 also show a rear view mirror 32 , a steering wheel 36 and a bonnet or front hood 38 of the vehicle . in the embodiment of the invention shown in fig1 and 2 , the set of air jets 16 are positioned at the base of the windscreen 12 . the air jets are multi - directional and direct air under pressure to specific drops of water on the windscreen . the cleaning jets 20 are multidimensional soap and water jets and are also positioned at the base of the windscreen . the soap jets direct cleaning agents to marks on the windscreen , and the water jets direct both hot and cold water to the marks on the windscreen . embodiments of the invention also include one or more video cameras 26 and real time video analysis capability . as discussed in more detail below , the one or more video cameras capture images of the windscreen surface , and a video analysis engine identifies when and where to direct the air jets and the soap and water jets . in embodiments of the invention , when rain is on the windscreen 12 , the rain is immediately detected , and the air jets 16 are directed to blow specific drops of water from the windscreen , effectively blowing and chasing the water drops from the surface . when marks such as dirt or insects are on the windscreen , these marks are immediately detected , and the soap and water jets 20 are directed to spray the cleaning agent and water in turn to the mark until the mark is removed from the windscreen or until the driver of the vehicle commands or directs the system to stop spraying from the jets . sensors 24 are provided to monitor the surface state of both the inside and outside of the windscreen 12 . sensors include resistive sensors , heat sensors , reflective sensors , polarization sensors and wind pressure sensors . these sensors relay data to microprocessor 30 , which determines actions to take . these actions may include , for instance , automatically defogging the window by using the controlled surface airflow to counteract temperature gradients across the windscreen , or to notify maintenance personnel that a crack in the windscreen has been detected . it may be noted that the placement and the number of components shown in fig1 and 2 is illustrative , e . g ., fewer components may be needed depending on capability , e . g ., when the jets are more powerful , fewer jets are needed . also , windscreen wipers are not shown in the figures . in embodiments of the invention , windscreen wipers used in cars today can optionally remain in place when this invention is deployed . in addition , it may be noted that the windscreen itself may be more easily cleaned if it is comprised of self - cleaning glass with its surface coated in nano - particles . to form a resistive sensor , a layer of a conductive material is encapsulated or applied to the surface of the windshield 12 forming patterns at selected positions of the windshield . examples include but are not limited to gratings , line patterns , circular patterns . the electric sheet resistance of such conductive pattern layers is measured continuously through electrodes connected to the layer . sheet resistance changes once patterns change ( for example some pattern parts get destroyed when a rock hits the windshield ), or once the surface properties of the patterns change ( for example through dirt , water etc . deposition ) or a combination of all of these . conductive layer materials can be chosen to selectively respond to some surface alterations and not to others ( example : light sensitive materials will react differently to non - transparent depositions — dirt — than to transparent depositions — water ). heat sensors may be formed and operated the same as the resistive sensors described above , but the conductive properties , and thus the sheet resistance of the heat sensors , change depending on heat gradients across patterns and hence the windshield . rain water deposition will induce a temperature gradient . this method is preferred for detecting isolated drops . in heavy rain , the temperature at the outside interface of the windshield and the rain water layer will level over time , diminishing heat gradients . the reflective and polarization sensors are used to sense specific properties of light . light is an electromagnetic wave comprised of components which are arranged in specific directions in space — this arrangement is called polarization of light . polarized components of impending light can selectively be enhanced or eliminated by aligning electromagnetically active materials ( for example conductors or water ) with the polarization planes of the light . a polarization sensor , for the purpose of embodiments of this invention , will utilize this filtering effect to allow light to reach a photoactive layer in the windshield when the sensor is disabled or destroyed . as an example , a polarization foil can be applied to parts of the windshield covering photo - sensitive pads underneath — preferably encapsulated within the windshield or on the inside surface of the windshield , and once the foil gets scratched , pinched or destroyed in any other way , light will reach the photo sensitive pads and the sensor will register an alarm . embodiments of the invention use two preferred implementations of wind pressure sensors : ( 1 ) resistive sensors ; and ( 2 ) piezo sensors . the resistive sensors may be formed and operated as discussed above , with sheet resistance changing due to elongation or compression of patterns . one implementation would be resistive sensor patterns in the form of four lines stretching along both diagonals of the windshield with two lines sitting on top of each other , one on the outside and one on the inside of the windshield , aligned on top of each other . this arrangement measures the difference in sheet resistance between the two parallel lines for each diagonal . even a slight pressure deformation of the windshield will translate in a change of the difference in sheet resistances ( outside line will be compressed , i . e . become shorter , inside line will be elongated , i . e . become longer ). piezo sensors may also be used to sense wind pressure . a piezoelement stretches , for example , along the diagonal of the windshield . deformation of the piezosensor through wind pressure results in an electric pulse which can be measured . this could also be used to measure windshield vibrations in real time ( vibration patterns will be directly translated into electric signal patterns ) and an analytical system can be trained to sense or identify on unusual features in the vibration pattern ( which may be considered or referred to as “ seismic ” activity on the windshield ). the sensors may operate either individually or in a concerted fashion . for example , combining a resistive sensor and a polarization sensor measurement will increase the confidence level for determining a crack / rock pinch , ruling out a water drop . if the piezoelectric sensor picks up an impact at the same time , it can safely be determined that an object has hit the windshield and cracked it . similarly , combining all sensor inputs can lead to increased confidence levels for identifying dirt or water on the windshield . in embodiments of the invention , video cameras 26 inside and outside the vehicle focus on the windscreen and capture motion images of the windscreen as the car is being driven . associated with the video cameras are one or more microprocessors 30 which execute video image analysis and pattern matching algorithms . as there are video cameras pointed at the windscreen from both inside the car , the dirt on the windscreen is seen from two different angles . video images do not need to be stored . video cameras 30 may be recessed into the hood or bonnet or in the dashboard or in the rear vision mirror in order to be less visually apparent . a rules engine determines confidence levels for identifying a specific object based on collating sensor outputs as described above ( sensor interaction ) and combining them with the results of pattern matching and spatial logic . data from the sensors 24 is relayed to the microprocessor 30 which runs the logic , e . g ., a rules system to determine what actions to take based on what input from the sensors and the analytical engine . the microprocessor 30 connects to the sensors 24 and the video cameras 26 and processes information received from these components . the programming logic comprises : image analysis ; pattern recognition ; calculation of object or mark ( x , y ) coordinates and size ; rules to identify what action to take in what circumstances , e . g ., when safe to do so ; and relaying of commands to agents which take action , e . g ., the air jets . fig3 illustrates an embodiment of programming logic that may be used in the present invention . at step 42 , the video cameras 24 inside and outside the vehicle 14 capture motion images of the windscreen 12 as the vehicle is being driven . at step 44 , video analytics on the microprocessor 30 identify new objects . as each frame of video arrives , the algorithm identifies differences between the current frame and earlier frames . the algorithms reject changes which are transient , e . g ., a passing reflection , and identify changes which remain in subsequent frames , as these changes represent possible objects ( e . g ., dirt or water ) on the windscreen . pattern matching is used , at step 46 , to identify what the object is likely to be . for instance , pattern matching is applied to identify whether the object is likely to be water ( i . e ., rain ) or dirt . at step 50 , other characteristics of the object are calculated , e . g ., size , location , whether the object is moving . also , as represented at 52 , sensors 24 may register that the object is a new crack in the windscreen . this information is used , at 54 , to determine what action to take , e . g ., direct air jets if the object is water , or cleaning jets comprising water and cleaning fluid if the object is dirt . as represented at 56 , the information may indicate that no action should be taken . for instance , if the data input shows that an object on the windscreen is a crack in the windscreen , the air and cleaning jets are not used to direct water or the cleaning fluid to the mark . if an action is identified , then , at step 58 , a safety check is made to identify when it is safe to take the action . this determination may be made based on pre - identified rules . at step 60 , instructions are sent to an agent such as one of the air or cleaning fluid jets to activate the jet . at step 62 , in response to receiving these instructions , the agent is activated to take the requested action . in embodiments of the invention , rain is recognized by the analysis engine , as the analysis engine has been trained with a large body of precedent video images to recognize what water looks like on the windscreen as the water moves when the car is in motion and when the car stops . the image captured by the video camera includes a known fixed location such as the steering wheel or the rear vision mirror and the distance and direction from the known fixed location to the drops is calculated , enabling the ( x , y ) coordinates of the drops on the surface of the windscreen to be calculated . these coordinates are relayed to the high pressure air jets located on the exterior of the car and the jets are directed at the drops . movement of objects is detected by doing a comparison of object location across successive video frames . marks such as dirt or insects are recognized by the image analytics system , and the location and size of the marks are identified using the same approach discussed above for identifying the location of rain drops . the system relays the coordinates and size of the mark to the cleaning jets which attempt to remove the mark . the video analytics system monitors progress with removing the mark , and if the mark remains after the cleaning jets have been invoked , a mechanical arm may be then invoked when safe to do so . in embodiments of the invention , the window cleaning system 10 operates continuously when the car engine is engaged . the video cameras 26 continuously capture moving images which are relayed to the microprocessor 30 for analysis . as an example , a few drops of rain land on the windscreen as the car is in motion . as with any car , the forward movement of the car creates air pressure which causes the drops to move across the windscreen . the analytics engine has analyzed the live video feeds and recognized there are objects on the screen . the pattern matching engine recognizes the objects as rain drops and in real time calculates their location . the rules system is invoked to determine what steps to take , and the rule for rain drops is to use the air jets , so the coordinates for the rain drops are relayed to the air jets which direct high pressure jets or air at the drops , causing the water to disperse . as a real time system , video is continuously ingested and analyzed with further coordinates being relayed to the air jets . as the rain becomes heavier , the system continues to function , recognizing where the drops are located and dispersing them . this continues whether the car is in motion or stationary . in heavy rain , the traditional windscreen wipers , if present , can be invoked . as another example , an insect has hit the windscreen and the image of the resulting mark is captured by the video camera , and the images are analyzed by the analytics engine and recognized to be a new mark and likely to be an insect . the rule system is invoked and the rule for insect marks is to use the cleaning jets when safe to do so . the system reads data collected by the vehicle including the speed of the vehicle and the amount of traffic and , when deemed safe ( e . g ., when the vehicle is stopped at traffic lights ), the location of the mark is sent to the cleaning jets which attempt to remove the mark by spraying cleaning agent and water in succession at the mark . any suitable processing unit 30 may be used in embodiments of the invention . fig4 is a block diagram that illustrates an embodiment of a processing unit 70 that may be used in the present invention . the processing unit 70 may include a data bus 72 or other communication mechanism for communicating information across and among various parts of the processing unit 70 , and a central processor unit ( cpu ) 74 coupled with bus 72 for processing information and performing other computational and control tasks . processing unit 70 also includes a volatile storage 76 , such as a random access memory ( ram ) or other dynamic storage device , coupled to bus 72 for storing various information as well as instructions to be executed by the cpu 74 . the volatile storage 76 also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by cpu 74 . processing unit 70 may further include a read only memory ( rom or eprom ) 80 or other static storage device coupled to bus 72 for storing static information and instructions for cpu 74 , such as basic input - output system ( bios ), as well as various system configuration parameters . a persistent storage device 82 , such as a magnetic disk , optical disk , or solid - state flash memory device is provided and coupled to bus 72 for storing information and instructions . processing unit 70 may be coupled via bus 72 to a display 84 , such as a cathode ray tube ( crt ), plasma display , or a liquid crystal display ( lcd ), for displaying information to a system administrator or user of the processing unit 70 . an input device 86 , including alphanumeric and other keys , may be coupled to processing unit 70 for communicating information and command selections to cpu 74 . another type of user input device is cursor control device 90 , such as a mouse , a trackball , or cursor direction keys for communicating direction information and command selections to processor 70 and for controlling cursor movement on display 84 . this input device typically has two degrees of freedom in two axes , a first axis ( e . g ., x ) and a second axis ( e . g ., y ), that allows the device to specify positions in a plane . an external storage device 92 may be connected to the processing unit 70 to provide an extra or removable storage capacity for the processing unit . in an embodiment of the processing unit 70 , the external removable storage device 92 may be used to facilitate exchange of data with other computer systems . the processing unit 70 also includes a communication interface , such as network interface 94 coupled to the data bus 72 . communication interface 94 provides a two - way data communication coupling to a network link 96 . network link 96 typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other network resources . for example , network link 96 may provide a connection through a local network to a host computer , or to a network storage / server . additionally or alternatively , the network link 96 may connect to the wide - area or global network , such as an internet . thus , the processing unit 70 can access network resources located anywhere on the internet , such as a remote network storage / server . in addition , the processing unit may also be accessed by clients located anywhere on the local area network and / or the internet . the present invention may be a system , a method , and / or a computer program product . the computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium ( or media ) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention . the computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device . the computer readable storage medium may be , for example , but is not limited to , an electronic storage device , a magnetic storage device , an optical storage device , an electromagnetic storage device , a semiconductor storage device , or any suitable combination of the foregoing . a non - exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following : a portable computer diskette , a hard disk , a random access memory ( ram ), a read - only memory ( rom ), an erasable programmable read - only memory ( eprom or flash memory ), a static random access memory ( sram ), a portable compact disc read - only memory ( cd - rom ), a digital versatile disk ( dvd ), a memory stick , a floppy disk , a mechanically encoded device such as punch - cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon , and any suitable combination of the foregoing . a computer readable storage medium , as used herein , is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se , such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves , electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media ( e . g ., light pulses passing through a fiber - optic cable ), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire . computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing / processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network , for example , the internet , a local area network , a wide area network and / or a wireless network . the network may comprise copper transmission cables , optical transmission fibers , wireless transmission , routers , firewalls , switches , gateway computers and / or edge servers . a network adapter card or network interface in each computing / processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing / processing device . computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions , instruction - set - architecture ( isa ) instructions , machine instructions , machine dependent instructions , microcode , firmware instructions , state - setting data , or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages , including an object oriented programming language such as smalltalk , c ++ or the like , and conventional procedural programming languages , such as the “ c ” programming language or similar programming languages . the computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user &# 39 ; s computer , partly on the user &# 39 ; s computer , as a stand - alone software package , partly on the user &# 39 ; s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server . in the latter scenario , the remote computer may be connected to the user &# 39 ; s computer through any type of network , including a local area network ( lan ) or a wide area network ( wan ), or the connection may be made to an external computer ( for example , through the internet using an internet service provider ). in some embodiments , electronic circuitry including , for example , programmable logic circuitry , field - programmable gate arrays ( fpga ), or programmable logic arrays ( pla ) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry , in order to perform aspects of the present invention . aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods , apparatus ( systems ), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention . it will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams , and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams , can be implemented by computer readable program instructions . these computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer , special purpose computer , or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine , such that the instructions , which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus , create means for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks . these computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer , a programmable data processing apparatus , and / or other devices to function in a particular manner , such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function / act specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks . the computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer , other programmable data processing apparatus , or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer , other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process , such that the instructions which execute on the computer , other programmable apparatus , or other device implement the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks . the flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture , functionality , and operation of possible implementations of systems , methods , and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention . in this regard , each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module , segment , or portion of instructions , which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function ( s ). in some alternative implementations , the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures . for example , two blocks shown in succession may , in fact , be executed substantially concurrently , or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order , depending upon the functionality involved . it will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustration , and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustration , can be implemented by special purpose hardware - based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions . the 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 in the form disclosed . many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles and applications of the invention , and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention . the invention may be implemented in various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to a particular contemplated use . | 6 |
in order to compensate for a degradation of system performance , a write buffer circuit may be provided between a central processor unit (&# 34 ; cpu &# 34 ;) and a main memory of an information processor . by way of example , fig1 shows such an information processor . fig2 shows a block diagram of a write buffer circuit which may be used by the processor of fig1 . in greater detail , the information processor ( fig1 and 2 ), requires a central processor unit &# 34 ; cpu &# 34 ; 0 20 having a main memory 22 . although the main memory 22 is not actually accessed , addresses and data are initially written into a write buffer circuit 24 ( fig2 ) containing a first in , first out (&# 34 ; fifo &# 34 ;) type of address buffer circuit 26 and a data buffer circuit 28 respectively . these circuits are inter - connected by address bus 27 and data bus 29 . the write buffer circuit 24 ( fig2 ) comprises a multi - stage address buffer circuit 26 having a plurality of stages ab1 , ab2 , . . . abn , a multi - stage comparator circuit 32 having a plurality of stages cp1 , cp2 , . . . cpn , and a multi - stage data buffer circuit 28 comprising a plurality of stages db1x , db2x , . . . dbnx . the separate stages of these multi - stage circuits are individually associated with and correspond to each other , e . g ., stages ab1 , cp1 , and db1x are individually associated with each other . when there is incoming data , cpu 20 ( fig1 ) assigns addresses which are received at address input adi ( fig2 ) from address bus 27 ( fig1 ). simultaneously , incoming data is received at data input dt from data bus 29 . an address is stored in stage ab1 , and the corresponding data is stored in data buffer stage db1x . then , as stage db2x becomes available , the data is transferred from stage db1x to stage db2x while the address is transferred to address buffer stage ab2 so that stages ab1 and db1x are ready to receive the next incoming address and data . the process continues until the address and data reach the last stages abn , dbnx at which time they are transferred from buffer write circuitry to the main memory 28 . thus the data which is first in is also the data which is first out (&# 34 ; fifo &# 34 ;). when updated data is received , if one of the comparators stages cp1 , cp2 , . . . cpn finds that there are prestored data in one of the data stages db1x , db2x , . . . dbnx , it directs the incoming updated data to that data stage . this updating of data can lead to inconsistency between supposedly the same data stored in data buffer circuit 28 and main memory 22 . after cpu 20 ( fig1 ) terminates the initial write access , it executes the next instruction , which is a write to the main memory 22 performed by the write buffer circuit 24 . since the cpu 20 commands a write to the write buffer circuit 24 simultaneously with a write to a data cache memory 30 , a cache memory instruction circuit 33 can continue the execution of its program , generally and without interruption . however , at a time when data is updated , the values which are stored in the write buffer circuit 24 and the main memory 22 may temporarily become different from each other , thus breaking the consistency of the data stored in circuit 24 and main memory 22 . therefore , it is necessary to provide circuits which pay special attention in order to subsequently access the correct stored data . for example , assume that the cpu 20 sends a write data command to the write buffer circuit 24 and further that the write buffer circuit 24 fails to write the same data into the main memory 22 , perhaps because an associated bus is busy . during the time interval while the write buffer circuit 24 fails to immediately write the data , the execution of the program progresses further . therefore , if the cpu 20 accesses the main memory 22 to use the data written in to the write buffer circuit 24 , the cpu 20 will read data which have not yet been updated . in order to prevent such data inconsistency , the conventional write buffer circuit 24 ( fig2 ) includes a comparator circuit 32 which comprises a plurality of individual comparator stages cp1 , cp2 , . . . cpn connected to respective outputs of individually associated address buffer circuit 26 . if the address which are output from a buffer circuit coincide with an address of received data , comparator 32 gives an equality signal eq1 , eq2 , . . . eqn at the output of or circuit 44 . the read access to the main memory 22 is temporarily stopped in response to this equality signal eq . after a rewrite of all of the contents of the write buffer circuit 24 into the main memory 22 , the read access is restarted . in this case , if only a single data information is rewritten into the main memory 22 , the sequence of data written into the main memory 22 becomes different from the sequences of data written into the write buffer circuit 24 . therefore , the peripheral i / o devices , etc ., may not always be operated properly . fig3 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the invention . according to a predetermined program , the cpu 40 controls the operation of the respective components of the processor and the processing of data . a main memory 42 stores the program and data for writing , storing , and reading data with respect to addresses which are assigned by the cpu 40 . an instruction cache memory 44 and a data cache memory 46 store instructions and data when the cpu 40 accesses the main memory 42 . a fifo type address buffer circuit 48 ( fig4 ) includes an address buffer circuit 50 having a plurality of address buffer stages ab1 , ab2 , . . . abn for storing an address received at input adi which is received at a write access time . a comparator circuit 54 , composed of a plurality of individual comparator stages cp1 , cp2 , . . . cpn , compares the addresses received at input adi with the addresses stored in the respective address buffers ab1 , ab2 , . . . abn and outputs equality signals eq1 , eq2 , . . . eqn of an active level , when any of the outputs of the individual comparators cp1 , cp2 , . . . cpn indicates an equality between received and stored addresses . a fifo type data buffer circuit 56 includes a plurality of data buffer stages db1 , db2 , . . . dbn corresponding to the respective individual address buffers ab1 , ab2 , . . . abn . the data buffer stages store data which is received during the write access time and reads out data corresponding to and identified by the equality signal ( i . e . one of the signals eq1 , eq2 , . . . eqn ). these equality signals are in the active level during a time of a read access . an or circuit 58 derives a logical sum of the equality signals eq1 , eq2 , . . . eqn from the respective individual comparators cp1 , cp2 , . . . cpn and outputs the equality signal eq . a first section 60 of the address bus ( fig3 ) is used to transfer addresses between the cpu 40 , the instruction cache memory 44 , the data cache memory 46 , and the read / write buffer circuit 48 . a second section 62 of the address bus transfers addresses between the write buffer circuit 48 , and the main memory 42 . a first section 64 of the data bus transmits data between the cpu 40 , the instruction cache memory 44 , the data cache memory 46 , and the write buffer circuit 48 . a second section 66 of the data bus transfers data between the write buffer circuit 48 and the main memory 42 . normally the respective address bus sections 60 , 62 and the data bus sections 64 , 66 are joined so that cpu 40 and main memory 42 are in direct communication with each other . during periods in the operation , the bus sections are separated from each other to preclude a confusion between buffer and main memory information storage . more particularly , a unidirectional tristate buffer 70 opens and closes the address bus to separate the first section 60 address bus from the second section 62 of the address bus . this process is accomplished during a predetermined time period while an equality signal eq at the output of the or circuit 58 ( fig4 ) is in an active level , and during the time of the write access . a bidirectional tristate buffer 72 ( fig3 ) opens and closes the data bus , thereby separating it into a first section 64 and the second section 66 , respectively , of the data bus . this process is accomplished during a predetermined time period while the equality signal eq from an or circuit 58 ( fig4 ) is in an active level , and during the time of the read access . the system shown in fig3 further includes a control bus which may be divided into sections 74 , 76 , corresponding to the divisions of the address and data buses . control bus 74 , 76 is used for transferring control information which is representative of a write access or a read access from cpu 40 to the memories 44 , 46 and 42 and the write buffer circuit 48 . a unidirectional tristate buffer 78 is coupled between the control bus 74 and 76 in order to separate or join them . the write buffer circuit 48 ( fig4 ) includes a read / write control circuit 80 which responds to the control information received at input cti from the control bus section 74 to produce a set of internal read / write control signals 82 for controlling the respective operations of the address and data buffer circuits 50 and 56 and the comparator circuit 54 . as mentioned before , each of the circuits 50 , 54 , and 56 is a multi - stage construction . the separate stages of these multi - stage circuits are individually associated with and correspond to each other . when there is incoming data , cpu assigned addresses are received at input adi from the bus 60 and incoming data are received at input dt from the bus 64 . the addresses and data outputted from cpu 40 ( fig3 ) in the write access to the main memory 42 are respectively stored into the buffer circuits 50 and 56 from the last stages abn and dbn to the first stages ab1 and db1 , in that order , responsive to a control of the controller 80 . when the address , data , and control buses 60 , 62 ; 64 , 66 ; and 74 , 76 are free , i . e ., when the buses are not being used by cpu 40 or other i / o units ( not shown ), the read / write controller 80 ( fig4 ) initiates a write access in order to write the data stored in the data buffer circuit 56 by transferring the stored address and data from the last stages abn and dbn , respectively , to outputs ado and dto . the information remaining in the buffer circuits 50 and 56 is then shifted rightward . thus , the data which is first in is also the data which is first out . in operation , when the cpu 40 ( fig3 ) grants a write access to the main memory 42 , address information at terminal adi ( fig4 ) and data at input terminal dt are written not in the main memory 42 , ( fig3 ) but in the address buffer circuit 50 ( fig4 ) and in the data buffer circuit 56 respectively , of the write buffer circuit 48 . when the write operation is terminated to the address buffer circuit 50 and as to the data buffer circuit 56 , the write buffer circuit 48 ( fig4 ) sends a write completion signal to the cpu 40 , which continues its operation . when the write buffer circuit 48 ( fig3 ) is not empty and the buses are free , it performs a write to the main memory 42 . this writing of data into the main memory 42 is performed in a sequence which is the same as the sequence of the data which is input to the write buffer circuit 48 . when cpu 40 is requested to read data from the main memory 42 , it initiates a read access bus cycle by sending both a read access control information and a read address onto the buses 60 and 74 , respectively . in response to the read access control information on the bus 74 ( i . e . at input cti ( fig4 )), the read / write controller 80 in the write buffer circuit 48 detects the read access request from cpu 40 . if the controller 80 is performing the data write operation to the main memory 42 ( fig3 ) at this time , it suspends that operation . the comparator circuit 54 is then activated by the control signals 82 . the address buffer circuit 50 is brought into an inactive state . the address then appearing at input is received from the first section 60 of the address bus adi . the comparator circuit 54 compares the address received at input adi with the content of the address buffer circuit 50 ( fig4 ). the comparator circuit 54 provides equality signals eq1 , eq2 , . . . eqn when the comparison finds an equality between an incoming address and an address stored in an address stage ( for example , signals appearing at inputs 84 , 86 for comparator stage cp1 ). if any of these equality signals eq1 , eq2 , . . . eqn appears in an active level , or circuit 58 provides an external active level equality signal eq . in response thereto , the controller 80 generates the signal at output terminal eqc to bring the tri - state buffers 70 , 72 and 82 into a high impedance state , which separates the buses into their separate section . the bus sections 76 , 62 , 66 ( fig3 ) are disconnected from cpu 40 . on the other hand , assuming that the signal eq2 ( fig4 ) takes the active level , the data buffer db2 , corresponding to the active level signal eq2 , outputs the data stored therein to the output data bus terminal dto . this data is thus transferred to cpu 40 through the data bus terminal 64 as the actual data which cpu 40 wants . since the bus sections 62 , 66 , 76 are separated from the cpu 40 , the read / write controller 80 ( fig4 ) resumes the data write access to the main memory 42 , by using the control bus output terminal cto to control bus section 76 , address bus output terminal ado to address bus section 62 and data bus output terminal to dto to data bus section 66 . this transfer of information over bus sections 62 , 66 , 76 occurs simultaneously with the transferring of the information to cpu 40 via bus sections 60 , 64 and 74 . thus , the updated data which cpu 40 needs , due to the execution of a current instruction , remains in the write buffer circuit 48 while it is not yet stored in the main memory 42 . also , cpu 40 receives the updated data immediately while the data write sequence to the main memory 42 being held during the data input sequence to the write buffer circuit 48 . a second embodiment is shown in fig5 in which the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals . in this embodiment , the tristate buffer 72 ( fig3 ) is omitted . in addition , the write buffer circuit 90 ( fig6 ) is different from circuit 40 since circuit 90 does not have the control output bus terminal cto , address output bus terminal ado , and data output bus terminal dto . instead , write buffer circuit 90 has a bidirectional control bus terminal ct and a bidirectional address bus terminal ad . the write buffer circuit 90 ( fig6 ) includes an input pointer 92 , an output pointer 96 and a register 98 in addition to the elements shown in fig4 . the contents of the input pointer 92 designate the address and data buffers into which the incoming address and data are to be stored , respectively . the contents of the output pointer 96 designate one of the address stages ab1 . . . abn and data stages db1 . . . dbn from which the address and data are to be outputted . the input and output pointers 92 and 96 are controlled by the read / write controller 80 so that the address and data which are first in are those which are first out . during periods when the operation of the read / write controller 80 is interrupted , the output pointer 96 information is temporarily stored in a register 98 . that pointer information is returned to output pointer 96 when the interruption ends . in operation , when the buses 60 , 62 ; 64 , 66 ; 74 , 76 ( fig5 ) are free , the write buffer circuit 90 performs the data write operation directly to the main memory 42 instead of using the cpu , as described above . when cpu 40 initiates a data read access to the main memory 42 , the controller 80 ( fig6 ) detects that access at input terminal ct in response to the information appearing on the control bus 74 . the controller 80 interrupts its operation and suspends the data write operation to the main memory 42 and then activates the comparators 54 . assuming that the data which cpu 40 ( fig5 ) needs is stored in the data buffer 56 and not in the main memory 42 , either one of the comparator stages cp1 ... cpn produces the active level signal eq1 and or gate 58 generates the active level signal eq . in response to the interrupt , the controller 80 changes the signal 82 to the active level in order to bring the tristate buffers 70 and 78 ( fig5 ) into the high impedance state , thus sectionalizing the address and control buses . the controller 80 ( fig6 ) further saves the present contents of the output pointer 96 by reading it into the register 98 . then , the output pointer 96 captures the outputs of the comparators 54 . the outputs of the comparator 54 indicate the particular stage of data buffer 56 which is storing the data which cpu 40 needs . that identified data is then transferred to cpu 40 via the buses dt and 64 , 66 . since the control and address bus sections 76 and 62 are now separated from bus sections 60 , 74 , the main memory 42 does not have the data access . when cpu 40 receives the data , it terminates the data read access to the main memory 42 and then executes the next programmed instruction . since the read address on the bus section 60 disappears , all the signals eq1 , eq2 and eqn are changed to the inactive level . therefore , the tristate buffers 70 and 78 are activated to reconnect the bus sections 60 and 74 to the bus sections 62 and 76 , respectively . in response to the end of the interrupt , the inactive level of the equality signal eq at the output of or circuit 58 ( fig6 ) ends and the controller 80 returns the contents of the register 98 to the output pointer 96 . if the next instruction does not require cpu 40 to initiate a read or write access bus cycle , the controller 80 resumes the data write operation to the main memory 42 because the buses are joined in their free state . according to the present invention , at the time of a read access when there is an aimed data in the write buffer circuit , the data is read directly from the write buffer circuit . there is no need for a two - step access first including a rewrite of data from the write buffer circuit to the main memory and then an access to the main memory . thus , there is no inconsistency of data at a time data update . hence , the access time is shortened . those who are skilled in the art will readily perceive how to modify the invention . therefore , the appended claims are to be construed to cover all equivalent structures which fall within the true scope and spirit of the invention . | 6 |
according to this invention the conductive polymers developed herein act as a binder for the silicon particles used for the construction of the negative anode . they are mixed with the silicon nano sized silicon parties in a slurry process , then coated on a substrate such as copper or aluminum and thereafter allowed to dry to form the film electrode . though the silicon particles can range from micron to nano size , the use of nano sized particles is preferred as such results in an electrode material that can better accommodate volume changes . a fabrication method for the synthesis of one embodiment of the binder polymer of this invention is as set forth below . first presented is a means for preparing one of the monomers used in polymer formation , i . e . 2 , 5 - dibromo - 1 , 4 - benzenedicarboxylic acid , a reaction scheme for preparing this monomer illustrated at paragraph [ 0020 ], immediately below . when the benzenedicarboxylic acid staring material has only one ch 3 group , the reaction will end up with only one r = cooch 3 group in the final product . exemplary of a method for forming one of the polymers of this invention is provided with respect to one embodiment , according to the reaction scheme set forth at paragraph [ 0023 ], below . a mixture of 9 , 9 - dioctylfluorene - 2 , 7 - diboronic acid bis ( 1 , 3 - propanediol ) ester ( 0 . 83 g , 1 . 5 mmol ) commercially available from sigma - aldrich company , 2 , 7 - dibromo - 9 - fluorenone ( 0 . 50 g , 1 . 5 mmol ), ( pph 3 ) 4 pd ( 0 ) ( 0 . 085 g , 0 . 07 mmol ) and several drops of aliquat 336 in a mixture of 10 ml of thf ( tetrahydrofuran ) and 4 . 5 ml of 2 m na 2 co 3 solution was refluxed with vigorous stirring for 72 hours under an argon atmosphere . during the polymerization , a brownish solid precipitated out of solution . the solid was collected and purified by soxhlet extraction with acetone as solvent for two days with a yield of 86 %. a mixture of 9 , 9 - dioctylfluorene - 2 , 7 - diboronic acid bis ( 1 , 3 - propanediol ) ester ( 0 . 80 g , 1 . 43 mmol ), 2 , 7 - dibromo - 9 - fluorenone ( 0 . 24 g , 0 . 72 mmol ), methyl 2 , 5 - dibromobenzoate ( 0 . 21 g , 0 . 72 mmol ), ( pph 3 ) 4 pd ( 0 ) ( 0 . 082 g , 0 . 072 mmol ) and several drops of aliquat 336 in a mixture of 13 ml of thf ( tetrahydrofuran ) and 5 ml of 2 m na 2 co 3 solution was refluxed with vigorous stirring for 72 h under an argon atmosphere . after reaction stopped , the solution was concentrated by vacuum evaporation and the polymer was precipitated from methanol . the resulting polymer was further purified by precipitating from methanol twice . the final polymer was collected by suction filtration and dried under vacuum with a yield of 87 %. a mixture of pffomb ( 0 . 36 g ) and koh ( 2 g , 35 mmol ) in 20 ml of thf and 2 ml of h 2 o was refluxed for 48 h under an argon atmosphere . after reaction stopped , the solution was concentrated by vacuum evaporation and polymer was precipitated from methanol . the resulting polymer was suspended in 10 ml , of concentrated h 2 so 4 with vigorous stirring for 12 hours . the final product was filtered , washed with water and dried with a yield of 96 %. reaction scheme for forming conductive polymer with — cooch 3 ( pffomb ) and — cooh ( pffoba ) groups on the side chains . it has been found that the presence of — cooh groups serves to increase the bindability of the polymer to the silicon particles of the electrode . in particular , one can position carboxylic acid groups in connection with the 9 th position of fluorene backbone . the below formula depicts the general structure of this type of polymer . wherein x = 0 , x ′ and y =& gt ; 0 , and z & lt ;= 1 , and x ′+ y + z = 1 , r 3 and r 4 can be ( ch 2 ) n cooh , n = 0 - 8 , and r 5 and r 6 can be any combination of h , cooh and cooch 3 . another variation is to adjust the number of cooh groups by copolymerizing x monomer into the main chains as illustrated in the formula shown below . by adjusting the ratio of x : x ′, the number of — cooh groups can be controlled without changing the electronic properties of the conductive binders . exemplary of such a composition is as illustrated below by the following formula . herein , x , x ′, y & gt ; 0 , and z & lt ;= 1 , with x + x ′+ y + z = 1 . r 1 and r 2 can be ( ch 2 ) n ch 3 , n = 0 - 8 . r 3 and r 4 can be ( ch 2 ) n cooh , n = 0 - 8 . r 5 and r 6 can be any combination of h , cooh and cooch 3 ; and the “ x , x ′” unit is fluorene with either alkyl or alkylcarboxylic acid at the 9 , 9 ′ positions ; the “ y ” unit is fluorenone . the h positions of the back bone of fluorenon and fluorene also can be substituted with functional groups such as cooh , f , cl , br , so 3 h , etc . in still another embodiment , one can increase the flexibility of the polymer by introducing a flexible section between repeating units . this is illustrated as shown below where a flexible chain section such as alkyl or polyethylene can be used to connect a sections together to further improve elasticity , the structure illustrated by the below formula : r 1 and r 2 can be ( ch 2 ) n ch 3 , n = 0 - 8 , r 3 and r 4 can be ( ch 2 ) n cooh , n = 0 - 8 , r 5 and r 6 can be any combination of h , cooh and cooch 3 . most of the highly conjugated conductive polymers have rigid backbones , and the elasticity of the polymers is low . in order to accommodate volume expansion incurred during the li interacalation and de - intercalation in the alloys , it is important that the conductive polymer binders have certain degree of elasticity . one method to increase flexibility is to synthetically introduce flexible units ( n ) into the polymer system as show above . unit n is a flexible alkyl or polyethylene portion . this flexible unit ( n ) can be one or many of — ch 2 units depending upon the requirements for a particular alloy system , or could be other types of liner units depending on the ease of synthesis . both x , x ′, y and z units could be one or many fluorene or fluorenone units . one possible structure is of a random copolymer with a few percent of flexible units distributed along the fluorene main chain . the r 1 - r 6 units could be either one of the choices , and it is not necessary they be all the same in a polymer chain . increasing the length of the side chains may also have an effect on the flexibility of the polymer binder . therefore , the number of units in r 1 - r 6 is also subject to change during an optimization process . one may change the number of units of the r 1 - r 6 , and look for improved cell cycling performance as indication of optimization . another issue is the stability and impedance of the interface between the active cathode material and electrolyte . the binder may cover ( that is , over - coat ) all the active materials at higher binder loadings . such over - coverage will modify the interface stability and impedance . varying the number of units in r 1 - r 6 will play a significant role in optimizing the charge transfer impedance at the interface . current polymer structures that have been synthesized and tested in lithium ion battery are shown as illustrated by the below . once the conductive polymers have been synthesized they can be mixed with the silicon particles , and coated onto a substrate such as copper and allowed to dry to form the electrode material . amore detailed discussion of electrode preparation is presented below . an advantage of the use of these conductive polymers of the present invention is that they are easily compatible with current slurry processes for making electrodes , thus requiring no special steps or equipment . si / conductive polymer mixtures were made by dissolving 0 . 09 g of the conductive polymer of fig1 ( i . e ., pffoba , wherein r 1 = r 2 =( ch 2 ) 7 ch 3 , r 5 = cooch 3 , r 6 = h , and x = 0 . 5 , x ′= 0 , y = 0 . 175 and z = 0 . 325 )) in 2 . 6 g of chlorobenzene . 0 . 18 g of si was dispersed in the polymer solution to meet the desired si : polymer ratios at 2 : 1 . to ensure the thorough mixing of the si nanoparticles into the polymer solution , a branson 450 sonicator equipped with a solid horn was used . the sonication power was set at 70 %. a continuous sequence of 10 second pulses followed by 30 second rests was used . the sonic dispersion process took about 30 min . all of the mixing processes were performed in ar - filled glove boxes . by way of comparison to the conductive polymers of this invention , illustrated in fig2 and 3 , slurries of ab : pvdf ( acetylene black / polyvinylidene fluoride ) at 0 . 2 : 1 ratios by weight were made by dissolving 5 g of pvdf in to 95 g of nmp to make a 5 % pvdf in nmp solution . proper amounts of ab was dispersed in the pvdf solution to meet the desired ab : pvdf ratios . to ensure the thorough mixing of the ab nanoparticles into the pvdf solution , the branson 450 sonicator equipped with a solid horn was used . the sonication power was set at 70 %. a continuous sequence of 10 s pulses followed by 30 s rests was used . the sonic dispersion process took ca . 30 min . all of the mixing processes were performed in ar - filled glove boxes . 0 . 86 g si was mixed with 7 . 16 g of the conductive glue ( pvdf : ab = 1 : 0 . 2 by weight in 95 % pvdf nmp solution ). to ensure the thorough mixing of the si nanoparticles into the glue solution , the branson 450 sonicator equipped with a solid horn was used . the sonication power was set at 70 %. a continuous sequence of 10 s pulses followed by 30 s rests was used . the sonic dispersion process took about 30 min . all of the mixing processes were performed in ar - filled glove boxes . all electrode laminates were cast onto a 20 μm thick battery - grade cu sheet using a mitutoyo doctor blade and a yoshimitsu seiki vacuum drawdown coater to roughly the same loading per unit area of active material . the films and laminates were first dried under infrared lamps for 1 h until most of the solvent was evaporated and they appeared dried . the films and laminates were further dried at 120 ° c . under 10 − 2 torr dynamic vacuum for 24 h . the film and laminate thicknesses were measured with a mitutoyo micrometer with an accuracy of ± 1 μm . the typical thickness of film is about 20 μm . the electrodes were compressed to 35 % porosity before coin cell assembly using a calendar machine from international rolling mill equipped with a continuously adjustable gap . coin cell assembly was performed using standard 2325 coin cell hardware . a 1 . 47 cm diameter disk was punched out from the laminate for use in the coin cell assembly as a working electrode . lithium foil was used in making the counter electrode . the counter electrodes were cut to 1 . 5 cm diameter disks . the working electrode was placed in the center of the outer shell of the coin cell assembly and two drops of 1 m lipf 6 in ec : dec ( 1 : 1 weight ratio ) electrolyte purchased from ferro inc . were added to wet the electrode . a 2 cm diameter of celgard 2400 porous polyethylene separator was placed on top of the working electrode . three more drops of the electrolyte were added to the separator . the counter electrode was placed on the top of the separator . special care was taken to align the counter electrode symmetrically above the working electrode . a stainless steel spacer and a belleville spring were placed on top of the counter electrode . a plastic grommet was placed on top of the outer edge of the electrode assembly and crimp closed with a custom - built crimping machine manufactured by national research council of canada . the entire cell fabrication procedure was done in an ar - atmosphere glove box . the coin cell performance was evaluated in a thermal chamber at 30 ° c . with a maccor series 4000 battery test system . the cycling voltage limits were set at 1 . 0 v at the top of the charge and 0 . 01 v at the end of the discharge . all the starting chemical materials for synthesis of the conductive polymer were purchased from sigma - aldrich . battery - grade ab with an average particle size of 40 nm , a specific surface area of 60 . 4 m 2 / g , and a material density of 1 . 95 g / cm 3 was acquired from denka singapore private ltd . pvdf kf1100 binder with a material density of 1 . 78 g / cm 3 was supplied by kureha , japan . anhydrous n - methylpyrrolidone nmp with 50 ppm of water content was purchased from aldrich chemical co . as described above , the conductive polymers of this invention can be used as electrically conductive binders for si nanoparticles electrodes . the electron withdrawing units lowering the lumo level of the conductive polymer make it prone to reduction around 1 v against a lithium reference , and the carboxylic acid groups provide covalent bonding with oh groups on the si surface by forming ester bonds . the alkyls in the main chain provide flexibility for the binder . results of the various tests that were conducted are as reported in the various plots of fig2 - 6 . fig2 shows the new conductive polymer binder in combination with si nanoparticles much improving the capacity retention compared to conventional acetylene black ( ab ) and polyvinylidene difluride ( pvdf ) conductive additive and binder as a control . fig3 illustrates the improved coulombic efficiency of the conductive binder / si electrode of the invention compared with the conventional ab / pvdf approach . fig4 illustrates results showing very similar voltage profiles of the conductive polymer / si electrode to the pure si film type of electrode . fig5 plots the rate performance of the conductive polymer / si electrode of the invention , showing good results . evan at a 10 c rate , there is still more than half of the capacity retention . finally , fig6 illustrates cycleability of the silicon electrode made with the copolymer binder of the invention , which is very good at limited capacity range . there is no capacity fade in 100 cycles at 1200 mah / g and 600 mah / g fixed capacity cycling . fig7 illustrates cycling results for a pffomb binder using an electrolyte comprising 1 . 2 m lipf6 in ec / dec ( ethylene carbonate and diethylene carbonate ) plus 10 % fec ( fluroethylene carbonate or fluorinated ethylene carbonate ), the fec additive serving as a stabilizer . c . synthesis of pfpfofomb ( poly ( 2 , 7 - 9 , 9 - dioctylfluorene - co - 2 , 7 - 9 , 9 -( di ( oxy - 2 , 5 , 8 - trioxadecane )) fluorine - co - 2 , 7 - fluorenone - co - 2 , 5 - 1 - methylbenzoic ester )) ( an analog of pffomb ) binder and the si electrode performance triethyleneoxide side chains provide improved adhesion to materials such as , graphite , silicon , silicon alloy , tin , tin alloy . additionally triethyleneoxide side chains provide a higher swelling rate that improves ionic conduction . in one embodiment , a 30 % weight increase above dry weight provides an increase in ionic conduction while also avoiding bursting of the battery . scheme 1 lists the synthetic process to form the tosylated triethyleneoxide methylether . the number of ethyleneoxide units can vary from 0 to 10000 ( n = 0 - 10000 ), and n can be an exact number or an average . the higher number of n is called an oligoethyleneoxide monomethylether . scheme 2 gives the generic structure of a possible family of the tosylate products . the typical number of n is from 1 - 5 . scheme 3 is the schematic process of synthesis of the pfo monomer using tosylated triethlyeneoxide monomethylether . tosylate with other oligothyleneoxide monomethylether as in scheme 2 can also be used to form different lengths of ethyleneoxide chains at the 9 positions of the fluorene . the pfo monomer can be incorporated into the pffomb polymer binder ( ib - 2643 ) in the process described in scheme 4 . fig1 illustrates the pfpfofomb . both pfpfofomb and pfpfofoba are random copolymers , where all the units are located randomly . the subscribed numbers in the polymer molecular structure indicates the ratios among all the units . this synthesis process requires to have a = b + c + d . the composition we used to generate the polymer pfpfofoma is a = 3 , b = 1 , c = 1 and d = 1 , so the ratio between the octylfluorene ( segment a ) and triethyleneoxide fluorene ( segment b ) is 3 / 1 . the segment b has higher polarity due to the triethyleneoxide chains therefore increases electrolyte uptake and improved adhesion between the particle surfaces and the binder . with synthetic scheme 4 , a , b , c , and d can vary from 0 - 1000 as long as the condition of a = b + c + d is satisfied . scheme 5 is an alternative synthesis process to make both pfpfofomb and pfpfofoba polymers . this alternative process does not have the constraint as the process described in scheme 4 . therefore , a , b , c , d can be another number between 0 - 1000 . the alternation of the numbers has a major impact of the binder when combined with silicon . the above binder is combined with si ( sn or other alloy of the kind ) particles to formulate a lithium ion negative electrode . the particle can be spherical , a wire , or a plate . for spherical or pseudo spherical particles , the diameter can be from 0 . 1 nm - 100 micron . for wires , the spherical cross - section is in 0 . 1 nm - 100 micron . the length is 1 nm - 1000 micron . for a plate , the thickness is in 0 . 1 nm - 100 micron . the plain size is also 0 . 1 nm - 100 micron . the binder and particle composites contain at least one particle . the polymer synthesized is demonstrated in schematic 6 . this polymer is combined with si nanoparticles . the si nanoparticles have an average particle size of 50 - 70 nm diameter . this si sample is purchased from nanostructured & amp ; amorphous materials inc . the composition of the electrode laminate is 34 % by weight of pfpfofomb polymer , and 66 % si nanoparticles . the electrode is cast by a slurry process described below . triethlyene glycol monomethylether ( 10 g , 61 mmol ) was dissolved in thf ( 50 ml ) and cooled to 0 ° c . in an ice bath . a solution of koh ( 5 . 6 g , 100 mmol ) in 10 ml water was slowly added to the mixture , and then a solution of tscl ( 9 . 5 g , 50 mmol ) in 20 ml thf was added drop - wise over 20 min . with vigorous stirring . after stirring overnight in an ice bath , the mixture was poured into distilled water ( 200 ml ) and extracted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 2 × 100 ml ). the combined organic solutions were washed with saturated nahco 3 solution ( 2 × 100 ml ), distilled water ( 2 × 100 ml ), dried over mgso 4 , and concentrated under reduced pressure to give 15 . 7 g as a clear colorless oil in 99 % yield . 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ 2 . 3 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 22 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 28 - 3 . 70 ( m , 10h ), 4 . 04 ( t , 2h ), 7 . 24 ( d , 2h ), 7 . 68 ( d , 2h ). 2 , 7 - dibromofluorene ( 5 . 0 g , ( 5 . 4 mmol ) was dissolved in dried thf solution ( 30 ml ). sodium hydride ( 1 . 0 g , 40 mmol ) was added to the thf solution at room temperature and refluxed for 5 hours . 10 - tosyloxy - 2 , 5 , 8 - trioxadecane ( 11 . 8 g , 37 mmol ) in 20 ml of dry thf was added dropwise to the refluxed solution . the mixture was allowed to refluxed over night , then cooled down , poured into distill water and extracted with chloroform ( 2 × 100 ml ). the combined organic solutions were washed with saturated nacl solution ( 2 × 100 ml ), distilled water ( 1 × 100 ml , dried over mgso 4 , and concentrated under reduced pressure . crude oil was further purified by column chromatography using hexane / ethyl acetate ( 50 / 50 ) as eluant . tlc ( ethyl acetate / hexane = 1 / 1 ) r f = 0 . 12 . the fraction at rf = 0 . 12 was collected and concentrated to give 5 . 7 product in 60 % yield . 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ) δ 2 . 34 ( t , 4h ), 2 . 77 ( t , 4h ), 3 . 10 - 3 . 60 ( m , 22h ), 7 . 40 - 7 . 60 ( m , 6h ). poly ( 2 , 7 - 9 , 9 - dioctylfluorene - co - 2 , 7 - 9 , 9 -( di ( oxy - 2 , 5 , 8 - trioxadecane )) fluorine - co - 2 , 7 - fluorenone - co - 2 , 5 - 1 - methylbenzoic ester ): a mixture of 9 , 9 - dioctylfluorene - 2 , 7 - diboronic acid bis ( 1 , 3 - propanediol ) ester ( 1 . 10 g , 1 . 97 mmol ), 9 , 9 -( di ( oxy - 2 , 5 , 8 - trioxadecane )) fluorine ( 0 . 44 g , 0 . 71 mmol ) 2 , 7 - dibromo - 9 - fluorenone ( 0 . 24 g , 0 . 72 mmol ), methyl2 , 5 - dibromobenzoate ( 0 . 21 g , 0 . 72 mmol ), ( pph 3 ) 4 pd ( 0 ) ( 0 . 082 g , 0 . 072 mmol ) and several drops of aliquat 336 in a mixture of 13 ml of thf and 5 ml of 2 m na 2 co 3 solution was refluxed with vigorous stirring for 72 h under an argon atmosphere . after reaction stopped , the solution was concentrated by vacuum evaporation and the polymer was precipitated from methanol . the resulting polymer was further purified by precipitating from methanol twice . circular voltamegram ( cv ) of pfpfomb was measured against a li reference . the polymer was coated on cu current collector . electrolyte is 1m lipf 6 in ec / emc / dmc 1 / 1 / 1 with 10 % ftc electrolyte . the conditions for cv are polymer weight 70 microgram , voltage step 0 . 2 mv / s , area 1 . 6 cm2 . fig8 is the cv of the pfpfofomb polymer vs . li / li +. the swelling rate of this pfpfofomb polymer was also measured against the 1m lipf6 , ec / dec ( 1 : 1 , wt ) electrolyte , and compared with the pffomb polymers . the film thickness is controlled around 10 micron . pfpfofomb polymer has much higher swelling in the electrolyte compared to the pffomb polymer . fig9 is a test of pfpfofomb ( cross ) vs . pffomb ( triangle ) polymers . the polymer binder solution was made by dissolving 90 mg of polymer binder in 2 . 6 ml of n - methylpyrrolidone ( nmp ) solution with magnetic stirring . 180 mg of the si nano powder was added into the binder solution and sonicated for 2 minutes to make uniformed slurry . the slurry was coated on a piece of cu current collector with a doctor blade at a gap of 25 μm . all the processes were done in the inert atmosphere glove box . the laminate was vacuum dried at 120 ° c . over night . the laminate thickness 12 μm . the electrode was pouch out with a 9 / 16 ″ pouch . the weight of active materials si is 0 . 28 mg . the electrode was assembled into a coin cell with li metal counter electrode , celgard ® 2500 separator and 1m lipf 6 ec / emc / dmc 1 / 1 / 1 with 10 % fec electrolyte . fig1 shows the coin cell cycling test in 30 ° c . temperature oven at c / 10 current ( 0 . 12 ma ) between 0 . 01v - 1v voltage range . the c - rate calculation of the si based electrode is assuming the si has the theoretical capacity of 4200 mah / g . fig1 is the cycling capacity of the si / pfpfofomb electrode at c / 10 rate . ( a ) the electrode specific capacity based on si weight . ( b ) the electrode area specific capacity . the c - rate performance of the si / pfpfofomb composite electrode was also tested in 1 m lipf6 ec / dec ( 3 : 7 weight ) 30 % fec and reported in fig1 . fig1 is the c / 25 lithiation and variable delithiation rate of the composite electrode . the pfpfofomb polymer based si electrode has much improved performance and can deliver the full theoretical capacity of the si particle (˜ 3500 mah / g ) with good rate retention . the adhesion of pfpfofomb / si is much stronger than that of the pffomb / si based system . adhesion and swelling are keys for the improve performance of the pfpfofomb conductive polymer over pffomb polymer . this invention has been described herein in considerable detail to provide those skilled in the art with information relevant to apply the novel principles and to construct and use such specialized components as are required . however , it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out by different equipment , materials and devices , and that various modifications , both as to the equipment and operating procedures , can be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention itself . | 7 |
please refer to fig3 ( a )˜ 3 ( f ), which are schematic diagrams illustrating the operation principle of a preferred embodiment of the present invention , where there comprises a lens unit 1 , a ccd 2 , and a filter unit , said filter unit includes a filter bracket 3 with red ( r ), green ( g ), blue ( b ) filters each attached on one lattice of said filter bracket respectively , while transparent ( t ) filters are attached on other lattices . in fact , only red ( r ), green ( g ), blue ( b ) filters are necessary to be attached on lattices of the filter bracket to achieve the effect of spectralizing the optical signal al , the purpose of the transparent ( t ) filters is to balance the weight of the filter unit and to avoid disturbing the air flow during rotation of the filter bracket 3 so as to reduce any noise . as shown in fig3 ( a ), because of the rotation of said filter bracket 3 by a driving device , an optical signal a1 projected on said filter unit is perpendicular to said red filter and passes through said lens unit 1 and said transparent ( t ) filter to be projected on said ccd 2 , so said ccd 2 will sense the red component of said optical signal a1 . similarly , as the filter bracket 3 rotates to let the green ( g ) filter face the light as shown in fig3 ( b ), said ccd 2 will sense the green component of said optical signal a1 . if the blue ( b ) filter is rotated to face the light as shown in fig3 ( c ), then said ccd 2 will sense the blue component of said optical signal a1 . the filters can be arranged as shown in fig3 ( d ), 3 ( e ), and 3 ( f ), where red ( r ), green ( g ), and blue ( b ) filters are attached on said filter bracket 3 sequentially , while transparent ( t ) filters are attached on rest lattices of the filter bracket . therefore , when the filter bracket 3 is rotated to be as shown in fig3 ( d ), the red component of the optical signal a1 is obtained . similarly , the green ( g ) and blue ( b ) components of the optical signal a1 can be obtained when the filter bracket 3 is rotated as shown in fig3 ( e ) and 3 ( f ) respectively . as the filter bracket 3 rotates a circle , the optical signal will be spectralized twice for each optical component . please refer to fig4 which is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention , where there comprises a lens unit 1 , a filter bracket 3 , a driven gear 4 , a driving gear 5 , a stepping motor 6 . the lattices of said filter bracket 3 are attached with red ( r ), green ( g ), blue ( b ), and transparent ( t ) filters . said filter bracket 3 is a hexagonal type with a lens unit 1 being provided at the center . the driven gear 4 is engaged with the filter bracket 3 , while the driving gear 5 is engaged with said driven gear 4 . a stepping motor 6 is used to drive said driving gear 5 as well as said driven gear 4 so that said filter bracket 3 is rotated with said lens unit 1 as a rotating center . by controlling said stepping motor 6 , two opposite filters will be parallel to the mirror plane of the lens unit 1 for each step , so that said optical signal a1 will pass through the filter unit and the lens unit 1 to obtain the red , green , blue components of the optical signal respectively . please refer to fig5 ( a ) and 5 ( b ), which are schematic structure views of the preferred embodiment of the present invention in conjunction with a scanner . fig5 ( a ) is a top view , while fig5 ( b ) is a side view . the operation principle of the present invention is shown in fig6 . during optical reading of the present embodiment , the mirror plane of the lens unit 1 for optical reading is parallel to two filters of the filter bracket 3 . a light source l transmits an optical signal a1 onto an object 7 ( see fig6 ), and is reflected by said object , reflectors m1 , m2 , and m3 , then enters said filter unit . the red ( r ), green ( g ), and blue ( b ) filters will be drived by the stepping motor of the present invention to face the optical signal so as to read the red , green , and blue components by said ccd 2 respectively . the operation principle of the above lens unit 1 and ccd 2 is well know in the art , so any detail description is not necessary . the present invention is characterised in that said lens unit 1 is provided at the center of said filter unit , so that the lens unit is most close to the filter unit 1 , that is to say a filter unit with much reduced volume can be provided in the optical path of the optical signal a1 . furthermore , as the filter bracket 3 rotates a circle , the optical signal will be spectralized twice for each optical component , thereby the optical reading time is reduced . a stepping motor is also provided to control accurately the rotation of the filter unit . the above embodiments can be modified by any skillful person in the art without departing the spirit and scope of the accompanying claims . | 6 |
the following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments . as used herein , the word “ exemplary ” or “ illustrative ” means “ serving as an example , instance , or illustration .” any implementation described herein as “ exemplary ” or “ illustrative ” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations . all of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims . moreover , the illustrative embodiments described herein are not exhaustive and embodiments or implementations other than those which are described herein and which fall within the scope of the appended claims are possible . furthermore , there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field , background , brief summary or the following detailed description . referring initially to fig1 and 2 of the drawings , an illustrative embodiment of the pneumatic pressure brake booster system , hereinafter system , is generally indicated by reference numeral 100 . as shown in fig1 , the system 100 may be adapted for connection to a vehicle braking system 122 of a vehicle ( not shown ) having a pair of front brakes 124 and a pair of rear brakes 128 to operate the front and rear brakes 124 , 128 . in some applications , the vehicle having the vehicle braking system 122 may have a turbocharged or supercharged engine , an engine with stop - start features or an electric powertrain , or may be a gas - electric hybrid . the system 100 may facilitate enhanced braking capability and higher assist forces generated by the vehicle braking system 122 . the system 100 may additionally facilitate enhanced space - efficient packaging of the braking system components in smaller vehicles . the system 100 includes a pressure servo booster 101 . the pressure servo booster 101 may have a design which is similar to that of a standard or conventional vacuum booster which is known by those skilled in the art , with notable exceptions described below . as shown in fig2 , the pressure servo booster 101 has a booster shell 101 a with a brake pedal side 101 b and a brake master cylinder side 101 c . the booster shell 101 a has an interior air pressure chamber 106 on the brake pedal side 101 b and an interior ambient air chamber 102 on the brake master cylinder side 101 c . a flexible diaphragm 114 separates the ambient air chamber 102 and the air pressure chamber 106 . the diaphragm 114 can be deployed in a pre - deformed position indicated by the phantom lines and a deformed position indicated by the solid lines in fig2 . at least one ambient air vent 103 in the booster shell 101 a communicates with the ambient air chamber 102 . accordingly , as it is deployed from the pre - deformed position indicated by the phantom lines to the deformed position indicated by the solid lines in fig2 , the diaphragm 114 forces ambient air 104 from the ambient air chamber 102 through the ambient air vent or vents 103 . conversely , as the diaphragm 114 returns from the deformed position back to the pre - deformed position , the resulting drop in air pressure draws ambient air 104 into the ambient air chamber 102 through the ambient air vent or vents 103 . at least one source 108 , 110 of pressurized air 111 communicates with the air pressure chamber 106 . in some embodiments , the source of pressurized air 111 may include engine intake air 108 from the engine air intake manifold ( not shown ) of the vehicle . in some embodiments , the source of pressurized air 111 may include an auxiliary pressure pump 110 . in some embodiments , the source of pressurized air 111 may include both engine intake air 108 and an auxiliary pressure pump 110 . a hose coupling 116 may detachably couple the auxiliary pressure pump 110 to the air pressure chamber 106 . a brake pedal shaft 119 slidably extends through sealed shaft openings ( not shown ) in the booster shell 101 a . the brake pedal shaft 119 traverses the ambient air chamber 102 and the air pressure chamber 106 of the booster shell 101 a . a brake pedal 118 engages a first end of a brake pedal shaft 119 . a second end of the brake pedal shaft 119 operably engages a brake master cylinder 120 . responsive to depression of the brake pedal 118 , the brake pedal shaft 119 shifts from a pre - actuating position to an actuating position in which the brake pedal shaft 119 actuates the brake master cylinder 120 . the diaphragm 114 is attached to the brake pedal shaft 119 such that deformation of the diaphragm 114 into the ambient air chamber 102 augments movement of the brake pedal shaft 119 from the pre - actuating position to the actuating position in actuation of the brake master cylinder 120 . a pedal return spring 112 may be fitted on the brake pedal shaft 119 in the ambient air chamber 102 . the pedal return spring 112 may be interposed between the diaphragm 114 and the booster shell 101 a . the pedal return spring 112 normally maintains the brake pedal shaft 119 in the pre - actuating position . upon depression of the brake pedal 118 , the pedal return spring 112 is compressed as the brake pedal shaft 119 actuates the brake master cylinder 120 . upon subsequent release of the brake pedal 118 , the pedal return spring 112 expands and returns the brake pedal shaft 119 to the pre - actuating position . simultaneously , the brake pedal shaft 119 returns the diaphragm 114 to the pre - deformed position indicated by the phantom lines in fig2 . servo valve control of the system 100 may be effected in a manner which is similar to or the same as that of conventional vacuum boosters . in exemplary application of the system 100 , the engine intake air 108 and / or the auxiliary pressure pump 110 supplies air pressure 111 to the air pressure chamber 106 . the air pressure 111 in the air pressure chamber 106 applies force against the diaphragm 114 and biases the diaphragm 114 toward the ambient air chamber 102 . consequently , upon subsequent depression of the brake pedal 118 , the brake pedal shaft 119 is pushed further into the brake master cylinder 120 and actuates the brake master cylinder 120 . hydraulic fluid ( not shown ) flows from the brake master cylinder 120 to the front brakes 124 and the rear brakes 128 to actuate the brakes 124 , 128 in the conventional manner . as the brake pedal shaft 119 is pushed further into the brake master cylinder 120 upon depression of the brake pedal 118 , the air pressure 111 in the air pressure chamber 106 deforms the diaphragm 114 into the ambient air chamber 102 , causing ambient air 104 to exit the ambient air chamber 102 through the ambient air vent or vents 103 . consequently , as it is deformed , the diaphragm 114 augments movement of the brake pedal shaft 119 further into the brake master cylinder 120 , reducing the magnitude of foot pressure which is required for application to the brake pedal 118 to facilitate actuation of the vehicle braking system 122 . this expedient may be particularly advantageous at high altitudes in which the pressure of the ambient air 104 is reduced . upon subsequent release of foot pressure from the brake pedal 118 , the pedal return spring 112 expands and returns the brake pedal shaft 119 and the brake pedal 118 to the pre - actuating position . the diaphragm 114 returns with the brake pedal shaft 119 to the pre - deformed position indicated by the phantom lines in fig2 . simultaneously , ambient air 104 is drawn back into the ambient air chamber 102 through the ambient air vent or vents 103 . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that compared with conventional vacuum boosters , the system 100 facilitates achievement of higher assist forces in smaller package space with brake pedal pressures several times the pressure of the ambient air 104 . air pressure 111 can be supplied from the engine intake air 108 from the engine intake if pressurized , and / or from the auxiliary pressure pump 110 . the auxiliary pressure pump 110 can be used to pressurize the chassis suspension , air springs , dampers , etc . in some embodiments , the hose coupling 116 ( fig2 ) can detachably couple the auxiliary pressure pump 110 to the air pressure chamber 106 . the auxiliary pressure pump 110 can be selectively uncoupled from the air pressure chamber 106 to enable a customer to inflate tires , toys , etc . referring next to fig3 of the drawings , a flow diagram 300 of an illustrative embodiment of a pneumatic pressure brake booster method is shown . in block 302 , air pressure is applied against a diaphragm . in some embodiments , the air pressure applied against the diaphragm may be from engine intake air . in some embodiments , the air pressure applied against the diaphragm may be from an auxiliary pressure pump . in block 304 , a brake pedal is depressed . in block 306 , the diaphragm is deformed . in some embodiments , ambient air may be expelled from an ambient air chamber while the diaphragm is deformed . in block 308 , actuation of the brake master cylinder is augmented by applying the force of the deforming diaphragm to the brake pedal shaft . although the embodiments of this disclosure have been described with respect to certain exemplary embodiments , it is to be understood that the specific embodiments are for purposes of illustration and not limitation , as other variations will occur to those of skill in the art . | 1 |
the preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig1 - 11 . referring now to fig1 a coating device , generally designated by numeral 10 , is shown located resting on an inside surface 12 of a pipe 14 . the coating device 10 is provided with a centering carriage 20 . the centering carriage 20 has a front end 16 and a rear end 18 . a manifold 82 is attached to the rear end 18 . a containment tube 60 is shown attached to manifold 82 . an air motor 38 is mounted inside the front end 16 of centering carriage 20 . air motor 38 turns a rotating slotted head 40 . a static mixer 50 is fixed to the side of centering carriage 20 . individual coating material components are sent to the static mixer 50 through intake tubes 86 and 88 where they are thoroughly mixed to produce a coating material 48 . the coating material 48 is then sent through an outlet tube 32 where it is forced into a spray tip 36 . spray tip 36 then meters an appropriate amount of coating material 48 into rotating slotted head 40 , which centrifugally disperses coating material 48 onto the inside surface 12 of pipe 14 . the centering carriage 20 is provided with a plurality of adjustable - length scissor - type expansion legs 22 for support . each scissor - type expansion leg 22 is attached to a compressed gas powered piston 58 , which is mounted inside the rear end 18 of centering carriage 20 . wheel assemblies 28 a and 28 b are attached to the ends of the adjustable - length scissor - type expansion legs 22 . the wheel assemblies 28 a and 28 b are shown in contact with the inside surface 12 and allow for lateral movement of coating device 10 through pipe 14 . the scissor - type expansion legs 22 are shown having four hinged members 24 , 26 , 28 , and 30 . the number of hinged members may be increased or decreased to accommodate different diameters of pipe 14 . an illuminating explosion - proof monitoring camera probe 44 is attached to centering carriage 20 , by way of a monitoring probe mount 34 . an explosion - proof camera probe cable 70 is attached at one end to the illuminating explosion - proof monitoring camera probe 44 and at the other end to a control console . the illuminating explosion - proof monitoring camera probe 44 , which is powered by the explosion - proof camera probe cable 70 , is positioned to allow an operator to locate sections of pipe 14 that require treatment by the coating device 10 . the explosion - proof monitoring camera probe 44 lights the inside surface 12 of pipe 14 , and relays images of the inside surface 12 back to the control console . as the coating device 10 is progressed laterally through pipe 14 an operator is able to monitor joints or other discontinuities by viewing a monitor on the control console . the operator can remotely control the application of coating material 48 to the inside surface 12 of pipe 14 . upon discovery of a joint or discontinuity , a specific amount of coating material 48 is metered onto inside surface 12 . the preferred coating material 48 is two - part epoxy - type elastomeric polyurethane sold under the name plasite perma - thane 2300 . coating material 48 is capable of filling and coating large joints or other discontinuities . coating material 48 can be used in a variety of environments including pressurized gas , air or oxygen . depending upon the desired thickness of coating material 48 required , an operator can reposition coating device 10 and repeat the coating process described above . referring now to fig2 a cross - sectional view of containment tube 60 is shown . containment tube 60 houses non - conductive sealant component hoses 62 and 64 , compressed gas hoses 66 , 68 and 78 , sealed explosion - proof camera probe cable 70 , exhaust hoses 72 and 74 , and an optional flexible stabilizing rod 80 . containment tube 60 serves to protect the various hoses , tubes and rods it surrounds from abrasion . also , containment tube 60 is flexible enough to maneuver around tight corners and bends in pipe , and is rigid enough to provide for the lateral movement of the coating device 10 in long lengths of pipe . additionally , containment tube 60 serves to exhaust the gas used to power the air motor 38 and operate the scissor - type expansion legs 22 outside pipe 14 . the non - conductive sealant component hoses 62 and 64 provide the individual coating material components to the intake tubes 86 and 88 , respectively . the compressed gas hose 66 provides compressed gas for manipulating piston 58 which controls the expansion and contraction of the scissor - type expansion legs 22 . compressed gas hose 68 is used for powering air motor 38 , which in turn powers slofted spray head 40 . the sealed explosion - proof probe cable 70 is used for powering , lighting and receiving information from explosion - proof monitoring probe 44 . exhaust hose 72 exhausts the compressed and other gases outside pipe 14 . compressed gas hose 78 supplies compressed gas for purging any unused sealant 48 from the coating device 10 . the optional flexible stabilizing rod 80 provides for additional rigidity within containment tube 60 and allows for additional lateral force to be applied to the coating device 10 . referring now to fig3 a schematic view of an excavated section of live gas pipe 14 , having a first section 202 and a second section 204 is shown . tap holes 212 and 214 are drilled in sections 202 and 204 respectively . next a temporary by - pass 210 is connected between drilled holes 212 and 214 to allow the gas to remain flowing in pipe 14 while a section is removed to allow for the insertion of coating device 10 . the temporary by - pass 210 is equipped with a pressure gauge 216 and a shut - off valve 218 . holes 222 and 224 are drilled , tapped and plugged in section 202 and holes 226 and 228 are drilled , tapped and plugged in section 204 of the excavated section of live gas pipe 14 , between the drilled holes 212 and 214 . the plugs are then removed from the drilled holes 222 , 224 , 226 and 228 , and inflatable bladders 232 , 234 , 236 and 238 are inserted through the drill holes 222 , 224 , 226 and 228 respectively . inflatable bladders 232 through 238 are inflated to create a gas impermeable seal within pipe 14 . depending upon the pressure and the direction of the gas flowing in pipe 14 , fewer or additional inflatable bladders may be employed to control the flow of gas in pipe 14 . opening the shut - off valve 218 diverts the flow of gas in pipe 14 through the temporary by - pass 210 . with inflatable bladders 232 , 224 , 226 and 238 still inflated , a length of pipe located between inflatable bladders 234 and 236 is removed . referring now to fig4 the now exposed end 206 of section 202 is shown sealed off with cap 248 . inflatable bladders 232 and 234 may then be removed without allowing gas to escape from pipe 14 . the gas in pipe 14 continues to flow through temporary by - pass 210 . referring now to fig5 a pushing unit 150 is shown . fig5 shows pushing unit 150 having a first end 156 , a second end 158 , and an outside surface 160 . pushing unit 150 controls the movement of containment tube 60 in pipe 14 , which in turn controls the lateral movement of coating device 10 . a power mechanism 154 is attached to outside surface 160 . a control mechanism 152 is operatively connected to power mechanism 154 and controls the rate at which power mechanism 154 operates . containment tube 60 is shown entering pushing unit 150 through first end 156 and exiting pushing unit 150 through second end 158 . a plurality of flywheels 162 are powered by power mechanism 154 and operate to maneuver containment tube 60 through pushing unit 150 and into and out of pipe 14 . fig5 a shows an isometric exploded view of propulsion unit 300 , an alternative embodiment of the propulsion unit of the present invention . propulsion unit 300 has a drive motor 342 , a speed reducer 344 , and a drive unit 346 . the drive motor 342 , speed reducer 344 , and drive unit 346 apply torque to a single dumbbell shaped wheel 322 . the single dumbbell shaped wheel 322 transfers torque to dumbbell shaped wheels 324 and 326 via belt 330 . idler box 310 compresses containment tube 60 between idler wheels 312 and dumbbell shaped wheels 322 , 324 and 326 . the three dumbbell shaped wheels 322 , 324 and 326 , with compressive reactionary force from the dumbbell shaped idler wheels 322 , propel containment tube 60 in either a forward or rearward direction . the drive motor 324 is preferably a servomotor with a programmable variable speed controlled electronic drive . this arrangement allows multiple speed variations and precise control speed control . fig5 b shows idler box 310 secured to propulsion unit 300 by bolts 302 . fig6 shows an enlarged side view of a single flywheel 162 , having a curved inner surface for receiving containment tube 60 . referring now to fig7 a side view of a preferred insertion duct 240 is shown . insertion duct 240 has a first end 242 and a second end 244 . insertion duct 240 is fitted with a gate - valve 246 in second end 244 . gate valve 246 closes to form a gas impermeable seal about containment tube 60 , which permits containment tube 60 to pass through it while preventing gas from escaping from pipe 14 . insertion duct 240 is shown having a preferred curve shape . this design facilitates the insertion of containment tube 60 and coating device 10 into pipe 14 and allows for a smaller section of pipe 14 to be removed . a straight or other shaped insertion duct may also be used . referring now to fig8 insertion duct 240 is shown attached to a section of gas pipe 14 . coating apparatus 10 , as shown in fig1 is shown situated in pipe 14 . referring now to fig8 a , an alternative embodiment of an insertion duct 400 is shown . insertion duct 400 has a dresser coupling 430 , which secures insertion duct 400 to an exposed end of gas pipe 14 and forms a gas impermeable seal . insertion duct assembly 400 has a faceplate flange 402 having a plurality of apertures . a primary seal 404 is positioned against faceplate flange 402 and is secured in place by retention plate flange 408 . retention plate flange 408 is secured to faceplate flange 402 by a series of bolt fasteners 410 . bolt fasteners 410 pass through retention plate flange 408 , primary seal 404 and faceplate flange 402 and are tightened to form a gas tight seal between the individual components . retention plate flange 408 is shown equipped with mounting studs 412 for securing a propulsion unit to the insertion duct assembly 400 . a secondary seal , a foam packing gland 420 , is shown attached to retention plate flange 408 . referring now to fig8 b , propulsion unit 300 is shown attached to insertion duct assembly 400 . referring now to fig8 c , an exploded view of packing gland 420 is shown . packing gland 420 is shown comprising a retaining collar 440 , rubber gasket 442 , rubber gasket 444 , spacer collar 446 , spacer collar 448 and compression adjusting collar 450 . retaining collar 440 preferably screws into retention plate flange 408 of the insertion duct assembly 400 . rubber gasket 442 , rubber gasket 444 , spacer collar 446 , and spacer collar 448 and compressed into retaining collar 440 by the compression adjusting collar 450 . compression adjusting collar 450 is internally threaded and is secured to externally threaded retaining collar 440 . prior to assembly of packing gland 420 , containment tube 60 is passed through the center of each component . as compression adjusting collar 450 is threaded onto retaining collar 440 rubber gasket 442 and rubber gasket 444 are compressed against containment tube 60 creating a gas impermeable seal . spacer collar 446 and spacer collar 448 provide rigidity to the packing gland . the spacer collars and rubber gaskets may be split to allow for ease of replacement . referring now to fig8 d , a cross sectional view of an assembled packing gland 420 is shown . containment tube 60 is shown sandwiched rubber gasket 442 and rubber gasket 444 . referring now to fig8 e , a side view of primary seal 404 is shown . primary seal has a tapered lip 406 , which forms a circumference slightly smaller than the outer circumference of containment tube 60 . as containment tube 60 is passed through primary seal 404 a gas tight seal is formed between tapered lip 406 and containment tube 60 . tapered lip 406 is positioned facing faceplate flange 402 so that the pressure of the gas in gas pipe 14 acts to press tapered lip 406 to containment tube 60 . this allows primary seal 404 to act as a wiping mechanism in addition to its primary function of a gas seal . primary seal 404 is preferably formed of a urethane type material . referring now to fig9 a second end 244 , of insertion duct 240 , is shown bolted or otherwise fastened to the now exposed end 208 of pipe 14 . referring now to fig1 , second end 158 , of pushing unit 150 , is shown attached to first end 242 of insertion duct 240 . prior to bolting or otherwise fastening pushing unit 150 to insertion duct 240 , containment tube 60 is inserted through pushing unit 150 and attached to coating device 10 . coating device 10 , attached to containment tube 60 , is then inserted into first end 242 of insertion duct 240 , through gate - valve 246 and into pipe 14 . second end 158 of pushing unit 150 is then secured to first end 242 of insertion duct 240 . after pushing unit 150 is secured to insertion duct 240 inflatable bladders 236 and 238 are deflated and removed and drill holes 226 and 228 are plugged . an operator can then laterally relocate coating device 10 hundreds of feet down pipe 14 away from section 204 to a desired location with control unit 152 . control unit 152 adjusts the rate of speed of power mechanism 154 , which in turn controls the speed of flywheels 162 . flywheels 162 feed containment tube 60 into pipe 14 , which laterally moves coating device 10 . the operator can then monitor the inside surface 12 of pipe 14 using the images sent back along explosion - proof camera probe cable 70 from the explosion - proof monitoring camera probe 44 . once a joint or other discontinuity has been located the operator may then remotely apply coating material 48 . the operator controls the thickness of coating material applied to inside surface 12 by controlling both the rate of lateral movement of coating device 10 and by controlling the flow rate of the individual sealant components . when the operator has finished coating and sealing a section of pipe 14 with coating material 48 , the static mixer 50 , the spray tip 36 , the outlet tube 32 and the rotating slotted head 40 may be purged of coating material 48 by forced compressed gas provided by compressed gas purging line 78 . once the desired length of pipe 14 leading away from section 204 is sealed , pushing unit 150 , insertion duct 240 and coating device 10 are removed in reverse order as above - described and an end cap 248 is placed over exposed end 208 . to seal the length of pipe 14 , leading away from exposed end 202 , drill holes 236 and 238 are unplugged and inflatable bladders 236 and 238 are reinserted and inflated . end cap 248 is removed from section 202 of pipe 14 and insertion duct 240 is mounted to exposed end 206 in its place . coating apparatus 10 is then inserted into section 202 and pushing unit 150 is attached to insertion duct 240 . the inspection and treating procedure is the same as described above . referring now to fig1 and 12 , a second method is revealed for inserting coating device 10 into live gas pipe 14 . fig1 depicts an excavated section of live gas pipe 14 . a two - piece split - sleeve dresser 110 , having a first end 102 and a second end 104 , is put in place and bolted around the outer circumference 24 of a section of live gas pipe 14 . angled sections 106 and 108 , containing gate valves 126 and 128 respectively , are then attached to an outer surface 120 of the split - sleeve dresser 110 . fig1 shows pushing unit 150 attached to angled section 106 . pushing unit 150 controls the lateral movement of coating device 10 in the same manner as described above . once the desired length of pipe 14 has been treated and inspected using coating device 10 it may be removed from pipe 14 . prior to the attachment of pushing unit 150 , a drilling unit is mounted to a faceplate 132 of angled section 106 . gate valve 126 , located within angled unit 106 , is opened as the drilling unit drills a hole 142 ( not shown ) through the two - piece split - sleeve dresser 110 arid into pipe 14 , at the point where angled section 106 and split sleeve dresser 110 intersect . hole 142 is large enough to allow coating device 10 , attached to containment tube 60 , to be inserted into pipe 14 . gate valve 126 is then closed and the drilling unit is removed . containment tube 60 is threaded through pushing unit 150 and attached to coating device 10 . coating device 10 is then inserted into angled section 106 . second end 158 of pushing unit 150 is then bolted or otherwise fastened to face plate 132 of angled section 106 . an inflatable packing gland 138 is then inserted into pushing unit 150 and is positioned around containment tube 60 , to form a gas impermeable seal . inflatable packing gland 138 prevents gas from escaping pipe 14 while allowing containment tube 60 to pass through hole 142 into pipe 14 . once inflatable packing gland 138 is in place , gate valve 126 is opened and coating device 10 is pushed through hole 142 and into pipe 14 . a length of gas pipe section leading away from split sleeve dresser end 104 , may be inspected and treated in the same manner as described above . first , an operator relocates the coating device 10 the desired distance down pipe 14 . the operator then maneuvers the coating device 10 back to the split sleeve dresser 110 inspecting and coating joints or other discontinuities along the way . after the section of pipe leading away from split sleeve dresser end 104 has been treated , the coating device 10 is returned to angled section 106 . gate valve 126 is closed and the pushing unit 150 is removed . a cap 136 ( not shown ) is then bolted or otherwise fastened to face plate 132 . in order to inspect and treat the section of gas pipe extending away from split sleeve dresser end 102 , a hole 144 ( not shown ) similar to hole 142 , is cut into pipe 14 , within angled section 108 and through the two - piece split - sleeve dresser 110 . hole 144 is large enough to allow coating device 10 , attached to containment tube 60 , to be inserted into pipe 14 . coating device 10 is then inserted through angled section 108 through hole 144 and into pipe 14 . after the section of gas pipe extending away from split sleeve dresser end 102 has been inspected and treated , and coating device 10 has been removed , a cap 146 ( not shown ) is secured to face plated 134 . after both sections of pipe 14 , leading away from the split sleeve dresser 110 have been inspected and treated , and angled sections 106 and 108 have been capped , the split sleeve dresser 110 is left in place and the excavation is filled in . depending upon the amount of build up of debris on inside surface 12 of pipe 14 , a cleaning device may be attached to containment tube 60 and fed through pipe 14 using the same methods as described above . preferred cleaning devices are self - centering , powered by compressed air , explosion proof and propel an abrasive at the inside surface 12 . the abrasive effectively and efficiently reconditions the inside surface 12 . after reconditioning , the cleaning device is removed to allow for the insertion of coating device 10 . | 5 |
when used in reference to a diffractogram , a spectrum and / or data presented in a graph , the term “ substantially similar ” means that the subject diffractogram , spectrum and / or data presented in a graph encompasses all diffractograms , spectra and / or data presented in graphs that vary within acceptable boundaries of experimentation that are known to a person of skill in the art . such boundaries of experimentation will vary depending on the type of the subject diffractogram , spectrum and / or data presented in a graph , but will nevertheless be known to a person of skill in the art . when used in reference to a peak in a pxrd diffractogram , the term “ approximately ” means that the peak may vary by ± 0 . 2 degrees 2θ of the subject value . when used in reference to a peak in a ftir spectrum , the term “ approximately ” means that the peak may vary by ± 5 cm − 1 of the subject value . when used in reference to a peak in a dsc thermogram , the term “ approximately ” means that the peak may vary by ± 1 degree of the subject value . as used herein when referring to a diffractogram , spectrum and / or to data presented in a graph , the term “ peak ” refers to a feature that one skilled in the art would recognize as not attributing to background noise . depending on the nature of the methodology applied and the scale selected to display results obtained from an x - ray diffraction analysis , an intensity of a peak obtained may vary quite dramatically . for example , it is possible to obtain a relative peak intensity of 0 . 01 % when analyzing one sample of a substance , but another sample of the same substance may show a much different relative intensity for a peak at the same position . this may be due , in part , to the preferred orientation of the sample and its deviation from the ideal random sample orientation , sample preparation and the methodology applied . such variations are known and understood by a person of skill in the art . as used herein , the term “ substituted ” refers to the replacement of a hydrogen atom on a compound with a substituent group . a substituent may be a non - hydrogen atom or multiple atoms of which at least one is a non - hydrogen atom and one or more may or may not be hydrogen atoms . as used herein , the term “ alkyl ” by itself or as part of another substituent , means , unless otherwise stated , a straight or branched chain , or cyclic hydrocarbon radical , or combination thereof , which may be fully saturated , mono - or polyunsaturated and can include di - and multivalent radicals , having the number of carbon atoms designated ( e . g . c1 - c10 or 1 - to 10 - membered means one to ten carbons ). examples of saturated hydrocarbon radicals include , but are not limited to , groups such as methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , t - butyl , isobutyl , sec - butyl , cyclohexyl , ( cyclohexyl ) methyl , cyclopropylmethyl , homologs and isomers of , for example , n - pentyl , n - hexyl , n - heptyl , n - octyl , and the like . an unsaturated alkyl group is one having one or more double bonds or triple bonds . examples of unsaturated alkyl groups include , but are not limited to , vinyl , 2 - propenyl , crotyl , 2 - isopentenyl , 2 -( butadienyl ), 2 , 4 - pentadienyl , 3 -( 1 , 4 - pentadienyl ), ethynyl , 1 - and 3 - propynyl , 3 - butynyl , and the higher homologs and isomers . the term “ lower alkyl ” comprises straight chain or branched chain saturated hydrocarbon groups having 1 to 6 carbon atoms , for instance , methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , butyl , isobutyl , sec - butyl , and t - butyl . lower alkyls may be substituted or unsubstituted . the term “ short chain alkyl ” means an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms . short chain alkyls may be substituted or unsubstituted . as used herein , the term “ aryl ” by itself or as part of another substituent , means , unless otherwise stated , a polyunsaturated , aromatic , hydrocarbon substituent which can be a single ring or multiple rings ( often from 1 to 3 rings ) which are fused together or linked covalently . “ aryl ” includes , but is not limited to , “ heteroaryl ” groups . “ heteroaryl ” refers to an aryl group that contain from one to four heteroatoms selected from n , o , and s , wherein the nitrogen and sulfur atoms are optionally oxidized , and the nitrogen atom ( s ) are optionally quaternized . a heteroaryl group can be attached to the remainder of the molecule through a heteroatom . non - limiting examples of aryl and heteroaryl groups include : phenyl , 1 - naphthyl , 2 - naphthyl , 4 - biphenyl , 1 - pyrrolyl , 2 - pyrrolyl , 3 - pyrrolyl , 3 - pyrazolyl , 2 - imidazolyl , 4 - imidazolyl , pyrazinyl , 2 - oxazolyl , 4 - oxazolyl , 2 - phenyl - 4 - oxazolyl , 5 - oxazolyl , 3 - isoxazolyl , 4 - isoxazolyl , 5 - isoxazolyl , 2 - thiazolyl , 4 - thiazolyl , 5 - thiazolyl , 2 - furyl , 3 - furyl , 2 - thienyl , 3 - thienyl , 2 - pyridinyl , 3 - pyridinyl , 4 - pyridinyl , 2 - pyrimidyl , 4 - pyrimidyl , 5 - benzothiazolyl , purinyl , 2 - benzimidazolyl , 5 - indolyl , 1 - isoquinolyl , 5 - isoquinolyl , 2 - quinoxalinyl , 5 - quinoxalinyl , 3 - quinolyl , and 6 - quinolyl . the term “ aryl ” when used in combination with other terms ( e . g ., aryloxy , arylthioxy , arylalkyl ) includes both aryl and heteroaryl rings as defined above . thus , the term “ arylalkyl ” is meant to include those radicals in which an aryl group is attached to an alkyl group ( e . g ., benzyl , phenethyl , pyridylmethyl , etc .) including those alkyl groups in which a carbon atom containing group ( e . g ., a methylene group ) has been replaced by , for example , an oxygen atom ( e . g ., phenoxymethyl , 2 - pyridyloxymethyl , 3 -( 1 - naphthyloxy ) propyl , etc ). crude lubiprostone may be prepared by methods known in the art , including but not limited to methods described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 117 , 042 , and u . s . pat . no . 7 , 355 , 064 . according to the illustrative embodiments of the present invention , pharmaceutically acceptable lubiprostone may be prepared from an amine salt of general formula lubiprostone . nr 1 r 2 r 3 wherein r 1 , r 2 and r 3 are each independently selected from the group consisting of : h , c 1 - c 12 alkyl , substituted c 1 - c 12 alkyl , c 3 - c 12 aryl , substituted c 3 - c 12 aryl , c 3 - c 12 arylalkyl and substituted c 3 - c 12 arylalkyl . alternatively , two of r 1 , r 2 and r 3 together with the nitrogen to which they are bonded may form a single c 4 - c 8 ring group with or without an additional heteroatom and the r 1 , r 2 or r 3 group that is not part of the ring group is selected from the group consisting of : h , c 1 - c 12 alkyl , substituted c 1 - c 12 alkyl , c 3 - c 12 aryl , substituted c 3 - c 12 aryl , c 3 - c 12 arylalkyl and substituted c 3 - c 12 arylalkyl . if an additional heteroatom is present in such a ring group , the heteroatom is often , but not always , nitrogen or oxygen . crude lubiprostone may be purified by forming an amine salt , purifying the amine salt and forming lubiprostone free acid . optionally , this may be followed by crystallization of the lubiprostone free acid . in an illustrative embodiment , the present invention comprises a process for the preparation of an amine salt of lubiprostone comprising : a . dissolving lubiprostone in an organic solvent or a mixture of organic solvents at ambient temperature thereby forming a lubiprostone solution ; b . adding to the solution an amine of general formula nr 1 r 2 r 3 : wherein r 1 , r 2 and r 3 are each independently selected from the group consisting of : h , c 1 - c 12 alkyl , substituted c 1 - c 12 alkyl , c 3 - c 12 aryl , substituted c 3 - c 12 aryl , c 3 - c 12 arylalkyl and substituted c 3 - c 12 arylalkyl ; or two of r 1 , r 2 and r 3 together with the nitrogen to which they are bonded form a single c 4 - c 8 ring group and the r 1 , r 2 or r 3 group that is not part of the ring group is selected from the group consisting of : h , c 1 - c 12 alkyl , substituted c 1 - c 12 alkyl , c 3 - c 12 aryl , substituted c 3 - c 12 aryl , c 3 - c 12 arylalkyl and substituted c 3 - c 12 arylalkyl , the lubiprostone may be dissolved in any organic solvent . the organic solvent may be a c 4 to c 9 ester , for example but not limited to , ethyl acetate . the organic solvent may be a c 4 to c 8 alkyl ether , for example but not limited to methyl t - butyl ether ( mtbe ). often the solvent is ethyl acetate , mtbe or a mixture thereof . the volume of organic solvent may be from about 1 volume to about 15 volumes . the volume of organic solvent may be about 5 volumes to about 13 volumes . an amount of amine that may be added to the lubiprostone solution may be from about 0 . 5 equivalents to about 1 . 5 equivalents . often the amount of amine that may be added to the lubiprostone is about 0 . 95 equivalents to about 1 . 05 equivalents . the lubiprostone amine salt may be isolated by filtration . if desired , the salt may be purified further by processing the salt using a second solvent system having the same properties as the solvent system used to obtain the salt in the first place . in an illustrative embodiment , the present invention comprises a form of lubiprostone t - butylamine salt which is referred to herein as form apo . an illustrative pxrd diffractogram of form apo is given in fig1 . an illustrative ir spectrum of form apo is given in fig2 . an illustrative dsc thermogram of form apo is given in fig3 . in another embodiment , the present invention provides a process for preparing pharmaceutically acceptable lubiprostone comprising : a . suspending lubiprostone amine salt in a first organic solvent ; b . forming lubiprostone free acid by adding an acid ; c . extracting the lubiprostone free acid into a second organic solvent ; and d . isolating lubiprostone . the first organic solvent used to suspend the lubiprostone amine salt may be any organic solvent . examples of suitable first organic solvents include , but are not limited to , c 4 to c 9 alkyl esters , such as ethyl acetate and c 4 to c 8 alkyl ethers , such as mtbe , a mixture thereof or a mixture of a c 4 to c 9 alkyl esters and c 5 to c 10 hydrocarbons such as petroleum ether . the acid used to form the lubiprostone free acid may be an organic acid . the acid may be formic acid in water . an amount of acid used may be from about 0 . 5 equivalents to about 1 . 5 equivalents . often the amount of acid used is about 0 . 8 equivalents to about 1 . 2 equivalents . in other embodiments , the amount of acid used is about 1 . 0 equivalent to about 1 . 1 equivalents . the ph of the lubiprostone free acid solution can be from ph 4 . 5 to ph 6 . 5 . the second organic solvent used to isolate pharmaceutically acceptable lubiprostone may be the same as the first organic solvent . often the second organic solvent is ethyl acetate , petroleum ether or a mixture thereof . a ratio of ethyl acetate to petroleum ether may be from about 1 : 40 ( vol : vol ) to about 1 : 6 ( vol : vol ). in another illustrative embodiment , the present invention provides a process of preparing pharmaceutically acceptable lubiprostone from lubiprostone t - butylamine salt comprising : c . extracting the lubiprostone free acid into a second organic solvent ; and the first organic solvent used to suspend the lubiprostone t - butylamine salt may be any organic solvent . often the first organic solvent is a c 4 to c 9 alkyl esters , such as ethyl acetate , a c 4 to c 8 alkyl ether , such as mtbe , a mixture thereof , or a mixture of a c 4 to c 9 alkyl ester and a c 5 to c 10 hydrocarbons . an example of a c 5 to c 10 hydrocarbon is petroleum ether . in some embodiments , the isolated lubiprostone contains pharmaceutically acceptable levels of residual t - butylamine and solvents . the following examples are illustrative of some of the embodiments of the invention described herein . these examples do not limit the spirit or scope of the invention in anyway . powder x - ray diffraction analysis : the data were acquired on a pananalytical x - pert pro mpd diffractometer with fixed divergence slits and an x - celerator rtms detector . the diffractometer was configured in bragg - brentano geometry ; data was collected over a 2 theta range of 3 to 40 using cukα radiation at a power of 40 ma and 45 kv . cukβ radiation was removed using a divergent beam nickel filter . a step size of 0 . 017 degrees was used . a step time of 200 seconds was used . samples were rotated at 1 hz to reduce preferred orientation effects . the samples were prepared by dusting a small amount of powder onto a lightly greased zero background holder . the resulting diffractogram was baseline subtracted . fourier transform infrared ( ftir ) analysis : the ftir spectrum was collected at 4 cm − 1 resolution using a perkin elmer paragon 1100 single beam ftir instrument . the samples were intimately mixed in an approximately 1 : 100 ratio ( w / w ) with potassium bromide using an agate mortar and pestle to a fine consistency ; the mixture was compressed in a pellet die at a pressure of 4 to 6 tonnes for a period of time between 2 and 5 minutes . the resulting disk was scanned 4 times versus a collected background . data was baseline corrected and normalized . differential scanning calorimetry ( dsc ) analysis : the dsc thermograms were collected on a mettler - toledo 821e instrument . samples ( 1 to 5 mg ) were weighed into a 40 μl aluminum pan and were crimped closed with an aluminum lid . the samples were analyzed under a flow of nitrogen ( ca . 55 ml / min ) at a scan rate of 10 ° c ./ minute . to a solution of crude lubiprostone ( 10 g ) having a purity by hplc of 70 . 4 % in ethyl acetate ( 10 vol ) was added t - butylamine ( 1 . 05 eq ) at room temperature . the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature until precipitation of the amine salt occurred . the amine salt was isolated by filtration and dried to give lubiprostone t - butylamine salt as depicted in the pxrd diffractogram in fig1 , the ftir spectrum in fig2 and the dsc thermogram in fig3 . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): δ 0 . 91 - 0 . 96 ( t , 3h , j = 7 . 2 hz ), 1 . 19 - 1 . 74 ( m , 26h ), 1 . 78 - 2 . 01 ( m , 7h ), 2 . 12 - 2 . 36 ( m , 3h ), 2 . 52 - 2 . 61 ( dd , 1h , j = 17 . 6 , 7 . 2 hz ), 4 . 13 - 4 . 22 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 46 ( br s , 3h ). the amine salt was suspended in ethyl acetate ( 6 vol ) and water ( 3 vol ). the resulting bi - phasic mixture was adjusted to ph 5 with formic acid . the organic layer was separated and concentrated to obtain pure material as a syrup . upon crystallization using ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ( 1 : 9 volumes ), the syrup produced lubiprostone in approximately 70 % recovery and having a hplc purity of 99 . 95 %. to a solution of crude lubiprostone ( 3 g ) in ethyl acetate ( 10 vol ) was added t - butylamine ( 1 . 05 eq ) at room temperature . the reaction mixture was allowed to stir at room temperature until precipitation of the amine salt occurred . the amine salt was isolated by filtration and then suspended in ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ( 6 vol , 3 : 1 v / v ) and water ( 3 vol ). the resulting bi - phasic mixture was adjusted to ph 5 with formic acid . the organic layer was separated and concentrated to furnish pure lubiprostone as syrup . this was recrystallized using ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ( 1 : 9 volumes ) to afford lubiprostone crystals in 50 % yield . to a solution of crude lubiprostone ( 1 g ) in mtbe ( 10 vol ) was added t - butylamine ( 1 . 05 eq ) at room temperature . the reaction mixture was allowed to stir at room temperature until precipitation of the amine salt occurred . the amine salt was isolated by filtration and then suspended in ethyl acetate ( 6 vol ) and water ( 3 vol ). the resulting bi - phasic mixture was adjusted to ph 5 with formic acid . the organic layer was separated and concentrated to provide pure material as a syrup . upon using ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ( 1 : 9 volumes ), the corresponding syrup produced lubiprostone crystals . yield = 55 . 1 %. to a solution of crude lubiprostone ( 2 g ) in mtbe ( 10 vol ) was added t - butylamine ( 1 . 05 eq ) at room temperature followed by petroleum ether ( 3 vol ). the reaction mixture was allowed to stir at room temperature until precipitation of the amine salt occurred whereupon it was isolated by filtration . the amine salt was suspended in ethyl acetate ( 6 vol ) and water ( 3 vol ). the resulting bi - phasic mixture was adjusted to ph 5 with formic acid and the organic layer was separated and concentrated to obtain pure material as a syrup . upon using ethyl acetate / petroleum ether ( 1 : 9 volumes ), the corresponding syrup produced lubiprostone crystals . yield = 60 %. to a solution of crude lubiprostone ( 0 . 33 g ) in mtbe ( 6 vol ) was added 1 - phenethylamine ( 1 eq ) at room temperature , followed by additional mtbe ( 12 vol ). the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature until precipitation of the amine salt occurred . the amine salt was isolated by filtration , washed with mtbe and dried to give lubiprostone 1 - phenethylamine salt in approximately 70 % recovery . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): δ 0 . 91 - 0 . 96 ( t , 3h , 7 . 3 hz ), 1 . 19 - 1 . 73 ( m , 18h ), 1 . 77 - 2 . 06 ( m , 7h ), 2 . 15 - 2 . 29 ( m , 3h ), 2 . 52 - 2 . 60 ( dd , 1h , j = 17 . 6 , 7 . 2 hz ), 4 . 12 - 4 . 21 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 03 ( br s , 4h ), 7 . 28 - 7 . 35 ( m , 5h ). to a solution of crude lubiprostone ( 0 . 3 g ) in mtbe ( 6 vol ) was added benzylamine ( 1 eq ) at room temperature , followed by additional mtbe ( 12 vol ). the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature until precipitation of the amine salt occurred . the amine salt was isolated by filtration , washed with mtbe and dried to give lubiprostone benzylamine salt in approximately 60 % recovery . although various embodiments of the invention are disclosed herein , many adaptations and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention in accordance with the common general knowledge of those skilled in this art . such modifications include the substitution of known equivalents for any aspect of the invention in order to achieve the same result in substantially the same way . numeric ranges are inclusive of the numbers defining the range . the word “ comprising ” is used herein as an open - ended term , substantially equivalent to the phrase “ including , but not limited to ”, and the word “ comprises ” has a corresponding meaning . as used herein , the singular forms “ a ”, “ an ” and “ the ” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . thus , for example , reference to “ a thing ” includes more than one such thing . citation of references herein is not an admission that such references are prior art to the present invention . any priority document ( s ) are incorporated herein by reference as if each individual priority document were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference herein and as though fully set forth herein . the invention includes all embodiments and variations substantially as hereinbefore described and with reference to the examples and drawings . | 2 |
referring to fig1 it represents a seven stroke character arranged to display a stylised numeral eight . stylised characters of this kind are now very well known , and by selectively energising different combinations of strokes , any of the numerals nought to nine can be formed . the arrangement comprises a sealed envelope 1 in the form of a thin rectangular box having a front plate 2 , which carries a fluorescent screen 3 upon its inner surface . a mesh electrode 4 is mounted immediately in front of the screen 3 , but is spaced apart slightly from it and mounted so as to be electrically insulated from the screen . typically , the envelope 1 is formed of glass which intrinsically is an excellent electrical insulator . this is an important consideration as , in operation , a potential difference of several thousand volts exists between the fluorescent screen 3 and the mesh electrode 4 . a cathode structure is mounted closely behind the mesh electrode 4 , and the cathode structure consists of several individual cathode filaments 5 mounted under tension between a pair of conductive pins 6 , which project through respective field electrodes 7 , which take the form of conductive back plates . each cathode filament 5 is surrounded by conductive walls 8 , which are attached to the back plates and which lie between the field electrode 7 and the mesh electrode 4 . the mesh electrode is electrically insulated from the walls 8 . in operation , the field electrode 7 , the cathode filaments 5 , and the mesh electrode 4 operate at different electrical potentials and it is therefore important that the walls 8 do not electrically connect them . the walls 8 can conveniently be physically attached to the field electrode 7 , so that together they form an open box like container within which the cathode filaments 5 are situated . an alternative construction , which is preferred , is illustrated in fig2 . in this arrangement , the walls 8 provide the support for the mesh electrode 4 , which is attached to its outer edges . in this case the field electrode 7 consists solely of the back plate through which the pins 6 pass . these pins 6 are electrically insulated from the back plate by means of insulating bushes 10 or the like . in practice , the walls 8 can be mounted upon the back plates , which constitute the field electrodes 7 by means of electrically insulating spacers 9 . although , in fig1 seven individual cathode filaments are shown , an alternative construction can be used in which an arbitrary number of filaments can be stretched across the back surface of the display arrangement , so as to be mounted above localised back plates of the kind shown in fig1 . walls of the kind shown in fig1 but electrically insulated from the various electrodes , would also be provided in this case , as the walls serve to act as a stencil , and ensure that only predetermined areas of the screen 3 are reached by electrons originating at particular cathodes . this enables a very sharp pattern to be displayed which does not have blurred edges . in operation , the fluorescent screen 3 is held at a constant potential of about + 7 kilovolts , and the mesh electrode 4 is held at a potential of about + 10 volts , with respect to the nominal cathode potential . whilst a display segment is in its &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; state , i . e . whilst light is emitted , the corresponding cathode filament 5 is held at nought volts , and the field electrode 7 is held at + 5 volts . under these considerations the electric field in which the cathode filament 5 is situated is positive with respect to the cathode potential itself , so that electrons are copiously emitted . these electrons are attracted to the mesh electrode 4 , since it is held at a positive potential which is greater than that of the field electrode 7 . as soon as the electrons pass through the mesh electrode 4 they are very rapidly accelerated under the influence of the high voltage present on the screen 3 . in practice , the mesh electrode 4 consists of an array , net or grid of very fine wires , which are spaced apart from each other , so as to be largely physically transparent to electrons . thus , in practice , most of the electrons emitted by the cathode reach the screen 3 , thereby causing it to fluoresce and emit intense light . conversely , in order to turn the display &# 34 ; off &# 34 ;, i . e . so that it is dark , the potential on the cathode filament 5 is raised to about + 10 volts as compared to its previous value , and the potential on the field electrode 7 is altered to - 5 volts . the cathode is now situated in a field , ( as determined by the potentials on the field electrode 7 and the mesh electrode 4 ) which is more negative than the potential on the cathode itself . electron emission is therefore inhibited and virtually no free electrons are available to be accelerated to the mesh electrode 4 . in order to ensure that the electric field is sufficiently negative at the cathode , the physical spacing and configuration of the field electrode 7 with respect to the mesh electrode is of great importance , and in practice it is arranged that the cathode is very much closer to the field electrode than to the mesh electrode , so that the effect of the field electrode predominates . the shape and position of the field electrode 7 with respect to the cathode filament 5 is carefully chosen so that whilst a display segment is in its &# 34 ; on &# 34 ; state , electrons are emitted from the cathode in the form of a divergent flood beam which falls or impinges upon a predetermined locality or area of the mesh electrode . electrons are accelerated from this locality of the mesh electrode to strike the fluorescent screen 3 , and thus to a large extent the area of illumination is determined by the width or solid angle of the divergent flood beam of electrons . this width is also very dependent on the value of the potential difference of the field electrode with respect to that of the cathode . the potential difference during the &# 34 ; off &# 34 ; state which suppresses electron emission is less critical since it is merely necessary to ensure that the field in which the cathode filament is situated has a sufficiently negative value . an alternative display arrangement is partly shown in fig3 . only the cathode structure and the associated field electrodes are shown , and in practice , a continuous mesh electrode is positioned between the cathode structure and a large fluorescent screen . the arrangement is capable of being operated as a matrix type display ; that is to say , a number of individual localised patches of light can be produced which together represent the required display pattern . the cathode structure consists of seven elongate cathode filaments 11 to 17 . each filament passes through the five field electrode structures 18 to 22 , which take the form of open trough like structures with internal partitions . each field electrode is similar to the others , and consists of two upright major conductive walls 23 and 24 and two upright end conductive walls 25 and 26 . a conductive base 27 is connected to the bottom edges of the four walls , and each of the open trough like structures is divided into seven smaller enclosures by six individual partitions 28 . small cut outs are provided at the lower surface of the major walls 23 and 24 to allow the filaments 11 to 17 to pass through without making electrical contact therewith , so that in operation the filaments can be operated at different potentials from those on the field electrodes . as previously mentioned , a continuous large mesh electrode is positioned in front of the open trough like structures , but mounted so as to be electrically insulated therefrom , and in a manner which is analogous to fig1 a fluorescent screen is positioned in front of this mesh electrode . the five separate field electrodes 18 to 22 and the seven cathode filaments 11 to 17 are in a crossing relationship with each other , having a total of thirty five individual crossing points . the display arrangement can be operated so as to produce in selected combination of thirty five light patches on the fluroescent screen which correspond to the crossing points . in operation , a constant potential of + 10 volts is applied to the mesh electrode . to illuminate a single selected light patch corresponding to the crossing point of a cathode filament and a field electrode , a voltage of + 5 volts is applied to that field electrode and nought volts to that particular filament . a bright patch is then produced on the fluorescent screen above the point where the filament and field electrode cross . the remaining cathodes are held at + 10 volts and the remaining field electrodes are held at - 5 volts . these potentials ensure that electron emission from the cathode filaments is inhibited at all of the other corresponding thirty four possibile patches of illumination . in practice , these potentials are only approximate , since optimum values will depend on the sizes and shapes of the various electrodes and cathode filaments which are used . conveniently , the filaments are heated by passing an a . c . current through them from a 3 volt supply . the frequency of the alternating current is chosen so as to avoid flicker frequencies resulting from interference with frequencies used to address the cathode filaments and the field electrodes . typically , the addressing frequencies are a few hundred hertz , and the frequency of the a . c . current could conveniently be a few kilohertz . it will be appreciated that altering the potential on the filaments between the two values of nought volts and + 10 volts to produce selective illuminating of the screen does not affect the temperature of the filaments , since this is a constant value determined by the magnitude of the a . c . currents flowing through them . a further form of the display arrangement is shown in fig4 and 5 , in which a part perspective view and section view of a column display are shown . such a device consists of a single tubular glass envelope 30 carrying five or more curved field electrodes 31 to 35 upon an inner surface thereof , and a single elongate cathode filament 36 positioned along the length of the envelope . the envelope 30 is formed in two halves , and a single long strip of mesh electrode 38 is positioned between them . a region of the upper half of the envelope is provided with a fluorescent coating , upon its inner surface , which thereby acts as a fluorescent screen 39 . such a tube is capable of selectively energising any one or more of five discrete regions of the upper half of the glass envelope . in operation , the mesh electrode 38 is held at a constant potential of + 10 volts and the field electrodes 31 to 35 are switched between - 5 volts ( to inhibit electron emission ) to + 5 volts ( when illumination is required ). this particuar form of construction is very simple to implement as the field electrodes may simply be formed as conductive depositions upon the inner surface of the glass envelope . a number of these column displays can be assembled to form a large two dimensional array of separately controllable light patches . | 7 |
the coating method of the present invention constitutes a unique series of steps which results in providing a conductive substrate with corrosion protection properties and cosmetic appeal heretofore unattainable . one important use of the coating method disclosed is in the art of coating small metallic fasteners in bulk quantities with epoxy films . hereinafter , such art will be used for the purpose of explanation and illustration without intending to limit the applications and uses of the invention in any way . moreover , while the invention will be described in connection with a preferred procedure , it will be understood that it is not necessarily intended to limit the invention to this procedure . on the contrary , the invention is intended to cover all alternatives , modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by means of the appended claims . the disclosed method is intended for use , however , only with substrates and which are electrically conductive , which therefore are usually formed from some type of metallic substance . these pieces or parts to be coated may include a sacrificial metallic sub - coating such as , for example , zinc , cadmium , tin , or the like . standard pretreating methods including phosphate or chromate conversion coating , acid etching and grit blasting are recommended for initially cleaning the parts to be coated . the inventive process begins by anodically electrodepositing a film , such as , for example , an epoxy onto the metallic substrates by placing the substrates in a coating unit or cell and imparting a positive electrical charge of approximately 50 to 250 volts onto the substrates . a negative electrical charge placed upon cathodes within the coating unit , located at some predetermined distance away from the anodic substrates , creates a potential difference and causes a ph drop at the surface of the substrates . the ph drop in turn causes the epoxy present within the electrolyte to coat the surfaces of the substrates until a first , or &# 34 ; primer &# 34 ;, coat of epoxy fully insulates the substrates . preferably , the coated substrates are next rinsed so as to remove any excess coating . the anodic primer coat provides an ideal surface for the application of a second , or &# 34 ; top &# 34 ; coat of an epoxy or acrylic material , but is very susceptible to &# 34 ; touch points &# 34 ; or breaks in the coating caused by contact between multiple parts or with machinery . moreover , a typical anodic primer coat affords only minimum corrosion protection . furthermore in accordance with the inventive method , the anodically coated substrates are then removed from the coating cell and thermally cured . in the preferred procedure , thermal curing is accomplished by means of heating the parts to approximately 350 ° f . for a period of approximately 20 minutes . thermal curing all but eliminates the possibility of &# 34 ; touch points &# 34 ; and ultimately improves the cosmetic appearance of the coated substrates , as is more fully discussed below . as a final step in the inventive method , the anodically coated substrates are re - immersed within an unspoiled coating cell and coated with a second , or &# 34 ; top &# 34 ; coating of epoxy by means of cathodic electrodeposition . this , of course , is accomplished in a manner similar to , but in reverse of , the anodic electrodeposition process . that is , a negative electrical charge of between approximately 50 to 400 volts is placed on the substrates to be coated , the charge being sufficient to overcome the dielectric strength of the &# 34 ; primer &# 34 ; coat . a positive electrical charge is then placed upon anodes located within the coating unit at some predetermined distance away from the now - cathodic substrates thereby causing the epoxy coating present within the unit to treat the surfaces of the substrates with a top coating of epoxy until the epoxy once again insulates the substrates at which time the top - coating process is terminated . the resultant coated substrates demonstrate corrosion resistance properties and cosmetic appeal heretofore unattainable by means of any known methods . while it is not desired to be limited to any theory , the reason the above - described inventive method produces the superior results achieved appears to be related to the change in the dielectric strength of the &# 34 ; primer &# 34 ; coating of epoxy which occurs upon being thermally cured as described above . that is , the principal reason the anodically coated substrates can be top - coated seems to be because the cured anodic epoxy coating has a lower dielectric strength than the uncured anodic epoxy . this may be due to the presence of more non - conductive , space - filling water within the uncured epoxy than with in the cured epoxy . whatever the reason , the result is that the substrates will accept a top - coating of epoxy by material by means of cathodic electrodeposition , which heretofore could not be practically accomplished . it has also been found that the superior results achieved by means of the inventive method disclosed cannot be attained by first cathodically electrodepositing the primer coating , curing the primer coating , and then anodically electrodepositing epoxy onto a substrates . the cured cathodic epoxy coating appears to have a much higher dielectric strength per unit thickness than the cured anodic epoxy coating or material . after completing the inventive coating method , it is recommended that the parts be rinsed so as to remove any excess epoxy material and then cured a second time at approximately 350 ° f . for approximately 20 minutes . examples of typical thicknesses for both the &# 34 ; primer &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; top &# 34 ; coatings are listed in table i as follows : table ii compares the results achieved by performing the inventive method disclosed with the results of various other methods : table ii______________________________________coating corrosion cosmeticmethod resistance * appearance______________________________________anodic only & lt ; 24 hrs . touch points and pinholes . cathodic only ˜ 48 hrs . touch points and pinholes . anodic / anodic & lt ; 24 hrs . very few discern - able mars in the film . inventive method ˜ 96 hrs . very few discern - able mars within the film . ______________________________________ * astm - b117 neutral salt spray test . number shown indicates hours of exposure to red rust . it should be noted that a cathodic / cathodic coating method results in a very thin &# 34 ; top &# 34 ; coating due to a propensity for the epoxy material to evolve hydrogen at the surface of the substrates when the substrates are subjected to the required voltage . as a practical matter , this method is therefore not feasible . obviously , many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims , the present invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein . | 8 |
referring particularly to fig1 the apparatus of the present invention 1 comprises a collecting membrane 2 and a supporting frame 3 . as best seen in fig2 the frame includes a base side 8 , two converging sides 7 and 7 &# 39 ;, and a floor 6 . the sides form a substantially triangular shape . as best seen in fig3 the floor 6 , extends from the base side 8 , slopes upward , reaches a zenith 12 , then more precipitously slopes downward . apex 4 is formed at the meeting point of 7 , 7 &# 39 ;, and 6 . the sides 7 , 7 &# 39 ;, and 8 of the frame may be made of rigidly connected vertical posts 14 and horizontal beams 15 which allow free movement of liquid and electricity from the exterior to the interior of frame . the floor 6 may be a solid piece , or alternatively and preferably also be of plastic beam construction . more preferably , the entire frame 3 is made from plastic posts and beams , such as those of polyethylene , polypropylene , polystyrene , and acrylic . most preferably , it is made from polypropylene and is of unitary construction . semi - permeable membrane 2 is shaped to snugly fit within the frame , having substantially the same dimensions as the interior of the frame . accordingly , it comprises a bottom surface 9 , a base wall section 10 , and two side wall sections 11 and 11 &# 39 ;. the meeting point of 9 , 11 , and 11 &# 39 ; form an apex 5 . the downward sloping surface from a zenith 12 &# 39 ; to base wall section 10 defines a gel slice holding area 13 . a semi - permeable membrane , for the purposes of the present invention , is defined as stock sheet material having a porosity which allows water , ions , and small molecules , below a specified molecular weight cut - off , to pass through the sheet material . the membrane material must also be sufficiently transparent to electrical current to allow electrophoresis . further , the membrane material is selected to substantially avoid binding to dna or proteins . preferably , less than 1 % of the dna or proteins which come in contact with the membrane surface should bind . the semi - permeable membrane is preferably made from cellulose , cellulose acetate , or nylon having a molecular weight cutoff below the size of the molecule to be extracted . for example , a molecular weight cutoff of between about 12 , 000 and 14 , 000 daltons facilitates most dna and protein recovery procedures . most preferably the semi - permeable membrane is a low dna and / or protein binding cellulose dialysis membrane . the membrane is preferably prefabricated in the desired shape . the size of the present apparatus may be selected to fit a pre - existing horizontal electrophoresis device 16 such as shown in fig5 . for example , an apparatus according to the present invention sized for a standard horizontal submarine electrophoresis setup may have a membrane about 5 - 6 cm in axial length from the apex 5 to the base wall 10 and has a height of about 1 . 5 cm , with the zenith 12 located about 1 cm from the apex horizontally , and about 1 cm above the apex vertically . for double sized electrophoresis devices , the instant apparatus may be proportionally scaled up to about twice these dimensions . similarly , the present apparatus may be scaled down to about half size . the relative proportions may also be altered , with the stipulation that the zenith must be lower than the height of the side walls , and that the horizontal distance from the apex to the zenith should be less than the horizontal distance from the base wall to the zenith . prior to using an apparatus according to the present invention , a preparatory electrophoretic separation is performed . standard gels for this purpose , including the preferred agarose and polyacrylamide types may be used in either a horizontal or vertical slab . preferred preparatory separation protocols utilize a submarine agarose gel / mini - gel or a sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel ( sds - page ) in a unidirectional electrophoresis . markers , labels , or dyes may be used to detect the bands containing the biomolecules of interest . the concentration of the gel used is determined by the size of the molecule to be extracted and the gel material . for example , between about 0 . 5 % and 2 % agarose solution is appropriate for most dna samples , and most preferably , about 0 . 5 %- 1 . 5 % in a submarine agarose gel horizontal electrophoresis . alternatively , between about 2 % and 20 % acrylamide solution may be used , most preferably about 5 %- 15 % in a polyacrylamide system is appropriate for most protein samples . any buffer appropriate for the gel system selected may be advantageously used . typically , a tris - acetate - edta ( tae ) buffer is used with agarose gels . tris buffer , with or without sds , is likewise used with polyacrylamide gels . once adequate separation is achieved , the bands containing the biomolecules of interest are cut from the separation gel to produce a gel slice 21 . the present apparatus provides the ability to electrophoretically extract the biomolecules of interest from these gel slices . the gel slice 21 containing the biomolecules of interest is placed into the present apparatus on the semi - permeable membrane in gel slice holding area 13 . the apparatus is secured within the typically raised platform 17 of a submarine electrophoresis device buffer tank 16 by casting the apparatus 1 in a gel 18 , such that the base wall is towards the negative electrode 19 and is substantially perpendicular to the direction of electrical current . the concentration and composition of the gel used in this step is not overly critical , so long as electrical current flows through the gel from the negative electrode 19 to the positive electrode 20 . advantageously , a gel having the same composition used in the separation may be used , thereby eliminating a further preparatory step . for example , an agarose gel having a concentration of about 0 . 5 %- 2 % agarose may be used . the apparatus is then placed in the tank of a horizontal submarine gel electrophoresis device such that the apex 5 of the membrane is toward the positive electrode and base wall 10 is toward the negative electrode . the tank is then filled with buffer solution sufficient to cover the gel and the zenith 12 of the present apparatus . an electrical field is then applied of sufficient strength and for sufficient time to elute the sample of interest from the gel and onto the cellulose membrane at the apex of the present apparatus . a voltage of between about 25 - 150 v may be used , for sufficient time to allow the biological sample to completely elute out of the gel band and into the collecting area around the apex 5 of the semi - permeable membrane . typically the time required for complete elution is less than an 30 minutes , depending on the voltage applied . up to 99 % of the molecules of interest from the sample in the original band may be transferred and concentrated in the area proximate the apex . the concentrated sample may then be removed from the apex by micropipet for use . the isolation and extraction of dna samples were performed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention . step 1 : dna fragments were separated by electrophoresis in an agarose gel by submarine electrophoresis . tae buffer was used ( 0 . 04m tris - acetate , 0 . 002m edta , ph 8 . 0 ). a voltage of 50 - 100 v was applied . the concentration of the agarose gel was determined by the size of the dna fragment desired , according to the following table : ______________________________________ % agarose effective range of resolution of dna fragments ( kb ) ______________________________________0 . 5 30 to 10 . 7 12 to 0 . 81 . 0 10 to 0 . 51 . 2 7 to 0 . 41 . 5 3 to 0 . 2______________________________________ step 2 : after the electrophoresis the separated bands were stained with 0 . 1 - 0 . 5 μg / ml ethidium bromide , and visualized by illumination with long - wave ultraviolet ( uv ) light . a sharp blade was used to cut out the band of interest to produce a gel slice . step 3 : the present gel elutor and concentrator was pre - wetted and placed in the center of the gel holding area of the submarine electrophoresis device , with the apex toward the positive pole . a 0 . 7 % agarose gel was cast to fix the concentrator in place , and the gel slice from above was placed on the membrane in the sample holding area . the submarine electrophoresis device was then filled with tae buffer to a level such that the highest point of the floor of the present device was about 1 - 2 mm below the surface of the buffer . step 4 : electrophoresis was run at 50 - 100 v for 10 - 30 min . ( the amount of time depending on the size of the dna fragments , and the applied voltage ). uv light was used to insure that all of the dna sample had run from the gel slice , and into the concentrating apex end of the present device , before ending the electrophoresis . step 5 : the concentrated dna sample was pipetted out of the apex , and is ready for further applications . up to 99 % of the dna present in the gel slice elutes into the collecting area proximate the apex of the present device . of this , 95 - 98 % may be recovered . proteins were isolated and extracted in the same manner as the dna samples described in example 1 , with the following changes . in step 1 , the gel used was an acrylamide gel , and the buffer used was from 0 . 125m to 0 . 375m tris buffer , with or without 0 . 1 % sds . the concentration of acrylamide in the gel was selected according to the following table : ______________________________________ % acrylamide effective range of resolution of proteins ( kd ) ______________________________________ 5 60 to 20010 16 to 7015 12 to 45______________________________________ in step 2 , the desired protein band was stained and cut . in step 4 , the electrophoresis was run for a longer time , and / or at a higher voltage , to elute the protein into the apex . it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above , but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims . particularly , the collecting portion of the semi - permeable membrane may be of any shape which narrows to substantially a point . such shapes include cones , pyramids of any number of sides , and skewed derivatives thereof . accordingly , the frame would be correspondingly configured to support the membrane . also , though the present invention has been exemplified for use with horizontal type electrophoresis device , it should be understood that the present invention encompasses embodiments adapted to be used with vertical devices , such as tube or column type electrophoresis equipment . | 6 |
the present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown . fig1 is an exploded perspective view of a plasma display device according to an embodiment of the present invention , fig2 is a perspective view of a chassis base and a plasma display panel of the plasma display device according to the embodiment of the present invention , and fig3 is a side view of the chassis base and the plasma display panel of the plasma display device according to the embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , the plasma display device 100 basically comprises a drive module 30 , including a plasma display panel 2 ( referred to as the “ panel ”) and a chassis base 10 for supporting the panel 2 . a circuit board assembly 4 is mounted on the chassis base 10 . the chassis base 10 is bent with a predetermined curvature . the drive module 30 is packaged within a front cabinet 5 placed at the front of the panel 2 , and a back cover 6 combined with the front cabinet 5 in a body , while covering the rear of the chassis base 10 . in the panel 2 , desired images are displayed by exciting phosphors with vacuum ultraviolet rays generated due to gas discharge therein . the panel 2 is outlined roughly in a rectangular shape . the chassis base 10 is structurally rigid enough to support the panel 2 . the circuit board assembly 4 is mounted on the chassis base 10 . the chassis base 10 is structured such that the heat generated by the panel 2 and the circuit board assembly 4 , as well as the electromagnetic interference thereof , can be effectively reduced . the chassis base 10 may be formed with a metallic material , such as aluminum , copper or iron . as shown in fig2 and 3 , the chassis base 10 is bent in a direction opposite to the bent direction of the panel 2 . as illustrated in the drawings , the panel 2 is curved toward the back cover 6 , and the chassis base 10 is curved toward the front cabinet 5 . this structure will now be explained in detail , but the present invention is not limited thereto . in order to form the bent chassis base 10 , a plate for making the chassis base is warped and pressed . alternatively , reinforcing members 20 may be used for that purpose . the reinforcing members 20 are additionally fitted to the chassis base 10 so as to heighten the structural rigidity of the chassis base 10 . furthermore , the reinforcing members 20 are bent in the direction in which the chassis base 10 is bent . the reinforcing members 20 are fitted to the chassis base 10 so that the chassis base 10 is bent due to the stress of the reinforcing members 20 . the rigidity of the chassis base 10 is , preferably , established so as to be lower than that of the reinforcing members 20 . meanwhile , the reinforcing members 20 are coupled to the rear of the chassis base 10 so as to be mounted with the circuit board assembly 4 by using a tox - like plate joint , rivets , or screws . the reinforcing members 20 are , preferably , formed with a thin plate , which makes it easy to mount the circuit board assembly 4 on the chassis base 10 via a boss 17 . considering the structural rigidity of the chassis base 10 , a suitable number of reinforcing members 20 are preferably coupled to the chassis base 10 . the combined state of the panel 2 and the chassis base 10 will now be explained with reference to fig1 to 4 . fig4 illustrates the locations of adhesive members 8 for attaching the panel and the chassis base to each other . the oblique lined region of fig4 indicates the location of the adhesive members 8 . as shown in the drawings , with respect to the drive module 30 according to the present embodiment , adhesive members 8 are applied to the rear of the panel 2 so as to be attached to the chassis base 10 . the chassis base 10 is attached to the panel 2 via the adhesive members 8 . a common double - sided tape is preferably used to form the adhesive members 8 . the adhesive members 8 are applied to the entire periphery of the panel 2 , and to the center of the panel 2 so that the panel 2 and the chassis base 10 are combined with each other in a stable manner . the number of the adhesive members 8 is determined based on physical characteristics of the panel 2 and the chassis base 10 , such as the elastic coefficient and rigidity thereof . an adhesive member 8 is , preferably , applied to the center of the panel 2 where the distance between the panel 2 and the chassis base 10 is greatest . alternatively , two or more adhesive members 8 may be placed opposite to each other around the center of the panel 2 . heat release members 7 may be provided between the adhesive members 8 to release the heat generated from the panel . as described above , the adhesive members 8 are applied to the rear of the panel 2 , and the chassis base 10 is series — attached to the panel 2 . the bent direction of the chassis base 10 is controlled so as to be opposite to the bent direction of the panel 2 . consequently , the chassis base 10 and the panel 2 become unbent while compensating for each other . thereafter , the circuit board assembly 4 is mounted on the rear of the chassis base 10 via the boss 17 . after the front cabinet 5 is coupled to the chassis base 10 , the back cover 6 is combined with the chassis base 10 in a body , thereby completing the display device 100 . with the plasma display device according to the present invention , a noise problem occurring due to the distortion of the panel is solved . that is , the panel 2 is combined with the chassis base 10 bent in a direction opposite to the direction of bending of the panel 2 so that they become unbent while compensating for each other , thereby eliminating the noise occurring at the panel 2 . moreover , the solving of the noise problem is made without separately providing a facility or part . although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail hereinabove , it should be clearly understood that many variations and / or modifications is of the basic inventive concept herein taught will appear to those skilled in the art and will still fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention , as defined in the appended claims . | 7 |
in one embodiment , this invention provides an electrode comprising inorganic multilayered nanostructures wherein the inorganic multilayered nanostructures are selected from inorganic fullerene - like nanoparticles ( if - nanoparticles ), inorganic nanotubes ( ints ), and any combination thereof ; wherein the nanostructures are of the formula mx n , wherein m is of the general formula a 1 - x - b x , wherein x being ≦ 0 . 3 , provided that x is not zero and a ≠ b , wherein x is a chalcogenide atom selected from s , se and te ; a is a metal atom or transition metal atom or an alloy of metal atoms or transition metal atoms ; b is a metal atom or transition metal atom ; and in one embodiment , a is a metal atom or transition metal atom or an alloy of metal atoms or transition metal atoms , the atom being selected from mo , w , re , ti , zr , hf , nb , ta , pt , ru , rh , in , ga , sn , pb , and alloys thereof . in one embodiment b is a metal atom or transition metal atom , the atom being selected from si , li , nb , ta , w , mo , sc , y , hf , ir , mn , ru , re , os , v , au , rh , pd , cr , co , fe and ni . in one embodiment b is a metal atom or transition metal atom , the atom being selected from si , nb , ta , w , mo , sc , y , hf , ir , mn , ru , re , os , v , au , rh , pd , cr , co , fe and ni . in one embodiment , the nanostructures are doped with a b element selected from re and nb or alloyed with a b element selected from fe and co . in one embodiment , the electrode further comprises a carbonaceous material , a fluoropolymer or mixtures thereof . in one embodiment , the carbonaceous material is selected from carbon black , carbon nanotubes and graphene . in one embodiment , the fluoropolymer is selected from polyvinylidene fluoride , polytetrafluoroethylene , p ( vdf - trifluoroethylene ) copolymer , p ( vdf - tetrafluoroethylene ) copolymer , fluorinated ethylene - propylene , polyethylenetetrafluoroethylene , perfluoropolyether , and combinations thereof . in one embodiment , the electrode comprises 70 wt % inorganic multilayered nanostructures , 15 wt % carbon black and 15 wt % polyvinylidene fluoride . in one embodiment , b is an element selected from re , and nb such that the nanostructures are doped by the b , or wherein the b is an element selected from fe and co , such that the nanostructures are alloyed with the b . in one embodiment , the nanostructures are selected from re doped nanostructures selected from mo 1 - x re x s 2 , w 1 - x re x s 2 , nb doped nanostructures selected from mo 1 - x nb x s 2 , w , nb x s 2 , or fe or co alloyed nanostructures selected from ti 1 - x fe x s 2 , mo 1 - x co x s 2 . a cathode comprising inorganic multilayered nanostructures ; an anode ; and an electrolyte comprising sodium ions or magnesium ions ; wherein the cathode and the anode are at least partially submerged within the electrolyte , and wherein the multilayered inorganic nanostructures are selected from inorganic fullerene - like nanoparticles ( if - nanoparticles ), inorganic nanotubes ( ints ), and any mixture thereof ; and wherein the inorganic multilayered nanostructures are of the formula mx n , wherein m is of the general formula a 1 - x - b x , wherein x being ≦ 0 . 3 , provided that x is not zero and a ≠ b , wherein x is a chalcogenide atom selected from s , se and te ; a is a metal atom or transition metal atom or an alloy of metal atoms or transition metal atoms ; b is a metal atom or transition metal atom ; and n is an integer selected from 1 and 2 . in one embodiment , a is a metal atom or transition metal atom or an alloy of metal atoms or transition metal atoms , the atom being selected from mo , w , re , ti , zr , hf , nb , ta , pt , ru , rh , in , ga , sn , pb , and alloys thereof . in one embodiment b is a metal atom or transition metal atom , the atom being selected from si , li , nb , ta , w , mo , sc , y , hf , ir , mn , ru , re , os , v , au , rh , pd , cr , co , fe and ni . in one embodiment b is a metal atom or transition metal atom , the atom being selected from si , nb , ta , w , mo , sc , y , hf , ir , mn , ru , re , os , v , au , rh , pd , cr , co , fe and ni . in one embodiment , the nanostructures are doped with a b element selected from re and nb or alloyed with a b element selected from fe and co . in one embodiment , b is an element selected from re , and nb such that the nanostructures are doped by the b . in one embodiment , b is an element selected from fe and co , such that the nanostructures are alloyed with the b . in one embodiment , the nanostructures are selected from mo 1 - x re x s 2 , w 1 - x re x s 2 , mo 1 - x nb x s 2 , w 1 - x nb x s 2 , ti 1 - x fe x s 2 and mo 1 - x co x s 2 . in one embodiment , the cathode further comprises a carbonaceous material , a fluoropolymer or mixtures thereof . in one embodiment , the carbonaceous material is selected from carbon black , carbon nanotubes and graphene . in one embodiment , the fluoropolymer is selected from polyvinylidene fluoride , polytetrafluoroethylene , p ( vdf - trifluoroethylene ) copolymer , p ( vdf - tetrafluoroethylene ) copolymer , fluorinated ethylene - propylene , polyethylenetetrafluoroethylene , perfluoropolyether , and combinations thereof . in one embodiment , the electrolyte comprises sodium ions , magnesium ions or a combination thereof , in a non - aqueous liquid medium and wherein the cell is a sodium - ion cell or a magnesium - ion cell . in one embodiment , the electrochemical cell is having a reversible capacity of at least 100 ma h g − 1 at 20 ° c . in one embodiment , the electrochemical cell is an energy storage device . in one embodiment , the electrochemical cell is a battery . in one embodiment , this invention provides a process for electrochemically intercalation of sodium or magnesium ions into inorganic multilayered nanostructures selected from inorganic fullerene - like nanoparticles ( if - nanoparticles ), inorganic nanotubes ( ints ), and any combination thereof , the process comprising : a cathode comprising the inorganic multilayered nanostructures ; an anode ; and an electrolyte ; wherein the nanostructures are of the formula mx n , wherein m is of the general formula a 1 - x - b x , wherein x being ≦ 0 . 3 , provided that x is not zero and a ≠ b , and wherein x is a chalcogenide atom selected from s , se and te ; a is a metal atom or transition metal atom or an alloy of metal atoms or transition metal atoms ; b is a metal atom or transition metal atom ; and n is an integer selected from 1 and 2 . in one embodiment , a is a metal atom or transition metal atom or an alloy of metal atoms or transition metal atoms , the atom being selected from mo , w , re , ti , zr , hf , nb , ta , pt , ru , rh , in , ga , sn , pb , and alloys thereof . in one embodiment b is a metal atom or transition metal atom , the atom being selected from si , li , nb , ta , w , mo , sc , y , hf , ir , mn , ru , re , os , v , au , rh , pd , cr , co , fe and ni . in one embodiment b is a metal atom or transition metal atom , the atom being selected from si , nb , ta , w , mo , sc , y , hf , ir , mn , ru , re , os , v , au , rh , pd , cr , co , fe and ni . in one embodiment , the nanostructures are doped with a b element selected from re and nb or alloyed with a b element selected from fe and co . in one embodiment , b is an element selected from re , and nb such that the nanostructures are doped by the b . in one embodiment , b is an element selected from fe and co , such that the nanostructures are alloyed with the b . in one embodiment , the nanostructures are selected from re doped nanostructures selected from mo 1 - x re x s 2 , w 1 - x re x s 2 , nb doped nanostructures selected from mo 1 - x nb x s 2 , w 1 - x nb x s 2 , or fe or co alloyed nanostructures selected from ti 1 - x fe x s 2 , mo 1 - x co x s 2 in one embodiment , the cathode further comprises a carbonaceous material , a fluoropolymer polymer or mixtures thereof . in one embodiment , the carbonaceous material is selected from carbon black , carbon nanotubes , graphene . in one embodiment , the fluoropolymer is selected from polyvinylidene fluoride , polytetrafluoroethylene , p ( vdf - trifluoroethylene ) copolymer , p ( vdf - tetrafluoroethylene ) copolymer , fluorinated ethylene - propylene , polyethylenetetrafluoroethylene , perfluoropolyether , and combinations thereof . in one embodiment , the cathode comprises 70 wt % inorganic multilayered nanostructures , 15 wt % carbon black and 15 wt % polyvinylidene fluoride . in one embodiment , the electrolyte comprises sodium ions in a non - aqueous liquid medium , and wherein the non - aqueous liquid medium is selected from ethylene carbonate , diethyl carbonate and mixtures thereof , and wherein the concentration of the na + ions in the electrolyte is between about 0 . 5m and 1m . in one embodiment , the electrical current is cycled between about 0 . 7 v and 2 . 7 v . in one embodiment , this invention provides a method of use of the electrochemical celldescribed herein above as an energy storage device . in one embodiment , the method comprises connecting the electrochemical cell to a load , such that sodium or magnesium ions are intercalated in the inorganic multilayered nanostructures and electrical current flows through the load . disconnecting the cell from the load ; connecting the cell to a power supply ; driving charging current to the cell using the power supply , such that the sodium ions or magnesium ions are extracted from the inorganic layered nanostructures . in one embodiment , following the driving of the charging current , the energy storage device is charged and is ready for subsequent use . as demonstrated herein , nanosized mos 2 particles have been evaluated as an intercalation host for na ion batteries . these systems have shown reversible sodium ion de - intercalation / intercalation and reversible capacity ( ca . 140 ma h g − 1 ). the material may thus be utilized as a promising electrode material for na ion batteries . compared to the if - mos 2 , re - doped if - mos 2 nanoparticles showed excellent electrochemical performances including better rate performance ( ca . 100 mahg − 1 at 20 c ), and better cycle performance over 30 cycles , as will be further discussed below . without wishing to be bound by theory , this can be attributed to the following two effects of re - doped if - mos 2 : ( 1 ) enhanced electrical conductivity and ( 2 ) an increased amount of diffusion channels ( defects ) along c - axis . therefore , the structural modification of fullerene - like structured compounds via doping appears to be a promising strategy to improve electrochemical performances . molybdenum disulfide has a p6 3 / mmc space group , where each slab is formed by two layers of hexagonally close packed sulfur atoms sandwiching mo layer with trigonal prismatic coordination . noticeably , the stacks are maintained by van der waals forces along the c - directions in an aba type packing fashion ( 2h — mos 2 ) allowing the intercalation of guest - ions , atoms or compounds between the layers . the interlayer spacing ( c / 2 ) and the distance between sulfur atoms of two layers is ca . 0 . 62 and 0 . 31 nm , respectively , which is large enough to intercalate na ions ( diameter of na ion = 0 . 102 nm ). inorganic fullerene - like mos 2 ( if - mos 2 ) and re - doped mos 2 ( re : if - mos 2 ) nanoparticles ( nb - doped if - mos 2 ) were synthesized through the sulfidation of moo 3 and re x mo 1 - x o 3 ( x = 0 . 0012 ) under h 2 s and forming gas ( 1 vol . % h 2 in n 2 ) environment , respectively . the outer sulfide layers progressed inwards via diffusion controlled mechanism allowing re doping ( the actual rhenium concentration was about 2 - 3 times smaller than the formal weighted concentration in the oxide precursor , 0 . 12 at %). n - type doping of inorganic fullerene - like mos 2 ( if - mos 2 ) was accomplished by substituting molybdenum with rhenium resulting in re - doped mos 2 nanoparticles ( re : if - mos 2 ). as shown in fig1 , sem images reveal that if - mos 2 and re : if - mos 2 nanoparticles have a size range of 30 - 200 nm and 50 - 500 nm , respectively . both types of nanoparticles have the closed cage structures with faceted morphologies , where the number of layers composing the samples is typically larger than 10 , as shown in tem images of fig1 . similarly , typical morphology of ws 2 nanotubes ( int - w 2 s ) is shown on fig2 . the samples were further examined by xrd analysis ( fig3 ). pure phases of if - mos 2 and re : if - mos 2 nanoparticles were obtained and no impurity peaks were observed . if - mos 2 and re : if - mos 2 have a similar line broadness ( full width at half maximum ( fwhm )) of xrd peaks , although re : if - mos 2 should show smaller fwhm than if - mos 2 when considering the larger average particle size of re : if - mos 2 . this indicates that they have similar xrd - coherent size regardless of larger particle size of if - mos 2 . also , it is notable that the peak intensity ratio of i ( 002 )/ i ( 110 ) is changed after re - doping . the i ( 002 )/ i ( 110 ) ratio ( 4 . 95 ) of re : if - mos 2 is lower than that of if - mos 2 ( 13 . 4 ), indicating less crystallinity , i . e ., more defects , in re : if - mos 2 along the c - axis , which means that the re substitution leads to some disorder . accordingly , it seems that re - doping induces more defective channels of re : if - mos 2 along the c - axis for na ion intercalation compared to if - mos 2 . the electrochemical performances of if - mos 2 and re : if - mos 2 electrodes were compared ( fig4 ). the cells were cycled in a range between 0 . 7 v and 2 . 7 v vs . na / na + . the re : if - mos 2 electrode showed much more improved cycle performance than the if - mos 2 electrode . the capacity retention of each electrode after 30 cycles was 47 and 78 % for if - mos 2 and re : if - mos 2 electrodes , respectively ( fig4 a ). the two electrodes showed similar voltage profiles at each cycle number , but the re : if - mos 2 exhibited smaller polarization than the if - mos 2 as the cycle number increased ( fig4 b and 4c ). fig4 d - f present a comparison of the rate performance of the re : if - mos 2 electrode to that of the if - mos 2 electrode . the re : if - mos 2 electrode exhibits excellent rate performance delivering ca . 74 mahg − 1 at even a 20 c ( ca . 51 % capacity retention at 20 c compared to 0 . 2c ), outperforming the if - mos 2 electrode ( ca . 38 % capacity retention at 20 c compared to 0 . 2 c ). these better performances of the re : if - mos 2 can be attributed to two factors including higher electrical conductivity and increased amount of defective channels of re : if - mos 2 . the unit “ c ” ( or c - rate ) denotes a discharge rate equal to the capacity of the cell ( or battery ) over a period of one hour . first , the substitution of re with mo in the mos 2 structure served as n - type doping , resulting in an improved electrical conductivity owing to the increased amount of charge carriers , allowing facile conduction . previously , tiong et al . ( k . k . tiong , p . c . liao , c . h . ho and y . s . huang , journal of crystal growth , 1999 , 205 , 543 - 547 ) reported a dramatic decrease of electrical resistivity with increasing rhenium doping concentration to bulk mos 2 crystals . recently , also re doping of if - mos 2 nanoparticles was shown to lead to a remarkable resistivity drop [ 15 ]. second , it should be noted that if - mos 2 has a faceted cage structure . to build up the structure with a convex curvature , it requires topological defects including triangles and rhombi to maintain trigonal prismatic coordination . the insertion of na ions into if - mos 2 proceeds through channels composed of crystal defects , dislocations , and stacking faults . therefore , the diffusion rate of na ion through the cage structure can be increased as the amount of these channels increases . apart from the intrinsic defects originated from the cage structure , doping can lead to additional defects . as shown in fig3 , the structure of re : if - mos 2 is less crystalline along the c - axis than intrinsic if - mos 2 . this implies that the amount of diffusion channels increased , resulting in the improved rate performance of re : if - mos 2 as compared to if - mos 2 , in spite of that the average size of re : if - mos 2 is larger than that of if - mos 2 . accordingly , considering that the solid state diffusion of na ions is the rate - determining step in na ion batteries , it is notable that the rate capability of re : if - mos 2 is enhanced due to improved electrical conductivity and increased defect sites , despite of longer diffusion length of re : if - mos 2 . the electrochemical mechanism of reversible na ion de / intercalation to the host material was examined via an ex - situ xrd analysis using if - mos 2 electrodes . the xrd patterns were collected at various points during two cycles , as shown in fig5 . as 0 . 66 na + ( 110 mah g − 1 ) is inserted into if - mos 2 ( point ( ii ) on fig5 a ), the intensity of the ( 002 ) peak at 14 . 1 ° decreased with the formation of a new peak at 12 . 4 ° corresponding to the formation of a na - rich na x mos 2 phase ( x = ca . 1 . 0 in na x mos 2 ). the observation of two ( 002 ) peaks in xrd pattern ( fig5 b ) indicates the mos 2 electrode proceeds through a two - phase reaction of mos 2 and na - rich na x mos 2 during sodiation at the first cycle . moreover , the peak shift of xrd peaks corresponding to ( 002 ) from 14 . 1 to 12 . 4 means that the ( 002 ) d - spacing is expanded from 0 . 627 nm to 0 . 713 nm along the c - axis due to the intercalated na ions . after fully discharging until the redox potential reached 0 . 7 v ( point ( iii ) on fig5 a ), all mos 2 peaks disappeared and only xrd peaks indicating the na - rich na x mos 2 phase remained . the d - spacing of ( 002 ) was 0 . 708 nm after full sodiation . the slight decrease of ( 002 ) d - spacing in na - rich na x mos 2 from 0 . 713 nm to 0 . 708 nm indicates that partial solid solubility of the end member , na - rich na x mos 2 phase , exists . also , the decrease of ( 002 ) d - spacing is attributed to reduced repulsive force between mos 2 layers due to the attraction between na cation and s anion , as shown in the example of licoo 2 . in contrast to sodiation , upon desodiation until the redox potential reached 1 . 7 v and 2 . 7 v ( point ( iv ) and ( v ) on fig5 a ), na - rich na x mos 2 electrode proceeds through a one - phase reaction showing peak shift of na x mos 2 without recovery of additional mos 2 peaks . the ( 002 ) d - spacing is slightly increased from 0 . 708 nm to 0 . 714 nm due to the deintercalated na ions . this indicates that the fully desodiated phase at 2 . 7 v is not mos 2 but na - poor phase of na x mos 2 . accordingly , the na - poor phase of na x mos 2 proceeds through one - phase reaction during sodiation and desodiation at the 2nd cycle , as shown in fig5 . this is supported by the change of voltage profiles from plateau to sloping on cycling , as shown in fig4 c . synthesis of if - mos 2 nanoparticles : if - mos 2 nanoparticles were prepared as described in [ 16 ]. moo 3 was sulfidized using h 2 s under reducing atmosphere ( 1 vol . % h 2 in n 2 ) at a temperature above 800 ° c . inside a furnace . synthesis of re doped if - mos 2 ( re : if - mos 2 ) nanoparticles : re : if - mos 2 nps were synthesized according to [ 15 - 18 ]. re x mo 1 - x o 3 ( x & lt ; 0 . 01 ) was evaporated at 770 ° c ., and then reduced under hydrogen gas at 800 ° c . inside a quartz reactor to afford re - doped moo 3 - y . the partially reduced oxide was sulfidized under h 2 / h 2 s at 810 - 820 ° c ., and then annealed in the presence of a h 2 s and forming gas at 870 ° c . for 25 - 35 h . characterization : powder x - ray diffraction ( xrd ) data were collected on a rigaku d / max2500v / pc powder diffractometer using cu - kα radiation ( λ = 1 . 5405 å ) operated from 2θ = 10 - 80 °. sem and tem samples were examined in a quanta 200 field - emission scanning electron microscope ( fe - sem ) and philips cm120 , respectively . electrochemical characterization : samples of electrochemically active materials , i . e . the if nanoparticles , were mixed with carbon black ( super p ) and polyvinylidene fluoride ( pvdf ) in a 7 : 1 . 5 : 1 . 5 weight ratio to provide the cathode material . the electrochemical performance was evaluated using 2032 coin cells with a na metal anode and 0 . 8 m naclo 4 in an ethylene carbonate and diethyl carbonate ( 1 : 1 v / v ) non - aqueous electrolyte solution . galvanostatic experiments were performed in a range of 0 . 7 - 2 . 7 v vs . na / na + at a current density of 20 ma g − 1 ( 0 . 1 c ) and 30 ° c . | 2 |
the invention is explained below in greater detail on the basis of preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings . in the drawings : fig1 shows a schematic block diagram of a production or manufacturing plant with an embodiment of the system according to the invention , fig2 shows an airplane cabin made up of modules , fig3 a and 3 b show an individual component configuration schematically , fig4 shows a schematic flow chart of an embodiment of the method according to the invention , fig5 shows an airplane cabin made up of modules , fig6 shows a module package , wherein a further individual module is added , and fig7 shows a further module package , wherein an individual module is shifted . fig1 shows schematically a system veb , which in the illustrated embodiment is set up for automatic production of installation plans and parts lists for a cabin configuration or equipment therefor . furthermore the system may also have an interface con that is suitable for direct transfer of planning and installation data to a manufacturing plant manu . this means that processes in logistics ( procurement of components and stock - keeping in automatic high - rack warehouses , etc . ), process planning , process scheduling , provision of operating materials , and the like can be directly controlled and automated . this has direct effects on the physical equipment the cabin or the installation . moreover may the system for example simulate the configuration of the cabin and display it in 3d . a module or an individual module is for example a galley or toilet cabin module . the system veb comprises a processor or computer pd , in particular comprising a processor that is controlled by an engineer or customer (“ user ”) via a user interface ui or input device . the user interface ui in this case may be a graphical user interface ( gui ) in which the control takes place via a menu structure that is known per se . the user inputs his required selection for the configuration of the parameter zone via the user interface ui . in this case in particular the options for the element of the system are set automatically and the dimensioning / positioning is predetermined invariably by the individual modules or the module packages . technical parameters for galley or toilet cabin modules , as used in passenger cabins , would be for example the water pressure required by the user for the pipework or the specification of electrical wiring with regard to the electrical power for galley equipment in the galley cabins . as a rule , however , these parameters are not configured but the options for the element and the “ parameters ” can then be derived from the configuration . accordingly rules ensure that these parameters are in a valid range , that is to say they are in particular feasible . the individual module parameters comprise these technical parameters . a pool of already validated partial construction plans that may preferably comprise module packages and / or individual modules , from which the later construction plan spec is combined , are available on a database system db , wherein the database system db is stored in a memory device ( not shown ). furthermore individual components can also be made available on the database system . the partial construction plans and also the construction plan spec to be produced and in particular the individual modules can for example be provided as structured xml files . a validation unit val is connected for communication purposes to the computer pd and a rule database dbv . rules and technical specifications predetermined by the federal civil aviation offices are stored in the rule database dbv for example in tabular data structures . the tabular data structure comprises for example at least two columns . in addition to these rules , that are in particular associated with the “ options ” not described in greater detail here , global rules are also observed . there are product - specific rules that define the efficiency of the product and so guarantee feasibility . for example the overall power consumption of the cabin is not managed by local limitations . moreover there may also be rules governing the airplane model and the zone to which a module package or individual module is to be assigned . identifiers for the respective modifiable elements of the partial construction plans are stored in one column . such elements may for example be a color or a seat cover material . in the associated line in the second column the respective specification value is shown , for example as a code , numerical values or as a numerical range . thus for example a color for a seat cover of a seat can be coded . the appropriate features of the already pre - validated partial construction plans or pre - validated individual modules or module packages then takes place on the basis of the technical parameters derived from the options . this takes place by writing of the parameter into the corresponding element or module feature at the corresponding location in the xml - coded partial construction plan . according to a further feature one or more of the individual elements within the already validated partial construction plans are either linked to one another or to elements in other already validated partial construction plans . this linking may extend to module features in module levels of the module partial construction plans . a dynamic - automatic ( co -) modification of the other elements or module features linked to this element then takes place by modification of the element . the setting of these links is rule - based and also based on considerations that are necessary in design terms or on requirements of the national federal civil aviation offices . this means that the selected module packages and / or the individual modules are arranged in accordance with the design - related framework conditions and the requirements of the national federal civil aviation offices , in particular connected to one another . the partial construction plans are then combined by the computer pd . this combining may for example take place by merging of the individual xml files into a complete xml file , or also by connecting the partial construction plans to be combined via links . however , the partial construction plans are actually only combined in particular when the validation unit val does not register any violation of the rules stored in the rule database dbv . the validation unit val may for example be formed as a “ parser ” that goes through the respective entries in the partial construction plans and compares the parameters entered there as new element or module feature with the values in the second column of the table in the rule database dbv . if a match is registered for each feature , that is to say if the value input by the user corresponds to the value in the second column of the table , the combination is deemed to be validated . due to the linking a modification at the module level may also have the consequence that the validation also may not be successful . if it is not successful a signal is transmitted by the validation unit val to the computer pd . the computer pd will then transmit a warning signal to the user and will wait for input of revised parameters . thus the user predetermines the configuration of the parameter zone by selecting one or more individual modules which are initially combined into a desired module package . however , the module package with a module package configuration value that deviates least from the desired module package configuration value is then selected for the actual arrangement . this arrangement is then validated by means of the validation unit val . a calculation of an individual component configuration takes place only if the parameter zone configuration has been validated . the final construction plan spec then obtained can then be fed in for example into a suitable “ back end ” for further processing . for example , the final construction plan spec can be passed to a computer aided design ( cad ) system in order to produce a graphical overall plan . this can then for example be cross - checked by an engineer . alternatively or additionally the final construction plan spec can also be fed into a control device or interface con so that via this control device con a manufacturing plant manu can be supplied with those parts or individual components and / or module packages that were specified in the finished construction plan spec . also for example industrial manufacturing robots , or low - floor vehicles in warehouses , can be controlled in order to provide components or structural parts having the particular dimensions or characteristics that are specified in the final construction plan spec or to supply or pre - install them at a predetermined target location for final installation . in the following fig2 and 3 , to simplify the illustration the modules and elements or the specification thereof as module partial construction plans are designated by the same reference signs . fig2 shows an overview of a modular airplane component . the airplane component is an airplane cabin fc . fc has a layout consisting of different zones a - e . in this example the zones are distinguished by the fact that doors are arranged in the zones a , c , e and none are arranged in the zones b , d . in this respect the zones a , c , e are formed as entry zones , so - called parameter zones , and the zones b and d are formed as passenger zones , so - called dynamic zones . the rows of passenger seats are formed of passenger seats that are arranged in the passenger zones b and d ( see also fig3 ). ma and me identify crew seat modules that are arranged in the zones a and e . mc identifies a module package formed from a galley module and a toilet module , wherein the module mc is arranged in the zone c . fig3 a and 3 b show schematically an individual component configuration in the passenger zones b , d of fig2 . the individual component configuration is formed here by means of passenger seats . the entry zones a , c according to fig2 that adjoin the passenger zones b and d define a fixed start position and a fixed end position for the rows of passenger seats . the row of passenger seats shown at the top in fig3 a is formed in a so - called standard configuration or non - graded configuration . the row of passenger seats shown at the bottom in fig3 a is formed in a so - called graded configuration . in the graded configuration at least one row of passenger seats is arranged both in the passenger zone and in the entry zone . this row of passenger seats projects , in a manner of speaking , into the entry zone . it may in particular be provided that the graded configuration is used for economy class ( yc class ) and the non - graded configuration is used for business class ( bc class ). it may also be provided that the corresponding rows of passenger seats for economy and business class are arranged jointly in a passenger zone ( see fig3 b ). according to the flow chart in fig3 b the parameter definition occurs first . this includes the selection and number of seat types , e . g . bc ( business class )= 8 . in this example the legroom bc = 34 ″, in the first row bc = 53 ″. in economy class ( yc ) the legroom is for example yc = 29 ″, in the first row yc = 48 ″. the number of graded rows in this example is 4 . secondly , as shown in fig3 b , the bc seats are arranged in a non - graded manner and thirdly the yc seats are arranged in a graded manner , if necessary . for the calculation of the optimal arrangement of the individual rows of passenger seats an algorithm y = f ( x ) may in particular be used that takes into account a curvature of the cabin , a required aisle width and / or passenger seat rail properties . on the basis of the input parameters the algorithm calculates the individual module parameters of the parameter zone and in particular on the basis of the formulae shown in fig3 a and 3 b the algorithm calculates an optimal position of the respective rows of passenger seats . in particular the number of passenger seats that can be arranged per row of passenger seats is also calculated . according to the preferred embodiment the entry zones adjoining the passenger zones form a parameter zone . the passenger zones are configured dynamically according to the parameter zones that are thus completely configured and in this respect form a dynamic zone . in order to save computing time during the validation by the validation unit val , the validation does not take place after every selection of a module , but for example only after the user has ended his selection . this is made possible in particular by the fact that the partial construction plans or individual module and the module packages are already pre - validated in the database db . an xml coding of the module partial construction plan mb may for example appear as follows : a “ flag ” in the element feature “ with monitor ?” ( s_1 ) has then been modified or set here to “ yes ” ( s_1 ). the validation unit val , the computer pd and the database system db , dbv or the user interface ui can each be formed as discrete hardware or software modules . according to one embodiment the implementation takes place on one single local computer . according to one embodiment a client server structure is provided for a web - based embodiment of the validation device veb . in this case the technical specification data is provided via the customer ( for example the airline that wishes to order an airplane ) from a client on which the user interface ui is presented . a data exchange with the computer pd (“ server ”) then takes place via a network connection , such as for example the internet . pd is in turn connected via the network to the database system dbv or db . if the finished construction plan spec has been validated and combined , it can then be sent via the network connection to the control unit con in order to co - ordinate the further final installation in the plant manu . for clarification fig4 shows a flow diagram of an embodiment of the method according to the invention . a selection of at least one individual module from a pool of individual modules takes place in a first stage s 1 . then in a step s 2 the individual modules selected in step s 1 are joined to form a desired module package . thus here the user predetermines his desired configuration relative to the cabin layout . in a subsequent step s 3 a desired module package configuration value is then calculated and is compared with supplied module package configuration values in a step s 4 , wherein these correspond in each case to a module package . for the configuration of the parameter zone the module package with a module package configuration value that deviates least from the desired module package configuration value is then selected in a step s 5 . then a validation of the parameter zone configuration takes place in the stage s 10 . if in this case it is ascertained that the parameter zone configuration is not valid , that is to say is not permissible , a user must make a new selection and the validation is then carried out again . if the validation was successful , in a stage s 15 one or more individual components is / are selected from a pool of individual components . in step s 18 an individual component configuration is calculated according to the validated individual module configuration , i . e . the validated module package . also the individual component configuration is validated in a step s 19 . if the validation was not successful , the user must make a new selection of individual components , whereupon a new individual component configuration is then calculated . if the validation is successful , the validated module partial construction plans , that is to say the individual module configuration or the module package and the individual component configuration , are put together in the stage s 20 , in order thus to obtain a validated final construction plan spec . then the database db can be updated by storage of the validated construction plan spec , together with an id ( identification number ) of the customer . by iterative application of the method described above , starting from the valid construction plan spec as a new “ partial construction plan ”, a complete construction plan for the entire airplane can then be produced successively with the aid of a computer by the system veb . to summarize , by means of the invention it is possible in particular , based upon a predetermined or completely configured parameter zone , for the positions of the individual passenger seats and / or the individual rows of passenger seats , in particular the pitches , to be calculated , that is to say to be adapted dynamically to the dynamic zone . in this case it may in particular be provided that the passenger seats are anchored to the cabin floor by means of a guide rail . fig5 shows a further airplane cabin 1 made up of modules , wherein the airplane cabin 1 is subdivided into a plurality of zones a , b , c , d and e . a module package 2 consisting of three individual modules 3 a , 3 b and 3 c is arranged in zone c . the three individual modules 3 a , 3 b and 3 c may be different or the same . a user wishes to change the existing cabin layout by deleting or removing the individual module 3 a and shifting the individual module 3 b from a first position to a second position . the position of the individual module 3 c remains unchanged . the cabin layout thus changed by the user does not generally meet the technical and legal specifications . therefore the module package that comes closest to the desired configuration of the user is selected from a pool of supplied validated module packages . in particular this takes account of whether already other module packages are already arranged in the cabin , for example in the zone c or d . the module package with a module package configuration value that deviates least from the desired module package configuration value is then selected , but does not fit with module packages already present . for example the corresponding connections are not compatible with one another or each have different positions . exceptionally it may then be possible that a module package that deviates further from the desired cabin layout of the user is also selected . for example a respective weighting parameter of the module package configuration values can take account of this circumstance . an appropriate selection algorithm can be chosen for this . fig6 and 7 are intended to explain the method in greater detail below , by way of example and schematically , when a user adds or shifts an individual module . fig6 shows a module package 10 with individual modules 11 a and 11 b . in the embodiment shown here the individual module 11 a is a galley module and the individual module 11 b is a crew seat module . the user now adds a further individual module 11 c that in the embodiment shown here is a toilet module . the middle image in fig6 shows the layout configuration required by the user or the desired module package 10 a required by the user . the module package 10 b that comes closest to the desired module package is shown in the right - hand image in fig6 . here the individual module 11 b has been shifted to the right . fig7 shows the module package 10 from fig6 with the individual modules 11 a and 11 b . here , however , the user merely shifts the individual module 11 a to the left , so that it protrudes into a zone adjoining the module package 10 . for example it can protrude into the zone b as shown in fig5 . the desired module package 10 a is shown in the middle image in fig7 . the right - hand image in fig7 shows the module package 10 b that deviates least from the desired module package 10 a . here the individual module 11 b has merely been shifted to the right in order in particular to take account of the change of the center of gravity of the module package 10 a due to the shifting of the individual module 11 a . when evaluating which module package best matches the module package predetermined by the user , the following criteria are in particular taken into account : change in the number or the position of the individual modules in the same zone and / or change in other module packages , in particular if in these module packages individual modules are displaced , amended , added and / or removed . furthermore it may be provided that the evaluation takes into account whether the selected module package is or is not compatible with module packages already present . for example , in the event of changes in the number and the arrangement of the individual modules , in particular in the case of crew seat modules or passenger seats , an additional sanction parameter enters into the evaluation . in this case it may preferably be prohibited that module packages already present in other zones are changed , that is to say in particular in these present module packages no individual modules are added , changed or shifted . the best matched module package is selected and presented to the user . in this case it may in particular be provided that further module packages for other zones are automatically selected . the method according to the invention enables an automatic selection of the best matched module package for production of layouts of cabins of an aircraft , in particular of airplane cabins , based on a module package for layout configuration taking into account all approval - related rules and regulations , in the context the configuration and / or equipment . in this case the layout is composed of individual modules and the module package best matched to this layout is automatically identified and selected . furthermore the method makes it possible that after a change to an individual module in a module package the best matched module package is identified . the identified module package is preferably checked as to whether it can be combined with other module packages already arranged in the individual zones . the degree of freedom of the configuration of an individual module is limited with regard to the solution space at the module package level according to the modification methods , that is to say for example change of type , deletion , addition and / or shifting , and thus guarantees the mapping to an existing module package , in particular a validated module package . thus in an advantageous manner a cabin layout can be configured quickly and efficiently , even with a large number of module packages available . thus savings can be made in particular on computing time and computing capacity . the invention is not limited by the described embodiments but encompasses all the variants that are included in the scope of protection of the claims . thus it is possible for example that the physical equipment of the cabin takes place by means of individual modules and / or module packages supplied from an automatic individual module store . in this case the individual module store may be constructed as an automatic high - rack warehouse controlled by the system . also the equipment the cabin or the pre - assembly of module packages can take place by means of automatically controlled industrial robots . | 8 |
referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first , particularly , to fig1 thereof , there is shown an air suction device 100 that has an air channel 20 of a kind such that air ( indicated by the arrows identified by the designations 5 and 10 ) is sucked by a fan 25 , via a first suction chamber 26 , suction intakes 29 and a second suction chamber 27 , through transverse slots 23 of a toothed belt 40 ( fig1 to 3 ). if the toothed belt 40 is open in an upward direction , i . e . if no sheet 1 , 2 , 3 is lying on it , the air from the surrounding environment is sucked in directly at an extraction slot 30 . as soon as a sheet 1 , 2 , 3 arrives on the toothed belt 40 , the air in the area covered by the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 adopts the route indicated in fig3 : through a throttle gap 21 , a gap 22 between a cover plate 24 and the carrier , through the toothed belt 40 into the first suction chamber 26 and onwards to the fan 25 . by virtue of the fact that the air supply from the surrounding environment is restricted through the throttle gap 21 and the relatively narrow gap 22 between the cover plate 24 and the carrier , the quantity of air that is extracted exceeds the quantity that is able to flow in . this results in the creation , among other things , in the transverse slots 23 that are covered by the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 , of a partial vacuum p suction in accordance with the formula : p suction = p 0 −?/( 2 × u 2 − p v ), where p 0 is the ambient pressure , ? is the density of the air , u is the velocity of flow of the air , and p v is the partial vacuum resulting from the flow losses . therefore , the air pressure in the transverse slots 23 is smaller than the ambient pressure p 0 . this difference in pressure gives rise to a force f p =( p 0 − p suction )× a , which presses the sheets 1 , 2 , 3 from above against the toothed belt 40 . a is used here to denote the total surface of the transverse slots 23 under the covering sheet 1 , 2 , 3 . the contact force f p , together with the coefficient of friction between the sheets 1 , 2 , 3 and the toothed belt 40 , permits the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 to be transported with the toothed belt 40 . the partial vacuum , which arises in the transverse slots 23 of the toothed belt 40 and as such determines the contact force f p , now depends in the first instance on the output of the fan 25 and the pressure loss p v , which in this case is determined in the first instance by the width of the throttle gap 21 . in addition , a small contribution to the partial vacuum is made by the dynamic element ?/( 2 × u 2 ). the air channel 20 is disposed in such a way that the air is able to flow with the smallest possible losses after flowing through the transverse slots 23 in the toothed belt 40 . this is achieved by ensuring that the suction intakes 29 have the largest possible internal diameter , as well as the suction chambers 26 , 27 . the diameters are restricted by the available installation space . in order to be able to achieve the high partial vacuums required for heavy weights per unit area and broadsides with a single fan 25 , and yet to achieve very small partial vacuums for thin printing paper while still maintaining an adequately safe speed , a bypass opening 28 can be opened ( fig4 ). when a bypass throttle 32 is moved in the direction indicated by the double arrow p 3 , the bypass opening 28 causes the fan 25 , in spite of the high speeds , to extract only a small quantity of air from the area of the toothed belt 40 and to suck the greatest proportion of the air directly through the bypass opening 28 , depending on the size of the still unobstructed bypass opening 28 . it is sufficient , as a rule , for a uniform partial vacuum to be generated for the entire length of the toothed belt 40 in the transverse slots 23 of the toothed belt 40 . the present construction also offers the possibility , however , of subdividing the air channel 20 into three sections , in which the partial vacuums adopt different levels . this is achieved by varying the cross sections of the suction intakes 29 at an appropriate point , for example by non - illustrated throttle plates . another subdivision into two or more sections is also conceivable . as can be appreciated from fig2 , the toothed belt 40 exhibits teeth 42 with a rounded upper surface 44 . by executing the upper surface 44 of the teeth 42 in this way , the contact surface of the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 on the toothed belt 40 is reduced , and the surface over which the partial vacuum is applied to the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 is accordingly increased . at the same time , thanks to the rounded areas , contact with the sheet is also more gentle than would be the case with sharp - edged corners . the toothed belt pulley 45 , which rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow p 2 ( see fig4 ), drives the toothed belt 40 in such a way that a direction of movement of the sheets 1 , 2 , 3 from a non - illustrated feeding device located upstream to a non - illustrated folding station located downstream is established . the toothed belt 40 passes via deflector rollers 46 , 47 , a tension roller 48 and the toothed belt slot in the carrier . the nature of the toothed belt slot is such that the teeth are terminated at the top directly in line with the supporting surface . if the air suction device 100 is running , the toothed belt 40 that is subjected to a partial vacuum accepts the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 from the feeding device and passes it to the folding station after traveling over the alignment path . illustrated in fig5 is a plurality of sheets 1 , 2 , 3 , which are aligned laterally by the straightedge 50 . in the first place , the sheets 1 , 2 , 3 have a direction of movement as indicated by arrow p 4 and which corresponds to the direction of the toothed belt 40 . given that the straightedge 50 is positioned at a right angle to the following folding station , and that the toothed belt 40 is guided at an angle to the straightedge 50 , the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 approaches the straightedge 50 in a linear fashion . as soon as the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 touches the straightedge 50 , a relative movement takes place between the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 and the toothed belt 40 perpendicular to the path of the sheet . the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 aligns itself with the straightedge 50 in this way and is transferred to the folding station with this alignment in a direction of movement which now runs parallel to the straightedge 50 and is indicated with the arrow p 5 in fig5 . a critical consideration in the alignment procedure is that the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 must remain flat , that is to say no arching of the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 must occur between the toothed belt 40 and the straightedge 50 , and that the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 must also be held sufficiently firmly by the toothed belt 40 for it not to slide backwards ( towards the feed device ). the sheet will arch between the straightedge 50 and the toothed belt 40 if the partial vacuum under the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 is too great . the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 will slide backwards if the partial vacuum under the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 is too small . the proper alignment of the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 thus depends critically on the precise regulation of the partial vacuum in the area of the transverse slots 23 . the devices for control represented by the throttle valve 31 and the bypass throttle 32 are controlled by a controller 33 . the controller 33 also regulates the speed of the fan 25 . the actuating variables for this purpose are monitored by the controller 33 via reference tables for different parameters , or are calculated by a suitable algorithm on the basis of the different parameters , or are determined by some other comparable methods that are familiar to a person skilled in the art . as far as the parameters are concerned , these include in particular the weight per unit area of the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 , the width of the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 , the static charge of the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 , the condition of the printing ink , the surface roughness of the sheet , the quantity of the powder from the printing process , the direction of the fibers , such as short grain and long grain of the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 , the speed of the sheet , the distance of the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 to the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 , and the suction length generated by the suction wheel on the sheet , although this list is not exclusive . the suitable control of the air suction device 100 , which in this case also includes the control of the fan 25 , requires the operator to incur the smallest possible set - up cost , and the values that are to be set to be capable of being determined readily , that is to say they must not be dependent on values drawn from past experience . with regard to the automation of folding machines , the settings are accordingly automated , are capable of being stored and can be retrieved in the event of a repeat order . all of this does not apply , incidentally , to the ball rails that are used elsewhere . ideally , only a small number of particularly influential parameters are interrogated by the user in this case , for example the weight per unit area of the sheet 1 , 2 , 3 and the width of the sheet . on the other hand , the devices for control are executed in such a way that manual intervention in the control function is also possible , for instance the manual opening or closing of the throttle valve 31 or the bypass throttle 32 , in order to be able to include the less important parameters by hand . the partial vacuum is controlled in the present construction via a pulse width modulation ( pwm ) signal , which is generated by an algorithm on the basis of the weight per unit area and the sheet width . in addition , the pwm signal of the fan can also be monitored manually . these inputs can be stored and can be retrieved in the event of a repeat order . consideration should also be given to the possibility that the environmental conditions of the company concerned may have varied between one order and the next , so that the pwm signal may require to be monitored manually once again . this application claims the priority , under 35 u . s . c . § 119 , of german patent application no . 10 2004 022 141 . 3 , filed may 5 , 2004 ; the entire disclosure of the prior application is herewith incorporated by reference . | 1 |
the present invention provides a process for the production of a dihydrooxadiazinone compound of the formula ## str1 ## wherein r is aryl ; said process comprising : ( a ) brominating a compound of the formula ## str2 ## wherein r is aryl to form a mixture of ## str3 ## wherein r is aryl and hbr ; ( b ) adding to the reaction mixture of ( a ) an amount of an aqueous alkali metal formate that is sufficient to hydrolyze the ## str4 ## and to neutralize the hbr to formic acid and alkali metal bromide ( c ) adding to the reaction mixture of ( b ) a carbazate of the formula ## str5 ## wherein r 1 is lower alkyl of 1 to 8 carbon atoms to form a hydrazone compound of the formula ## str6 ## wherein r and r 1 are aryl ; and ( d ) cyclizing the hydrazone of step ( c ) under basic conditions to form the dihydrooxadiazinone compound . the bromination reaction may be carried out by brominating an acyl compound at a temperature in the range of from 0 ° c to 50 ° c in the presence of an effective amount i . e . 0 . 1 - 5 % based on the weight of the acyl compound of a mineral acid catalyst or a lewis acid catalyst . substantially stoichiometric amounts may be employed . suitable acids include hydrochloric , sulfuric and phosphoric . the bromination may be effected in the presence of a lower alkanol . although methanol is preferred , suitable alkanols include ethanol , propanol , butanol , pentanol , etc . after the bromination is complete , the same reactor may be directly utilized for the hydrolysis of the brominated acyl compound to form the acyl alcohol . this step may be carried out at a temperature of from about 60 ° c to reflux in the presence of a sufficient amount of an alkali metal formate to yield a ph in the hydrolysis reaction mixture of from 2 to 7 and more preferably from about 3 to about 3 . 5 . suitable alkali metal formates include sodium formate and potassium formate . the alkali metal formate may be added first but it is preferred to first dilute the brominated reaction mixture to about 20 - 40 , preferably about 30 % solids with water . thereafter , the alkali metal formate is added , and the mixture is agitated for from about 4 to 24 - hours , preferably about 12 - hours to hydrolyze the brominated acyl compound . a carbazate , i . e . methyl carbazate is added to the reaction mixture in a substantially equal molar amount to the acyl alcohol to effect hydrazone formation . this may be done at the ph of the hydrolysis reaction which is ordinarilly acidic enough to effect this reaction at a temperature of from 20 °- 60 ° c during a 1 to 12 - hour and more preferably during a 2 - hour reaction cycle . the hydrazone can be separated by a gravity separation technique such as decantation , centrifugation , filtration , etc . and the product washed with water and may be dried . the cyclization may be carried out in a suitable organic solvent such as toluene in the presence of a basic cyclization catalyst . suitable cyclization catalysts include sodium hydroxide , potassium carbonate , sodium carbonate , potassium hydroxide , sodium alkoxide and the like . the dihydrooxadiazinone may be recovered by allowing the mixture to cool and acidifying e . g . adding a mineral acid to the mixture with agitation . thereafter , gravity separation techniques may be employed to separate the product . the dihydrooxadiazinones may be employed as high temperature blowing agents for foamed plastics such as polycarbonates and polyphenylene oxides at levels of 0 . 1 to 1 . 0 part by weight per 100 parts of plastic as noted in copending ser . no . 608 , 450 , filed aug . 28 , 1975 which is hereby incorporated by reference . the term aryl is employed to include phenyl , naphthyl , lower alkyl phenyl wherein the alkyl moiety has from 1 to 6 carbon atoms such as methyl , ethyl i - propyl , n - hexyl and the like ; lower alkoxy phenyl wherein the alkoxy moiety has from 1 to 6 carbon atoms such as methoxy , ethoxy and the like or halophenyl such as chlorophenyl , bromophenyl and the like . the following examples illustrate the process of the invention . these examples are not to be construed to limit the scope of the invention in any manner whatsoever : a 100 - gallon glass lined kettle equipped with a cooling jacket was charged with 90 . 5 lbs . of acetophenone , 123 lbs . of methanol and 340 mls . of 98 % sulfuric acid . the reactor was cooled to 20 ° c and the mixture was stirred during the addition of 119 lbs . of bromine that was added incrementally by a gravity fed system at a rate so that the temperature was maintained at between 20 °- 25 ° c over a 3 - hour period . after the bromination was complete , 37 lbs . of methanol , 240 lbs of water and 112 lbs . of sodium formate were added . the mixture was stirred with agitation overnight at 60 ° c and after cooling to 40 ° c a solution of 68 lbs . methyl carbazate in 45 lbs . of a 54 : 46 methanol - water mixture was added . the reaction mixture was stirred for 2 - hours at 40 ° c to form the carbomethoxy nydrazone of α - hydroxy acetophenone . thereafter the reaction mixture was allowed to cool to 20 ° c , was centrifuged , and washed with water on the centrifuge . the recovered cake ( 116 lbs .) was added to 174 lbs . of toluene and 240 lbs . of water . the slurry was heated with agitation to 60 ° c and the ph was adjusted to 10 . 8 with sodium hydroxide ( 50 % aq .) and stirred overnight to cyclize the carbomethoxy hydrazone to the dihydrooxadiazinone . the mixture was cooled and acidified with 98 % sulfuric acid to a ph of 3 . 0 , and was stirred for one - half hour . centrifugation was employed to obtain 54 lbs . of 5 - phenyl - 3 , 6 - dihydro - 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazinone ( 41 % yield ). the following materials were combined in a 100 - gallon reactor at a temperature of 16 °- 18 ° c : bromine ( 124 lbs ) was added in the same fashion as in example 1 . the mixture was heated upon completion of the bromine addition for 10 - minutes at 30 ° c and cooled to 20 ° c to insure complete bromination . thereafter 20 lbs . of water was added to initiate crystallization of the brominated acetophenone , 267 lbs . of water and 118 lbs . of sodium formate were also added . the reaction was held at about 70 ° c overnight and was then cooled to 50 ° c at which point 68 lbs . of methyl carbazate was added in a 54 / 46 mixture of methanol and water . the mixture was held at 40 ° c for 2 hours until the hydrazone was formed . thereafter water is added to kettle capacity and the mixture cooled to 20 ° c and stirring is continued for 1 hour . the hydrazone is isolated by centrifugation and the solid material is formed into a slurry combined with 125 lbs . of toluene and 250 lbs . of water . one gallon of acetone was added to neutralize any remaining methyl carbazate . agitation was applied and the reaction mixture was heated to 50 °- 55 ° c . at that point , 250 g . of hydroxyacetophenone was added to aid in the ring closure of the hydrazone and 14 lbs . of 50 % aq . sodium hydroxide to give a ph greater than 10 and the mixture was stirred for 11 / 2 hours . the solution is acidified with 98 % sulfuric acid to a ph of 2 . 5 and cooled overnight . the mixture was centrifuged to yield the product . the cake was reslurried in 125 lbs . toluene and 250 lbs . of water , sulfuric acid was added to maintain a ph of 2 . 5 . the solution was stirred at room temperature for 1 / 2 to 1 hour . the solution was centrifuged to yield 68 lbs . of 5 - phenyl - 3 , 6 - dihydro - 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazin - 2 - one . although the above examples have shown various modifications of the present invention , other variations are possible in light of the above teachings . it is , therefore , to be understood that changes may be made in the particular embodiments of the invention described which are within the full intended scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 2 |
the present invention will be discussed hereinafter in detail in terms of the preferred embodiment of a secure data card according to the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings . in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . it will be obvious , however , to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details . fig1 and the following is an example of how the current invention could be used for transferring information from a radiologist to the clinician . the current workflow regarding medical imaging from radiology begins with the clinician making the image request . radiology then processes the request and in the case of cts , for example , selects a number of slices that the radiologist feels addresses the clinician &# 39 ; s need . a radiologist then writes a report and sends the selected images , his report , and possibly ( although unlikely ) non - diagnostic quality digital images on cd to the clinician . the majority of the information ( all unselected slices of the ct scan in this case ) is not passed on to the clinician via the patient . however , these images are maintained digitally ( in dicom format ) on the radiologist &# 39 ; s picture archiving and communication system ( pacs ). the pacs holds the images in a form that currently can only be accessed through the radiologist &# 39 ; s local computer workstations . the images cannot be accessed in the clinician &# 39 ; s offices because of access protocols , data security issues and most importantly , inadequate bandwidth . a single ct scan is about 300 mb , and for example in one clinic seeing say 40 patients , as much as 20 gb could commonly be required at a moments notice for each patient . while the old technology of film has disadvantages , it at least was instantaneous , diagnostic quality and patient portable . thus , in a practical sense , diagnostic quality digital images are not available to the clinician at point of contact with the patient . further , these images may not be maintained in the long term by the health system . even in a hospital environment , it is not possible to achieve the data transfer rates needed to allow the clinician timely reference to diagnostic quality images . with large medical images , adequate bandwidth is today generally present only on closed local networks . while internet speeds vary with national investments in infrastructure , the internet generally will not in the foreseeable future have the bandwidth , reliability , or short response time needed for a medical image transmission system that competes with patient carried transparencies . a portable , personal image storage device according to the present embodiment will provide to this need . a mobile medium could safely and securely store the massive data requirements of diagnostic quality imaging including x - ray , ct , and video . this portable device can be carried with the patient directly from the radiologist to the clinician for quick and accurate diagnosis . such a device would not only provide the clinicians with the information needed for optimum diagnosis and treatment planning , it could carry the patient &# 39 ; s medical imaging history , providing obvious diagnostic advantages . additionally , it can be used to transfer other forms of high definition digital health images having large data storage and security requirements such as used in pathology and haematology . in a preferred arrangement the present invention provides a device for storage , encryption and connectivity that will enable users to selectively engage a multitude of health care systems . the preferred embodiment involves a personal multilayered security medical data card which is capable of storing a person &# 39 ; s personal medical history including any one of but not limited to such items as contact details , medical history summary , records of each visit to a health care provider , test results , diagnostic evaluations and laboratory images . in particular , the laboratory images may include computed tomography ( ct ) or magnetic resonance imaging ( mri ) scans saved as video files along with software to compress the image files . due to the requirement to ensure confidentiality and privacy of information , the preferred embodiment provides a secure data card incorporating multilayered security . this includes the encryption and decryption of the data stored on the personal medical data card and preferably also includes memory address encryption and decryption . the cipher means used to implement the encryption and decryption of information ideally uses the advanced encryption standard ( aes ), although other similar standards could also be implemented . encryption is the conversion of data into a form , called a cipher text , which cannot be easily understood by unauthorised persons . decryption is therefore the process of converting encrypted data back into its original form , so it can be understood . a basic example of encryption and decryption is morse code . simple ciphers include the substitution of letters for numbers , the rotation of letters in the alphabet , and the “ scrambling ” of voice signals by inverting the sideband frequencies . more complex ciphers work according to sophisticated computer algorithms that rearrange the data bits in digital signals . in order to easily recover the contents of an encrypted signal , the correct decryption key is required . the key is an algorithm that “ undoes ” the work of the encryption algorithm . the more complex the encryption algorithm , the more difficult it becomes to “ break ” the cipher . encryption / decryption is especially important in wireless communications . this is because wireless circuits are easier to “ tap ” than their hard - wired counterparts . the information stored on the secure data card is capable of being displayed at very high speed and easily on an inexpensive digital imaging and communications in medicine ( dicom ) standard monitor and computer located in the respective clinician &# 39 ; s surgery . dicom is a global information technology standard that is used in virtually all hospitals worldwide , and was developed to ensure the interoperability of systems used to produce , store and display medical images . the computer also allows an input facility for clinician &# 39 ; s data entry enabling the updating of a person &# 39 ; s personal medical history . the present embodiment also provides a secure data card incorporating efficient memory addressing for dynamic allocation of storage for data such as video . the device 30 can be a universal serial bus ( usb ) enabled chip as shown in fig1 . other communication packages described below could also be used to implement the present embodiment . alternatively the device 30 may be implemented as an ultra - wideband ( uwb ) technology based on the wimedia standard , using the convenience and mobility of wireless communications to high - speed interconnects in devices . in a further alternative the device 30 may be implemented using bluetooth technology which incorporates an industrial specification for wireless personal area networks ( pans ). bluetooth provides a way to connect and exchange information between devices such as mobile phones , laptops , personal computers , printers , gps receivers , and digital cameras over a secure , globally unlicensed short - range radio frequency . in a preferred arrangement and by way of the example described above and fig1 , the device 30 may be supplied by a radiologist or other practitioner when issuing images . when accessing the device 30 for the first time , the user / patient would register an id and password on a particular website . alternatively the id and password could be generated by the user or provided with the device 30 and then changed by the user to an id or password which is easier for them to remember . in order to further identify and protect the user / patient a further identity code for the card is generated by an algorithm located in the firmware of the device 30 . the algorithm produces an identity code based on the user name and the chosen id and a further variable which may be for example the local time or some other variable . a password should also meet the following suggested requirements including any one of but not limited to such requirements as : length . by default , a password should have at least six characters . only the first eight characters are significant . ( in other words , you can have a password that is longer than eight characters , but the system only checks the first eight .) because the minimum length of a password can be changed by a system administrator , it may be different on different systems . characters . a password should contain at least two letters ( either uppercase or lowercase ) and at least one numeral or symbol such as ©,#,%. for example , you could use dog # food or dog2food as a password , but you should not use dogfood . not your login id . a password should not be the same as your login id , nor should it be an rearrangement of the letters and characters of your login id . in this step it is also possible ( but not essential ) to add the users personal information such as name , email , other numbers , address etc . once an id and password has been input by the user and if personal information has already been added it is then possible to read the personal information and the filename that are stored on the device 30 . the device 30 cannot be accessed without the valid user id and password . the id and password are controlled by the usb controller 1 . depending on software used to activate the features of the card , the card may store cryptographic keys , such as a digital signature , or biometric data , such as a fingerprint . the design features tamper resistance packaging . the card can be designed to carry a fingerprint reader for another layer of security . the software used to activate the card and also used by the usb controller are based on protocols used according to the usb standard . preferably , the software is capable of being modified to accommodate any changes required by changing requirements . the device 30 includes a system to enable the storage of data in dicom format as shown in fig2 . dicom data may be stored in a conventional manner and without encryption as shown in fig3 . dicom data may be stored using hard - wired encryption , before saving the data to memory . hard - wired encryption means the encryption is not optionally performed by attendant software but is performed as a necessity due to the design of the hardware of the card . this means that nothing other than cyphertext can be stored on the card . hard - wired encryption is performed in real time , each time data is saved to the card . the use of a cipher chip 4 as shown in fig4 allows the real time encryption of dicom data so that the encryption process does not appreciably increase the time taken to store data on the device 30 . alternatively other data format standards other than dicom can be introduced into the card through development of the appropriate software and therefore all data saved under those standards will be subject to the same beneficial hard - wired encryption and other in built features of the card . after obtaining an id and password via the usb controller 1 , the dicom controller 3 generates memory addresses that are passed to the memory 5 , which then returns the dicom header file to the dicom controller 3 . the dicom controller 3 as shown in fig5 manages the change of data from the physical signalling scheme specified in the usb standard to digital and vice versa through its physical layer interface chip 7 . the physical layer itself consists of physical signalling circuits and logic . this circuitry is responsible for power - on initialization , bus arbitration , reset - sensing and data signalling . each device is also required to keep its physical circuits powered up at all times even when the device is not in use , to ensure that the “ repeater ” function of the standard is met . preferably , the physical signalling scheme described above is based on common usb packet fields used by the usb standard . the controller ( 8 ) analyses the usb protocol . the embedded processor 9 controls both the controller 8 and the memory 5 . firmware is also loaded on the embedded processor 9 . the firmware is taken to describe an operating system located on hardware that controls its basic functions . firmware is not limited to being read - only . the firmware can be updated to give hardware new features and capabilities . the firmware also controls whether hard - wired encryption is activated in the card and whether address block encryption or data encryption is activated or both are activated . the memory 5 keeps root information of all files . encryption information of address and data is added to the root information and is saved in the same area of the memory 5 . the information is displayed when the card is plugged in a computer or when the files are being accessed . the firmware also provides other functions on the card such as machine language instructions for the processor , or configuration settings for a fixed - function device , gate array or programmable logic device . due to the requirement to ensure confidentiality and privacy of information , the present embodiment provides a secure data card incorporating multilayered security . the cipher chip 4 as shown in fig6 carries out encryption following the advanced encryption standard ( aes ) using a 128 - byte block size and a key size of 128 bytes . other encryption standards are possible , for example data encryption standard using 56 bit keys , ( des ) or triple data encryption standard using three 56 bit keys in sequence ( ides ). the cipher chip 4 in the preferred arrangement divides data in to 128 byte blocks 10 and then performs a convolution process 11 using the key in block 10 . in fig1 , the memory address encryption ( mae ) block diagram illustrating implementation of the invention whereby the encryption / decryption processor interfaces with memory through the data bus and with the root directory through the memory address encryption ( mae ) bus 7 . in this example the device 30 incorporates flash memory 40 as shown in fig7 . the flash memory stack 40 may be partitioned into id 12 and four blocks being for personal information 13 , file name 14 , encryption 15 and data 16 . once the dicom file has been obtained it is passed to the pc 19 for viewing . the security process in the device 30 is shown in fig8 . the security algorithm has three steps , first to check the user id to write and to read for dicom 17 , second the encryption and description using block cryptography algorithm following aes 18 and third when the device 30 is removed from the pc 19 ensure all of the dicom data on the pc 19 is unsavable and unwritable by deleting all of the data sitting in the dicom window of the pc 19 . the security algorithm dictates the conditions under which the usb port is opened . the data displayed on the pc is automatically flushed on removal of the card . this can be achieved with a security upgrade of the dicom software targeted for run on the pc which is security tailored for the card . fig9 shows the implementation of the device 30 of the present embodiment in a mobile telephone 50 . the device 30 may be incorporated into a mobile telephone subscriber identity means ( sim ) card 20 . fig1 to 13 show the flow for memory address encryption ( mae ) technology within the device 30 . this is in addition to data encryption that is used . aes provides this dual function within the device 30 . the root directory ( which resides within the flash memory 40 ) is encrypted through aes with a key that is preferably patient related or id driven or for example , the path 2 shown in fig1 . the root directory is then rewritten on the same sector of the memory ( path 3 of fig1 ). it is this root directory that provides memory addressing information . in this example when a clinician requires to read data from the device 30 , the device 30 is connected to the pc ( path 1 of fig1 ), and provides information that the contents of the card cannot be accessed until authentication by user name and password is successful . the next step is to make the contents of the root directory available for decryption . should any of the contents of the root directory be requested the address block is decoded by the aes using the clinician &# 39 ; s public key and hence provides the necessary data for accessing the sector of the memory . this double protection provides additional security as part of an access control . the data may then be read . in a preferred embodiment this data takes the form of cypher text and requires the presence of the patients encryption key , so providing a further level of security , so that without the patient , the cypher text cannot be accessed and without the clinician , the cypher text cannot be decrypted . fig1 further illustrates the multilayered data / memory address encryption . in a preferred arrangement the level 2 and level 3 keys are optional also the firmware is capable of permanently activating any one or more of the three levels of keys , but gives rapid access to that sector of partitioned memory . the present embodiment provides pointers to memory sectors associated with a group . part of the data in memory does not have to be encrypted . other sectors are encrypted such as personal information . as there is a need to pass sub - keys and redo the encryption so others can read the encrypted information , it was determined that re - encrypting a large quantity of data would slow this process down . in order to overcome this problem the following usage of the address / memory encryption has been included for this invention . once a patient authenticates , and then accesses a directory listing , the address blocks are encrypted by the clinicians , so the patient cannot access the data . when a new clinician is added to the trusted circle , their public key is added to the device 30 and the device working with the particular website under secure sockets layer ( ssl ) manages the acquisition of a master key from one of the trusted clinician &# 39 ; s and then re - encrypts the address block , not the data block to this key . then the new clinician can read the address block and access the stored data . the stored data is encrypted to the patient &# 39 ; s key and is decrypted by this key as the clinician reads it . so a single read of the card requires two valid keys . the patient &# 39 ; s public key is available to anyone after they authenticate on the card . by this means the present embodiment provides : 1 . minimal ( fast ) re - encryption to accommodate a new clinician in the circle ; and 2 . three levels of security a ) authentication to patient ; b ) address block encrypted to clinician key ; and c ) data blocks encrypted to patient key . a key issue achieved with the present embodiment in some arrangements is to provide a business model were speed and transparency could be delivered to the process of adding another key and supporting this over the internet . there is also a need to provide an authentication process that automatically reports a unique and alternative user name and password . this also provides a clear beneficial usage pattern around the encryption of the address block versus data block . preferably to ensure that the device 30 will operate on any pc based computing environment the software will run directly from the drive as a portable application . portable software is a class of software that is suitable for use on portable drives such as a usb ( thumb ) drive or ipod or palm pda with “ drive mode ”, although any external hard drive could theoretically be used . to be considered portable a software program should not require any kind of formal installation onto a computer &# 39 ; s permanent storage device to be executed , and can be stored on a removable storage device such as usb flash drive , enabling it to be used on multiple computers . settings are stored with , and can be carried around with , the software ( i . e ., they are written to the usb drive ). digital radiology is accomplished by applying the dicom standard for saved medical imaging data . this standard is embodied by vendors of picture archiving and communications systems ( pacs ) as used by radiology practices worldwide . whenever new images are created by medical imaging equipment they will be loaded by a radiologist onto the device 30 through the pacs and in dicom standard . then subject to the security controls of the invention , the card will store and display the images to the best quality available on the monitors connected to the pc . if the health industry , indeed any industry , uses other standards either open or proprietary then the device 30 can be used in conjunction with any of these other data standards to ensure information is saved in a consistent format under an appropriate level of security . preferably it is also envisaged in the future that the device 30 will work in parallel with other related technologies , such as fourth generation wireless data transfer . it will be possible to utilize direct sequence code division multiple access ( cdma ) signaling to achieve higher bit rates . for example using nomadic local area wireless access ( nla )— 4g ultra high - speed mobile communications — 3 . 5 gbs at speed is of 5 km / h — it is possible for high quality video streaming and is compatible with a patient entering a surgery . this new mobile communications technology dubbed “ nola ” will allow a user to download data at 3 . 6 gbps , which is higher than 1 gbps , an international benchmark for 4g mobile communications . in simple terms the present invention provides a portable yet secure way of allowing a person &# 39 ; s medical history to be stored and easily accessible . a person is supplied with a storage device , which may take the form of a data card . the card is authenticated to the particular user and access to the card will be governed by the user entering a security or pin code . the card will be able to store a variety of data including the users personal and contact information , notes and records from various practitioners , and any images or tests carried out on the user . on presenting to a medical practitioner , the user would also supply the data card . depending on the implementation , the data card may be presented upon entry to the medical practitioner &# 39 ; s offices , so that any data may be downloaded prior to consultation with the medical practitioner . alternatively , the user may keep the card and present it personally to the medical practitioner upon consultation . in order for the card to be accessed it will be necessary for the user following presentation of the card to then input the user &# 39 ; s pin code . this would then grant access to the card . it is envisaged that the present invention will take advantage of the aes encryption standard , although of course other encryption standards could be utilised . in the preferred arrangement the user will have a private key and also a public key . the private key will not be disclosed to any other party , whereas the public key can be disclosed to the various medical practitioners who will consult with the user . similarly , those various medical practitioners will have their own private and public keys . when a new medical practitioner is engaged , there can in essence be an exchange of public keys between the user and the medical practitioner . whilst it is possible that the data alone will be encrypted , the preferred arrangement of the present invention will also encrypt the address block of the storage device . it is the address block which enables a computer to locate where on a storage device the various data is stored . if the address block is encrypted , and thus unable to be read , a computer will not be able to access the data on the card . accordingly , in the preferred arrangement , the address block will be encrypted using the user &# 39 ; s private key . in this way only those medical practitioners who have been provided with the user &# 39 ; s public key will be able to obtain access to a decrypted version of the address block . during consultation any notes or comments which the medical practitioner makes can be added to the medical card . further , results of any tests or scans may also be stored onto the card . in the preferred arrangement this data will be encrypted as part of the storage process , and encryption will be carried out via the medical practitioner &# 39 ; s private key . ideally , the memory on the medical card may be partitioned such that one area stores the user &# 39 ; s personal details , such as their current address , and thus may be edited numerous times . the other section which stores the various medical records and findings of the medical practitioners would ideally be a write only area so that any records entered cannot at a later date be deleted or altered . depending on the implementation , it may also be preferable that the user not be able to read the various findings of the medical practitioners . alternatively , there may be various sections which include full details from the medical practitioners which are not readable by the user , and another section which does provide comments for the user . in an arrangement where the user is not to be able to read the medical practitioner &# 39 ; s comments , then rather than provide the user with the medical practitioner &# 39 ; s public key , the public key is only then provided to other medical practitioners . in a further embodiment it may be that a group of medical practitioners , or a class of medical practitioners are provided with the same private and public keys . this would for example allow ease of access and simplicity where a group of practitioners operate from the same premises . the present invention therefore provides an improved way of storing medical data , and allows a user to ensure that their medical records are available to any medical practitioner to whom they consult . it also means that the various medical practitioners may no longer be required to maintain a patient &# 39 ; s medical history and the notes from the various medical practitioners . this would of course lead to a decrease in both the management and storage required for the medical practitioners . the card would also enable a secure means for the various data to be transferred between the various medical practitioners , whilst also maintaining the various contact details up to date and in one location . it would also mean that a user no longer needs to complete contact details whenever they consult a different medical practitioner . the device itself also provides a multi - level security to ensure the integrity of the data . to access the data it is necessary for a user to insert a pin or security code , the user &# 39 ; s public key must also be known to ensure access to the address block , and the public keys of the various medical practitioners would also be required in order to decrypt the data stored on the card . it will of course be appreciated that the reverse situation could be implemented , that is that the medical practitioner &# 39 ; s private key is used to encrypt the address block , and the user &# 39 ; s private key is used to encrypt the data . in the preferred arrangement all the necessary applications will be stored directly on the card . this means that when the card is input into the system , that data is automatically encrypted and decrypted as necessary . throughout the specification , unless the context requires otherwise , the word “ comprise ” or variations such as “ comprises ” or “ comprising ”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers . although the present embodiment has been illustrated and described with respect to exemplary embodiment thereof , it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes , omission and additions may be made therein and thereto , without departing from the spirit and scope of the present embodiment . therefore , the present embodiment should not be understood as limited to the specific embodiment set out above but to include all possible embodiments which can be embodied within a scope encompassed and equivalent thereof with respect to the feature set out in the appended claims . | 6 |
the presently preferred embodiments of the present invention will be best understood by reference to the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the apparatus , system , and method of the present invention . this detailed description is not intended to limit the scope of the invention , as claimed , but is merely representative of presently preferred embodiments of the invention . fig1 a - d illustrate attachment of a hy - tagged protein to a substrate followed by oxidative formation of a dityrosine crosslink between the protein and the substrate . as illustrated in fig1 b , the conjugation site is pre - established as a complex before chemically reactive groups are created by an oxidant , illustratively a mild oxidant ( fig1 c ). the conjugation site itself catalyzes the creation of the reactive species , which localizes covalent bond formation to an intended region ( fig1 d ). as illustrated , random modifications that may damage or inactivate the target protein are limited . further , the conjugation site on the protein may be genetically encoded in the form of a metal chelating peptide . such a target protein would not require purification to be modified ; it can be modified within a complex mixture of proteins . one advantage for protein array applications is that recombinant proteins may be selectively captured onto a solid support from a crude lysate of cells expressing the protein , and this can be done without purification and post - translational chemical modification . the radical homo - coupling of peptidyl tyrosine to form dityrosine is an irreversible process that leads to intermolecular crosslinks . the reaction proceeds at physiological ph through the formation of tyroxyl radicals by abstraction of a hydrogen atom from the hydroxyl group of tyrosine by a variety of oxidants ( eickhoff , h ., et al ., tetrahedron , 2001 . 57 ( 2 ): p . 353 - 364 ; dhirigra , o . p ., intramolecular oxidative coupling of aromatic substrates , in oxidation in o rganic c hemistry , w . s . trahanovsky , editor . 1982 , academic press : new york ). dityrosine is formed by recombination of two of these tyroxyl radicals ( fig2 ) ( pennathur , s ., et al ., j . biol . chemistry , 1999 . 274 ( 49 ): p . 34621 - 34628 ; jacob , j . s ., et al ., j . biol . chemistry , 1996 . 271 ( 33 ): p . 19950 - 19956 ; spikes , j . d ., et al ., photochemistry and photobiology , 1999 . 69 : p . 84s - 84s ; goldstein , s ., et al ., j . biol . chemistry , 2000 . 275 ( 5 ): p . 3031 - 3036 ; souza , j . m ., et al ., j . biol . chemistry , 2000 . 275 ( 24 ): p . 18344 - 18349 ). as shown in fig2 , in the absence of a base , tyrosine undergoes a one - electron oxidation to give the cation radical . this species rapidly deprotonates to the neutral phenoxyl radical , which then reacts with another phenoxyl to form dityrosine . several reaction pathways exist , however two predominant isomers of dityrosine have been identified , 3 , 3 ′- dityrosine ( dityrosine ) and 3 -[ 4 ′-( 2 - carboxy - 2 - aminoethyl ) phenoxy ] tyrosine or ( isodityrosine ). because of the instability of the radical species involved , the structure of reaction intermediates and mechanisms of chemical transformations remain hypothetical and are often deduced from the structure of the identified products of the oxidation . the generation of the tyroxyl radical occurs at + 1 . 2 v versus sce . at this potential , many oxidizing agents are thermodynamically capable of generating the tyroxyl radical . metal catalysts for this reaction are known and comprise fecl 3 , potassium hexacyanoferrate ( iii ) under aqueous conditions , ag 2 o , nio 2 , ce + 4 . in addition , electrochemical oxidations have been reported ( eickhoff , h ., et al ., tetrahedron , 2001 . 57 ( 2 ): p . 353 - 364 ; dhirigra , o . p ., intramolecular oxidative coupling of aromatic substrates , in oxidation in organic chemistry , w . s . trahanovsky , editor . 1982 , academic press : new york ). nickel ( ii ) mediated association of proteins through his - tags has been reported ( horn , l . g ., et al ., biotechniques , 1998 . 25 ( 1 ): p . 20 - 22 ). thus , as an initial approach to investigating chelated metal - mediated protein crosslinking , tyrosine residues were genetically placed within and around his 6 tags on a model protein , a monomeric titin i28 ig domain ( chen , l ., et al ., bioconjug chem , 2000 . 11 ( 5 ): p . 734 - 40 ). in the presence of ni ( ii ) and mmpp , his - tagged i28 domains with tyr residues between the his - tag and titin domain were efficiently crosslinked ( example 1 ). those with tyr residues outside of the his - tags and the no tyr control did not crosslink . two i28 proteins — proteins from an ig domain of the muscle protein titin — were crosslinked though his - tags containing tyrosine residues . tyrosine residues were placed within and around his 6 - tags on a model protein , a monomeric titin i28 ig domain , as shown in table i , below . in the presence of no ) and mmpp , his - tagged i28 domains with tyr residues between the his - tag and titin domain were efficiently crosslinked ( fig3 , lanes 4 , 5 ). those with tyr residues outside of the his - tags ( lanes 1 - 3 , 6 , 7 ) and the no tyr control ( lane 8 ) did not crosslink . a convenient method to detect and monitor dityrosine formation is to measure its characteristic fluorescence at 410 nm ( aeschbach , r ., et al ., biochim biophys acta , 1976 . 439 ( 2 ): p . 292 - 301 ; dalle - donne , i ., et al ., american biotechnology laboratory , 2001 . 19 ( 13 ): p . 34 - 36 ). this detection method was used to detect dityrosine formation using the his - tagged - i28 constructs discussed above , but using ni ( ii ) and sodium sulfite . the reactions took place within minutes in water , at near neutral ph , and under conditions that are biocompatible . that the hy - i28 proteins were crosslinked by dityrosine in the presence of this mild oxidant is confirmed by analyzing fluorescence emission spectra after treatment with ni ( ii ) and sodium sulfite ( fig4 ). consistent with the electrophoresis results , only h 6 gy - 128 ( seq id no : 6 ) and h 6 gygy - i28 ( seq id no : 7 ) fluoresced significantly at 410 nm ( table i ). in the absence of ni ( ii ) or oxidant , no dityrosine was formed . likewise , the control protein with no tyrosine in the his 6 - tag did not fluoresce when treated with ni ( ii ) and sodium sulfite . thus , with properly constructed hy - tags , crosslinking can occur in the presence of a mild oxidant . as a further example , a second chelator may be formed that is capable of forming a complex with a ni ++ hy - tag that can be conveniently coupled to synthetic polymers . an oligopeptide illustratively containing tyrosine and histidine , such as those described above , may be used as this second ligand . the peptide chelator is easily coupled to fluorescent labels . illustratively , an inexpensive synthetic ligand may be designed by modifying the synthesis of the nitrilotriacetic acid chelator used previously ( ho et al ., langmuir , 1998 . 14 : 3889 - 3894 ; wang et al ., nature , 1999 . 397 : 417 - 420 ). one approach for this is to substitute imidazole or phenolic groups for the carboxylic acid groups on nta . it is expected that these functionalities will react with the oxidized tyrosine in the hy - tag of the protein . protein arrays are widely expected to have a dramatic impact on human health care . the proteome is much more complex than the genome because of alternative splicing and post - translational modifications and therefore contains more useful information about disease states . the ability to “ profile ” directly the amount and chemical state of hundreds or thousands of proteins simultaneously in blood or specific tissue samples , and to correlate protein profiles with a specific disease state would have a profound effect on clinical diagnosis . as basic biomedical research tools , protein arrays would be invaluable for mapping the protein - to - protein connections of the human proteome , for high - throughput protein functional analysis like ligand binding , for identifying new protein drug targets , for identifying disease markers , for drug screening , and more . to test coupling of proteins to a synthetic support , nitrilotriacetic ( nta ) acid was synthesized with a proximal tyrosine residue on pegylated polystyrene beads ( fig5 ). the h 6 ygyg - 128 ( seq id no : 7 ) protein was immobilized on the surface of the beads by ni ( ll ) or cu ( ii ) chelation through the nta group . some samples were oxidized with h 2 o 2 . the amount of protein bound to the beads was determined for each condition . to determine if the protein crosslinked covalently to the beads , bead bound protein was measured after washing the beads with edta , a chelating agent that disrupts ni ( ii )- nta - his - tag bonds . without metal ion , 128 did not bind to the beads ( table ii ). in the presence of ni ( ii ) or cu ( ll ) protein was bound to the beads , with about 3 × more protein bound with ni ( ll ) than cu ( ll ). edta stripped the protein off the beads with both metals , as expected . on the other hand , cu ( ll ) samples oxidized with h 2 o 2 had bead bound protein that was not stripped by edta in about the same amount as the unoxidized and unstripped samples . although preliminary , the results suggest that covalent bonds were formed between the i28 his - tyr - tags and the tyr - nta groups on the bead surface . together with the literature precedents , the hy - tagged i28 crosslinking and the surface immobilization results demonstrate that , in principle , a metal complex between two chelators will catalyze crosslinking between strategically placed phenolic groups ( tyrosines ) in the presence of a suitable oxidant . these results are distinct in several respects from the earlier reports of his 6 - tag mediated crosslinking ( fancy , d . a ., et al ., chem biol , 1996 . 3 ( 7 ): p . 551 - 9 ). first , titin i28 domains do not naturally associate in solution . second , the position of the tyr residues relative to the his 6 - tag is shown to be a major factor in crosslinking efficiency . third , the technique has been extended to crosslinking a peptide chelator to a surface - bound synthetic chelator . it is expected that the his - tag , which is nearly ubiquitous on recombinant proteins , can be used generally as a convenient site for site - specific conjugation , crosslinking , and immobilization of proteins . utility for protein encapsulation and protein - based hydrogels is demonstrated by coupling the synthetic chelator to a monomer . the coupled monomer may then be copolymerized with acrylamide in a manner analogous to earlier work on hybrid hydrogels crosslinked with i28 domains . chen et al ., bioconjugate chem ., 11 : 734 - 740 ( 2000 ). hydrogel formation is initiated through metal coordination bonds , and is then converted to covalent bonds . covalent bond formation is demonstrated by evaluating hydrogel structure under conditions that disrupt metal coordination bonds . double hy - tagged will polymerize . novel protein materials will be created by crosslinking single and mixed double hy - tagged protein domains . these novel protein block copolymers may have unique properties . a possible application is use as a biocompatible , water - based surgical or dental adhesive . such adhesives could be made up of polymer , protein / polymer , or simply protein compositions applied to a wound or tooth which could then be cured by the application of a mild oxidant as a curing agent . in some embodiments , especially those utilizing peroxides , such glues would sterilize the wound to which they are applied . further , the protein used could be specifically designed to meet immunological tolerances and could include human proteins in part or whole . the instant invention could also be used in encapsulating proteins , cells , microbes , viruses , etc ., through the formation of hydrogels containing the desired particles . dna conjugates would often take the form of dna - chips covered with thousands of differing sequences . by attaching a polynucleotide to a ligand as described herein , such will interact with hy - tagged target proteins and allow bonding . this would allow specific proteins to be addressed / targeted to specific dnas , or even protein sequences on a surface , and then to be covalently bound there . similarly , protein arrays such as those using ppo triblock pluronics with exposed ( to the aqueous phase ) peo for preventing denaturing on surfaces could be used with the method of the instant invention . these would show additional usefulness since they allow for the specific orientation of the surface proteins . most chelators provide “ space ” for up to four coordination bonds . in one embodiment , the illustrative synthetic chelators discussed herein illustratively have capacity to form at least six of such bonds in order to form the complex needed and to cause covalent bond formation from the coordination bond in response to exposure to a mild oxidant as described herein . four of the sites are used by the chelator , thus leaving two to form coordination bonds with the hy - tags . illustratively , the chelators contain or are in close proximity to a phenolic functional group . other functional groups for oxidative crosslinking may be used . all patents and other publications cited herein are expressly incorporated by reference . although the invention has been described in detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments , variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit of the invention as described and defined in the following claims . | 2 |
suitable olefinic compounds of the formula ( ii ) of this invention include , for example , 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluoro - 2 - chloro - 2 - butene , 1 , 1 , 1 , 2 , 4 , 4 , 4 - heptafluoro - 2 - butene , 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluoro - 2 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - butene , 3 , 3 , 4 , 4 - tetrafluoro - 1 - chlorocyclobutene , 3 , 3 , 4 , 4 - tetrafluoro - 1 , 2 - dichlorocyclobutene , 3 , 3 , 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - hexafluoro - 1 - chlorocyclopentene , 3 , 3 , 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - hexafluoro - 1 , 2 - dichlorocyclopentene , 3 , 4 - di ( trifluoromethyl )- 1 - chlorocyclobutene , 3 , 4 - di ( trifluoromethyl )- 1 , 2 - dichlorocyclobutene , 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluoro - 2 , 3 - dibromo - 2 - butene and 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluoro - 2 - bromo - 3 - chloro - 2 - butene . it is not absolutely necessary to start with olefinic compounds of the formula ( ii ). it is also possible to start with precursors which give compounds of the formula ( ii ) as intermediates . precursors of compounds of the formula ( ii ), can be , for example , compounds of the formula ( iii ) ## str3 ## wherein each x and each y independently of one another and r f have the meaning given under the formula ( i ) or ( ii ). the compounds of the formula ( iii ) can be converted to compounds of the formula ( ii ), for example , by elimination of hydrogen halide . if desired , such an elimination reaction can be preceded by the exchange of halogen for hydrogen . examples of compounds of the formula ( iii ) include 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluoro - 2 , 2 , 3 - trichlorobutane , 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluoro - 2 , 2 , 3 , 3 - tetrachlorobutane and 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluoro - 2 , 3 - dibromo2 - chlorobutane . preferred starting compounds used in the process according to the invention include the following compounds of the formula ( ii ): 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluoro - 2chlorobutene , 3 , 3 , 4 , 4 - tetrafluoro - 1 , 2 - dichlorocyclobutene , 3 , 3 , 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - hexafluoro - 1 , 2 - dichlorocyclopentene and 1 , 1 , 1 , 2 , 4 , 4 , 4 - heptafluoro - 2 - butene . the starting compounds for the process according to the invention are readily accessible , using , for example , the method according to german offenlegungsschrift 3 , 725 , 213 , or h . l . henne et al , j . am . chem . soc ., 67 , 1235 ( 1945 ), and 73 , 1103 ( 1951 ). suitable hydrogenation catalysts for the process according to the invention include metals or metal - containing materials . suitable examples include the metals of transition group viii of the periodic table of the elements , especially palladium , platinum and nickel . the metals can be used in elemental form or in the form of compounds ( for example , as oxides or hydroxides ). the metals can also be used in specially activated forms , for example , in the form of raney metals , or applied to a carrier material . preference is given to raney nickel or palladium on carbon , aluminum oxide , silica , barium sulphate , calcium carbonate , lithium aluminum spinel , silica gel or magnesium oxide . it is also possible to use catalysts which contain two or more metals , for example nickel and iron . the catalysts can also be doped with additives in any desired manner . in general , the amount of catalyst is not critical . for example , 1 to 100 % by weight of catalyst , based on the compound of the formula ( ii ) used , can be used . the quantity of catalyst refers to the catalytically active component of the catalysts , so that if supported catalysts are used , the weight of the carrier material is not included when calculating the amount of catalyst to be used . suitable bases for the process according to the invention include a wide range of inorganic and organic alkaline compounds . examples of such bases include the oxides , hydroxides , acetates , carbonates and bicarbonates of alkali metals and alkaline - earth metals , as well as tertiary amines . preferred bases include potassium hydroxide , sodium hydroxide , sodium acetate , triethylamine , and pyridine . the bases can be used in various amounts . if compounds of the formula ( ii ) in which x is hydrogen are used , 0 . 8 to 1 . 2 equivalents of base per mol of the compound of the formula ( ii ) are preferably used . if compounds of the formula ( ii ) in which x is chlorine are used , 1 . 8 to 3 equivalents of base per mol of the compound of the formula ( ii ) are preferably used . the hydrogenation according to the invention can be carried out at various pressures and temperatures . suitable pressures are , for example , those in the range of about 1 to 200 bar and suitable temperatures are those in the range of about 0 ° to 200 ° c . preference is given to pressures in the range of about 1 to 60 bar and to temperatures in the range of about 20 ° to 60 ° c . the process according to the invention is preferably carried out in the presence of a solvent . suitable solvents include , for example , alcohols such as methanol and ethanol , ethers such as tetrahydrofuran and diglyme , aromatics such as toluene , and alkanoic acids such as acetic acid . the process can be carried out not only batchwise but also continuously . in the case of continuous operation , the catalyst is preferably arranged in a fixed bed . the reaction mixture can , for example , be worked up by first removing any solids present and then stripping the solvent from the filtrate . it can also be worked up by pouring the reaction mixture freed from the catalyst onto ice water , separating the resulting organic phase , and then fractionally distilling the organic phase . the reaction mixture can also be worked up by any number of other methods known in the art . the process according to the invention has several advantages . for example , the process requires no starting materials and reagents which are difficult to obtain , it affords pure products in good yield , and it provides an economical route to fluorinated , but chlorine - free , hydrocarbons . the present invention further relates to novel cyclic fluorinated hydrocarbons of the formula ( ia ) ## str4 ## wherein the two r f &# 39 ; groups taken together are -- cf 2 -- cf 2 -- cf 2 -- or -- ch ( cf 3 )-- ch ( cf 3 )--; that is , 1 , 1 , 2 , 2 , 3 , 3 - hexafluorocyclopentane and 1 , 2 - di ( trifluoromethyl ) cyclobutane . a process for preparing the novel compounds of the formula ( ia ) is described above and possibilities for industrial use are described below . the present invention further relates to the use as propellant gas of compounds of the formula ( i ) ## str5 ## wherein r f is cf 3 or the two r f groups taken together are -- cf 2 -- cf 2 --,-- cf 2 -- cf 2 -- cf 2 -- or -- ch ( cf 3 )-- ch ( cf 3 )--. preferably , these compounds can be used as propellant gas for sprays having a wide range of uses , for example , as sprays for cosmetic purposes ( such as deodorant sprays ). particularly preferably , these compounds can be used as propellant gas in sprays used for medical purposes , for example , in sprays for asthmatics or in liquid plaster sprays . for such uses , particular preference is given to 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluorobutane . sprays which , according to the present invention , contain compounds of the formula ( i ) as propellant gas are inert and nonflammable , as are the fluorinated and chlorinated hydrocarbons which hitherto have frequently been used for this purpose . however , because the compounds of formula ( i ) are chlorine - free , these compounds have the additional advantage of leaving virtually unaffected the ozone layer of the earth &# 39 ; s atmosphere . the present invention also relates to the use as working fluid for heat pump systems of compounds of the formula ( ib ) ## str6 ## wherein r f &# 34 ; is cf 3 or the two r f &# 34 ; groups taken together are -- cf 2 -- cf 2 13 cf 2 or -- ch ( cf 3 )-- ch ( cf 3 )--. the present invention , which is set forth in the foregoing disclosure , is not to be construed or limited either in spirit or in scope by these examples . those skilled in the art will readily understand that known variations of the conditions and processes of the following preparative procedures can be used . in the following examples , all percentages are percentages by weight and all temperatures are degrees celsius unless otherwise noted . in a stainless steel autoclave , 40 g of 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluoro - 2 - chloro - 2 - butene in 300 ml of ethanol were hydrogenated with hydrogen in the presence of 12 g of potassium hydroxide and 25 g of raney nickel for 3 hours at 20 ° c . and another 1 hour at 100 ° c . at a pressure of from 30 to 40 bar . the solid components were then removed from the reaction mixture by filtration and the remaining liquid was distilled to give 16 g of 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluorobutane having a boiling point of 25 °- 30 ° c . at 1013 mbar . the mass spectrum showed a molecular ion at m / e 166 . 199 g ( 1 mol ) of 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluoro - 2 - chloro - 2 - butene were hydrogenated in 800 ml of diglyme in the presence of 45 g of sodium hydroxide and 30 g of raney nickel in the temperature range from 20 ° to 40 ° c . and at a hydrogen pressure of 20 to 40 bar . the solid components were filtered off , the solvent was extracted with water , and the organic phase was separated and purified by fractional distillation . the yield of 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluorobutane was 125 g ( 75 % of theory ). the boiling point was 24 °- 27 ° c . at 1013 mbar . the 19 f -- nmr spectrum showed one peak at - 10 . 7 ppm ( cf 3 co 2 h standard ). 10 g ( 36 mmol ) of 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluoro - 2 - bromo - 3 - chloro - 2 - butene were hydrogenated in 50 ml of tetrahydrofuran in the presence of 3 . 0 g of sodium hydroxide and 5 g of raney nickel in the temperature range from 20 ° to 40 ° c and at a hydrogen pressure of 20 to 40 bar . the reaction mixture was worked up as described in example 2 . the yield was 3 . 5 g of 1 , 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 ,- hexafluorobutane ( 59 % of theory ). 40 g ( 0 . 2 mol ) of 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluoro2 - chloro - 2 - butene were hydrogenated in 300 ml of ethanol in the presence of 12 g of potassium hydroxide and 24 g of raney nickel in the pressure range of from 20 to 40 bar and at a temperature from 20 ° to 100 ° c . the solid components were filtered off , the solvent was extracted with water , and the organic phase was separated and purified by distillation to give 15 . 5 g ( 47 % of theory ) of 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluorobutane . the boiling point was 25 ° to 27 ° c . at 1013 mbar . 50 ml of tetrahydrofuran , 8 . 5 g of sodium hydroxide and 3 g of 5 % by weight palladium on carbon catalyst were added to 23 . 5 g ( 0 . 1 mol ) of 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluoro - 2 , 3 - dichloro - 2 - butene . this mixture was hydrogenated with hydrogen at temperatures between 20 ° and 40 ° c . and at pressures in the range 20 to 40 bar . the reaction mixture was worked up as described in example 2 . the yield was 8 . 0 g ( 75 % of theory ) of 1 , 1 , 1 , 4 , 4 , 4 - hexafluorobutane . in a 1 . 3 1 stainless steel autoclave , 245 g ( 1 mol ) of 1 , 2 - dichloro - 3 , 3 , 4 , 4 , 5 , 5 - hexafluorocyclopentene were hydrogenated at 60 ° to 70 ° c . with the addition of 202 g ( 2 mol ) of triethylamine in 200 ml of methanol and in the presence of 20 g of raney nickel . over a period of 12 hours , the theoretical amount of hydrogen was absorbed at a hydrogen pressure of 40 to 50 bar . the reaction mixture was filtered and the methanolic solution was diluted with 400 ml of water . the lower organic phase was separated , washed with 100 ml of 5 % aqueous hydrochloric acid , and dried over sodium sulfate . distillation through a 1 - m spinning band column gave 106 g ( 60 % of theory ) of 1 , 1 , 2 , 2 , 3 , 3 - hexafluorocyclopentane having a boiling point of 87 °- 88 ° c . at 1013 mbar . the mass spectrum showed the molecular ion at m / e 178 . 19 f -- nmr ( external cf 3 cooh standard ): 36 . 5 ppm ( tt , 4 f ) and - 57 . 9 ppm ( m , 2f ) | 2 |
referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first , particularly to fig1 thereof , there is shown equipment for illuminating and developing photosensitive material ( 1 ), for example , offset sheet or film , the equipment including a laser imagesetter ( 2 ), for example , an internal - drum imagesetter sold by heidelberger druckmaschinen ag ( applicant company ) under the name herkules , a pc or personal computer ( 3 ) connected to it , or a workstation for controlling the laser imagesetter ( 2 ), and a film - developing machine ( 4 ) in which the material ( 1 ) illuminated in the laser imagesetter ( 2 ) is developed , as well as a measuring instrument ( 5 ) for evaluating a simultaneously illuminated and simultaneously developed test pattern ( 6 ) on one edge of the photosensitive material ( 1 ). the pc ( 3 ) includes a keyboard ( 7 ), a non - illustrated mouse , a cd - rom drive ( 8 ) and a connection to a data line ( 9 ) for transferring information from external databases , for example , over the internet , and it is optionally connected at a further interface to a barcode reader ( 10 ) for reading barcodes ( 11 ) on the photosensitive material ( 1 ). in the present exemplary embodiment , the measuring instrument ( 5 ) is a densitometer for measuring the optical density and / or a raster tone value of the respective test pattern ( 6 ), as well as for carrying out comparative density measurements , and it is , advantageously , a simple densitometer , which is used to measure the difference between a setpoint value and the actual value of the optical density of the respective test pattern ( 6 ). the laser imagesetter ( 2 ), the pc ( 3 ), the developing machine ( 4 ), and the densitometer ( 5 ) otherwise correspond in terms of configuration to customary devices of the relevant type , which are known to the person skilled in the art and are conventional , and that need not , therefore , be described in detail here . instead of a pc ( 3 ) connected to the laser imagesetter ( 2 ), it is also possible to use hardware components integrated in the laser imagesetter ( 2 ), which are additionally built into it or are already present and are simultaneously used , for example , an rip processor of the imagesetter ( 2 ) instead of a processor ( 12 ) ( see fig2 ) of the pc ( 3 ). as represented most clearly in fig2 the software ( 13 ) of the pc ( 3 ) includes a utility or management program , referred to below as a material manager ( 14 ), which can be called up by the keyboard ( 7 ) or the mouse pointer or a control box ( 15 ) on the laser imagesetter ( 2 ). the material manager ( 14 ) is used for managing a range of internal databases , referred to below as material drivers ( 16 ), in a memory ( 17 ) of the pc ( 3 ), which respectively include a range of imagesetter - neutral or imagesetter - independent characteristic data for each photosensitive material ( 1 ) to be illuminated on the imagesetter ( 2 ). these material drivers ( 16 ) that , for example , are provided by the manufacturer of the imagesetter ( 2 ) or of the photosensitive material ( 1 ), include as imagesetter - neutral characteristic data , inter alia , the thickness of the photosensitive material ( 1 ) in μm , the length of the photosensitive material ( 1 ) in m , the material polarity ( positive / negative ), the material sensitivity as energy density in mj / m 2 , a particularly well - suited test pattern ( 6 ) for the respective material ( 1 ) in postscript or as a classification reference , as well as a material - specific evaluation criterion as a value or as a classification reference . the material drivers ( 16 ) are provided , for example , on a cd - rom to be sent to the user and to be read using the cd - rom drive ( 8 ) of the pc ( 3 ), or on an internet homepage for downloading the files through the data line ( 9 ). upon input of an imagesetter resolution desired by the user , a manufacturer code ( for example , a name abbreviation of the manufacturer of the material ( 1 ) that is now to be illuminated , as well as a material code , for example , a material abbreviation , on the keyboard ( 7 ), by clicking with the mouse pointer on a screen interface of a monitor ( 16 ) of the pc ( 3 ) or by reading a barcode ( 11 ) on the material ( 1 ) or its packaging by the barcode reader ( 10 ), the corresponding material driver ( 16 ) is called up by the processor ( 12 ) as a database by the material manager ( 14 ) from the memory ( 17 ) and transferred to the laser imagesetter ( 2 ), where the characteristic data are stored in a memory ( 19 ) of the imagesetter ( 2 ). the data from the buffer memory are subsequently processed in the rip ( 20 ), or in another processor of the imagesetter ( 2 ), and are correlated by corresponding algorithms with characteristic data internal to the imagesetter , or imagesetter - dependent characteristic data , for example , characteristic data for the adjusted laser - diode current in a , filters or shutters that are used , to calculate therefrom the illumination parameters for the subsequent illumination of the photosensitive material ( 1 ), in particular , the laser power in w , the laser spot diameter in μm , the focus position or focus adjustment in um , the feed rate in m / s , and the scan rate in m / s . the characteristic data of the material drivers ( 16 ), and the characteristic data internal to the imagesetter that are , likewise , stored in the memory ( 19 ) of the imagesetter ( 2 ), are selected such that these data can be used directly by the processor ( 20 ) as variables in a corresponding algorithm , from which one of the desired illumination parameters is , then , derived . advantageously , matching unit systems are used for the material drivers ( 16 ) and the characteristic data internal to the imagesetter to avoid conversion . for example , all the data are given in the si system . as an example , the algorithm for the laser power p in w or j / s may have the following form : ev is the material sensitivity of the photosensitive material as energy density in 10 − 3 j / m 2 ; a is the input resolution converted from pixel / cm into 1 / m ; and the scan rate v is , for example , calculated according to the following algorithm for a drum imagesetter : a is the distance from the spinning mirror to the photosensitive material in m ; and for a material ( 1 ) with unknown material sensitivity , the laser power actually required can be determined by a single illumination test , in which the material ( 1 ) is successively illuminated with different laser powers in the imagesetter ( 2 ), a particular test pattern ( 6 ) being specified for each illumination . between two adjacent or successive illuminations , the laser power is varied such that the amplitude of the variation , that is to say , the difference between two adjacent power levels , remains constant on a logarithmic power scale . this means that the increment of the laser power between two illumination adjustments is small at low laser powers and rises exponentially with increasing laser power . after illumination , the material ( 1 ) is developed in the developer ( 4 ), and the test patterns ( 6 ) produced during the illumination are evaluated using the densitometer ( 5 ) to determine , from among the test patterns ( 6 ) produced during the illumination , the one for which the differences between the actual values of the optical density of the test pattern ( 6 ) and corresponding stored setpoint values are the smallest . the associated illumination parameters for the test pattern ( 6 ) thus determined are subsequently stored in the memory ( 17 ), in a similar way as the material drivers ( 16 ), so that they can be called up again when required , that is to say , for another illumination of the same material ( 1 ) in the imagesetter ( 2 ). to calculate the focus adjustment , the imagesetter ( 2 ) has a so - called reference focal point , which is determined at the factory , with a reference material of predetermined thickness , for this material . when another material is being used , the difference between the thickness of the reference material and the thickness contained in the material driver ( 16 ) pertaining to the material ( 1 ) being used is determined by the processor ( 20 ), and a corresponding modification of the focus adjustment is made as a function of this difference . in a corresponding way , it is possible to calculate and compensate for shifts of the focus position at higher or lower temperatures , by determining the difference from the reference temperature and by calculating the expansion or contraction of the material due to this temperature difference , before compensating for the calculated expansion or contraction by varying the focal point . because a uniform quality of the illuminated and developed photosensitive material ( 1 ) presupposes sufficient stability of the process parameters throughout the illumination and developing processes , which is not always guaranteed for various reasons , the material ( 1 ) is provided not only during the illumination tests for unknown materials , but also advantageously during each illumination process , with a test pattern that is evaluated after illumination and developing of the material . the test pattern , like the represented test pattern ( 6 ), advantageously lies outside the setting mirror in the vicinity of one of the edges of the material ( 1 ). the test pattern ( 6 ) respectively used is material - dependent and comes from the material driver ( 16 ), from where it is read with the aid of the material manager ( 14 ), before the photosensitive material ( 1 ) is automatically illuminated with the read - out test pattern ( 6 ) in the imagesetter ( 2 ). the test pattern ( 6 ) may assume a plurality of different forms and , for example , it may include three different subregions , of which one has 100 % darkening to check the optical density , one has a 50 % raster area to check the raster tone value , and , for comparative density measurements , is provided with various raster / line and point patterns , as well as combinations of such patterns . after its illumination , the photosensitive material ( 1 ) first passes through the developing machine ( 4 ), in which it is developed with the aid of developer chemicals , and , subsequently , the densitometer ( 5 ), in which the test patterns ( 6 ) are compared , the material ( 1 ) being static or moved , with a corresponding reference test pattern , to determine differences possibly existing between the respective actual values of the optical density of the test pattern ( 6 ) and predetermined setpoint values of the optical density of the reference test pattern . the result of the comparison is transferred from the densitometer ( 5 ) to the pc ( 3 ), and is stored in the memory ( 17 ), from where it is read out at regular time intervals and evaluated by the processor ( 12 ). during the evaluation , the type , position , and size of the difference between the actual value and the setpoint value , as well as , optionally , a time variation of this difference , are compared with corresponding stored difference values , the cause of which is known or which have been induced at the factory by deliberate variation of illumination parameters during calibration of the imagesetter ( 2 ). from the type , the position , and the size of the differences , as well as , optionally , their time variation , conclusions can be drawn subsequently about the causes of the differences , and these can be eliminated by corresponding countermeasures . alternatively , each material driver ( 16 ) may contain a previously determined gradation or darkening curve for the associated material ( 1 ), which is sent by the material manager ( 14 ) to the processor ( 12 ) and is compared there with a gradation or darkening curve determined during evaluation of the test pattern ( 6 ). as such , it is possible to determine likewise existing differences or deviations , which can , then , be eliminated by corresponding countermeasures . the countermeasures for eliminating the differences or deviations expediently lie in varying a corresponding guide value of the imagesetter ( 2 ), for example , its energy density , so as to counteract the differences that are encountered . this means that if the optical density of the test pattern is much less than the optical density of the reference test pattern in the case of a material with positive material polarity , which is darkened during the illumination , the laser power is increased to enhance the darkening . besides the guide value , further parameters may , optionally , be varied if so required ; this variation may take place proportionally to the variation of the guide value or independently thereof . because the quality of the illuminated and developed material ( 1 ) is influenced not only by the illumination parameters but also by the process parameters of the developing machine ( 4 ), for example , by aging of developer chemicals that entails a loss of quality , it is expedient when finding certain deviations or variations of the test patterns ( 6 ) that are caused by the developing , not to vary the illumination parameters but to provide for a corresponding variation of the process parameters of the developing machine ( 4 ). in the simplest case , this may , for example , be replacement of the developer chemicals in the developing machine ( 4 ), which is advantageously , likewise , done under processor control as a function of the result of the test - pattern evaluation . | 1 |
motor control device according to embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings . the present invention is not limited to these embodiments . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a motor control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention . the motor control device illustrated in fig1 includes a drive unit 1 , a control unit 4 , a position detector 5 , a command generation unit 6 , a drive - current detection unit 7 , a friction - characteristics estimation unit 8 , a friction modeling unit 9 , a friction - variation analysis unit 10 and a temperature - information acquisition unit 11 . the drive unit 1 includes a drive mechanism 2 and a motor 3 which are represented by a linear guide . the motor 3 generates a drive force according to a drive current supplied from the control unit 4 via the drive - current detection unit 7 and drives the drive mechanism 2 . the position detector 5 attached to the motor 3 detects a position of the motor 3 and outputs a position detection signal . the command generation unit 6 is set so that the drive unit 1 performs a desired operation and generates and outputs a drive command signal that is an operation command signal , according to the setting . the drive - current detection unit 7 detects and outputs the drive current from the control unit 4 . the control unit 4 outputs a speed signal based on the position detection signal and a drive force signal based on a drive - current detection value , while supplying the drive current to the motor 3 , based on the position detection signal , the drive command signal and the drive - current detection value . the friction - characteristics estimation unit 8 estimates friction characteristics of the drive unit 1 based on the speed signal and the drive force signal from the control unit 4 and outputs a friction - characteristics estimate value . the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 measures a temperature of the position detector 5 and outputs a temperature information value to the friction modeling unit 9 . in the friction modeling unit 9 , a temperature dependence of friction is modeled , and a reference friction model that is a temperature friction model whose characteristics change according to the temperature is set . the friction modeling unit 9 outputs reference friction characteristics as friction characteristics of the temperature friction model at the temperature information value . the friction - variation analysis unit 10 performs a calculation based on the variation amount of the friction - characteristics estimate value with respect to the reference friction characteristics , and outputs a friction variation value . it is only necessary , although not illustrated , to output the friction variation value to a display unit , for example , mounted on the motor control device , or an external display unit of the motor control device , so as to enable a user to recognize the friction variation value . however , the friction variation value may be recognizable by a user through an auditory sense by sound , for example , thus the friction variation value not being limited to a manner that the value is recognizable by the user through a visual sense . fig2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the control unit 4 included in the motor control device illustrated in fig1 . the control unit 4 illustrated in fig2 includes a drive control unit 41 , a current control unit 42 , a speed computing unit 43 and a drive - force calculation unit 44 . the drive control unit 41 generates a drive - force command signal based on the drive command signal and the position detection signal and outputs the drive - force command signal to the current control unit 42 . for the generation of the drive - force command signal , a proportional , integration or differential operation is used . the current control unit 42 outputs a drive current so that the drive force generated in the motor 3 follows the drive - force command signal , according to the drive - force command signal and the drive - current detection value . the speed computing unit 43 generates a speed signal based on the position detection signal and outputs the speed signal to the friction - characteristics estimation unit 8 . for the generation of the speed signal , an operation based on differential or subtraction is used . the drive - force calculation unit 44 generates a drive force signal based on the drive - current detection value and outputs the drive force signal . by using the drive - current detection value , a drive force signal according to the drive force being generated in the motor 3 can be generated . the drive mechanism 2 of the drive unit 1 is driven by the motor 3 mechanically coupled thereto . the drive mechanism 2 includes a movable unit represented by a ball screw that converts a rotary movement of the motor 3 to a linear movement or a guide mechanism that sets a moving direction , and friction is caused at the time of movement of the drive unit 1 . the friction varies due to an influence of wear , flaw or foreign matters of the movable unit . therefore , the friction characteristics are considered to be an index representing a state of the drive mechanism 2 . consequently , by comparing the normal friction characteristics at the time of introduction of the mechanical device or component replacement of the drive mechanism 2 with the current friction characteristics , a state of variation with time of the drive mechanism 2 can be ascertained . the current friction characteristics are outputted from the friction - characteristics estimation unit 8 as the friction - characteristics estimate value . the friction - characteristics estimation unit 8 estimates friction generated in the drive unit 1 from the drive force signal and the speed signal and outputs the friction - characteristics estimate value . the friction - characteristics estimate value includes two coefficients , that is , a viscosity coefficient and a coulomb coefficient , and a relation between the friction and these coefficients is represented by the following expression ( 1 ). furthermore , grease or lubricant is applied to the movable unit for lubrication and friction reduction . because the viscosity of the grease or lubricant changes according to the temperature , the friction of the drive mechanism 2 has a temperature dependence . fig3 is a graph illustrating a temperature dependence of a friction value when the drive mechanism 2 configured by a ball screw is driven by the motor 3 , as an example , at the time of introduction of the mechanical device , at a normal time . herein , the temperature (° c .) of the position detector 5 is plotted on a horizontal axis , while a friction value ( n ) when the motor 3 is rotated at a revolution speed of 3000 rpm ( revolution per minute ) is plotted on a vertical axis . values plotted in fig3 indicate a relation of a friction value to a temperature of the position detector 5 when the external temperature is 10 ° c ., 28 ° c . or 40 ° c . as illustrated in fig3 , as the temperature of the position detector 5 or the external temperature increases , the friction decreases . the position detector 5 is mechanically connected to the drive mechanism 2 via the motor 3 . however , because the temperature of the position detector 5 changes according to the temperature of the drive mechanism 2 , the temperature of the position detector 5 can be used as the temperature related to the friction of the drive mechanism 2 . the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 that measures the temperature of the position detector 5 is attached to the position detector 5 , which is not a movable unit , and thus the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 can be easily attached thereto . now description is given for a case where variation with time is ascertained based on friction variation , using a friction value 7 . 7n acquired at the external temperature of 28 ° c . as a reference . because the friction value estimated at the external temperature of 10 ° c . is 9 . 7n , the friction value is supposed to have varied by 2 . 0n at the external temperature of 28 ° c . the variation amount of the friction value is 26 % in percentage . therefore , if the temperature dependence is not taken into consideration , it is erroneously determined that the variation of 26 % in friction is caused by the variation with time . accordingly , the temperature dependence of friction should be taken into consideration when variation of the friction characteristics caused by the variation with time of the drive mechanism 2 is extracted from the friction variation . the temperature friction model obtained by modeling the temperature dependence of friction is set to the friction modeling unit 9 in order to extract the variation with time of the drive mechanism 2 from the current friction - characteristics estimate value estimated by taking the temperature dependence of friction into consideration . in the friction modeling unit 9 , the reference friction characteristics corresponding to the temperature acquired by the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 are calculated . fig4 is a graph illustrating a temperature dependence of friction , in which the temperature friction model is added to fig3 . the graph illustrated in fig4 indicates a friction value when the motor 3 is rotated at 3000 rpm , in the temperature friction model generated based on the temperature dependence of friction of the drive mechanism 2 in fig3 . when the external temperature is 10 ° c . and the motor 3 is rotated at the revolution speed of 3000 rpm , the estimated friction value is 9 . 7n , and the temperature of the position detector 5 acquired by the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 is 46 ° c . a friction value under the condition that the motor 3 is rotated at the revolution speed of 3000 rpm in the reference friction characteristics calculated from the temperature friction model at this temperature is 9 . 56n , and the friction variation is supposed to be 0 . 14n . the variation amount of the friction value is 1 . 5 % in percentage . in this manner , the friction variation due to variation with time is 1 . 5 %, and it can be determined that the variation with time has hardly occurred . that is , at a normal time , the reference friction characteristics at the temperature at which the friction characteristics are estimated can be acquired , as an example , from a temperature friction model based on the temperature dependence of friction of the drive mechanism 2 at the time of introduction of the mechanical device . by comparing the friction - characteristics estimate value with the reference friction characteristics to perform analysis , the variation with time of the drive mechanism 2 can be ascertained with taking the temperature dependence of friction into consideration . the above description has been made for the friction value when the motor 3 is rotated at the revolution speed of 3000 rpm . the friction - characteristics estimate value , however , includes two coefficients , that is , the viscosity coefficient and the coulomb coefficient , and the relation between the friction and these coefficients is represented by a function of a speed or revolution speed as in the above expression ( 1 ). by setting a temperature friction model corresponding to an expression of the friction - characteristics estimate value , comparison and analysis of the estimated friction - characteristics estimate value can be performed regardless of the speed of the motor 3 . in the temperature friction model in that case , the viscosity coefficient and the coulomb coefficient are set by expressions of a temperature dependence as shown in the following expressions ( 2 ) and ( 3 ). at this time , the friction modeling unit 9 outputs the viscosity coefficient and the coulomb coefficient , which are a reference , as the reference friction characteristics based on the above expressions ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) according to the input temperature information value . in such a configuration , at a normal time , a temperature friction model whose characteristics change according to the temperature is set to the friction modeling unit 9 based on the temperature dependence of friction of the drive mechanism 2 at the time of introduction of the mechanical device as an example . based on the temperature information value outputted by the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 at the time of estimation of the friction - characteristics estimate value , the friction modeling unit 9 calculates the reference friction characteristics that are the normal friction characteristics of the drive mechanism 2 at a temperature indicated by the temperature information value . the friction - variation analysis unit 10 calculates a friction variation value representing friction variation of the drive mechanism 2 associated with variation with time , as described above , based on the reference friction characteristics and the friction - characteristics estimate value . fig5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the friction - variation analysis unit 10 . the friction - variation analysis unit 10 illustrated in fig5 includes a subtractor 101 and a variation - amount - percentage calculation unit 102 . the subtractor 101 outputs a difference between the friction - characteristics estimate value and the reference friction characteristics as a friction variation amount . the variation - amount - percentage calculation unit 102 calculates a percentage of the friction variation amount with respect to the reference friction characteristics based on the reference friction characteristics and friction variation amount inputted thereto , and outputs the percentage as a friction variation value . in this way , the friction - variation analysis unit compares the friction - characteristics estimate value of the drive mechanism 2 estimated by the friction - characteristics estimation unit 8 with the reference friction characteristics calculated by the friction modeling unit 9 , thereby enabling to output a friction variation value obtained with taking the temperature dependence of friction into consideration . as described above , the motor control device according to the present embodiment can calculate the friction variation value representing variation with time of the drive mechanism 2 based on the estimated friction - characteristics estimate value , even under an installation environment in which the temperature changes . in the present embodiment , the drive - force calculation unit 44 of the control unit 4 generates a drive force signal based on a drive - current detection value . however , the drive force signal may also be generated using a drive - force command signal generated by the drive control unit 41 of the control unit 4 , instead of the drive - current detection value . further , the drive force signal may be generated using a signal acquired from a sensor that measures a drive force of the motor 3 , represented by a torque meter . furthermore , a position and temperature detector having a temperature measuring function for correcting a detection value may be used instead of the position detector 5 and the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 , and the position and temperature detector may serve as the position detector 5 and the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 . according to this configuration , the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 does not need to be installed , and the same transmission cable can be shared as a transmission cable for the temperature information value and a transmission cable for the position detection value , thereby enabling to reduce the cost . in the present embodiment , a temperature measuring location of the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 is set as the position detector 5 . however , the present invention is not limited thereto , and the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 may measure a temperature of the drive mechanism 2 or the motor 3 instead of the temperature of the position detector 5 . when the temperature of the drive mechanism 2 is measured , the temperature dependence of friction of the drive mechanism 2 can be modeled more accurately than the present embodiment described above . in the present embodiment , a position to be detected by the position detector 5 is set as a position of the motor 3 . however , the present invention is not limited thereto , and the position detector 5 may detect a position of the drive mechanism 2 . in this case , the control unit 4 only needs to calculate the speed signal based on the position detection signal corresponding to the position of the drive mechanism 2 . alternatively , instead of the position detector 5 , a speed detector that detects a speed of the motor 3 or the drive mechanism 2 may be used . when the speed detector is used instead of the position detector 5 , it is sufficient to calculate the position using a speed detection signal representing the speed detected by the speed detector , for example , by calculation based on integration operation . the position detector and the speed detector are collectively referred to as “ movement detection unit ”. the speed detection signal and the position detection signal are collectively referred to as “ movement detection signal ”. fig6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a motor control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention . the motor control device of the present embodiment has a configuration in which a normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 , a high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 , a low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 and a temperature - friction model generation unit 15 are added to the configuration of fig1 , and a friction modeling unit 9 a is provided instead of the friction modeling unit 9 . a temperature information value and friction characteristics are set to the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 . the temperature - friction model generation unit 15 generates a temperature friction model based on the temperature information value and the friction characteristics set to the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 . in the motor control device illustrated in fig6 , constituent elements identical to those illustrated in fig1 operate and function in the same manner , and thus descriptions thereof are omitted here . in the motor control device illustrated in fig6 , the temperature - friction model generation unit 15 first generates a temperature friction model , based on the temperature information value and the friction characteristics in the drive mechanism 2 at a normal time under different external temperature conditions , as an example , at the time of introduction of the mechanical device , by a method of obtaining an approximate curve represented by a least - square method , that is , by an approximate calculation . temperature information values and friction characteristics under different external temperature conditions are set to the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 . as an example of respective settings of the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 , what can be mentioned is setting of the temperature information values acquired by the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 and the friction - characteristics estimate value estimated by the friction - characteristics estimation unit 8 in respective cases where the external temperature is 28 ° c . as a normal temperature , 10 ° c . as a low temperature , and 40 ° c . as a high temperature as illustrated in fig3 . the temperature - friction model generation unit 15 generates a temperature friction model based on the temperature information values and the friction characteristics set as described above , by the method of obtaining an approximate curve , that is , the approximate calculation , represented by the least - square method and outputs the temperature friction model to the friction modeling unit 9 a . according to such a configuration , the drive unit 1 is operated under different temperature environments using , for example , a constant temperature room , to acquire the temperature information values and the friction characteristics , and the acquired ones are set to the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 . accordingly , the temperature - friction model generation unit generates a temperature friction model and automatically outputs the generated temperature friction model to the friction modeling unit 9 a , and the temperature friction model is automatically set to the friction modeling unit 9 a . as described above , in the motor control device according to the present embodiment , by setting the temperature information values and the friction characteristics acquired by operating the drive unit 1 under the different temperature environments , the friction variation value representing variation with time of the drive mechanism 2 can be calculated based on the estimated friction characteristics , even under the installation environment in which the temperature changes . the motor control device according to the present embodiment includes three temperature - friction storage units . however , the present invention is not limited thereto , and as an example , there may be provided two temperature - friction storage units , that is , a normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit and a high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit . alternatively , as another example , there may be provided four or more temperature - friction storage units including first and second normal - temperature temperature - friction storage units , a high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit and a low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit . the temperature - friction model generation unit 15 can generate the temperature friction model , so long as at least two temperature - friction storage units are provided . fig7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a motor control device according to a third embodiment of the present invention . the motor control device according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 and an automatic setting period measurement unit 17 that measures a period automatically set are added to the configuration illustrated in fig6 , and a normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a is provided instead of the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 , a high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a is provided instead of the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 , and a low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a is provided instead of the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 . the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 sets a temperature information value and a friction - characteristics estimate value to the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a , in the period automatically set . the automatic setting period measurement unit 17 maintains an automatic setting period , and outputs an automatic - setting request signal to the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 within the period automatically set . in a period in which the automatic - setting request signal is being inputted , the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 continues to perform automatic setting for the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a . in the motor control device illustrated in fig7 , constituent elements identical to those illustrated in fig1 and 6 operate and function in the same manner , except for the temperature - friction model generation unit 15 , and thus descriptions thereof are omitted here . the temperature - friction model generation unit 15 has the same configuration as those illustrated in fig1 and 6 , but operates differently . if the period set by the automatic setting period measurement unit 17 is a long period such as a year or more , the drive mechanism 2 has a risk of undergoing variation with time during the period . therefore , the period automatically set is preferably a period from about three months to six months , that is a period in which it is supposed that the variation with time hardly occurs . in the motor control device illustrated in fig7 , the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 uses the fact that the external temperature changes according to a seasonal change in the environment where the drive unit 1 is installed , to set the temperature information value to the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a , and automatically set the friction - characteristics estimate value . since the temperature friction model is generated based on the temperature information values and the friction characteristics of the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a , modeling can be performed more accurately when the temperature information value and the friction characteristics having a larger width of a temperature change are used . the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 uses an external temperature change according to the seasonal change . if the period automatically set becomes a long period such as a year or more , the drive mechanism 2 has a risk of undergoing variation with time during the period . therefore , the period automatically set is preferably a period from about three months to six months , that is a period in which there is a change in the external temperature due to the seasonal change but it is supposed that the variation with time change hardly occurs . fig8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of setting the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value , which is performed by the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 according to an automatic setting sequence . the set temperature information value and friction - characteristics estimate value are set to the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a . first , the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 starts an automatic setting operation , and determines whether or not the automatic - setting request signal has been inputted ( step s 1 ). if the automatic - setting request signal has not been inputted ( when determined as no at step s 1 ), the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 ends the automatic setting . if the automatic - setting request signal has been inputted ( when determined as yes at step s 1 ), the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 determines whether or not the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value have been set to the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a ( step s 2 ). if the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value have not been set to the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a ( when determined as no at step s 2 ), the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 sets the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value to the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a ( step s 3 ), returns to step s 1 , and performs determination of step s 1 again . if the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value have been set to the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a ( when determined as yes at step s 2 ), the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 determines whether or not the temperature information value is higher than the temperature of the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a ( step s 4 ). if the temperature information value is higher than the temperature of the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a ( when determined as yes at step s 4 ), the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 determines whether or not the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value have been set to the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a ( step s 5 ). if the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value have been set to the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a ( when determined as yes at step s 5 ), the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 determines whether or not the temperature information value is higher than the temperature of the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a ( step s 6 ), and if not ( when determined as no at step s 6 ), returns to step s 1 , and performs determination of step s 1 again . if the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value have not been set to the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a ( when determined as no at step s 5 ), or if the temperature information value is higher than the temperature of the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a ( when determined as yes at step s 6 ), the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 sets or updates the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value to the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a ( step s 7 ), returns to step s 1 , and performs determination of step s 1 again . if the temperature information value is not higher than the temperature of the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a ( when determined as no at step s 4 ), the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 determines whether or not the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value have been set to the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a ( step s 8 ). if the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value have been set to the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a ( when determined as yes at step s 8 ), the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 determines whether or not the temperature information value is higher than the temperature of the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a ( step s 9 ), and if yes ( when determined as yes at step s 9 ), returns to step s 1 , and performs determination of step s 1 again . if the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value have not been set to the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a ( when determined as no at step s 8 ), or if the temperature information value is not higher than the temperature of the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a ( when determined as no at step s 9 ), the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 sets or updates the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value to the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a ( step s 10 ), returns to step s 1 , and performs determination of step s 1 again . the temperature - friction model generation unit 15 generates the temperature friction model based on the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value of the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a , which have been set in the automatically setting period . at this time , the temperature friction model is generated so as to pass through the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value set to the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a , taking into consideration the possibility that the drive mechanism 2 may have undergone variation with time during the automatically setting period . according to such a configuration , the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 automatically sets the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value to the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a in the automatically setting period using a change of the external temperature due to a seasonal change . as described above , in the motor control device according to the present embodiment , the temperature friction model is automatically generated based on the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value automatically set , and even under the installation environment in which the temperature changes , the friction variation value representing variation with time of the drive mechanism 2 can be calculated based on the estimated friction - characteristics estimate value . in the present embodiment , the automatic setting - period measurement unit 17 has a configuration of setting and measuring the automatically setting period . however , the present invention is not limited thereto , and the automatic setting period measurement unit 17 may have a configuration in which the count number of the number of times of a power supply on / off or the number of operations is set , and an automatic setting request signal is outputted based on a measurement result of the count number . fig9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a motor control device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention . the motor control device according to the present embodiment has a configuration of including a control unit 4 a that outputs also a drive - voltage command value , instead of the control unit 4 of fig7 , and a temperature - information acquisition unit 11 a that estimates a temperature of the motor 3 based on the drive - current detection value and the drive - voltage command value , instead of the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 . in the motor control device illustrated in fig9 , constituent elements identical to those illustrated in fig7 operate and function in the same manner , and thus descriptions thereof are omitted here . in the motor control device illustrated in fig9 , the control unit 4 a supplies a drive current based on the position detection signal , the drive command signal and the drive - current detection value to the motor 3 , and outputs the speed signal , the drive force signal and the drive - voltage command value . the motor 3 generates a drive force corresponding to the supplied drive current . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the control unit 4 a . the control unit 4 a illustrated in fig1 includes the drive control unit 41 , a current control unit 42 a , the speed computing unit 43 and the drive - force calculation unit 44 . that is , the control unit 4 a illustrated in fig1 has a configuration of including the current control unit 42 a instead of the current control unit 42 of the control unit 4 illustrated in fig2 . the current control unit 42 a includes a current - control computing unit 421 and a main circuit unit 422 . the drive control unit 41 , the speed computing unit 43 and the drive - force calculation unit 44 have been described with reference to fig2 of the first embodiment , and thus descriptions thereof are omitted here . the current - control computing unit 421 receives the drive - force command signal and the drive - current detection value as inputs , and outputs a drive - voltage command value so that the drive force generated by the motor 3 follows the drive - force command signal . the main circuit unit 422 outputs a drive current to the motor 3 according to the drive - voltage command value . the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 a measures a winding resistance of the motor 3 based on the drive - current detection value and the drive - voltage command value , and estimates the temperature of the motor 3 based on a relation between resistivity of a copper wire and temperature to output the temperature information value . specifically , an estimate value of temperature is calculated based on the measured winding - resistance measurement value , a 20 ° c . winding resistance value that is a winding resistance value when the temperature of the winding is 20 ° c ., which is a value measured beforehand , and a 20 °- resistance temperature coefficient that is a resistance temperature coefficient at 20 ° c ., using the following expression ( 4 ). according to the above expression ( 4 ), the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 a estimates the temperature of the motor 3 and outputs the temperature information value . as described above , in the motor control device according to the present embodiment , the temperature friction model is automatically set based on the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value automatically set , and it is possible to calculate the friction variation value representing variation with time of the drive mechanism 2 based on the estimated friction - characteristics estimate value , even under the installation environment in which the temperature changes . in the motor control device according to the present embodiment , the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 a estimates the temperature of the motor 3 using the drive - voltage command value outputted by the current control unit 42 a . however , the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 a may estimate the temperature of the motor 3 using a drive - voltage detection value , that is a detection value of the voltage applied to the main circuit unit 422 or the motor 3 . in the motor control device according to the present embodiment , as in the motor control device according to the second embodiment illustrated in fig6 , the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 and the automatic setting period measurement unit 17 may be omitted . in this case , it is sufficient to set the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value to the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 . in the motor control device according to the present embodiment , as in the motor control device according to the first embodiment illustrated in fig1 , the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage units 12 and 12 a , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage units 13 and 13 a , and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage units 14 and 14 a , the temperature - friction model generation unit 15 , the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 , and the automatic setting period measurement unit 17 may be omitted . in this case , it is sufficient to set the temperature friction model to the friction modeling units 9 and 9 a . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a motor control device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention . the motor control device according to the present embodiment includes a friction - force signal generation unit 18 and a reference friction - value generation unit 19 in addition to the configuration illustrated in fig7 , and also includes a friction - variation analysis unit 10 a instead of the friction - variation analysis unit 10 . the friction - force signal generation unit 18 calculates a friction force generated in the drive mechanism 2 based on the drive force signal and the speed signal to generate and output a friction force signal . the reference friction - value generation unit 19 generates and outputs a reference friction value based on the speed signal and the reference friction characteristics . the friction - variation analysis unit 10 a compares the friction force signal with the reference friction value to calculate a friction variation value . in the motor control device illustrated in fig1 , constituent elements identical to those illustrated in fig7 operate and function in the same manner , and thus descriptions thereof are omitted here . the friction - force signal generation unit 18 calculates the friction force generated in the drive mechanism 2 by using a load mass applied to the motor 3 , which has been stored beforehand , and an acceleration signal obtained by differentiating a speed signal that is an output from the control unit 4 , to obtain a waveform of torque or thrust force required for acceleration and deceleration of the load mass , and subtracting the waveform from the drive force signal , thereby to generate and output a friction force signal . the reference friction - value generation unit 19 generates and outputs the reference friction value that is a friction value of the reference friction characteristics at the speed indicated by the speed signal , based on the reference friction characteristics that is an output from the friction modeling unit 9 a and the speed signal that is an output from the control unit 4 . the friction - variation analysis unit 10 a has no input of the friction - characteristics estimate value , but receives , as inputs , the friction force signal that is an output from the friction - force signal generation unit 18 and the reference friction value that is an output from the reference friction - value generation unit 19 . the friction - variation analysis unit 10 a calculates the friction variation value representing friction variation of the drive mechanism 2 associated with variation with time , by performing the same computation as in the friction - variation analysis unit 10 . in this configuration , a friction force signal obtained by calculating the friction force generated in the drive mechanism 2 is used instead of the friction - characteristics estimate value estimated by the friction - characteristics estimation unit 8 . a time is required for estimation of the friction - characteristics estimate value in the friction - characteristics estimation unit 8 . however , the friction force signal can be generated instantly by performing an algebra calculation based on the drive force signal and the acceleration signal . therefore , the friction variation value can be calculated in a short time . as described above , the motor control device according to the present embodiment can calculate the friction variation value representing the variation with time of the drive mechanism 2 in a short time , even under the installation environment in which the temperature changes . in the motor control device according to the present embodiment , as in the motor control device according to the second embodiment illustrated in fig6 , the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 and the automatic setting - period measurement unit 17 may be omitted . in this case , it is sufficient to set the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value to the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 . further , in the motor control device according to the present embodiment , as in the motor control device according to the first embodiment illustrated in fig1 , the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage units 12 and 12 a , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage units 13 and 13 a , the low - temperature temperature - friction storage units 14 and 14 a , the temperature - friction model generation unit 15 , the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 , and the automatic setting period measurement unit 17 may be omitted . in this case , it is sufficient to set the temperature friction model to the friction modeling unit 9 . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a motor control device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention . the motor control device according to the present embodiment includes a continuous - operation counter unit 20 instead of the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 of fig1 , and a friction modeling unit 9 b instead of the friction modeling unit 9 of fig1 . the continuous - operation counter unit 20 generates and outputs a continuous - operation counter value that monotonously increases according to a continuous operation time . a continuous - operation friction model , whose friction characteristics change according to the continuous - operation counter value , is set to the friction modeling unit 9 b . in the motor control device illustrated in fig1 , constituent elements identical to those illustrated in fig1 operate and function in the same manner , and thus descriptions thereof are omitted here . in the motor control device illustrated in fig1 , the drive unit 1 includes the drive mechanism 2 and the motor 3 , and the motor 3 drives the drive mechanism 2 according to a drive command signal . the drive mechanism 2 includes a movable unit represented by a ball screw that converts a rotary movement to a linear movement or a guide mechanism that sets a moving direction , and friction is generated at the time of operation of the drive unit 1 . the friction varies due to an influence of wear , flaw or foreign matters of the movable unit . therefore , the friction characteristics become an index representing the state of the drive mechanism 2 . grease or lubricant is applied to the movable unit of the drive mechanism 2 for lubrication and friction reduction . the viscosity of the grease or lubricant changes according to the temperature , and as described in the first embodiment , the friction of the drive mechanism 2 has a temperature dependence . because the temperature of the drive mechanism 2 increases because of a loss due to friction and an electrical loss of the motor 3 during a continuous operation of the drive unit 1 , the friction characteristics of the drive mechanism 2 change due to the continuous operation . fig1 is a graph illustrating a change of the friction value when the drive mechanism 2 configured by a ball screw is driven by the motor 3 , as an example , at the time of introduction of the mechanical device , at a normal time . here , a continuous - operation counter value is plotted on a horizontal axis and a friction value ( n ) when the motor 3 is rotated at a revolution speed of 3000 rpm is plotted on a vertical axis . the continuous - operation counter value is represented in minutes . however , the present invention is not limited thereto , and the continuous - operation counter value may be expressed in certain unit times . as illustrated in fig1 , the friction value decreases continuously in a period from the start of a continuous operation to 120 minutes , and thereafter , hardly changes and generally takes a constant value . it is contemplated that the reason why the friction value varies in this manner is that the friction characteristics change due to a temperature rise of the drive mechanism 2 caused by a frictional loss or an electrical loss in the period from the start of the continuous operation to 120 minutes , and thereafter the external temperature and heat generation due to the losses reach a condition of equilibrium , thereby the temperature not changing . now , description is given for a case where variation with time is ascertained based on the friction variation using a friction value of 8 . 2n as a reference after 300 minutes have passed since the start of the continuous operation . after 60 minutes have passed since the start of the continuous operation , the estimated friction value is 9 . 7n . therefore , it means that the friction value has varied by 1 . 5n . the variation amount of the friction value is 18 % in percentage . therefore , if the friction characteristics change during the continuous operation is not taken into consideration , it may be erroneously determined that the friction variation of 18 % is caused by the variation with time . for that reason , the friction characteristics change during the continuous operation should be taken into consideration for extraction of the variation of friction characteristics caused by the variation with time of the drive mechanism 2 from the friction variation . it is considered here that heat generation due to the frictional loss or electrical loss does not change if the operation pattern of the drive unit 1 is the same . therefore , at the normal time , a continuous - operation friction model in which a relation between the continuous - operation counter value and the friction characteristics is modeled is generated based on the continuous - operation counter value that is an output from the continuous - operation counter unit 20 and the friction - characteristics estimate value estimated and outputted by the friction - characteristics estimation unit 8 when the drive mechanism 2 at the time of introduction of the mechanical device is operated with repetition of a certain operation pattern as an example . in this way , as long as the operation pattern of the drive unit 1 is the same , the variation with time of the drive mechanism 2 can be ascertained using the continuous - operation friction model as a reference . that is , the friction modeling unit 9 b can ascertain the variation with time of the drive mechanism 2 taking the change of the friction characteristics during the continuous operation into consideration , by calculating the reference friction characteristics according to the continuous - operation counter value from the continuous - operation friction model , and comparing the reference friction characteristics with the friction - characteristics estimate value estimated by the friction - characteristics estimation unit 8 to perform analysis . the continuous - operation friction model is set according to the following expressions ( 5 ) and ( 6 ), in which is suitable to be expressed by functions of the viscosity coefficient and the coulomb coefficient with respect to the continuous - operation counter value , according to the friction - characteristics estimate value estimated by the friction - characteristics estimation unit 8 . the friction modeling unit 9 b at this time outputs the viscosity coefficient and the coulomb coefficient to be references from the expressions ( 5 ) and ( 6 ) described above as reference friction characteristics , in accordance with the input continuous - operation counter value . the friction - variation analysis unit 10 calculates the friction variation value representing the friction variation of the drive mechanism 2 associated with variation with time as described above , based on the reference friction characteristics and the friction - characteristics estimate value . in this configuration , a continuous - operation friction model in which the friction characteristics change according to the continuous - operation counter value is set to the friction modeling unit 9 b , at the normal time , based on a relation between the friction and the continuous operation time when a certain operation pattern is repeated in the drive mechanism 2 at the time of introduction of the mechanical device as an example . then , the friction modeling unit 9 b calculates and outputs the reference friction characteristics according to the continuous - operation counter value generated by the continuous - operation counter unit 20 at the time of estimation of the friction - characteristics estimate value . the friction - variation analysis unit 10 compares the friction - characteristics estimate value estimated by the friction - characteristics estimation unit 8 with the reference friction characteristics , and outputs a friction variation value obtained with taking the relation between the continuous operation time and the friction characteristics into consideration . as described above , the motor control device according to the present embodiment can calculate the friction variation value representing variation with time of the drive mechanism 2 based on the estimated friction - characteristics estimate value , even in the drive mechanism 2 in which the friction characteristics change , by a continuous operation in which a certain operation pattern is repeated . in the motor control device according to the present embodiment , the continuous - operation counter unit 20 generates a continuous - operation counter value that monotonously increases according to the continuous operation time . however , the continuous - operation counter unit 20 may generate a continuous - operation counter value based on a phenomenon in which the number of times of the operation pattern , that is , the number of times of operations monotonously increases due to repetition of a determined operation pattern , such as the number of repetitions of an operation pattern or the number of times of acceleration and deceleration . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a motor control device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention . the motor control device according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which a friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 is added to the motor control device illustrated in fig1 . the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 receives a friction variation value outputted by the friction - variation analysis unit 10 as an input thereof , and outputs a friction - abnormality diagnosis signal . in the motor control device illustrated in fig1 , constituent elements identical to those illustrated in fig1 operate and function in the same manner , and thus descriptions thereof are omitted here . in the motor control device illustrated in fig1 , the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 compares the input friction variation value with a preset normal value range of the friction variation value , and if the friction variation value is out of the normal value range , outputs a friction - abnormality diagnosis signal indicating friction abnormality . if the input friction variation value is within the normal value range , the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 outputs a friction - abnormality diagnosis signal indicating that the friction is normal , or does not output any signal . as illustrated in the first embodiment and fig5 , the friction - variation analysis unit 10 compares the reference friction characteristics calculated by the friction modeling unit 9 with a friction - characteristics estimate value of the drive mechanism 2 estimated by the friction - characteristics estimation unit 8 , to calculate a friction variation value representing the friction variation of the drive mechanism 2 . the reference friction characteristics calculated by the friction modeling unit 9 are friction characteristics of the drive mechanism 2 at the normal time , which corresponds to the temperature information value acquired by the temperature - information acquisition unit 11 . accordingly , the friction - variation analysis unit 10 compares the friction - characteristics estimate value with the reference friction characteristics to calculate a variation amount of the current friction characteristics with respect to the friction characteristics at the normal time at the current temperature , and calculates a percentage of the variation amount with respect to the reference friction characteristics to output the friction variation value . in this manner , because the friction variation value is calculated with taking the temperature dependence of friction into consideration , the friction variation value is supposed to represent variation of the friction characteristics due to variation with time regardless of the temperature . the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 compares the friction variation value representing the variation of the friction characteristics due to variation with time with the preset normal value range , to diagnose whether the friction of the drive mechanism 2 is normal or abnormal . because the friction variation value does not depend on the temperature , diagnosis using one normal value range is possible regardless of the temperature . as described above , the motor control device according to the present embodiment can notify a user of the presence or absence of friction abnormality in the drive mechanism 2 based on the friction - abnormality diagnosis signal outputted by the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 . in the present embodiment , the description has been made for a mode in which the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 is added to the configuration in fig1 of the first embodiment , but even if the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 is added to the configuration in fig6 of the second embodiment , the configuration in fig7 of the third embodiment , the configuration in fig9 of the fourth embodiment , the configuration in fig1 of the fifth embodiment , or the configuration in fig1 of the sixth embodiment , identical effects can be exerted . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a motor control device according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention . the motor control device according to the present embodiment includes a friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 a instead of the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 illustrated in fig1 of the seventh embodiment . the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 a outputs a friction - abnormality increase diagnosis signal or a friction - abnormality decrease diagnosis signal based on the friction variation value outputted by the friction - variation analysis unit 10 . in the motor control device illustrated in fig1 , constituent elements identical to those illustrated in fig1 operate and function in the same manner , and thus descriptions thereof are omitted here . in the motor control device illustrated in fig1 , a normal value range of the friction variation value having an upper limit and a lower limit is preset to the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 a . the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 a compares the input friction variation value with the normal value range , and if the friction variation value exceeds the upper limit of the normal value range , outputs a friction - abnormality increase diagnosis signal indicating an abnormal increase of friction . on the other hand , if the friction variation value falls below the lower limit of the normal value range , the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 a outputs a friction - abnormality decrease diagnosis signal indicating an abnormal decrease of friction . when the friction variation value is within the normal value range , the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 a outputs a friction - abnormality increase diagnosis signal indicating that the friction is normal , or a friction - abnormality decrease diagnosis signal indicating that the friction is normal , or does not output any signal . the friction generated by the drive mechanism 2 is caused by lubricant oil or grease as a lubricant agent , or by pressurization of a bearing , ball screw or linear guide used in the drive mechanism 2 . an increase of friction is expected if viscosity of the lubricant oil increases or hardening of the grease occurs due to variation with time , or foreign matters are mixed therein . on the other hand , a decrease of friction is expected if viscosity of the lubricant oil decreases or softening of the grease occurs , or pressurization decreases . the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 a distinguishes between abnormal increase and abnormal decrease of friction to output the friction - abnormality increase diagnosis signal or the friction - abnormality decrease diagnosis signal , and thus can perform diagnosis distinguishing the above phenomena . as described above , according to the present embodiment , if the friction variation value exceeds the upper limit of the normal value range , the friction - abnormality increase diagnosis signal indicating an abnormal increase of friction is outputted , and if the friction variation value falls below the lower limit of the normal value range , the friction - abnormality decrease diagnosis signal indicating an abnormal decrease of friction is outputted . it is considered that in the drive mechanism 2 , a phenomenon occurring when the friction increases and a phenomenon occurring when the friction decreases are different from each other . therefore , a user can take different measures at the time of abnormal increase of friction and at the time of abnormal decrease of friction , respectively . in the present embodiment , the description has been made for a mode in which the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 of the configuration of the seventh embodiment is replaced with the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 a , that is , a mode in which the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 is added to the configuration in fig1 of the first embodiment , but even if the friction - abnormality diagnosis unit 21 a is added to the configuration in fig6 of the second embodiment , the configuration in fig7 of the third embodiment , the configuration in fig9 of the fourth embodiment , the configuration in fig1 of the fifth embodiment , or the configuration in fig1 of the sixth embodiment , identical effects can be exerted . fig1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a motor control device according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention . the motor control device according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a are omitted from the configuration illustrated in fig7 of the third embodiment , and a temperature - friction model generation unit 15 a is provided instead of the temperature - friction model generation unit 15 . the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value are set to the temperature - friction model generation unit 15 a by the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 in a period set by the automatic setting period measurement unit 17 . in the motor control device illustrated in fig1 , constituent elements identical to those illustrated in fig7 operate and function in the same manner , and thus descriptions thereof are omitted here . in the motor control device illustrated in fig1 , the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 sets the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value automatically to the temperature - friction model generation unit 15 a in the period set by the automatic setting period measurement unit 17 . if the period set by the automatic setting period measurement unit 17 becomes a long period such as a year or more , the drive mechanism 2 has a risk of undergoing variation with time during the period . therefore , the automatically setting period is preferably a period from about three months to six months , which is a period in which it is supposed that the variation with time hardly occurs . the temperature - friction model generation unit 15 a generates a temperature friction model based on the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value set by the temperature - friction automatic setting unit 16 . for example , the temperature - friction model generation unit 15 a generates a temperature friction model based on the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value inputted in the automatically setting period using an iterative least squares technique . as described above , in the motor control device according to the present embodiment , the temperature friction model is automatically generated based on the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value automatically set , and the friction variation value representing variation with time of the drive mechanism 2 can be calculated based on the estimated friction - characteristics estimate value . further , the configuration of the present embodiment does not require the normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 12 a , the high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 13 a and the low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit 14 a , which are required in the configuration illustrated in fig7 of the third embodiment . therefore , an amount of memory required for the automatic generation of the temperature friction model can be reduced . in this manner , the reference friction model can be calculated from the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value , and set to the friction modeling unit . in the present embodiment , the temperature - friction model generation unit 15 a generates the temperature friction model based on the temperature information value and the friction - characteristics estimate value using , for example , an iterative least squares technique , but the present invention is not limited thereto . if the drive unit is used under an environment where air conditioning is controlled and temperature change hardly occurs , the temperature friction model may be generated by averaging the temperature information values and the friction - characteristics estimate values , respectively . in this case , the temperature friction model does not have a temperature dependence . therefore , the friction modeling unit 9 a outputs constant reference friction characteristics regardless of the temperature information value . further , in this case , the automatically setting period is preferably shorter than six months that are a period in which it is supposed that variation with time of the drive mechanism 2 hardly occurs . as described in the first to ninth embodiments , according to the motor control device of the present invention , abnormality can be recognized at an early stage . therefore , an overload on other components due to the abnormality can be prevented , a long life can be achieved , energy consumption due to the abnormality can be suppressed , and a load on the environment can be also reduced . further , when the motor control device is applied to a production machine , the yield can be improved . when the motor control device is applied to a transport machine , the abnormality can be handled at an early stage , thereby enabling to improve the transport efficiency . as described above , the motor control device according to the present invention is useful for a mechanical device having a drive unit driven by a motor , which is represented by an automated machine , a machine tool , or a robot . particularly , the motor control device according to the present invention is suitable for a mechanical device having a drive mechanism whose friction characteristics change due to a temperature change of an installation environment or a continuous operation time . the configurations of the embodiments described above are only examples of the contents of the present invention . the configurations can be combined with other publicly - known techniques , and can be partially omitted or modified without departing from the scope of the invention . 1 drive unit , 2 drive mechanism , 3 motor , 4 , 4 a control unit , 5 position detector , 6 command generation unit , 7 drive - current detection unit , 8 friction - characteristics estimation unit , 9 , 9 a , 9 b friction modeling unit , 10 , 10 a friction - variation analysis unit , 11 , 11 a temperature - information acquisition unit , 12 , 12 a normal - temperature temperature - friction storage unit , 13 , 13 a high - temperature temperature - friction storage unit , 14 , 14 a low - temperature temperature - friction storage unit , 15 , 15 a temperature - friction model generation unit , 16 temperature - friction automatic setting unit , 17 automatic setting period measurement unit , 18 friction - force signal generation unit , 19 reference friction - value generation unit , 20 continuous - operation counter unit , 21 , 21 a friction - abnormality diagnosis unit , 41 drive control unit , 42 , 42 a current control unit , 43 speed computing unit , 44 drive - force calculation unit , 101 subtractor , 102 variation - amount - percentage calculation unit , 421 current - control computing unit , 422 main circuit unit . | 7 |
as seen in fig1 a typical dye injection apparatus as is known in the art includes three basic components . specifically , they are a contrast dye bottle 12 , a dye manifold 16 , and a syringe 50 . the contrast bottle 12 is connected to the manifold 16 by a vented spike 24 and a length of tubing 20 . the manifold 16 is also connected to a branch of a guide catheter ( not shown ) by a second length of tubing 22 . the vented spike 24 is inserted into the bottle 12 via a receptacle in the mouth of the bottle 12 . as fluid is drawn from the bottle 12 , air is drawn into the bottle 12 through the branch of the spike 24 , as shown by the arrow . the fluid conduit of the spike 24 is connected to the proximal end of the flexible tubing 20 . the distal end of the tubing 20 is connected to an inlet valve 42 on the manifold 16 . typically , a manifold 16 will also have other valves 44 , 46 , as well as an outlet valve 48 . a proximal end of the second tubing 22 is connected to the outlet valve 48 . finally , the syringe 50 is connected to the manifold 16 . the manifold 16 could have various types of valves , including manual valves or check valves , to control the flow of the contrast dye . indeed , the manifold 16 could be replaced by a multi - ported ball valve . however , the functioning of the apparatus can be most easily illustrated by discussion of a manifold 16 having manual valves as shown . once connected as shown , the known apparatus must be primed by drawing dye into the syringe and dispensing it into the guide catheter , including the purging of all air bubbles from the manifold 16 and the tubing 20 . this is a time consuming operation . when it is desired to inject contrast dye into the patient , the physician withdraws the plunger of the syringe 50 , with inlet valve 42 open and outlet valve 48 closed . when the syringe 50 is filled with dye , inlet valve 42 is shut and outlet valve 48 is opened . then , the plunger is inserted back into the syringe 50 , dispensing the dye through the manifold 16 , and through the tubing 22 , to the guide catheter . each injection will typically dispense approximately 7 ml . of dye . repeated injections are repeated as required . after the angiography procedure has been completed , approximately half of the dye in bottle 12 will remain . the entire apparatus , including the remaining dye , must be discarded , since there is no assurance that contaminated fluid has not migrated back up through the apparatus into the bottle 12 . fig2 shows a preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention 10 . the contrast bottle 12 is ultimately connected , as before , to the manifold 16 and the syringe 50 . in this case , however , apparatus is interposed between the bottle 12 and the manifold 16 to ensure that contamination does not migrate back to the bottle 12 , and to facilitate disconnection of the bottle 12 from the other apparatus , to allow saving the remaining dye in the bottle 12 , or to allow replacement of an empty bottle with a full bottle . the intervening apparatus consists of a deformable holding chamber 14 , which is connected to the bottle 12 by several additional components in a flow path 18 . connected to the fluid conduit of spike 24 is the proximal end of a length of tubing 26 , forming a portion of the flow path 18 . continuing along flow path 18 , the distal end of the tubing 26 is connected to the proximal end of a disconnect / flowstop fitting 28 . the disconnect / flow - stop fitting 28 consists essentially of two portions , a flow - stop portion 32 and a threaded disconnect portion 30 . the fitting 28 can be one of a number of such fittings available on the market . when the threaded disconnect portion 30 is disconnected , thereby breaking the flow path 18 , the integral flow - stop portion 32 automatically stops flow through the flow path 18 from the bottle 12 . the distal end of the fitting 28 is connected to the proximal end of a second length of tubing 34 , the distal end of which is connected to the proximal end of a one - way valve 36 . the one - way valve 36 allows flow only from the bottle 12 toward the holding chamber 14 , as shown by the arrow . the one - way valve 36 can be one of a number of such valves available on the market . the distal end of the one - way valve 36 is connected to the proximal end of a third length of tubing 38 , completing flow path 18 . indeed , the three lengths of tubing 26 , 34 , 38 can be seen to constitute essentially a single tubing with the disconnect fitting 28 and the one - way valve 36 interposed therebetween . the tubing 38 can have attached thereon an air - in - line sensor , or bubble detector 60 . the bubble detector 60 can be one of several such devices available on the market , which can operate on ultrasonic , photoelectric , or infrared technology . when a gas bubble is detected in the tubing 38 , the sensor 60 will give an alarm signal to alert personnel to the need to replace the bottle 12 with a full bottle . alternatively , an air sensor 60 &# 39 ; can be mounted on the holding chamber 14 to determine when the dye level has fallen below a selected level . normally , the sensor 60 &# 39 ; will be mounted at a level selected to be below the normal fill level in the chamber 14 , but above the bottom of the chamber 14 . ideally , the level at which the sensor 60 &# 39 ; is mounted will leave at least enough dye to supply several injections of dye after the air alarm is given . as dye is withdrawn from the holding chamber 14 , a partial vacuum in the holding chamber 14 will draw additional dye from the bottle 12 , causing the dye level in the holding chamber 14 to remain relatively constant . this means that the floating baffle 52 will normally remain above the level at which the sensor 60 &# 39 ; is mounted , and the sensor 60 &# 39 ; will not detect the presence of air . if the bottle 12 empties , repeated injections of dye into the patient will cause the baffle 52 to drop below the level of the sensor 60 &# 39 ;, and the air alarm will be energized . an injection fitting 40 and a vent 54 are also mounted on the deformable chamber 14 . the injection fitting 40 is fitted with a pierceable seal , allowing the injection of secondary fluids with a hypodermic needle , or allowing the connection of a secondary set of tubing as desired . the vent 54 is fitted with a stop valve 56 and a second one - way valve 58 . the second one - way valve 58 is installed so as to allow flow only out of the holding chamber 14 to the atmosphere , as shown by the arrow . if the one - way valve 58 is a high pressure crack valve , the manual valve 56 is not needed . the holding chamber 14 itself is a deformable chamber which is constructed so as to return to its original shape after being squeezed and released , with the resiliency being sufficient to draw dye out of the bottle 12 during return of the chamber 14 to its original shape . it should have visibility through at least a portion of its side wall , to allow personnel to see the level of dye therein . it should also have graduated markings on its side , and its capacity should be at least 30 ml . the baffle 52 , such as a floating baffle , can be provided within the chamber 14 , to prevent the entrainment of air in the dye by direct impingement of the stream of dye on the reservoir of dye in the bottom of the chamber 14 . the baffle 52 consists of a floating frame and an impermeable membrane such as a latex membrane . as dye falls on top of the membrane , it flows around the outside of the frame , which loosely fits the inner diameter of the holding chamber 14 . as the level of dye in the holding chamber 14 drops , the floating baffle 52 drops on top of the outlet of the chamber 14 and the impermeable membrane stops all flow out of the outlet . with the apparatus 10 connected as shown in fig2 and with contrast dye in the bottle 12 , the vent valve 56 is opened . then , the holding chamber 14 is squeezed and released several times to expel air from the holding chamber 14 through the vent 54 , and to draw dye into the chamber 14 through the flow path 18 . filling of the chamber 14 is rapid because of the pumping effect of the deformable chamber 14 , and because of the large capacity of the vent 54 , as compared to venting only through the relatively small vented spike 24 as in the prior art . when the desired level of dye , typically about 30 ml ., is in the holding chamber 14 , the vent valve 56 is closed . this will leave an air gap in the top of the holding chamber 14 . when an injection is required , the plunger of the syringe 50 is withdrawn , with inlet valve 42 open and outlet valve 48 closed , and the dye is then dispensed by reinserting the plunger into the syringe 50 , with the inlet valve 42 closed , and with the outlet valve 48 open . as mentioned before , these valves 42 , 48 could be check valves or a single multi - port ball valve . as dye is withdrawn from the chamber 14 by the syringe 50 , it is replaced by dye flowing from the bottle 12 to the chamber 14 , because of the partial vacuum created in the chamber 14 . repeated injections can be accomplished by repeating the procedure as required . if dye material is remaining in the contrast bottle 12 after the angiography is completed , the disconnect fitting 30 can be threadedly disconnected from the integral flow - stop 32 , whereupon the integral flow - stop 32 will stop flow from the bottle 12 . alternatively , the spike connector 24 can be removed from the bottle 12 , and a new spike connector 24 can be reinserted in the bottle 12 when the bottle 12 is used again . since the patient has at all times been separated from the bottle 12 by an air gap in the holding chamber 14 and by the one - way valve 36 , the dye remaining in the bottle 12 is sterile and can be used in a subsequent procedure . if the bottle 12 becomes empty during the procedure , the bubble detector 60 , 60 &# 39 ; if installed , will warn attendants to replace the bottle 12 with a full bottle . since there will be approximately 30 ml . of dye available in the chamber 14 , there is ample time for the bottle to be replaced . after bottle replacement , the deformable chamber 14 can be repeatedly squeezed and released , with vent valve 56 open if present , to quickly return the level of dye in the chamber 14 to the desired level . this eliminates the need to purge air from the tubing 20 , and repriming is accelerated by the deformability of the chamber 14 . if the bubble detector 60 , 60 &# 39 ; is not installed , the holding chamber 14 affords an additional visible indication of the amount of dye remaining . further , flow path 18 includes a number of restricted passageways in the flow - stop 32 and in the one - way valve 36 which offer some resistance to liquid flow . therefore , if the bottle 12 empties , followed by the emptying of the flow path 18 , drawing of dye into the syringe 50 will become increasingly easy , because of the fact that air rather than liquid dye is being drawn through the flow path 18 . this will offer the physician an additional indication that the bottle 12 is empty , while dye is still available in the chamber 14 . if the dye level in the holding chamber 14 falls sufficiently , the baffle 52 will settle onto the outlet of the chamber 14 and act as a shut off valve to prevent air from entering the outlet line . while the particular apparatus for uninterrupted delivery of radiographic dye as herein shown and disclosed in detail is fully capable of obtaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated , it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as described in the appended claims . | 0 |
referring now to fig1 there is illustrated diagrammatically the configuration of one embodiment of the security system for a solar module in accordance with the present invention . reference numeral 1 in fig1 identifies a solar module including a solar cell array 2 and a solar module - sited disabling device 3 . the solar cell array 2 comprises one or more solar cells intercircuited to generate a rated output voltage or a rated output current . the solar module - sited disabling device 3 is connected in parallel to the solar cell array 2 between the output leads 4 and 5 of the solar cell array 2 . the output leads 4 and 5 are connected to the power transfer lines 6 and 7 via which power can be transferred to the consumer site . at the consumer site a charge regulator 8 to which a battery 9 and load resistor 10 is connected represents the consumer . a consumer - sited enabling device 11 is connected between the inputs of the charge regulator 8 , i . e . in other words between the power transfer lines 6 and 7 . the functioning of the security system as shown in fig1 will now be described . when the solar cell array 2 generates no power , e . g . at night , no voltage is available at the inputs of the solar module - sited disabling device 3 . in this case the solar module - sited disabling device 3 has no power supply and is off . considering now the case when the solar cell array 2 generates power , then the solar module - sited disabling device 3 receives a voltage supply via the output leads 4 and 5 of the solar cell array 2 and sends a first signal or first code to the consumer - sited enabling device . as evident from fig1 this may be done via the power transfer lines identified by the reference numerals 6 and 7 . in the preferred ways and means the first signal is generated by disabling the power transfer via the power transfer lines 6 and 7 , i . e . by one or more pulses . the code represented by the signal can be varied in shape , length and number of the pulses . the consumer - sited enabling device 11 detects or receives the first signal and sends a second signal to the solar module - sited disabling device 3 . as evident from fig1 this may be done via the power transfer lines 6 and 7 , although , of course , other means of transfer are conceivable , e . g . via a separate line or by wireless communication . the second signal sent by the consumer - sited enabling device 11 , just like the first signal , can be generated by disabling the power transfer from the solar cell array 2 via the power transfer lines 6 and 7 to the consumer 8 , 9 and 10 , i . e . by one or more pulses . it is to be noted that the first and second code may be configured in any way as desired or suitable . in the simplest case this may involve two dedicated signals as dictated by simple circuit elements ( capacitors , inductances , etc .) but also as signals obtained with the aid of microprocessors and encryption techniques , it being just as possible to alter the signals by wireless remote control or via a control line . the solar module - sited disabling device 3 is configured such that when it fails to receive a response to a first signal it has sent within a defined period of time from the consumer - sited enabling device 11 , i . e . when not receiving a second signal from the consumer - sited enabling device 11 then the power generated by the solar cell array 2 transmitted to the consumer 8 , 9 and 10 via the power transfer lines 6 and 7 is disabled . this may happen when for example , no consumer or no consumer - sited enabling device 11 is connected to the solar module or the consumer 8 , 9 and 10 comprises no consumer - sited enabling device 11 . the first case presents no problem since this is a condition in which the solar module is on standby . in the second case , i . e . the case in which a consumer 8 , 9 and 10 attempts to use the solar module 1 without a consumer - sited enabling device 11 , the power transfer to the consumer 8 , 9 and 10 via the power transfer lines 6 and 7 is instantly disabled on timeout of the first predefined time period after the solar module security circuit 3 has sent the first signal . this thus prevents unauthorized use of the solar module 1 by effective ways and means . as evident from fig1 the solar module - sited disabling device 3 is accommodated in the solar module 1 and is preferably configured integrally with the solar module 1 . for this purpose the solar module - sited disabling device 3 may be configured for example , as a slim - line assembly connected between the output leads 4 and 5 of the solar cell array or arrangement of the circuited solar cells and accommodated in the laminate of the solar module 1 . likewise the solar module - sited disabling device 3 may be arranged in or under a junction box directly at a location where the output leads 4 and 5 of the solar cell array 2 are brought out from the laminate of the solar module . in other words the solar module - sited disabling device 3 is preferably connected to the solar module 1 so that removal of the solar module - sited disabling device 3 renders the solar module 1 useless , for example , by removal of the disabling device automatically resulting in the power leads within the module being broken . referring now to fig2 the solar module - sited portion of the security system in accordance with the invention will now be described . as evident from fig2 it is possible to provide a solar module - sited disabling device 3 for a plurality of solar cell arrays 2 , two of which are indicated connected in series in fig2 . the solar module - sited disabling device 3 as shown in fig2 comprises an emitter 20 for sending a first signal . the emitter 20 is provided with an activator means 21 for activating a switching device 22 represented symbolically by a switch . the switching device 22 is connected between the output leads 4 and 5 of the solar cell array 2 . when the switching device 22 is closed the output leads 4 and 5 of the solar cell array 2 , and thus the outputs of the solar module 1 , are short - circuited . in addition the solar module - sited disabling device 3 as shown in fig2 comprises a detector 23 for receiving the second signal transmitted by a consumer - sited enabling device 11 ( not shown in fig2 ) via the power transfer lines 6 and 7 connected to the outputs of the solar module 1 . the functioning of the solar module - sited portion of the security system in accordance with the invention as shown in fig2 will now be described . when the solar cell array 2 generates no voltage the solar module - sited disabling device 3 has no power transfer and is thus off . when the solar cell array 2 generates a voltage the emitter 20 sends a first signal . this is sent by the emitter 20 outputting a corresponding signal to the activator means 21 which activates the switching device 22 such that a train of pulses corresponding to the first signal is generated . this train of pulses comprises at lease one , but preferably a plurality of short - circuit pulses in sequence on the power line . these are generated , as already mentioned by the switching device 22 being opened and closed . it is by these ways and means that information of many different kinds can be transferred with the first signal by the information being communicated for example , by means of trains of short - circuit marks and spaces ( ppm modulation ). once the first signal has been sent by these ways and means the solar module - sited disabling device 3 assumes a standby condition for a first predefined period of time . if the detector 23 for receiving the second signal receives a second signal within the first predefined period of time then a user authorization code , i . e . a consumer having consumer - sited enabling device 11 is connected to the solar module 1 and thus the power transfer is not disabled . when the detector 23 for receiving the second signal fails to receive a second signal within the first predefined time duration then the detector 23 outputs a corresponding signal to the activator means 21 so that the activator means 21 activates the switching device 22 such that the power transfer is disabled . for this purpose the output leads 4 and 5 of the solar cell array 2 are short - circuited . referring now to fig3 there is illustrated a circuit diagram of a preferred solar module - sited disabling or security device 3 . the disabling device as shown in fig3 is connected between the output leads 4 and 5 of the solar cell array 2 . as evident from fig3 a diode d 1 and capacitor c 1 serving as an energy storage element , are connected in series between the output leads 4 and 5 of the solar cell array 2 . a node k formed by the junction of diode d 1 and capacitor c 1 is connected to the power supply inputs v cc of a monostable multivibrator 32 , an and gate 33 and a memory element 34 termed rs flip - flop in the following . a gate of a first transistor t 1 is connected via a resistor r 1 to the node k and via a resistor r 2 to the output lead 5 . the drain of the first transistor t 1 is connected to the input of the monostable multivibrator 32 which in turn is connected via a resistor r 3 to the node k . the source of the transistor t 1 is connected to the output lead 5 . each ground terminal gnd of the monostable multivibrator 32 , and gate 33 and rs flip - flop is connected to the output lead 5 . the inverting output of the monostable multivibrator 32 is connected to an input 35 of the and gate 33 . a q output of the rs flip - flop is connected to another input 36 of the and gate . an output 37 of the and gate 33 is connected to a set input s of the memory element 34 and a gate of a transistor t 2 connected between the output leads 4 and 5 . the reset input r of the rs flip - flop is connected to the output lead 4 . it is assumed for this circuit that the output lead 4 is the positive output lead of the solar cell array ( s ) 2 . the functioning of the circuit as described above for one aspect of the disabling device will now be described . assuming the output q of the rs flip - flop is initially high then when a solar cell array connected to the leads 4 and 5 generates a voltage the capacitor c 1 is charged via the diode d 1 . as soon as the potential at the node k is sufficient for power supply of the components , transistor t 2 is on since the inverted output of the monostable multivibrator 32 is high and thus a high signal is applied to the input 35 of the and gate 33 and a further high signal is applied to the input 36 of the and gate 33 since the output q of the rs flip - flop is high . this results in a short - circuit pulse appearing on the leads 4 and 5 which , as described above , can be connected to the power transfer lines 6 and 7 . the length of this first short - circuit pulse corresponding to the first signal is defined by the ratio of r 1 to r 2 . at a critical value of the voltage across the capacitor c 1 as dictated by the ratio r 1 / r 2 transistor t 1 is off as a result of which a high potential or leading edge is applied to the input 38 of the monostable multivibrator 32 . on this leading edge the monostable multivibrator 32 outputs a low pulse of predefined duration to the input 35 of the and gate 33 , upon which the and gate 33 outputs a low signal at its output 37 . this signals transistor t 2 off for the time duration of the low pulse of the monostable multivibrator 32 . since the set input s of the rs flip - flop 34 is connected to the output 37 of the and gate 33 the set input s of the memory element 34 is likewise low . when no short - circuit pulse response is received from a consumer - sited security circuit or enabling device 11 during the off time duration of the transistor t 2 , i . e . during the time duration of the low pulse of the monostable multivibrator 32 on the leads 4 and 5 , transistor t 2 is returned on at the end of the low pulse to thus short - circuit the leads 4 and 5 . since the leads 4 and 5 are now short - circuited , capacitor c 1 is discharged . once the voltage across the capacitor c 1 has dropped to a critical value , transistor t 1 is signaled off and the drain of transistor t 1 changes to low to thus produce a low signal at the input 38 of the monostable multivibrator 32 . as soon as the potential at the node k drops below a value which ensures power supply of the components , transistor t 2 is signaled off and thus , once capacitor c 1 has discharged to a critical value or in other words the energy storage element c 1 is “ empty ” transistor t 2 which by preferred ways and means is a power transistor , is signaled off and thus a short - circuit across the leads 4 and 5 defeated . the complete circuit is thus back to its starting condition and functioning recommenced anew . when a consumer - sited security or enabling circuit 11 then sends within the low time duration of the output of the monostable multivibrator 32 and during which transistor t 2 is off , a short - circuit pulse response corresponding to a second signal via the power transfer lines 6 and 7 connected to the leads 4 and 5 , then a low pulse appears at the reset input r of the rs flip - flop 34 as a result of which the rs flip - flop 34 is reset . this results in the output q of the rs flip - flop 34 going low and transistor t 2 is not returned on after the low pulse of the and gate 33 to thus assure power transfer when a consumer - sited enabling device 11 sends a suitable second signal in the form of a short - circuit pulse to the solar module - sited disabling device or security circuit 3 . referring now to fig4 there is illustrated an embodiment of the consumer - sited portion of the security system in accordance with the invention . as evident from fig4 a consumer - sited enabling device 11 is connected between the power transfer lines 6 and 7 which — as shown in fig1 — lead to the solar module 1 . shown as the load in fig4 is a load resistor 48 . the consumer - sited enabling device 11 comprises a consumer - sited detector 45 suitable for receiving a first signal or code form the solar module which is transmitted on the power transfer lines 6 and 7 . the consumer - sited detector 45 is connected to a consumer - sited emitter 46 which in turn is connected to a consumer - sited switching device 47 for opening and closing it . the consumer - sited switching device 47 is connected between the power transfer lines 6 and 7 . the functioning of the consumer - sited portion of the security system in accordance with the invention will now be described . when the consumer - sited portion of the security system in accordance with the invention as shown in fig4 is not connected to a solar module or is connected to a solar module generating no power , the consumer - sited enabling device 11 is on standby . as soon as a voltage is applied to the power transfer lines 6 and 7 the consumer - sited enabling device 11 receives a power supply . as described above the solar module - sited disabling device 3 sends a first signal , comprising e . g . short - circuit marks and spaces . when the consumer - sited detector 45 detects this first signal or first code it outputs a corresponding signal to the consumer - sited emitter 46 to activate the consumer - sited switching device 47 such that e . g . by means of short - circuit marks and spaces a second signal is transmitted as the response to the first signal via the power transfer lines 6 and 7 to the solar module . assuming now that the second signal is a single short - circuit pulse then the enabling device 11 can be realized by means of a monostable multivibrator which activates a transistor employed as the switching device . referring now to fig5 and 6 a further embodiment of a security system in accordance with the invention will now be described , fig5 showing the solar module - sited portion of the security system and fig6 the consumer - sited portion . the solar module 1 as shown in fig5 comprises a plurality of solar cell arrays 2 connected in series . the output leads 4 and 5 of the solar cells are connected via the outputs of the solar module 1 to the power transfer lines 6 and 7 : the solar module - sited security circuit or disabling device 3 as shown in fig5 comprises an energy storage element 50 which in this case is realized as a capacitor connected in series with a diode 51 between the leads 4 and 5 of the solar cell arrays 2 . the node p formed by means of the junction between the capacitor 50 and diode 51 is connected to a power supply terminal v cc of a microprocessor device 52 . a data in input of the microprocessor device 52 is connected to an output lead 4 of the solar cell arrays 2 and a ground terminal gnd of the microprocessor device 52 is connected to the other output lead 5 of the solar cell arrays 2 . the microprocessor device 52 comprises in addition an output terminal out which is connected to a switching device 53 connected between the output leads 4 and 5 of the solar cell arrays 2 . by preferred ways and means the switching device 53 is a power transistor whose gate is connected to the output terminal out of the microprocessor device 52 . referring now to fig6 there is illustrated the consumer - sited portion of the security system in accordance with the invention including a charge regulator 8 connected to the power transfer lines 6 and 7 . to make for a better overview the battery and load resistor 10 as shown in fig1 have been omitted in this case . the consumer - sited enabling device 11 as shown in fig6 comprises a consumer - sited switching device 47 connected between the power input lines of the consumer . in the arrangement as shown in fig6 the power inputs of the consumer are the power transfer lines 6 and 7 . the consumer - sited switching device 47 is preferably configured as a power transistor whose gate is connected to an output terminal out of a consumer - sited microprocessor device 55 . a data input data in of the consumer - sited microprocessor device 55 and a power supply input v cc of the consumer - sited microprocessor device 55 are connected to a power transfer line 6 and a ground terminal gnd of the consumer - sited microprocessor device 55 is connected to the other power transfer line 7 . referring now to fig7 a and 7 b the functioning of the solar module - sited portion of the security system including the solar module - sited disabling device 3 as shown in fig5 and the consumer - sited portion of the consumer - sited security or enabling device 11 as shown in fig6 will now be described . fig7 a is a plot of a voltage profile with time in the security system as described with reference to fig5 and 6 illustrating power output to an authorized consumer . when the solar cell arrays 2 generate a voltage , capacitor 50 is charged via diode 51 . as soon as the potential of the junction between diode 51 and capacitor 50 exceeds a predefined value assuring power supply of the microprocessor device 52 , the microprocessor device 52 outputs a signal at the output terminal out to the switching device 53 to transmit by means of a train of short - circuit marks and spaces at the point in time t 0 a first signal via the power transfer lines 6 and 7 to the consumer - sited portion of the security system . in fig7 b this pulse train is represented by a plurality of very short short - circuit pulses . this pulse train can be encrypted in the switching device 53 and may also contain in addition to the first signal also information as regards the rating of the solar module , for example . since the input v cc of the solar module - sited microprocessor device 52 is connected to the reset input of the solar module - sited microprocessor device 52 a defined starting condition is assured . in the consumer - sited enabling device 11 the consumer - sited microprocessor device 55 detects via a data input the first signal transmitted via the power transfer lines 6 and 7 . in response to having received this first signal the consumer - sited enabling device 11 returns a corresponding second signal via the power transfer lines 6 and 7 to the solar module . this is done by the consumer - sited microprocessor device 55 activating the switching device 47 so that it generates a train of short - circuit marks and spaces corresponding to the second signal at the first point in time t 1 on the power transfer lines 6 and 7 . the second signal may be an identification signal defined for each consumer . in addition the consumer - sited enabling device 11 may comprise a chip card reader including a corresponding control processor , a numerical input keypad for enabling a metered power output , a wireless detector to detect the enable code by remote control or similar control systems . since by means of the first and second signals a plurality of information signals can be exchanged between the solar module - sited portion and the consumer - sited portion it is thus possible to meter e . g . the power transmitted . in addition it is possible e . g . by means of the aforementioned chip card to instantly implement debiting the chip card of the user corresponding to the metered power consumed . the solar module - sited microprocessor device 52 arranged in the solar module - sited disabling device 3 detects the second signal transmitted via the power transfer lines 5 and 6 and activates the solar module - sited microprocessor device 52 correspondingly when the second signal is detected at a transistor t 2 within the time duration t w as of the first signal being sent or as of the device being signaled on . when the second signal , as indicated above , comprises for example , a user authorization code , the solar module - sited microprocessor device 52 verifies whether the consumer is authorized . when the consumer is authorized and the user authorization code is legitimate the power transfer to the consumer site is not disabled . verifying the authorization code may be done for example , by comparing it in the solar module - sited microprocessor device 52 to reference codes held in a memory ( not shown ) of the solar module - sited microprocessor device 52 . when the second signal comprises , for example , an indication as to the metered power to be output to the consumer , a corresponding metered power output is transferred during a time duration t a as shown in fig7 a . this metered power output may be defined e . g . consumer - specific as indicated above . on timeout of time duration t a the solar module - sited disabling device 3 in the solar module again sends the first signal and waits to receive the second signal . should , as shown in fig7 b , the solar module - sited disabling device 3 fail to receive a suitable signal within the time duration t w after having sent the first signal at the point in time t 0 , i . e . either receiving no second signal or a second signal having no legitimate user authorization code the switching device 53 is activated such that it disables power transfer or , in other words short - circuits the output leads 4 and 5 of the solar cell array 2 . this short - circuit is maintained for a predefined time duration t b . this time duration t b corresponds to the time duration until the capacitor 50 has discharged sufficiently so that the potential at the node p between the diode 51 and capacitor 50 is no longer sufficient for power supply of the solar module - sited microprocessor device 52 , as a result of which the power transfer during the time duration t b is disabled by the switching device 53 by means of the output leads 4 and 5 of the solar module 2 being short - circuited . the time duration t b during which power transfer is disabled is dictated by the energy stored in the capacitor 50 . when the potential at the node p between diode 51 and capacitor 50 drops below a critical value , i . e . once the capacitor 50 has been discharged to a value at which the potential between diode 51 and capacitor 50 drops below the supply voltage needed to operate the solar module - sited microprocessor device 52 , the solar module - sited microprocessor device 52 is signaled off , as a result of which the potential at the output terminal out of the solar module - sited microprocessor device 52 drops to a low level and thus against disables the switching device 53 , i . e . disabling the short - circuit between the leads 4 and 5 . accordingly , the system reverts to its starting condition and functioning recommences anew as described above . the present invention is particularly of advantage in an arrangement in which the solar cell arrays are configured modular . for example , individual solar modules may be configured as stand - alone modules which may also be connected in series with security . the functioning of the security devices in accordance with the invention is not detrimented by connecting the individual solar modules in parallel . in addition the modular configuration makes it simple for it to be integrated in a solar farm . to achieve compact circuits these are preferably configured as pic microchips . in addition the present invention may be realized by a smart fet configuration with space available in the power transistor for a smart control . | 6 |
the prior art patented molded shadow box frame 20 shown in fig1 is formed of walls 22 , surrounding and defining display opening 24 , walls 22 extending from inner rearwardly turned rims 26 to outer rearwardly turned rims 28 . integally molded reinforcing ribs 30 project rearwardly from the rear surfaces of walls 22 and follow a path intermediate between inner rims 26 and outer rims 28 , forming nest 31 . gaps 32 interrupt ribs 30 at the corners to provide rib and gap edges 34 . one wall 22 of frame 20 also carries frame coupling means 35 to be coupled with mounting bracket 50 , shown here in alternative mounting positions for selective hanging of frame 20 therefrom . frame 20 can be produced advantageously by one - piece molding . while many synthetic resin materials may be used for this purpose , considerations of strength , flexibility and cost make the preferred choice medium impact styrene ; for superior decorative character , however , another form of styrene known commercially as abs may be substituted for this purpose . frame insert 60 shown in fig2 the subject of the present invention , can likewise be formed by one - piece molding , and of the same material as frame 20 . as seen in fig2 frame insert 60 is of square configuration , comprising four flat connected walls 62 terminating outwardly at rearwardly projecting peripheral rims 64 . each rim 64 carries integrally on its surface two l - shaped hooks 66 projecting therefrom and facing each other . hooks 66 are so dimensioned , spaced and positioned that when frame insert 60 is placed in nest 31 of frame 20 , each hook 66 surrounds and fittingly frictionally engages frame 20 &# 39 ; s correspondingly located reinforcing rib ending 34 , and insert rims 64 fittingly contact the corresponding inner surfaces of ribs 30 , thus securing together the assembled frame 20 and frame insert 60 , best seen in fig4 . returning to fig2 top frame insert rim 64 has centrally disposed cutout 65 at its rearmost edge to accommodate mounting bracket 50 for hanging frame 20 walls 62 of frame insert 60 extend inwardly to surround and define outer borders 68 of four equal - sized symmetrically disposed square display openings 70 , their inner borders 72 being defined by centrally positioned horizontal wall 74 and centrally positioned vertical walls 76 joined to each other at their inner ends and each joined at their outer ends to one of the four frame insert walls 62 . adjacent display openings 70 , ribs 78 , rearwardly extending from walls 62 , 74 and 76 , define three sides of each of four nests 80 , into each of which one compact disc case 82 may be inserted for display . the fourth side of each nest 80 is provided by a spaced pair of spacing ribs 84 to retain each compact disc case 82 fittingly therein . the horizontal stretches of ribs 78 are interrupted at intervals by inwardly - lipped retaining clips 86 ( shown as non - aligned , but may be in line as well ) molded with , and extending rearwardly from , frame insert 60 , one clip 86 being positioned at the top and the bottom of each compact disc case 82 to lock it securely in place but removable therefrom , as discussed hereinafter in connection with fig3 . it will be observed in fig2 that compact disc case nests 80 are offset with respect to display openings 70 , nests 80 overlapping either vertical walls 76 or walls 62 . in this way , spines 88 of compact disc cases 82 are concealed from view when mounted in the frameframe insert assembly , and only the square transparent portion of each compact disc case 82 and the visually desirable display material 92 positioned therein may be seen , as shown in fig6 and 7 . fig3 as indicated above , illustrates the method of inserting compact disc cases 82 into frame insert 60 before its assembly with frame 20 . here , frame insert 60 has been placed rear side up on a flat surface ( not shown ) with its top rim 64 , having cutout 65 therein , facing upwardly . the four compact disc cases 82a , 82b , 82c , 82d each in its nest 80 have been oriented so that their tops also face upwardly , their rear sides are exposed , with the edge of each case 82 closest to the center of frame insert 60 held in place by inner locking clips 86a , while the outer edges of cases 82a - d each rests on the top of its corresponding outer locking clip 86b . to complete the locking - in process , one needs only first to flex frame 60 gently at and in the direction of arrows a , causing cases 82a and 82b to fall into place and be engaged by their respective locking clips 86b , then to repeat the procedure at arrows b to lock in cases 82c and 82d . for removing compact disc cases 82a - d for replacement , the same flexing of frame insert 60 , with a slight push against the bottom of each disc case 82 , will release locking clips 86b . the assembled frame insert 60 , with compact disc cases 82 locked in place , is shown in fig4 , 6 and 7 nested in frame 20 , with the combination ready for hanging . in fig5 and 7 , compact disc cases 82 each has front cover portion 90 , with a visually interesting display object 92 slidably mounted against the inner face thereof , held in place by disc case retaining clips 94 , to be seen therethrough when frame , frame insert and compact disc case assembly of fig4 - 7 are hung . bottom portion 96 of each compact disc case 82 carries compact disc support liner 98 with spindle 100 for centrally retaining any compact disc ( not shown ) positioned within disc case 82 . it is within the concepts of this invention that frame 20 , shown in this specification as a shadow box frame , can take the form of other frame embodiments disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 590 , 696 , such as a beveled or museum frame . frame 20 and frame insert 60 can be provided in exactly matching color and finish , or , for reasons of design appearance , can be supplied in complementary or contrasting colors and in a variety of finishes , from glossy to matte to textured . it is also clear that the choice of a visually attractive quartet of compact disc labels , brochures , photographs , paintings , prints , fabric designs and the like in the quartet of display spaces can challenge the frame - frame insert user to find artistic imagination and creativity in arranging a display of strong visual interest . the concepts of this invention have been disclosed ; various substitutions and embodiment changes are contemplated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , which is limited only by the scope of the ensuing claims , wherein : | 6 |
referring to fig1 , a digital camera 100 has an image sensor 101 , a processor 102 , a display 103 and a memory 104 . the image sensor 101 captures an image 200 , shown schematically in fig2 , and outputs it to the processor 102 . the processor 102 filters the captured image 200 and outputs the filtered image to either or both of the display 103 and / or the memory 104 . the display 103 displays the filtered image . the memory 104 stores it . the processor 102 filters the captured image 200 using the process 300 shown in fig3 . in more detail , at step 301 , the processor 102 receives the captured image 200 from the image sensor 101 . the processor 102 filters the captured image 200 on a pixel by pixel basis . so , at step 302 , the processor chooses a subject pixel 201 to be filtered and determines the colour vector { right arrow over ( f )}( s , t ) of that pixel 201 , where s , t are the coordinates of the subject pixel 201 in the captured image 200 . in this embodiment , the image is coded using rgb encoding with 256 levels . this means that the colour vectors of the pixels have three dimensions or channels ; red , green and blue , and that each value of each colour vector is one of 256 different values . in other embodiments , different encoding or a different number of levels can be used . at step 303 , the processor 102 locates a sliding window 202 around the subject pixel 201 . the sliding window 202 identifies neighbour pixels 203 on the basis of which the subject pixel 201 can be later filtered . in this embodiment , as can be seen in fig2 , the subject pixel 201 is at the centre of the sliding window 202 and the sliding window 202 is square , with dimensions ( 2m + 1 ) pixels by ( 2m + 1 ) pixels . typically , m has value 2 , with the result that the sliding window 202 has dimensions 5 pixels by 5 pixels . in other embodiments , different size or shape sliding windows can be used . at step 304 , the processor 102 determines a first threshold ( k 1 × δ 1 ) on the basis of which the neighbour pixels 203 are later selected for use in filtering the subject pixel 201 , where k 1 is a first variable equal to 1 . 8 and δ 1 is a first standard deviation defined by in which { right arrow over ( f )} i is the colour vector of the ith neighbour pixel 203 in the sliding window 202 and { right arrow over ( μ )} is the mean colour vector of all the neighbour pixels 203 in the window 202 . at step 305 , the processor 102 determines a second threshold ( k 2 × δ 2 ), on the basis of which the neighbour pixels 203 are also later selected for use in filtering the subject pixel 201 . k 2 is a second variable defined by where x is a third variable equal to 0 . 85 , y is a fourth variable equal to 0 . 2 , d is the number of levels to which each dimension of the colour vectors of the pixels of the captured image 200 is encoded ( equal to 256 in this embodiment ) and d is a fifth variable defined by where median ( ) is a median function and m ( s , t ) is defined by where abs ( ) is an absolute value function , v p ( s , t ) and v q ( s , t ) are the pth and qth values of the colour vector of the neighbour pixel 203 at the coordinates s , t in the sliding window 202 and n is the number of dimensions of the colour vector ( equal to 3 in this embodiment ). so , the function m ( s , t ) finds the maximum difference between the values of the colour vector of a neighbour pixel 203 . the fifth variable d is the median of these differences for all the neighbour pixels 203 in the sliding window 202 . the function m ( s , t ) can be written m ( s , t )= max ( abs ( r ( s , t )− g ( s , t )); abs ( r ( s , t )− b ( s , t )); abs ( g ( s , t )− b ( s , t )) ( 9 ) for an rgb image , where r ( s , t ), g ( s , t ) and b ( s , t ) are respectively the red , green and blue values of the neighbour pixel 203 . where x i is the value in each dimension of the ith neighbour pixel 203 in the sliding window 202 and x is the mean value across all dimensions of all of the neighbour pixels 203 in the sliding window 202 . at step 306 , the processor 102 chooses a neighbour pixel 203 in the sliding window 202 . at step 307 , the processor 102 determines the modulus of the difference between the colour vector { right arrow over ( f )}( s , t ) of the subject pixel 201 and the colour vector { right arrow over ( f )}( i , j ) of the chosen neighbour pixel 203 , i . e . |{ right arrow over ( f )}( s , t )−{ right arrow over ( f )}( i , j )|. the processor 102 then compares the difference to the first threshold , at step 308 . if the difference is less than or equal to the first threshold , the processor 102 compares the difference to the second threshold at step 309 . if the difference is less than or equal to the second threshold , the chosen neighbour pixel 203 is selected for use in filtering the subject pixel 201 at step 310 . if the difference is greater than either the first threshold or the second threshold , the chosen neighbour pixel 203 is discarded at step 311 . this pixel selection can be defined by replacing equation ( 2 ) above with at step 312 , the processor 102 determines when all of the neighbour pixels 203 in the sliding window 202 have either been selected or discarded . if any of the neighbour pixels still need to be selected or discarded , the processor returns to choose another neighbour pixel 203 at step 306 , determine the difference between the colour vector for the subject pixel 201 and the colour vector of that chosen neighbour pixel 203 at step 307 and repeat the comparisons and selecting and discarding , as appropriate , at steps 308 to 311 . when all the neighbour pixels in the sliding window 202 have either been selected or discarded , the processor 102 goes on to determine a new colour vector { right arrow over ( g )}( i , j ) for the subject pixel 201 at step 313 . the processor 102 determines the new colour vector { right arrow over ( g )}( i , j ) for the identified pixel 201 using the average of the selected neighbour pixels 203 , according equation ( 1 ) above , i . e . the processor 102 then determines if new colour vectors have been determined for all the pixels in the captured image 200 , at step 314 . if not , the processor 102 returns to choose another subject pixel 201 at step 302 and repeats the steps 303 to 313 required to determine a new colour vector for that pixel 201 . if new colour vectors have been determined for all the pixels in the captured image 200 , the processor 102 outputs a filtered image using the new colour vectors at step 315 . a common objective in image filtering is to minimise root mean square error e rms of the filtered image . this has been tested for the preferred embodiment of the invention and the vector sigma filter of the prior art described above using an artificially noisy image , with e rms defined by where f ( i , j ) is the colour vector at coordinates i , j of an original image having dimensions m by n and ĝ ( i , j ) is the colour vector at coordinates i , j of an artificially noisy version of the image after filtering . the results of this testing are shown in fig4 , where it can be seen that for increasing additive gaussian noise 400 in the artificially noisy image , the e rms 401 after filtering according to the preferred embodiment of the invention is lower than the e rms 402 after filtering according to the vector sigma filter of the prior art . furthermore , human visual comparison of the filtered images showed better edge preservation , as well as better noise removal , after filtering according to the preferred embodiment of the invention in comparison to after filtering according to the vector sigma filter of the prior art . from reading the present disclosure , other variations and modifications will be apparent to the skilled person . such variations and modifications may involve equivalent and other features which are already known in the art and which may be used instead of , or in addition to , features already described herein . although the appended claims are directed to particular combinations of features , it should be understood that the scope of the disclosure of the present invention also includes any novel feature or any novel combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly or implicitly or any generalisation thereof , whether or not it relates to the same invention as presently claimed in any claim and whether or not it mitigates any or all of the same technical problems as does the present invention . features which are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment . conversely , various features which are , for brevity , described in the context of a single embodiment , may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub combination . the applicant hereby gives notice that new claims may be formulated to such features and / or combinations of such features during the prosecution of the present application or of any further application derived therefrom . for the sake of completeness it is also stated that the term “ comprising ” does not exclude other elements or steps , the term “ a ” or “ an ” does not exclude a plurality , a single processor or other unit may fulfil the functions of several means recited in the claims and reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims . | 6 |
the present embodiment comprises a ccd device such as a ccd imager of known type but modified to change the doping arrangement of a multiplication element in a multiplication register . such a known device is shown and has been described in relation to fig1 . the invention may be embodied in such a device , and in an imager or camera including such a device , and in an imager or camera including such a device . as shown in fig1 , an image area 2 accumulates charge in ccd elements and transfers charge under control of clocked drive pulses on electrodes 7 , 8 to a store area 3 and from the store area to an output register 4 and subsequently to a multiplication register 5 . it is in the multiplication register that the invention is embodied , though it will be appreciated that other arrangements of multiplication elements could be used . although shown as a straight line extension of the output register 4 , in reality it will probably be bent around the imager for packaging reasons . a multiplication element of known type is shown in fig2 . the element comprises a base 20 of p - type silicon , an n - type layer 22 and a gate dielectric layer 24 which may , as an example , comprise a layer of si 3 n 4 over sio 2 or sio 2 only . on the gate dielectric layer , each element has four electrodes shown as normal clocked electrodes rφ 1 26 and rφ 3 28 , a dc electrode rφdc 30 and a high voltage electrode rφhv 32 . the element provides gain by clocking voltages at the electrodes such that a relatively high voltage at electrode rφhv 32 causes impact ionisation of charge . the clocking of the electrodes is shown explained with reference to fig3 . the multiplication element of the multiplication register is made up of four phases although other configurations could be possible . rφ 1 and rφ 3 are clocked as normal readout register phases . rφdc is a dc phase that separates rφ 1 from rφ 2 hv . rφ 2 hv , the multiplication phase , is a clocked phase but using a much greater amplitude than rφ 1 and rφ 3 . on the high to low transition of rφ 1 ( the potential increasing in the direction of the arrow in fig3 ), the signal originally under rφ 1 will drift to rφ 2 hv . the potential on rφ 2 hv is set high enough so that the fields experienced by the electron signal will cause impact ionisation to take place . once the signal electrons and the electrons created by the impact ionisation are collected under rφ 2 hv the total amplified signal can then be transferred to rφ 3 by switching rφ 2 hv low and rφ 3 high . the process is repeated through all the gain ( multiplication ) elements in the multiplication register . as an example , the device could have 591 gain elements . if the impact ionisation increases the signal by 1 % at each element , the combined gain of the multiplication register of the ccd will be 1 . 01 591 = 358 . as shown , charge is increased in each ( multiplication ) element by application of voltage at rφ 2 hv which causes electrons to form from the impact ionisation process . it is noted , for the avoidance of doubt , that the voltages shown are clocked and so vary in amplitude . the voltages are shown at a given instant . the potential distribution within the silicon layer as a result of the applied voltages at a moment when rφ 2 hv is at its high level and rφl is at its low level is shown in fig4 . we have appreciated that the gain achieved in each element for a given voltage applied at rφ 2 hv decreases with usage time of the device , and that the reason for this is due to an accumulation of charge at the dielectric boundary and within the gate dielectric as will now be described . the gain of the low light level ccd has been found to reduce with time . the reduction only occurs whilst the device is running and charge is transferred through the multiplication register . no ageing has been observed if the device is simply left unbiased . fig5 and fig6 illustrate this effect . the mean signal level before multiplication was quite low at approximately 50 electrons per pixel . the bias on the rφhv was set such that a gain of 1000 was maintained . this ageing effect can be quite significant and as a result biases will have to be adjusted throughout life to maintain performance . this adjustment of the biases cannot continue indefinitely as a limit will be reached when the fields are such that the dielectrics break down and the device fails . using the calculated potential distributions the electron trajectories and the electric fields experienced by the signal electrons can be calculated . typical results of this calculation are shown in fig7 . this shows the trajectory and the magnitude of the electric field seen by an electron as it transfers from under the center of rφ 1 , through rpdc , to rφ 2 hv . it is clear from fig7 , that the signal electrons are encountering the si / sio 2 interface under rφ 2 hv . not only that , they are also incident on the interface at an energy which may be greater than that required to surmount the interfacial energy barrier to enter the sio 2 . the hot electron injection causes an increase in trapped negative charge in the oxide , thus a flat band voltage shift in this region and a change in the operating point of the device . this explains the ageing of the low light level ccds . it should be noted that the drift of the signal electrons at the si / sio 2 interface will not cause a significant reduction in the charge transfer efficiency ( cte ) due to the high electron velocity and thus the low probability of capture by interface states . however , once the electrons are transferred to rφ 2 hv their velocity reduces to the electron thermal velocity . as they now are much slower , the probability of capture will be high , if they now come into contact with the interface . it can be seen from fig7 that the signal will be stored very close to the interface . thus quite small signal packets will come into contact with the si / sio 2 interface and a poor cte may be observed . the embodiment of the invention overcomes the effect noted by doping a region below electrode rφ 2 hv such that the charge density in the region is higher than the surrounding charge density . as an example , the normal doping level of n - type ( layer 22 ) is 10 16 phosphorous atoms / cm 3 . the higher level of doping in the chosen region may be of the order 1 . 5 to 6 times normal , preferably the doping level is of the order 2 to 4 times the normal level , in particular 3 times normal . the depth over which the doping applies is typically 1 micrometer . the potential experienced by the signal electrons , and therefore their trajectory , is thereby modified by adjusting the buried channel implant levels . if an extra n - type implant 31 is added under the multiplication phase , as illustrated in fig8 , the signal electrons can be prevented from interacting with the gate oxides . the n - type implant is , for example , phosphorus . for a p - type arrangement , the doping could be boron . alternatively , this could be achieved by adding a compensating implant under all phases other than the multiplication phase . the key point is that the depleted charge density of the region under rφ 2 hv is higher than the surrounding semiconductor . the effectiveness of this implant has been studied and the results of the modelling are presented in fig9 . here the electron trajectories are shown for no additional implant and also for a total implant level of 2 and 3 times that of the “ normal ” buried channel . the biases applied to the multiplication gate have been chosen to produce a gain of approximately 1 % per element in each case . in this particular structure a total implant level of 2 times the normal buried channel implant is not sufficient to prevent the high energy electrons from hitting the gate dielectric . an implant of 3 times the normal buried channel implant , however , appears to be very effective . the signal is held sufficiently far from the interface to ensure that there will be no hot electron injection . in addition , the charge capacity of the multiplication register is increased significantly . this approach eliminates the ageing effect and also improves the performance of the multiplication register in terms of capacity . higher gains may be achievable whilst still maintaining performance . the potential distribution within the silicon layer as a result of the doping arrangement of the embodiment is shown in fig1 . as can be seen , there is an additional voltage difference into the depth of the silicon , not present in the distribution of the known art shown in fig4 . the improved performance over time can be seen with reference to fig1 , which shows how a potential under rφ 2 hv increases slower over time with the use of the invention . | 7 |
aid ( annotated image database ): a set of images and corresponding annotations . cais ( combinatorial annotated image set ): a given image set with n images and m labels , any image can be combined with any annotation in n * m unique image - label pairs . strong descriptor : a word , stem word , n - gram or feature taken from a cais label weak descriptor : a word , stem word , n - gram or feature that describes a non - prominent feature of an image . a weak descriptor for an image cannot also be a strong descriptor . lga ( label generation algorithm ): used to generate labels for a cais asdch ( automated system for discerning computers from humans ) in the method herein of creating a caid , one or more caiss are created and added to the caid . to create a cais , a set of closely related images must be obtained . several techniques are specified herein . a set of related images can be obtained by capturing a video that features a prominent subject from start to finish . by definition , a video consists of a sequence of images , which can be extracted from the video . two consecutive images in the sequence will be distinct if the light stream entering the recording devices has changed between frame captures , or if the recording device undergoes state change between frame captures . an example of cais suitable images that have been generated from a video recording device is shown in fig2 . nine corresponding english labels might include : ( 1 ) pen , ( 2 ) green pen , ( 3 ) green and white pen , ( 4 ) pen on a whitish background , ( 5 ) green pen on a whitish background , ( 6 ) pen on a grayish background , ( 7 ) pen on a greyish background , ( 8 ) gr_e_een . pen , ( 9 ) used for writing . corresponding strong descriptors include : ( 1 ) pen , ( 2 ) green , ( 3 ) white , ( 4 ) whitish , ( 5 ) background , ( 6 ) gray , ( 7 ) grayish , ( 8 ) grey , ( 9 ) greyish , ( 10 ) greeen , ( 11 ) used , ( 12 ) writing . corresponding weak descriptors might include : ( 1 ) paper , ( 2 ) line , ( 3 ) carpet , ( 4 ) shadow . since there are 9 english labels and 4 graphical labels ( see fig2 . for graphical labels ), there are 20 images × 13 lables = 260 unique image label pairs for this cais . there are several techniques to ensure that 2 or more images in a video sequence will be distinct . one technique is to engage a zoom - in or zoom - out feature of the recording device . another technique is to move the recording device relative to the subject . another technique is to manipulate the sources of light reflecting off the subject . another technique is to choose a subject that is in motion . another technique is to choose a subject that is changing state such that it reflects or emits light differently . it may be possible to use other recording techniques to ensure 2 or more images in a video sequence are distinct . a set of related images can also be obtained by creating a computer program to generate a sequence of images featuring a prominent subject from start to finish . such a program starts by rendering one or more objects in the first image in the sequence . the objects may be chosen at random from a database . to produce the next image in the sequence , the program changes the position of one or more objects in the first image and changes the coloring of one or more objects or the background such that the prominent subject is still recognizable . the computer checks to see that each newly created image is distinct , else it tries a different change to the previous image . an example of cais images created using a computer program is shown in fig1 . twelve corresponding english labels might include : ( 1 ) lightbulb , ( 2 ) “ red triangle , blue circle and lightbulb ”, ( 3 ) lightbulb and shapes , ( 4 ) shapes and lightbulb , ( 5 ) “ red triangle , lightbulb and blue circle ”, ( 6 ) “ blue circle , lightbulb and red triangle ”, ( 7 ) “ blue circle , red triangle and lightbulb ”, ( 8 ) “ lightbulb , red triangle and blue cirlce ”, ( 9 ) “ lightbulb , blue circle and red triangle ”, ( 10 ) “ litebulb ( 11 ) leightbolb ( 12 ) li_ght_bul - b ”. the corresponding strong - descriptors include ( 1 ) lightbulb , ( 2 ) red , ( 3 ) blue , ( 4 ) triangle , ( 5 ) circle , ( 6 ) litebulb , ( 7 ) leightbolb , ( 8 ) li_gh_bul - b . seven corresponding weak descriptors might include : ( 1 ) smudge , ( 2 ) smudges , ( 3 ) shine , ( 4 ) reflection , ( 5 ) smudge , ( 6 ) pixels , ( 7 ) jagged . once a set of related images is obtained , the set can be associated with a set of labels . this association may be performed by a human examining a single , arbitrary image from the set . a label may be selected if it is reasonable to assume another human examining any image from the set would generally agree that the label is characteristic of that particular image . a label might take one the following forms : a word , a phrase , a symbol , a sound , a video , an image , or a smell . a label in this context is not limited to these forms . any image in the image set may serve as a label for any other image . a set of “ strong descriptors ” ( see terminology ) can be obtained from the set of labels and associated with an image set . if the labels are phrases in english , the porter stemming algorithm [ 3 ] might be used to produce the set of strong descriptors . “ weak descriptors ” can be obtained and by examining 1 or more images from the set . a weak descriptor cannot also be a strong descriptor . a weak descriptor generally describes a minor aspect of the image set . the labels may be generated from a label generation algorithm ( lga ). an lga may be implemented as a computer program . an lga might be constructed to only generate labels for a particular image set . in contrast , an lga might be capable of generating labels for an arbitrary image . such an lga might utilize an image parser to extract features from the images to be used as labels . it may be desirable for an lga to generate a multitude of labels , especially if it is desirable to produce a cais with a multitude of distinct image , label pairs . the following pseudo code specifies an lga that generates english language labels for the image in fig4 . note that a line that begins with a ‘#’ character is a comment . # in the next line , we pass the ’ colors ’ array as an input to a subroutine # getpermutations will return an array . each element of the returned array # is also an array . each array element of the return array is a permutation # input array . if the input array has n elements , the return array will if this lga is implemented in a computer language , compiled and run , it will produce the following 90 labels . red , blue and yellow square red , blue and yellow sections in a square red , blue and yellow box red , blue and yellow sections in a box red , blue and yellow quadrilateral red , blue and yellow sections in a quadrilateral red , yellow and blue square red , yellow and blue sections in a square red , yellow and blue box red , yellow and blue sections in a box red , yellow and blue quadrilateral red , yellow and blue sections in a quadrilateral blue , red and yellow square blue , red and yellow sections in a square blue , red and yellow box blue , red and yellow sections in a box blue , red and yellow quadrilateral blue , red and yellow sections in a quadrilateral blue , yellow and red square blue , yellow and red sections in a square blue , yellow and red box blue , yellow and red sections in a box blue , yellow and red quadrilateral blue , yellow and red sections in a quadrilateral yellow , red and blue square yellow , red and blue sections in a square yellow , red and blue box yellow , red and blue sections in a box yellow , red and blue quadrilateral yellow , red and blue sections in a quadrilateral yellow , blue and red square yellow , blue and red sections in a square yellow , blue and red box yellow , blue and red sections in a box yellow , blue and red quadrilateral yellow , blue and red sections in a quadrilateral square that is red , blue and yellow square having red , blue and yellow square : red , blue and yellow box that is red , blue and yellow box having red , blue and yellow box : red , blue and yellow quadrilateral that is red , blue and yellow quadrilateral having red , blue and yellow quadrilateral : red , blue and yellow square that is red , yellow and blue square having red , yellow and blue square : red , yellow and blue box that is red , yellow and blue box having red , yellow and blue box : red , yellow and blue quadrilateral that is red , yellow and blue quadrilateral having red , yellow and blue quadrilateral : red , yellow and blue square that is blue , red and yellow square having blue , red and yellow square : blue , red and yellow box that is blue , red and yellow box having blue , red and yellow box : blue , red and yellow quadrilateral that is blue , red and yellow quadrilateral having blue , red and yellow quadrilateral : blue , red and yellow square that is blue , yellow and red square having blue , yellow and red square : blue , yellow and red box that is blue , yellow and red box having blue , yellow and red box : blue , yellow and red quadrilateral that is blue , yellow and red quadrilateral having blue , yellow and red quadrilateral : blue , yellow and red square that is yellow , red and blue square having yellow , red and blue square : yellow , red and blue box that is yellow , red and blue box having yellow , red and blue box : yellow , red and blue quadrilateral that is yellow , red and blue quadrilateral having yellow , red and blue quadrilateral : yellow , red and blue square that is yellow , blue and red square having yellow , blue and red square : yellow , blue and red box that is yellow , blue and red box having yellow , blue and red box : yellow , blue and red quadrilateral that is yellow , blue and red quadrilateral having yellow , blue and red quadrilateral : yellow , blue and red this particular lga is combinatorially explosive . if the number of elements in the colors array is n , then the algorithm produces a list of labels whose number is a multiple of n - factorial . if we add another element to the color array in the pseudocode and change nothing else , then it will yield 360 labels . if we add yet another color , the yield will be 1800 labels . as mentioned previously , one application of a caid is an asdchucaid . an asdchucaid with novel characteristics is described herein . a test issued by this asdchucaid to an agent consists of n challenges . an agent &# 39 ; s response to the test consists of n answers corresponding to each challenge . if the response contains m or more correct answers , then the system designates the response as ‘ pass ’ else ‘ fail ’. based on the response designation , the agent may be granted or denied access to a resource in a system that is utilizing the asdchucaid . a sample asdchucaid test is shown in fig3 . a challenge in this system consists of an image from the caid , 1 label from the label set associated with the image &# 39 ; s cais , and 1 or more “ foil labels ”. a foil label is not a member of the label set associated with the image &# 39 ; s cais . an agent &# 39 ; s answer to a challenge consists of a selection of one of the labels . a challenge answer is correct if the agent &# 39 ; s selection is the label corresponding to the image . in one variation of the system , a foil label can not contain any of the strong descriptors associated with the image . in another variation of the system , a foil label can not contain any strong or weak descriptors associated with the image . such restrictions are intended to reduce the likelihood of the system choosing a foil label that a human agent will erroneously select as an answer to the challenge . in one variation of the system , the system tallies the number of pass and fail test responses for all ip addresses ( or some other communication address or characteristic ) that have requested 1 or more tests . if the number of pass or fail responses satisfies a certain condition ( e . g . number of fail responses is & gt ; 3 ), then the system ignores all future test requests from that ip address . in one variation of the system , one or more of the challenges is an advertisement . in conclusion , a method for generating a “ combinatorial annotated image database ” ( caid ) has been specified . the method provides 2 techniques — using a video recorder and using a computer program — for generating images suitable for a “ combinatorial annotated image set ” ( cais ) and several techniques for labeling a cais — including the use of a “ label generation algorithm ” ( lga ). examples of 2 caiss are provided . finally , an application of a caid is described : an “ automated system for discerning computers from humans using a caid ” ( asdchucaid ) with novel characteristics . [ 1 ] von ahn , luis et al ., telling computers and humans apart automatically , communications of the acm , february 2004 / vol . 47 , no . 2 | 6 |
referring now to the drawings in detail , wherein like numerals indicate like elements throughout the several views , the modular light assembly of the present invention is illustrated generally in fig1 by the numeral 10 . the modular light assembly 10 includes a light module 12 adapted to be slidably received and removable from a substantially upright clip and socket subassembly 14 . the clip and socket subassembly 14 is pivotably mounted on a substantially rectangular parallelopiped base member 16 provided with an extension 18 having a pair of perpendicular circular openings 20 and 22 adapted to receive a mounting post 24 on a video camera c , light stand , or the like . upon insertion of the post 24 within one of the openings 20 , 22 , a thumbscrew 26 can be rotated to mount the light assembly 10 on the camera c . the light module 12 includes a ventilated hood 30 which is substantially in the shape of a cube provided with a plurality of rectangular vents or slots 32 so that heat from a bulb or lamp l housed within the module can be dissipated to the ambient surroundings . the hood 30 is pivoted by bushings 34 or the like to the outer surface of a pair of parallel , triangular sideplates 36 projecting forwardly from a backplate 38 . the backplate 38 is threadedly connected in spaced relation by suitable fasteners disposed within cylindrical housings 40 to a rearplate 42 bridging the space between the forwardly projecting parallel sideplates 36 . housings 40 space the backplate 38 and rearplate 42 from each other in parallel relation . this space is enclosed on three sides to form a pocket 45 . the space is enclosed by a housing 44 consisting of three plates projecting rearwardly from the rearplate 42 towards backplate 38 which form an access opening to the pocket 45 between the lower edges of the rearplate 42 and backplate 38 . mounted between the triangular sideplates 36 is a ring 46 having an annular rim 48 adapted to contact in mating engagement the annular rim 50 on a lamp or bulb l adapted to be disposed within the light module 12 . the bulb or lamp l includes a rearwardly extending housing provided with a pair of parallel contact pins 52 extending rearwardly therefrom . when the rim 50 of the lamp l is seated in contact with the annular rim 48 of ring 46 provided between the sideplates 36 , the rearwardly projecting housing extends through a substantially rectangular opening 54 formed in the rearplate 42 . when the hood 30 is pivoted from an open position relative to the triangular sideplates 36 as illustrated in fig6 to a closed position as illustrated in fig1 , and 5 , an l - shaped leg 56 mounted on each side of the hood projects from both sides of the hood 30 across a portion of the face of the bulb l adjacent its rim 50 to hold the bulb within the ring 46 . the hood 30 includes a pair of downwardly extending semi - circular ears 58 provided with an opening 60 therethrough which is adapted to receive a snap detent 62 adjacent the juncture of the legs of each triangular sideplate 36 when the hood is pivoted to a closed position so that the hood is retained in its closed position . in order to open the hood 30 , each of the ears 58 can be grasped and pulled away from the detent 62 until the detents clear and are removed from the opening 60 enabling the hood to be pivoted to its open position as shown in fig6 wherein access to the lamp or bulb l can be had to mount or replace the same . the backplate 38 is also provided with a substantially circular opening 64 for engagement with the head of a fastener 66 as will be described hereinbelow . as shown more clearly in fig2 , and 5 , the clip and socket subassembly 14 is formed from a clip of resilient metal having a front rectangular plate or leg portion 68 provided with a rectangular cut - out 70 , a top plate or leg portion 72 which forms an obtuse angle with front plate 68 and contains an extension of cut - out 70 , and a rear plate portion or leg 74 which is bent into a substantially circular bottom portion 76 and resiliently clamped about a shoulder washer or roller 78 . the clip terminates in an upright plate or leg portion 81 somewhat shorter than , but parallel to , the rear leg 74 . threaded fastener 66 secures a dielectric socket housing member 80 between the parallel legs 74 and 81 of the clip . the dielectric socket housing member 80 includes a pair of parallel slots 82 and 84 adapted to receive the parallel coontact pins 52 extending from the rear of lamp or bulb l until contact is made with a pair of spring , electrically conductive contact elements 86 provided in each of the parallel slots 82 , 84 . the contact elements 86 are each connected by a suitable electric wire 88 to a manually - operated switch 90 located on the rear of base member 16 . switch 90 is connected in electrical series with wires 88 , contact elements 86 , pins 52 and a power source connected via a cable to a terminal 92 provided on the rear of base member 16 . the circuit is safety grounded through a metal plate 93 fixed to metal u - shaped bracket 95 on the front of dielectric socket member 80 by screw fastener 66 . the shoulder washers 78 are rotatably mounted between a pair of upright ears 94 on base 16 by a threaded shaft 96 extending therethrough . the front of the hood 30 is closed by a rectangular or square piece of tempered safety glass 98 extending downwardly from an l - shaped holder or frame 100 surrounding the glass on three sides along its top and two parallel side edges . each of the sides of the frame 100 is provided with a rearwardly projecting leg 102 which receives a threaded fastener 106 therethrough from the exterior of the hood 30 adjacent the rear surface of the glass 98 . a washer 104 is provided on each fastener 106 between the interior surface of hood 30 and the exterior surface of frame 100 to space the frame from the hood along three sides . a nut 108 comprising a permanent part of frame 100 is provided on each fastener 106 on the interior surfaces of frame 100 . the safety glass 98 is permanently held in place on frame 100 in front of the bulb or lamp l by abutment of the nuts 108 with the rear surface of safety glass 98 . in certain instances , it may be desairable to supply the module 12 with a wide angle lens , diffuser lens , or dichroic lens , generally indicated by the letter f in fig7 to 9 inclusive . the lens f is mounted in a substantially u - shaped frame 110 provided with spaced guides 112 , 114 on the opposed legs 116 , 118 connected to the base 120 of frame 110 . a pair of ears or tabs 122 extend upwardly from the end of each leg 116 , 118 of frame 110 and rotatably mount a shaft 124 therebetween . mounted for relative rotation on opposite ends of shaft 124 are a pair of ears 126 , 128 having a rearwardly extending l - shaped plate 130 connected therebetween along its shorter leg and provided with slot 132 opening in the rear edge 134 of plate 130 which includes an inner substantially semi - circular portion 136 whose diameter approximates the diameter of each of the washers 104 . the lens f is easily mounted on the front of module 12 by sliding slot 132 over washer 104 into frictional engagement with the washer which is lodged in semi - circular portion 136 of slot 132 . the horizontal portion of plate 130 occupies the space between the bottom surface of hood 30 and the top of frame 100 as shown in fig8 . the lens f can be pivoted about shaft 124 , as shown in phantom lines in fig8 when not needed , and it will lie adjacent the top of the hood 30 . alternatively , a lens f can be attached to one or each of the washers 104 along the sidewalls of hood 30 , as shown in fig9 . the side - attached lenses f can alternately be swung about their respective shafts 124 in front of the lamp or bulb l and safety glass 98 , as indicated in phantom in fig9 . the lens f can be mounted directly in abutment with hood 30 between frame 100 by the elimination of washers 104 , if a permanent installation is desired . in use , the light module 12 with or without one or more of the lenses f attached to a washer 104 , can be quickly exchanged with another and mounted on the clip and socket subassembly 14 with the pins 52 of the bulb or lamp l in that module placed in electrical contact with the contact elements 86 in the socket housing member 80 by simply liding the pocket 45 under housing 44 formed between the backplate 38 and rearplate 42 over the clip legs 68 and 74 causing the legs 68 and 74 to be resiliently bent towards each other wherein they will expand within the pocket 45 and tightly hold the module 12 on the clip and socket subassembly 14 . in order to aid in locking the module 12 to the subassembly 14 , the head of fastener 66 will serve as a detent and snap within opening 64 as the housing 44 is slid over the clip legs 68 and 74 as shown in fig2 . in order to remove the light module 12 , it is only necessary to rock the module 12 slightly backward until the backplate 38 pulls free of the detent head of screw 66 and raise the backplate upwardly and away from the clip and socket subassembly 14 . thus , the bulb or lamp l can be replaced quickly without ever touching the lamp by replacing the light module with another light module containing the desired bulb . when the housing 44 is slid over the resilient legs 68 , 70 , the pins 52 projecting rearwardly from the lamp l will slide through the slot 70 in the front and top leg portions 68 and 72 of the clip into the parallel slots 82 , 84 in the socket housing member 80 until they are placed in contact with the contact elements 86 electrically connected in series with switch 90 and a power source connected to cable plug 92 . as shown in phantom lines in fig2 the light module 12 can be pivoted or tilted in a forward or rearward direction along with the clip and socket subassembly 14 about shaft 96 connecting shoulder washer 78 to the upright ears 94 , so that rather than direct lighting , indirect lighting can be provided on the subject illuminated for viewing by the camera c . if desired , the hood portion 30 of module 12 can be pivoted about bushings 34 away from backwall 38 about the sidewall plates 36 as shown in fig6 to provide access to the bulb or lamp l so it can be removed from the ring 48 and replaced if necessary . by unthreading the thumbscrew 26 , the entire light assembly 10 can be removed and remounted , if desired on an upright standard for use separate from the camera c . it should also be understood that while the foregoing discussion has illustrated use of the light assembly 10 of the invention in conjunction with a video camera , it can be used as well with film cameras , light stands or the like . similarly , as shown in fig7 a pair of modules 12a and 12b identical in all respects to module 12 , can be mounted on a single base member 16 with a single power input and controlled by a pair of switches which are placed in parallel with the power source so that the lamps l in each module 12a , 12b can be switched on at will , alternatively , or simultaneously . | 5 |
preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below , by referring to the accompanying drawing . fig8 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an exciting system using a pss according to this invention . the components identical to those shown in fig1 are denoted respective by the same reference numerals and will not be described any further . only the components different from those shown in fig1 will be described below . as shown in fig8 the exciting system of this embodiment comprises a multiple pss 5 ′, instead of the multi - variable pss 5 shown in fig1 . fig9 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a multiple pss 5 ′ according to the present embodiment . the components identical to those shown in fig3 are denoted respectively by the same reference numerals . as illustrated in fig9 the multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δp - pss , a δω - pss , a δδ - pss , and an adder a 3 . the δp - pss is a conventional pss adapted to receive , as input , the change − δp in the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and having appropriate stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 in order to suppress power fluctuations of generator mode showing a short cycle . the δω - pss is also a conventional pss adapted to receive , as input , the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and having appropriate stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 in order to suppress power fluctuations of generator mode showing a short cycle . the δδ - pss is a pss adapted to receive , as input , the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and has stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 for compensating the phase advance / delay in order to put the phase of the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 in phase with the input signal . the adder a 3 is adapted to add the output signal s 1 of the δp - pss , the output signal s 2 of the δω - pss and the output signal s of the δδ - pss . the multiple pss 5 ′ is adapted to input its output signal s 5 produced from the adder a 1 to the avr 4 . the δp - pss having the stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and the δω - pss having the stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 are combined into a ( δp + δω )- pss , which operates as section for calculating a short - cycle stabilizing signal . the δε - pss having the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 operates as section for calculating a long - cycle stabilization signal . while fig9 does not show the limiters provided for limiting the effective range of controlling the generator voltage , they may be incorporated in the δp - pss having the stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 , the δω - pss having the stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , and the δδ - pss having the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 , respectively . alternatively , a single limiter may be provided to limit the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss . the stabilization functions gp ( s ) 13 , gw ( s ) 14 and gδ ( s ) 10 of the three psss mentioned above same as those illustrated in fig4 . the formulas ( 1 ), ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) shown below are examples that can be used respectively for these stabilization functions . gp = kp · tp1s ( 1 + tp2s ) ( 1 + tp3s ) ( 1 + tp1s ) ( 1 + tp4s ) ( 1 + tp5s ) ( formula 1 ) gw = kw · tw1s ( 1 + tw2s ) ( 1 + tw3s ) ( 1 + tw4s ) ( 1 + tw1s ) ( 1 + tw5s ) ( 1 + tw6s ) ( 1 + tw7s ) ( formula 2 ) g δ = k δ · t δ 1 s ( 1 + t δ 2 s ) ( 1 + t δ 3 s ) ( 1 + t δ 4 s ) ( 1 + t δ 1 s ) ( 1 + t δ 5 s ) ( 1 + t δ 6 s ) ( 1 + t δ 7 s ) ( formula 3 ) this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ according to the present embodiment and having the above described configuration operates in a manner as described below . note , however , that the description of the components same as those illustrated in fig1 and 2 is omitted and the operation of the components other than those shown in fig1 and 2 will be described below . in the multiple pss 5 ′, the change − δp in the active power p 8 of the generator 1 is supplied to the adder a 3 by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 , as shown in fig3 while the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the generator 1 is also supplied to the adder a 3 by way of the stabilization functions gw ( s ) 14 and gδ ( s ) 10 . the adder a 3 then adds these changes to generate pss output signal 5 a . the pss output signal 5 a is input to the avr 4 . with this arrangement , the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a conventional pss realized by combining the δp - pss and δω - pss having stabilization functions gp ( s ) 13 and gw ( s ) 14 , respectively are adapted to suppress power fluctuations of adjacent generator mode and power fluctuations of generator mode that can occur a cross compound generating system or a generating system having low - voltage synchronous generators connected directly to each other with a short - cycle of 2 hz , lasting only for 0 . 5 seconds . on the other hand , the δδ - pss that is a parallel type pss having the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 is adapted to suppress power fluctuations of system - mode . with this sharing arrangement , it is possible to quickly suppress power fluctuations occurring in operating power systems over a broad cycle zone ranging from fluctuations of generator mode to fluctuations of system mode in order to stabilize power systems and secure power interchange over a large area on a stable basis . fig1 is a graph obtained as a result of a stability simulation of a long - distance broad - area power transmission system , comprising the embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ according to the invention as shown in fig9 . the pss 5 ′ was operated in the same conditions as shown in fig6 that summarily shows the outcome of the simulation conducted by the using a conventional pss . in fig1 , time ( in seconds ) is plotted on the abscissa , and phase angle δ ( in decrees ) is plotted on the ordinate . the multiple pss 5 ′ used in the simulation , a result of which is shown in fig1 , has the following constants : δ p - pss corresponding to ( equation 1 ) = 0 . 8 × 5 s 1 + 5 s δ ω - pss corresponding to ( equation 2 ) = 15 × 10 s 1 + 10 s δ δ - pss corresponding to ( equation 3 ) = 100 ( 20 s ) ( 1 + 3 s ) ( 1 + 10 s ) ( 1 + 20 s ) ( 1 + 0 . 02 s ) these constants are changed if they differ from the constants , or conditions , selected for the generator 1 and avr 4 used in the above - mentioned simulation . assume that the output capacity of all the generators used in the simulation is 100 %. then , the ratio of the generator 1 , for which the multiple pss 5 ′ is sued , is 9 . 4 %. it will be appreciated that the stability is improved as the ratio by which the pss of fig9 is used rises . however , as seen from fig1 , the stability is sufficiently high to make the operation of the system practically free from problems even if the pss is used by 9 . 4 % the output capacity of the system . the multiple pss 5 ′ shown in fig9 performs well against various power fluctuations that can occur while the generator is operating , ranging from power fluctuations of system - mode resulting from disturbances such as a system failure as shown in fig1 to power fluctuations of generator mode resulting from small disturbances such as a change in the load ( not shown ). for example , the multiple pss 5 ′ according to the present embodiment may be operated as follows in an exciter system : δ p - pss corresponding to ( equation 1 ) = 0 . 3 × 5 s ( 1 + 0 . 1 s ) ( 1 + 0 . 5 s ) ( 1 + 5 s ) ( 1 + 0 . 02 s ) ( 1 + 0 . 02 s ) δ ω - pss corresponding to ( equation 2 ) = 8 × 10 s ( 1 + 0 . 4 s ) ( 1 + 0 . 06 s ) ( 1 + 10 s ) ( 1 + 0 . 02 s ) ( 1 + 0 . 02 s ) δ δ - pss corresponding to ( equation 3 ) = 80 ( 20 s ) ( 1 + 0 . 7 s ) ( 1 + 0 . 7 s ) ( 1 + 10 s ) ( 1 + 20 s ) ( 1 + 0 . 02 s ) ( 1 + 0 . 02 s ) fig1 is a graph obtained as a result of a stability simulation of the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment in an exciter system . fig7 is a graph obtained as a result of a stability simulation of the operation of only a conventional pss . as shown in fig1 , the phase - angle fluctuations , i . e ., the power fluctuations caused by a system failure is suppressed in about 3 seconds if the embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ is used . by contrast , the phase angle of the generator increases with time to make the power system unstable as shown in fig7 if a conventional pss is used . as can be seen clearly from the graphs , the embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ according to the present embodiment can remarkably enhance the stability of a power system if it comprises both a thyristor exciting system and an exciter system . fig1 is a block diagram of a principal portion of the second embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ according to the invention . the components that are identical to those shown in fig9 are denoted respectively by the same reference numerals and will not explained be any further . thus , only the components different from those shown in fig9 will be described below . as shown in fig1 and if compared with the pss 5 ′ illustrated in fig9 the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment of the invention has two additional components including a power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 and a constant selecting section 53 . the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the frequency of power fluctuations from the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 . the constant selecting section 53 selects control constants out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the signal of the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 or a signal equivalent to it . more specifically , there is provided a table prepared in advance and including stabilization constants kδ , tδ 1 , tδ 2 , tδ 3 , tδ 4 , tδ 5 , tδ 6 and tδ 7 selected for ( formula 3 ) above for the parallel pss on the basis of various possible system conditions , on the one hand , and frequencies of power fluctuations corresponding to these stabilization constants , on the other hand . the constant selecting section 53 automatically selects the stabilization constants that are closely related to the detected frequency of power fluctuations out of this table . thus , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 and the constant selecting section 53 are made to have a control - constant regulating feature . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the first embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the first embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration in response to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . fig1 is a block diagram of a principal portion of the third embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ according to the invention . the components that are identical to those shown in fig9 are denoted respectively by the same reference numerals and will not explained be any further . thus , only the components different from those shown in fig9 will be described below . as shown in fig1 and if compared with fig9 the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment of the invention has two additional components including a power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 and a constant computing section 54 . the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the frequency of power fluctuations from the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 . the constant calculating section 54 has the function of automatically regulating control constants in order to change the stabilization function of the parallel - type pss , using the predetermined algorithm in response to the signal of the frequency of power fluctuations detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 or a signal equivalent to it . more specifically , there is provided a table prepared in advance and including stabilization constants kδ , tδ 1 , tδ 2 , tδ 3 , tδ 4 , tδ 5 , tδ 6 and tδ 7 selected for ( formula 3 ) above for the parallel pss on the basis of various possible system conditions , on the one hand , and frequencies of power fluctuations corresponding to these stabilization constants , on the other hand . there is also provided an approximate expression for the frequency f of power fluctuations corresponding each of the above constants . for example , the section 54 may automatically compute the constant of each parallel - type pss by substituting f in the approximate expression of the second degree as show below with the detected value of the frequency of power fluctuations : k δ ( f )= a 0 + a 1 × f + a 2 × f × f ( equation 4 ) where a 0 , a 1 and a 2 are coefficients for the equation of the second degree . thus , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 and the constant computing section 54 are made to have a control - constant regulating feature . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the first embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the first embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss are automatically computed by the constant computing section 54 using the formulas provided in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration in response to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . fig1 is a block diagram of a principal portion of the fourth embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ according to the invention . the components that are identical to those shown in fig9 are denoted respectively by the same reference numerals and will not explained be any further . thus , only the components different from those shown in fig9 will be described below . as illustrated in fig1 , the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment of the invention comprises a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss 10 a through 10 n that are parallel - type psss . each of the δδ - psss receives a signal obtained by compensating the phase delay of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 to make it in phase with the signal representing the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and has stabilization function gδ ( s ) for suppressing power fluctuations of system mode . an adder a 4 is provided to add output signals s 3 a through s 3 n of the parallel - type psss to produce a sum signal . another adder a 3 is provided to add the sum signal and output signals s 1 and s 2 of the δp - pss and δω - pss , or ( δp + δω )- pss , which are psss of conventional type , to produce output signal s 5 of the multiple pss . the output signal s 5 is then input to the avr 4 . while fig1 does not show the limiters provided for limiting the effective range of controlling the generator voltage , they may be incorporated in the δp - pss having the stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 , the δω - pss having the stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , and the δδ - psss having the stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a to 10 n , respectively . alternatively , a single limiter may be provided to limit the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the first embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the tenth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . more specifically , this multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions are differentiated to make themselves adaptable to power fluctuations existing in the system so that , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the first embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 a through s 3 n of these parallel - type psss are added to the output signals s 1 , s 1 of the conventional type pss to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes that are abundant in terms of number or mode are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization functions 10 a through 19 n . with this sharing arrangement , it is possible to quickly suppress power fluctuations occurring in operating power systems over a broad cycle zone ranging from fluctuations of generator mode to fluctuations of system mode in order to stabilize power systems and secure power interchange over a large area on a stable basis . fig1 is a block diagram of a principal portion of the fifth embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ according to the invention . the components that are identical to those shown in fig1 are denoted respectively by the same reference numerals and will not explained be any further . thus , only the components different from those shown in fig1 will be described below . as illustrated in fig1 , the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment of the invention comprises a plurality of ( a pair of ) parallel - type psss . these parallel - type psss use either the signal of the frequency of power fluctuations detected from the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 or a signal equivalent to it . then , they automatically select the constants most suited to the detected frequency of power fluctuations out of the constants obtained in advance by computation for the stabilization functions in response to the power fluctuations existing in the systems . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the second embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the second embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . with this sharing arrangement , it is possible to quickly suppress power fluctuations occurring in operating power systems over a broad cycle zone ranging from fluctuations of generator mode to fluctuations of system mode in order to stabilize power systems and secure power interchange over a large area on a stable basis . fig1 is a block diagram of a principal portion of the sixth embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ according to the invention . the components that are identical to those shown in fig1 are denoted respectively by the same reference numerals and will not explained be any further . thus , only the components different from those shown in fig1 will be described below . as illustrated in fig1 , the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment uses either the signal of the frequency of power fluctuations detected from the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 or a signal equivalent to it . then , they automatically determine the constants for controlling the stabilization functions most suited to the frequency of power fluctuations existing in the systems by computation using the predetermined algorithm . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the third embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the third embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . with this sharing arrangement , it is possible to quickly suppress power fluctuations occurring in operating power systems over a broad cycle zone ranging from fluctuations of generator mode to fluctuations of system mode in order to stabilize power systems and secure power interchange over a large area on a stable basis . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises only a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and is adapted to input the output of δδ - pss to said avr 4 . instead and unlike the third embodiment , this embodiment does not comprise a ( δp + δω )- pss realized by combining a δp - pss that is a conventional pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss that is a conventional pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 as described above by referring to fig9 . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described first embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the first embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the first embodiment also applies to this embodiment . in the multiple pss 5 ′, the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the generator 1 is input to the avr 4 by way of the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 as output signal 5 a of the multiple pss 5 ′. power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and adapted to suppress such power fluctuations of system mode . more specifically , as for the generator 1 , the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 shown in ( formula 3 ) is selected for the parallel - type pss of the multiple pss 5 ′ so as to suppress power fluctuations of system mode because only such fluctuations are problematic to the generator 1 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 , a power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 and a constant selecting section 53 and is adapted to input the output of δδ - pss to said avr 4 . instead and unlike the second embodiment , this embodiment does not comprise a ( δp + δω )- pss realized by combining a δp - pss that is a conventional pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss that is a conventional pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 as described above by referring to fig1 . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described second embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the second embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the second embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 , a power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 and a constant computing section 54 and is adapted to input the output of δδ - pss to said avr 4 . instead and unlike the third embodiment , this embodiment does not comprise a ( δp + δω )- pss realized by combining a δp - pss that is a conventional pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss that is a conventional pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 as described above by referring to fig1 . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described third embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the third embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the third embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss are automatically computed by the constant computing section 54 by using the formulas preselected according to the frequency as detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 1 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a plurality of ( a total of n ) δδ - psss that are parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n and is adapted to input the sum signal obtained by adding the output signals s 3 a through s 3 n of δδ - psss by means of adder a 4 to said avr 4 . instead and unlike the fourth embodiment , this embodiment does not comprise a ( δp + δω )- pss realized by combining a δp - pss that is a conventional pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss that is a conventional pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 as described above by referring to fig1 . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fourth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fourth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fourth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . as the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization functions are responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss that are parallel - type psss having stabilization function 10 , a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) power - fluctuation frequency detecting sections 51 and a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) constant selecting sections 53 and is adapted to input the sum signal obtained by adding the output signal s 3 of each of the δδ - psss by means of adder a 5 to said avr 4 . instead and unlike the fifth embodiment , this embodiment does not comprise a ( δp + δω )- pss realized by combining a δp - pss that is a conventional pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss that is a conventional pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 as described above by referring to fig1 . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fifth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fifth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fifth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light differ greatly from each other and the influence of the difference is negligible or if the cycle of power fluctuations fluctuates greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous requirements have to be selected for the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss that are parallel - type psss having stabilization function 10 , a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) power - fluctuation frequency detecting sections 51 and a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) constant computing sections 54 and is adapted to input the sum signal obtained by adding the output signal s 3 of each of the δδ - psss by means of adder a 6 to said avr 4 . instead and unlike the sixth embodiment , this embodiment does not comprise a ( δp + δω )- pss realized by combining a δp - pss that is a conventional pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss that is a conventional pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 as described above by referring to fig1 . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described sixth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 17 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the sixth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the sixth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light differ greatly from each other and the influence of the difference is negligible or if the cycle of power fluctuations fluctuates greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous requirements have to be selected for the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the third embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the first embodiment as illustrated in fig9 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described first embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the first embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the first embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the change − δp of the active power 8 , the change δω 9 a of the rotational speed ω 9 of the generator 1 and the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 are fed to the adder a 3 respectively by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 , the stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 and the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and added by the adder a 3 to obtain the output signal 5 a of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 as shown in fig2 . then , power fluctuations of adjacent generator mode and those of generator mode are suppressed by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization functions gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and adapted to receive the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 as input . with this sharing arrangement , it is possible to quickly suppress power fluctuations occurring in operating power systems over a broad cycle zone ranging from fluctuations of generator mode to fluctuations of system mode in order to stabilize power systems and secure power interchange over a large area on a stable basis . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the second embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described second embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the second embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the second embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the third embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described third embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the third embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the third embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted as input to receive the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fourth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fourth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fourth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fourth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fifth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to - suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fifth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fifth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fifth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the sixth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described sixth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the sixth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the sixth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the seventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described seventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the seventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the seventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 is input to the avr 4 as output signal 5 a of the multiple pss by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 10 . then , power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δp - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 selected so as to be adaptable to such power - fluctuations . more specifically , as for the generator 1 , the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 shown in ( formula 3 ) is selected for the parallel - type pss of the multiple pss 5 ′ adapted to use as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 so as to suppress power fluctuations of system mode because only such fluctuations are problematic to the generator 1 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eighth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eighth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 51 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eighth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eighth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the ninth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described ninth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the ninth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the ninth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 are automatically computed by the constant computing section 54 by using the formulas selected in advance according to the frequency as detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the tenth embodiment and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described tenth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the tenth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the tenth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eleventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eleventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eleventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eleventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the twelfth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described twelfth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the twelfth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the twelfth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal of the frequency of the voltage or the current of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the first embodiment as illustrated in fig9 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described first embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the first embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the first embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the change − δp of the active power 8 , the change δω 9 a of the rotational speed ω 9 of the generator 1 and the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 are fed to the adder a 3 respectively by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 , the stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 and the stabilization function 10 and added by the adder a 3 to obtain the output signal 5 a of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 as shown in fig2 . then , power fluctuations of adjacent generator mode and those of generator mode are suppressed by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization functions gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 . with this sharing arrangement , it is possible to quickly suppress power fluctuations occurring in operating power systems over a broad cycle zone ranging from fluctuations of generator mode to fluctuations of system mode in order to stabilize power systems and secure power interchange over a large area on a stable basis . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the second embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described second embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the second embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the second embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the third embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described third embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the third embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the third embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted as input to receive the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fourth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fourth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fourth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fourth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fifth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fifth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fifth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fifth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the sixth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described sixth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the sixth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the sixth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the seventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described seventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the seventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the seventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 is input to the avr 4 as output signal 5 a of the multiple pss by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 10 . then , power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δp - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 selected so as to be adaptable to such power - fluctuations . more specifically , as for the generator 1 , the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 shown in ( formula 3 ) is selected for the parallel - type pss of the multiple pss 5 ′ adapted to use as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 so as to suppress power fluctuations of system mode because only such fluctuations are problematic to the generator 1 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eighth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eighth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eighth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eighth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the ninth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described ninth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the ninth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the ninth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 are automatically computed by the constant computing section 54 by using the formulas selected in advance according to the frequency as detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the tenth embodiment and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described tenth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the tenth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the tenth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eleventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eleventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eleventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eleventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the twelfth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described twelfth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the twelfth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the twelfth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the first embodiment as illustrated in fig9 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described first embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the first embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the first embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the change − δp of the active power 8 , the change δω 9 a of the rotational speed ω 9 of the generator 1 and the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 are fed to the adder a 3 respectively by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 , the stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 and the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and added by the adder a 3 to obtain the output signal 5 a of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 as shown in fig2 . then , power fluctuations of adjacent generator mode and those of generator mode are suppressed by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization functions gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 . with this sharing arrangement , it is possible to quickly suppress power fluctuations occurring in operating power systems over a broad cycle zone ranging from fluctuations of generator mode to fluctuations of system mode in order to stabilize power systems and secure power interchange over a large area on a stable basis . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the second embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described second embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the second embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the second embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the third embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described third embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the third embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the third embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted as input to receive the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fourth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fourth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fourth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fourth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fifth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fifth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fifth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fifth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δ 107 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the sixth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described sixth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the sixth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the sixth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the seventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described seventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the seventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the seventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 is input to the avr 4 as output signal 5 a of the multiple pss by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 10 . then , power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δp - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 selected so as to be adaptable to such power - fluctuations . more specifically , as for the generator 1 , the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 shown in ( formula 3 ) is selected for the parallel - type pss of the multiple pss 5 ′ adapted to use as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 so as to suppress power fluctuations of system mode because only such fluctuations are problematic to the generator 1 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eighth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eighth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eighth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eighth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the ninth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described ninth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the ninth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the ninth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 are automatically computed by the constant computing section 54 by using the formulas selected in advance according to the frequency as detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the tenth embodiment and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described tenth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the tenth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the tenth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eleventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eleventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eleventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eleventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the twelfth embodiment and having stabilization function g 5 ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described twelfth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the twelfth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the twelfth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the guide vane opening of the water wheel and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the first embodiment as illustrated in fig9 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described first embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the first embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the first embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the change − δp of the active power 8 , the change δω 9 a of the rotational speed ω 9 of the generator 1 and the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 are fed to the adder a 3 respectively by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 , the stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 and the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and added by the adder a 3 to obtain the output signal 5 a of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 as shown in fig2 . then , power fluctuations of adjacent generator mode and those of generator mode are suppressed by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization functions gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 . with this sharing arrangement , it is possible to quickly suppress power fluctuations occurring in operating power systems over a broad cycle zone ranging from fluctuations of generator mode to fluctuations of system mode in order to stabilize power systems and secure power interchange over a large area on a stable basis . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the second embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described second embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the second embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the second embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the third embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described third embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the third embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the third embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted as input to receive the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fourth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fourth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fourth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fourth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fifth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fifth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fifth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fifth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the sixth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said aδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described sixth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the sixth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the sixth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the seventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described seventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the seventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the seventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 is input to the avr 4 as output signal 5 a of the multiple pss by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 10 . then , power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δp - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 selected so as to be adaptable to such power - fluctuations . more specifically , as for the generator 1 , the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 shown in ( formula 3 ) is selected for the parallel - type pss of the multiple pss 5 ′ adapted to use as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 so as to suppress power fluctuations of system mode because only such fluctuations are problematic to the generator 1 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eighth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eighth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eighth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eighth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the ninth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described ninth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the ninth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the ninth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 are automatically computed by the constant computing section 54 by using the formulas selected in advance according to the frequency as detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the tenth embodiment and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described tenth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the tenth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the tenth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eleventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eleventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eleventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eleventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the twelfth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described twelfth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the twelfth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the twelfth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal equivalent to the rotational acceleration generated by combining the signal of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 and that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the first embodiment as illustrated in fig9 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described first embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the first embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the first embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the change − δp of the active power 8 , the change δω 9 a of the rotational speed ω 9 of the generator 1 and the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 are fed to the adder a 3 respectively by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 , the stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 and the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and added by the adder a 3 to obtain the output signal 5 a of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 as shown in fig2 . then , power fluctuations of adjacent generator mode and those of generator mode are suppressed by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization functions gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 . with this sharing arrangement , it is possible to quickly suppress power fluctuations occurring in operating power systems over a broad cycle zone ranging from fluctuations of generator mode to fluctuations of system mode in order to stabilize power systems and secure power interchange over a large area on a stable basis . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the second embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described second embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the second embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the second embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the third embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described third embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the third embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the third embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted as input to receive the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fourth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fourth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fourth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fourth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fifth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fifth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fifth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fifth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δδ - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the sixth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described sixth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the sixth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the sixth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the seventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described seventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the seventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the seventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 is input to the avr 4 as output signal 5 a of the multiple pss by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 10 . then , power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δp - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 selected so as to be adaptable to such power - fluctuations . more specifically , as for the generator 1 , the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 shown in ( formula 3 ) is selected for the parallel - type pss of the multiple pss 5 ′ adapted to use as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 so as to suppress power fluctuations of system mode because only such fluctuations are problematic to the generator 1 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eighth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eighth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eighth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eighth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the ninth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described ninth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the ninth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the ninth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 are automatically computed by the constant computing section 54 by using the formulas selected in advance according to the frequency as detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the tenth embodiment and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described tenth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the tenth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the tenth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eleventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eleventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eleventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eleventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the twelfth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described twelfth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the twelfth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the twelfth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal equivalent to the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the first embodiment as illustrated in fig9 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described first embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the first embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the first embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the change − δp of the active power 8 , the change δω 9 a of the rotational speed ω 9 of the generator 1 and the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 are fed to the adder a 3 respectively by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 , the stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 and the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and added by the adder a 3 to obtain the output signal 5 a of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 as shown in fig2 . then , power fluctuations of adjacent generator mode and those of generator mode are suppressed by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization functions gp ( s ) 13 and δδ - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 . with this sharing arrangement , it is possible to quickly suppress power fluctuations occurring in operating power systems over a broad cycle zone ranging from fluctuations of generator mode to fluctuations of system mode in order to stabilize power systems and secure power interchange over a large area on a stable basis . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the second embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described second embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the second embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the second embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the third embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described third embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the third embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the third embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted as input to receive the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fourth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fourth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fourth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fourth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fifth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fifth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fifth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fifth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the sixth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described sixth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the sixth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the sixth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the seventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described seventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the seventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the seventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 is input to the avr 4 as output signal 5 a of the multiple pss by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 10 . then , power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δp - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 selected so as to be adaptable to such power - fluctuations . more specifically , as for the generator 1 , the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 shown in ( formula 3 ) is selected for the parallel - type pss of the multiple pss 5 ′ adapted to use as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 so as to suppress power fluctuations of system mode because only such fluctuations are problematic to the generator 1 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eighth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eighth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eighth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eighth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the ninth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described ninth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the ninth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the ninth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 are automatically computed by the constant computing section 54 by using the formulas selected in advance according to the frequency as detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the tenth embodiment and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described tenth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the tenth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the tenth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eleventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eleventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eleventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eleventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the twelfth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described twelfth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the twelfth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the twelfth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 and that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the first embodiment as illustrated in fig9 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described first embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the first embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the first embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the change − δp of the active power 8 , the change δω 9 a of the rotational speed ω 9 of the generator 1 and the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal are fed to the adder a 3 respectively by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 , the stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 and the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and added by the adder a 3 to obtain the output signal 5 a of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 as shown in fig2 . then , power fluctuations of adjacent generator mode and those of generator mode are suppressed by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization functions gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 . with this sharing arrangement , it is possible to quickly suppress power fluctuations occurring in operating power systems over a broad cycle zone ranging from fluctuations of generator mode to fluctuations of system mode in order to stabilize power systems and secure power interchange over a large area on a stable basis . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the second embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described second embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the second embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the second embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the third embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described third embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the third embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the third embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted as input to receive the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fourth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fourth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fourth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fourth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fifth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fifth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fifth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fifth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the sixth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described sixth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the sixth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the sixth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the seventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described seventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the seventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the seventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 is input to the avr 4 as output signal 5 a of the multiple pss by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 10 . then , power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δp - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 selected so as to be adaptable to such power - fluctuations . more specifically , as for the generator 1 , the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 shown in ( formula 3 ) is selected for the parallel - type pss of the multiple pss 5 ′ adapted to use as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 so as to suppress power fluctuations of system mode because only such fluctuations are problematic to the generator 1 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eighth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eighth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eighth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eighth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the ninth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described ninth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the ninth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the ninth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 are automatically computed by the constant computing section 54 by using the formulas selected in advance according to the frequency as detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the tenth embodiment and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described tenth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the tenth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the tenth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eleventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eleventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eleventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eleventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the twelfth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described twelfth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the twelfth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the twelfth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal of the internal phase angle of the generator 1 generated from the difference of the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and the signal of the voltage phase of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the first embodiment as illustrated in fig9 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described first embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the first embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the first embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the change − δp of the active power 8 , the change δω 9 a of the rotational speed ω 9 of the generator 1 and the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 are fed to the adder a 3 respectively by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 , the stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 and the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and added by the adder a 3 to obtain the output signal 5 a of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 as shown in fig2 . then , power fluctuations of adjacent generator mode and those of generator mode are suppressed by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization functions gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 . with this sharing arrangement , it is possible to quickly suppress power fluctuations occurring in operating power systems over a broad cycle zone ranging from fluctuations of generator mode to fluctuations of system mode in order to stabilize power systems and secure power interchange over a large area on a stable basis . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the second embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described second embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the second embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the second embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the third embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described third embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the third embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the third embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted as input to receive the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fourth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fourth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fourth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fourth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fifth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fifth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fifth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fifth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the sixth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described sixth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the sixth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the sixth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the seventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described seventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the seventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the seventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 is input to the avr 4 as output signal 5 a of the multiple pss by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 10 . then , power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δp - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 selected so as to be adaptable to such power - fluctuations . more specifically , as for the generator 1 , the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 shown in ( formula 3 ) is selected for the parallel - type pss of the multiple pss 5 ′ adapted to use as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 so as to suppress power fluctuations of system mode because only such fluctuations are problematic to the generator 1 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eighth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eighth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the ninth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described ninth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the ninth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the ninth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eighth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eighth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 are automatically computed by the constant computing section 54 by using the formulas selected in advance according to the frequency as detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the tenth embodiment and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described tenth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the tenth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the tenth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eleventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eleventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eleventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eleventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the twelfth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described twelfth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the twelfth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the twelfth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal of the internal voltage phase of the generator 1 generated by combining the signal of voltage vg 3 a and that of the current of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δ 107 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the first embodiment as illustrated in fig9 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described first embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the first embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the first embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the change − δp of the active power 8 , the change δω 9 a of the rotational speed ω 9 of the generator 1 and the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 are fed to the adder a 3 respectively by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 , the stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 and the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and added by the adder a 3 to obtain the output signal 5 a of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 as shown in fig2 . then , power fluctuations of adjacent generator mode and those of generator mode are suppressed by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization functions gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 . with this sharing arrangement , it is possible to quickly suppress power fluctuations occurring in operating power systems over a broad cycle zone ranging from fluctuations of generator mode to fluctuations of system mode in order to stabilize power systems and secure power interchange over a large area on a stable basis . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the second embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described second embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the second embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the second embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the third embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described third embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the third embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the third embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . as the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) is so arranged for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted as input to receive the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fourth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fourth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fourth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fourth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through ion as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the fifth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described fifth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the fifth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the fifth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the sixth embodiment as illustrated in fig1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described sixth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the sixth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the sixth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . then , power fluctuations of generator mode are suppressed mainly by the ( δp + δω )- pss that is a pss of conventional type realized by combining a δp - pss having stabilization function gp ( s ) 13 and δω - pss having stabilization function gw ( s ) 14 , whereas power fluctuations of a plurality of system modes showing much different frequencies are suppressed by the δδ - pss that comprises a plurality of parallel - type psss having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 and receives as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 . the control constants of the stabilization function 10 as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the seventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described seventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 9 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the seventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the seventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this multiple pss 5 ′, the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 is input to the avr 4 as output signal 5 a of the multiple pss by way of the stabilization function gp ( s ) 10 . then , power fluctuations of system mode are suppressed by the δp - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 selected so as to be adaptable to such power - fluctuations . more specifically , as for the generator 1 , the stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 shown in ( formula 3 ) is selected for the parallel - type pss of the multiple pss 5 ′ adapted to use as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 so as to suppress power fluctuations of system mode because only such fluctuations are problematic to the generator 1 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eighth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eighth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 12 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eighth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eighth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 are automatically selected by the constant selecting section 53 out of a number of constants stored in advance by taking various system conditions into consideration according to the frequency detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises a δδ - pss that is a parallel - type pss adapted to use as input a signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the ninth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described ninth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 13 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the ninth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the ninth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . when the power - fluctuation frequency of the generator 1 deviates from the expected frequency , the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 detects the power - fluctuation frequency from the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 and the control constants including the gain and the advance / delay constant of the parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 are automatically computed by the constant computing section 54 by using the formulas selected in advance according to the frequency as detected by the power - fluctuation frequency detecting section 51 . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( n ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the tenth embodiment and having respective stabilization functions gδ ( s ) 10 a through 10 n that include a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensate the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - psss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described tenth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 14 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the tenth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the tenth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . the control constants of the stabilization functions 10 a through 10 n as shown in ( formula 3 ) are so selected for each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 as to suppress the target power fluctuations most effectively in response to the power fluctuations existing in the system . in this way , each parallel - type pss adapted to receive as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 can suppress the power fluctuations for which the stabilization function is responsible . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the eleventh embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described eleventh embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 15 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the eleventh embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the eleventh embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . this embodiment of multiple pss 5 ′ comprises as parallel - type pss a plurality of ( more specifically a pair of ) δδ - psss adapted to use as input a signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 in place of the change δω 9 a in the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 of the twelfth embodiment and having stabilization function gδ ( s ) 10 that includes a phase advance / delay compensation function and compensates the phase delay in - phase with the phase angle signal of the rotor of the generator 1 for the input signal , said δδ - pss being also adapted to suppress long cycle power fluctuations of system mode . otherwise , this embodiment is same as the above described twelfth embodiment and hence will not be described here any further . therefore , this embodiment will be understood by referring to fig8 and 16 . now , the operation of the multiple pss 5 ′ of this embodiment having the above described configuration will described below . note , however , that only the operation of the part of this embodiment that is different from the twelfth embodiment will be discussed here . otherwise , the description of the operation of the twelfth embodiment also applies to this embodiment . with this embodiment , if the difference between the cycle of power fluctuations occurring during the day when the load of the system is heavy and that of power fluctuations occurring during the night when the load of the system is light is large and its influence is severe or if the cycle of power fluctuations varies greatly due to changes in the power interchange so that more rigorous conditions have to be applied to the system , control constants that are more delicate than those of the second embodiment will be selected for the stabilization functions of the parallel - type psss . then , the output signals s 3 of these parallel - type psss are added to obtain the output signal s 5 of the multiple pss that is output to the avr 4 . the power - fluctuations of system mode of a plurality of systems that vary greatly in terms of frequency are suppressed by the δδ - pss adapted to use as input the signal of the combination of the signal of the rotational speed ω 9 of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the voltage of the generator 1 , that of the frequency of the current of the generator 1 , that of the active power p 8 of the generator 1 , that of the guide vane opening of the water wheel , that of the valve opening of the turbine directly linked to the generator 1 , that of the phase angle of the rotor of the generator 1 , that of the phase of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 , that of voltage vg 3 a of the generator 1 and that of the current of the generator 1 and comprising a plurality of parallel - type psss having respective stabilization functions 10 that are different from each other . the present invention provides a pss that can quickly suppress power fluctuations that may usually occur over a broad cycle zone , ranging from fluctuations of generator mode ( having a short cycle of about 0 . 5 seconds ) to fluctuations of system mode ( having a long cycle of about 10 seconds ), in order to stabilize power systems and secure power interchange over a broad area on a stable basis and is applicable to both a static exciting system and a rotary exciting system , without adversely affecting the shaft - twisting vibration of the turbines or generators . 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 . | 7 |
for the purpose of easier understanding of the interruption processing system in the time division multiplex transmission system according to the present invention , references shall be made first with reference to a remote monitoring and controlling system alone as an example of the time division multiplex transmission system . as shown in fig1 the remote monitoring and controlling system comprises a central control unit 11 , a plurality of monitoring terminal units 12 respectively for operating switches s1 to s4 , and a plurality of controlling terminal units 13 respectively for loads l1 to l4 , all the terminal units 12 and 13 being connected through a pair of signal lines 14 to the central control unit 11 , and a specific address is set for each of the monitoring and controlling terminal units 12 and 13 . in the present instance , such transmission signal vs as shown in fig2 is transmitted from the central control unit 11 through the signal lines 14 to the respective terminal units 12 and 13 , and the transmission signal vs consists of a start pulse st , mode data md denoting the data transmission mode , address data ad denoting 8 bit address of the respective terminal units 12 and 13 subjected to the access , control data cd for controlling the loads l1 - l4 , such error detecting data cs as check - sum data , and return - wait signal wt for setting a period in which monitored data are returned from the terminal units 12 and 13 to the central control unit 11 , which are subjected to the time division multiplex transmission in bipolar signals of ± 24 v as modified in the pulse width , as seen in fig2 . in the respective terminal units 12 and 13 , on the other hand , the transmission signals received through the signal lines 14 from the central control unit 11 are rectified and smoothed for acting as their power source so that , when the address data of the received transmission signal coincide with the own specific address data of one of the terminal units , the particular terminal unit takes up the control data of this transmission signal and returns to the central control unit 11 such monitored data as monitored information of operating state of the operating switches s1 - s4 , operating state information of the loads l1 to l4 and so on , by rendering the signal lines 14 to be substantially in short - circuited state so as to be a current mode signal , in synchronism with the return - wait signal wt of the transmission signal . more specifically , the central control unit 11 comprises as shown in fig4 a signal processing means 20 formed by a microcomputer for carrying out such signal processing as transmission of the transmission signal vs , reception of the return signal vb and so on , a signal amplifying means 21 for amplifying the transmission signal vs to be ± 24 v and transmitting the amplified signal onto the signal lines 14 , and a return signal detecting means 22 for detecting the return signal vb returned in an electric current mode from the terminal units 12 and 13 through the signal lines 14 . further , the terminal units 12 and 13 respectively comprise as shown in fig5 a signal processing means 30 formed by a microcomputer for carrying out such signal processings as reception of the transmission signal vs , transmission of the return signal vb and so on , an address setting means 31 for setting the specific address for each terminal unit 12 or 13 , a transmission signal detecting means 32 for detecting the transmission signal vs transmitted through the signal lines 14 from the central control unit 11 , and a return signal transmitting means 33 for transmitting the return signal vb in the current mode through the signal lines 14 to the central control unit 11 . in the central control unit 11 , further , there is provided an interruption processing means for detecting through an interruption processing a state in which the operating switches s1 to s4 are operated , and a dummy transmission signal vs with the mode data md made as the dummy mode is constantly transmitted , so that , when the operating switches of any one the monitoring terminal units 12 are operated and such interruption request signal vi as shown in fig3 is transmitted from this particular terminal unit 12 in synchronism with the start pulse of the transmission signal vs , the central control unit 11 can search for this interruption requesting terminal unit 12 to specify the same , and the thus specified interruption requesting terminal unit 12 is subjected to an access by means of the transmission signal vs of an individual access mode so as to have the monitored data returned by means of the return signal vb in the current mode from the specified unit 12 to the central control unit 11 . in fig6 there is shown an embodiment of the interruption processing system in the foregoing time division multiplex transmission system . in carrying out the interruption request from one of the monitoring terminal units 12 in the present embodiment , this terminal unit 12 is to return to the central control unit 11 a signal which specifies part ( for example , two bits ) of the specific address of four bits , for example , in synchronism with the start pulse st of the dummy transmission signal vs , and the interruption request is thereby carried out . upon receipt of this interruption request , the central control unit 11 prepares superior four bits for a group access to which , for example , four groups a to d of total sixteen monitoring terminal units 12 are to be subjected for every group in batch , by sequentially varying other bits than two bits b1 and b2 forming part of the superior four bits , carries out the group access for every group of the terminal units by transmitting a transmission signal of search mode with the superior four bits for the group access made as the address data ad to have inferior bits of the address data which are , for example , four bits returned from the interruption requesting terminal unit 12 , and specifies the specific address of eight bits , for example , of the interruption requesting terminal unit 12 by compositely combining the superior and inferior bits . the thus specified interruption requesting terminal unit 12 is subjected to an access made by means of the transmission signal vs of the individual access mode and transmitted from the central control unit 11 . more concretely , the two bits b1 and b2 forming part of the superior bits in the specific address are specified by the interruption request signal vi in such that the interruption request signal vi is returned with a current mode pulse signal within the start pulse st of the dummy transmission signal vs , four time bands &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; for returning the interruption request signal vi are set within the start pulse st as shown in fig7 and the superior two bits of the specific address are specified depending on in which one of these time bands &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; the interruption request signal vi is returned . since the time bands &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; correspond respectively to each of the four groups a to d of the monitoring terminal units 12 in 1 : 1 relationship , the returning of the interruption request signal vi from the monitoring terminal units 12 in , for example , the time band &# 34 ; c &# 34 ; is indicative of that this interruption request is made by one of the monitoring terminal units 12 in the group c . according to the foregoing embodiment of fig6 therefore , it is possible to limit the object of the access to one of the groups of the monitoring terminal units in which the particular interruption requesting terminal unit is possibly included , already at the stage of the reception by the central control unit 11 of the interruption request from the monitoring terminal unit 12 , so that the necessity of the access to all of the groups of the terminal units as has been called for can be eliminated , and the specifying operation of the interruption requesting terminal unit 12 can be attained extremely quickly . that is , the interruption requesting terminal unit 12 can be specified only through the access to the four groups at the most , in accompanyment to which the operating state of the operating switches s1 to s4 can be rapidly grasped so as to be able to shorten required time until the corresponding loads l1 to l4 are controlled . in other words , the required responsive operation time of the entire system can be remarkably shortened . in the embodiment referred to with reference to fig6 and 7 , the number of the time bands for returning the interruption request signal can be properly reduced in accordance with the number of the terminal units 12 and 13 if the total number of the terminal units 12 and 13 is small , and the length of the start pulse can be properly shortened , as will be readily appreciated . referring now to fig8 there is shown another embodiment of the interruption processing system according to the present invention , in which the interruption request signal vi is made different in the pulse width with respect to each of the groups a to d of the terminal units , so that the signal can indicate with the pulse width each one of the groups a to d . except for this respect , other arrangement and operation of the present embodiment are the same as those in the embodiment of fig6 and 7 . referring to fig9 there is shown still another embodiment of the present invention , in which the interruption request signal vi is formed by two pulses the interval of which is varied so as to be indicative of each one of the terminal unit groups a to d by the different length of the pulse interval . except for this respect , other arrangement and operation are the same as those in the foregoing embodiment of fig6 and 7 . in fig1 , there is shown a further embodiment of the present invention , which is a combined aspect of the both features of the foregoing embodiments of fig7 and 8 . that is , in the present instance , two time bands are set for returning the interruption request signal vi within the start pulse st , the signal to be returned in each of the two time bands is made to be two which are different in the pulse width , and each of the four groups a to d of the terminal units is indicated by different combination from one another of the signal returning time band and the pulse width . except for this respect , other arrangement and operation of this embodiment are the same as those in the foregoing embodiment of fig6 and 7 . it will be appreciated here that a further combination of other two embodiments than those in the case of fig1 among the foregoing three embodiments is possible , or even all three embodiments can be combined into one . while the interruption request signal vi has been referred to as representing partial bits , for example , two bits , it may be possible to have more than three bits or even all of the bits represented by the interruption request signal vi . a still further embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig1 a and 11b , which provides an interruption processing system adapted to a case where the terminal units in the time division multiplex transmission system involve concurrently such ones of a so - called fixed length mode as on / off controllers of wall switches , on / off controllers of lighting / air conditioning devices and so on as well as such ones of so - called variable length mode as processors for temperature , humidity and the like analogue data , characters and the like display data . in the present instance , two types of the transmission signals are employed , one of which shown in fig1 a is a transmission signal fvs corresponding to the fixed length mode and comprising similar start pulse st , mode data md , address data ad , control data cd and return wait signal wt to those in the embodiment of fig2 and additionally an end pulse en at a stage following the return wait signal wt , the signal being arranged for generating a variable length interruption request signal vvi in synchronism with the start pulse st and a fixed length interruption request signal fvi in synchronism with the end pulse en ; and the other of which shown in fig1 b is another transmission signal vvs corresponding to the variable length mode and comprising also similar start pulse st , mode data md , address data ad , control data cd and return wait signal wt to those in the embodiment of fig2 and additionally such variable length code cc as a cablegram length code inserted at a stage in front of the control data cd . in this instance , the cablegram length code cc is to represent the data length of the control data cd right after the code cc in such that , when the cablegram length code cc is &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ;, then the control data cd will be 2 bytes and , when the cablegram length code cc is &# 34 ; 100 &# 34 ;, then the control data cd will be 100 bytes . the arrangement is so made that , with respect to the transmission signal vvs corresponding to the instant variable length mode , the variable length interruption request signal vvi is generated in synchronism with the start pulse st . with the system of the foregoing arrangement , the interruption processing can be quickly carried out even in the transmission system in which the terminal units of the fixed length mode and of the variable length mode are present concurrently . in the present embodiment , other arrangement and operation than those described in the above are the same as those in the embodiment of fig6 and 7 . | 7 |
the invention is particularly effective in networks consisting of serial communication buses in accordance with ieee 1394 standard . the invention makes it possible for example to interconnect two serial communication buses in accordance with ieee 1394 standard through a radio bridge . ieee 1394 standard defines a rapid serial connection which makes it possible to connect , to a bus in accordance with this standard , up to sixteen nodes or stations , and makes it possible to convey asynchronous and isochronous traffic over the bus . the bit rate which is specified by this standard is greater than or equal to 98 . 304 mbit / s . transmission of isochronous traffic over a 1394 serial communication bus is based on a network clock of 8 khz which defines cycles with a duration of 125 μs ± 12 . 5 ns during which each node or peripheral connected to the bus can send isochronous data over the bus . amongst all the nodes connected to the bus , one of them is considered to be a reference for all the others and is referred to as the “ cycle master ”. this synchronisation node denoted cm synchronises all the clocks of the other nodes with respect to its own clock . in a communication network consisting of two or more serial communication buses in accordance with ieee 1394 standard , when several buses are connected together by means of bridges , one of the synchronisation nodes cm amongst all the synchronisation nodes of all the buses is chosen as a reference for the entire network . this means that the clock of the reference node referred to as the “ network cycle master ” constitutes a reference clock for the entire network , the clocks of the synchronisation nodes of the other buses in the network then having to synchronise themselves with respect to the clock thereof . for a better understanding of the invention , the interconnection of two serial communication buses in accordance with ieee 1394 standard and denoted b a and b b in fig2 by means of two interconnection nodes denoted a and b , connected together by a radio link , will be considered . when the interconnection nodes a and b are located at a distance from each other , they can , for example , represent two different data processing devices chosen from amongst the following devices : printer , server , computer , facsimile machine , scanner , video tape recorder , decoder ( or set top box ), television receiver , telephone , audio / video player , camcorder , digital camera or digital photographic apparatus . it should be noted that nodes a and b could , as an alternative , be connected together by an optical , cable , etc link . according to the type of link , they are not necessarily placed at a distance from each other and can on the contrary constitute a single physical entity . these interconnection nodes or items of equipment form a radio bridge denoted 200 and interconnect the two buses b a and b b which form a communication network or a part of a communication network according to the invention denoted 202 ( fig2 ). these interconnection nodes are , within the meaning of ieee p 1394 . 1 standard , “ portals ”. the bridge 200 provides the interface between the buses b a and b b , and the nodes a and b communicate with each other by means of respective radio antennae 204 , 206 . the bus b a is considered to be the “ master ” bus , whilst the bus b b is considered to be the “ slave ” bus . as depicted in fig2 , several nodes are connected to the different buses b a , b b apart from the interconnection nodes a and b . in fact the synchronisation node cm a considered to be the “ network cycle master ” and the node 208 capable of transmitting and receiving isochronous data are connected to the bus b a , whilst the synchronisation node cm b considered to be the “ cycle master ” of the bus b b and the isochronous node 210 are connected to the bus b b . as depicted in more detail in fig3 , the interconnection node denoted a considered here to be the radio transmitter is connected to the serial communication bus b a by connectors 212 . the node a has a 1394 physical interface circuit denoted 214 and a circuit 216 fulfilling the functions of the 1394 physical layer and which checks , at a higher level , the asynchronous and isochronous flows and the resources of the bus b a . such circuits are connected together by a bus 218 and consist for example of a component phy tsb21lv03a and a component link tsb12lv01 a sold by the company texas instruments . the circuit 214 contains a register 214 a referred to as the “ cycle time register ”, denoted ctr , in which there is contained the current value of the isochronous cycle peculiar to the bus b a . this current value is incremented at each clock pulse generated by the local clock or internal oscillator ( clk a ) of the interconnection node a . when the node a is in operation , the circuit 214 manages the information exchanges on the bus b a using the access and arbitration protocols peculiar to ieee 1394 standard . the node a also has a calculation unit cpu 220 , a temporary storage means of the ram type denoted 222 containing several registers denoted 222 a to 222 c and a permanent storage means of the rom type denoted 224 . the node a has a radio modem 226 connected by a bus 228 to a radio unit 230 which is equipped with the radio antenna 204 . a local bus denoted 232 connects the different elements of the node a together . the information exchanged on the bus b a is stored in a buffer area of the storage means 222 . this buffer area will also be used during the transmission of information between the interconnection nodes a and b . the interconnection node b , considered here as the radio receiver , is connected to the serial communication bus b b by connectors 234 . in a similar manner to that which has just been described for node a , node b has a 1394 physical interface circuit denoted 240 connected by a bus 242 to a circuit fulfilling the functions of the 1394 physical layer denoted 244 , a calculation unit cpu denoted 246 , a temporary storage means of the ram type denoted 248 containing several registers 248 a and 248 g , a permanent storage means 250 and a radio modem 252 connected by a bus 254 to a radio unit 256 which is equipped with the radio antenna 206 . a local bus denoted 258 connects together all these elements . as indicated in fig4 , the physical interface circuit 240 uses a clock or internal oscillator clk b . the different elements of the interconnection node b operate identically to those of the interconnection node a described above . fig5 a depicts schematically the principle of the synchronisation of the isochronous cycles between the buses b a and b b according to a first embodiment of the invention . fig5 b and 5 c describe respectively the algorithms representing the different steps of the method according to the first embodiment of the invention , which are implemented at the transmitting interconnection node a , in a computer program stored in the storage means 224 , and , at the receiving interconnection node b , in a computer program stored in the storage means 250 of node b . a method according to the first embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to fig2 to 4 and 5 a to 5 c . the present invention uses the concept of reference moment and reference event , the reference moment identifying the appearance of a reference event at one of the nodes a and b . for example , the reference event considered is the start of a data frame transmitted between nodes a and b and the reference moment corresponds to the moment when this frame starts . more precisely , the reference time at node a marks the time of the start of transmission of the data frame whilst the reference time of node b marks the time of the start of reception of this same data frame . naturally , the reference time can correspond to any other event on which the transmitter and receiver must synchronise . in addition , these reference times do not necessarily appear periodically . thus the present synchronisation method applies equally well to data frames of variable duration . it should be noted that the appearance of the reference events is not necessarily periodic . fig5 a depicts the cycle start signals at each bus b a and b b (“ cycle start packet ”), the contents of the cycle time registers ctr at the interconnection nodes a and b , the reference times ta and t ′ a corresponding respectively to the transmission start times of two consecutive data frames at nodes a and b , and the reference times t b and t ′ b of the starts of reception of the same two consecutive data frames , at the interconnection node b . at each isochronous cycle start , that is to say every 125 microseconds ± 12 nanoseconds , the cycle master of the network cm a and the cycle master cm b of the bus b b transmit a cycle start signal over their respective serial communication buses . these cycle start signals contain the value of the cycle time register ctr of each cycle master , this value being supplied by the internal clock of the cycle master which serves as a reference for all the nodes located on the bus under consideration . the cycle time register ctr represents the number of pulses n generated by the internal clock of the “ cycle master ” under consideration cm a or cm b . thus the interconnection nodes a and b , as well as all the nodes located on the buses b a and b b , will read the content of the cycle start signals transmitted over the buses and will update , at each isochronous cycle start , their cycle time registers ctr contained , for nodes a and b , respectively in the circuits 214 and 240 of fig3 and 4 . the current value contained in their cycle time registers ctr is incremented at each clock pulse generated by the local clock or internal oscillator of the corresponding interconnection node . an explanation will now be given of the way in which the reference times are determined with respect to the start of the data frame . when a data frame is transmitted by radio by the interconnection node a , the latter generates , firstly , a radio synchronisation preamble depicted in fig5 a by shaded areas , followed by the useful data to be transmitted . these data , which are stored in the buffer area of the storage means 222 ( fig3 ), are read by the radio modem 226 . at the end of transmission of the radio synchronisation preamble , the interconnection node a generates a radio frame start signal denoted 259 in fig3 which is intended for the calculation unit 220 . the time of transmission of this radio frame start signal corresponds to the reference time denoted t ′ a . a description will now be given of the method of the synchronisation between the nodes cm a and cm b , according to the invention , as implemented , firstly , in the node a ( fig5 b ) and then in node b ( fig5 c ). as soon as this signal is received , in accordance with step e 1 of the method according to the invention ( fig5 b ), the calculation unit reads the content of the register ctr of the circuit 214 and stores a value read in a register called “ ctr_locala ” and denoted 222 a of the storage means 222 ( step e 2 ). this value , denoted n ( t ′ a ), corresponds to the reference value representing the reference time t ′ a and represents a number of pulses emitted by the clock of the node cm a . this value corresponds to the current content of the cycle time register ctr of the interconnection node a regularly updated by the synchronisation node cm a when the cycle start signal is transmitted . it should be noted that , between two updates of the register ctr 214 a taking place each time a cycle start signal is received by node a , the register is incremented at the rate of the local clock clk a of node a . however , there is no risk , at the reference time related to the transmission on a frame , of the value of the register ctr 214 a not being the current value of the register ctr of the distant node cm a . this is because the precision of the local clock of the interconnection node a means that , between two successive updates , following the reception of two cycle start signals , the value of the register 214 a remains perfectly identical of the value of the cycle time register ctr of the node cm a . this condition would not be fulfilled if a cycle start signal were lost or received erroneously . it will be noted in fig5 a that the reference value n ( t ′ a ) is marked on the axis corresponding to the values of the cycle time register ctr of the interconnection node a by an arrow starting from the reference time t ′ a situated below . the radio frame start signal 259 also triggers the determination of a first “ item of information ” within the meaning of the present invention , and which represents a difference between two reference time t ′ a and t a , t a being the reference time determined with respect to the data frame i - 1 transmitted previously ( see fig5 a ). more precisely , this first item of information is determined by calculating the difference of the reference values representing each of the reference times t ′ a and t a . thus the difference is made between the content of the register “ ctr_locala ”, which contains the reference value n ( t ′ a ) and the content of the register called “ last_ctr_locala ” and denoted 222 b in fig2 ( step e 3 ). this last register contains a reference value n ( t a ) representing the previous reference time ta and which was stored previously . this difference n ( t ′ a )– n ( t a ) is stored in the register called “ offset a ” and denoted 222 c in fig3 . it should also be noted that the recently determined reference value , n ( t ′ a ), is stored in the register “ last_ctr_locala ” from the content of the register “ ctr_locala ” in step e 4 . in accordance with step e 5 of the method according to the invention ( fig5 b ) the radio modem 226 of the interconnection node a reads the register “ offset a ” 222 c of the storage means 222 and inserts its content in the data frame i in the form of a message . the synchronisation method of the invention next includes a step e 6 of transmitting the content of the register “ offset a ” at the same time as the useful data of the data frame . the method according to the invention as implemented in node b and whose algorithm depicted in fig5 c will now be dealt with . during an initialisation phase , the method according to the invention first of all makes provision for a step f 1 of awaiting reception of a synchronisation signal , and then a step f 2 during which the value of the cycle time register ctr denoted 240 a in fig4 is stored in a register called “ last_ctr_localb ” and denoted 248 b in this same figure . when the radio data frame i for which the reference time t ′ a has been determined is received , the interconnection node b uses the radio synchronisation preamble of this frame in order to synchronise itself . as soon as the end of the radio synchronisation preamble of this frame occurs , the interconnection node b generates locally a radio frame start signal denoted 260 in fig4 and which is intended for the calculation unit 246 . the time of appearance of the radio frame start signal 260 corresponds to the reference time t ′ b of the start of reception of the radio frame . the method according to the invention includes a test step f 3 for determining whether the radio frame start signal of the synchronisation signal has been received . the radio frame start signal received by the calculation unit 246 triggers the storage , in a register of the storage means 248 called “ ctr_localb ” denoted 248 a , of the current value of the cycle time register ctr denoted 240 a of the circuit 240 ( step f 4 ). the current value of this register constitutes a reference value representing the reference time t ′ b and is denoted n ( t ′ b ). the radio frame start signal also triggers the determination of a second “ item of information ”, within the meaning of the present invention , and which represents a difference between the two reference times t ′ b and t b . the reference time t b indicated in fig5 a corresponds to the time of reception by the interconnection node b of the previous radio data frame i − 1 . more particularly , the determination of this second item of information is dependent on the calculation of the difference between the reference values representing each of the reference times t ′ b and t b . in this way the difference is formed between the content of the register “ ctr_localb ” which contains the reference value n ( t ′ b ) and the content of the register “ last_ctr_localb ” denoted 248 b in fig3 and which contains the reference value n ( t b ) ( step f 5 ). this difference or second item of information n ( t ′ b )− n ( t b ) is stored in the register “ offset b ” denoted 248 c of the storage means 248 . it should also be noted that the content of the register “ ctr_localb ” ( n ( t ′ b )) is stored in the register “ last_ctr_localb ” of the storage means 248 ( step f 6 ). in addition , the interconnection node b extracts from the useful data transmitted in the radio data frame i , coming from the interconnection node a , the message containing the value of the register “ offset a ” denoted 222 c ( step f 7 ). this value or first item of information ( n ( t ′ a )− n ( t a )) is stored in a register 248 d of the storage means 248 in fig4 and called “ ctr_rx ”. it should be noted that the first item of information determined represents the period elapsed between the two reference times t a and t ′ a whilst the second item of information represents the period elapsed between the two reference times t b and t ′ b ( fig5 a ). the period between the reference times t a and t ′ a ( or respectively t b and t ′ b ) forms what is termed a reference period . the synchronisation method according to the first embodiment of the invention then makes provision for comparing with each other the first and second items of information determined above . to do this , the interconnection node b calculates the difference between the content of the register “ ctr_rx ” and the content of the register “ offset b ” of the storage means 248 ( step f 8 ) and then stores this difference in another register of the temporary storage means 248 called “ offset ” and denoted 248 g . the result of this comparison is written ( n ( t ′ b )− n ( t b ))−( n ( t ′ a )− n ( t a )) and supplies the value of any offset between the clocks of the synchronisation node cm a of the bus b a and the synchronisation node cm b of the bus b b . the step of comparison between the first and second items of information therefore makes it possible to check the frequency synchronisation between the two synchronisation nodes under consideration . thus , when a value of the offset is thus derived from this comparison step , the interconnection node b informs the synchronisation node cm b of the bus b b of the value of this offset by means of a suitable adjustment message ( step f 9 ). following this message , the node cm b then makes a correction to the value contained in its cycle time register ctr in order to remain synchronised with the synchronisation node cm a . the node cm b then sends to all the nodes on the serial communication bus b b , including the interconnection node b , cycle start signals in order to synchronise the different clocks of the nodes with the clock of the node cm b . fig6 a depicts schematically the principle of the synchronisation of the isochronous cycles between the buses b a and b b according to a second embodiment of the invention . the same elements as those of fig5 a are repeated in fig6 a . fig6 b is an algorithm showing the different steps of the synchronisation method according to the second embodiment of the invention and which is implemented in a computer program stored in the storage means 224 of the interconnection node a . fig6 c is an algorithm representing the different steps of the synchronisation method according to the second embodiment of the invention and which is implemented by a computer program stored in the storage means 250 of the interconnection node b . a description will now be given of the method of synchronisation between two synchronisation nodes cm a and cm b according to a second embodiment of the invention , with reference to fig2 to 4 and 6 a to 6 c . the method will firstly be described , as implemented in the interconnection node a ( fig6 b ) and then in the interconnection node b ( fig6 c ). when a radio data frame is transmitted by the interconnection node a , the radio modem 226 reads the data to be transmitted in a buffer area of the storage means 222 . the interconnection node a firstly sends a radio synchronisation preamble and then , secondly , sends useful data to be transmitted to the interconnection node b . when the synchronisation preamble ends , the interconnection node generates a radio frame start signal 259 . the end of this radio frame start signal identifies a reference time denoted t a which is fixed with respect to the clock of the interconnection node a synchronised by the clock of the synchronisation node cm a . on reception of this radio frame start signal ( step g 1 of fig6 b ), the calculation unit 220 reads the content of the ctr register 214 a of the circuit 214 ( step g 2 ) and stores the value in the register “ ctr_locala ” denoted 222 b of the storage means 222 . this reference value denoted n ( t a ) represents the reference time ta and represents the number of pulses generated by the clock of the synchronisation node cm a . saving the reference value n ( t a ) in the register “ ctr_locala ” corresponds to step g 3 of the algorithm depicted in fig6 b . when the radio data frame i - 1 is transmitted , the radio modem 226 of the interconnection node a reads the register “ ctr_locala ” and inserts the reference value n ( t a ) in the data frame ( step g 4 ). the radio frame is then transmitted to the radio unit 230 in order to be amplified therein and to undergo a frequency transposition before being sent by means of the radio antenna 204 ( step g 5 ). the synchronisation method implemented at the interconnection node b then carries out an initialisation step by fixing a variable n at 1 ( step h 1 ). when the radio data frame i - 1 is received by the interconnection node b , its radio modem 252 writes the data received in a data buffer area in the storage means 248 . the interconnection node b carries out a radio synchronisation step using the radio synchronisation preamble present at the start of the framed received . at the end of the synchronisation preamble , the node b generates a radio frame start signal 260 making it possible to identify a reference time t b ( fig6 a ). after an initialisation step h 1 , where a variable n is set to 1 , as soon as this radio frame start signal is received ( step h 2 of fig6 ) the calculation unit 246 reads the content of the cycle time register ctr 240 a of the circuit 240 ( step h 3 ) containing a reference value denoted n ( t b ) which represents the reference time t b . the calculation unit 246 then stores the value read in a register “ ctr_localb ” denoted 248 a of the storage means 248 ( step h 4 ). in accordance with steps h 5 and h 6 of the algorithm depicted in fig6 c , at the time of reception , the radio modem 252 reads , in the data frame received , the specific synchronisation message sent by the interconnection node a and stores it in a register called “ ctr_rx ” denoted 248 d of the storage means 248 . the calculation unit 246 then determines a first “ item of information ” within the meaning of the invention which represents a difference between the reference times t a and t b by calculating the difference between the content of the registers “ ctr_rx ” and “ ctr_localb ”. by proceeding thus , the calculation unit forms the difference between the two reference values n ( t b ) and n ( t a ) identifying the two reference times t b and t a ( step h 7 ). this first item of information is then stored by the calculation unit 246 in a register “ offset m ” denoted 248 e in fig3 ( steps h 9 and h 10 ). the value of n being equal to one , step h 8 is followed by step h 9 , step h 9 saving the difference calculation result of step h 7 into a register called shift m and incrementing the value of n . on reception of the following data frame i , the reference values contained in the registers “ ctr_localb ” and “ ctr_rx ” are updated by new values , respectively n ( t ′ b ) and n ( t ′ a ). these new reference values represents reference times t ′ b and t ′ a determined from the same data frame i , consecutive on the first i - 1 , and transmitted from the interconnection node a to the interconnection node b . the algorithm of fig6 c then includes steps h 2 to h 7 during which there is determined a second “ item of information ” within the meaning of the invention which represents a difference between the two reference times t ′ a and t ′ b , this second item of information corresponding in fact to the difference between the two reference values n ( t ′ b ) and n ( t ′ a ) which identify the two reference times t ′ b and t ′ a . from the second received frame , n will be different from 1 so step h 8 will be followed by step h 10 . on that step , the difference calculation result of step h 7 will be stored in a register called shift m + 1 . a difference calculation will be made by the calculation unit 246 on the content of registers shift m et shift m + 1 at step h 11 and result will be stored at step h 12 in the offset register 248 g of the storage means 248 of fig3 . this difference is expressed by the formula n ( t b )− n ( t a )−( n ( t ′ b )− n ( t ′ a )). step h 12 is followed by step h 13 which consist in replacing the content of register shift m by the content of register shift m + 1 . the content of this register 248 g supplies a value of the offset , counted as a number of clock pulses of the synchronisation node cm a , between the duration of an isochronous cycle of the bus b a and that of an isochronous cycle of the bus b b . when an offset is detected , the calculation unit 246 of the interconnection node b generates an adjustment message from this value of the offset and will store it in a data buffer area of the storage means 248 . the calculation unit then requests , at step h 14 , the circuit 244 to send this adjustment message over the bus b b to the synchronisation node cm b ( step h 14 ). the synchronisation node of the bus b b interprets the adjustment message and corrects the frequency of transmission of its cycle start signals accordingly in order to propagate the synchronisation of the isochronous cycle between the two buses b a and b b . in general terms , the offset corrections are effected in a manner which depends on the type of network interconnected by the radio bridge . for example , in a case of a serial communication bus in accordance with ieee 1394 standard , the corrections can be reflected by reducing or increasing the duration of the isochronous cycle on a single occasion or distributed over several isochronous cycles . the distribution of the correction over several isochronous cycles may be dictated for example by technical constraints : the impossibility of correcting more than one clock pulse by isochronous cycles , or the need to avoid an abrupt variation in the duration of a given isochronous cycle . it can even be envisaged to wait before making a correction in order for example to be able to benefit from an automatic compensation at certain buses in the network according to modifications which are contrary with respect to each other . it will be noted that fig7 supplies a table indicating , for the different data frames i transmitted from node a to node b , with i = 0 , 1 , . . . , 7 , . . . , the different reference times , t a , t b ( t a ( 0 ) , t b ( 0 ) ), t ′ a , t ′ b , . . . , t a ( 7 ) , t b ( 7 ) , . . . and the reference periods considered with respect to the given reference times . advantageously , in this second embodiment of the invention , the loss of a data frame or the fact that it is incorrectly received do not prevent , as is the case with the first embodiment , the detection of the offset between the synchronisation nodes cm a and cm b . this is because the table of fig7 indicates that the reference periods are considered , for the frames i = 0 and i = 1 , between the reference times t a and t ′ a ( node a ), t b and t ′ b ( node b ), and for the frames i = 1 and i = 2 , between the reference times t ′ a and t ″ a ( node a ), t ′ b and t ′ b ′ ( node b ). on the other hand , it will be noted that the reference value n ( t a ( 3 ) ) corresponding to the reference time t a ( 3 ) ) is not received by the node b , the corresponding field of the frame i = 4 being for example affected by a transmission error . because of this , the reference period under consideration cannot take into account this reference time , but rather the following one : t a ( 4 ) . thus the reference period considered is defined between the times t ″ a and t a ( 4 ) ( node a ) and between the times t ″ b and t b ( 4 ) ( node b ). in this case , the items of information compared with each other for this reference period will be n ( t ″ b )− n ( t ″ a ) and n ( t b ( 4 ) )− n ( t a ( 4 ) ). this amounts to increasing the reference period in order to take account of any offsets , which have occurred , between the reference times t ″ a and t a ( 4 ) . thus the correction related to the reference times t a ( 3 ) will automatically be taken into account at the next calculation , even if the transmitted data frame i = 4 included errors . because of this , by virtue of the second embodiment of the invention , no information on the offset between the synchronisation nodes cm a and cm b is lost . likewise , according to this table , if the reference time t b ( 5 ) is lost and if the node b cannot decode the reference values corresponding to the reference times t a ( 5 ) and t a ( 6 ) , then the reference period under consideration will be extended and defined between the times t a ( 4 ) and t a ( 7 ) ( node a ) and t b ( 4 ) and t b ( 7 ) ( node b ). as a variant , it will be noted that the fact of transmitting , not as indicated with reference to fig1 to 4 a first item of information n ( t ′ a )− n ( t a ) representing the period between the reference times ta and t ′ a of the node a to the node b , but solely the reference values n ( t a ) and n ( t ′ a ) in isolation , from the node a to the node b , also makes it possible to determine the information n ( t ′ a )− n ( t a ) at the node b and to compare this with the other information also determined at the node b , n ( t ′ b )− n ( t b ), in order to reach to the same results as during the description of the first embodiment of the invention . it will be noted that n ( t ′ b )− n ( t ′ a )−( n ( t b )− n ( t a )) is equal to n ( t ′ b )− n ( t b )−( n ( t ′ a )− n ( t a )), which shows that the two embodiments lead to the same calculation of offset . in addition , it should be noted that , from the results obtained in the table of fig7 , which are therefore available at the node b , all the possible calculations between the different reference values contained in this table can be envisaged . moreover , the invention makes it possible to check the synchronisation between the synchronisation nodes cm a and cm b even if the data frames have variable duration . it should be noted that the present invention makes it possible to check the synchronisation of several nodes connected to different serial communication buses with respect to the “ master ” node where the latter is capable of broadcasting information to the nodes to be synchronised . this applies particularly when the nodes communicate with each other by radio or optical link . it should also be noted that , in a communication network according to the invention , it is possible to provide for a node in the network which is dedicated to generating a reference event common to all the nodes . the existence of this node makes it possible to use the invention when the reference events generated by the nodes to be synchronised are not sufficiently frequent or even when these events are non - existent ( the nodes to be synchronised cannot be generated from the reference events by themselves ). in a third embodiment of the invention , the nodes or stations a and b constitute the cycle masters of the respective buses 10 and 12 . the bus denoted 10 is considered to be the “ master ” bus , whilst the bus denoted 12 is considered to be the “ slave ” bus . it will be noted that an internal oscillator or clock denoted clk 1 generates a clock signal denoted h 1 at the master bus and an internal oscillator or clock denoted clk 2 generates , at the slave bus , a clock signal denoted h 2 . each of the internal oscillators or clocks has a frequency equal to 24 . 576 mhz with a tolerance of 100 ppm . on fig8 , the node denoted a considered to be the radio receiver is connected to the serial communication bus 10 by connectors 14 . the node denoted b and considered to be the radio receiver is connected to the serial communication bus 12 by connectors 16 . the node a has a 1394 physical interface circuit denoted 18 and a circuit fulfilling the functions of the 1394 link layer denoted 20 . such circuits consist for example of a component phy tsb21lv03a and a component link tsb12lv01a sold by the company texas instruments . the node a also has a calculation unit 22 , a temporary storage means of the ram type denoted 24 , containing several registers denoted 24 a to 24 c , and a permanent storage means denoted 26 . as depicted in fig8 , the node a has a radio modem 28 connected to a radio unit 30 which is equipped with a radio antenna 32 . a local bus denoted 34 connects the different elements of the node a together . in a similar fashion to that which has been described for the node a , the node b has a 1394 physical interface circuit denoted 36 , a circuit fulfilling the functions of the 1394 physical layer denoted 38 , a calculation unit cpu denoted 40 , a temporary storage means of the ram type denoted 42 containing several registers 42 a to 42 e , a permanent storage means 44 containing a register 44 a and a radio modem 46 connected to a radio unit 48 which is equipped with a radio antenna 50 . a local bus denoted 52 connects all these elements together . as indicated in fig8 , each physical interface circuit 18 for the node a and 36 for the node b functions with a clock or internal oscillator , clk 1 for node a and clk 2 for node b . fig9 and 10 a illustrate respectively the different steps of the method according to the third embodiment of the invention which are implemented at the transmitter node a and receiver node b . these figures depict different instructions of a computer program stored , for the algorithm of fig9 , in the storage means 26 of the node a and , for the algorithm of fig1 a , in the storage means 44 of the node b . the method according to the third embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to fig8 to 10 b . in the 1394 physical interface circuit denoted 18 of the node a , a counter is incremented continuously with the internal oscillator or clock clk 1 . the size of this counter is k bits and its period is therefore 2 k . the present invention uses the concept of reference time and reference event , the reference time identifying the appearance of a reference event at one of the nodes a and b . for example , the reference event under consideration is the start of a data frame transmitted between nodes a and b , and the reference time corresponds to the time when this frame starts . more precisely , the reference time at the node a marks the time of the start of transmission of the data frame whilst the reference time of the node b marks the time of the start of reception of this same data frame . at each node the reference times are determined in a time reference frame peculiar to the node under consideration from the internal clock of said node by means of a counter . it should be noted that , if the clocks clk 1 and clk 2 are perfectly synchronous ( same frequency ), then the contents of the counters determining the two reference times will have a shift which will remain constant over time . if on the other hand the clocks are not synchronous , then the shift between the contents of the counters mentioned above will no longer be constant , and the present invention is based on the variation in this shift in order to measure the deviation between the clocks clk 1 and clk 2 . naturally , the reference time can correspond to any other event on which the transmitter and receiver must synchronise . it should be noted that the appearance of the reference events is not necessarily periodic . in order to detect the start of a data frame , both in the node a and in the node b , the radio modems of each node , denoted respectively 28 and 46 , use appropriate synchronisation sequences . for example , a sequence known to the transmitter and receiver is added at the start of each data frame . the receiver can thus , by applying an automatic correlation method to this known sequence , determine the start of the frame . when the start of a frame is detected at each node , a signal 62 ( node a ), 64 ( node b ) is sent to the calculation unit cpu , respectively 22 ( node a ), 40 ( node b ), this signal indicating a reference time ( fig8 ). after the step s 1 of fig9 , each time a reference time is determined for example at the node a ( step s 2 ), the reference time being denoted ta , the content of the counter in the 1394 physical interface circuit denoted 18 is saved in a register denoted 24 a of the temporary storage means 24 of fig8 . the above content of this register 24 a is transferred into a second register 24 b of the storage means 24 ( step s 3 ). the two registers thus make it possible to save the value of the counter in the 1394 physical interface circuit 18 at the last two reference times , for example denoted ta and ta ′, which both correspond to the time of start of transmission of two consecutive data frames . to each given reference time there corresponds a given reference value which represents the reference time . this reference value is stored in one of the registers 24 a , 24 b of the temporary storage means 24 of fig8 . it should be noted that each reference value stored in the registers 24 a and 24 b corresponds , for example , to a number of clock pulses emitted by the clock clk 1 calculated modulo 2 k . all the operations ( addition , subtraction , counting ) are performed modulo 2 raised to the power of the size of the corresponding registers or counters . in addition , it is assumed that the result of the subtraction contains a sign bit . after the transfer of the content of the register 24 a to the register 24 b ( step s 3 ) and of the content of the counter to the register 24 a ( step s 4 ), the difference between the reference values stored in these two registers is determined ( step s 5 ). this difference corresponds to a first item of information representing an elapsed period of time , at the node a , between the reference times ta and ta ′. this first item of information is stored in the register denoted 24 c in fig8 . this register therefore contains the duration of a reference period counted in numbers of pulses of the clock or internal oscillator clk 1 . the first item of information representing the time elapsed between the two reference times ta and ta ′ and which is stored in the register 24 c is transmitted from the node a ( transmitter ) to the node b ( receiver ) using the data frame transmitted as from the reference time ta ′ ( step s 6 ). the transmission step is performed by the radio equipment consisting of the elements 28 , 30 and 32 of the node a , whilst the reception step at the node b uses the elements 46 , 48 and 50 of said node b . in a similar way to that which was described for the node a ( the transmitter ), a second item of information representing a time elapsed between two reference times tb and tb ′ is then calculated at the node b ( the receiver ). these two reference times tb and tb ′ correspond to the reception times of the start of the data frames transmitted by the node a and for which the reference times ta and ta ′ were determined at said node a . in the device 36 of the node b , a counter is incremented continuously with the internal oscillator or clock clk 2 . the size of this counter is k bits and its period is therefore equal to 2 k . after the step t 1 ( fig1 a ), each time a reference time tb or tb ′ is determined ( step t 2 ), as indicated above , a reference value representing this reference time is stored in the register 42 a of the temporary storage means 42 of fig8 . thus the reference value corresponding to the reference time tb is stored in the register 42 a and then transferred into the register 42 b ( step t 3 ) when the second reference time tb ′ is determined ( step t 2 ) and when the corresponding reference value is transferred from the counter in the 1394 physical interface circuit 36 into the register 42 a ( step t 4 ). the second item of information representing the time elapsed between the two reference times tb and tb ′ is determined ( step t 5 ), and the difference formed between the two reference values stored in the registers 42 a and 42 b and identifying the two reference times tb and tb ′ is then stored in a register 42 c of the storage means 42 of fig8 . it should be noted , there also , that each reference value contained in one of the aforementioned registers corresponds to a number of clock pulses which are emitted by the clock or internal oscillator clk 2 of the node b . it should be noted that the reference event associated with a data frame received by the node b ( receiver ) corresponds at this node to the time of the start of reception of said data frame . the first item of information stored in the register 24 c is received by the node b ( step t 6 ). if on the other hand no information is received by the node b , then the method according to the invention makes provision for once again starting to await reception of information transmitted by the node a with a data frame . it makes possible to make a comparison between the first and second items of information ( step t 7 ). if the number of clock pulses is denoted n , the first and second items of informations are written respectively n ( ta ′)− n ( ta ) and n ( tb ′)− n ( tb ). any difference which can be detected between these two values represents the number of deviation clock pulses between the oscillators or clocks clk 1 or clk 2 during the reference period considered . it is thus possible , knowing the deviation between the clocks clk 1 and clk 2 during the reference period , to correct the frequency of the signal h 2 in order to keep it synchronous with h 1 . if a difference is detected between these first and second items of information , the result obtained ( the deviation ) is added to the content of a register denoted 42 d of the temporary storage means 42 of fig8 ( step t 8 ). this register 42 d contains the total of the different deviations measured during all the reference periods which have been taken into account . when two items of information or reference periods each representing the rate of the clock of the node under consideration are compared with each other , as just explained , the number of significant bits of the difference between these depends on the deviation between the two clocks and the duration of the reference period . for example , two oscillators are taken whose clock frequencies are respectively 24 . 576 mhz − 100 ppm and 24 . 576 mhz + 100 ppm and a reference period of 1 ms , the difference detected between the two reference periods is approximately five clock pulses , which can be coded using three bits . thus the sizing of the registers at 1 byte , where one bit will be reserved for the sign , seems to be a sufficient choice . this sizing of the registers concerns the registers denoted 24 c , 42 c and 42 d of fig2 a . the optimisation of the size of these registers and particularly of the register 42 d is important given that it defines the bandwidth needed for transmitting the data over the radio link between nodes a and b . normally , when no deviation exists between the internal clocks clk 1 and clk 2 , the first and second items of information each representing the time elapsed between the two reference times respectively ta , ta ′ and tb , tb ′ are equal . however , when a deviation exists and a value is recorded in the register 42 d , then a correction is necessary . the purpose of this correction is to keep the frequency of the clock signal h 2 more or less constant compared with the frequency of the clock signal h 1 . it should be noted that , in this case , it is the clock signal h 1 which is the reference . the signal h 2 can of course also constitute a reference with respect to which the clock signal h 1 would be corrected . the method according to the invention makes provision , in the event of a correction , for shortening or lengthening one or more periods of the clock signal h 2 by a period equivalent to the number of clock pulses which are contained in the register 42 d , and which represent the deviation noted between clk 1 and clk 2 . the distribution of the correction over several periods may be dictated , for example , by technical constraints : the impossibility of correcting more than one clock pulse per period , or the necessity of avoiding an abrupt variation in a given period . it can even be envisaged waiting before effecting a correction in order , for example , to be able to benefit from an automatic compensation at certain buses in the network vis - à - vis the changes . fig1 b is a functional diagram illustrating , as example , the correction of the clock signal h 2 with respect to the clock signal h 1 when a deviation between the clocks or oscillators clk 1 or clk 2 is detected . as depicted in fig1 b , the clock signal h 2 corrected or synchronised according to the method of the invention is generated from the clock or oscillator clk 2 using a counter denoted 80 . the period of this counter is fixed by loading a value m ′ contained in the temporary storage means 42 of fig8 . this value m ′ is an integer which corresponds to the division factor of the frequency of the clock clk 2 in order to obtain the frequency of the corrected or synchronised clock signal h 2 . moreover , another register denoted 82 contains the nominal division factor m between the frequencies of the clock clk 2 and of the clock signal h 2 before correction . in addition , the register 42 d depicted on the left in fig1 b contains the total deviation denoted δ c between the clocks or oscillators clk 1 and clk 2 . thus the period of the counter 80 is corrected with the total deviation δ c supplied by the register by means of the following formula : m ′= m + δ c . it should be noted that this deviation δ c can be of positive or negative sign . when the deviation is of positive sign , m ′ will be equal to m plus the absolute value of δ c . the period of the counter 80 will then be increased , and the frequency of h 2 will be decreased . when the deviation is of negative sign , m ′ will be equal to m minus the absolute value of δ c . the period of the counter 80 will then be decreased and the frequency of h 2 will then be increased . for the total deviation δ c to be taken into account in the correction of the period of the counter , it is necessary for this deviation to be kept in the register 42 d until the end of the current period of the counter . the register 42 d has then to be reset to zero during the following period , and before the end thereof in order to avoid the same deviation being corrected twice . if the correction of the deviation must be distributed over several periods , an intermediate register is necessary for containing the correction to be made to each period . after each correction , the register 42 d containing the total deviation is decremented accordingly . the corrections are then made until the content of the register 42 d is nil . in this figure , the elements , which are not modified with respect to those of fig8 , keep the same references as in the latter . as depicted in fig1 , the communication network according to the invention has a radio bridge denoted 92 which interconnects the serial communication buses in accordance with ieee 1394 denoted 10 and 12 and serves , in some way , as an interface between them . the bridge 92 has two stations or nodes denoted a and b and which are respectively a radio transmitter ( node a ) and a radio receiver ( node b ). these nodes a and b are distinguished from those of fig8 by their permanent and temporary storage means . the node a has a temporary storage means ram denoted 94 including a register 94 a and a permanent storage means rom denoted 96 . the permanent storage means 96 contains the computer program , the various instructions of which correspond to the steps of the method according to the second embodiment and which is implemented at the transmitter ( node a ). the algorithm corresponding to this computer program is depicted in fig1 . in addition , the node b has a temporary storage means denoted 98 including the registers 98 a to 98 e and a permanent storage means rom denoted 100 and which includes a register 100 a . this storage means 100 also contains the different instructions of the computer program making it possible to implement the method according to the fourth embodiment at the receiver ( node b ). the algorithm corresponding to this computer program is depicted in fig1 . as indicated above , each of the nodes a and b has a 1394 physical interface circuit , a circuit fulfilling the functions of the 1394 connecting layer , a calculation unit , a radio modem connected to a radio unit which is equipped with a radio antenna , and a local bus connecting together the various elements of said node . the method according to a fourth embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to fig1 to 13 . at the device 18 of the node a , as depicted in fig1 , a counter is incremented continuously with the internal oscillator or clock clk 1 . everything stated previously with reference to fig8 to 10 , concerning notably the reference times , the reference events and the reference values , remains valid for this second embodiment . the reference times are determined in the same way as indicated above with reference to fig8 . thus , after the step u 1 ( fig1 ), each time a reference time is determined at the node a ( step u 2 ), the reference time being denoted ta , the content of the counter in the 1394 physical interface circuit 18 is saved in the register 94 a of the temporary storage means 94 . to each given reference time there corresponds a given reference value which represents said reference time and which is for example equal to a number of clock pulses n emitted by the clock or internal oscillator clk 1 . after storage of the reference value contained in the counter in the register 94 a ( step u 3 ), the method includes a step of transmitting a data frame containing the reference value stored in this register ( step u 4 ) and the transmitting node a then awaits a new reference time t a ′ ( step u 2 ). in a similar fashion to that which was described with reference to fig8 , the transmission step is made by the radio equipment consisting of the elements 28 , 30 and 32 of node a , whilst the reception step at node b uses the elements 46 , 48 and 50 of said node b . in the device 36 of node b , a counter 104 is incremented continuously with the clock signal h 2 issuing from the internal oscillator or clock clk 2 . after the step v , of fig1 of initialising the variable i to the value 0 , each time a reference time , and more particularly the start of a frame , is determined ( step v 2 ) as indicated above , a reference value representing this reference time is stored in the register 98 a ( step v 3 ) of the temporary storage means 98 of fig1 . the method according to the invention implemented at the receiver ( node b ) makes provision , in accordance with step v 4 ( fig1 ), for an operation of verifying the reception of the content of the register 94 a by the node b , or in other words , the content of register 94 a transmitted by the radio frame . on the assumption that the node b receives the content of this register 94 a , then step v 4 is followed by a step v 5 during which the difference δ ( i ) between the reference values or number of clock pulses contained in the received frame is formed . this difference constitutes an item of information representing the difference between the reference times ta identifying the start of transmission of the frame i at the node a and the reference time tb identifying the start of reception of the frame i at the node b . this first item of information represents a shift between the clocks clk 1 and clk 2 which is saved in the register 98 b of the temporary storage means 98 . if no shift has been calculated before , the variable i is then equal to zero ( step v 6 ) and this shift constitutes a reference shift denoted δ ( 0 ), which will be used subsequently , at the time of determination of the correction necessary for synchronising the clocks with each other . in accordance with step v 7 of the method ( fig1 ), the shift δ ( 0 ) is stored in the register 98 c of the temporary storage means 98 . step v 7 is then followed by step v 8 , during which the variable i is incremented and the receiving node b awaits a new reference time in accordance with step v 2 . conversely , if i is different from 0 , then the shift which has just been calculated δ ( i ) is compared with the reference shift δ ( 0 ) ( step v 9 ). in accordance with this case , the difference δ ( 0 ) ( n ( tb )− n ( ta )) constitutes a first item of information within the meaning of the invention and the difference δ ( i )(( n ( t b ( i ) )− n ( t a ( i ) )) constitutes a second item of information . the comparison between the first and second items of information makes it possible to detect any deviation between the internal oscillators or clocks clk 1 and clk 2 . this difference between the first and second items of information supplies the number of deviation clock pulses between the internal oscillators or clocks clk 1 and clk 2 between the two reference times . this value of the deviation is then transferred to the value contained in the register 98 d ( step v 10 ) of the temporary storage means 98 . this register contains the total of the deviations measured previously between the two clocks clk 1 and clk 2 . the content of the register 98 d represents the correction which is to be made to the clock signal h 2 in order to be synchronised with respect to the clock signal h 1 . step v 10 is then followed by step v 8 , during which the variable i is incremented and , in accordance with what has already been stated above , the receiver ( node b ) awaits a new reference time ( step v 2 ). returning to step v 4 , if the test carried out during this step shows that the node b has not received the content of the register 94 a , this means for example that the corresponding data frame denoted i is lost or incorrectly received . in this case , the receiver ( node b ) awaits the following reference time ( steps v 11 and v 12 ) in order to store a new reference value corresponding to the following reference time ( step v 3 ). it will be noted that fig7 supplies a table indicating , for different data frames i transmitted from node a to node b , with i = 0 , 1 , . . . , 7 , . . . , the different reference times t a , t b ( t a ( 0 ) , t b ( 0 ) ), t a ′, t b ′, . . . , t a ( 7 ) , t b ( 7 ) , . . . and the reference periods considered with respect to the given reference times . advantageously , in this fourth embodiment of the invention , the loss of a data frame or the fact that the latter is incorrectly received does not prevent , as is the case with the third embodiment , the detection of the deviation between the clocks clk 1 and clk 2 . this is because the table in fig7 indicates that the reference periods are considered , for frames i = 0 and i = 1 , between the reference times t a and t a ′ ( node a ), t b and t b ′ ( node b ), for frames i = and i = 2 , between the reference times t a ′ and t a ″ ( node a ), t b ′ and t b ″ ( node b ). moreover , the invention makes it possible to check the synchronisation between the clocks of nodes a and b even if the data frames have variable duration . it should be noted that , with regard to the optimisation of the size of the different registers and notably the registers 98 a , 98 b , 98 d , everything stated during the description of the first embodiment remains valid for this second embodiment . notably , the optimisation of the size of these registers and particularly of the register 94 a is important since it defines the bandwidth necessary for the radio transmission . it should be noted that the present invention makes it possible to check the synchronisation of several nodes connected to different serial connection buses with respect to a “ master ” node where the latter is capable of broadcasting information to the nodes to be synchronised . this applies more particularly when the nodes communicate with each other by radio or optical link . it should also be noted that , in a communication network according to the invention , it is possible to provide for a network node which is dedicated to generating a reference event common to all the nodes . the existence of this node makes it possible to use the invention when the two nodes to be synchronised cannot generate reference events by themselves . | 7 |
the present invention will be described in detail referring to the attached drawings . as shown in fig1 a rotation prevention protuberance 21 a with a predetermined length is formed on the leading end of the hub bolt 21 . hub nut 22 is provided with a decoupling prevention means 30 , which selectively interacts with the rotation prevention protuberance 21 a so as to make it impossible to rotate the hub nut 22 without using an appropriate assembling tool t . the protuberance 21 a is preferably formed in the shape of an angular pole such as a tetragonal pole or a hexagonal pole . the reason for the angular shape is so that when the hub bolt 21 and the hub nut 22 are fastened together , the decoupling prevention means 30 will cause an interference and effectively prevent any unintended rotation of the hub nut 22 . as shown in fig2 and 3 , the decoupling prevention means 30 includes a rotation shaft 31 with its both ends secured in the hub nut 22 in a direction crossing the axis of the hub bolt 21 . a pivotal bracket 33 is pivotally installed on the rotation shaft 31 , with one end of the pivotal bracket 33 projecting out of the hub nut and the other end of the pivotal bracket 33 extending inwardly beyond the inner circumference of the hub nut . when the assembling tool t is fitted onto the hub nut 22 ( see , e . g ., fig4 ), the pivotal bracket 33 is rotated in one direction ( counter clockwise direction ) so that its two ends are rotated toward the body of the hub nut 22 . an elastic member 35 is installed between the rotation shaft 31 and the pivotal bracket 33 , for elastically forcing the other end of the pivotal bracket 33 inwardly . when the assembling tool t is not fitted to the hub nut 22 , one end of the pivotal bracket 33 projects out of the hub nut 22 , while the other end is buried inwardly beyond the inner circumference of the hub nut 22 . when the assembling tool t is fitted to the hub nut 22 by overcoming the elastic force of the elastic member 35 , then the other end of the pivotal bracket 33 withdraws outwardly , and therefore , the rotation prevention protuberance 21 a of the hub bolt 21 can be freely rotated within the hub nut 22 . when the assembling tool t is removed , the other end of the pivotal bracket 33 is pivoted inwardly ( beyond the inner circumference of the hub nut 22 ) owing to the elastic force of the elastic member 35 . pivotal bracket 33 comes to interact with the rotation prevention protuberance 21 a of the hub bolt 21 . the elastic member 35 may consist of a torsion spring . in a state where the hub bolt 21 is inserted into the wheel ( which has been closely attached to the wheel hub 51 ), if an assembling tool t is used to fasten the hub nut 22 with the hub bolt 21 , then the pivotal bracket 33 of the decoupling prevention means 30 is pivoted in counter clockwise direction by the assembling tool t as shown in fig4 . thus , the other end of the pivotal bracket 33 , which projects inwardly toward the inner circumference of the hub nut 22 , is rotated toward the outer circumference of the hub nut 22 and does not interact with the rotation prevention protuberance 21 a of the hub bolt 21 . under this condition , the assembling tool t can be rotated in one direction to fasten the hub nut 22 to the hub bolt 21 . after completion of the fastening of the hub nut 22 to the hub bolt 21 , the assembling tool t is removed from the hub nut 22 . the pivotal bracket 33 of the decoupling prevention means 30 is restored to its original position due to the elastic force of the elastic member 35 as shown in fig5 . as a result , the other end of the pivotal bracket 33 protrudes inwardly beyond the inner circumference of the hub nut 22 to interact with the rotation prevention protuberance 21 a of the hub bolt 21 , so that the hub nut 22 can be prevented from being separated from the hub bolt 21 . hub nut 22 is not loosened from the hub bolt 21 by itself , but if the assembling tool t is used , the pivotal bracket 33 is pivoted to release the interaction between the pivotal bracket 33 and the rotation prevention protuberance 21 a . hence , the hub nut 22 can easily be unfastened like a conventional hub nut . according to the present invention as described above , as long as the assembling tool is not used , the hub nuts should not loosen from the hub bolts , owing to the rotation prevention protuberance of the hub bolt and the decoupling prevention means of the hub nut . therefore , separation of the wheels from the wheel hubs while the vehicle is in motion may be reduced or avoided , lessening the possibility of injury to occupants and damage to the vehicle . | 5 |
hereinafter a moving - picture encoding apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to fig3 ( a ) and 3 ( b ) which shows a preferred embodiment thereof . a picture signal received via a picture input terminal 10 is supplied to a field memory group 11 . and simultaneously a vertical sync signal s 11 received as an input picture sync signal via an input terminal 26 is supplied to a reference picture controller 23 . in response to the sync signal 811 , the reference picture controller 23 generates an undermentioned reference picture command signal sio and supplies the same to the field memory group 11 . the field memory group 11 raises an undermentioned picture start flag s 22 in synchronism with the beginning of a picture which is read out therefrom as an object to be currently encoded , and supplies the flag 822 to a reference picture controller 24 . in response to such picture start flag 522 , the reference picture controller 24 generates under mentioned reference picture command signals s 12 and 513 and then supplies the same to a field memory group 17 . meanwhile the picture start flag s 22 is supplied also to an output picture controller 25 . in response to the picture start flag s 22 , the output picture controller 25 generates an undermentioned output picture command signal 814 and supplies the same to the field memory group 17 . relative to the picture signal being supplied to the field memory group 11 , a motion predictor 12 predicts the motion of pixels in the picture being currently encoded , with reference to a past picture and a future picture . the motion prediction corresponds to a block matching between the block pixel signal in the picture being currently encoded and the past or future picture being referred to . each block has a size of , e . g ., 16 by 16 pixels . the past or future reference picture in this stage is designated out of the contents of the field memory group 11 in accordance with the motion predictive reference picture command signal s 10 outputted from the reference picture controller 23 . the motion predictor 12 supplies to a motion compensator 18 a motion vector 87 which represents the block position in the reference picture when the prediction error in the block matching is minimum . the motion compensator 18 commands output of a block picture signal s 3 , which is positioned at the address designated by the motion vector s 7 , from the field memory group 17 where the picture already decoded and reproduced is stored . the reference picture in this stage is designated out of the contents in the field memory group 17 in accordance with the motion compensating reference picture command signal s 12 outputted from the reference picture controller 24 . outputting the block picture signal s 3 from the motion compensator 18 is an adaptive operation , and the optimal one is selectable block by block by switching the following four operation modes . motion compensating mode from past reproduced picture motion compensating mode from future reproduced picture motion compensating mode from both past and future reproduced pictures ( the reference block from the past reproduced picture and the reference block from the future reproduced picture are linearly calculated per pixel , e . g ., by mean value calculation .) intra - frame encoding mode without any motion compensation ( in this mode , the output block picture signal s 3 is substantially zero .) the motion compensator 18 selects one mode having the minimum sum of the absolute values of the differences , relative to the individual pixels , between the output block pixel signal s 3 in each of the above four modes and the pixel signal s 1 of the block being currently encoded . the mode thus selected is outputted as a motion compensating mode signal s 9 . the currently encoded block pixel signal s 1 obtained from the field memory group 11 and the block pixel signal s 3 obtained from the motion compensator 18 are supplied to a subtracter 13 where the difference per pixel is calculated , so that a block difference signal s 2 is obtained as a result of such calculation . the block difference signal s 2 is then supplied to a block signal encoder 14 which generates an encoded signal s 4 . the encoded signal s 4 thus obtained is supplied to a block signal decoder 15 , which decodes the signal s 4 to output a block reproduced difference signal s 5 . the block signal encoder 14 may be constituted of a dct ( discrete cosine transformer ) and a quantizer for quantizing the output coefficients of the oct in accordance with a quantization table s 15 designated from a buffer memory 21 . in this case , the block signal decoder 15 may be constituted of an inverse quantizer for inversely quantizing the quantized coefficients in accordance with the table s 15 , and an inverse dct for executing inverse discrete cosine transformation of the output coefficient of the inverse quantizer . the block reproduced difference signal s 5 is supplied to an adder 16 so as to be added per pixel to the block picture signal s 3 outputted from the motion compensator 18 , whereby a block reproduced signal s 6 is obtained as a result of such addition . the block reproduced signal s 6 is stored in the field memory designated , out of the field memory group 17 , by the current picture command signal s 13 . then , out of the entire reproduced pictures stored in the field memory group 17 , the reproduced picture designated by the aforementioned output picture command signal s 14 is delivered from a terminal 29 . meanwhile the block signal s 4 is supplied to a one - dimensional signal circuit 19 which stores the signal in a one - dimensional linear arrangement to thereby produce a linear encoded signal s 16 . the one - dimensional signal circuit 19 may be constituted of a scan converter which scans the block quantized dct coefficients in a zigzag manner in the order of lower to higher frequencies . the linear encoded signal s 16 is supplied , together with the motion vector s 8 and the motion compensating mode s 9 and the quantization table s 15 , to a vlc ( variable - length coder ) 20 which converts the input signal into a variable - length code such as the huffman code . the coded signal is once stored in a buffer memory 21 , and then the bit stream thereof is delivered at a fixed transmission rate from an output terminal 22 . the bit stream is multiplexed with the encoded audio signal , sync signal and so forth , and further an error correction code is added thereto . and after being processed through a predetermined modulation , the composite signal is recorded in the form of pits on a master disk via a laser light beam . a stamper is produced by utilizing such master disk , and further a multiplicity of replica disks ( e . g ., optical disks ) are manufactured by the use of such stamper . as described previously with regard to the conventional example of the prior art , the bit stream is composed of a total of six layers which are a video sequence layer , a gop layer , a picture layer , a slice layer , a macro block layer and a block layer . linear encoded signal s 16 , the motion vector s 8 , the motion compensating mode s 9 and the quantization table s 15 are under the macro block layer in the bit stream . a start code is not included in the macro block layer or the block layer either . meanwhile in each of the video sequence , gop , picture and slice layers , a start code indicative of a start point is added at the beginning , and thereafter the header data is transmitted . the individual start codes are transmitted in synchronism with the rise of a video sequence start flag s 20 , a gop start flag s 21 , a picture start flag s 22 and a slice start flag s 23 , respectively . the flags s 20 , s 21 and s 22 are outputted from a picture counter 27 , and the flag s 23 is outputted from a macro block ( mb ) counter 28 . the picture counter 27 counts the signal s 30 outputted after detection of the beginning of the picture read out from the field memory group 11 to be currently encoded . the picture counter 27 is reset at the start of encoding the video sequence which is to be encoded , and simultaneously the video sequence start flag s 20 is raised . the picture start flag s 22 is raised in response to arrival of the signal s 30 . the gop start flag s 21 is raised when the count output of the picture counter 27 has reached a multiple of a predetermined gop length ( the number of pictures to make up a gop ). generally the gop length corresponds to 12 or 15 frames . this data is supplied to a picture encoding control data input circuit 32 and is stored in the memory 30 where the control data for encoding the current picture is stored . the mb counter 28 counts the signal s 31 outputted after detection of the beginning of the macro block ( mb ) which is the object to be currently encoded and is read out from the field memory group 11 . the mb counter 28 is reset in response to the signal s 30 . the slice start flag s 23 is raised when the count output of the mb counter 28 has reached a multiple of a predetermined slice length ( the number of macro blocks to make up a slice ). generally the slice length corresponds to one stripe ( the number of macro blocks equal to the length of one horizontal line on the picture ). this data is supplied to a picture encoding control data input circuit 32 and is stored in the memory 30 . in response to a rise of the start flag s 20 , s 21 , s 22 or s 23 , the vlc 20 delivers a start code of the relevant layer and subsequently outputs control data as header data for encoding the data of the relevant layer in the memory 30 . now the header data outputted in this stage will be explained below specifically by taking the picture layer as an example . fig4 shows the bit stream syntax of the picture layer described in “ test model 3 , draft revision 1 ” p . 57 , issued by iso - 1ec / jtc1 / sc29 / wg11 on nov . 25 , 1992 . encoding control data is included next to a 32 - bit picture start code . the control data transmitted after a 32 - bit extension start code is the one newly added in the mpeg 2 format , and the data transmitted anterior thereto are those already existent in the mpeg 1 format . with regard to the individual codes , detailed description is given in the explanatory manual for the mpeg 2 format . relative to transmission of the control data , the following improvements are contrived in this embodiment . after the extension start code , a 4 - bit extension start code identifier is encoded to identify the type of the control data . for the purpose of simplifying the description of this embodiment , hereinafter the code inclusive of such extension start code identifier will be expressed merely as “ extension start code ”. first , relative to the control data of the picture layer , the control data transmitted subsequently to the “ extension_start_code ” is duplicated from the memory 30 and then is stored in the memory 31 . thereafter , when the picture header data is transmitted in response to a rise of the picture start flag s 22 , the content of the control data subsequent to the extension start code in the header data stored in the memory 30 for transmission is compared by a comparator 29 with the content of the header data of the picture layer stored in the memory 31 . the control data is delivered to the picture encoding control data input circuit 32 . if the result of such comparison represented by the signal s 24 signifies that the compared data are mutually the same , it is not exactly necessary to transmit the extension start code and the control data subsequent thereto . however , if the result of the above comparison represented by the signal s 24 signifies that the compared data are different from each other , both the extension start code and the control data subsequent thereto need to be transmitted . in the latter case , the control data in the memory 30 is overwritten in the memory 31 . the control data anterior to the extension start code is transmitted in any case . in this embodiment , a remarkably great effect is achievable when the pictures of the gop layer are in the encoding structure of fig5 for motion predictive compensation . in this diagram , an i picture is an intra - frame coded picture , and a p picture is an inter - frame predictive coded picture . the motion is predicted from the latest decoded i picture or p picture , and the prediction error at the time is encoded . since the p picture is encoded by cyclic prediction , the p picture encoding condition remains unchanged in most cases . therefore , relative to transmission of any picture header data posterior to the extension start code , it becomes possible , by employing the method of the invention , to transmit merely the header data of the p picture denoted by pa in the diagram , hence realizing reduction of the loss caused due to transmission of redundant header data and further minimizing the required header data . the process described above with regard to the picture layer is executed similarly for the video sequence layer , the gop layer and the slice layer as well . the moving - picture encoding apparatus thus constituted performs the operations of encoding a moving picture and outputting a bit stream thereof and the encoded picture . hereinafter the moving - picture decoding apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to a preferred embodiment shown in fig6 ( a ) and 6 ( b ) . a bit stream signal received at an input terminal 50 via a transmission medium such as an optical disk is once stored in a buffer memory 51 and then is supplied therefrom to an inverse vlc ( variable - length coder ) 52 . the bit stream is composed of a total of six layers which are a video sequence layer , a gop layer , a picture layer , a slice layer , a macro block layer and a block layer . start codes indicating the respective beginnings of the video sequence , gop , picture and slice layers are received , and then header data for control of decoding the picture are received . in response to the individual start codes thus received , there are raised a video sequence start flag s 100 , a gop start flag s 101 , a picture start flag s 102 and a slice start flag s 103 . upon rise of such start flag s 100 , s 101 , s 102 or s 103 , the inverse vlc 52 decodes the header data of the individual layers and stores in a memory 101 the control data thus obtained for decoding the picture . now the header data decoded in this stage will be explained below specifically by taking the picture layer as an example . the description will be given with reference to the aforementioned bit stream syntax of the picture layer shown in fig4 . in this embodiment , the following improvements are contrived relative to the control data of the picture layer . first the control data of the picture layer decoded subsequently to the extension start code is duplicated from the memory 101 and then is stored in the memory 102 . upon reception of the extension start code , an extension start flag 5200 is raised . subsequently a picture start flag s 102 is raised , and if none of the extension start code is included in the picture header data to be decoded , i . e ., when the extension start flag s 200 is not raised , the header data of the picture layer stored in the memory 102 is duplicated and stored in the memory 101 so as to be used as the control data subsequent to the extension start code of the picture layer being currently encoded . meanwhile , if the flag s 200 is raised , the control data subsequent to the extension start code in the memory 101 is overwritten in the memory 102 . the control data anterior to the extension start code is decoded in any case . the process described above with regard to the picture layer is executed similarly for the video sequence layer , the gop layer and the slice layer as well . the header data is decoded in the manner mentioned , and the moving picture is decoded as will be described below on the basis of the control data s 104 thus obtained . upon detection of the beginning of the picture to be decoded , the inverse vlc 52 raises a picture start flag s 102 and supplies the same to a reference picture controller 58 . in response to a rise of the picture start flag s 102 , the reference picture controller 58 generates undermentioned reference picture command signals s 58 , s 59 and supplies the same to a field memory group 57 . the picture start flag 5102 is supplied also to an output picture controller 59 . in response to a rise of the picture start flag s 102 , the output picture controller 59 generates an undermentioned output picture command signal s 60 and supplies the same to the field memory group 57 . the encoded block signal s 50 obtained from the inverse vlc 52 is supplied to a two - dimensional signal circuit 53 , which produces a two - dimensional block signal 851 . this signal s 51 is then supplied to a block signal decoder 54 to be thereby decoded to become a block reproduced difference signal s 52 . the block signal decoder 54 may be constituted of an inverse quantizer for inversely quantizing the quantized coefficients in accordance with the quantization table outputted from the inverse vlc 52 , and an inverse dct for executing inverse discrete cosine transformation of the output coefficient of the inverse quantizer . the two - dimensional signal circuit 53 may be constituted of an inverse scan converter which scans the encoded block signal s 50 in an inverse zigzag manner in the order of the coefficients from lower to higher frequencies . meanwhile the motion vector s 55 and the motion compensating mode s 56 obtained from the inverse vlc 52 are inputted to a motion compensator 56 . then the motion compensator s 56 commands output of the block picture signal from the field memory group 57 where the picture already decoded and reproduced is stored . more specifically , the reproduced picture designated by the aforementioned reference picture command signal s 58 is recognized as a reference picture out of the field memory group 57 , and there is commanded an output of the block picture signal positioned at the address in the reference picture designated by the motion compensating mode s 56 and the motion vector s 55 . outputting the block picture signal from the motion compensator 56 is an adaptive operation conforming with the motion compensating mode s 56 , and the optimal one is selectable block by block by switching the following four operation modes . each block has a size of , e . g ., 16 × 16 pixels . motion compensating mode from past reproduced picture motion compensating mode from future reproduced picture motion compensating mode from both past and future reproduced pictures ( the reference block from the past reproduced picture and the reference block from the future reproduced picture are linearly calculated per pixel , e . g ., by mean value calculation .) intra - frame encoding mode without any motion compensation ( in this mode , the output block picture signal s 54 is substantially zero .) the block reproduced difference signal s 52 is added per pixel by an adder 55 to the block picture signal s 54 outputted from the motion compensator 56 , and a block reproduced signal s 53 is obtained as a result of such addition . the block reproduced signal s 53 is stored in the field memory designated out of the field memory group 57 by the current picture command signal s 59 . and out of the reproduced pictures stored in the field memory group 57 , the designated one is outputted from a terminal 60 in accordance with the aforementioned output picture command signal s 60 . the moving - picture decoding apparatus is so constituted as described above to reproduce the picture from the video bit stream . while the specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and disclosed , it is to be understood that numerous changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and intent of the invention . | 7 |
referring now to the drawings wherein similar reference characters are utilized to refer to similar parts throughout the various figures thereof , there is shown particularly in fig4 an assortment strip of bracket assemblies in accordance with the present invention , with each of the assemblies comprising a metal bracket 1 of the type depicted in fig1 having perforations 2 extending through a bracket base 3 . on the upper part of the bracket 1 there are provided a plurality of bracket wings 4 adapted for fastening thereupon tightening wires and defining therethrough a central slot 5 for receiving a regulating arch . the base 3 defines on the underside thereof a fastening surface 6 which is connected or cemented with one side of a double adhesive , self - adhesive strip 7 with the opposite side of the strip 7 being covered by a cover strip 8 . the self - adhesive strip or layer 7 is self - adhesive on both sides thereof . between the bracket base 3 and the bracket wings 4 there is provided a protective foil 9 which bears upon the bottom side of the bracket wings and which provides an interval or spacing 10 between the lateral edges of the base and one side of the protective foil 9 . furthermore , projections 11 are provided on the underside of the protective foil 9 in the range of the bracket base thereby to ensure formation of a distance or spacing between the foil 9 and the top side of the base 3 . by combining the double adhesive strip 7 including the cover strips 8 with a protective foil 9 , a number of brackets such as the bracket 1 may be formed into a supply or assortment strip each having mounted therealong a bracket assembly in accordance with the present invention . the protective foil 9 and / or the cover strip 8 of such an assortment strip may be of different colors for the purpose of coding or identifying brackets of different size or shape . when a particular bracket assembly is to be utilized , it becomes necessary merely to cut one such assembly with a single bracket , either with a pair of scissors or a sharp knife , thereby detaching the individual assembly and bracket from the assortment strip by cutting along the dotted lines represented on either side of the leftmost assembly shown in fig4 . as shown in fig6 such a bracket assembly may be temporarily secured upon a model tooth 13 forming part of a positive jaw model 15 simply by removing the cover strip 8 after which a transfer matrix may be produced . the transfer matrix , of course , is produced after all of the teeth of the respective model have been applied or fitted with appropriate bracket assemblies . such a transfer matrix may be made of a relatively rigid plastic material having a modulus of elasticity of about 300 kg / cm 2 and a wall thickness of between about 0 . 5 to 1 . 0 mm , as shown in fig6 . a comparison between the positive model shown in fig6 and the model shown in fig5 will indicate that , the device according to the present invention may be contrasted with a known conventional transfer matrix 16 formed of soft elastic material having a modulus of elasticity of between 700 - 1000 kg / cm 2 and a wall thickness of 2 - 4 mm as shown in fig5 . furthermore , from fig6 it will be seen that the transfer matrix formed in accordance with the present invention need extend over only approximately half the height of the tooth as opposed to the prior art arrangement depicted in fig5 . additionally , a transfer matrix 12 formed in accordance with the present invention may be cut out on the front side thereof along the edges 17 facing the gums 14 and the long two lateral edges 18 of each of the brackets , as indicated in fig8 . thus , excellent accessibility is ensured when the transfer matrix is transferred into the individual teeth in the mouth . when the transfer matrix 12 is removed from the positive jaw model 15 , the double self - adhesive strip 7 , which is adhered between the fastening surface 6 of the bracket base 3 and the model tooth 13 , is removed when transfer matrix 12 is removed . thereafter , a suitable liquid adhesive 19 is applied on the fastening surface 6 and the adhesive flows through the perforations 2 between the protective foil 9 and the upper side of the base 3 . the adhesive fills the interval between the base edges and the protective foil in such a way that the entire bracket base is surrounded by adhesive and that the desired attachment effect for the bracket base is achieved in a satisfactory manner . after the transfer matrix 12 has been applied upon teeth z in the mouth , there is obtained an arrangement or position such as that indicated in fig2 wherein the transfer matrix is not shown . although the transfer matrix of this arrangement consists of a relatively more rigid material , it can nevertheless be easily removed without disturbing the position of the bracket since the transfer material , as mentioned above , does not penetrate beneath the bracket wings 4 because of the protective foil 9 . before the bracket 1 is transferred by means of the transfer matrix 12 to the teeth z in the mouth , the transfer matrix may be divided in such a way that groups of brackets or individual brackets are transferred to the teeth z in the mouth . this is possible because the material of the transfer matrix , in accordance with the present invention , may be relatively rigid so that this matrix material will also ensure a sufficiently accurate and exact positioning upon the tooth even though the respective tooth is only partly covered . it will be seen that the application of the brackets upon the teeth in the mouth is thus considerably simplified and particularly other areas of the teeth not covered by the bracket base are easily accessible because of the aforementioned cutting away on the front side of the transfer matrix in order to facilitate removal of excess adhesive . in a plastic bracket 1a , of the type represented in fig3 and shown in a position corresponding to the position of the bracket of fig2 the design and mode of operation are substantially the same as that utilized in connection with the metal bracket 1 which includes perforations in its bracket base 3 . an exception is that the protective foil 9 provided upon the bracket 1a may bear smoothly on the top side of a closed bracket base 3a which is devoid of perforations since they are not necessary to produce the desired riveting or attachment effect in these plastic brackets due to the fact that an adhesive compatible with the material of the bracket base 3a may be utilized to chemically combine with the bracket base in such a way that a sufficiently strong bond is ensured . naturally , alternative embodiments other than the embodiments described above may be formulated without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention . for example , the brackets could also be provided individually with a protective foil and a self - adhesive strip and they could be maintained in stock in small , properly identified containers each identifying brackets of the same type . for an arrangement wherein the bracket assemblies are provided on a supplyor assortment strip , it would also be possible to pass through only the protective foil or the cover strip for the adhesive coat . while specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the inventive principles , it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles . | 0 |
the invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of some embodiments thereof , given by way of example only , with reference to the accompanying drawings in which :— [ 0044 ] fig1 is an illustration of a data capture and reporting system of the invention ; and fig2 ( a ) to 2 ( c ) are together a flow diagram illustrating a time and date conversion process implemented by the system . referring to fig1 a process data capture system comprises n sensors s 1 . . . sn mounted in a pharmaceutical production line . the sensors measure parameters such as vessel pressures and temperatures , pump speeds , and valve on / off status values . this process data is captured by a computer c which appends a filetime universal - format time stamp to each process data value . operating as a client , the computer c uploads records , each containing a process data value and a filetime time stamp to a server s . the server s writes these records , and records from other client computers , to a persistent database db . because an absolute - format time stamp is used the data capture is very concise , which is advantageous for high - frequency data capture scenarios . it is also important for accuracy in highly regulated manufacturing environments , such as the pharmaceutical industry . at a later time , the server s retrieves selected records and generates output reports for viewing by operators . in doing so it converts the time stamp to a systemtime “ granular ” representation , which is easily understood by humans . this format is used for routing reports to workstations w / s on a local area network lan . this format is also used for data processing in general by the server s . the process for conversion between filetime and systemtime uses two optimisation features , as follows : ( a ) it determines the date range most likely to be encountered ( i . e . dates in and around the year 2002ce ). it is possible to use a lookup table to determine the date component of the time , without intensive processing operations . also , the table may be of a relatively small size . this optimisation technique is referred to as table - based date determination . the date range from 1970 to 2038 inclusive is encoded in the look up table . ( b ) for converting from filetime to systemtime , the process is frequently not interested in all fields of the latter , and the granularity of the conversion is determined by the application based on the context in which the data is being used . for example , for sorting purposes , it may only be necessary to determine the year and month to which a filetime belongs . this optimisation technique is referred to as context - dependent partial conversion . table - based date determination has an important benefit because dates can be represented by a 32 bit value rather than 64 bits , and thus operations on these 32 bits can be executed very efficiently . steps 1 - 3 . the 64 - bit filetime value ( v 1 ) is compared with the start and end of the optimised date range for which a lookup table has been calculated . if it is found to be outside the optimised range ( i . e . it has a value which places it before jan . 1 , 1970 or after jan . 1 , 2038 ) the prior art win32 ™ function is invoked to perform the conversion and this procedure exits . step 4 . by subtracting the 64 - bit filetime value for jan . 1 , 1970 , the 64 - bit filetime value v 1 is normalised with respect to the optimised range ( v 2 ). step 5 . the resulting normalised 64 - bit value v 2 is divided by 10000 . the resulting 64 - bit quotient ( v 3 ) represents the number of milliseconds since jan . 1 , 1970 . the remainder of this division is discarded , as it cannot be represented in a systemtime structure ( it represents the time component of the filetime less than 1 millisecond ). step 6 . the 64 - bit count of milliseconds since jan . 1 , 1970 ( v 3 ) is divided by 86400000 . the resulting 32 - bit quotient ( v 4 ) represents the number of days since jan . 1 , 1970 . the 32 - bit remainder of this division ( v 5 ) represents the hours / minutes / seconds / milliseconds component of the original filetime . step 7 . the 32 - bit count of days since jan . 1 , 1970 ( v 4 ) acts as an index to a pre - calculated in - memory lookup array of 16 - bit values . each entry in the array represents the date of the corresponding array index . thus from the lookup array a single 16 - bit value is obtained ( v 6 ) corresponding to the date of the original filetime . step 8 . the normalised year is extracted from bits 9 - 15 of the 16 - bit value v 6 . 1970 is added to this value to obtain the actual gregorian year of the original filetime , and the resulting value is stored in the wyear field of the systemtime structure . steps 9 & amp ; 10 . the conversion requirements are examined to determine if the application requires conversion accuracy greater than year . if not , the procedure is complete and exits . step 11 . the month is extracted from bits 5 - 8 of the 16 - bit value v 6 , and the resulting value is stored in the wmonth field of the systemtime structure . steps 12 , 10 . the conversion requirements are examined to determine if the application requires conversion accuracy greater than month . if not , the procedure is complete and exits . step 13 . the day is extracted from bits 0 - 4 of the 16 - bit value v 6 , and the resulting value is stored in the wday field of the systemtime structure . steps . 14 , 10 . the conversion requirements are examined to determine if the application requires conversion accuracy greater than day . if not , the procedure is complete and exits . step 15 . the 32 - bit time component in milliseconds ( v 5 ) is divided by 3600000 . the resulting 32 - bit quotient represents the time in hours and this value is stored in the whour field of the systemtime structure . the 32 - bit remainder of this division ( v 7 ) represents the minutes / seconds / milliseconds component of the original filetime , expressed in milliseconds . steps 16 , 10 . the conversion requirements are examined to determine if the application requires conversion accuracy greater than hour . if not , the procedure is complete and exits . step 17 . the 32 - bit minutes / seconds / milliseconds component ( v 7 ) is divided by 60000 . the resulting 32 - bit quotient represents the time in minutes and this value is stored in the wminute field of the systemtime structure . the 32 - bit remainder of this division ( v 8 ) represents the seconds / milliseconds component of the original filetime , expressed in milliseconds . steps 18 , 10 . the conversion requirements are examined to determine if the application requires conversion accuracy greater than minute . if not , the procedure is complete and exits . step 19 . the 32 - bit seconds / milliseconds component v 8 is divided by 1000 . the resulting 32 - bit quotient represents the time in seconds and this value is stored in the wsecond field of the systemtime structure . the 32 - bit remainder of this division ( v 9 ) represents the milliseconds component of the original filetime and is stored in the wmilliseconds field of the systemtime structure . step 20 . the 32 - bit count of days since jan . 1 , 1970 ( v 4 ) has 4 added to it , and the result is divided by 7 . the remainder resulting from this division represents the day - of - the - week of the original filetime ( where 0 = sun , 1 = mon , etc .) and is stored in the wdayofweek field of the systemtime structure . tests were performed over 1 , 000 , 000 iterations and the average of each run taken . times are in nanoseconds . test # 1 converting all levels prior art process : 1562 ns invention process : 610 ns time reduction : 61 % speedup : 256 % test # 2 converting to minute level prior art process : 1563 ns invention process : 453 ns time reduction : 71 % speedup : 345 % test # 3 converting to hour level prior art process : 1562 ns invention process : 375 ns time reduction : 76 % speedup : 417 % test # 4 converting to day level prior art process : 1562 ns invention process : 313 ns time reduction : 80 % speedup : 499 % test # 5 converting to month level prior art process : 1563 ns invention process : 312 ns time reduction : 80 % speedup : 501 % test # 6 converting to year level prior art process : 1562 ns invention process : 297 ns time reduction : 81 % speedup : 526 % it will be appreciated that the invention provides very effective and efficient conversion to the required format with minimum processor execution time . this is particularly advantageous where near real - time reporting is required and / or where the volume of process data is great . for example , a typical chemical production line generates many megabytes of process data per hour . while the invention has been described for use with a filetime input and a systemtime output format any other similar types of format may be used . the invention is not limited to the embodiments described but may be varied in construction and detail . | 6 |
referring to fig2 - 4 , there is shown an example of a battery - powered circulator system of the present invention which comprises an electronically controlled water circulator mechanism , generally indicated by the numeral 25 ( powered by a battery 30 ), coupled between the hot and cold water tap lines 17 and 19 , respectively , under , e . g ., the sink farthest from the water heater 15 . by circulating the hot water to this tap , all intervening taps , including showers , are also made available to substantially instant hot water . the circulator system includes an electronic controller unit 7 , provided with a digital readout 8 , which controls the operation of the battery - powered dc motor pump with respect to turning the pump on or off at specified times , i , e ., determining when and how often the hot water is to be circulated . in addition , in another embodiment there can also be provided a thermistor , or temperature sensor , that locks out the controller from starting circulation if the temperature in the hot water line is above a preset value , e . g ., 100 ° f ., or stops the pump when the hot water temperature has increased a preset δt , e . g ., 10 ° f . after the circulator began operation . this electronic controller / thermistor control system , and the pump motor , shown as stator 3 and rotor 2 , are all powered by the battery unit 1 , which in one of the preferred embodiments ( fig3 a , b and 4 ) includes a recharging unit powered through a wire directly to a socket in the wall of the house adjacent the tap ; and in a second , even more preferred embodiment ( fig5 and 6a , b ), includes a wireless power receiver for receiving transmitted power from a distant power source , e . g ., on a wall across the room from the tap to recharge the battery . most generally , the invention is based upon the novel recognition that a small , low power pump can provide the necessary pressure differential needed to cause circulation of the water from the water heater , into the hot water line , to the cold water line and back to the water heater from the cold water line . both of the hot and cold water lines , when the taps are all closed , have substantially the same line pressure , so that only a small pressure differential is required from the pump to circulate the water in the hot water line into the cold water line , and thus draw in fresh hot water into the hot water line from the hot water heater . this allows for an efficient low pressure circulator , such as the wet rotor , centrifugal , dc motor - driven pump shown in the drawings , which can draw as little as 1 - 5 watts of electrical power when it is operating . it was also realized that the pump need only operate during a few minutes of each hour in order to maintain instant hot water , in most modem insulated homes , even in the coldest weather met in the contiguous 48 states of the united states , i . e ., temperate north america . the energy use of the pump will be over a short period of time . therefore , although a battery is generally more rapidly discharged than re - charged , the rapid discharge period during pump operation , will continue for only a relatively short period of time , e . g ., for about 12 minutes of each hour . the wireless charger power capacity can then be significantly smaller , as it will be able to charge over a longer period of time , than the battery is discharging . this has the benefit of permitting the use of lower cost components , and results in a reduced risk of overcharging the battery . as shown , the circulator is located between the most distant location from the hot water heater , in the building , containing both a hot and a cold water tap , e . g ., in a single sink . the circulator connects to the hot and cold water lines under the sink , through standard npt connections , 9 or 10 and 109 or 110 fittings , respectively , depending upon the layout of the original plumbing under the sink . the thermistor measures the temperature of the water on the hot water side of the pump , and sends its signal to the controller . the thermistor sensor can preferably be molded into the wall of the pump casing inlet 105 . in one preferred embodiment , as shown in fig3 a , b and 4 , as well as in fig5 - 6b , the circulator system includes an outer housing or shell , including a pump rotor casing 22 , which includes the pump inlet and outlet 105 and 106 , a wet rotor cartridge assembly 65 formed from permanent magnets 2 , and a stator 3 , formed of wire - wound soft magnetic core material , surrounding the rotor and connected to the dc power supply , e . g ., a battery . the stator is held within a motor housing 57 , which is connected to the electronics enclosure 5 , holding the programmable electronic timer and digital readout 7 , 8 . the motor fits within its housing 4 , part of the overall system housing 1 ; the rotor 2 is mechanically directly connected to a centrifugal impeller 42 , located within the pump casing 22 , which operates to circulate the water between the hot water inlet line 9 , 10 and the cold water outlet line 109 , 110 . the pump motor is capable of drawing electric power in a range up to 12 watts , but usually as little as 1 - 5 watts is sufficient , as a pressure head of not more than 5 ft , is sufficient to circulate the water for this purpose , as the differential between pressure heads in the hot and cold water lines are usually on the order of 1 - 2 ft , or less . similarly , a maximum flow rate of between 1 and 5 gpm will generally be sufficient for this purpose , so that larger , more powerful pumps are not preferred . for such pumps ⅜ in . or ½ in . npt connections would be sufficient . all connections and materials of construction will have to meet regulatory requirements , such as the nsf / ansi 372 requirements , or other local jurisdiction requirements . as shown , the wired charger of fig3 a , b and 4 must be connected to a wall socket to reach the house current , in order to recharge the battery . the recharger unit is housed within the upper plastic casing 1 , adjacent the battery unit 6 . for longevity and compact size , a 12 v or 24 v lithium ion battery is preferred , although a slightly larger nicd battery would also be useful . in the event a battery requires recharging , it can be removed and charged in an external location from the pump system , and a substitute battery inserted during the charging period . alternatively , the battery within the circulator system can be electrically connected to a charger which in tutu is electrically connected to a source of electric power such , as a house current socket in the wall of a room . in order for that to be a permanent connection , it is necessary for the socket to be reasonably close to the pump location , which in many jurisdictions requires a special socket construction to avoid a short circuit due to the potential of wet conditions near a water tap , e . g ., in a bathroom or kitchen . referring to the wirelessly rechargeable , battery - powered dc motor pump of fig5 - 6b , numeral 51 generally indicates the wireless power transfer pumping system of the present invention , which includes a broadcast power receiver connected to the battery charger , and 52 designates a wireless power transmitter on the wall or the ceiling of a bathroom or kitchen . in the wireless pumping system 51 , the motor housing 57 covers and protects the motor and the battery and charger housing 52 covers the battery 61 which is electrically connected to the motor stator windings 56 , and to the electronic controller 58 , within the electronics housing 59 , which controls the operation of the motor , and thus the circulator pump . the casing 55 covers and protects the centrifugal pump impeller 65 , which is operationally connected to the wet rotor cartridge assembly 54 of the low voltage dc pump motor . the wet rotor 54 in this case is preferably formed of permanent magnets , such as is disclosed in copending , commonly owned u . s . patent application no . 61 / 716 , 060 , filed oct . 19 , 2012 . a low voltage dc motor stator 56 surrounds the rotor 54 and is electrically connected to the battery 61 . the battery 61 is adjacent to and electrically connected to a recharger , also located within the housing 52 , which in turn is connected to the wireless power receiver 63 . a cover 71 closes off the end of the electronics housing 59 , surrounding the readout 8 , as a protective seal . the preferred wirelessly rechargeable version of this invention avoids the problem of constructing special sockets for a wired recharger by placing the power broadcaster away from the water location and broadcasting the power to the broadcast receiver adjacent the charger . although no commercial such units are presently available , there are many designs that could be used . one such example , which is effective over distances of more than two meters , is described in u . s . patent publication 2011 / 0025131 . the theory behind the wireless power transfer was described in a science article from 2007 , vol . 317 , pp 83 - 86 , entitled wireless power transfer via strongly coupled magnetic resonances , by andre kurs et al . kurs utilizes nonradiative ( so - called “ near - field ”) magnetic resonant induction at megahertz frequencies , to achieve nonradiative wireless power transference . in a further advance , the toyota automobile company has developed a system for recharging electric powered vehicles using power broadcast over a distance of about two meters , or more , as described in u . s . patent publication no . 2010 / 0295506 , utilizing nonradiative near - field magnetic resonant induction . one such broadcast system useful for the present invention , in accordance with the kurs concept , is diagrammatically shown in fig7 - 8 , where the source of power for the nonradiative near - field magnetic resonant induction primary coil 200 is a house ac circuit . the primary coil 200 can be located either at a wall across the room , or above the pump in the ceiling , as long as the sink will not present significant interference to the magnetic resonant field , preventing its contacting the secondary wireless receiver coil 205 , usually located under the sink , adjacent the battery and charger , as in fig5 . fig8 , diagrammatically details the power storage and recharger system , shown within a dashed line and generally designated by the reference numeral 250 , comprising the secondary receiver coil 205 and the intervening recharging system 210 , which comprises a bulk capacitor 210 and a charger 230 . the wireless receiver 205 feeds current to the bulk capacitor which holds the charge until reaching its design discharge voltage level , as controlled by the circuit in the charger 230 , when it begins to discharge at a level suitable to be received by the battery 215 . the controller 212 and the motor pump 51 are all powered from the power storage unit , in this case a rechargeable storage battery 215 . the low power requirement of the pump / motor / drive system 51 , unlike the automobile motors in the toyota system , can operate directly from the battery voltage without requiring a voltage step - up . the capacitor serves to cache , or pool , the power received from the wireless receiver 205 until it reaches a suitable voltage . alternative power storage units include a super capacitor of large capacitance , but a chemical storage battery , such as a lithium - ion battery , lithium - ion polymer battery , nickel - metal hydride ( nimh ) battery , nickel cadmium ( nicd ) battery , or even a lead acid battery , is preferred for this type of low power application , among the rechargeable power sources presently commercially available . the above examples and descriptions are intended to be exemplary only . it is understood that one of ordinary skill in the art will comprehend the full scope of this invention to be set only by the scope of the claims set forth below . | 8 |
an exploded view of the lobseca antenna of this invention is shown in fig2 . the crossed radiating elements ( radiators ) are embedded in a ground plane , forming thin slots on the flush surface . the width of the radiators , and therefore the separation between crossed - radiators , is critical to minimizing coupling between antennas and improving radiation efficiency . it is also possible to implement the antenna with a single slot between radiators or multiple slots between radiators . the number of slots is determined by the emphasis of application on gain or on rcs characteristics . vertical metal elements extend the radiators into the cavity . the bent dipole - like radiator approach reduces the low frequency limit of the impedance match . the vertical elements also provide capacitive loading to the cavity and further reduce the resonant frequency of the radiators . the additional path length reduces multiple reflections from the ends of the horizontal elements providing a smooth vswr response at the higher frequencies . the vertical elements are capacitively coupled to the horizontal elements for ease of manufacture . the ends of the vertical elements are shorted together to increase the capacitive loading and to act as a mode suppressor . for instance , at the higher frequencies a 1 - wavelength resonance on one radiator can excite a cross - polarized 1 - wavelength resonance on the orthogonal element . the short suppresses this coupling . the additional path length also reduces multiple reflections from the ends of the vertical elements and provides a smooth vswr response . each radiator is center - fed by a balanced coaxial line in current design . however , various configurations of feed networks can be inserted depending on the desired application . two orthogonal radiators can be combined through a 90 deg - hybrid for circular polarization or through an 180 deg - hybrid for sum and difference patterns . a distributed lossy material , either a resistive sheet or a foam absorber , is placed near or on the outer square section . the outer slots do not contribute to the radiation efficiency and they distort the pattern shape at the higher frequencies . these outer slots are damped with lossy material for broadband performance . distributed lossy foam is placed under the corners elements , where the diagonal slots meet the square slots . this lossy foam extends into the diagonal and reduces reflections from the discontinuities at the corners . the main radiating sections of the slot ( near the center of the aperture ) are kept free of absorber to maintain antenna efficiency . the high frequency impedance behavior is that of a traveling wave antenna or transmission line . waves traveling from the feed point towards the ends of the elements are absorbed and not reflected , providing a constant or slowly varying characteristic impedance response . reducing the high current concentration at the corner discontinuity maintains pattern symmetry . the antenna was installed on an 8 ft - diameter circular ground plane and measured in an anechoic tapered chamber . the antenna under test , measured vswr for each radiator pair , gain at broadside and at 15 - degree above the horizon , and the typical mid and high band radiation patterns for a single polarization radiator are shown in fig3 . it will also be appreciated that for modem aircraft there are advantages to a low profile , lightweight , conformal , and structurally embeddable antenna capable of broadband operations to support the multi - function needs at an affordable cost . the lobsca antenna can be straightforwardly modified to satisfy the needs in commercial applications . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the antenna of the present invention holds several unique advantages over antennas of the prior art . there are four major advantages . the first one is that the architecture of the antenna has inherently low rcs characteristics , which is most important for the targeted next generation airborne payload . the second advantage is that the aperture is conformal flush mountable and thus eliminates air drag in military and commercial airplane applications . the third advantage is that this cavity - backed aperture is electrically small in size , low profile , and can be made lightweight by composite fabrication ; therefore , it requires less real estate than typical cavity antennas . the fourth advantage is that the aperture operates efficiently over 6 : 1 frequency band and supports dual - linear polarizations , which can also be combined to support circular polarization applications . these four major advantages suggest that this innovative lobseca antenna design satisfies all the needs for next generation airborne payloads . while the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments of the various figures , it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same function of the present invention without deviating therefrom . therefore , the present invention should not be limited to any single embodiment , but rather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the recitation of the appended claims . | 7 |
the one embodiment of the dc dynamoelectric machine according to the present invention shown in fig1 includes eight main poles or field poles 2 which are fastened to the inside of an annular yoke 1 . between the respective field poles 2 , there are provided interpoles 3 which also fastened to the inside of the annular yoke 1 . within the stator of the dc dynamoelectric machine including the field poles 2 , the interpoles 3 and the yoke 1 , an atmature 6 is rotatably disposed . each field pole 2 is formed from a field pole piece 4 fastened to the yoke 1 and a field winding 5 surrounding the field pole piece 4 and plays a role to supply a main magnetic flux to armature windings 7 of the armature 6 . each interpole 3 is fromed from an interpole piece 8 fastened to the yoke 1 and an interpole winding 9 surrounding the interpole piece 8 and plays a role to supply an interpole magnetic flux for inducing a commutation electromotive force during commutation when the current flowing through the armature winding 7 reverses . bypassing cores 10 a formed of a solid soft iron , each is disposed between the field pole piece 4 and the interpole piece 8 of the same polarity at their ends near the armature 6 and is supported by the interpole piece 8 with an air gap of 2 mm - 15 mm between the pole tip 4 a of the field pole piece 4 . bypassing cores 10 b also formed of a solid soft iron , each is disposed between the field pole piece 4 and the interpole piece 8 of the different polarity at their ends near the armature 6 and is supported by the interpole piece 8 with an air gap of 2 mm - 15 mm between the pole tip 4 a of the field pole piece 4 . the armature 6 including the armature winding 7 and a commutator 20 are carried by a rotatable shaft 22 . brush assembly 21 slidably contacts to the commutator 20 and is carried by the stator ( not shown ). in fig1 &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; stand for north pole and &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; stand for south pole ; the arrow indicates the direction of rotation of the rotor ; the dots on the conductors indicate currents toward readers and the crosses on the conductors indicate currents away from readers ; and the signs of plus and minus on the brush assembly indicate polarity of the brushes . fig2 and 3 illustrate flows of magnetic flux induced by the field poles 2 and the interpoles 3 in the magnetic circuits formed within the dc dynamoelectric machine respectively during a low speed operation with a full excitation and during a high speed operation with a reduced excitation . in fig2 since the field poles 2 are in a full excitation , and the magnetomotive force at f caused by the field poles 2 is set more than that at ip caused by the interpoles 3 upto over load current regions , the magnetic fluxes φ mp1 and φ mp2 induced thereby flow respectively , through the field pole 2 of &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; polarity , yoke 1 , the field pole 2 of &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; polarity , an air gap between the field pole 2 of &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; polarity and the armature 6 , the armature 6 , an air gap between the armature 6 and the field pole 2 of &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; polarity and to the same field pole 2 of &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; polarity , and through the field pole 2 of &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; polarity , yoke 1 , the field pole 2 of &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; polarity , the pole tip 4 a , an air gap 1 gl , the solid soft iron core 10 a , the interpole 3 of &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; polarity , an air gap between the interpole 3 of &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; polarity and the armature 6 , the armature 6 , an air gap between the armature 6 and the field pole 2 of &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; polarity and to the same field pole 2 of &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; polarity . the magnetic fluxes φip1 and φip2 induced by the interpole 3 flow respectively , through the field pole 2 of &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; polarity , the yoke 1 , the interpole 3 of &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; polarity , the solid soft iron core 10 b , an air gap 1 gl , the pole tip 4 a and to the same field pole 2 of &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; polarity , and through the field pole 2 of &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; polarity , the yoke 1 , the interpole 3 of &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; polarity , an air gap between the interpole 3 of &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; polarity and the armature 6 , the armature 6 , an air gap between the armature 6 and the field pole 2 of &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; polarity , and to the same field pole 2 of &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; polarity . since the dc dynamoelectric machine is in a full excitation , the field pole pieces 4 are substantially saturated , and the leakage interpole magnetic flux φ ip1 is limited , and further the leakage field pole magnetic flux φ mp2 supplements the interpole magnetic flux φ ip2 . as a result , a sufficient commutation compensating magnetic flux φ ia , the sum of φ ip1 and φ mp2 , and which induces the commutation electromotive force , is obtained enough to suppress the shift of the sparkless operation region and to maintain the sparkless operation . during the transient operation of the dc dynamoelectric machine , i . e ., sudden increase and decrease of its load current , the sudden change of leakage magnetic fluxes φ mp2 and φ ip1 is suppressed respectively by the solid soft iron cores 10 a and 10 b in which eddy current flows to suppress the change such that a necessary commutation compensating magnetic flux φ ia is maintained . different from the condition as explained with reference to fig2 in fig3 since the field poles 2 are in a reduced excitation state and the magnetomotive force at f caused by the field poles 2 is set to be less than that at ip caused by the interpoles 3 , a part of the interpole magnetic flux φ ip3 leaks through the solid soft iron core 10 a and the air gap 1 gl to the pole tip 4 a of the field pole 2 of &# 34 ; n &# 34 ; polarity , instead of receiving the leakage magnetic flux φ mp2 as explained in connection with fig2 . further , since the dc dynamoelectric machine is in a reduced excitation state , the field pole pieces 4 are not saturated so that the leakage interpole magnetic flux φ ip1 is increased in comparison with that in fig2 as a result , the commutation compensating magnetic flux φ ia , the same as φ ip2 is limited enough to suppress the shift of the sparkless operation region and to maintain the sparkless operation , or , in other words , to keep the linear relationship between the load current and the interpole magnetic flux which contributes to the generation of the commutation electromotive force , that is , the commutation compensating magnetic flux φ ia . during the transient operation of the dc dynamoelectric machine , i . e ., sudden increase and decrease of its load current , the sudden change of leakage magnetic fluxes φ ip3 and φ ip1 is suppressed respectively by the solid soft iron cores 10 a and 10 b such that the commutation compensating magnetic flux is controlled to a desired amount . in the above embodiment , although the solid soft iron core is used for the element in the magnetic flux bypassing member , any magnetic materials which permit eddy current flow are used therefor . further , in the above embodiment although the air gap is included in the magnetic flux bypassing circuit , any other non - magnetic elements having a high magnetic reluctance such as stainless steel and an electric insulating material are replaceable therefor . | 7 |
referring to fig1 , one disclosed embodiment is a method of fabricating a molded article with a molding system 10 including a mold tool 12 supported by a structure 14 such that the mold tool 12 maybe rotated about a horizontal axis 16 . the mold tool 12 includes a first mold part 18 and a second mold part 20 that are secured together to form a cavity 22 therebetween . preferably , at least one of the mold parts 18 , 20 is movable away from the structure 14 to allow for demolding of the completed molded article 24 . the molding system 10 further includes a material delivery system 26 , and fluid material storage containers 28 a , 28 b , and 28 c . fluid materials to form the settable mixture are stored in the storage containers 28 a - c and include delivery hoses 30 a - c attached to material discharge containers 32 a - c included in the material delivery system 26 . preferably the fluid materials that compose the settable mixture include a catalyst , a foaming agent , and a matrix polymer . it is within the contemplation of this invention that other fluid materials may be used to form the settable mixture . fluid pumps 34 a - c disposed along the delivery hoses 30 a - c aid in moving fluid from the storage containers 28 a - c to corresponding material discharge containers 32 a - c . each of the material discharge containers 32 a - c includes a valve assembly 36 a - c to control the intake and discharge of fluid material . preferably a controller 38 actuates the valves 36 a - c to allow filling of the material discharge containers 32 a - c . a worker skilled in the art would understand that the pump and valve assemblies may be of any type known by one skilled in the art . referring to fig1 a , the material discharge containers 32 a - c are sized relative to one another such that one shot of fluid material contained from each container 32 a - c provides a predetermined ratio required to form the settable mixture . each material discharge container 32 a - c is sized to contain a predetermined volume of fluid material based upon the desired ratio that must be mixed to create the settable mixture . further , multiple material discharge containers containing the same fluid material component can be used to provide the proper ration for the settable mixture . in this way the fluid material component that makes up the largest portion of the settable mixture will fill multiple containers instead of one container much larger relative to the other material discharge containers . each material discharge container includes a piston 40 attached to a piston rod 33 that is in turn attached to a drive plate 45 . note that each material discharge container includes a piston rod attached to the piston 40 , however in fig1 a some of the piston rods 33 are not shown to improve clarity . a drive 42 actuates the drive plate 45 thereby moving the pistons 42 within the material discharge containers 32 a - c . preferably the drive 42 is a hydraulic cylinder disposed centrally within the material delivery system 26 and includes a drive rod 43 attached to the drive plate 45 . actuating the drive 42 to move the drive plate 45 actuates the pistons 40 to draw into or expel fluid material from the material discharge containers 32 a - c . a controller 38 actuates the drive 42 to provide a required discharge rate to the mold tool 12 depending on application specific molding requirements . the material discharge system is described in further detail in the co - pending application ser . no . 09 / 662 , 302 titled “ rapid discharge multiple material delivery system ” that is hereby incorporated by reference . fluid material from the material discharge containers 32 a - c flows through discharge hoses 46 a - c to a mixing head 44 . referring back to fig1 the mixing head 44 thoroughly mixes the various separate fluid materials to form the settable mixture . the mixing head 44 is best described in pending application ser . no . 09 / 662 , 662 titled “ mix head assembly for a molding material delivery system ”. the settable mixture flows from the mixing head 44 through a single hose 48 to a mold valve 50 of the mold tool 12 . the controller 38 controls movement of the drive 42 and actuation of the valve assemblies 36 a - c . a sensor 52 for monitoring pressure of the settable mixture is disposed within the mold tool 12 . a second sensor 54 can also be positioned to monitor pressure in the hose 48 between the mixing head 44 and the mold tool 12 . each sensor 52 , 54 communicates fluid pressure levels to the controller 38 . the sensors 52 , 54 and the controller 38 are of conventional construction and would be recognized as such by a worker skilled in the art . in operation , the molding process is initiated by intaking fluid material from the storage containers 28 a - c to the material discharge containers 32 a - c . fluid is drawn into each of the material discharge containers 32 a - c by driving the piston 40 upward with the drive 42 . fluid flow between the storage containers 28 a - c and the material discharge containers 32 a - c is aided by the fluid pumps 34 a - c . the controller 38 actuates the valve assemblies 36 a - c to fill each of the material discharge containers 32 a - c . the delivery system 26 is now ready to discharge the components to the mixing head 44 . referring to fig1 , and 2 a - c , the second mold part 18 is first moved into a position adjacent the first mold part 20 . the first and second mold parts 18 , 20 are then secured together and lifted to a first position i ( fig2 b ). the mix head 44 is connected to the mold valve 50 of the mold tool 12 by way of the hose 48 . the controller 38 opens the mold valve 50 and actuates the valve assemblies 36 a - c to allow flow of the fluid material to the mold tool 12 . the molding process continues with the controller 38 actuating the drive 42 such that the pistons 40 discharge the fluid material from the material discharge containers 32 a - c to the mixing head 44 . the fluid materials flow from each material discharge container 32 a - c through the discharge hoses 46 a - c to the mixing head 44 . the mixing head 44 combines the fluid materials into the settable mixture . a single hose 48 carries the settable material from the mixing head 44 to the mold valve 50 to begin filling the mold tool 12 with the settable mixture . referring now also to fig3 a - c as well as fig2 a - c , during the filling step , the mold tool 12 is rotated about the horizontal axis 16 from the first position i , shown in fig2 b and 3a , through an intermediate position , shown in fig2 b , to a second position ii , shown in fig2 c and 3c , to aid the evacuation of air from the cavity 22 . air trapped within the mold tool 12 exits through air escape passages 56 during rotation of the mold . as the cavity 22 becomes further filled with settable material , air can become trapped within contours of the cavity 22 . rotation of the mold tool 12 flushes out air trapped in such contours such that upon complete fill of the cavity 22 , substantially all air is evacuated from the mold tool 12 . evacuation of the air from the mold tool 12 prevents air bubbles from being trapped within the finished molded article 24 . the amount of rotation is determined by the shape and contours of the cavity 22 and the molded article 24 . further , the shape of the molded article 24 will determine how quickly and to what degree the mold tool 12 is to be rotated . the speed and degree of rotation would be understood by one skilled in the art to be application sensitive and thereby any rate and magnitude or rotation of the mold tool would be understood to be within the scope of this invention . referring to fig1 during the filling of the mold tool 12 , the sensors 52 , 54 within the mold tool 10 monitor pressure levels of the settable mixture . the controller 38 receives information about pressure of the settable mixture within the cavity 22 of the mold tool 12 from the sensor 52 . the discharge of the settable mixture is varied in response to changes in pressure within the mold tool 12 . the controller 38 slows the rate of discharge of the settable mixture proportionate to the increase in pressure . the greater the pressure within the mold tool 12 , the slower the controller 38 operates the drive 40 . the controller 38 controls the rate at which the drive 42 moves the pistons 42 within the material discharge chambers 32 a - c are driven downward to expel the fluid material for the settable mixture . pressure increases in the mold tool 12 due to thickening of the settable mixture and because as the mold tool 12 fills the restriction to the flow of the settable mixture increases . the rate of discharge or injection speed of the settable mixture into the mold tool may vary during each discharge sequence in order to accurately control the discharge of the settable mixture into the mold tool 12 . the changes in conditions such as mold temperature and settable material temperature are accommodated by varying the discharge rate in response to pressure within the mold tool 12 . the controller 38 shuts the mold valve 50 to interrupt flow of the settable mixture upon reaching a predetermined pressure level . the sensors 52 , 54 monitor the pressure level and will shut down the process if the pressure level deviates from a predetermined range . in this way , pressure spikes upward or downward indicating a problem during the molding process initiate a process shut down . the method further includes the step of flushing the mixing head 44 of any settable mixture after completion of the filling step . the flushing step expels any settable mixture remaining in the mixing head 44 or the hose 48 to prevent hardened settable mixture from blocking the mixing head 44 or hose 48 . the hose 48 is disconnected from the mold valve 50 and the mold tool 12 is rotated to the first position about the horizontal axis 16 and the settable mixture is allowed to cure . referring to fig2 d , the mold parts 18 , 20 are separated to allow the removal of the molded article 24 . during the separation of the mold parts 18 , 20 air is applied to both sides to free the molded article . one part of the mold 12 is moved clear of the structure 14 to allow demolding of the molded article 24 . each of the mold parts 18 , 20 is then prepared for another molding sequence . the foregoing description is exemplary and not just a material specification . the invention has been described in an illustrative manner , and should be understood that the terminology used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation . many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . the preferred embodiments of this invention have been disclosed , however , one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that certain modifications are within the scope of this invention . it is understood that within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described . for that reason , the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention . | 8 |
a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in the following . fig1 ( a ) to 1 ( d ) are explanatory views showing the formation process of a hollow core . these drawings describe the formation method of hollow core 40 . as shown in fig1 ( a ), a mandrel rod 16 which is used to hollow out thick part 40a of core 40 to be moulded in its interior is inserted into metal mould ( core mould ) 10 from hole 14 in the side wall . this mandrel rod 16 is provided with temperature - resistant sealant packing 18 for increasing the bonding between its flange 16a and the side wall of metal mould 10 and preventing leakage of sand from the hole 14 . flow head 20 is then fastened to the upper surface of metal mould 10 , and the core sand stored inside this flow head 20 is filled by blowing in from sand blowing - in hole 12 to the inside of metal mould 10 . this flow head 20 is also provided with heat resistant sealant packing 22 to increase the bonding with the upper surface of metal mould 10 and to prevent the leakage of sand to the outside . next , as shown in fig1 ( b ), flow head 20 is raised up , and the mandrel rod 16 is completely extracted from the metal mould 10 . outer layer part 30 is then formed by heating metal mould 10 to heat up and harden the core sand in contact with metal mould 10 . thus , with the exception of this outer layer part 30 , the core sand is left as unhardened core sand 32 . next , as shown in fig1 ( c ), by turning metal mould 10 upside down , the unhardened core sand 32 is discharged from metal mould 10 through the sand blowing - in hole 12 , which has become the lower side . at the same time , a suction tank . 24 connected to a suction device ( not illustrated ) is brought up and fastened to the lower surface of metal mould 10 , and the unhardened core sand 32 inside metal mould 10 is sucked out by sucking through sand blowing - in hole 12 while introducing air from outside through hole 14 from which the mandrel rod 16 was extracted . the suction tank 24 is also provided with temperature resistant sealant packing 26 to increase the bonding with the lower surface of metal mould 10 . the pressure inside suction tank 24 is measured by a pressure sensor 28 attached to this suction tank 24 . the regions in which unhardened core sand 32 existed communicate with the outside air via hole 14 , and thus with the suction from suction tank 24 , a flow of air is secured from hole 14 to suction tank 24 through the regions in which unhardened core sand 32 existed , and the unhardened core sand 32 is discharged in a short time regardless of the regions in which it exists . note that the temperature of metal mould 10 is high even during suction , and the core sand in contact with metal core 10 continues to harden . since the unhardened core sand 32 is sucked out in a short time regardless of the regions in which it exists , the thickness of outer layer part 30 is made uniform irrespective of position . when the sucking of unhardened core sand 32 has been completed in this way , suction tank 24 is dropped down to its original position , metal mould 10 is rotated back into its original state , and the mould is then opened and the hollow core 40 formed inside it is taken out , whereby the core fabrication operation sequence is completed as shown in fig1 ( d ). in the present embodiment , pass / fail judgement of the hollowness is performed in three ways . the first is to check whether or not the time between the completion of filling with core sand and the start of the sucking of unhardened core sand is within a predetermined time . fig2 shows , for different heating temperatures of metal mould 10 , the thickness variation of hollow core 40 with time t from the completion of filling with core sand until sucking out of unhardened core sand 32 . in the mould formation process , the time is determined from the thickness of the outer layer of the core to be moulded and the temperature of the metal mould , and it is operated such that the unhardened core sand is sucked after this time has elapsed . however , when attempting to form a core in practice , the operations may not proceed as planned and the timing at which the core sand is sucked out may differ from the predetermined timing . in the present embodiment , an error is output when they are widely different , thereby preventing casting with defective hollow cores . the second check is to measure the resistance during suction . the resistance is measured from the pressure inside suction tank 24 . when the thickness is small and the cross - sectional area of the hollow part is large , the pressure inside suction tank 24 is close to atmospheric pressure . on the other hand , when the thickness is large and the cross - sectional area of the hollow part is small , the pressure inside suction tank 24 is close to a vacuum . fig3 shows the relationship between the thickness of the wall of the hollow core and the pressure inside suction tank 24 . when the thickness exceeds 20 mm , the hollow part is filled in and the pressure inside tank 24 is equal to the pressure of the suction pump . when the thickness is 5 mm , the pressure inside tank 24 is 50 mmhg greater than the pressure of the suction pump . in the case of the present embodiment , the desired thickness is 5 mm . thus , 50 mmhg is taken as the predetermined value p1 for the difference between the pressure inside the tank and the pressure inside the suction pump ( suction pressure p ), and the thickness is judged to be abnormally large if the measured value of suction pressure p is less than or equal to p1 , and is judged to be completely suitable if it exceeds p1 . for example , if the measured value of suction pressure p is 40 mmhg , it is estimated that the thickness of hollow core 40 has reached about 10 . 0 mm , which is thus judged to be an error in this case . conversely , if the measured value of suction pressure p greatly exceeds the setting value p1 at 75 mmhg , it is estimated that the thickness of hollow core 40 is about 4 . 5 mm , and since this value is within the permissible range it is judged to be suitable . the third check is to measure the weight of the resulting hollow core and to check whether or not it is within suitable limits . a specific example of a sequence for judging the hollowness of hollow core 40 is as follows : first , the judgement is performed with regard to the time t from filling until sucking , and if this measured value is outside the range of predetermined value t1 , an ng signal is outputted to a core taking - out device ( not illustrated ), whereas if the measured value is inside the range of predetermined value t1 , it proceeds to the judgement process with regard to suction pressure p . next , if the measured value of suction pressure p is less than or equal to the predetermined value p1 , an ng signal is outputted to the core taking - out device , and if this measured value exceeds the predetermined value p1 , it proceeds to the core weight judgement step . at the weight judgement step , the weight of hollow core 40 is measured and an ok signal is outputted to the core taking - out device if this measured value is in the range (+ 5 %) of the estimated weight of a suitably produced hollow core 40 . that is , even if the measured value of the time t from filling until sucking is in the range of the predetermined value t1 , and the measured value of suction pressure p exceeds its predetermined value p1 , an ng signal is outputted to the core taking - out device at the weight measurement step if , for example , outer layer part 30 has not formed due to a fault in the heating of the core sand . if an ng signal is output at any of the judgement steps , there is an abnormality in the thickness of hollow core 40 ( a partially thin part or filled - in part ), and thus the defective core is discarded by , for example , turning over the core taking - out device based on the ng signals . note that , apart from special cases such as faults in the heating of the core sand , it is possible to judge the hollowness of hollow core 40 to a certain degree of precision by a comparative judgement with regard to the said suction pressure p . the form of an embodiment of the present invention has been described above , but it is further noted that the form of this embodiment includes in particular the following technical items . ( 1 ) the time from the completion of filling with core sand until the start of suction of the unhardened core sand is preset based on the required thickness of the core , and the thickness of the core is judged by comparing the measured value of this time from filling of sand until the start of suction with its predetermined value . in this way , the hollowness of the hollow core can be judged with greater accuracy . ( 2 ) after judging the thickness of the core by comparing the measured value and setting value of the suction pressure , the weight of the hollow core is measured and the thickness of the core is judged by comparing this measured value with the estimated weight value of a correctly formed hollow core . in this way , it is also possible to detect formation irregularities due to faulty heating of the core sand and the like . with the present invention , the hollowness of the core can be accurately measured , and it is possible to avoid circumstances such as the use of abnormal moulds without modification for moulding . as apparent from the above description , the sand blowing - in hole 12 is used as a filling hole when a core sand filling space in the mould 10 is filled with the core sand . the hole 14 is used as an air or gas inlet hole when the unhardened core sand is sucked out through the flowing - in hole 12 . the unhardened core sand is smoothly sucked out with the air flow from the air inlet hole to the filling hole and the wall thickness of the hollow core can be uniform . according to this method , hollowness of the core can be measured by the resistance of the air flow from the air inlet hole to the filling hole and the resistance is measured by the pressure at the filling hole when the unhardened sand is sucked out . | 1 |
in contrast to the benzimidazole compounds disclosed by german offenlegungsschrift no . 2 , 929 , 414 , which are substituted by halogen or ether groups , the compounds according to the present invention can very readily be dissolved and processed into films . together with film formers , they have , with positive electrostatic charging , an unusual and surprisingly high characteristic photosensitivity , which makes them particularly suitable for certain laser light sources , such as he / cd and ar lasers , that emit in the spectral region up to 500 nm . the photoconductive compounds of the present invention can be used with film formers , such as polyvinyl acetals , polyester resins and vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymers , for electrophotographic microfilm recording materials . together with binders that can be stripped under alkaline conditions , such as copolymers of styrene and maleic anhydride or vinyl acetate , ( meth ) acrylates and crotonic acid , and phenolic resins , singly or as a mixture , these photoconductive compounds can be processed to give positively chargeable , photosensitive layers for printing forms or printed circuits . the spectral sensitivity range of the electrophotographic recording materials according to the present invention can be further influenced , depending on the application , by sensitizers or by photoactive pigments which are homogeneously dissolved or dispersed , respectively , in the photoconductive layer . the preparation and characterization of the photoconductive compounds according to the present invention is disclosed in german offenlegungsschrift no . 2 , 929 , 414 . the compound represented by formula i above can also be reacted by condensation with formaldehyde to give a polycondensate which , in addition to good film - forming properties , also has a high photosensitivity . the photoconductive compounds of the present invention can be dissolved together with a number of binders and processed to give homogeneous films . the charge transporting compound - to - binder mixing ratio is preferably 1 : 1 . this ratio is limited by the crystallization of the charge transporting compound , in the case of an excessively high concentration of photoconductor ( greater than 50 % by weight ), and by a lower photosensitivity , in the case of too low a content ( less than 25 % by weight ) in the particular binder . with reference to fig1 through 3 , a photoconductive layer 1 provided on an electrically conductive support 2 , in accordance with the present invention , can be present in the unsensitized state ( fig1 ); in the homogeneously sensitized state , preferably with homogeneously dissolved sensitizers or acceptor additives , e . g ., as shown in fig2 ; or with pigment additives dispersed through the layer as charge carrier - generating centers ( fig3 ). the high absorptivity of the photoconductive layers according to the present invention in the visible wavelength region up to about 500 nm is illustrated in fig4 ( curve 2 ). the absorption maximum of the compound of formula ii is shown to be 431 nm , with a secondary maximum at 455 nm . for comparison , a film was also prepared from the same binder and 2 , 5 - bis -( 4 - diethylaminophenyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazole , the transmission of which rises steeply from about 425 nm ( curve 1 ). the high photosensitivity under positive charging of a photoconductive layer according to the present invention can be explained by absorption , excitation and charge generation , under the action of the electric field , involving photoconductor molecules in an upper &# 34 ; excitation &# 34 ; zone of the layer . the extent of the excitation zone depends on the depth of penetration of the light into the photoconductive layer ( see fig7 ). because of the p - conductive character ( i . e ., conduction by formation and transport of free - radical cations ) of these photoconductive compounds , the defect electrons which are generated are more readily transported over a wider range of thicknesses , according to the scheme : ______________________________________ hν & lt ; 500 nm pc → pc * excitation pc * → . sup .. pc . sup .⊕ + . sup .⊖ ( charge carrier generation ). sup .. pc . sup .⊕ + pc → pc + . sup .. pc . sup .⊕ ( charge transport ) ______________________________________ all the materials conventionally used for supports , in particular for the preparation of printing forms by electrophotographic means , can likewise be used for this purpose in the present invention . for example , aluminum , zinc , magnesium and copper foils or plates , or multi - metal plates , can be used as supports . plastics , such as polyamides in film form or films with vapor - deposited metal , can also be employed for supports . surface - treated aluminum foils have proved particularly suitable . the surface treatment comprises mechanical or electrochemical roughening and , if appropriate , subsequent anodizing and treatment with silicate or with polyvinyl - phosphonic acid in accordance with german offenlegungsschrift no . 1 , 621 , 478 ( corresponding to u . s . pat . no . 4 , 153 , 461 ). in addition , aluminum - laminated metal foils or polyester films with vapor - deposited aluminum can be used for copying materials . transparent films rendered conductive with , for example , palladium - or indium - tin oxide , and special papers can also be used for electrophotographic microfilm recording materials . the insulating intermediate layer which is optionally present in conventional electrophotographic recording materials can also be provided between a support and a photoconductive layer of the present invention . such an intermediate layer can be formed from organic synthetic resins , such as polyurethanes , in thin - layer thickness . suitable binders preferred by virtue of their film properties and adhesive strength include natural or synthetic resins , in particular polyester resins , polycarbonates , polyurethanes , vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymers , polyvinyl acetals , polyvinyl acetates , cellulose acetobutyrates , silicone resins , poly ( meth ) acrylates , cellulose nitrates , rubber and rubber derivatives such as chlorinated rubber and cyclized rubber , and the like . in addition to the film - forming and electrical properties and those properties relating to strength of adhesion to the support , solubility properties play an important role in the selection of binders for use in printing forms and printed circuits . for practical purposes , those binders which are soluble in aqueous or alcoholic solvent systems , with or without addition of acid or alkali , are particularly suitable . accordingly , suitable binders are high - molecular substances that carry groups conferring alkali solubility . examples of such groups are acid anhydride , carboxyl , phenol , sulfo , sulfonamide and sulfonimide . copolymers with anhydride groups can be used particularly successively since , coupled with good alkali solubility , the conductivity of the photoconductive layer in the dark is low due to the absence of free acid groups . copolymers of styrene and maleic anhydride , as well as phenolic resins , are very particularly suitable . copolymers of styrene , methacrylic acid and methacrylate , having a composition of 1 to 35 % of styrene , 10 to 40 % of methacrylic acid and 35 to 83 % of n - hexyl methacrylate , can also be used as alkali - soluble binders . a terpolymer of 10 % of styrene , 30 % of methacrylic acid and 60 % of n - hexyl methacrylate is outstandingly suitable . moreover , polyvinyl acetates , in particular copolymers of vinyl acetate and crotonic acid , can be employed . the photoconductive layer of the present invention essentially contains the above - described organic photoconductive compounds ; binders , which can be used singly or in combination ; sensitizers and , as the application requires , further conventional additives , such as activators , plasticizers , leveling agents and the like . to achieve homogeneous sensitization , the organic dyes listed in the farbstofftabellen [ dye tables ] by schultz ( 7th edition , volume 1 , 1931 ) can be used for example . the dyes include triarylmethane dyes such as brilliant green ( no . 760 , page 314 ), victoria blue b ( no . 822 , page 347 ), methyl violet ( no . 783 , page 327 ), crystal violet ( no . 785 , page 329 ) and acid violet 6b ( no . 381 , page 351 ); xanthene dyes , namely rhodamines , such as rhodamine b ( no . 864 , page 365 ), rhodamine 6g ( no . 866 , page 366 ), rhodamine g extra ( no . 865 , page 366 ), sulforhodamine b ( no . 863 , page 364 ) and echtsaeureeosin [ acid - fast eosin ] g ( no . 870 , page 368 ); phthaleins such as eosin s ( no . 883 , page 375 ), eosin a ( no . 881 , page 374 ), erythrosin ( no . 866 , page 376 ), phloxin ( no . 890 , page 378 ), rose bengale ( no . 889 , page 378 ) and fluorescein ( no . 880 , page 373 ); thiazine dyes such as methylene blue ( no . 1038 , page 449 ), acridine dyes such as acridine yellow ( no . 901 , page 383 ), acridine orange ( no . 908 , page 387 ) and trypaflavin ( no . 906 , page 386 ); quinoline dyes such as pinacyanol ( no . 924 , page 396 ) and cryptocyanine ( no . 927 , page 397 ); quinone dyes and ketone dyes such as alizarin ( no . 1141 , page 449 ), alizarin red s ( no . 1145 , page 502 ) and quinizarin ( no . 1148 , page 504 ); and cyanine dyes ( polymethine dyes ) such as astrazon yellow 3g ( color index no . ( c . i .) 48 , 055 ) and 5g ( c . i . 48 , 065 ), basic yellow 52115 ( c . i . 48 , 060 ), astrazon yellow grl , astrazon orange g ( c . i . 48 , 040 ) and r ( c . i . 48 , 035 ) and astrazon orange 3r ( not yet classified . the preferred dyes used in a photoconductive layer of the present invention are those that absorb in the region from 500 to 750 nm , but dyes with an absorptive region from about 400 to 500 nm can also have a sensitivity - enhancing effect . mixtures of sensitizing dyes can also be present . metal - containing or metal - free phthalocyanine pigments , for example , copper phthalocyanine , perinone , thioindigo , polycyclic quinone , quinacridone , perylene , anthraquinone , dioxazine , azo , bisazo , trisazo and cyanine pigments , or benzo ( thio )- xanthene derivatives and their mixtures can also be used as dyes or pigments in disperse distribution . particularly preferred amongst these are phthalocyanine pigments , such as the various cu phthalocyanine modifications ( α , ψ and ε ), bis - and tris - azo pigments , perylimide pigments and condensation products of perylene - 3 , 4 , 9 , 10 - tetracarboxylic acid anhydride and aromatic diamines , such as o - phenylenediamine , for example perylene - 3 , 4 , 9 , 10 - tetracarboxylic acid diimide - bisbenzimidazoles , or ( iso ) violanthrones . they can be present in the amounts of up to 30 %, relative to the total mass of the photoconductive layer , and preferably quantities in the range from 0 . 1 to 10 % pigment are used . the layer thickness of the photoconductor layer is not critical , and is generally in the range from 2 to 20 μm . but depending on the application , these limits can be adjusted upward or downward . the examples that follow are intended to illustrate , without restricting , the invention in more detail . a 10 % solution comprising 50 parts by weight of the compound represented by formula ii and 50 parts by weight of polyvinyl butyral ( mowital b30h ) in tetrahydrofuran ( thf ) was whirler - coated to different layer thicknesses onto a polyester film carrying vapor - deposited aluminum . the coating was then dried for 5 minutes at 90 ° to 100 ° c . the photosensitivity of these homogeneous photoconductive layers was measured as follows : to determine the characteristic photodischarge curve of a photoconductive layer thus prepared , a given test sample was moved on a rotating dish through a charging device to the exposure station , where it was continuously exposed with an xbo 150 xenon lamp . a heat - absorbing glass and a neutral filter was placed in front of the lamp . the light intensity in the measurement plane was about 25 μw / cm 2 . the charge level and the photoinduced decay curve were recorded oscillographically , using an electrometer , by means of a transparent probe . the photoconductor layer was characterized by the charge level ( u o ) and the time ( t1 / 2 ) after which half the charge ( u o / 2 ) had been reached . the product of t1 / 2 and the measured light intensity i ( μw / cm 2 ) is the half - value energy e1 / 2 ( μj / cm 2 ). the following results were obtained from photosensitivity measurements conducted as described above : ______________________________________layer weight ( g / m . sup . 2 ) u . sub . o ( v ) e . sub . 1 / 2______________________________________4 . 7 (-) 580 49 ( about 4 μm ) (+) 730 8 . 08 . 0 (-) 780 65 ( about 7 μm ) (+) 710 11 . 5______________________________________ for about 5 hours in a ball mill 5 parts of n , n &# 39 ;- dimethylperylimide ( c . i . pigment red 179 ) were very finely ground in a solution comprised of 47 . 5 parts of the compound of formula ii and 47 . 5 parts of a copolymer of styrene and maleic anhydride ( scripset 540 ). the pigment dispersion was then coated to 4 to 5 - μm thickness onto wire - brushed aluminum foil ( 100 μm ) ( layer no . 1 ). in the same way , a finely dispersed solution comprising equal parts of the aforesaid compound , the copolymer ( scripset 540 ) and 2 . 5 parts of metal - free phthalocyanine ( c . i . 74 , 100 , monolite fast blue gs ) was prepared . the resulting dye dispersion was whirler - coated , to a thickness of about 5 μm after drying , onto both wire - brushed ( no . 2 ) and anodized aluminum foil ( layer no . 2 ). the photosensitivity of the prepared layers , measured as in example i , is shown in the following table : ______________________________________layer no . (+) u . sub . o / v e . sub . 1 / 2 (-) u . sub . o ( v ) e . sub . 1 / 2______________________________________1 310 6 . 8 420 9 . 62 340 10 . 9 -- 3 530 12 . 1 -- -- ______________________________________ soluble sensitizing dyes , such as rhodamine b and crystal violet , were added in a weight ratio ( relative to the photoconductive compound ) of 1 : 500 to a solution comprising equal parts by weight of the compound of formula ii and polyvinyl butyral ( mowital b30h ) in thf . the resulting homogeneous dye solutions were whirler - coated in 7 - to 8 - μm thicknesses onto aluminum foil . the measurements of the photosensitivity of these sensitized layers gave the following values : ______________________________________layer ( sensitizer ) (+) u . sub . o ( v ) e . sub . 1 / 2 (-) u . sub . o / v e . sub . 1 / 2______________________________________1 -- 780 11 . 02 rhodamine b 820 9 . 23 crystal 820 7 . 3 710 19 . 1 violet______________________________________ the spectral photosensitivity of layers 1 and 3 , respectively , was determined as in example 1 , with interference filters placed in front of the exposure lamp . with a positive charge ( 800 to 850 v ), the half - life ( t1 / 2 in msec ) for the particular wavelength range is determined by exposure . plotting of the reciprocal half - value energy ( 1 / e1 / 2 ) over the wavelength λ in nm gives the spectral photosensitivity curve . the half - value energy ( e1 / 2 ) denotes the light energy that must be radiated to discharge the irradiated layer to half the initial voltage ( u o ). fig5 shows the spectral photosensitivities , in the case of a positive charge , of photoconductive layers without ( curve 1 ) and with ( curve 2 ) the sensitizer a crystal violet . various sensitizers , such as crystal violet , astrazon orange r or brilliant green , were added to a solution containing 65 parts of the compound of formula ii and 35 parts of cellulose nitrate h4 in thf , in the ratio of 1 : 50 relative to the photoconductive compound . the solution thus prepared was whirler - coated to a thickness of 6 to 7 μm ( dry ) onto wire - brushed aluminum foil . after drying of the layers , the following photosensitivities , determined as in example 1 , were measured : ______________________________________layer withsensitizer (+) u . sub . o ( v ) e . sub . 1 / 2______________________________________ -- 670 12 . 9crystal violet 690 2 . 5astrazon orange r 710 3 . 3brilliant green 650 6 . 2______________________________________ different quantities of rhodamine b sensitizer ( relative to the compound of formula ii ) were added to a coating solution as described in example 4 , and homogeneous photoconductor layers of a thickness between about 6 and 7 μm were prepared from this solution . ______________________________________layer withrhodamine bratio (+) u . sub . o ( v ) e . sub . 1 / 2 (-) u . sub . o / v e . sub . 1 / 2______________________________________ -- 630 11 . 8 650 301 : 1000 610 5 . 4 500 18 . 91 : 500 680 3 . 8 710 11 . 21 : 100 670 2 . 4 640 7 . 11 : 50 . sup .+ 640 2 . 1 680 7 . 21 : 10 660 2 . 6 630 25 . 0______________________________________ . sup .+ the spectral photosensitivity , with a positive charge ( 600 v ), of the photoconductor layer with the 1 : 50 sensitizing ratio was determined a in example 3 ( fig5 curve 3 ). different quantities of rhodamine b sensitizer were added to a solution comprising equal parts by weight of the compound of formula ii and a styrene / maleic anhydride copolymer ( scripset 540 ) in thf . the homogeneous solution was then whirler - coated to a thickness of about 5 μm onto wire - brushed aluminum foil . the photosensitivity of the layers was determined according to example 1 : ______________________________________layer withrhodamine b ratio (+) u . sub . o ( v ) e . sub . 1 / 2______________________________________ --. sup .+ 710 7 . 31 : 500 710 6 . 61 : 100 680 5 . 1 1 : 50 . sup .+ 770 4 . 5______________________________________ . sup .⊕ the respective spectral photosensitivity curves of the unsensitized and the 1 : 50sensitized photoconductor layers were determined at a positive charge of about 500 v ( see fig6 curves 1 and 2 , respectively ). the known photoconductive compounds 2 , 5 - bis -( 4 &# 39 ;- diethylaminophenyl )- 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazole ( a ), 2 - phenyl - 4 -( 2 - chlorophenyl )- 5 -( 4 &# 39 ;- diethylaminophenyl )- oxazole ( b ) and 2 - vinyl - 4 -( 2 &# 39 ;- chlorophenyl )- 5 -( 4 &# 39 ;- diethylaminophenyl )- oxazole ( c ) were whirler - coated in the same composition as described in example 6 , and under sensitization conditions ( 1 : 500 ), to a thickness of about 5 μm onto the same support material . measurement of the photosensitivity of the resulting layers gave the following values : ______________________________________photoconductor layer ( rhodamine b ) (+) u . sub . o ( v ) e . sub . 1 / 2______________________________________a 650 25 . 9 + ( 1 : 500 ) 700 12 . 7b 590 17 . 9 + ( 1 : 500 ) 670 9 . 0c 640 35 . 6 + ( 1 : 500 ) 830 12 . 5______________________________________ the compound of formula ii ( 0 . 01 mol ) was reacted for about 2 hours under mild conditions ( below 40 ° c .) with paraformaldehyde ( 0 . 01 mol ) in glacial acetic acid , with the addition of 0 . 5 g of anhydrous zncl 2 . after the inorganic constituents and the insoluble and monomeric organic fractions had been separated off , the soluble fraction ( less than 20 %) was used for casting a homogeneous film of about 2 μm in thickness onto wire - brushed aluminum foil . measurement of the photosensitivity with a positive charge of 190 v gave an e1 / 2 value of 4 . 65 μj / cm 2 . | 2 |
the catheter anchoring arrangement of the present invention is one in which the catheter tube , once fixed in position in accordance with the anchoring system of the invention cannot slide or otherwise be readily displaced or dislodged , as by inadvertent movement of the patient or other means , as it is adhesively retained rather than being retained against longitudinal sliding by frictional means . the tube of interest may be retained in a disposition substantially parallel to or even perpendicular to the skin area to which it is anchored , depending on the embodiment selected . even with regard to embodiments in which the catheter tube may be removed and replaced with respect to the skin adhering portion , or the tube tab removed and replaced on the tube , once secured in place in a given location , the tube cannot be moved without dislodging the fastening means . as depicted in fig1 and 2 , the tube anchoring device of the present invention is seen generally at 10 and approximate the shape of an &# 34 ; h &# 34 ; in which two segments 11 and 12 are designed to anchor the third or tube engaging segment 13 to the patient &# 39 ; s skin . the underside is illustrated in fig2 with part of the backing material 14 removed from the section 13 to show an adhesive layer 15 . the adhesive layer 15 , of course , is common to the entire surface of the device although , if desired , diverse adhesives may be used for the tube engaging section 13 and the skin engaging sections 11 and 12 if the material of the tube requires such . the material of construction comprising the plastic underlayer of the device 16 ( fig3 ), as described above , is preferably formed from either a woven or non - woven polymeric material having a pattern of fibers or the like orientated therein so as to exhibit a preferred or easy direction of stretch identified by the arrow 17 in fig1 and 2 . the basic plastic or polymer material of the device must also be of a type that is pervious to moisture and air so that it allows the area beneath where it is applied to the skin to &# 34 ; breathe &# 34 ;. as previously stated the preferred asymmetric nature of the easy axis of elasticity of the material normally dictates the cutting angle when large numbers of the devices are produced from sheets of material such that the easy stretch axis 17 is at the desired predetermined posture such that the devices produced exhibit the desired compliance modulus and elastic recovery . as previously stated , it has been found that a compliance modulus irrespective of thickness in the range of from 0 . 5 to 110 pounds per inch and an elastic recovery factor less than 99 % yields excellent results in that the resulting product is found to exhibit stretch characteristics correspondingly close to that of skin . this means that the anchoring device will flex with the skin movement in a coordinated manner thereby avoiding puckering and detachment of the anchor . the layered structure of the anchoring device is shown in fig3 and includes the release paper layer 14 , the adhesive layer 15 and the layer of plastic or polymeric material 16 . the layer of backing or release paper 14 protects the integrity of the adhesive layer 15 prior to use . the release paper is sectioned such that continuous pieces cover the three segments of the anchoring devices 11 , 12 and 13 . fig4 depicts the anchoring system of the invention as used to anchor a urinary catheter 21 which has been routed through the patient &# 39 ; s urethra and into the bladder at one end and proceeds to an ostomy bag ( not shown ) at the distal end . as noted in the illustration of fig3 the central or tube engaging portion 13 wraps around the catheter tube 21 and contains sufficient additional material such that it spaces the tube 21 from the patient &# 39 ; s leg 22 illustrated at 23 . the skin attachment zones in 11 and 12 are shown in abutting juxtaposed parallel arrangement beneath the tube and secured to the skin by the adhesive material . the tube engaging portion 13 engages the entire 360 degree periphery of the tube and thereafter self - adheres . in addition to spacing the tube 21 from the leg 22 the extra material of the tube engaging segment 13 provides a double thickness tab for securing the tube 21 which is strong and yet flexible to accommodate movement and thereby decrease the stress that is placed on the skin attachment zones 11 and 12 . additional problems are encountered in nursing homes , hospitals and other patient care facilities in situations in which it is necessary to fasten tubes such as catheter tubes firmly but in a manner in which a tube can be removed and replaced in its firmly secure position . in other situations , the tube of interest may have to be secured at different angles with respect to the skin and even perpendicular to the skin as in the case of umbilical cord catheters or some other catheters entering surgical body openings . accordingly , the invention contemplates and provides alternate embodiments in which the secured tube may be removed and resecured firmly in place and including an embodiment in which the tubing may be secured in a vertical or perpendicular position with respect to the body surface or at any angle between 0 and 90 ° with respect to any body surface . fig5 a and 5b depict a part of a two - piece catheter tube anchoring system in which a tube tab or tube patch 30 is provided with a covering of release paper as at 32 over a permanent ( or releasing reusable ) adhesive material 34 . the reverse side of the tube tab or tube patch 30 is provided with a releasing readhesible material or other material which functions as one cooperating surface of a two - part readhesible system as at 36 ( fig5 b ). the tube tab 30 is designed to wrap about a catheter tube 38 in a manner such that the adhesive 34 permanently ( or optionally removably ) secures the tab 30 to the outer surface of the catheter tube 38 . the readhesible outer or exposed surface 36 is then used in cooperation with a skin - anchoring patch 40 ( fig6 a - 6c ), as will be explained . the body anchoring or skin patch 40 has a skin anchoring reverse side including a layer of release paper 42 and a skin adhesive material 44 similar to the adhesive layer 15 in the embodiment of fig2 . the skin attaching patch 40 further includes a cutout flap segment 46 which is provided with a small segment of release paper 48 which exposes a removably attaching adhesive layer , the back side of which is shown at 50 . the removable adhesive layer of the flap segment 46 is designed to wrap about the outer surface 36 of the tube tab 30 as shown in fig6 c , thereby firmly attaching the tube 38 to the skin . the two pieces of the system are normally packed together and , when used , the release paper 32 is removed from the tab 30 and the surface 34 is caused to adhere to the tube 38 , at the position desired for the tube to be anchored . thereafter , the release paper may be removed from the skin attaching patch 40 and the tongue or tab 46 opened away from the skin such that when the adhesive surface 44 of the patch 40 is placed on the skin , the tongue 46 is available to be wrapped about the surface 36 of the tube tab 30 , thereby securing the tube tab 30 and the tube 38 in place . when it is desired to remove the cooperating surfaces of the material 50 and the surface 36 can be detached and the tube carrying the tube tab 30 temporarily removed for later replacement . in this manner , the tube 38 is prevented from moving parallel to the long axis of the tube or laterally once fixed in place but may be removed and replaced readily using the system of the invention . the tube tab may also be made removable and replaceable or additional tube tabs provided so that the tube attachment can be changed if desired ; or as an alternative to the above embodiment , a system of multiple tube attachment sites to tubes and skin may be provided . another embodiment of the invention is depicted in fig7 a - 7c which is also designed to operate using a tube tab as at 30 of fig5 a and 5b . in that embodiment , there is provided a skin anchoring portion or skin patch generally at 60 which is divided into segments 62 , 64 , 66 and 68 separated partially by slits 70 , 72 and 74 , respectively . the segments 62 and 68 are further provided with oppositely disposed semicircular cutouts 88 and 90 which cooperate to form a circular tube admitting opening when the patch is folded as in fig7 b and 7c . fold lines are illustrated at 76 , 78 and 80 in fig7 a . the reverse side of the patch 60 is provided with an adhesive layer as at 82 ( fig7 c ) and suitable release paper ( not shown ). the center sections 64 and 66 are designed to fold as shown in fig7 b adhering to themselves and forming an outwardly disposed loop 84 extending to the beginning of the slits 70 which separate the lower portion of the segments 64 and 66 . the lower portions of the segments 64 and 66 are used to wrap around and encompass the surface 36 , with the surplus self - adhering thereby enabling the tube 38 to be held at any desired angle with respect to the skin layer on which the skin adhering patch 60 is placed . note that in fig7 c , the tube 38 is substantially perpendicular to the skin adhering surface , or held at a different angle as shown in phantom at 86 . in this manner , the tube 38 can be retained at any desired angle with respect to the anchoring device . of course , the adhesive material holding the surface 36 to the portions 64 and 66 may be either a permanent adhesive material or a removably repeatably attachable system as discussed above in regard to the embodiment of fig6 a - 6c . in an alternative arrangement , either of slits 70 or 74 ( fig7 a ) may be eliminated and replaced by a continuation of a fold as at 76 , 80 , respectively , so that one side available to be wrapped around the tube of interest will still be continuously attached to the skin patch to provide greater stability to forces perpendicular to the skin . as per the above examples , the removable adhesive may be any readhering material that sticks to itself or the surface desired in a releasable readhering manner which achieves a minimum retention force . of course , the tube tab 30 may itself be provided with a releasable , readherable adhesive material rather than a permanent adhesive so that the tube may be moved using the same readhesible tube tab a plurality of times . the tube adhesive of tab 30 must be one that adheres as desired to the surface of the tube which may be made of any of a number of polymer materials such as silicone and polyethylene . the readhesible adhesive must have the unique characteristic which allows the adhesive surface to stick to itself in such a manner that the adhesive strength will allow one piece of backing material with adhesive to be folded on itself and the adhesive will release when the ends of the backing material are pulled apart and the adhesive will remain firmly attached on the surface of the backing material at all times . in one experiment , material having an adhesive surface of polyacrylate was caused to come in contact with the outer surface of typical polysiloxane catheter tubing and then stuck to itself for a length about one inch ( 2 . 5 cm ) beyond the outer diameter of the tubing . each of the ends of the backing was clamped in a device and force was applied in opposite directions to peel the adhesive back strip apart from itself and the tubing . the amount of force measured required was measured and found to be about 700 g / cm 2 . this was adequate for retaining the tube as desired and small enough to allow ready removal and readhesion . after 12 sequential adhesive trials of the same strip on the same piece of tubing , the average force required to separate the strip from itself and the tubing was still 500 g / cm 2 , which was still adequate . of course , the materials of the skin patch or skin engaging portion of the anchoring device of the alternate embodiments is preferably one having the same physical properties or attributes as that of the first - described embodiment , including asymmetric stretchability and a modulus which is patterned after that of the skin itself . this invention has been described herein in considerable detail in order to comply with the patent statutes and to provide those skilled in the art with the information needed to apply the novel principles and to construct and use such specialized components as are required . however , it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out by specifically different embodiments and that various modifications , both as to equipment details and operating procedures , can be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention itself . for example , while the tube anchoring device of the present invention has been described with particular reference to anchoring a urinary catheter tube in several embodiments , it is understood that such a device can be utilized to anchor any type of an ostomy tube including post - surgery drainage tubes placed in various locations in the abdominal or thoracic cavities of the body or to drain other types of wounds during healing . the invention provides a simple yet comprehensive way to support and fix the position of such a tube in a manner which increases patient comfort and the reliability of securing the tube from being pulled out or otherwise displaced from the desired position . | 8 |
in the description which follows , like parts are marked throughout the specification and drawings with the same reference numerals respectively . the drawing figures are not necessarily to scale and in certain views , proportions may have been exaggerated for purposes of clarity . referring now to fig1 there is illustrated a prior art construction of a wall 10 as might be utilized , for example , for patios or the like . included is a poured concrete wall cap 12 disposed utilizing opposite form boards 14 and 16 of a selected facing profile 18 to form perimeter face 20 . contraction joints 22 have been formed in the horizontal surface of cap 12 using a deep jointer ( not shown ). shown in phantom , is a vertical contraction joint 24 to be formed subsequently in face 20 after the concrete has cured and the form board 14 removed . form boards 14 and 16 are of a type commercially available and generally are comprised of styrofoam as disclosed , for example , in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 967 , 424 . the selected profile surface 18 is available in a variety of different configurations as will be described more fully below . referring now to fig2 - 4 , there is illustrated forming the wall cap 12 on wall 10 in accordance with the invention to include contraction joints 24 in face 20 of the finished wall cap . for achieving that result , there is provided a plurality of oppositely placed blade - like inserts 26 attached and conforming to the interior profile surface 18 of each form board 14 and 16 at predetermined longitudinal spacings . the inserts are each formed of a plastic composition such as polyethylene , pvc , etc . that are injection molded to conform with the profile of the form board on which they are to be utilized . each insert is configured in a t - shaped cross - section having a back wall 30 on the order of up to about one inch in width for engaging and attaching against the profile surface 18 of the form board . laterally extending integral from the back wall is of a centrally located , integral blade 32 having a pre - determined profile width “ x ” ( fig5 ) on the order of about ⅝ - 1 inches and a thickness “ y ” ( fig7 ) of about ¼ inch . a radius 48 along each corner of distal edge 50 on the order of about { fraction ( 3 / 32 )}- 1 inch provides draft for removing the blade without disturbing the set aggregate . each of the inserts are secured to the surface profile 18 of the form board by the use of integral prongs 34 ( fig6 & amp ; 8 ) or other suitable nail - like fasteners known in the art . with the form boards in place at the pour site and after pouring the aggregate 36 to form wall cap 12 as best seen in fig3 the concrete is permitted to cure after which the form boards 14 and 16 along with inserts 26 are removed . this results in the finished wall cap 12 , as best seen in fig4 that includes the contraction joints 24 pre - cast at predetermined intervals into the cap aggregate at the location of removed inserts 26 . as shown in fig5 a poured concrete wall 38 is illustrated for an in - ground swimming pool on which face tile 40 has been applied in a well known manner . form board 14 is secured to the face tile via double - faced adhesive tape 42 and defines a surface profile 18 for nose 46 and to which a plurality of blade - inserts 26 are attached . after pouring and curing of the cantilevered decking 44 , form board 14 with inserts 26 are removed forming the nose 46 to include surface profile 18 along with the longitudinally spaced contraction joints 24 as before . as shown in fig6 - 12 , blade - insert 26 can be utilized on a variety of form boards 14 having selectively different surface profiles of matching configurations 18 . the form board embodiment shown in fig6 & amp ; 7 is commercially marketed as a “ capstone 350 ”; the form board embodiment of fig8 & amp ; 9 is commercially marketed as a “ mini - cap 300 ” while the form boards of fig1 , 11 & amp ; 12 are commercially marketed as “ regular 360 ”; “ o - g pattern 400 ” and “ o - g pattern 600 ” respectively . the form board of fig8 is generally utilized on planter retaining walls while the profile form of fig1 is normally used on patio walls , window ledges and top fascia of spanish - type buildings . the form profile configuration of fig1 is normally used to cap columns that rise above a block wall at twenty foot intervals and also to cap spanish - type parapet walls . the various profile configurations above exemplify the numerous form board profiles with which the inserts 26 hereof may be utilized . each insert includes a laterally outward extending blade 32 for forming contraction joints in the poured facing of various concrete structures . obviously , other shapes and configurations can be readily adapted similarly . by the above description there is disclosed novel product and method for effecting contraction joints in the poured facing of concrete structures . being relatively inexpensive to provide and utilize , the method and product hereof afford distinct advantages over the formation of such contraction joints in the manner of the prior art without any sacrifice in aesthetic appearance . by means hereof there is afforded a simple yet inexpensive method and product for effecting contraction joints in the end - face of poured concrete structures . since many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof , it is intended that all matter contained in the drawings and specification shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . | 4 |
one embodiment of the present invention uses pip display formatting to provide a password - protected programmable viewer interface to block or enable television program viewing , such as for parental control of television viewing . a parental control system is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 382 , 983 , which is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in full herein . co - pending pct patent application no . pct / us99 / 04133 , the disclosure of which has been previously incorporated by reference as if set forth in full herein , describes a preferred embodiment of the invention disclosed therein as allowing the viewer consumer to override the operation of the v - chip system for particular programs contained in consumer programmable enable - override lists and blocking - override lists . the present invention is not limited to the pip television display format environment . the present invention applies equally to all devices that display viewable programming electronically , including but not limited to devices such as television , digital television , pctv &# 39 ; s , and pc &# 39 ; s . furthermore , the present invention applies equally to all viewable electronic programming display formats , including , but not limited to : display formats that provide partial or complete overlay menus ; display formats that allow icons to be displayed on the screen to allow for selection of multiple functions , such as program viewing blocking / enablement , to be simultaneously displayed on the television screen ; and display formats that allow the viewer to move the location of the viewing window for the program viewing blocking / enablement selection menus . still further , the present invention applies to all viewable programming delivery systems and media , including but not limited to conventional television broadcast , cable television , satellite television , the internet , the world wide web , and all other electronic information networks and electronic viewable programming delivery systems . selection of options , functions , actions , programs , channels , logos and all other selection criteria in this invention applies equally to all methods of selection whether by a television viewer &# 39 ; s remote control device , by keyboard , by voice activation , by speech recognition , by motion activation , by motion recognition , by mouse , by trac - ball , by touch pad , and / or by all other cursor - control devices . one embodiment of the present invention allows the viewer , while simultaneously viewing real time television programming , to block , or enable , program viewing using password - based category blocking selection criteria including global blocking / unblocking , and blocking by ratings , by time , by channel , by time allowance , and by $ allowance . “ by grid guide selection ” blocking allows the viewer to view real time images of simultaneously broadcast programs , and to view video and sound clips of future programs , listed in an electronic program schedule guide and to set blocking / enablement instructions for individual programs , by channel , and / or by time slot . after the viewer has selected , as described below , the television program viewing blocking / enablement function (“ v - chipplus +”), the viewer &# 39 ; s screen displays the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface main blocking menu ( the “ main blocking menu ”). fig1 shows a v - chip plus + in - guide user interface main blocking menu to block programs by ratings / content codes , time , channel , time allowance , pay - per - view dollar allowance and individual programs as selected from the program schedule grid guide or by inputting compressed codes such as a pluscode ™ which is a compressed code used by gemstar development corporation &# 39 ; s vcrplus +® systems and which presently appear in television calendars and may be used to identify particular programs . fig1 also displays the global block / unblock option which may be used by the master / administrator to temporarily override blocking instruction to allow unblocked viewing and to then re - establish blocking instructions . the main blocking menu further provides for viewer selection of the set passwords option . the viewer can enter the main blocking menu in a number of ways . one embodiment is that the viewer , at some point in time after turning on the viewer &# 39 ; s television receiver , presses a dedicated key on a remote control device . in another embodiment , the viewer enters the main blocking menu by selecting the blocking option from the guideplus + grid guide option bar , causing the main blocking menu to be displayed in the background window of the pip display ( the “ pip embodiment ”). the pip embodiment is reflected throughout the figures to this patent application . if “ by time allowance ” and / or “ by $ allowance ” blocking instructions have been set , the main blocking menu will appear when the viewing device , such as a television , is turned on . in other embodiments , the viewer could enter the main blocking menu in other ways , including but not limited to : 1 .) the viewer presses a menu key on the viewer &# 39 ; s remote control device that would enter a selection menu for various programming features for the viewer &# 39 ; s particular viewing device , such as a television . program view blocking / enablement would be an option on the viewing device &# 39 ; s selection general menu . the viewer could then select program view blocking / enablement from the general menu ; 2 .) the viewer selects a program viewing blocking / enablement icon on the viewer &# 39 ; s viewing device screen by , for instance , moving a cursor to the location of the icon and indicating selection of the program viewing blocking / enablement function . in another embodiment , the viewer can enter the “ blocking mode ” while in the tv guide plus + grid guide ( the “ grid guide embodiment ”) or similar electronic program viewing scheduling guide ( the “ grid guide ”). co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 09 / 120 , 488 , the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in full herein , describes as grid guide 22 such an electronic program viewing scheduling guide . in the grid guide embodiment , the viewer enters the “ blocking mode ” by selecting the blocking mode function , from for instance , the option bar of the grid guide . in another embodiment , the viewer would enter pluscode ™ numbers of programs to be blocked . from the main blocking menu , the viewer can select from options that allow the viewer to block or enable viewing of programs globally , or to block or enable viewing of programs by ratings / content codes , time , channel , time allowance , pay - per - view dollar allowance and by grid guide selection from an electronic television program schedule grid guide . once the viewer has set blocking instructions , the blocking instruction database is updated and is accessed by a program viewing blocking system , such as is claimed in co - pending pct patent application no . pct / us99 / 04133 , the disclosure of which has been previously incorporated by reference as if set forth in full herein . the program viewing blocking system uses the database program viewing blocking instructions to block a particular user from viewing programs as directed by the blocking instructions . in one embodiment , the viewer selects a particular option from the main blocking menu by using the arrow keys on the viewer &# 39 ; s remote control device to move the highlight bar up or down the main blocking menu selections and by pressing an enter key , or some other similarly functional key , to select the highlighted option . v - chip plus + provides password - based options to block programs by ratings / content codes , time , channel , time allowance , $ allowance , and by individual program as selected from a program schedule . fig2 shows a television screen in pip embodiment format displaying a viewer selection from the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface main blocking menu of the “ set passwords ” option . turning to fig3 a television screen is shown in pip format displaying the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface “ set password ” interface screen and sample viewer - defined users . an alphanumeric password with a plurality of numeric digits may be set up for a plurality of users . viewer names can be input by highlighting a “ user ” tile in the set password interface screen . the “ user ” tiles in fig2 are shown as blue tiles . the viewer can then input the user name by pressing the blue “ alpha ” button on the guide plus + display bar and by then using the up / down arrow keys on the viewer &# 39 ; s remote control device to scroll up and down the pull down alphabet menu and selecting the appropriate alphabetic characters . in this manner , the viewer selects the alphabetic characters comprising each viewer &# 39 ; s name . to designate another viewer &# 39 ; s name , the viewer uses the up / down arrow keys on the viewer &# 39 ; s remote control device to highlight another blue “ user ” tile . in the pip embodiment , the viewer inputs a password for each “ user ” using the digit keys of the viewer &# 39 ; s remote control device and / or the scroll down alphabet menu described above . fig4 shows a television screen in pip format displaying the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface “ set password ” interface screen . fig4 shows a sample viewer - defined password selection . a password is not set until the viewer types the password a second time in the confirm tile for the user specified . the viewer with the most restrictive ratings / content settings is automatically set as the default . the default viewer &# 39 ; s settings will be used when the television is turned on after the viewer has input the settings . there may be more than one master viewer . there may be more than one administrator viewer . one embodiment of the invention would recognize a hierarchy of viewers . the hierarchy would allow a master viewer to set blocking instructions for all viewers . the hierarch would allow an administrator viewer to set blocking instructions for all viewers at a hierarchical level below that of the setting administrator . only the viewer designated as a master or administrator viewer will have the capability to use the global block / unblock function . in one embodiment , only the highest ranking master viewer would be allowed the capability to use the global block / unblock function . once the viewer completes entering “ user ” names and passwords , the viewer must press the blue action “ finished ” button on the guide plus + screen bar to enter the alpha name into the password database . user names and passwords are not entered into the viewer database until the viewer selects the blue action “ finished ” button . the viewer can select the blue action “ finished ” button after entering each name and after confirming each password . alternatively , the viewer may enter a plurality of names and passwords before selecting the blue action “ finished ” button . alternatively , the viewer can press the green action button to clear the password or alphabetic name inputs so that the viewer can begin inputting the user / password information again . the viewer that is designated as the “ master / administrator ” can turn global settings on or off . once the viewer has completed entering “ user ” names and passwords , the viewer can return to the main blocking menu by using the up / down arrow keys to highlight v - chip + on the menu bar . in one embodiment , the viewer enters the grid guide to identify particular programs to be blocked at the user level . once in the grid guide , the viewer would enter the blocking mode by , for example , using the viewer &# 39 ; s remote control device to select a block / unblock action button on the grid guide . once in the grid guide blocking mode , the master / administrator would navigate through the schedule of programs as provided by the grid guide system , such as using the up / down and left / right arrow keys on the viewer &# 39 ; s remote control device . real time images of real time programs highlighted by the viewer in the grid guide will be shown in the pip or other window of the television screen . co - pending pct application pct / us95 / 11173 for method and apparatus for displaying television programs and related text , the disclosures of which have been previously incorporated by reference as if set forth in full herein , describes one embodiment that provides for the display of real - time images of a television program in the pip window while simultaneously providing that the television viewer can use a pip format for display of television program listings from a program schedule data base in the background . the viewer can select a particular program from the displayed current television program listing and cause the corresponding real - time program images to appear in the pip window . video and sound clips of future - scheduled programs highlighted by the viewer in the grid guide will be shown in the pip or other window of the television screen . co - pending pct application pct / us95 / 11173 , the disclosures of which have been previously incorporated by reference as if set forth in full herein , describes as one embodiment the use by a television viewer of a pip format for display of future television program listings from a program schedule data base in the background and moving images of a video clip of one of the program listings in the background display selected for example by a cursor . the viewer selects a particular program , channel logo , or time slot to be blocked by one selection method , for instance , using the viewer &# 39 ; s remote control device to point to and select a program , channel or time slot . the viewer &# 39 ; s selection would be reflected by color coding or other highlighting method . then , the viewer sets instructions to block the particular program , channel logo , and / or time slot , using , for instance , the viewer &# 39 ; s remote control device to select a blocking action button on the grid guide . pressing the blue action button will block viewing of the highlighted program . when blocking a particular program , the viewer could further select another action to request the following blocking options : 1 .) block a particular episode of a program by title for all occurrences of that program on a particular day for all channels and all times (“ daily blocking ”); 2 .) block all occurrences of that program by title for the week for all channels and all time slots (“ weekly blocking ”); 3 .) block all occurrences of that program by title for all channels and all time slots (“ all blocking ”); and / or 4 .) block a particular channel at a particular time slot . in a grid guide embodiment of the present invention , the grid guide would show the program title and rating and / or content information . the “ master / administrator ” user / viewer can block a selected user &# 39 ; s access by ratings or content codes . fig5 shows a television screen in pip format displaying a viewer selection from the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface main blocking menu of the “ by ratings ” option . after entering the “ by ratings ” interface screen , the master / administrator selects a user from the user pull down menu . the user pull down menu lists all of the users entered in the user database . the master / administrator uses the up / down arrow keys on the master / administrator &# 39 ; s remote control device to scroll up and down the user pull down menu . the master / administrator selects a particular user &# 39 ; s name . the master / administrator must then enter the appropriate password for the master / administrator . when the password is accepted , the password tile turns green . password acceptance is required to allow the master / administrator access to the rating / content tiles . the master / administrator then uses the up / down arrow keys to scroll through the various rating and content codes . the rating or content code tile that can be selected is the tile that is highlighted in blue . the v - chip help text portion of the guide plus + screen provides help explanations for the feature currently highlighted by the remote control selection . the v - chip help text provides an explanation of each rating or content code as the rating or content code tile is highlighted . the master / administrator presses the blue action button on the guide plus + task bar to select a particular rating or content code to be blocked . when the master / administrator selects a particular rating or content code to be blocked , the tile for that particular code turns red . if the master / administrator wants to enable a blocked rating or content code , the master / administrator selects that particular rating or content code and presses the blue action button on the guide plus + task bar , which will return the tile for the particular rating or content code to green . fig6 shows a television screen in pip format displaying the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface “ by ratings ” interface screen and sample viewer - defined blocking selections . fig6 also demonstrates the help text explanation for the highlighted rating code , “ nc - 17 .” pressing the green action button on the guide plus + task bar clears all settings on this screen . the master / administrator can then select another user name and set ratings and content code blocking and / or enablement instructions for each user subsequently selected . changes are accepted when the master / administrator leaves the “ by ratings ” interface screen by returning to the main blocking menu . once the viewer has completed entering “ by rating ” blocking and / or enablement instructions , the viewer can return to the main blocking menu by using the up / down arrow keys to highlight v - chip + on the menu bar . the “ by ratings ” tile on the main blocking menu will be red , indicating that ratings blocking instructions have been set . fig7 shows a television screen in pip format displaying confirmation that ratings blocking instructions have been set by red highlighting on the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface main blocking menu of the “ by ratings ” option . the master / administrator can set user - level instructions to block program viewing by for particular time ranges , for particular days of the week , or for “ all days .” fig8 shows a television screen in pip format displaying a viewer selection from the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface main blocking menu of the “ by time ” option . by selecting the “ by time ” option , the user enters the “ by time ” interface screen . fig9 shows a television screen in pip format displaying the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface “ by time ” interface screen and sample viewer - defined blocking selections . in the “ by time ” interface screen , the master / administrator selects a user from the user pull down menu . the user pull down menu lists all of the users entered in the user database . the master / administrator uses the up / down arrow keys on the master / administrator &# 39 ; s remote control device to scroll up and down the user pull down menu . the master / administrator selects a particular user &# 39 ; s name . the master / administrator must then enter the appropriate password for the master / administrator . when the password is accepted , the password tile turns green . password acceptance is required to allow the master / administrator access to the day of the week and time range tiles . in the “ by time ” interface screen , the master / administrator uses the up / down arrow keys to scroll through the various days of the week , or to select the “ all days ” feature . the master / administrator can then enter time range blocking instructions for the particular day of the week , or for “ all days .” the master / administrator enters time ranges using the numeric keys on the master / administrator &# 39 ; s remote control device . the master / administrator then selects the am / pm tile and uses the blue action button on the guide plus + task bar to select a . m . or p . m . designation for the identified time range . after the master / administrator sets blocking instructions for a time range for a particular day , that day ( or the “ all days ”) tile turns red . pressing the green action button on the guide plus + task bar clears all setting on this screen . the v - chip help text portion of the guide plus + screen provides help explanations for the feature currently highlighted by the remote control selection . the master / administrator can then select another user name and set time blocking and / or enablement instructions for each user subsequently selected . changes are accepted when the master / administrator leaves the “ by time ” interface screen by returning to the main blocking menu . once the viewer has completed entering “ by time ” blocking and / or enablement instructions , the viewer can return to the main blocking menu by using the up / down arrow keys to highlight v - chip + on the menu bar . the “ by time ” tile on the main blocking menu will be red , indicating that time blocking instructions have been set . fig1 shows a television screen in pip format displaying confirmation that time blocking has been set by red highlighting on the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface main blocking menu of the “ by time ” option . the master / administrator can set user - level instructions to block program viewing for particular channels , for a group of channels by category , or for a group of shows by “ theme .” fig1 shows a television screen in pip format displaying a viewer selection from the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface main blocking menu of the “ by channel ” option . by selecting the “ by channel ” option , the user enters the “ by channel ” interface screen . fig1 shows a television screen in pip format displaying the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface “ by channel ” interface screen and sample viewer - defined blocking selections . in the “ by channel ” interface screen , the master / administrator selects a user from the user pull down menu . the user pull down menu lists all of the users entered in the user database . the master / administrator uses the up / down arrow keys on the master / administrator &# 39 ; s remote control device to scroll up and down the user pull down menu . the master / administrator selects a particular user &# 39 ; s name . the master / administrator must then enter the appropriate password for the master / administrator . when the password is accepted , the password tile turns green . password acceptance is required to allow the master / administrator access to the channel and theme tiles . in the “ by channel ” interface screen , the master / administrator uses the up / down and left / right arrow keys to scroll through the various channels and “ themes .” the master / administrator uses the blue action button on the guide plus + task bar to select each channel or theme to be blocked , or enabled . the tile for a blocked channel or theme turns red . the tile for an enabled channel or theme turns green . pressing the green action button on the guide plus + task bar clears all settings on this screen . data for blocked channels will be stored in memory so it may be viewed if a channel is unblocked . the v - chip help text portion of the guide plus + screen provides help explanations for the feature currently highlighted by the remote control selection . the master / administrator can then select another user name and set channel or theme blocking and / or enablement instructions for each user subsequently selected . changes are accepted when the master / administrator leaves the “ by channel ” interface screen by returning to the main blocking menu . once the viewer has completed entering “ by channel ” blocking and / or enablement instructions , the viewer can return to the main blocking menu by using the up / down arrow keys to highlight v - chip + on the menu bar . the “ by channel ” tile on the main blocking menu will be red , indicating that channel and / or theme blocking instructions have been set . turning to fig1 , a television screen is shown in pip format displaying confirmation that channel blocking has been set by red highlighting on the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface main blocking menu of the “ by channel ” option . the master / administrator can set user - level viewing time allowances for each user by day of the week or for an entire week . television viewing will be blocked if the daily viewing time by the viewing user exceeds the time allowance for the particular day of the week for that user . television viewing will be blocked if the summation of the daily viewing time by the viewing user exceeds the weekly time allowance for that user . fig1 shows a television screen in pip format displaying a viewer selection from the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface main blocking menu of the “ by time allowance ” option . by selecting the “ by time allowance ” option , the user enters the “ by time allowance ” interface screen . fig1 shows a television screen in pip format displaying the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface “ by time allowance ” interface screen and sample viewer - defined blocking selections . in the “ by time allowance ” interface screen , the master / administrator selects a user from the user pull down menu . the user pull down menu lists all of the users entered in the user database . the master / administrator uses the up / down arrow keys on the master / administrator &# 39 ; s remote control device to scroll up and down the user pull down menu . the master / administrator selects a particular user &# 39 ; s name . the master / administrator must then enter the appropriate password for the master / administrator . when the password is accepted , the password tile turns green . password acceptance is required to allow the master / administrator access to the time allowance tiles . in the “ by time allowance ” interface screen , the master / administrator uses the up / down and left / right arrow keys to scroll through the various days of the week and to set time allowances for the particular days and for the entire week . the master / administrator uses the blue action button on the guide plus + task bar to select each day of the week , or the entire week , for which a time allowance is to be set . the master / administrator presses the blue action button on the guide plus + task bar to allow input of time allowance . time allowance is then entered using the numeric keys of the master / administrator &# 39 ; s remote control device . the master / administrator can press the blue action button on the guide plus + task bar to add ½ hour increments , with each subsequent press of the blue action button . the tile for a day or for the week with a time allowance turns red . pressing the green action button on the guide plus + task bar clears all settings on this screen . the daily allowances can sum to a higher number than the total weekly allowance . once the weekly allowance is reached by the viewing user , television viewing will be blocked for that user for the rest of the week even if the daily allowance for a particular day has not been exceeded . the v - chip help text portion of the guide plus + screen provides help explanations for the feature currently highlighted by the remote control selection . the master / administrator can then select another user name and set time allowances for each user subsequently selected . changes are accepted when the master / administrator leaves the “ by time allowance ” interface screen by returning to the main blocking menu . once the viewer has completed entering user - level “ time allowances ,” the viewer can return to the main blocking menu by using the up / down arrow keys to highlight v - chip + on the menu bar . the “ by time allowance ” tile on the main blocking menu will be red , indicating that time allowances have been set . fig1 shows a television screen in pip format displaying confirmation that time allowances have been set by red highlighting on the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface main blocking menu of the “ by time allowance ” option . the master / administrator can set user - level pay - per - view viewing dollar (“$”) allowances for each user by day of the week or for an entire week . television viewing will be blocked if the daily viewing dollar amount by the viewing user meets or exceeds the dollar allowance for the particular day of the week for that user . television viewing will be blocked if the summation of the daily viewing dollar allowance by the viewing user meets or exceeds the weekly dollar allowance for that user . fig1 shows a television screen in pip format displaying a viewer selection from the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface main blocking menu of the “ by $ allowance ” option . by selecting the “ by $ allowance ” option , the user enters the “ by $ allowance ” interface screen . fig1 shows a television screen in pip format displaying the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface “ by $ allowance ” interface screen and sample viewer - defined blocking selections . in the “ by $ allowance ” interface screen , the master / administrator selects a user from the user pull down menu . the user pull down menu lists all of the users entered in the user database . the master / administrator uses the up / down arrow keys on the master / administrator &# 39 ; s remote control device to scroll up and down the user pull down menu . the master / administrator selects a particular user &# 39 ; s name . the master / administrator must then enter the appropriate password for the master / administrator . when the password is accepted , the password tile turns green . password acceptance is required to allow the master / administrator access to the $ allowance tiles . in the “ by $ allowance ” interface screen , the master / administrator uses the up / down and left / right arrow keys to scroll through the various days of the week and to set $ allowances for the particular days and for the entire week . the master / administrator uses the blue action button on the guide plus + task bar to select each day of the week , or the entire week , for which a $ allowance is to be set . the master / administrator presses the blue action button on the guide plus + task bar to allow input of $ allowance limitations . dollar allowance is then entered using the numeric keys of the master / administrator &# 39 ; s remote control device . the master / administrator can press the blue action button on the guide plus + task bar to add 50 cent increments , with each subsequent press of the blue action button . the tile for a day or for the week with a $ allowance turns red . pressing the green action button on the guide plus + task bar clears all settings on this screen . the daily allowances can sum to a higher amount than the total weekly allowance . once the weekly $ allowance is reached by the viewing user , paid - per - view television viewing will be blocked for that user for the rest of the week even if the daily $ allowance for a particular day has not been met or exceeded . the v - chip help text portion of the guide plus + screen provides help explanations for the feature currently highlighted by the remote control selection . the master / administrator can then select another user name and set $ allowances for each user subsequently selected . changes are accepted when the master / administrator leaves the “ by $ allowance ” interface screen by returning to the main blocking menu . once the viewer has completed entering user - level “$ allowances ,” the viewer can return to the main blocking menu by using the up / down arrow keys to highlight v - chip + on the menu bar . the “ by $ allowance ” tile on the main blocking menu will be red , indicating that $ allowances have been set . fig1 shows a television screen in pip format displaying confirmation that $ allowances have been set by red highlighting on the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface main blocking menu of the “ by $ allowance ” option . the master / administrator , and only the master / administrator , can use the global block / unblock instruction . fig2 shows a television screen in pip format displaying a viewer selection from the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface main blocking menu of the “ global block / unblock ” option . turning to fig2 , a television screen is shown in pip format displaying the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface “ global block / unblock ” interface screen and sample viewer input of user identification and password . in the “ global block // unblock ” interface screen , the master / administrator is prompted for the master / administrator &# 39 ; s password . acceptance of the password allows the master / administrator to use the global block / unblock instruction . global block // unblock is a toggle switch override command that allows the master / administrator to temporarily override all blocking instructions . using the global block / unblock command does not destroy all of the blocking instructions . the blocking instructions remain in memory . the master / administrator can globally unblock all previously set instructions to view programming without any blocking . the master / administrator can then globally reset all blocking instructions . turning to fig2 , a television screen is shown in pip format displaying a sample v - chip plus + in - guide user interface main blocking menu format that will appear after any time allowance or $ allowance blocking has been set . this screen will automatically appear each time that the television is turned on . the screen prompts the viewer for the viewer &# 39 ; s “ user ” identification and for that “ user &# 39 ; s ” password . the time that the television is viewed by that user is then accumulated . accumulated viewing times are compared at periodic time intervals to the time allowances set for that user . if the user &# 39 ; s accumulated viewing time meets or exceeds the time allowance for that day , or for the week , the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface system sends blocking instructions to a program viewing blocking system , such as is claimed in co - pending pct patent application no . pct / us99 / 04133 , the disclosure of which has been previously incorporated by reference as if set forth in full herein , to block that user from further viewing . pay - per - view dollar amounts agreed to by that user are accumulated . accumulated pay - per - view dollar amounts agreed to by that user are then compared to that user &# 39 ; s $ allowances , by day , and for the week . the $ amount comparison is made each time that the user attempts to select a pay - per - view program . if the user &# 39 ; s $ allowance has been met or exceeded , the v - chip plus + in - guide user interface system sends blocking instructions to a program viewing blocking system , such as is claimed in co - pending pct patent application no . pct / us99 / 04133 , the disclosure of which has been previously incorporated by reference as if set forth in full herein , to block that user from further viewing . | 7 |
rosmarinic acid ( ra ) is a potent phenolic antioxidant found in various plant species including spearmint ( mentha spicata l .). an effective method for drying spearmint tissue which retains high levels of ra is crucial for viable commercial ra production . a study was conducted to determine the efficiency of three different drying methods of spearmint tissue such as freeze drying , conventional hot air drying and microwave drying . four different durations of drying using a freeze dryer , twelve different temperature - duration combinations using a conventional dehydrator ( hot air drying ), and eight different durations of drying using a microwave were tested . the effects of drying methods on relative water content , tissue color and ra levels were evaluated . in a conventional dehydrator and the freeze - dryer , the lowest stable moisture levels (& lt ; 10 %) of dried spearmint tissue were reached at 48 h . on the other hand , a stable moisture level was reached within 2 . 5 minutes of drying with a microwave . the changes in the ra levels of the tissue were dependent on the method of drying , the duration of drying and the temperature used for drying . air - dried samples and dehydrator dried samples of spearmint tissue were less green and exhibited lower ra levels compared to microwave dried and freeze - dried samples . the ra levels of tissue that was air - dried at room temperature ( rt ) or dehydrator dried beyond 48 h decreased as the duration of drying was increased . however , using the dehydrator , at very high temperatures (≧ 57 ° c . ), the ra levels were reduced by up to 80 % at 24 h of drying . the optimum drying time using a microwave at which the highest level of ra retained coupled with the lowest tissue shrinkage was 2 . 5 minutes . the freeze dried samples retained the highest level of ra irrespective of drying time with the lowest amount of tissue shrinkage compared to all other methods . however , microwave drying seems to be the most efficient way of drying spearmint tissue in a short time with retention of high ra levels , desirable tissue color and density . while microwave energy is used in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the invention includes the use of other types of energy and processes that would also achieve the objectives of drying fresh plant material while retaining an economical amount of a labile compound present in the plant material . for example , infrared dryers and fluidized beds are known in the art for efficient drying of plant materials under appropriate conditions . plant material and sample collection . a proprietary spearmint line capable of rapid regrowth and accumulation of high ra levels was chosen for this study . clones of this line were established at a greenhouse during winter months ( november - january ) under supplemental illumination . samples for this study were taken by clipping the top 4 - 6 cm of the plants that were comprised of young new leaves with smaller stems . the initial fresh weight of each replicate of spearmint tissue sample used for different drying methods was 5 ± 0 . 05 g . drying methods : drying experiments were carried out using three different drying processes : conventional dehydrator , conventional microwave and freeze - dryer . ( a ) conventional dehydrator : leaf tissue was dried using the standard vegetable dehydrator ( open country — sportsman kitchen ) in three replicates for each treatment . pre - weighed leaf tissue was spread as a thin layer on the trays of the dehydrator . three different drying temperatures in the dehydrator ( 35 ° c ., 41 ° c . and 57 ° c .) were set for drying the tissue samples . in addition the tissue was also dried at room temperature ( rt ) as a control . the tissue for these four different temperatures was dried for 0 h , 24 h , 48 h , 72 h and 96 h . in total , 60 samples from three replicates of tissue dried at four different temperatures for five different time points were analyzed for the dehydrator process . weights of each sample ( post - treatment weights ) were recorded for each treatment after drying for the set time and temperature . relative water content in each sample after drying treatment was estimated as ( post - treatment weight / pre - treatment weight )* 100 and expressed as percentage (%). ( b ) microwave : a programmable domestic microwave oven ( ge - jes1656sj - 02 ) with maximum output of 1150 w was used for the drying experiments . in each of the drying experiments , 5 ± 0 . 1 g of leaf tissue was uniformly spread on the turntable inside the microwave cavity , and allowed to turn for an even absorption of microwave energy . samples were dried for eight different time periods ( 30 sec , 1 min , 1 min 30 sec , 2 min , 2 min 30 sec , 3 min , 3 min 30 sec , 4 min ) at a randomly chosen 70 % output power . three replications for each treatment were performed according to the preset microwave output power . tissue samples after each time point of drying were weighed immediately . relative water content after each treatment was estimated as ( post - treatment weight / pre - treatment weight )* 100 and expressed as %. ( c ) freeze drying : a research level freeze - dryer was used for drying the spearmint tissue . three replicates of tissue ( 5 ± 0 . 1 g ) were lyophilized for 0 h , 24 h , 48 h , 72 h and 96 h . tissue samples after each time point of drying were weighed immediately . relative water content after each treatment was estimated as ( post - treatment weight / pre - treatment weight )* 100 and expressed as %. chemotyping : leaves from each sample from all the three drying experiment ( that includes all treatments of dehydrator , microwave and freeze - drying and air - dried samples ) were ground manually using pestle and mortar . a rapid method for ra quantitation using hplc as described below was used for all samples . all the samples for each drying method were compared with each other within the drying experiment and also between the drying experiments . data analysis : statistical analysis was performed on all data for each drying method separately using sas 9 . 2 . for the freeze drying and microwave drying method , the ra levels and weights for each treatment were analyzed by one way analysis of variance . a factorial design ( temperature × duration ) was used to analyze the dehydrator drying method . fisher &# 39 ; s least significant difference ( lsd ) obtained for each treatment and treatment combination was used to discriminate the means for comparison . chemicals and reagents . ra reference standard ( 99 . 0 %) was obtained from sigma - aldrich ( cat . # 53 , 6954 ). acetonitrile , ethanol , water , and o - phosphoric acid ( 85 %), were hplc grade and acquired from fisher scientific . sample preparation method . spearmint plant tissue was harvested in january and dried via the drying parameters described above [ 0017 ]-[ 0020 ]. the leaf and small stem tissue were ground using a mortar and pestle . accurately weighed ca 10 . 25 ± 0 . 25 mg of freshly ground spearmint tissue was placed into a tared 2 . 0 ml microfuge tube . accurately transferred 1 . 8 ml of extraction solvent ( 20 mm kh 2 po 4 ( ph 2 . 5 ): ethanol ( 1 : 1 v / v )) was added to each tube and vortexed each for 1 minute . the 20 mm potassium phosphate solution ( kh 2 po 4 ) was prepared by dissolving 0 . 680 g potassium phosphate monobasic ( hplc grade ) into a beaker with ca 450 ml water ( hplc grade ), adjusted to ph 2 . 5 with a few microliters of phosphoric acid , transferred to a 500 ml volumetric flask and topped to volume with water . the microcentrifuge tubes were partially immersed in a room temperature ( approx . 22 ° c .) sonication bath ( fisher scientific , model fs60d with a fixed power setting ) without tube closures becoming submerged . tubes were sonicated for 10 minutes followed by an additional minute of vortexing . the tubes were placed in a microcentrifuge and pelleted for 10 minutes at 9600 × g . a portion of each supernatant was transferred to a syringe with filter ( 0 . 245 μm ptfe , 25 mm diameter ) and syringe - filtered into amber autosampler vials and sealed with crimp caps . it was observed with prior use of nylon syringe filters that ra recoveries were reproducibly decreased . evaluation of same - sample aliquots filtered through either ptfe or nylon media revealed ca 10 % ra retention to nylon , so ptfe filters must be used to assure quantitative recovery from aqueous ra samples . instruments and conditions . all chromatographic analyses were performed using a combination of agilent 1100 and 1200 series hplc modules with diode array detector , quaternary pump , autosampler , column heater , and online degasser . data were analyzed using the hplc chemstation ™ lc3d software . the column was a lichrosorb rp - 18 ( 250 × 4 . 6 mm , 5 μm , supelco ) with a c18 guard ( supelco ) and peek coupler . the mobile phase consisted of 0 . 1 % o - phosphoric acid ( channel a ) and 0 . 1 % o - phosphoric acid in acetonitrile ( channel b ). mobile phase a was prepared by addition of 1 . 00 ml o - phosphoric acid to water in a 1 - l volumetric flask , and adjusted to volume with water . mobile phase b was prepared similarly with acetonitrile . the gradient program is tabulated in table 1 with a constant flow rate of 1 . 0 ml / min , the column temperature maintained at 35 ° c ., chromatograms were monitored at multiple wavelengths ( quantification was at 330 nm only , cf . wavelength monitored ), and injections were 5 μl . preparation of standard solutions . to generate the calibration curve , a stock standard solution a with 1 . 502 mg / ml ra in 20 mm kh 2 po 4 ( ph 2 . 5 ): ethanol ( 1 : 1 v / v ) was prepared . a series of working calibration solutions were made from the stock standard solution as listed in table 2 to provide a range of concentrations from 0 . 0300 to 1 . 50 mg / ml ra . the working calibration solutions were assayed by hplc using the method described in table 2 . the series standard solutions were injected in triplicate . the calibration curve was used to quantitate samples and standards in this study . linearity of standards . the linearity of responses of standards at various levels was calculated based on the standard calibration data . a plot was generated using standard concentrations versus peak area responses , and to which the best - fit line was regressed without forcing through the origin . the concentration of ra ranged between 0 . 030 to 1 . 52 mg / ml . precision of standards lc analysis . the precision of the standards analysis was determined by performing seven sequential injections of standard solution level 5 , and the percent relative standard deviation was calculated based on the peak area response . accuracy of standards injections . a level 4 standard was prepped and various injection volumes were analyzed and data regressed to the best - fit curve — linear data indicating correspondence with accuracy . injection volumes ranged from 2 . 0 to 50 μl corresponding to ra masses of 0 . 61 to 15 μg , respectively . precision of combined sample prep and lc analysis . the precision of the sample analysis was conducted using a composite ( milled / homogenized ) sample of plant tissue . extracts were prepped as described , seven sequential injections were made , and the percent relative standard deviation was calculated for the peak area responses . spike recovery . an assessment of method accuracy was evaluated by spike recoveries . these were performed by preparing a stock solution of plant tissue extract with 0 . 343 mg ra / ml . level 8 calibration standard stock solution was used to spike the spearmint extract solution at various levels . the two stock solutions were then mixed in varying proportions to cover the working range of ra ( table 3 ). based on the assay results of the stock solution , the theoretical concentrations of the mixes were calculated and compared to the values obtained by the assay , and the percent differences between the theoretical and the observed concentrations were calculated . peak resolution . analyte resolution was evaluated using ra and neighboring peaks derived from the precision experiment data of real - matrix samples . resolution was calculated by using equation 1 , where r was the resolution , t # corresponded to the retention time of the peak , and w # was the width of the peak in time units . limits of detection and quantitation . the standard calibration curve data were used to calculate the limits of detection and of quantitation . the detection limit was calculated according to equation 2 . the quantitation limit was calculated according to equation 3 . in these equations , s is the slope of the calibration curve , and σ is the residual standard deviation of the regression line , σ =[( σ ( residuals2 )/ degrees of freedom ] 1 / 2 , where the residuals are the difference of the observed and the best - fit values . the initial moisture content of the fresh tissue tested using a moisture meter was approximately 87 %. however , for the graphical representation of water loss over a period of time , the initial moisture levels were considered to be 100 %. the moisture levels after each treatment was noted but the ra levels were not adjusted accordingly . the room temperature during the time of experiment was 22 . 2 ° c . and humidity was about 26 %. the ra level for the 0 h time point ( fresh tissue samples ) for all drying methods was & lt ; 2 mg / g . since the estimated ra levels per unit sample weight in fresh tissue are diluted due to the high amounts of water present in them , these 0 h samples can bias the comparisons between drying time points . therefore time point 0 h was not considered for the data analysis except for graphical representation . dehydrator study : the dehydrator study was performed independently during the same week as that of the other drying methods . the analysis of variance , drying curves and the ra levels from the dehydrator study are presented below . ( a ) analysis of variance : significant variation was found for post - treatment weights and ra levels for both treatments ( temperature and time ) and treatment combinations ( temperature × time ) in this study ( table 4 ). the means and lsds of different temperatures are given in table 5 . among different durations of drying , 24 h of drying was significantly different from other durations for post - treatment weights . ra levels were significantly lower in 24 h drying period and higher in 96 h drying period compared to all time points . among different temperatures , post - treatment weight was significantly higher at rt while ra levels were significantly lower at 57 ° c . ( table 5 ). the means and lsd of different temperature × time combinations are given in table 6 . among different treatment combinations , drying at rt for 24 h and 48 h had significantly higher post drying tissue weights while drying at 57 ° c . for 96 h had resulted in significantly lower tissue weights ( table 6 ). there were no significant differences among post - drying weights for tissue dried at 35 ° c . or 41 ° c . for any number of hours of drying . for ra levels , drying at rt for 24 h and at 57 ° c . for 24 h , 48 h , 72 h and 96 h all resulted in significantly low amounts of ra retention in tissues compared to other temperatures . drying tissues at rt for 72 h and 96 h resulted in significantly higher levels of ra retention compared to other temperatures . no significant differences among ra levels were observed for tissue dried at 35 ° c . or 41 ° c . for any duration of drying ( table 5 ). ( b ) drying curve : the variation of post - treatment weight of the tissue as a function of time was followed . plots of the relative moisture content as a function of time and rate of drying are shown in fig1 . thus an experimental curve representing the drying characteristics of spearmint tissue was obtained . the post - treatment weights of spearmint tissue in relation to drying time are presented in fig1 a and the changes in relative water content as a function of drying time is given in fig1 b . the relative water content dropped from 100 % to 15 % at rt in 48 hours and then gradually reached 10 % level in 96 h . on the other hand while drying at 35 ° c ., the relative water content dropped to 13 % at 24 h and reached 10 % after 48 h and remained constant for the rest of the time . however , at 41 ° c . and 57 ° c . the relative water content rapidly dropped to 10 % within 24 h of drying and remained constant for the rest of the drying durations . the time taken to reach a moisture content of about 10 % at rt was about 48 h , while it took only about 24 h using a dehydrator set at 35 ° c ., 41 ° c . and 57 ° c . the moisture content remained at a constant level of 10 % whether dried at rt , 35 ° c ., 41 ° c . or 57 ° c . after 48 h ( fig1 a and 1 b ). ( c ) ra levels : the effect of temperature and duration of drying on ra content of spearmint tissue dried using dehydrator is given in fig2 . the highest level of ra was retained when the tissue was dried at rt for 48 h - 72 h after which the ra levels gradually started to decrease . the ra levels of tissue dried at 35 ° c . and 41 ° c . remained at a relatively constant level while dried for 48 h , 72 h and 96 h . however the tissue dried at 57 ° c . lost most of the ra content ( about 80 % lost ) when dried for 24 h or greater . microwave study : the microwave study was performed independently during the same week as that of the other drying methods study . the analysis of variance , drying curves and the ra levels from the microwave study are presented below . ( a ) analysis of variance : the analysis of variance showed significant variation for post - treatment weights and ra levels for eight different durations of microwave drying in this study ( table 7 ). the means and lsd for the duration of drying are given in table 8 . among different durations of drying , 0 . 5 min of drying was significantly different from all other durations and 1 minute of drying was significantly different from ≧ 2 . 5 minutes of drying for post - treatment weight . ra levels were significantly lower in 0 . 5 min and 4 min microwave drying and significantly higher for the rest of the time points . among all time points , 2 . 5 minutes of drying seem to retain the highest amount of ra with minimal tissue shrinkage ( table 8 ). ( b ) drying curve and ra levels : the relative water content and ra levels versus duration of drying curves for microwave drying at 70 % microwave output power of spearmint tissue is shown in fig3 . a rapid decrease in moisture content in the tissue was observed wherein the moisture levels dropped from 100 % to 30 % in 30 seconds . the microwave drying process reduced the spearmint tissue moisture content to approximately 15 % in 2 . 5 minutes . as the duration of drying increased from 2 . 5 min up to 4 minutes there was no further significant reduction in moisture levels in the tissue . the highest level of ra was observed at 2 . 5 minutes of microwave drying which was significantly higher than all other durations tested . the ra levels gradually increased with an increase in duration of drying up to 2 . 5 minutes and then gradually decreased with the increase in time . freeze - dryer study : the freeze dryer study was performed independently during the following week of the dehydrator and microwave study . the analysis of variance , drying curves and the ra levels from the freeze - dryer study are presented below . ( a ) analysis of variance : the analysis of variance showed no significant variation for both post - treatment weights and ra levels for four different durations of freeze - drying ( table 9 ). the means and lsd for the duration of drying are given in table 10 . among different durations of drying , 24 h of drying was significantly different from all other time points for post - treatment weights . however the ra levels did not vary for different durations of freeze - drying . among all time points , 24 h of freeze drying seem to retain the highest amount of ra with the lowest amount of tissue shrinkage ( table 10 ). ( b ) drying curve and ra levels : the relative water content and ra levels versus duration of drying curves for freeze drying of spearmint tissue is shown in fig4 . a rapid decrease in moisture content in the tissue was observed where the moisture levels dropped from 100 % to 20 % in 24 h of freeze drying and remained at a constant of & lt ; 15 % for further time points . there was no significant change in ra levels irrespective of duration of drying . spearmint is a highly seasonal and perishable plant with high levels of moisture content . ki - msem0028 had initial moisture content of 87 ± 0 . 5 %, which indicates that 870 kg water have to be evaporated per 1000 kg of fresh mint leaves before extraction . the results from the dehydrator study suggested that the temperature at which the tissue was dried and the duration of drying played a significant role in rapid loss of moisture and retention of the ra levels . results showed that drying took place rapidly during the first 48 hours of drying treatment where the moisture levels dropped from 100 % to less than 20 %. this was followed by a relatively constant drying period where the relative water content lowered from approximately 15 % to 10 % at rt and remained constant at about 10 % for the other temperatures . however , the ra levels seem to be retained at the highest level after drying at rt for 48 h to 72 h . although a faster process , drying tissues at temperatures higher than rt using a dehydrator reduced the ra levels below 30 mg / g . the ra levels when dried at 35 ° c . or 41 ° c . remained constant after drying for 48 h or greater . however , when the tissue samples were dried at higher temperature (≧ 57 ° c .) the ra levels were reduced by up to 80 % within 24 h of drying . the length of time required to dry the leaf tissue using a conventional drying approach would be too long for commercial utility . furthermore , as ra level and stability is highly temperature sensitive , drying would be limited to temperatures below 41 ° c . in microwave drying , different durations starting from 30 sec to 4 minutes were used for drying the tissue . a maximum of 4 minutes drying was adopted beyond which browning of tissue became an issue . there was a rapid reduction in moisture levels to a 30 % moisture level within 30 sec of drying at 70 % output power . the optimum drying time for maintaining highest ra levels without much tissue shrinkage was about 2 . 5 minutes wherein the moisture levels were about 10 %. freeze drying retained the highest levels of ra after 24 h of drying with the lowest amount of tissue shrinkage observed . a rapid reduction in moisture level was observed at 24 h of drying after which the moisture levels remained at a constant level . however , continuous freeze - drying of tissue beyond an optimum level of 24 h did not significantly reduce the ra levels as observed with the dehydrator and microwave methods . in comparing all three methods , the microwave method dried the tissue faster without significant reduction in the ra levels , leaf color and tissue shrinkage . although freeze drying seems to be the most efficient in terms of retention of ra levels , it requires much more capital investment and time for drying which limits its utility at a commercial scale . in summary , microwave drying is a surprisingly effective method for drying the spearmint biomass while maintaining optimum ra levels for extraction . approximately 2 . 5 acres each of the 2 proprietary rosmarinic acid ( ra ) hyper - accumulator spearmint clonal lines ( ki - msem0110 and ki - msem0042 ) were grown at two field locations . a pilot scale microwave dryer was assembled and transported to the fields for drying of the spearmint plant material shortly after harvesting . the microwave dryer system included two 75 kilowatt transmitters with wave guides two oven units which included variable speed top and bottom conveyor belts to hold the spearmint leaf and stem tissue as it passed through the ovens ( amtek , cedar rapids , iowa ). spearmint leaf and stem tissue was harvested in the field using a windrower ( john deere 3430 ) and manually lifted into a wagon for transportation to the microwave dryer system , situated in a farm building . belt load , energy level and belt speed were varied until leaf and stem tissue reached a moisture level & lt ; 10 % and arcing occurrence was minimized . composite samples of leaf and stem tissue were also taken at the same time for drying in a small household microwave oven for comparison purposes . three replicate samples of each composite were tested for ra content using the described in example 1 . samples of whole leaf and chopped leaf were taken for a comparison of ra stability over time post - harvest . preferred settings for ki - msem0110 were an energy level of 63 kw in oven 1 ; 15 kw in oven 2 ; and a belt speed of 40 ″/ minute to achieve a consistently dry product & lt ; 10 % moisture . the power used to remove each pound of water at the preferred settings was 0 . 392 kwh / lb ( 40 , 671 btu / 30 lbs = 1 , 356 btu / lb / 3412 . 3 kw / btu ). rosmarinic acid levels ranged from approximately 5 . 0 % to & gt ; 7 . 0 % on a dry matter basis which was favorable considering that harvest and drying occurred post flowering . these levels would be expected to be & gt ; 9 . 0 % when harvested pre - flowering . there were no significant differences in rosmarinic acid levels between the control microwave - dried tissue and the tissue dried in the larger scale pilot microwave system . it is important that whole leaf tissue be harvested as a rapid loss of rosmarinic acid was observed in chopped leaf tissue compared to whole leaf tissue . the foregoing description and drawings comprise illustrative embodiments of the present inventions . the foregoing embodiments and the methods described herein may vary based on the ability , experience , and preference of those skilled in the art . merely listing the steps of the method in a certain order does not constitute any limitation on the order of the steps of the method . the foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention , and the invention is not limited thereto , except insofar as the claims are so limited . those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention . | 0 |
reference to fig . ( 1 ) will show a jam condition in an examplary document processing machine apt for using our invention . the documents to be transported ( e . g . d shown ) are constrained between parallel vertical track walls w -- w , one on each side of the document , and are rising above a track base element b . the documents are driven by means of rotating , compliant rollers r -- r and / or between a pair of drive belt means db . said driving means are constructed and adapted to drive the bottom edge of a document down against track base b , to thus ensure its consistent vertical alignment at all times . ( such construction and adaptation falls outside the scope of the instant invention and is thus not shown in detail ). as an exemplary instance , a case is shown in which a foreign object f , ( in this case a common paperclip ), has become lodged at the bottom of the track , resting on track base b . workers will readily understand how difficult it can be to readily access such a foreign object f ( e . g . if the track walls w -- w and track base b cannot be moved or demounted , as is more conventional ). fig . ( 2 ) shows a preferred embodiment of our &# 34 ; universal probe &# 34 ; embodiment q which we have developed . it consists of a single piece of laminar thermoplastic ( or like non - conductive ) material , shaped and formed , as shown , to be thrust along a track ( e . g . between the closed track walls w -- w from above .) the four end - corners of implement q are formed and shaped to form a hook - like profile , which is intended to engage foreign objects , such as the paper clip f pictured in fig . ( 1 ). probe q will either permit the operator to remove clip f through the top opening of the track , or drive it laterally along the track until access may be had ( e . g . where a track wall w has been relieved or demountably constructed , allowing for the removal of the object .) workers will readily understand that if such an implement is made sufficiently thin , smooth and stiff , it may be readily maneuvered between the compliant drive rollers r -- r and drive belts means db without damaging them , yet losing engagement with a foreign object f . probe q is preferably of non - conductive material to be sure that a user doesn &# 39 ; t get coupled to voltages that might be present . probe q is preferably constructed of polycarbonate sheet material ( for example , stamped from &# 34 ; lexan &# 34 ; by general electric co . ), or like material that will not likely damage metal or plastic parts along a track , and whose thickness th is selected to approximate the minimum track - width contemplated . ( e . g . see width tw in fig1 b , 1a ). of course lexan or the like can pierce paper , but this is understood as acceptable . this material is selected because of its intrinsic toughness and flexibility , ( springy reaction ) coupled with a compliant and non - marring surface which will minimally damage the documents , or the track or surrounding components of the machine , no matter how vigorously applied . early embodiments of this implement q were constructed of transparent material , this being the least costly form in which it is available . experience showed us that it is better constructed of an opaque or coloured material , since the transparent versions were virtually invisible ( e . g . when left on a table ) and were soon misplaced . we have constructed embodiments of this device varying in thickness between 0 . 020 inches ( 20 mils , or 0 . 5 millimeters ) and 0 . 080 inches ( 2 . 0 millimeters ). we find that embodiments which are very much thinner than this range tend to be somewhat too flimsy to reliably engage debris in the track . embodiments which are very much thicker than this range can be difficult to maneuver between the driving elements . as a general rule , we prefer embodiments with thicknesses towards the lower end of this range ( e . g . 20 - 40 mils ). their increased flexibility makes them easier to maneuver into and out of the track ; yet they still retain sufficient rigidity to reliability engage and extract foreign objects . in addition , the thinner embodiments are adapted for use in a wider range of machines ( minitrack widths ), since they will fit into a wider range of track widths . a probe should be long enough to be &# 34 ; gripped &# 34 ; by the user , yet not so long as to be too flexible ( e . g . here 4 - 8 &# 34 ; was found suitable ). fig2 a shows an enlarged fragmentary plan of the geometry of an operating ( end - corner ) area or probe q . while this represents optimal geometry , workers will readily understand that this geometry is capable of many and various variations and permutations depending upon the particular application for which it is intended ( e . g . see less preferred geometries in fig2 c , 2d , 2e , 2f ). to obtain the maximum possible life and utility from our embodiment , we preferably reproduce this geometry on all four corners of probe q ; effectively quadrupling its utility at a minimal increase in cost . the corner - cutouts ( fig2 a ) form a concavity ( e . g . 0 . 38 &# 34 ; long here ) that forms a &# 34 ; hook &# 34 ; of sorts ( e . g . angle α ° less than 90 °, fig2 a ), that is useful to extricate jam - matter ; and that preferably leaves an end - corner that is robust enough to resist breaking - off ( e . g . preferably raised at α ° of about 30 ° up from the horizontal -- e . g . versus non - preferred cut - out of fig2 c which is so attenuated it is apt to break - off ). a more symmetrical cut - out may also be preferable for some instances ( e . g . as in fig2 b ); also the inner radius ( ir , fig2 a ) is large enough to reduce chances of tearing the tool from the corner when it is pulled toward the user . fig2 b and 2bb similarly illustrates a modified cut - out to give similar results . fig2 c , 2d , 2e , 2f illustrate non - preferred &# 34 ; corner geometry &# 34 ;; i . e . the square ( 90 °) corner of fig2 f was found unable to &# 34 ; lift &# 34 ; jam matte ( no &# 34 ; hook &# 34 ;), as was the &# 34 ; beveled &# 34 ; corner of fig2 e ; while the &# 34 ; end - pocket &# 34 ; ( or &# 34 ; internal - hook &# 34 ;) geometry of fig2 d was not very good at &# 34 ; lifting &# 34 ; ( e . g . versus &# 34 ; external - hooks &# 34 ; of fig2 a , 2b ). the &# 34 ; sharper &# 34 ; attenuated corners of fig2 c were to apt to break - off . also , the blunt ends of fig2 d , 2e , 2f are more apt to compress material further into a jam , while the corners in fig2 a , 2b , fig2 bb , 2c were more likely to &# 34 ; spear - into &# 34 ; a jam . such a &# 34 ; plastic &# 34 ; probe is less apt to damage metal / plastic parts ( e . g . and be itself damaged -- which is preferable ). it will be apparent that any aforedescribed invention is apt for effecting the objects mentioned ; e . g . to remove jammed checks and like objects from a document - transport track . we have found that such embodiments can be used to quickly and effectively remove such objects yet with no harm to the machine . of course , certain modifications to the described preferred embodiment are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention . for example , there are other ways to provide &# 34 ; external - terminal &# 34 ; hooking corners ; so the present invention is not limited to the particular form illustrated or to the particular illustrated type of machine . additionally , some features of the present invention can be used to advantage without the corresponding use of other features . accordingly , the description of the preferred embodiment should be to be considered as including all possible modifications and variations coming within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . in conclusion , it will be understood that the preferred embodiment ( s ) described herein are only exemplary , and that the invention is capable of many modifications and variations of construction , arrangement and use without departing from the spirit of the claims . the examples of possible variations of the present invention are merely illustrative , and accordingly , the present invention is to be considered as including all possible modifications and variations coming within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto . | 1 |
the dryer consists of a container 1 , comprising a trough 2 and a cowl 3 . a closable inlet opening 4 is provided at one end of the dryer in the cowl 3 , and at the other end of the dryer , in the trough 2 , a closable outlet opening 5 is provided . depending on whether the dryer is being operated discontinuously or continuously , these openings can be kept open or closed during operation . the cowl 3 is mounted detachably on the bucket - shaped trough 2 and seals it . a shaft 6 is rotatably mounted in the container 1 in front - mounted bearings 7 and 8 , which shaft can be driven by a drive mechanism which is not shown . a plurality of radial arms 9 are fitted to the shaft , having mixing tools 10 attached to their extremities . the container 1 is provided with a double skin 11 , through which a heating medium , such as steam or hot water can be passed . guide surfaces for the heating medium can be fitted inside the double skin 11 . in the vertical upper region of the trough a number of pairs of vertical guide rails 12 are attached to the inside walls to receive heating plates 13 . each heating plate 13 is fitted with an inlet pipe 13a and an outlet pipe 13b for the heating medium . the heating plates 13 are each arranged between two neighbouring mixing tools 10 , as shown in fig1 . each heating plate is adapted to the internal cross - section of the trough 2 and has a cut - out 14 , to enable it to be suspended above the shaft 6 and optionally also above the fittings 15 located in the side wall of the container 1 , being fitted for example with the cutter head . the cut - outs 14 also enable the material to be treated to pass from the front to the rear end of the container , so that this material can not only pass over the plate 13 , but also through them from one chamber 16 into the next . each two adjacent heating plates 13 thus delineate a chamber 16 in the container 1 which serves as a dryer chamber . the heating plates 13 are preferably suspended in the manner shown in fig2 so that their cut - outs 14 are located in the parts of the container 1 in which the rotating mixing tools 10 lift up the bulk material to be dried . the result of this is that the bulk material passes through the individual heating chambers . however , to alter the speed of the bulk material passing through the dryer , the heating plates can also be suspended inverted . it is evident that one should not suspend a heating plate 13 between two neighbouring arms 9 . the number of heating plates can be adapted to the particular operating conditions within wide limits . cross plates 17 , 18 and 19 divide the cowl 3 into several axial zones ( in the embodiment shown three zones i , ii and iii ) which are each subdivided longitudinally by web plates 20 . above each zone there is located a pair of nozzles 21 , 22 , 23 , one nozzle ( a ) of each pair being used as a drying air inlet and the other ( b ) being used for removing the drying air . the longitudinal and horizontal division of the cowl 3 , in connection with the division of the trough 2 effected by the heating plates 13 facilitates an air cross flow . in the embodiment shown , the transverse movement of air in zone i extends through three chambers 16 delineated by heating plates 13 , and in zones ii and iii in each case through two chambers . to create more cross - ventilation zones , more cross plates 17 , 18 , 19 should be provided accordingly , with the appropriate nozzles in each case . the maximum number is reached when one cross plate 18 , 19 is located above each heating plate 13 . according to requirements , the drying air can be led to the material moved in the direction of the arrow 25 by means of the shovel - like mixing tools 10 in counterflow ( as indicated by arrows 24 ) or in parallel flow . the dryer according to the invention facilitates rapid and intensive drying of all kinds of bulk materials without the danger of the material being overheated or suffering any other damage . although the invention has been described using the example of a dryer it is not limited to such a device . on the contrary it can be applied to all devices , with which bulk materials can be heated , cooled or subjected to any other heating or cooling treatments . | 5 |
the preferred embodiment of the apparatus and method is illustrated in fig1 . the assembly is suspended by a running tool r which is connected to hanger assembly h . a connection g is mounted at the lower end of hanger assembly h and supports the perforating gun ( not shown ) which is to be used in the procedure . the perforating gun is not illustrated because any one of several styles or types of perforating guns can be used without departing from the spirit of the invention . those skilled in the art will know the running , releasing and retrieval tools may be a single wire line tool or a combination of any number of wire line tools to accomplish the required function . the hanger assembly is adapted to use several types of known running tools known in the industry as baker models gs or gh . in a model gs running tool , the release is accomplished by a jar down . in a model gh running tool run with coil tubing , the release is accomplished by dropping a ball and pressurizing on the coil tubing for a primary release with a secondary setdown shear release . a new running tool has also been developed as illustrated in fig1 , 11 , and 12 , which is engageable to inner shoulder 10 as shown in fig1 . those skilled in the art will know that the location of the contact for support between the positioning tool and the hanger assembly h can be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention . the run in position is illustrated in fig1 . the running tool r is connected to inner shoulder 10 to support the hanger assembly h . hanger assembly h supports the connection g which ultimately holds the perforating gun ( not shown ). fig1 c illustrates how the hanger assembly h supports the connection g . a mandrel 12 is mounted directly to the gun and is supported to the hanger assembly h via a system which includes a plurality of keys 14 . keys 14 in the running position of fig1 c extend into depressions 16 through an opening 18 in the body of mandrel 12 . during the run in position , the keys 14 are supported by piston 20 . piston 20 is connected to mandrel 12 by shear pin 22 , which extends into depression 24 of piston 20 . seals 26 and 28 seal off cavity 30 . cavity 30 is at atmospheric pressure when the apparatus a is lowered into the wellbore . seals 32 and 26 seal between the piston 20 and the mandrel 12 . cavity 34 becomes pressurized during the firing sequence and exerts a pressure on piston 20 . seals 32 and 26 allow the pressure built up in cavity 34 to drive piston 20 , as will be described below when the operational sequence of the apparatus a is discussed . the anchoring mechanism of hanger assembly h comprises a plurality of slips 36 . the slips are retained in their run in position as shown in fig1 c through the use of shear pin 38 which extends from housing 62 into the slips 36 . during the run in position shown in fig1 c lower cone 42 is keyed to piston 44 by virtue of keys 46 extending through opening 48 in piston 44 . keys 46 , during the run in position , are supported by surface 50 of outer sleeve 52 . outer sleeve 52 has depressed surfaces 54 and 56 ( see fig2 c ), as well as a shoulder 58 . a shear pin 60 connects outer sleeve 52 to housing 62 . at the upper end of outer sleeve 52 is internal groove 64 ( see fig8 a ) which can be used for engaging a positioning tool p , as shown in fig7 a . inner sleeve 66 is an extension of mandrel 12 and is concentrically mounted with outer sleeve 52 . inner sleeve 66 has a shoulder 68 which lies opposed to shoulder 58 for a purpose that will be described below . housing 62 accommodates a rupture disc 70 which initially blocks passage 72 . passage 72 leads into chamber 74 which is sealed by seals 76 and 78 . seal 76 is mounted to piston 44 and seal 78 is mounted to housing 62 . cavity 80 exists between housing 62 and piston 44 and is sealed off by seals 76 and 82 . seal 82 is mounted to housing 62 . during the run in position , the pressure in cavity 80 is atmospheric . a shear pin 84 extends through housing 62 into groove 86 of piston 44 . other means to selectively expose wellbore pressure to piston 44 are within the scope of the invention . other means to convert applied wellbore pressure to create relative movement is within the scope of the invention . inserted in openings in the housing 62 are upper cone segments 88 which are biased inwardly by spring 90 . piston 44 initially supports the upper cone segments 88 . the housing 62 has a plurality of openings 92 through which the slips 36 ultimately extend . slips 36 have a serrated surface 94 for engagement with the casing or wellbore . inner sleeve 66 contains a grooved surface 96 . a wire line conveyed detonator 98 ( see fig3 a and 3b ) can be placed as shown and latched to groove 96 through a plurality of latches 100 . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the detonator 98 can be placed in the location shown in fig3 a and 3b by a slick line or electric line . once placed in the position shown in fig3 a and 3b , the detonator 98 , through cord 102 , can initiate the firing of the gun by known means . the detonator assembly is known in the art , and a model d wire line conveyed detonator produced by baker hughes can be used in the preferred embodiment . the essential components now having been described the operation of the hanger assembly h to position the gun and the firing and auto - release sequence will now be described . fig1 shows the run in position with the running tool r supporting the hanger assembly h which through a connection g supports the perforating gun . once the hanger assembly h has been lowered to the appropriate depth , the pressure in the wellbore is raised from the surface until rupture disc 70 ruptures . since the pressure in chamber 80 is less than the pressure in chamber 74 , an unbalanced force acts on piston 44 which drives piston 44 uphole . movement uphole of piston 44 shears pin 84 . uphole movement of piston 44 brings up lower cone 42 since lower cone 42 is keyed together to piston 44 through keys 14 . keys 14 continue to be supported by outer sleeve 52 thereby retaining the connection between piston 44 and lower cone 42 as it moves up as shown in fig2 c . lower cone 42 has a tapered surface 104 which ramps the slips 36 outwardly as lower cone 42 moves uphole . the upward movement of lower cone 42 pushes slips 36 against ramp surfaces 106 of upper cone segments 88 . as a result , ramp surfaces 104 and 106 move closer together pushing each of the slips 36 outwardly into contact with the casing or wellbore . at this point , the slips 36 are set and the gun is supported . the running tool r can be released by a jar down if it is one such as baker model gs . alternatively , the running tool r can be released by dropping a ball and pressurizing on coil tubing for primary release with a secondary setdown shear release if a baker model gh running tool is used . yet , a third type of running tool may be used which is shown in fig1 , 11 , and 12 . the running tool of the present invention ( see fig1 ) has a fishing neck 108 to which a wire line or electric line or slick line can be mounted at connection 110 . the fishing neck 108 is connected to a core 112 which is in turn connected to dog support 114 . core 112 extends through shear collar 116 . shear pin 118 retains core 112 to shear collar 116 during the running and pulling position illustrated in fig1 . a release piston 120 is mounted over shear collar 116 , as well as rupture disc sleeve 122 . chamber 124 is isolated by seals 126 and 128 mounted to shear collar 116 , as well as seal 130 mounted to the release piston 120 . when the running tool r of fig1 is inserted into the wellbore with hanger assembly h , connection g , and the perforating gun , the pressure in cavity 124 continues to remain at atmospheric pressure . release piston 120 is restrained from initial movement via shear screw 132 . shear screw or screws 132 extend through cylinder 134 into rupture disc sleeve 122 . dog spring 136 biases dog retainer 138 against dogs 140 . by virtue of the force exerted by spring 136 , dogs 140 stay in the position shown in fig1 with dogs 140 abutting radial surface 142 on dog support 114 . rupture disc 144 initially isolates the pressure in the wellbore seen in cavity 146 out of passage 148 . the running tool r shown in fig1 can be pressure actuated to release in conjunction with the setting of the slips 36 . in the preferred embodiment , the assembly is placed in the wellbore and the wellbore is pressurized . rupture disc 70 is actuated first to set the slips 36 . thereafter , continued pressurization on the wellbore results in rupturing of rupture disc 144 . this allows the pressure in the wellbore to extend through passage 148 and onto release piston 120 . since the pressure in chamber 124 is still atmospheric , and the pressure in passage 148 is the wellbore passage , a pressure imbalance exists on release piston 120 which causes it to shift as illustrated in fig1 . uphole movement of release piston 120 shears shear screws 132 and creates relative movement between dog support 114 and dogs 140 to allow the dogs to retract into depressed surface 150 to facilitate disengagement between the running tool and the inner shoulder 10 ( see fig1 a ) of the hanger assembly more specifically , this occurs because piston 120 is fixed to cylinder 134 which has an internal shoulder 135 which catches abutment 137 making collets 140 move in tandem with piston 120 . if for any reason the hydraulic actuation just described fails to operate , a mechanical override is provided . in that situation , a downward jarring force from a jar ( not shown ) exerts a downward force on fishing neck 108 which results in shearing a pin 118 with core 112 transmitting the jarring force to dog support 114 . fig1 shows the sequence . cylinder 134 bottoms on housing h . dog support 114 can still move further down . an upward force is transmitted from housing h ( which at this time is fixed ) through cylinder 134 to piston 120 through the incompressible fluid in chamber 124 to shear collar 116 . release spring 152 exerts an upward force on rupture disc sleeve 122 which in turn through cylinder 134 keeps the dogs 140 from relatching in the position shown in fig1 . instead , when the jar down secondary release mechanism is actuated , the dogs 140 remain in the position shown in fig1 to facilitate release of the running tool r from the hanger assembly h . returning now to fig3 with the running tool r removed and the slips 36 set , the detonator assembly 98 is placed into position shown in fig3 by wire line , electric line , or slick line . thereafter , the line is removed from the wellbore and pressure is increased in the wellbore to set off the detonator assembly 98 . ultimately , during the process of firing the guns as a result of actuation of the detonator assembly 98 , pressure builds in chamber 34 from the expanding gas from the perforating guns . this increase in pressure bears on piston 20 shearing pin 22 . since the pressure in chamber 30 is atmospheric and the pressure in chamber 34 is greater than the pressure in chamber 30 , piston 20 shifts upwardly reducing the volume of chamber 30 . the upward shift of piston 20 places depressed surface 154 opposite keys 14 allowing keys 14 to retract radially inwardly out of depression 16 and back through openings 18 such that there is no longer a connection between housing 156 and mandrel 158 ( see fig4 ). due to the weight of the gun connected to mandrel 158 , the inward radial movement of keys 14 pulls mandrel 12 downhole . ultimately , shoulders 68 and 58 connect , as shown in fig5 . further downward forces applied to mandrel 12 due to the weight of the gun are transferred from inner sleeve 66 to outer sleeve 52 . the downward movement of outer sleeve 52 presents depressed surface 56 to adjacent keys 46 undermining those keys and allowing them to move radially inwardly , as shown in fig5 . once keys 46 have retracted fully into piston 44 , piston 44 is no longer trapped by lower cone 42 . this allows the weight of the gun acting on inner sleeve 66 through the contact of shoulders 68 and 58 to continue to pull down outer sleeve 52 until shoulder 160 on outer sleeve 52 contacts shoulder 162 on lower cone 42 . this can be seen by comparing fig4 to fig5 . thereafter , the weight of the gun pulls downwardly on lower cone 42 allowing the slips 36 slide down ramp surface 104 and into contact with recessed surface 164 , as shown in fig6 . with lower cone 42 shifted downwardly , spring 90 biases upper cone segments 88 radially inwardly away from slips 36 further undermining slips 36 and releasing the contact between slips 36 and the casing or wellbore . with the slips 36 released and nothing holding up the hanger assembly h , the entire hanger assembly h , the connection g , and the gun drop to the bottom of the wellbore . in the event the auto - release sequence , illustrated in fig4 - 6 , does not function , a mechanical release is possible , as shown in fig7 - 8 . the releasing tool p , shown in fig7 - 8 , can be any one of a variety of releasing tools such as otis model b positioning tool . the releasing tool p is used to drop the hanger assembly with the guns and can be used with or without auto - release feature of the hanger assembly h . an embodiment without the auto - release feature for retrieval after firing is illustrated in fig9 . referring now to fig7 the releasing tool p is latched on shoulder 166 of outer sleeve 52 . if for any reason the gun has failed to go off or the hanger has failed to release , an upward force applied to releasing tool p , shown in fig7 results in breaking of shear screw 60 . the outer sleeve 52 moves up to present depressed surface 154 opposite keys 46 , as shown in fig7 . as previously described , the piston 44 is freed to move upwardly due to the radially inward movement of keys 46 . the upward movement of piston 44 presents depressed surface 168 opposite upper cone segments 88 allowing spring 90 to bias upper cone segments 88 inwardly toward depressed surface 168 . at that point , the slips 36 are fully disengaged from the casing or wellbore and the weight of the hanger assembly h and the connection g and the perforating gun exerts a force on releasing tool p releasing the releasing tool dogs schematically illustrated as 170 ( see fig7 ). as a result , the releasing tool p can be retrieved while the hanger assembly h with the connection g and the gun dropping to the bottom of the wellbore . referring now to fig9 . there can be applications where it is desired to retrieve the gun and the hanger assembly h after the gun is fired . by comparing fig1 to fig9 it can be seen that the embodiment shown in fig9 does not have the auto - release feature illustrated in fig1 . the hanger assembly h , along with the gun , can be manually retrieved with a running tool , such as baker model gs . the running tool r connects to radial surface 172 . thereafter , an upward force applied to the running tool r frees the keys 46 in the manner described above releasing piston 44 to move upwardly and allowing the slips 36 to move down ramp surface 104 . upper cone segments 88 fall into depressed surface 168 and spring 90 biases the upper cone segments radially inwardly allowing the slips 36 to come away from the casing or wellbore . an upward pull applied to the running tool r retrieves the entire assembly . the apparatus and method of the present invention provide unique advantages to the operator . a gun can be quickly positioned in an unperforated bore using a wire line or electric line . the gun is supported from above and is hydraulically set . using the running tool illustrated in fig1 and 11 , one smooth buildup of pressure can be used to set the slips 36 and release the running tool r . with the support for the gun being above the gun , if for any reason there is difficulty in removing the gun , less milling is required to get the slips 36 to release , as compared to bottom supported gun assemblies . because of the method employed , guns of any length may be used without any restriction or limitation to the size of a lubricator mounted above the wellbore . certain applications involving shallow depths or where there is insufficient weight for setting of slips due to the particular application , are overcome with the apparatus and method of the present invention which can be set hydraulically . the expense and rig space required for coil tubing units and precious rig time for running rigid tubing is reduced with the apparatus and method of the present invention . instead , the hanger assembly h with the gun can be quickly positioned at the desired depth and the gun set off . in another advantage of the present invention , mechanical means are provided to release the slips if the auto - release feature does not operate properly . with the secondary releasing ability , the slips 36 can be released and the gun dropped to the bottom of the wellbore . alternatively , the entire assembly can be retrieved for reuse . the running tool disclosed provides additional benefits of hydraulic operation allowing for sequential setting of the slips and release by raising the pressure in the wellbore . the mechanical override feature of the running tool shown in fig1 and 11 provides backup assurances that disengagement can occur . the foregoing disclosure and description of the invention are illustrative and explanatory thereof , and various changes in the size , shape and materials , as well as in the details of the illustrated construction , may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention . | 4 |
the compound of the present invention is represented by the following general formula ( 1 ): in the aryl groups of the general formula ( 1 ), carbon atoms not binding with imidazole ring may have mutual independent substituents r a to r e , the number in is an integer from 1 to 4 , and the number n to q are integers from 1 to 5 which are independent to each other . the substituents r a are independent to each other and may be identical to or different from each other . the substituent ( s ) r a can be selected from a group consisting of hydrogen atom , halogen atom , nitro group , cyano group , trifluoromethyl group , hydroxyl group , thiol group , amino group , diphenylamino group and carbazole group , alkyl group with straight chain or with branched chain having carbon number from 1 to 20 , alkylamino group with straight chain or with branched chain having carbon number from 1 to 20 , alkoxy group with straight chain or with branched chain having carbon number from 1 to 20 , — y 1 — siz 1 z 2 z 3 group , — y 1 — siy 2 z 1 z 2 group and — y 1 — siy 2 y 3 z 1 group ( y 1 to y 3 and z 1 to z 3 are independent to each other and are identical to or different from each other , y 1 to y 3 represent alkyl group or alkylene group with straight chain or with branched chain having carbon number from 1 to 20 , and z 1 to z 3 represent hydrogen atom or halogen atom or alkoxy group with straight chain or with branched chain having carbon number from 1 to 8 ), ring group mutually bound by aromatic ring , a heterocyclic ring and an alicyclic ring ( wherein the aromatic ring includes ring such as benzene ring , naphthalene ring , anthracene ring , the heterocyclic ring includes ring such as pyridine ring , pyrrole ring , furan ring , thiophene ring , and the alicyclic ring includes ring such as cyclopentane ring , cyclohexane ring . one or more substituents may be selected from these substituents . furthermore , the substituents r b to r f are independent to each other and may be identical to or different from each other . the substituents may be selected from the group consisting of hydrogen atom , halogen atom , nitro group , cyano group , trifluoromethyl group , hydroxyl group , thiol group , amino group , diphenylamino group , carbazole group , alkyl group with straight chain or with branched chain having carbon number from 1 to 20 , alkylamino group with straight chain or with branched chain having carbon number from 1 to 20 , alkoxy group with straight chain or branched chain from 1 to 20 having carbon number from 1 to 20 , — y 1 — siz 1 z 2 z 3 group , — y 1 — siy 2 z 1 z 2 group and — y 1 — siy 2 y 3 z 1 group ( y 1 to y 3 and z 1 to z 3 are independent to each other and are identical to or different from each other , and y 1 to y 3 represent alkyl group or of alkylene group with straight chain or branch chain having carbon number from 1 to 20 , and z 1 to z 3 represent hydrogen atom or halogen atom or alkoxy group with straight chain or with branched chain having carbon number from 1 to 8 ), ring group mutually bound by aromatic ring , a heterocyclic ring and an alicyclic ring ( wherein the aromatic ring includes ring such as benzene ring , naphthalene ring , anthracene ring , the heterocyclic ring includes ring such as pyridine ring , pyrrole ring , furan ring , thiophene ring , and the alicyclic ring includes ring such as cyclopentane ring , cyclohexane ring , and substituents represented by the following structure formula ( i ): in which , in the partial structure formula ( i ), r i1 is alkylene group or alkoxylene group having carbon number from 1 to 4 , r i2 is hydrogen atom or alkyl group having carbon number from 1 to 3 . one or more substituents may be selected from these substituents . in view of the compound of the present invention in the general formula ( 1 ), the structure of one diarylimidazole moiety of the compound may be the same or be different from another diarylimidazole moiety of the compound . the present invention combines two diarylimidazole radicals having different absorbance wavelengths or introducing the substituent ( s ) to aryl position of the compound of the present invention to make it possible to more precisely control the photochromic characteristics such as coloring tone or density to thus achieve the goal that can optimally design the molecule structure of the compound corresponding to the applying purpose . in this case , for the purpose of precisely control photochromic characteristics , the introduced substituents r a to r e in view of tone / response rate control are preferably substituents selected from electron - donating group ( such as hydrogen , methyl group and methoxy group ), nitro group , and cyano group , etc . more preferably , the substituents can be selected from methoxy group and nitro group , etc . one or more substituents may be selected from these substituents . furthermore , the compounds of the present invention , acting as a functional moiety , is introduced into the high polymer by means of condensing and polymerizing the polymerizable substituent and the polymerizable functional group , wherein the polymerizable substituent ( s ) is / are in an amount of one or two which is / are able to be polymerized and is selected from the substituents r b to r e , and the polymerizable functional group ( s ) is / are in an amount of one or two which is / are contained in the high polymer main chain or side chain of the high polymer . the same plurality of the compounds of the present invention having more than two polymerizable substituents selected from the substituents r c to r f is radically polymerized to thus able to form a chain polymer or reticulated polymer . in this case , as the polymerizable substituents r b to r e , the substituents are preferably selected from hydroxyl group , amino group , carboxyl group , isocyanate group , halogen group , azide group , vinyl group , ethynyl group , and a group represented by the following partition structure formulae ( iv ): including acrylic acid or methacrylic acid esters such as methacrylate butyl group , acrylate - butyl group or methacrylic acid propoxy group . more preferably , the substituents are selected from hydroxyl group , methacrylate butyl group . one or more of these substituents may be selected for substitution . among the above substituents r a to r e containing the aryl group of the compounds of the present invention , it defines substituents r xi to r x4 which are substituents including substituents having a bridging group and substituents other than the above mentioned substituents which are introduced for purpose of precisely controlling photochromic characteristics and other than the above mentioned substituents which are used for polymerizing the function group containing a high polymer main chain or side chain . the defined substituents r x1 to r x4 are preferably selected from hydrogen atom , alkyl group with straight chain or with branched chain having carbon number from 1 to 20 , etc ., and are more preferably selected from a group consisting of hydrogen atom and methyl group . one or more of these substituents may be selected for substitution . furthermore , the above substituents are formed by integrally combining ( i ) the carbon atom binding with the substituents , ( ii ) substituents other than the above substituents and ( iii ) the carbon atom binding with substituents other than the above substituents . the integral combination of the all preferably forms heterocyclic ring ( such as benzene ring , naphthalene ring , anthracene ring ), heterocyclic ring ( such as pyridine ring , pyrrole ring , furan ring , thiophene ring ), and alicyclic ring [ j12 ] ( such as cyclopentane ring , cyclohexane ring ). the ring may further contain another substituents which has the same definition as the above substituents containing aryl group . the two diarylimidazole positions of the present invention may be asymmetric to each other according to these ring structures or substituents . moreover , in the five aryl groups of the compounds of the present invention , it adjusts a distance , an angle and molecule flexibility of two imidazole rings by use of the number , the type of the substituents and the structure of aromatic ring formed by the substituents to which the five aryl groups of the compounds are bound to thus be possible to appropriately adjust the photochromic characteristics such as color switching reacting speed or coloring density corresponding to the purpose of the compounds for the present invention . the examples of the specific compounds represented in the general formula ( 1 ) are preferably the compound including 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ], 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetrakis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ], 7 , 8 - dimethoxy - 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] and the derivatives of these compounds . the high polymer , which is previously mentioned in the present invention , is a high polymer containing , in the main chain and / or the side chain of the high polymer , repeating structural units represented by following partition structure formula ( ii ): specifically , in the exemplified repeating structural units , b is one or more than two linking groups selected from the group consisting of carbon atom , nitrogen atom and oxygen atom , f is a derivative of the compound of the present invention , f — b represents a bind between the linking group and one or two substituents selected from substituents rc to rf of the derivative of the compound , and α , β , γ , δ and ε are independent to each other and are integers more than 1 . in the compound of the present invention , one or two polymerizable substituent such as hydroxyl group selected from the substituent r c to r f , can condense and polymerize the linking group which is polymerizable to one or two carboxyl group containing in the main chain or side chain of a high polymer such that the compounds of the present invention can be acted as functional moiety to introduce into the high polymer . since the compound of the present invention has a high speed color switching characteristic and a high color density , it also may be mixed with a predetermined solvent . the mixed solvent is preferably benzene , toluene , chloroform , methylene chloride . in view of chromogen stability , benzene and toluene are preferable . a mixture of two or more of these solvents may also be used . since the compounds of the present invention has a high speed color switching characteristic and a high color density even in the solid phase of a plastic materials such as resin or glass , it may mix with a solid of a predetermined resin or glass , or may be taken as the functional moiety to chemically bind with in a main chain of the resin . the mixed resin preferably can be polymethyl methacrylate , polystyrene , polyimide , teflon ®, polycarbonate and polyurethane , wherein in a viewpoint of the stability of the color - forming material , the mixed resin may be more preferable as polymethyl methacrylate , a teflon ®, polycarbonate and polyurethane . the compound of the present invention as used as a photochromic material , solvent and resin containing the compound may be security ink , hologram material , light modulating material and optical switch , etc . the compound of the present invention is a photochromic compound characterized with in particularly high speed discoloring , and visually photochromic discoloring characteristic being simultaneous with the irradiation light determination . regarding discoloring speed of the compound of the present invention , for example , under a measurement that use a benzene solution as a solvent with the concentration of 3 . 1 × 10 − 4 m and thereafter is measured by nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurement method described later , the half - life of the chromogen is preferably 1 ˜ 2000 μs , more preferably is 1 ˜ 1000 μs , and furthermore preferably is in a range of 1 ˜ 500 μs . a method for producing the compound of the present invention comprises : reacting a compound represented by the following general formula ( 3 ) with a benzyl derivative having 1 , 2 - diketone represented by the following general formula ( 4 ) and / or the following general formula ( 5 ), wherein a compound represented by the following general formula ( 2 ) takes a o - halobenzaldehyde body represented by the following general formula ( 2 ) as a start compound , aldehyde moiety is protected and thereafter o - position of aldehyde is derivatized to form aldehyde , in the general formula ( 2 ) and the general formula ( 3 ), the substituents r a and subscript in respectively have the same definitions as these of the substituents r a and subscript in defined in the general formula ( 1 ), and in the general formula ( 4 ) and the general formula ( 5 ), the substituents r b to r e and the subscript n to q have the same definitions as these of the substituents r b to r e and subscript n to q defined in the general formula ( 1 ). the present invention will be explained more specifically with reference to the embodiments and comparative examples below , but the present invention is not intended to be limited to these examples and various modifications can be made without deviating from the technical spirit of the present invention . the synthesizing processes of the above includes : placing 2 - bromobenzaldehyde 4 . 97 g ( 26 . 9 mmol ), ethylene glycol 3 . 49 g ( 56 . 2 mmol ) p - toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate 470 mg ( 2 . 47 mmol ) into a 100 ml two - neck flask , add benzene 10 ml , and refluxing the mixture with dean - stark apparatus for 24 hours ; after cooling down the temperature to room temperature , terminating the reaction with a saturated sodium bicarbonate aqueous solution and performing an extraction with dichloromethane ; drying the organic layer with sodium sulfate and distilling off the solvent under a reduced pressure to obtain a crude product ; and performing a purification with silica gel column chromatographic ( dichloromethane ) to obtain 2 -( 2 - bromophenyl )- 1 , 3 - dioxolane 5 . 01 g ( 22 . 1 mmol ) in 82 % yield . the measurement results of nmr are shown below . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 7 . 61 - 7 . 56 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 34 ( dd , j1 = 7 . 5 hz , j 2 = 7 . 5 hz , 1h ), 7 . 24 - 7 . 20 7 ( in , 1h ), 6 . 11 ( s , 1h ), 4 . 17 - 4 . 06 ( in , 4h ) dissolving 2 -( 2 - bromophenyl )- 1 , 3 - dioxolane 4 . 83 g of ( 21 . 1 mmol ) in dehydrated tetrahydrofuran ( thf ) 15 ml and cooling down the temperature to − 78 ° c . ; then adding n - butyllithium hexane solution 1 . 60m hexane solution 16 ml slowly , and stirring for 2 hours at − 78 ° c . ; after raising the temperature to − 30 ° c ., cooling down to − 78 ° c . again , and then adding dehydrated dimethylformamide ( dmf ) 1 . 3 ml ; raising the temperature to room temperature and stirring the mixture for 12 hours ; terminating the reaction with saturated sodium bicarbonate aqueous solution , performing an extraction with ethyl acetate , drying the organic layer with sodium sulfate aqueous solution , and distilling the solvent off under a reduced pressure to obtain crude product ; and performing a purification with silica gel column chromatography ( hexane / ethyl acetate = 4 / 1 ) to obtain 2 -( 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - yl ) benzaldehyde 3 . 61 g ( 20 . 2 mmol ) in 96 % yield . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 10 . 42 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 94 ( d , j = 7 . 6 hz , 1h ), 7 . 74 ( d , j = 7 . 6 hz , 1h ), 7 . 62 ( dd , j 1 = 7 . 5 hz , j 2 = 7 . 5 hz , 1h ), 7 . 53 ( dd , j 1 = 7 . 5 hz , j 2 = 7 . 5 hz , 1h ), 6 . 41 ( s , 1h ), 4 . 16 - 4 . 10 ( in , 4h ) the synthesizing processes of the above includes : placing 2 -( 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - yl ) benzaldehyde 38 . 7 mg ( 2 . 31 mmol ), benzyl 513 mg ( 2 . 44 mmol ) and ammonium acetate 747 mg ( 9 . 69 mmol ) in a sealed tube container , and adding chloroform 8 ml , then stirring the mixture for 18 hours at 110 ° c . ; adding benzyl 517 mg ( 2 . 46 mmol ), ammonium acetate 488 mg ( 6 . 33 mmol ) and acetic acid 1 ml and then continuously stirring for an additional 24 hours at 110 ° c ., neutralizing the mixture with ammonia water , extracting with chloroform , drying the organic layer with sodium sulfate , distilling off the solvent under a reduced pressure to obtain a crude produce , and performing a recrystallization of chloroform / hexane mixed solvent to obtain 1 , 2 - bis ( 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) benzene 596 mg ( 1 . 16 mmol ) in 50 % yield . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d 6 ): δ = 14 . 08 ( s , 2h ), 8 . 19 - 8 . 17 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 61 - 7 . 59 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 55 - 7 . 41 ( m , 10h ), 7 . 30 - 7 . 28 ( in , 12h ). the synthesizing processes of the above includes : suspending 1 , 2 - bis ( 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) benzene 38 . 7 mg ( 0 . 0752 mmol ) in benzene 5 ml , and dissolving potassium ferricyanide 200 mg ( 3 . 56 mmol ) and potassium hydroxide 745 mg ( 2 . 26 mmol ) in ion - exchange water 20 ml and adding it back , then stirring the mixture vigorously for 2 hours at 60 ° c . ; after cooling down the temperature to room temperature , placing the mixture in a separatory funnel and washing the organic layer well with ion - exchanged water ; and drying the organic layer with sodium sulfate , distilling off the solvent under a reduced pressure to obtain 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenylspiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] 34 . 7 mg ( 0 . 0677 mmol ) in 90 % yield . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 03 ( d , j = 7 . 5 hz , 1h ), 7 . 57 ( d , j = 7 . 1 hz , 2h ), 7 . 53 - 7 . 49 ( m , 3h ), 7 . 38 - 7 . 35 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 30 - 7 . 28 ( m , 7h ), 7 . 25 - 7 . 10 ( m , 6h ), 6 . 84 ( d , j = 6 . 8 hz , 1h ), esi - tof - ms ( m / z ): 513 [ m + h ] + use single - crystal x - ray structure analyzer mounted with ccd ( manufactured by bruker axs co ., smart apex ii ) to analyze the crystal structure of synthesized 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - a ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ]. the molecular structure revealed by the analysis is shown in fig1 . nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurement of 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ]. the nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurement processes of 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] includes : performing the laser flash photolysis measurement of synthesized 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] by a time - resolved spectroscopic measurement device ( model tsp - 1000 which is manufactured by ltd . yunisoku ); using a quartz spectral cell having an optical path length of 10 mm to perform nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurement of 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl spirobenzene [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution ( the concentration is 3 . 1 × 10 − 4 m ) where it is performed under an argon atmosphere and at 25 ° c . fig2 shows a visible / near - ir absorption spectrum of 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution , wherein the spectrum is obtained by a measurement every 0 . 8 μs immediately after the irradiation by using nanosecond ultraviolet laser having a wavelength of 355 nm ( pulse width : 5 ns , output : 8 mj ) by means of time - resolved spectroscopy apparatus . from this result , it confirms that 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] can reversibly generates a chromogen having a strong absorption band of 710 nm by irradiation with ultraviolet light . also , fig3 shows the result of measurement of the time decay relating to the absorption band of 710 nm which appears while the 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution is irradiated by nanosecond ultraviolet laser having a wavelength of 355 nm ( pulse width : 5 ns , output : 4 mj ). as the result , it thus confirms that the chromogen of 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenylspiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole has a half - life of 2 . 6 μs after the irradiation is terminated at 25 ° c . and is attenuated rapidly . then it performs the durability test by irradiating the 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution 13000 times by nanosecond ultraviolet laser having a wavelength of 355 nm ( pulse width ; 5 ns , output : 4 mj ) at 25 ° c . fig4 illustrates a result of time decay relating to the absorbance of 710 nm by comparing that is irradiated once by the nanoseconds ultraviolet laser and that is irradiated for 13000 times by the nanoseconds ultraviolet laser . it confirms that the time decay relating to the absorbance is kept remained the same and the sample has not been deteriorated even after being irradiated for 13000 times by nanosecond uv laser . in addition , fig5 illustrates the ultraviolet - visible absorption spectrum of 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole irradiated once by the nanosecond ultraviolet laser and irradiated for 13000 times by the nanosecond ultraviolet laser . and it thus confirms that the ultraviolet - visible absorption spectrum of 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole after the first irradiation and that after 13000 times of irradiation are kept unchanged . and the result indicates that 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] is a photochromic compound having a high repetition durability . the synthesizing processes of the above includes : placing 2 -( 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - yl ) benzaldehyde 501 mg ( 2 . 81 mmol ), 4 , 4 ′- dimethoxybenzyl 1 . 60 g ( 5 . 92 mmol ) and ammonium acetate 1 . 21 mg ( 15 . 7 mmol ) into a sealed tube container , adding chloroform 8 ml and stirring the mixture for 24 h at 110 ° c . ; adding acetic acid 1 ml and continuously stirring for an additional 24 hours at 110 ° c . ; neutralizing the mixture with aqueous ammonia , performing an extraction with chloroform , drying the organic layer with sodium sulfate , and distilling off the solvent under reduced pressure to obtain the crude product ; and performing a purification with silica gel column chromatography ( hexane / ethyl acetate = 1 / 1 ) to obtain 1 , 2 - bis ( 4 , 5 - bis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) benzene 701 mg ( 1 . 10 mmol ) in 39 % yield . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d 6 ): δ = 14 . 08 ( s , 2h ), 8 . 17 - 8 . 15 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 57 - 7 . 54 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 35 ( s , 8h ), 6 . 86 ( d , j = 8 . 8 hz , 8h ), 3 . 77 ( s , 12h ) the synthesizing processes of the above includes : suspending 1 , 2 - bis ( 4 , 5 - bis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) benzene 344 mg ( 0 . 542 mmol ) in benzene 10 ml , dissolving potassium ferricyanide 1 . 34 g ( 4 . 07 mmol ) and potassium hydroxide 406 mg ( 7 . 24 mmol ) in ion - exchange water 20 ml and adding it back , then stirring the mixture vigorously for 2 hours at 60 ° c . ; after cooling down the temperature to room temperature ; and placing the organic layer in a separatory funnel , washing the organic layer well with ion - exchanged water , drying with sodium sulfate , distilling off solvent under reduced pressure to obtain 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetrakis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] 310 mg ( 0 . 49 mmol ) in 90 % yield . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 7 . 98 ( d , j = 7 . 6 hz , 1h ), 7 . 67 - 7 . 63 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 53 ( d , j = 8 . 9 hz , 2h ), 7 . 44 - 7 . 41 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 30 ( d , j = 5 . 1 hz , 5h ), 7 . 26 ( d , j = 7 . 7 hz , 1h ), 7 . 16 ( d , j = 8 . 7 hz , 2h ), 7 . 06 ( d , j = 8 . 9 hz , 4h ), 6 . 90 ( d , j = 8 . 9 hz , 2h ), 6 . 75 ( d , j = 8 . 7 hz , 2h ), 3 . 88 ( s , 6h ). 3 . 77 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 70 ( s , 3h ), esi - tof - ms ( m / z ): 633 [ m + h ] + the nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurement processes of 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetrakis ( 4 - methoxy - phenyl ) spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] includes : performing the laser flash photolysis measurement of synthesized 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetrakis ( 4 - methoxy - phenyl ) spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] by using time - resolved spectroscopy measuring device ( model tsp - 1000 which is manufactured by kk yunisoku ); using a quartz spectral cell having an optical path length of 10 mm to perform nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurement of 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetrakis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution ( concentration of 3 . 3 × 10 − 4 m ) and it is performed under an argon atmosphere , and at 25 ° c . fig6 shows the results of measurement of visible and near infrared absorption spectrum measurement of 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetrakis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution , wherein the spectrum is obtained by a measurement every 1 . 6 μs after the irradiation by using nanosecond ultraviolet laser having a wavelength of 355 nm ( pulse width : 5 ns , output : 8 mj ) by means of time - resolved spectroscopy apparatus . as the result , it confirms that 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetrakis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] can reversibly generates a chromogen having a strong absorption band near 750 nm by irradiation by ultraviolet . it also confirms that the maximum absorption wavelength of the chromogen shifts to the longer wavelength side by introducing a methoxy group to the phenyl group of 4 , 5 - position of the imidazole ring . and fig7 shows the result of measurement of the time decay relating to the absorption band of 710 nm which appears while the 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetrakis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl ) spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution is irradiated by nanosecond ultraviolet laser having a wavelength of 355 nm ( pulse width : 5 ns , output : 4 mj ). as the result , it thus confirms that the chromogen of 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetrakis ( 4 - methoxy - phenyl ) spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] has a half - life of 4 . 2 μs at 25 ° c . after the irradiation is terminated and is attenuated rapidly . it can also know that the half - life is unchanged even though it is introduced with a methoxy group at the 4 , 5 - position of the imidazole ring . then it performs the durability test by irradiating the 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetrakis ( 4 - methoxy - phenyl ) spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution 13000 times by nanosecond ultraviolet laser having a wavelength of 355 nm ( pulse width 5 ns , output 4 mj ) at 25 ° c . fig8 illustrates a result of time decay relating to the absorbance of 710 nm by comparing that is irradiated once by the nanoseconds ultraviolet laser and that is irradiated for 13000 times by the nanoseconds ultraviolet laser . it confirms that the time decay relating to the absorbance is kept remained the same and the sample has not been deteriorated even after being irradiated of 13000 times by nanosecond uv laser . in addition , fig9 illustrates the ultraviolet - visible absorption spectrum of 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetrakis ( 4 - methoxy - phenyl ) spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] irradiated once by the nanosecond ultraviolet laser and irradiated for 13000 times by the nanosecond ultraviolet laser . and it thus confirms that the ultraviolet - visible absorption spectrum after the first irradiation and that after irradiated for 13000 times of irradiation are kept unchanged . and the result indicates that 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetrakis ( 4 - methoxy - phenyl ) spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] is a photochromic compound having a high repetition durability . the synthesizing processes of the above includes : adding 2 - bromo - 4 , 5 - dimethoxybenzaldehyde 2 . 00 g ( 8 . 16 mmol ), ethylene glycol 1 . 10 g ( 17 . 7 mmol ), and p - toluenesulfonic acid monohydrate 140 mg ( 0 . 736 mmol ), adding benzene 10 ml , then refluxing the mixture for 2 days with dean - stark apparatus ; after cooling down the temperature to room temperature , terminating the reaction with saturated sodium bicarbonate aqueous solution , and performing extraction with dichloromethane ; drying the organic layer with sodium sulfate , and distilling off the solvent under reduced pressure to obtain crude product ; and performing a purification with silica gel column chromatography ( benzene / ethyl acetate = 95 / 5 ) to obtain 2 -( 2 - bromo - 4 , 5 - dimethoxyphenyl )- 1 , 3 - dioxolane 569 mg ( 1 . 97 mmol ) in 24 % yield . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 7 . 11 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 02 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 00 ( s , 1h ), 4 . 20 - 4 . 05 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 89 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 88 ( s , 3h ) dissolving 2 -( 2 - bromo - 4 , 5 - dimethoxyphenyl )- 1 , 3 - dioxolane 437 mg ( 1 . 51 mmol ) with dehydrated thf10 ml and cooling down the mixture to − 78 ° c . ; and adding n - butyllithium hexane solution 1 . 60m hexane solution 1 . 2 ml slowly , and stirring the mixture for 2 hours at − 78 ° c . ; after raising the temperature to − 30 ° c ., cooling down the temperature to − 78 ° c . again , and adding dehydration dmf 0 . 1 ml ; then raising temperature to room temperature and stirring the mixture for 12 hours ; terminating the reaction with saturated sodium bicarbonate aqueous solution , performing an extraction with ethyl acetate , drying the organic layer with sodium sulfate aqueous solution and distilling off the solvent under reduced pressure to obtain the crude product ; and performing recrystallization from hexane / ethyl acetate mixed solvent to obtain 2 -( 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - yl )- 4 , 5 - dimethoxybenzaldehyde 165 mg ( 0 . 693 mmol ) in 46 % yield . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 10 . 34 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 48 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 22 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 36 ( s , 1h ), 4 . 20 - 4 . 09 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 99 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 95 ( s , 3h ) the synthesizing processes of the above includes : placing 2 -( 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - yl )- 4 , 5 - dimethoxybenzaldehyde 116 mg ( 0 . 487 mmol ), benzyl 109 mg ( 0 . 518 mmol ), ammonium acetate 300 mg ( 3 . 89 mmol ) and chloroform 3 ml into a sealed tube container , then stirring the mixture for 18 hours at 110 ° c . ; adding acetic acid 1 ml and continuously stirring for an additional 24 hours at 110 ° c . ; neutralizing the mixture with aqueous ammonia , performing an extraction with chloroform , drying the organic layer with sodium sulfate , and distilling off the solvent under reduced pressure to obtain crude product ; and performing a recrystallization with chloroform / hexane mixed solvent to obtain 1 , 2 - bis ( 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl )- 4 , 5 - dimethoxybenzene 138 mg ( 0 . 240 mmol ) in 49 % yield . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d6 ): δ = 14 . 10 ( s , 2h ), 7 . 70 ( s , 2h ), 7 . 49 - 7 . 47 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 39 - 7 . 38 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 29 - 7 . 27 ( m , 12h ), 3 . 93 ( s , 6h ) the synthesizing processes of the above includes : suspending 1 , 2 - bis ( 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl )- 4 , 5 - dimethoxybenzene 54 . 8 mg ( 0 . 0954 mmol ) in benzene 10 ml , dissolving potassium ferricyanide 367 mg ( 1 . 11 mmol ) and potassium hydroxide 203 mg ( 3 . 62 mmol ) in ion - exchange water 20 ml and adding it back , then stirring the mixture vigorously for 2 hours at 60 ° c . ; after cooling down the temperature to room temperature , placing the organic layer in a separatory funnel and washing the organic layer well with ion - exchanged water ; drying the solvent with sodium sulfate and distilling the solvent off under reduced pressure to obtain the crude product ; and using silica gel column chromatography ( hexane / ethyl acetate = 1 / 1 ) to perform a purification to obtain 7 , 8 - dimethoxy - 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] 44 . 0 mg ( 0 . 0768 mmol ) in 81 % yield . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 7 . 59 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 56 - 7 . 50 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 39 - 7 . 35 ( in , 4h ), 7 . 31 - 7 . 28 ( m , 6h ), 7 . 23 - 7 . 08 ( m , 6h ), 6 . 31 ( s , 1h ), 4 . 01 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 81 ( s , 3h ). esi - tof - ms ( m / z ): 573 [ m + h ] + nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurement of 7 , 8 - dimethoxy - 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenylspiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ]. the nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurement processes of synthesized 7 , 8 - dimethoxy - 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenylspiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] includes : using a time - resolved spectrometer ( model tsp - 1000 which is manufactured by kk yunisoku ); using a quartz spectral cell having an optical path length of 10 mm to perform nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurement of 7 , 8 - dimethoxy - 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution ( concentration of 2 . 6 × 10 − 4 m ) where it is performed under an argon atmosphere , and 25 ° c . fig1 has shown the results of measurement of visible / near - ir absorption spectrum of 7 , 8 - dimethoxy - 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenylspiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution , wherein the spectrum is obtained by a measurement every 40 μs immediately after the irradiation by using nanosecond laser flash photolysis having a wavelength of 355 nm ( pulse width : 5 ns , output : 8 mj ) by means of time - resolved spectroscopy apparatus . from this result , it confirms that the 7 , 8 - dimethoxy - 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenylspiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] can reversibly generates a chromogen having a strong absorption band of 750 nm . it confirms that the maximum absorption wavelength of the chromogen shifts to the longer wavelength side by introducing two methoxy groups to the 2 - position of the aryl group of the imidazole ring . also , fig1 shows the results of measurement of the time decay relating to the absorption band of 710 nm which appears while the 7 , 8 - dimethoxy - 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenylspiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution is irradiated by nanosecond ultraviolet laser having a wavelength of 355 nm ( pulse width : 5 ns , output : 4 mj ) as the result , it thus confirms that the chromogen of 7 , 8 - dimethoxy - 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenylspiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] has a half - life of 102 μs after the irradiation is terminated at 25 ° c . and is attenuated rapidly . it can also know that the half - life is greatly increased by introducing a methoxy group at the 4 , 5 - position of the imidazole ring . then it performs the durability test by irradiating the 7 , 8 - dimethoxy - 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenylspiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution 13000 times by nanosecond ultraviolet laser having a wavelength of 355 nm ( pulse width ; 5 ns , output 4 mj ) at 25 ° c . fig1 illustrates a result of time decay relating to the absorbance of 710 nm by comparing that is irradiated once by the nanoseconds ultraviolet laser and that is irradiated for 13000 times by the nanoseconds ultraviolet laser . it confirms that the time decay relating to the absorbance is kept remained as the same and the sample has not been deteriorated even after being irradiated of 13000 times by nanosecond uv laser . in addition , fig1 illustrates the ultraviolet - visible absorption spectrum of 7 , 8 - dimethoxy - 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenylspiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] irradiated once by the nanosecond ultraviolet laser and irradiated 13000 times by the nanosecond ultraviolet laser . and it confirms that the ultraviolet - visible absorption spectrum after the first irradiation and that after 13000 times of irradiation are kept unchanged . and the result indicates that 7 , 8 - dimethoxy - 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenylspiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] is a photochromic compound having a high repetition durability . the synthesizing processes of the above includes : placing 2 -( 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - yl ) benzaldehyde 1 . 00 g ( 5 . 61 mmol ), benzyl 1 . 21 g ( 5 . 76 mmol ), ammonium acetate 1 . 59 mg ( 20 . 6 mmol ) and chloroform 8 ml into a sealed tube container , then stirring for 18 hours at 110 ° c . ; neutralizing with aqueous ammonia , performing an extraction with chloroform , drying the organic layer with sodium sulfate , and distilling off the solvent under reduced pressure to obtain the crude product ; and performing a purification with silica gel column chromatography ( hexane / ethyl acetate = 2 / 1 ) to obtain 2 -( 2 -( 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - yl ) phenyl )- 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 1h - imidazole 731 mg ( 1 . 94 mmol ) in 81 % yield . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d 6 ): δ = 12 . 59 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 97 - 7 . 94 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 74 - 7 . 70 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 64 - 7 . 23 ( m , 9h ), 6 . 85 ( s , 1h ), 4 . 09 - 3 . 92 ( in , 4h ) dissolving 2 -( 2 -( 1 , 3 - dioxolan - 2 - yl ) phenyl )- 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 1h - imidazole 713 mg ( 1 . 94 mmol ) in acetone 5 ml , adding p - toluenesulfonic acid pyridinium 176 mg ( 0 . 70 mmol ) and ion - exchanged water 3 ml , and refluxing the mixture for 2 hours ; performing a filtration to collect the solid precipitated after adding ion - exchanged water , washing the solid precipitated well with ion - exchanged water ; and performing a purification of 2 -( 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) benzaldehyde with silica gel column chromatography ( hexane / ethyl acetate = 2 / 1 ) to obtain 410 mg ( 1 . 26 mmol ) in 65 % yield . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 13 . 07 ( s , 1h ), 10 . 67 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 02 ( d , j = 7 . 7 hz , 1h ), 7 . 87 ( d , j = 7 . 2 hz , 1h ), 8 . 02 ( j 1 = 7 . 5 hz , j 2 = 7 . 5 hz , 1h ), 7 . 60 - 7 . 29 ( in , 11h ) placing 2 -( 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) benzaldehyde 82 . 9 mg ( 0 . 256 mmol ), 4 , 4 ′- dimethoxybenzyl 75 . 4 mg ( 0 . 256 mmol ) and ammonium acetate 172 mg ( 2 . 23 mmol ) into a sealed tube container , adding acetic acid 3 ml and stirring for 18 hours at 110 ° c . ; and performing a neutralization with aqueous ammonia , performing an extraction with chloroform , drying the organic layer with sodium sulfate and distilling off the solvent under reduced pressure to obtain 2 -( 2 -( 4 , 5 - bis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) phenyl )- 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 1h - imidazole 15 . 0 mg ( 0 . 0261 mmol ) in 10 % yield . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 14 . 31 ( s , 1h ), 13 . 85 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 21 - 6 . 78 ( m , 22h ), 3 . 77 ( s , 6h ) the synthesizing processes of the above includes : suspending 2 -( 2 -( 4 , 5 - bis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 1h - imidazol - 2 - yl ) phenyl )- 4 , 5 - diphenyl - 1h - imidazole 15 . 0 mg ( 0 . 0261 mmol ) in benzene 3 ml , and dissolving potassium ferricyanide 354 mg ( 1 . 08 mmol ) and potassium hydroxide 198 mg ( 3 . 53 mmol ) in ion - exchange water 20 ml and adding it back , then stirring vigorously for 2 hours at 60 ° c . ; after cooling down the temperature to room temperature , placing the mixture in a separatory funnel and washing the organic layer well with ion - exchanged water ; and drying the organic layer with sodium sulfate and distilling the solvent under a reduced pressure to obtain the crude product ; and performing a purification with silica gel column chromatography ( hexane / ethyl acetate = 3 / 2 ) to obtain 4 ′, 5 ′- bis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 2 , 3 - diphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] 11 . 0 mg ( 0 . 0192 mmol ) in 74 % yield . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 8 . 01 ( d , j = 7 . 6 hz , 2h ), 7 . 64 - 7 . 03 ( m , 12h ), 6 . 87 ( d , j = 8 . 8 hz , 8h ), 3 . 86 ( s , 6h ). esi - tof - ms ( m / z ): 573 [ m + h ] + the nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurement processes of synthesized 4 ′, 5 ′- bis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 2 , 3 - diphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] includes : using time - resolved spectroscopy measuring device ( model tsp - 1000 which is manufactured by kk yunisoku ); and using a quartz spectral cell having an optical path length of 10 mm to perform nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurement of 4 ′, 5 ′- bis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 2 , 3 - diphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution ( concentration of 3 . 0 × 10 − 4 m ) where it is performed under an argon atmosphere and at 25 ° c . fig1 shows the results of visible and near infrared absorption spectrum measurement of 4 ′, 5 ′- bis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 2 , 3 - diphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution , wherein the spectrum is obtained by a measurement every 0 . 8 μs immediately after the irradiation by using nanosecond ultraviolet laser having a wavelength of 355 nm ( pulse width : 5 ns , output : 8 mj ) by means of time - resolved spectroscopy apparatus . from this result , it confirms that 4 ′, 5 ′- bis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 2 , 3 - diphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] can reversibly generates a chromogen having a strong absorption band of 710 nm by irradiation with ultraviolet light . and fig1 shows the result of measurement of the time decay relating to the absorption band of 710 nm which appears while the 4 ′, 5 ′- bis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 2 , 3 - diphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution is irradiated by nanosecond ultraviolet laser having a wavelength of 355 nm ( pulse width : 5 ns , output : 4 mj ). as the result , it thus confirms that the chromogen of 4 ′, 5 ′- bis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 2 , 3 - diphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] has a half - life of 2 . 3 μs at 25 ° c . after the irradiation is terminated , and the chromogen is attenuated rapidly . then it performs the durability test by irradiating the 4 ′, 5 ′- bis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 2 , 3 - diphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] benzene solution 13000 times by nanosecond ultraviolet laser having a wavelength of 355 nm ( pulse width : 5 ns , to be irradiated output : 4 mj ) at 25 ° c . fig1 illustrates a result of time decay relating to the absorbance of 710 nm by comparing that is irradiated once by the nanoseconds ultraviolet laser and that is irradiated for 13000 times by the nanoseconds ultraviolet laser . it confirms that the time decay relating to the absorbance is kept remained as the same and the sample has not been deteriorated even after being irradiated of 13000 times by nanosecond uv laser . in addition , fig1 illustrates the ultraviolet - visible absorption spectrum of 4 ′, 5 ′- bis ( 4 - methoxyphenyl )- 2 , 3 - diphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] irradiated once by the nanosecond ultraviolet laser and irradiated 13000 times by the nanosecond ultraviolet laser . and it confirms that the ultraviolet - visible absorption spectrum after the first irradiation and that after 13000 times of irradiation are kept unchanged . and the result indicates that 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetrakis ( 4 - methoxy - phenyl ) spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] is a photochromic compound having a high repetition durability . nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurement of pmma containing the 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenylspiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- midazole ]. the nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurement processes of pmma containing the 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenylspiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- midazole ] includes : dissolving polymethyl methacrylate ( pmma )( manufactured by aldrich , molecular weight 350 , 000 ) 20 . 2 mg in chloroform 0 . 4 ml , adding 2 , 3 , 4 ′ 5 ′- tetraphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] 4 . 0 mg synthesized in embodiment 3 and adjusting the solution to a concentration of 20 wt %; using the solution to preparing a pmma film containing the 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl - spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - alpha ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole by casting method ; and performing a nanosecond laser flash photolysis measurement on the film at 25 ° c . fig1 shows the result of measurement of the time decay relating to the absorption band of 710 nm which appears while pmma film containing the 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] is irradiated by nanosecond ultraviolet laser having wavelength of 355 nm ( pulse width : 5 ns , output : 4 mj ). as the result , it thus confirms that the chromogen of 2 , 3 , 4 ′, 5 ′- tetraphenyl spiro [ imidazo [ 2 , 1 - α ] isoindole - 5 , 2 ′- imidazole ] has a half - life of 3 μs after the irradiation is terminated at 25 ° c . and is attenuated rapidly even been contained in the solid phase pmma . photochromic material comprising the pentaarylbiimidazole compound of the present invention has a high speed for color switching reaction and high durability as compared to the conventional prior photochromic materials . moreover , it adjusts a distance , an angle and molecule flexibility of two imidazole rings by use of the number , the type of the substituents and the structure of aromatic ring formed by the substituents binding to the five aryl groups of the compounds of the present invention to thus be possible to appropriately adjust the photochromic characteristics such as color switching reacting speed or coloring density in correspondence to the applying purpose of the compounds as needed in the present invention . furthermore , the present inventors can also be synthesized with less quantity of procedures and the material used is cheaper , and provides a photochromic compound that can be synthesized at low cost and is industrially - applicable . it can therefore be anticipated that the compound of the present invention will be applied to a wide range of fields such as security ink , light control materials , holographic materials , and optical switch elements . | 6 |
hereinafter the technical solutions of the present invention will be described in details in conjunction with the drawings and examples . however , the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto . the structures of compounds were determined by nuclear magnetic resonance ( nmr ) and / or mass spectroscopy ( ms ). nmr measurements were performed with a bruker advance iii 400 nmr device , wherein the measurement solvents were hexadeuterodimethyl sulfoxide ( dmso - d 6 ), deuterochloroform ( cdcl 3 ), and deuteromethanol ( cd 3 od ), and the internal reference was tetramethylsilane ( tms ). 1 h nmr information is expressed in the following format : chemical shift ( multiplet ( s , singlet ; d , doublet ; t , triplet ; q , quartet ; m , multiplet ), number of protons ). hplc measurements were performed with agilent 1260 dad high - pressure liquid chromatograph ( zorba × sb - c18 100 × 4 . 6 mm ). thin - layer chromatography silica gel plate : hsgf254 silica gel plate ( huanghai , yantai ) or gf254 silica gel plate ( qingdao ). the specification of the silica gel plate used for thin - layer chromatography ( tlc ) was 0 . 15 mm to 0 . 20 mm , and that for product isolation and purification by tlc was 0 . 4 mm to 0 . 5 mm . the chromatography column generally used the silica gel ( huanghai , yantai ) of 200 to 300 mesh as a carrier . unless otherwise specified , triethylamine , methyl t - butyl ether , hydrazine hydrate , tetrabutylammonium bromide , dichlorosulfoxide , imidazole , sodium hydride , triphenylphosphine , and trifluoroacetic acid were purchased from chengdu kelong chemical industry reagents manufactory ; di ( t - butyl ) dicarbonate , n , n ′- dicarbonyl diimidazole , n , n - dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal , n , o - dimethyl hydroxylamine hydrochloride , and cis - 4 - hydroxyl - d - proline hydrochloride were purchased from astatech medicine technology co . ltd . ( chengdu ); cesium carbonate , lithium borohydride , t - butyl ( dimethyl ) chlorosilane , n - hydroxylsuccimide , sodium di ( trimethylsilyl ) amine , ethyl ( diphenylmethylenamino ) acetate , and trans - l - hydroxyproline were purchased from energy chemical ; dess - martin periodinane was purchased from shanghai titan scientific co . ltd . ; methyl trifluoromethanesulfonate , 2 , 5 - difluorobromobenzene , and s -( trifluoromethyl ) dibenzothiophenium trifluoromethanesulfonate were purchased from shanghai demochem co . ltd . ; 2 - iodopropane was purchased from shanghai bide pharmatech co . ltd . ; isopropylmagnesium chloride / lithium chloride solution in tetrahydrofuran was purchased from j & amp ; k scientific co . ltd . ; propynolbenzenesulfonate , tetrabutylammonium fluoride , tri ( acetoxy ) sodium borohydride , and tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate were purchased from shanghai adamas - beta co . ltd . ; cyclopentadienylbis ( triphenylphosphine ) ruthenium ( ii ) chloride was purchased from acros organics ; borane - dimethyl sulfide was purchased from accela chembio co . ltd . ( shanghai ); tetrahydrofuran - 3 - sulfonyl chloride was purchased from nanjing chemlin chemical industry co . ltd . ; sodium perborate was purchased from tianjin guangfu fine chemical research institute ; [( r , r )— n -( 2 - amino - 1 , 2 - diphenylethyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonylamido ]( p - cymene ) ruthenium ( ii ) chloride was purchased from strem chemical ; iodomethane and methylsulfonyl chloride were purchased from sinopharm group . a n 2 atmosphere means that the reaction vessel is connected to a n 2 balloon of about 1 l in volume . a h 2 atmosphere means that the reaction vessel is connected to a h 2 balloon of about 2 l in volume . hydrogenation reaction generally involves a vacuuming and h 2 - charging operation repeating 3 times . in the examples , unless particularly specified , solutions refer to aqueous solutions . in the examples , unless particularly specified , reaction temperatures are room temperature , and the most suitable room temperature as a reaction temperature is 20 ° c . to 30 ° c . at room temperature , ethyl n -( diphenylmethylene ) glycinate 1a ( 50 g , 0 . 187 mol ) was dissolved in methyl t - butyl ether ( 300 ml ), then propargylbenzenesulfonate ( 44 g , 0 . 224 mol ) and tetrabutylammonium bromide ( 6 . 1 g , 0 . 019 mol ) were added to the reaction solution , the temperature was raised to 50 ° c ., and cesium carbonate ( 121 . 8 g , 0 . 374 mol ) was added thereto , followed by reaction at 50 ° c . overnight . the reaction solution was filtered and the filter cake was washed with methyl t - butyl ether ( 40 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined and concentrated by rotary evaporation to a half of the volume , and a hydrochloric acid solution ( 3 mol / l , 100 ml ) was added thereto , followed by stirring at room temperature for 1 hour . then the solution was allowed to settle and be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with methyl t - butyl ether ( 70 ml × 2 ) and the aqueous phase was collected to give 1b . sodium hydroxide ( 33 . 7 g , 0 . 842 mol ) was dissolved in water ( 100 ml ), and was added dropwise to the reaction solution of 1b ( 26 . 4 g , 0 . 187 mol ), followed by stirring at room temperature for 2 hours . di ( t - butyl ) dicarbonate ( 45 g , 0 . 206 mol ) was dissolved in methyl t - butyl ether ( 125 ml ), and was added dropwise to the reaction solution , followed by stirring at room temperature for 4 hours . the mixture was allowed to settle and to be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with methyl t - butyl ether ( 80 ml × 2 ), adjusted to ph = 3 with a 3 mol / l hydrochloric acid solution , and extracted with methyl t - butyl ether ( 100 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , washed with a saturated sodium chloride solution ( 30 ml × 2 ), dried by addition of anhydrous magnesium sulfate thereto , filtered , and dried by rotary evaporation , to obtain a yellow oily liquid 1c ( 33 g , yield 83 %). 1c ( 33 g , 0 . 155 mol ) was dissolved in n , n - dimethylformamide ( 200 ml ), the temperature was controlled below 10 ° c ., and n , n ′- carbonyldiimidazole ( 32 . 58 g , 0 . 201 mol ) was added to the reaction solution , followed by reaction at 0 ° c . for 1 hour . n , o - dimethylhydroxylamine hydrochloride ( 19 . 6 g , 0 . 186 mol ) was added to the reaction solution , followed by stirring at room temperature overnight . water ( 150 ml ) was added dropwise , followed by stirring for 1 hour and extraction with ethyl acetate ( 100 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , washed with a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 60 ml × 3 ) and with a saturated sodium chloride solution ( 60 ml × 3 ), and dried by addition of anhydrous magnesium sulfate thereto . filtration was performed , and the filtrate was concentrated and separated by column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 10 : 1 ) to obtain a white solid 1d ( 35 g , yield 88 . 2 %). under n 2 protection , 2 , 5 - difluorobromobenzene ( 15 . 05 g , 78 mmol ) was dissolved in dry toluene ( 50 ml ), cooled to − 10 ° c . or lower in an ice salt bath , and a solution of isopropyl magnesium chloride / lithium chloride in tetrahydrofuran ( 66 ml , 1 . 3 mol / l ) was added dropwise , followed by stirring at about − 10 ° c . for 1 hour . 1d ( 10 g , 39 mmol ) was dissolved in dry tetrahydrofuran ( 100 ml ), and added dropwise to the reaction solution while the temperature was maintained at − 10 ° c . when the addition was complete , the reaction was allowed to proceed at room temperature for 4 hours . the temperature was lowered to about − 10 ° c ., and a saturated ammonium chloride solution ( 40 ml ) was added dropwise , followed by stirring for 10 min . the ph was adjusted to 5 to 6 with a 3 mol / l hydrochloric acid solution , to allow settling and partitioning . the aqueous phase was extracted with methyl t - butyl ether ( 50 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , washed with a saturated sodium chloride solution ( 30 ml × 2 ), dried by addition of anhydrous sodium sulfate thereto , filtered , concentrated , and separated by column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 50 : 1 to 8 : 1 ), to obtain a light yellow solid 1e ( 10 . 1 g , yield 83 . 5 %). 1e ( 16 . 07 g , 52 mmol ) was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran ( 100 ml ), triethylenediamine ( 17 . 39 g , 155 mmol ) and [( r , r )— n -( 2 - amino - 1 , 2 - diphenethyl ) pentafluorobenzenesulfonamide ]( p - cymene ) ruthenium ( ii ) chloride ( i . e . rucl ( p - cymene )( r , r )— fsdpen ) ( 0 . 37 g , 0 . 52 mmol ) were added thereto , and formic acid ( 14 . 27 g , 310 mmol ) was added dropwise , followed by reaction at 40 ° c . overnight . the tetrahydrofuran and formic acid in the reaction solution were removed by rotary evaporation , and water ( 60 ml ) and hydrochloric acid ( 3 mol / l , 10 ml ) were added , followed by extraction with methyl t - butyl ether ( 90 ml × 3 ). the organic phases were combined , washed with a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 35 ml × 2 ), dried by addition of anhydrous magnesium sulfate thereto , filtered , concentrated , and separated by column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 60 : 1 to 10 : 1 ), to obtain a light yellow jelly substance 1f ( 15 . 37 g , yield 95 %). 1f ( 15 . 37 g , 49 . 4 mmol ) was dissolved in n , n - dimethylformamide ( 75 ml ) while being heated , and tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate ( 2 . 49 g , 6 . 42 mmol ), n - hydroxy succinimide ( 2 . 84 g , 24 . 75 mmol ), triphenylphosphine ( 0 . 86 g , 3 . 26 mmol ), and sodium bicarbonate ( 2 . 16 g , 25 . 69 mmol ) were added thereto , followed by n 2 purging for 3 times and vacuum pumping for 15 min . then cyclopentadienyl bis ( triphenylphosphine ) ruthenium ( ii ) chloride ( i . e . cprucl ( pph 3 ) 2 ) ( 1 . 79 g , 2 . 47 mmol ) was added , followed by n 2 purging for 3 times and vacuum pumping for 15 min . under n 2 protection , the temperature was raised to 85 ° c ., followed by reaction overnight . water ( 300 ml ) and methyl t - butyl ether ( 200 ml ) were added to the reaction solution , which was then filtered through silica gel , and the filtrate was allowed to settle and be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with methyl t - butyl ether ( 90 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , washed with a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 60 ml × 2 ), dried by addition of anhydrous sodium sulfate thereto , filtered , concentrated , and separated by column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 80 : 1 to 30 : 1 ), to obtain a light yellow powdery solid 1g ( 8 . 9 g , yield 57 . 9 %). 1g ( 8 . 9 g , 28 . 6 mmol ) was dissolved in dry methyl t - butyl ether ( 90 ml ), dry toluene ( 9 ml ) was added thereto , the temperature was lowered to − 10 ° c ., and a solution of borane dimethyl sulfide in tetrahydrofuran ( 2 mol / l , 35 . 9 ml ) was added dropwise , followed by reaction at 0 ° c . for 3 . 5 hours . water ( 4 ml ) was added slowly , a sodium hydroxide solution ( 1 mol / l , 89 ml ) was added dropwise , followed by stirring for 15 min , and sodium perborate ( 13 . 2 g , 85 . 8 mmol ) was added in batches , followed by stirring at room temperature overnight . the reaction solution was allowed to settle and be partitioned , and the aqueous phase was extracted with methyl t - butyl ether ( 50 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , washed with a saturated sodium chloride solution ( 20 ml × 2 ), dried by addition of anhydrous sodium sulfate thereto , filtered , concentrated , followed by addition of toluene ( 50 ml ), and dissolved by heating to 90 ° c . n - hexane ( 200 ml ) was added dropwise to the reaction solution to precipitate a white solid , followed by filtration . the filter cake was washed with n - hexane ( 30 ml × 2 ), and the solvent was removed by concentrating , to obtain a white solid powder 1h ( 7 . 9 g , yield 84 %). 1h ( 11 . 53 g , 35 . 03 mmol ) was dissolved in dichloromethane ( 130 ml ), and cooled to 0 ° c . dess - martin periodinane ( 29 . 72 g , 70 . 06 mmol ) was added in batches to the reaction solution , which was allowed to warm spontaneously to room temperature and undergo reaction for 4 hours . the temperature was lowered to 0 ° c ., and a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 60 ml ) was added dropwise to the reaction solution , followed by stirring for 20 min and filtration . the filtrate was allowed to settle and be partitioned , and the aqueous phase was extracted with methyl t - butyl ether ( 60 ml × 3 ). the organic phases were combined , washed with a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 30 ml × 2 ), dried by addition of anhydrous sodium sulfate thereto , filtered , concentrated , and separated by column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 10 : 1 to 4 : 1 ), to obtain a white crystalline powder ii ( 10 . 85 g , yield 94 . 7 %). 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d 6 ): δ7 . 29 - 7 . 13 ( m , 4h ), 4 . 77 - 4 . 75 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 22 - 4 . 02 ( m , 3h ), 2 . 75 - 2 . 70 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 23 ( s , 9h ). 1i ( 2 . 5 g , 7 . 64 mmol ) was added to 40 ml toluene , morpholine ( 1 . 30 g , 15 . 30 mmol ) was added thereto , the reaction solution was heated to reflux while water was separated by a water segregator , and the reaction was allowed to proceed for 6 hours . the reaction solution was cooled to room temperature to precipitate a solid , which was filtered by suction filtration and washed with toluene to obtain a white solid 1j ( 2 . 1 g , yield 70 %). 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d 6 ): δ 7 . 27 - 7 . 12 ( m , 3h ), 6 . 89 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 10 ( s , 1h ), 4 . 55 ( d , 1h ), 3 . 99 - 3 . 83 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 61 ( t , 4h ), 2 . 64 ( qd , 4h ), 2 . 41 - 2 . 20 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 27 - 1 . 10 ( m , 9h ). 1j ( 2 . 3 g , 5 . 80 mmol ) was added to 30 ml n , n - dimethylformamide , and then 4 - dimethyl amino pyridine ( 0 . 070 g , 0 . 58 mmol ) was added . under n 2 protection and a condition free of water and oxygen , s -( trifluoromethyl ) dibenzothiophenium trifluoromethanesulfonate ( 2 . 33 g , 5 . 80 mmol ) was added to the solution , followed by reaction at 0 ° c . for 2 hours . water ( 30 ml ) was added to the reaction solution , which was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 30 ml × 3 ). the organic layer was washed with saturated sodium chloride , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated under reduced pressure to dryness . the residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 10 : 1 ) to give a yellow solid . the solid was added to 7 ml tetrahydrofuran , and hydrochloric acid ( 3 ml , 1 mol / l ) was added thereto , followed by reaction at room temperature for 3 hours under stirring . the reaction solution was adjusted to ph = 7 with a 2 mol / l solution of sodium hydroxide , and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 30 ml × 3 ). the organic layer was washed with saturated sodium chloride , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , concentrated under reduced pressure , and dried by rotary evaporation . the residue was purified by column chromatography ( petroleum ether : ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 8 : 1 ) to give intermediate 1 as a light yellow solid ( 0 . 41 g , yield 18 %). 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d 6 ): δ 7 . 27 ( dd , 4h ), 5 . 20 ( q , 1h ), 5 . 07 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 13 ( dd , 1h ), 2 . 96 ( dd , 1h ), 2 . 83 ( dd , 1h ), 1 . 26 - 1 . 15 ( m , 9h ). 1 - t - butoxycarbonyl - 3 - pyrrolidone 2a ( 100 g , 0 . 54 mol ) was dissolved in n , n - dimethylacetamide ( 600 ml ), n , n - dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal ( 83 . 6 g , 0 . 70 mmol ) was added thereto , and the temperature was raised to 105 ° c ., followed by reaction for 40 min under stirring . the reaction was quenched with 500 ml water , and the reaction solution was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 500 ml × 2 ) and washed with water ( 500 ml × 2 ). the organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , concentrated , and purified by silica gel column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 4 : 1 to 1 : 1 ), to obtain a light yellow liquid 2b ( 50 g , yield 47 %). 2b ( 50 g , 0 . 21 mol ) was dissolved in methanol ( 200 ml ), and hydrazine hydrate ( 7 . 8 g , 0 . 16 mmol ) was added thereto , followed by reaction at room temperature for 4 hours . the organic solvent was dried by rotary evaporation , followed by the next step directly . 2c ( 47 . 5 g , 0 . 21 mol ) obtained in the above step was dissolved in a mixed solvent of dichloromethane ( 300 ml ) and methanol ( 180 ml ), and p - toluenesulfonic acid ( 5 . 64 g , 0 . 029 mmol ) was added thereto at 0 ° c ., followed by reaction overnight . the solvent was dried by rotary evaporation from the reaction solution , followed by purification by silica gel column chromatography ( dichloromethane ) to obtain intermediate 2 ( 20 g , yield 44 %) as a light yellow solid . 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , meod ): δ 7 . 44 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 53 - 4 . 33 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 54 ( s , 9h ). under n 2 protection , 2 , 3 , 5 - trifluorobromobenzene ( 42 . 2 g , 200 mmol ) was dissolved in dry toluene ( 50 ml ), cooled to − 10 ° c . or lower in an ice salt bath , and a solution of isopropyl magnesium chloride / lithium chloride in tetrahydrofuran ( 100 ml , 2 . 2 mol / l ) was added dropwise , followed by stirring at about − 10 ° c . for 1 hour . 1d ( 25 . 6 g , 100 mmol ) was dissolved in dry tetrahydrofuran ( 250 ml ), and added dropwise to the reaction solution while the temperature was maintained at − 10 ° c . when the addition was complete , the reaction was allowed to proceed at room temperature for 4 hours . the temperature was lowered to about − 10 ° c ., and a saturated ammonium chloride solution ( 100 ml ) was added dropwise , followed by stirring for 10 min . the ph was adjusted to 5 to 6 with a 3 mol / l hydrochloric acid solution , to allow settling and partitioning . the aqueous phase was extracted with methyl t - butyl ether ( 150 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , washed with a saturated sodium chloride solution ( 100 ml × 2 ), dried by addition of anhydrous sodium sulfate thereto , filtered , concentrated , and separated by column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 50 : 1 to 8 : 1 ), to obtain a white solid 3a ( 27 g , yield 82 . 6 %). 3a ( 27 g , 82 . 6 mmol ) was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran ( 200 ml ), triethylenediamine ( 27 . 8 g , 248 mmol ) and ( r , r )— n -( 2 - amino - 1 , 2 - diphenethyl ) pentafluorobenzenesulfonamide ]( p - cymene ) ruthenium ( ii ) chloride ( i . e . rucl ( p - cymene )( r , r )— fsdpen ) ( 0 . 57 g , 0 . 8 mmol ) were added thereto , and formic acid ( 22 . 8 g , 496 mmol ) was added dropwise , followed by reaction at 40 ° c . overnight . the tetrahydrofuran and formic acid in the reaction solution were removed by rotary evaporation , and water ( 120 ml ) and hydrochloric acid ( 3 mol / l , 20 ml ) were added , followed by extraction with methyl t - butyl ether ( 180 ml × 3 ). the organic phases were combined , washed with a saturated sodium chloride solution ( 70 ml × 2 ), dried by addition of anhydrous magnesium sulfate thereto , filtered , concentrated , and separated by column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 60 : 1 to 10 : 1 ), to obtain a white solid 3b ( 23 . 6 g , yield 87 . 4 %). 3b ( 23 . 6 g , 71 . 7 mmol ) was dissolved in n , n - dimethylformamide ( 250 ml ) while being heated , and tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate ( 3 . 6 g , 9 . 3 mmol ), n - hydroxy succinimide ( 4 . 1 g , 35 . 8 mmol ), triphenylphosphine ( 1 . 24 g , 4 . 73 mmol ), and sodium bicarbonate ( 3 . 13 g , 37 . 3 mmol ) were added thereto , followed by n 2 purging for 3 times and vacuum pumping for 15 min . then cyclopentadienyl bis ( triphenylphosphine ) ruthenium ( ii ) chloride ( i . e . cprucl ( pph 3 ) 2 ) ( 2 . 6 g , 3 . 58 mmol ) was added , followed by n 2 purging for 3 times and vacuum pumping for 15 min . under n 2 protection , the temperature was raised to 85 ° c ., followed by reaction overnight . water ( 500 ml ) and methyl t - butyl ether ( 300 ml ) were added to the reaction solution , which was then filtered through silica gel , and the filtrate was allowed to settle and be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with methyl t - butyl ether ( 150 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , washed with a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 100 ml × 2 ), dried by addition of anhydrous sodium sulfate thereto , filtered , concentrated , and separated by column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 80 : 1 to 30 : 1 ), to obtain a white powdery solid 3c ( 9 . 0 g , yield 38 . 1 %). 3c ( 9 . 0 g , 27 . 4 mmol ) was dissolved in dry methyl t - butyl ether ( 60 ml ), dry toluene ( 9 ml ) was added thereto , the temperature was lowered to − 10 ° c ., and a solution of borane dimethyl sulfide in tetrahydrofuran ( 2 mol / l , 34 . 2 ml ) was added dropwise , followed by reaction at 0 ° c . for 3 . 5 hours . water ( 4 ml ) was added slowly , a sodium hydroxide solution ( 1 mol / l , 90 ml ) was added dropwise , followed by stirring for 15 min , and sodium perborate ( 12 . 6 g , 82 . 2 mmol ) was added in batches , followed by stirring at room temperature overnight . the reaction solution was allowed to settle and be partitioned , and the aqueous phase was extracted with methyl t - butyl ether ( 50 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , washed with a saturated sodium chloride solution ( 20 ml × 2 ), dried by addition of anhydrous sodium sulfate thereto , filtered , concentrated , followed by addition of toluene ( 50 ml ), and dissolved by heating to 90 ° c . n - hexane ( 200 ml ) was added dropwise to the reaction solution to precipitate a white solid , followed by filtration . the filter cake was washed with n - hexane ( 30 ml × 2 ), and concentrated , to obtain a white solid powder 3d ( 8 . 6 g , yield 90 . 5 %). 3d ( 8 . 6 g , 24 . 8 mmol ) was dissolved in dichloromethane ( 100 ml ), and cooled to 0 ° c . dimethyl phthalate ( 21 . 1 g , 49 . 6 mmol ) was added in batches to the reaction solution , which was allowed to warm spontaneously to room temperature and undergo reaction for 4 hours . the temperature was lowered to 0 ° c ., and a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 50 ml ) was added dropwise to the reaction solution , followed by stirring for 20 min and filtration . the filtrate was allowed to settle and be partitioned , and the aqueous phase was extracted with methyl t - butyl ether ( 50 ml × 3 ). the organic phases were combined , washed with a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 30 ml × 2 ), dried by addition of anhydrous sodium sulfate thereto , filtered , concentrated , and separated by column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 10 : 1 to 4 : 1 ), to obtain a white crystalline powder 3e ( 6 . 8 g , yield 80 %). 3e ( 6 . 8 g , 19 . 7 mmol ) was added to 70 ml toluene , morpholine ( 6 . 8 g , 78 . 8 mmol ) was added thereto , the reaction solution was heated to 138 ° c . to reflux while water was separated by a water segregator , and the reaction was allowed to proceed for 6 hours . the reaction solution was cooled to room temperature to precipitate a solid , which was filtered by suction filtration and washed with toluene to obtain a white solid 3f ( 6 . 7 g , yield 82 %). 3f ( 6 . 7 g , 16 . 2 mmol ) was added to n , n - dimethylformamide ( 70 ml ), and then 4 - dimethyl pyridine ( 0 . 19 g , 1 . 62 mmol ) was added . under n 2 protection and a condition free of water and oxygen , s -( trifluoromethyl ) dibenzothiophenium trifluoromethanesulfonate ( 6 . 5 g , 16 . 2 mmol ) was added to the solution , followed by reaction at 0 ° c . for 2 hours . water ( 200 ml ) was added to the reaction solution , which was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 100 ml × 3 ). the organic layer was washed with saturated sodium chloride , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated under reduced pressure to dryness . the residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 10 : 1 ) to give a yellow solid which was added to 70 ml tetrahydrofuran , and hydrochloric acid ( 3 ml , 1 mol / l ) was added thereto , followed by reaction at room temperature for 3 hours under stirring . the reaction solution was adjusted to ph = 7 with a 2 mol / l solution of sodium hydroxide , and extracted with ethyl acetate ( 30 ml × 3 ). the organic layer was washed with saturated sodium chloride , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , concentrated under reduced pressure , and dried by rotary evaporation . the residue was purified by column chromatography ( petroleum ether : ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 8 : 1 ) to give intermediate 3 as a light yellow solid ( 3 . 0 g , yield 44 %). 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d 6 ): δ 7 . 61 - 7 . 49 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 31 ( d , 1h ), 5 . 21 - 5 . 17 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 05 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 17 - 4 . 09 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 99 ( dd , 1h ), 2 . 85 ( dd , 1h ), 1 . 22 ( s , 9h ). under n 2 protection and a condition free of water and oxygen , intermediate 2 ( 604 mg , 2 . 87 mmol ) was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran ( 20 ml ), which was cooled to 0 ° c ., and sodium hydride ( 180 mg , 60 wt %, 4 . 5 mmol ) was added , followed by stirring for 30 min . cyclopropylsulfonyl chloride ( 1 . 27 g , 9 . 0 mmol ) was added dropwise , and the temperature was allowed to rise spontaneously to room temperature , followed by reaction for 1 hour . the reaction was quenched by addition of water ( 20 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was then extracted with ethyl acetate ( 20 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , concentrated , re - dissolved in 5 ml tetrahydrofuran , and cooled to − 10 ° c . to 0 ° c . potassium t - butoxide ( 36 mg , 0 . 32 mmol ) was added , and the reaction was allowed to proceed for 28 hours at this temperature . after the reaction was completed , an aqueous solution of citric acid ( 1 ml , 15 %) was added , and water ( 10 ml ) was added . the solution was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 20 ml × 3 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 2 : 1 ) to obtain a white solid la ( 660 mg , yield 73 %). 1a ( 645 mg , 2 . 06 mmol ) was dissolved in dichloromethane ( 8 ml ), and trifluoroacetic acid ( 8 ml ) was added thereto , followed by reaction at room temperature for 2 hours . the reaction solution was dried by rotary evaporation , and the reaction was quenched by addition of aqueous ammonia ( 1 ml ), followed by purification by silica gel column chromatography ( dichloromethane / methanol ( v / v )= 10 : 1 ) to obtain a light yellow solid 1b ( 400 mg , yield 91 %). 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , meod ): δ 7 . 85 ( s , 1h ), 4 . 01 - 3 . 94 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 36 ( s , 3h ). intermediate 1 ( 305 mg , 0 . 77 mmol ) and 2 -( cyclopropylsulfonyl )- 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydropyrrolo [ 3 , 4 - c ] pyrazole ( 1b ) ( 197 mg , 0 . 93 mmol ) were added to 5 ml toluene , and the reaction was allowed to proceed in an open reaction vessel in a 140 ° c . oil bath until the solvent was evaporated to dryness . in a n 2 atmosphere , the residue was cooled to room temperature and re - dissolved in 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ( 10 ml ), and tri ( acetoxy ) sodium borohydride ( 650 mg , 3 . 08 mmol ) and acetic acid ( 92 . 5 mg , 1 . 54 mmol ) were added sequentially , followed by reaction at room temperature for 3 hours . the reaction was quenched by addition of a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 15 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was allowed to be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 15 ml × 3 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the concentrate was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 4 : 1 ) to obtain a white foamy solid 1c ( 190 mg , yield 42 %). 1c ( 190 mg , 0 . 32 mmol ) was dissolved in dichloromethane ( 4 . 5 ml ) and trifluoroacetic acid ( 1 . 5 ml ), followed by stirring at room temperature for 1 hour . the reaction was quenched by addition of a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 10 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was allowed to be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 15 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the concentrate was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( dichloromethane / methanol ( v / v )= 50 : 1 ) to obtain compound 1 as a white powdery solid ( 126 mg , yield 80 %). 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ 7 . 98 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 27 ( m , 3h ), 4 . 81 - 4 . 68 ( qd , 1h ), 4 . 50 ( d , 1h ), 3 . 94 ( dd , 2h ), 3 . 78 ( dd , 2h ), 3 . 46 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 11 - 3 . 04 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 03 - 2 . 94 ( ddd , 1h ), 2 . 37 - 2 . 26 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 83 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 28 - 1 . 21 ( m , 4h ). the 1 h — 1 h cosy , 1 h — 1 h noesy and 1 h — 1 h j - resolved spectra of compound 1 are shown in fig1 - 3 , and the data are shown in table 1 , demonstrating that compound 1 has the following configuration : under n 2 protection and a condition free of water and oxygen , intermediate 2 ( 627 mg , 3 . 0 mmol ) was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran ( 20 ml ), which was cooled to 0 ° c ., and sodium hydride ( 180 mg , 60 wt %, 4 . 5 mmol ) was added , followed by stirring for 30 min . ethylsulfonyl chloride ( 1 . 16 g , 9 . 0 mmol ) was added dropwise , and the temperature was allowed to rise spontaneously to room temperature , followed by reaction for 1 hour . the reaction was quenched by addition of water ( 20 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was then extracted with ethyl acetate ( 20 ml × 2 ). the organic layers were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , concentrated , re - dissolved in tetrahydrofuran ( 5 ml ), and cooled to − 10 ° c . to 0 ° c . potassium t - butoxide ( 35 mg , 0 . 31 mmol ) was added , and the reaction was allowed to proceed for 24 hours at this temperature . after the reaction was completed , a saturated aqueous solution of ammonium chloride ( 10 ml ) and water ( 10 ml ) were added . the solution was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 20 ml × 3 ). the organic layers were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 5 : 1 ) to obtain a white solid 2a ( 730 mg , yield 81 %). 2a ( 710 mg , 2 . 36 mmol ) was dissolved in dichloromethane ( 8 ml ), and trifluoroacetic acid ( 8 ml ) was added thereto , followed by reaction at room temperature for 2 hours . the reaction solution was dried by rotary evaporation , and the reaction was quenched by addition of aqueous ammonia ( 1 ml ), followed by purification by silica gel column chromatography ( dichloromethane / methanol ( v / v )= 10 : 1 ) to obtain a light yellow solid 2b ( 460 mg , yield 97 %). intermediate 1 ( 350 mg , 0 . 89 mmol ) and 2 -( ethylsulfonyl )- 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydropyrrolo [ 3 , 4 - c ] pyrazole ( 2b ) ( 244 mg , 1 . 21 mmol ) were added to toluene ( 5 ml ), and the reaction was allowed to proceed in an open round - bottom flask in a 140 ° c . oil bath until the solvent was evaporated to dryness . in a n 2 atmosphere , the residue was cooled to room temperature , and re - dissolved in 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ( 10 ml ). in a n 2 atmosphere , tri ( acetoxy ) sodium borohydride ( 854 mg , 4 . 04 mmol ) and acetic acid ( 0 . 115 ml , 2 . 02 mmol ) were added sequentially , followed by reaction at room temperature for 3 hours . the reaction was quenched by addition of a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 15 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was allowed to be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 15 ml × 3 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the concentrate was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 5 : 1 ) to obtain a white foamy solid 2c ( 220 mg , yield 38 %). 2c ( 220 mg , 0 . 38 mmol ) was dissolved in dichloromethane ( 4 . 5 ml ) and trifluoroacetic acid ( 1 . 5 ml ), followed by stirring at room temperature for 1 hour . the reaction was quenched by addition of a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 10 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was allowed to be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 15 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the concentrate was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( dichloromethane / methanol ( v / v )= 50 : 1 ) to obtain compound 2 as a white powdery solid ( 60 mg , yield 33 %). 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ 7 . 98 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 33 - 7 . 22 ( m , 3h ), 4 . 88 - 4 . 71 ( qd , 1h ), 4 . 51 ( d , 1h ), 3 . 95 ( dd , 2h ), 3 . 78 ( dd , 2h ), 3 . 64 ( q , 2h ), 3 . 49 - 3 . 43 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 05 - 2 . 97 ( ddd , 1h ), 2 . 35 - 2 . 29 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 82 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 12 ( t , 3h ). the 1 h — 1 h cosy , 1 h — 1 h noesy and 1 h — 1 h j - resolved spectra of compound 2 are shown in fig4 - 6 , and the data are shown in table 2 , demonstrating that compound 2 has the following configuration : intermediate 2 ( 3 . 5 g , 16 . 7 mmol ) was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran ( 35 ml ), and sodium hydride ( 1 . 0 g , 60 %, 25 . 4 mmol ) was added at 0 ° c ., followed by reaction for 30 min . methylsulfonyl chloride ( 2 . 9 g , 25 . 4 mmol ) was added , followed by reaction for 1 hour . the reaction was quenched by addition of water ( 10 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 50 ml × 2 ). the organic layers were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , concentrated , and purified by silica gel column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 1 : 1 ), to obtain a white solid 3a ( 2 . 1 g , yield 44 %). 3a ( 2 . 1 g , 7 . 3 mmol ) was dissolved in dichloromethane ( 25 ml ), and trifluoroacetic acid ( 5 ml ) was added thereto at 0 ° c ., followed by reaction at 0 ° c . for 2 hours . the reaction solution was dried by rotary evaporation , and the reaction was quenched by addition of aqueous ammonia ( 2 ml ), followed by purification by silica gel column chromatography ( dichloromethane / methanol ( v / v )= 50 : 1 ) to obtain a white solid 3b ( 1 . 1 g , yield 80 . 5 %). 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , meod ): δ 7 . 85 ( s , 1h ), 4 . 01 - 3 . 94 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 36 ( s , 3h ). intermediate 1 ( 490 mg , 1 . 24 mmol ) and 3b ( 254 mg , 1 . 36 mmol ) were added to 10 ml toluene , and the reaction was allowed to proceed in an open round - bottom flask in a 140 ° c . oil bath until the solvent was evaporated to dryness . in a n 2 atmosphere , the residue was cooled to room temperature and re - dissolved in 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ( 15 ml ), and tri ( acetoxy ) sodium borohydride ( 1 . 05 mg , 4 . 96 mmol ) and acetic acid ( 149 mg , 2 . 48 mmol ) were added sequentially , followed by reaction at room temperature for 3 hours . the reaction was quenched by addition of a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 20 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was allowed to be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 20 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the concentrate was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 3 : 1 ) to obtain a white oily liquid 3c ( 455 mg , yield 60 %) and a white solid 3d ( 45 mg , yield 5 . 9 %). 3c ( 410 mg , 0 . 72 mmol ) was dissolved in 6 ml dichloromethane and 2 ml trifluoroacetic acid , followed by stirring at room temperature for 1 hour . the reaction was quenched by addition of a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 30 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was allowed to be partitioned . the aqueous phase was then extracted with ethyl acetate ( 30 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the concentrate was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( dichloromethane / methanol ( v / v )= 30 : 1 ) to obtain compound 3 as a white powdery solid ( 250 mg , yield 75 %). 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d 6 ): δ 7 . 96 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 35 - 7 . 04 ( m , 3h ), 4 . 86 - 4 . 63 ( qd , 1h ), 4 . 50 ( d , 1h ), 3 . 95 ( dd , 2h ), 3 . 78 ( dd , 2h ), 3 . 49 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 45 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 00 ( ddd , 1h ), 2 . 33 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 82 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 48 ( br , 2h ). the 1 h — 1 h cosy , 1 h — 1 h noesy and 1 h — 1 h j - resolved spectra of compound 3 are shown in fig7 - 9 , and the data are shown in table 3 , demonstrating that compound 3 has the following configuration : intermediate 3 ( 3 g , 7 . 26 mmol ) and 3b ( 1 . 76 g , 9 . 44 mmol ) were added to 100 ml toluene , and the reaction was allowed to proceed in an open round - bottom flask in a 140 ° c . oil bath until the solvent was evaporated to dryness . in a n 2 atmosphere , the residue was cooled to room temperature and re - dissolved in 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ( 30 ml ), and tri ( acetoxy ) sodium borohydride ( 4 . 62 g , 21 . 8 mmol ) and acetic acid ( 0 . 87 g , 14 . 5 mmol ) were added sequentially , followed by reaction at room temperature for 3 hours . the reaction was quenched by addition of a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 30 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was allowed to be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 30 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the concentrate was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 3 : 1 ) to obtain a white oily liquid 4a ( 1 . 3 g , yield 30 . 6 %). 4a ( 1 . 3 g , 2 . 44 mmol ) was dissolved in dichloromethane ( 7 . 8 ml ) and trifluoroacetic acid ( 2 . 6 ml ), followed by stirring at room temperature for 1 hour . the reaction was quenched by addition of a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 30 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was allowed to be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 30 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the concentrate was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( dichloromethane / methanol ( v / v )= 30 : 1 ) to obtain compound 4 as a white powdery solid ( 700 mg , yield 65 %). 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d 6 ): δ 7 . 97 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 58 - 7 . 53 ( m , 2h ), 4 . 78 - 4 . 74 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 47 ( d , 1h ), 3 . 98 - 3 . 91 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 81 - 3 . 73 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 49 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 46 - 3 . 43 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 99 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 33 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 82 ( q , 1h ), 1 . 50 ( s , 2h ). under n 2 protection and a condition free of water and oxygen , intermediate 2 ( 1000 mg , 4 . 78 mmol ) was dissolved in n , n - dimethylformamide ( 15 ml ), which was cooled to − 15 ° c ., and sodium bis ( trimethylsilyl ) amide ( 4 . 78 ml , 2 mol / l , 9 . 56 mmol ) was added , followed by stirring for 30 min , and s - tetrahydrofuran - 3 - ylsulfonyl chloride ( 1 . 39 g , 8 . 13 mmol ) was added dropwise to the reaction solution , followed by reaction for 16 hours at this temperature . the temperature was raised to 0 ° c ., and the reaction was quenched by addition of water ( 20 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was then extracted with ethyl acetate ( 20 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , concentrated , re - dissolved in tetrahydrofuran ( 20 ml ), and cooled to − 10 ° c . to 0 ° c . potassium t - butoxide ( 85 mg , 0 . 76 mmol ) was added , and the reaction was allowed to proceed for 24 hours at this temperature . after the reaction was completed , a saturated aqueous solution of ammonium chloride ( 10 ml ) and water ( 10 ml ) were added . the solution was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 20 ml × 3 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 5 : 1 ) to obtain a white solid 5a ( 810 mg , yield 62 . 3 %). 5a ( 400 mg , 1 . 17 mmol ) was dissolved in a solution of hydrochloric acid in ethyl acetate ( 5 ml , 4 mol / l ), followed by reaction at room temperature for 1 hour . after the reaction was complete , the system was allowed to settle and liquid was removed . ethyl acetate was added , followed by stirring for 1 min . the system was allowed to settle , and liquid was removed . the residual solid was purified by column chromatography ( dichloromethane / methanol ( v / v )= 20 : 1 , plus a small amount of aqueous ammonia ) to obtain a light yellow solid 5b ( 210 mg , yield 74 %). intermediate 1 ( 271 mg , 0 . 686 mmol ) and 5b ( 200 mg , 0 . 823 mmol ) were added to toluene ( 5 ml ), and the reaction was allowed to proceed in an open round - bottom flask in a 140 ° c . oil bath until the solvent was evaporated to dryness . in a n 2 atmosphere , the residue was cooled to room temperature and dissolved in 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ( 10 ml ), and tri ( acetoxy ) sodium borohydride ( 580 mg , 2 . 744 mmol ) and acetic acid ( 103 mg , 2 . 50 mmol ) were added sequentially , followed by reaction at room temperature for 3 hours . the reaction was quenched by addition of a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 15 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was allowed to be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 15 ml × 3 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the concentrate was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 5 : 1 ) to obtain a white foamy solid 5c ( 255 mg , yield 61 %). 5c ( 255 mg , 0 . 41 mmol ) was dissolved in 6 ml dichloromethane and 2 ml trifluoroacetic acid , followed by stirring at room temperature for 1 hour . the reaction was quenched by addition of a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 10 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was allowed to be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 15 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the concentrate was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( dichloromethane / methanol ( v / v )= 50 : 1 ) to obtain compound 5 as a white powdery solid ( 175 mg , yield 82 %). 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ , 8 . 05 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 32 - 7 . 22 ( m , 3h ), 4 . 82 - 4 . 72 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 49 ( m , 2h ), 4 . 09 ( ddd , 1h ), 4 . 00 - 3 . 80 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 80 - 3 . 72 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 64 ( dd , 1h ), 3 . 49 - 3 . 42 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 00 ( ddt , 1h ), 2 . 36 - 2 . 28 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 23 ( dt , 2h ), 1 . 81 ( dd , 1h ). under n 2 protection and a condition free of water and oxygen , intermediate 2 ( 1000 mg , 4 . 78 mmol ) was dissolved in n , n - dimethylformamide ( 15 ml ), which was cooled to − 15 ° c ., and sodium bis ( trimethylsilyl ) amide ( 4 . 78 ml , 2 mol / l , 9 . 56 mmol ) was added , followed by stirring for 30 min , and s - cyclopentylsulfonyl chloride ( 1 . 37 g , 8 . 13 mmol ) was added dropwise , followed by reaction for 16 hours at − 15 ° c . the temperature was raised to 0 ° c ., and the reaction was quenched by addition of water ( 20 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was then extracted with ethyl acetate ( 20 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , concentrated , re - dissolved in tetrahydrofuran ( 20 ml ), and cooled to a temperature between − 10 ° c . and 0 ° c ., potassium t - butoxide ( 85 mg , 0 . 76 mmol ) was added , and the reaction was allowed to proceed for 24 hours at this temperature . after the reaction was completed , a saturated aqueous solution of ammonium chloride ( 10 ml ) and water ( 10 ml ) were added . the solution was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 20 ml × 3 ). the organic layers were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 5 : 1 ) to obtain a white solid 6a ( 800 mg , yield 62 %). 6a ( 430 mg , 1 . 26 mmol ) was dissolved in a solution of hydrochloric acid in ethyl acetate ( 8 ml , 4 mol / l ), followed by reaction at room temperature for 1 hour . after the reaction was complete , the system was allowed to settle and liquid was removed . ethyl acetate was added , followed by stirring for 1 min . the system was allowed to settle , and liquid was removed . the residue was purified by column chromatography ( dichloromethane / methanol ( v / v )= 20 : 1 , plus a small amount of aqueous ammonia ) to obtain a light yellow solid 6b ( 290 mg , yield 95 %). intermediate 1 ( 327 mg , 0 . 828 mmol ) and 6b ( 280 mg , 1 . 16 mmol ) were added to toluene ( 8 ml ), and the reaction was allowed to proceed in an open round - bottom flask in a 140 ° c . oil bath until the solvent was evaporated to dryness . in a n 2 atmosphere , the residue was cooled to room temperature and dissolved in 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ( 10 ml ), and tri ( acetoxy ) sodium borohydride ( 700 mg , 3 . 31 mmol ) and acetic acid ( 0 . 1 ml , 1 . 82 mmol ) were added sequentially , followed by reaction at room temperature for 3 hours . the reaction was quenched by addition of a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 15 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was allowed to be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 15 ml × 3 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the concentrate was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( petroleum ether / ethyl acetate ( v / v )= 5 : 1 ) to obtain a white foamy solid 6c ( 210 mg , yield 41 %). 6c ( 210 mg , 0 . 34 mmol ) was dissolved in dichloromethane ( 6 ml ) and trifluoroacetic acid ( 2 ml ), followed by stirring at room temperature for 1 hour . the reaction was quenched by addition of a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 10 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was allowed to be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 15 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the concentrate was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( dichloromethane / methanol ( v / v )= 50 : 1 ) to obtain compound 6 as a white powdery solid ( 105 mg , yield 60 %). 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d 6 ) δ 8 . 00 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 34 - 7 . 19 ( m , 3h ), 4 . 81 - 4 . 70 ( qd , 1h ), 4 . 50 ( d , 1h ), 4 . 09 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 00 - 3 . 89 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 84 - 3 . 73 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 50 - 3 . 40 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 00 ( td , 1h ), 2 . 37 - 2 . 27 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 96 - 1 . 85 ( m , 4h ), 1 . 85 - 1 . 75 ( m , 1h ), 1 . 63 - 1 . 56 ( m , 4h ). the 1 h — 1 h cosy , 1 h — 1 h noesy and 1 h — 1 h j - resolved spectra of compound 6 are shown in fig1 - 12 , and the data are shown in table 4 , demonstrating that compound 6 has the following configuration : 3d ( 400 mg , 0 . 7 mmol ) was dissolved in dichloromethane ( 6 ml ) and trifluoroacetic acid ( 2 ml ), followed by stirring at room temperature for 1 hour . the reaction was quenched by addition of a saturated sodium bicarbonate solution ( 30 ml ) to the reaction solution , which was allowed to be partitioned . the aqueous phase was extracted with ethyl acetate ( 30 ml × 2 ). the organic phases were combined , dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , and concentrated . the concentrate was purified by silica gel column chromatography ( dichloromethane / methanol ( v / v )= 30 : 1 ) to obtain compound 7 as a white powdery solid ( 200 mg , yield 61 %). 1 h nmr ( 400 mhz , dmso - d 6 ): δ 7 . 94 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 39 - 7 . 06 ( m , 3h ), 4 . 52 - 4 . 41 ( m , 2h ), 4 . 07 ( s , 2h ), 4 . 01 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 49 ( m , 4h ), 3 . 28 ( d , 1h ), 2 . 48 ( d , 1h ), 1 . 75 ( ddd , 1h ), 1 . 38 ( s , 2h ). male sd rats ( purchased from vital river laboratory animal technology co . ltd . license no . 11400700005540 ) each weighing 200 to 240 g were fasted overnight . on the day of experiments , 3 sd rats were each intragastrically administered with 5 mg / kg compound , and a 0 . 20 ml blood sample was taken from their jugular veins before the administration and 15 min , 30 min , 45 min , 1 h , 2 h , 4 h , 8 h , 12 h , and 24 h after the administration , to an edta tube . acetonitrile containing an internal reference ( verapamil 5 . 00 ng / ml , and glibenclamide 50 . 0 ng / ml ) was added to the blood sample , followed by vigorous vortexing and centrifuging at 13 , 000 rpm for 10 min . the supernatant was taken for the lc - ms / ms assay . pharmacokinetics parameters were calculated by using the non - compartment mode in pharsight phoenix 6 . 3 . the experimental results are shown in table 5 . conclusion : compared with the positive control ( omarigliptin ), the compound of the present invention showed a higher maximum concentration and an exposure amount , a longer half - life , and a smaller clearance . the oral glucose tolerance test ( ogtt ) was performed to evaluate the hypoglycemic effect of the compounds of the present invention in mice . 8 - week old male c57 mice were purchased from beijing vital river laboratory animal technology co ., ltd . ( laboratory animal certificate no . scxk ( beijing ) 2012 - 0001 ) and used in the test . the mice were grouped based on the base level of blood sugar after fasted , with 10 animals per group . the test compounds were formulated into a 1 mg / ml suspension , and administered intragastrically at a dose of 10 mg / kg , while a blank agent was administered to the blank control group . 60 min after the administration , a 50 % aqueous solution of glucose was dosed ( 5 g / kg ), and the blood sugar level of each mouse was measured with a onetouch blood glucose meter manufactured by johnson & amp ; johnson at 0 min , 15 min , 30 min , 45 min , 60 min , and 120 min . the decrease (%) in area under the drug - time curve ( auc ) was calculated , and the experimental results are shown in table 6 . conclusion : the compounds of the present invention showed a significant hypoglycemic effect in that they can significantly reduce the blood sugar level in mice after a single oral administration . 3 . effect of single oral administration on the enzymatic activity of dpp - iv in ob / ob mice the test compounds were formulated into solutions of 0 . 3 mg / ml , 1 . 0 mg / ml or 3 . 0 mg / ml with 0 . 5 % cmc — na . ob / ob mice from shanghai institute of materia medica were fasted for 16 hours in advance with free access to water , and were grouped into 5 groups based on the body weight on the next day . the test group was administered with the compounds at various doses , while the blank group was given a blank solvent at 10 ml / kg . blood samples were taken from the orbit of the mice at 0 h , 2 h , 4 h , 10 h , 24 h , 34 h , 48 h , 58 h and 72 h . after edta - 2na anticoagulation , 40 μl plasma was taken and 10 μl afc ( 0 . 2 mm ) substrate was added thereto , followed by reaction at room temperature for 15 min . the enzymatic activity of dpp4 in the plasma was measured with a microplate reader , and the experimental results are shown in table 7 and fig1 . conclusion : after a single oral administration to ob / ob mice , compound 3 showed a more significant inhibitory effect on the enzymatic activity of dpp - iv than the positive control omarigliptin ; at the same dose , compound 3 showed a period of 80 % inhibition of dpp - iv activity that is over 3 times longer than that of the positive control omarigliptin ; when the dose of compound 3 was only 1 / 10 of that of the positive control omarigliptin , compound 3 still showed a more significant inhibitory effect on dpp - iv activity , exhibiting the potential of a longer acting period . the laboratory animals were 8 - week old male sd rats purchased from beijing vital river laboratory animal technology co ., ltd . ( laboratory animal certificate no . scxk ( beijing ) 2012 - 0001 ). fasted rats were grouped based on the body weight . blood samples were taken from the orbit of the rats and subjected to anticoagulation with edta - 2na . the test group was orally administrated with the test compounds at a dose of 3 . 0 mg / kg , while the control group was orally administrated with a blank agent . blood samples were taken at various time points after the administration , and centrifuged at 2 , 500 rpm for 15 min . plasma was taken and preserved at − 20 ° c . for the enzymatic activity assay , 40 μl plasma was taken from each test sample , and 10 μl h - ala - pro - afc substrate ( 0 . 2 mm ) was added thereto , followed by reaction for 15 min . the reaction was read with a microplate reader ( wavelength of excitation = 405 nm , wavelength of emission = 535 nm ), followed by statistic analysis with origin 7 . 5 . the period during which the inhibition of plasma dpp - iv enzymatic activity was ≧ 70 % was calculated for the test compounds , and the results are shown in table 8 . conclusion : the compounds of the present invention can significantly inhibit the enzymatic activity of plasma dpp - iv in rats ; and in particular , the period during which the inhibition of plasma dpp - iv activity by compound 4 was ≧ 70 % was significantly longer than that of the control compound . the laboratory animals were male beagle dogs provided by chengdu dashuo biological sciences and technology co ., ltd . fasted beagle dogs were grouped based on the body weight . the test group was orally administrated with the test compounds at a dose of 10 . 0 mg / kg . blood samples were taken at various time points after the administration and subjected to anticoagulation with edta - 2na . blood samples were centrifuged at 2 , 500 rpm for 15 min . plasma was taken and preserved at − 20 ° c . for the enzymatic activity assay , 40 μl plasma was taken from each test sample , and 10 h - ala - pro - afc substrate ( 0 . 2 mm ) was added thereto , followed by reaction for 15 min . the reaction was read with a microplate reader ( wavelength of excitation = 405 nm , wavelength of emission = 535 nm ), followed by statistic analysis with origin 7 . 5 . the period during which the inhibition of plasma dpp - iv enzymatic activity was ≧ 80 % was calculated for the test compounds , and the results are shown in table 9 . conclusion : the compounds of the present invention showed a period of inhibition of plasma dpp - iv enzymatic activity in beagle dogs significantly longer than that of the control compound , exhibiting a higher potential of a long - acting effect . the laboratory animals were healthy male rhesus monkeys each weighing about 5 kg , provided by sichuan primed bio - tech group co . ltd . fasted rhesus monkeys were grouped based on the body weight . the test group was orally administrated with the test compounds at a dose of 10 . 0 mg / kg . blood samples were taken at various time points after the administration and subjected to anticoagulation with edta - 2na . blood samples were centrifuged at 2 , 500 rpm for 15 min . plasma was taken and preserved at − 20 ° c . for the enzymatic activity assay , 40 μl plasma was taken from each test sample , and 10 μl h - ala - pro - afc substrate ( 0 . 2 mm ) was added thereto , followed by reaction for 15 min . the reaction was read with a microplate reader ( wavelength of excitation = 405 nm , wavelength of emission = 535 nm ), followed by statistic analysis with origin 7 . 5 . the period during which the inhibition of plasma dpp - iv enzymatic activity was ≧ 80 % was calculated for the test compounds , and the concentration of the compounds in plasma was measured by lc - ms / ms . the results are shown in fig1 and table 10 below . conclusion : after a single oral administration , the compounds of the present invention can inhibit the enzymatic activity of plasma dpp - iv in monkeys for as long as 11 days or more , exhibiting an excellent potential of a long - acting effect . | 2 |
referring to fig1 , the packer p has a mandrel 10 with an upper thread 12 and a lower thread 14 . upper slip ring 16 attaches at thread 12 and has extending slips 18 . as shown in fig3 , slips 18 are fingers of preferably metal separated by slots 34 . one purpose of the slots 34 is to decrease resistance to expansion . another is to allow the wickers 32 to be hardened . if the slips were to be continuous and have hardened wickers 32 , the brittleness would cause the slips to crack on expansion . lower slip ring 20 attaches at thread 14 and has finger like slips 22 extending from it . slips 18 and 22 each have wickers or some other surface sharpness 32 designed to dig in for a supporting bite into the casing c upon expansion of the mandrel 10 . a sealing element 24 having backup rings 26 and 28 is disposed between slips 18 and 22 . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the slips 18 and 22 can be formed as an integral part of the mandrel , thus eliminating the threads 12 and 14 as well as the rings 16 and 20 . in that event , the slips 18 and 22 can be a series of finger shaped protrusions from the outer surface of the mandrel 10 . these protrusions can be integral , welded , or attached in some other way . although a packer has been described , the sealing element 24 can be eliminated and the slips 18 and 22 , regardless of how they are attached , can be used to anchor a tubing string ( not shown ) or a tool ( not shown ) attached to the mandrel 10 , when the wickers 32 dig into the surrounding casing c . conceivably , the expansion of the wickers 32 into the casing or outer tubular c can accomplish not only a support function but also a sealing function . sealing is possible without having to appreciably expand the casing c or even without expanding the casing c at all . the invention can be effective with a single or multiple rings of slips , regardless of their attachment mode , and with a variety of known designs for the sealing element 24 . the clear advantage of the present invention is that cones are not required to drive the slips outwardly . this means that for a given outside diameter for run in , the packer or anchor p of fig1 will have a larger internal bore diameter than a design relying on cones to ramp slips out . the larger bore possible in the mandrel 10 comes with no significant reduction of the pressure rating of the packer p . the wickers 30 and 32 are preferably hardened to facilitate penetration into the casing . the sealing element 24 is preferably nitrile but can also be made from other materials such as teflon or peek . the backup rings 26 and 28 are preferably ductile steel and serve the function of keeping the sealing element 24 out of the slots 34 between the slips 18 and 22 . rather than slots 34 to facilitate expansion of the slips 18 and 22 , the sleeve that holds the slips can be made thinner or have other openings , such as holes , to reduce its resistance to expansion . the expansion itself can be carried out with known expansion tools such as roller expanders , swages , or cones . alternatively , an inflatable can be used to expand the mandrel 10 or a pressure technique , as illustrated in 4 a – 4 d , 5 a – 5 d , 12 a – 12 e , and 13 a – 13 e . fig4 a – 4 d illustrate a thru - tubing approach to setting where either a slick line or a wire line can be used to deliver a pressure intensifier 36 to a desired position where it will latch in the tubing 37 adjacent the packer or anchor p . the packer or anchor p is illustrated schematically as is the connection at the top of the intensifier 36 . pressure applied into tubing 37 enters ports 39 and 40 . pistons 42 , 44 , and 46 are connected together for tandem movement . pressure from ports 39 and 40 enters cavities 48 and 50 to apply downward forces on pistons 42 , 44 , and 46 . additional pistons can be used for greater force amplification . the use of intensifier 36 allows a lower pressure to be used at the wellhead in case it has a low pressure rating and the expansion force desired at the packer or anchor p exceeds the rated wellhead pressure . downhole movement of piston 46 forces fluid out of port 52 to expand the packer or anchor p . the intensifier 36 is retrieved after expansion with a known fishing tool , which engages a fishing neck in the top of the intensifier . as shown in fig5 a – 5 d , the packer or anchor p is set against tubular or casing c and the intensifier is removed from the tubing 37 . another way to deliver and set the packer or anchor p is shown in fig1 a – 12 e and 13 a – 13 e . in these figures the packer or anchor p is delivered on a hydraulic or wire line setting tool , as opposed to the through - tubing techniques previously described . the setting tool is schematically illustrated to cover the use of both hydraulic or wire line setting . a sleeve 54 abuts the top of the packer or anchor p ( fig1 d ). a gripping sleeve 56 retains the packer or anchor p until the shear stud 58 fails . circulation is possible when using the hydraulic setting tool until an object is dropped to allow pressure buildup to ultimately move piston 60 to set the packer or anchor p . upward movement of the piston 60 breaks the shear stud 58 after delivering the required pressure for expansion through port 62 to the packer or anchor p . the hydraulic setting tool can incorporate pressure intensifiers so as to limit the surface pressure applied to get the desired expansion , in the event the wellhead has a low pressure rating . breaking the shear stud 58 allows removal of the setting tool and a subsequent tagging the packer with production tubing . the pressure intensifier can have more or fewer pistons to get the desired pressure amplification . hydrostatic pressure can be employed to do the expanding instead of or in conjunction with surface applied pressure . various ways can be used to connect the tubing to the packer . the expansion tool can be released from the packer by rotation . known setting tools can be employed such as those made by baker oil tools under model numbers bh , bhh , b - 2 and j with only slight adaptations . in a wire line variation , the setting tool would be electrically actuated to set off an explosive charge to create the needed pressure for expansion of the packer or anchor p in the manner previously described with the possibility of integrating a pressure intensifier . once the packer or anchor p is expanded , an automatic release from the setting tool occurs so that it could be removed . known wire line setting tools like the e - 4 made by baker oil tools can be used , or others . the expansion concept is the same , stroking a piston with a pressure source and , if necessary a pressure intensifier , creates the pressure for expansion of the packer or anchor p to expand it into position against the tubular or casing c and to trigger an automatic release for retrieval of the settling tool . after the setting tool is pulled out , tubing is tagged into the expanded packer or anchor . release of the packer or anchor p is schematically illustrated in fig6 a – 6 b . the technique is longitudinal extension as illustrated by opposed arrows 64 and 66 . this longitudinal extension results in radial contraction , shown schematically as arrow 68 . what actually occurs is that the wickers 30 and 32 ( shown in fig1 ), which had dug into the casing c on expansion , are pulled or sheared out of the casing . the longitudinal extension also draws back the sealing element 24 as the mandrel under it radially contracts . fig7 a – 7 b show the released position . one way to accomplish the release as described above is shown in fig8 a – 8 b . the release tool 70 is run into the well after the production tubing is pulled . it is secured downhole to the packer at connection 72 , which can be a variety of configurations . a ball seat 74 is retained by shear pins 76 and accepts a ball 78 dropped from the surface . built up pressure pushes down of piston 80 and piston 82 through port 84 . piston 80 bears down on piston 82 . piston 82 bears on shoulder 86 on the packer or anchor p . thus the packer or anchor p is subjected to a longitudinal extension from an uphole force at connection 72 and a downhole force at shoulder 86 . the resulting radial retraction allows removal of the packer or anchor p with the tubing 72 . fig9 a – 9 b show a thru - tubing variation of the release technique . the release tool 88 can be run in on slick line or wire line to latch into latch 90 . pressure is developed on pistons 92 , 94 , and 96 . ports 98 and 100 allow access to pistons 94 and 96 respectively . piston 92 bears on piston 94 , which in turn bears on piston 96 . piston 96 rests on shoulder 102 on the anchor or packer p while the other end of the release tool 88 is latched at latch 90 . ports 104 and 106 allow pistons 92 and 94 , respectively to move by allowing fluid to pass . accordingly , applied pressure in tubing 108 or generated pressure from an electric line setting tool such as an e - 4 made by baker oil tools , stretches the packer or anchor p to get the slips 18 and 22 ( see fig1 ) to let go of their grip of the tubular or casing c in the manner previously described . fig1 a – 10 d and 11 a – 11 d show a packer of known construction except that it has a narrow portion 110 in its mandrel 112 . it has a sealing element 114 and slips 116 extendable with cones 118 and 120 . the set is held by a lock ring 122 . in the past , the packer could be released by releasing the lock ring by cutting the mandrel of the set packer downhole , as illustrated in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 720 , 343 . however this technique had its uncertainties due to doubts about placement of the cutter and knowledge as to if the cut was completed . the release technique for such packers of the present invention , removes such uncertainties . the release tool 122 can be run thru - tubing on slick line or wire line and latched at latch 124 . a pressure intensifier 126 of the type previously described rests on shoulder 128 of the packer or anchor p . application of pressure from the surface or the electric line tool puts opposing forces at latch 124 and shoulder 128 until the narrow portion 110 fails in tension . this releases the hold of the set position by the lock ring 122 and allows extension and radial retraction of the slips 116 and the sealing element 114 . the break 130 is shown in fig1 d . if there are multiple packers or anchors p in the well , the process can be repeated for each one that is needed to be released . as well , the setting process can be repeated to set in any order desired , other packers or anchors p to isolate a desired zone for example . the release tool can be delivered through the production tubing or on wire line or slick line after the production tubing has been removed . other downhole tools can be expanded and extended for release in the manner described above other than packers or anchors . some examples are screens and perforated liners . the techniques described above will also allow for expansion and extension of a variety of tools more than a single time , should that become necessary in the life of the well . extension of the downhole tool for release does not necessarily have to occur to the extent that failure is induced , as described in conjunction with fig1 and 11 . the extension of a tool such as the packer or anchor p an embodiment of which is shown in fig1 , can allow it to be re - expanded with the variety of tools described above . tubing itself can also be expanded and extended for release using the techniques described above . although the retrieving tool has been illustrated as abutting a shoulder to obtain the extension , the shoulder can be provided in a variety of configurations or can be replaced with a gripping mechanism such as slips on the release tool . the slips could alternatively replace the latching notch while still putting a downhole force on the lower shoulder . the mandrel can also have an undercut and collets can engage the undercut to put the requisite extension force on the mandrel body . selected zones can be isolated or opened for flow with the techniques previously described . pressure intensifiers of various designs and pressure magnifications can be used or , alternatively , no pressure magnification device can be used . if the through - tubing tool is used with the explosive charge as the pressure source , then it will need to be removed and the charge replenished before it is used to expand another device in the well . the hydraulically operated through - tubing tool can simply be repositioned and re - pressurized to expand another downhole packer , tubular or other tool . the various forms of the release tools can be used with conventional packers that set with longitudinal compression of a sealing element and slips with the set held by a lock ring by extending that packer to the point of mandrel or other failure , which can release the set held by the lock ring . the above description is illustrative of the preferred embodiment and many modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention whose scope is to be determined from the literal and equivalent scope of the claims below . | 4 |
although a telephony link provides bi - directional communication between the users , the bi - directional link may be described as two separate links . these links are commonly referred to as the forward and reverse links . each link has a communication medium that interconnects a source and a destination terminal . the source terminal communicates user speech to the destination terminal . therefore , the source terminal for the forward link serves as the destination terminal for the reverse link . [ 0016 ] fig1 illustrates a process flow 1 executed by the source terminal of either one of two unidirectional links of a bi - directional telephony link and fig2 illustrates the associated process flow 5 executed by the destination terminal . as a user &# 39 ; s speech is provided to the source terminal , portions of the speech are sampled and converted 2 to text by voice recognition software . although throughout the disclosure the information about the content of the speech is described as text , it is not necessary that the speech be converted to text , as any symbolic representation of speech can be used . for instance , each word can be represented by a single digital code instead of a combination of codes which each represent a letter . the important aspect of the invention is that a representation of a word can be communicated with substantially less bandwidth than a digital encoding of the sound of the word . the textual representation of the speech portion is digitally encoded and communicated 3 to the destination terminal . after each speech portion has been sampled , converted to text , and communicated to the destination terminal , the process 1 determines 4 whether the communication link has terminated . if the link is terminated , the process 1 ends . otherwise , the process 1 samples the next consecutive portion of the speech and converts 2 this portion to text . the most recently converted text is communicated 3 to the destination terminal and the process 1 , again , determines 4 whether the link has terminated . the sequence of converting 2 the next consecutive portion of the received speech to text and then communicating 3 the converted text to the destination unit is repeated until the link is terminated . process 1 is begun anew when a link is established . for the purpose of simplifying the description and process flowcharts , a link termination , as used in this disclosure , may be any form of momentary or permanent discontinuance of the speaker &# 39 ; s speech or of the telephony link . for example , the link termination may be a pause in the speaker &# 39 ; s conversation . in these instances , process 1 is renewed when the speaker &# 39 ; s next vocal sound is uttered . in an exemplary embodiment , audio processing software can be used to distinguish between speech and background noise to identify pauses . or breaks in speech . alternatively , the link termination may be the end of the telephony link and process 1 is not renewed until a new telephony link is established . while the source terminal executes process 1 , the destination terminal executes process 5 . process 5 begins by receiving 6 an individual portion of the communicated text from the source terminal . the received 6 portion of text is converted 7 to speech using the default speech profile of the destination terminal . the speech that is reproduced at the destination terminal has the vocal sound of the person whose voice served as the model for the speech profile , rather than the sound of the speaker . this reproduced speech is conveyed 8 to the listener before process 5 determines 9 whether the link has terminated . if the link has terminated , process 5 ends . otherwise , the steps of the process 5 are re - executed for the next consecutive portion of text received from the source terminal . the sequence of receiving 6 the next portion of text , converting 7 the received text to speech , and outputting 8 the reproduced speech is repeated until the link terminates . process 5 is renewed when a link is established . [ 0020 ] fig3 illustrates an embodiment of the method that provides a means for conveying the speaker &# 39 ; s own natural voice profile to the destination terminal so that the speech reproduced at the destination terminal sounds like the speech of the original speaker . process 20 begins by determining 21 whether the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile exists at the source terminal . if the profile does not exist , it is created 22 by having the speaker read text provided by the voice recognition software before the link is established . once the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile is created 22 , it may be stored to memory and subsequently accessed without having to be re - created for every instance of an established link . the profile can also be periodically updated based on additional words spoken and stored as the system is used . next , process 20 determines 23 whether the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile exists at the destination terminal . this determination may be made according to any known method . as an exemplary method , the source terminal conveys the profile identification to the destination terminal and the latter terminal responds with an indication of whether it has a copy of the profile . if the destination terminal has a copy of the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile , process 20 repeatedly executes the same steps executed by process 1 , in fig1 . first , a portion of the speech provided to the source terminal is sampled and converted 24 to text . next , the text is communicated 25 to the destination terminal . lastly , a determination 26 is made as to whether the link has terminated . if so , the process 20 ends . otherwise , the sequence of converting 24 the next consecutive portion of the received speech to text and then communicating 25 the converted text to the destination unit is repeated until the link is terminated . process 20 is begun again when a link is re - established . if the destination terminal does not have a copy of the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile , as determined in step 23 , process 20 communicates the voice profile to the destination terminal . beginning with step 28 , process 20 samples a portion of the speech and converts 28 it to text . thereafter , the converted text and a portion of the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile are communicated 29 to the destination terminal . next , a determination is made whether the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile has been completely communicated 30 to the destination terminal . if not , a determination 31 is made whether the link has terminated . process 20 ends when the link is terminated . if the link has not terminated , then the next consecutive portion of the received speech is sampled and converted 28 to text . both the converted text and the next remaining portion of the voice profile are communicated 29 to the destination terminal and another determination 30 is made whether the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile has been completely communicated to the destination terminal . process steps 28 - 31 are repeated until either the link is terminated or the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile has been completely communicated to the destination terminal . if the link terminates before the voice profile is completely communicated , only the un - sent portion of the profile need be communicated when the link is re - established for this same speaker . once a determination 30 is made that the voice profile has been completely communicated to the destination terminal , the flow of process 20 transfers to step 26 where a determination is made whether the link has terminated . for the remaining existence of the link , the converted text will be communicated to the destination terminal without a portion of the voice profile being sent also . [ 0023 ] fig4 illustrates the process 40 executed by the destination terminal when process 20 , of fig3 is executed by the source terminal . process 40 begins by determining 41 whether the destination terminal has a copy of the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile . if so , the source terminal is informed 42 of this fact . thereafter , the steps 43 - 46 of process 40 are nearly identical to steps 6 - 9 of process 5 , which is illustrated in fig2 . first , the destination terminal receives 43 the text communicated to it by the source terminal . then , the text is converted 44 to speech using the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile . the reproduced speech has the vocal characteristics of the original speaker when it is output 45 by the destination device . after each portion of the received text is converted into a reproduction of the original speech , a determination 46 is made whether the link has terminated . if so , process 40 ends . otherwise , the next portion of text received from the source terminal is similarly received 43 , converted 44 to speech using the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile , and output 45 as a reproduction of the original speech in the speaker &# 39 ; s voice . steps 43 - 45 are repeated until the link terminates . if a determination is made in step 41 that the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile does not exist at the destination terminal , then the flow of process 40 transfers to the branch of steps comprising steps 48 - 53 . in step 48 , the destination terminal informs the source terminal that it does not have a copy of the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile . next , the process repeatedly executes a set of steps 49 - 51 that is similar to the set of steps 6 - 8 in process 5 of fig2 . with regard to process 40 , however , the destination terminal receives 49 not only the text communicated by the source terminal but also the communicated portion of the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile . the portion of the received voice profile is stored to memory by the destination device and the received text is converted 50 to speech using the default voice profile of the destination terminal . the reproduced speech has the voice characteristics of the person whose voice was used to model the voice profile , rather than the speaker &# 39 ; s voice characteristics . as the text is converted to speech , it is conveyed 51 to the listener . once the speech portion is output , a determination 52 is made whether the speaker &# 39 ; s profile has been completely received from the source terminal . if so , all text subsequently received within the duration of the link will be converted to speech using the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile . therefore , an affirmative determination in step 52 leads the process out of the branch of steps 49 - 53 and into the branch of steps 42 - 46 , the destination terminal informs the source terminal that the profile has ben fully received and the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile is used for the speech conversion , steps 43 - 46 . if a determination is made in step 52 that the speaker &# 39 ; s profile has not been fully received from the source terminal , then a determination 53 is made whether the link has terminated . if so , process 40 ends . since the received portion of the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile has been stored to memory by the destination terminal , only the remaining portion of the profile need be communicated to the destination terminal when the link is re - established for the same speaker . if the link has not terminated , as determined in step 53 , the sequence of steps 49 - 51 is repeated until either the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile is completely received or the link terminates . this sequence comprises receiving the communicated text and speaker profile portions 49 , storing the received portion of the speaker profile to memory , converting the received text to speech 50 using the default voice profile , and outputting the reproduced speech 51 . [ 0026 ] fig5 illustrates an embodiment of the invention that creates the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile as the speaker communicates speech through the link . process 60 begins by determining 61 whether the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile exists at the destination terminal . if the voice profile exists at the destination terminal , a portion of the incoming speech provided by the speaker is sampled and converted 62 to text by voice recognition software . the converted text is communicated to the destination terminal before a determination 54 is made whether the link has terminated . if the link has terminated , process 60 ends . if the link has not terminated , the next consecutive portion of the speaker &# 39 ; s incoming speech is sampled and converted 62 to text . again , the converted text is communicated 63 to the destination terminal before a determination 64 is made whether the link has terminated . this sequence of sampling and converting 62 to text the next consecutive portion of incoming speech , communicating 63 the converted text , and determining 64 whether the link has terminated is repeated until the link terminates . if a determination is made that the destination device does not have a copy of the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile in step 61 , a determination 66 is made whether the source terminal has a copy of the profile . if so , process 60 executes a branch of steps 67 - 70 , to communicate the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile , that is nearly identical to the branch of steps 28 - 31 in process 20 , as illustrated in fig3 . process 60 samples a portion of the speaker &# 39 ; s incoming speech and converts 67 it to text . thereafter , the converted text and a portion of the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile are communicated 68 to the destination terminal . next , a determination is made whether the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile has been completely communicated 69 to the destination terminal . if not , a determination 70 is made whether the link has terminated . process 60 ends when the link is terminated . if the link has not terminated , then the next consecutive portion of the speaker &# 39 ; s incoming speech is sampled and converted 67 to text . both the converted text and the next remaining portion of the voice profile are communicated 68 to the destination terminal and another determination 69 is made whether the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile has been completely communicated to the destination terminal . process 60 steps 67 - 70 are repeated until either the link is terminated or the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile has been completely communicated to the destination terminal . if the link terminates before the voice profile is completely communicated , only the portions of the profile that were not communicated will be communicated when the link is re - established for this same speaker . once a determination 69 is made that the voice profile has been completely communicated to the destination terminal , the flow of process 60 transfers to step 64 where a determination is made whether the link has terminated . for the remaining period of the link , the converted text will be communicated to the destination terminal without a portion of the voice profile being sent along with it . if the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile does not exist at the destination terminal , as determined by step 66 , steps 71 - 75 are repeatedly executed until either the speaker &# 39 ; s profile has been created and completely communicated to the destination terminal or the link is terminated . beginning with step 71 , a portion of the speaker &# 39 ; s speech is sampled and converted 71 to text by voice recognition software . the sampled portion of the speech is also used by the voice recognition software to generate 72 the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile . both the converted text and any portion of the voice profile available for conveyance are communicated 73 to the destination terminal . it is not necessary to convey portions of the speaker profile as they are created to be within the scope of the invention . it may be advantageous in some implementations to delay transmission until the speaker &# 39 ; s profile is developed to a certain extent or until it is fully developed . next , a determination 74 is made whether the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile has been completely generated based upon the voice sampling . if so , no further generation of the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile will be made , for the remaining period of the communication link . the process 60 flow branches to step 69 for a determination of whether the speaker &# 39 ; s profile has been fully received at the destination . if the speaker profile has been completely received , the process flows through blocks 67 - 70 . once the profile is fully received , process 60 repeatedly samples and converts 62 the next incoming portion of the speaker &# 39 ; s incoming speech to text , communicates 63 the converted text to the destination terminal , and re - evaluates 64 whether the link has terminated . if a negative determination is made in step 74 as to whether the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile has been completely communicated , a determination 75 is made whether the link has terminated . if so , process 60 is terminated . any portion of the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile that was not completely generated 72 and communicated 73 to the destination terminal prior to a link termination may be generated and communicated when the next link between these source and destination terminals is established for this speaker . if a negative determination is made in step 75 regarding the termination of the link , the next consecutive portion of the speaker &# 39 ; s incoming speech is sampled and converted 71 to text . this next sample is used to continue generating 72 the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile . the available converted text and portion of the generated 72 voice profile are communicated 73 to the destination terminal before another determination is made whether the voice profile has been completely generated . the sequence of sampling the next consecutive portion of the speaker &# 39 ; s incoming speech and converting 71 it to text , continuing the generation 72 of the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile , and communicating 73 the converted text and the additional voice profile information is repeated until either the link is terminated or the speaker &# 39 ; s voice profile has been completely generated . [ 0031 ] fig4 illustrates the process 40 executed by the destination terminal when process 60 , of fig5 is executed by the source terminal . the same process 40 is executed by the destination terminal when either of processes 20 or 60 are executed by the source terminal . the speaker &# 39 ; s profile may be periodically updated as use of the system will add words , phrases , proper names , inflections intonations and the like to the database of the user . the updated profile can be used by the source terminal to increase the accuracy of speech recognition . further , the updated profile can be periodically transmitted to the destination terminal to update a previously transmitted speaker profile to allow for enhanced playback . updating can take place during a subsequent conversation between the source and destination terminals or can take place as part of a separate transfer connection . because many varying and different embodiments may be made within the scope of the inventive concept herein taught , and because many modifications may be made in the embodiments herein detailed in accordance with the descriptive requirements of the law , it is to be understood that the details herein are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . | 7 |
as seen in fig1 an armrest 10 according to the invention is part of a motor - vehicle center console 11 . this armrest 10 has an arm support or cushion 12 , and parts 13 a and 13 b form a housing of the center console 11 . the arm support 12 in fig1 is a lower starting end position that enables the arm of a passenger of the vehicle to be supported on its upper surface 14 . the arm support 12 is permanently attached to two identical mounting arms 15 a and 15 b that are pivoted at their rear ends at a common axis a on the housing 13 a , 13 b . the arms 15 a and 15 b coact respective brakes 16 a and 16 b fixed on the housing 13 a , 13 b . a latch of the armrest 10 is formed by locking extension 17 a and 17 b of the mounting arms 15 a and 15 b and by the respective brakes 16 a and 16 b . in fig2 through 4 , each mounting arm 15 a and 15 b is mounted on a respective support 18 a and 18 b of the housing 13 a , 13 b via a pivot joint g and is thereby pivotal about a horizontal pivot axis a normally extending perpendicular to the normal vehicle travel direction . only the support 18 a is shown in fig3 . extensions 19 a and 19 b attached to the supports 18 a and 18 b carry the respective brakes 16 a and 16 b as also shown in fig4 . movement of the arm support 12 from the starting position to various raised pivot positions is controlled by the latch so that the arm support 12 can be locked in any of these pivot positions . the mounting arms 15 a and 15 b and the cushion 12 can thus be pivoted from the starting position of fig5 through 8 in a direction u 1 until reaching a raised end position ( see fig1 ). although movement in the direction u 1 is possible , movement in the opposite angular direction u 2 is prevented by the latch in every intermediate position between the starting position and the uppermost raised end position . only after reaching the uppermost raised end position can the arm support 12 be pivoted back in the return direction u 2 . thus as the cushion or support 12 is raised , it can only pivot upward until it reaches the upper end position , whereupon it can be pivoted down again , but if released in any intermediate position , it will hold and cannot be pushed back down . fig5 - 8 and 25 - 28 show the brake 16 a , which is identical to the brake 16 b . it has a u - shaped caliper 20 formed by side members 21 a and 21 b unitarily connected by a bight member 22 . the side members 21 a and 21 b extend approximately parallel to respective braking faces 23 a and 23 b of the respective locking extension 17 a . in addition , brake shoes 24 a and 24 b are provided that have respective back control faces 25 a and 25 b as well as front friction faces 26 a and 26 b . the control faces 25 a and 25 b of the brake shoes 24 a and 24 b are of sawtooth shape with steep and shallow flanks and are complementary to respective faces 27 a and 27 b of the side members 21 a and 21 b . the steep and shallow flanks of the sawteeth of the faces 25 a and 25 b are oriented relative to the directions u 1 and u 2 such that movement of the shoes 24 a and 24 b in the direction u 2 relative to the extension 17 a cams the shoes 24 a and 24 b toward each other and into tighter engagement with the extension 17 a , while opposite movement in direction u 1 moves them apart and releases the extension 17 a . more particularly as shown in fig1 , the brake shoe 24 a has oblique faces 33 a and 35 a that interact with respective opposing faces 34 a and 36 a of the side member 21 a . analogously , the brake shoe 24 b has oblique faces 33 b and 35 b , while side member 21 b has respective opposing faces 34 b and 36 b that interact in the same way . the faces 33 a , 34 a , 35 a , and 36 a , as well as faces 33 b , 34 b , 35 b , and 36 b form an angle β with the x axis . this has the effect that a force acts in a direction v 1 in response to a force in direction x 1 on the brake shoe 24 a , is while a force acts in a direction w 1 in response to a force in a direction x 2 . analogously , a force in the direction x 1 on the brake shoe 24 b results in a force in a direction v 2 , while a force in the direction x 2 results in a force in the direction w 2 . directions x 1 and x 2 are parallel to an x axis , as well as to angular pivot directions u 1 and u 2 . when displaced in direction x 1 , the brake shoes 24 a and 24 b are moved outward and apart in the directions v 1 , v 2 , and when displaced in the direction x 2 the brake shoes 24 a and 24 b are moved inward in the directions w 1 , w 2 . as shown in fig5 , 25 , and 26 , a first end of a spring 28 a is attached by a fitting 37 a to the side member 21 a , while a second end of the spring 28 a is attached by a fitting 38 a to the brake shoe 24 a . analogously , a first end of another such spring 28 b is attached by another such fitting 37 b to the side member 21 b , while a second end of the other spring 28 b is attached by another such fitting 38 b to the brake shoe 24 b . each brake shoe 24 a and 24 b is biased by the respective spring 28 a or 28 b in the direction x 2 whenever the respective spring 28 a or 28 b is in a second tensioned position . when the spring 28 a or 28 b is in a first untensioned position , the brake shoes 24 a and 24 b are held by the springs 28 a and 28 b in the release position . each side member 21 a and 21 b supports a respective control wheel 29 a or 29 b for pivoting about an axis a 2 . cams 30 and 31 fixed on the extension 17 a can rotate the control wheels 29 a and 29 b between a first position and a second position offset angularly about the axis a 2 by about 90 °. in the first position of the control wheels 29 a and 29 b the respective springs 28 a and 28 b are moved by actuating arms 32 of the control wheels 29 a and 29 b to the second position . in the second position of the control wheels 29 a and 29 b , the springs 28 a and 28 b can move to the first position by their own elastic restoring force . when the arm support 12 moves from the starting position in the direction u 1 , the mounting arms 15 a and 15 b and the locking extensions 17 a and 17 b , are also pivoted in the direction u 1 as indicated in fig5 . the springs 28 are in the second position , with the result that the brake shoes 24 a and 24 b are biased in the direction x 2 . in response to biasing in the direction x 2 , and thus the biasing toward each other of the brake shoes 24 a and 24 b associated therewith in the direction w 1 or w 2 , the friction faces 26 come into contact with the braking faces 23 a and 23 b . when the locking extension 17 a , moves in the direction u 1 , the brake shoes 24 a and 24 b are biased oppositely to the biasing of the springs 28 in the direction x 1 opposite the clamping direction v 1 , v 2 due to the frictional locking between the approximately parallel friction faces 26 of the brake shoes 24 a and 24 b , and the braking faces 23 a and 23 b . there is thus no clamping of the locking extension 17 a , thereby enabling the arm support 12 to pivot freely in the direction u 1 . conversely , no movement in the direction u 2 is possible as long as the raised end position of the arm support 12 has not been reached . when the locking extensions 17 a and 17 b move in the direction u 2 , the brake shoes 24 a and 24 b are biased in the direction x 2 in the clamping direction w 1 , w 2 due to the frictional locking between the friction faces 26 a and 26 b of the brake shoes 24 a and 24 b , and the braking faces 23 a and 23 b . the locking extension 17 a is clamped in place so strongly by the brake shoes 24 a and 24 b that no movement is possible by the arm support 12 in the direction u 2 . when the mounting arms 15 a and 15 b are pivoted in the direction u 1 , the cam 30 comes into contact with an adjustment arm 39 of the control wheel 29 before reaching the raised end position ( see fig9 through 12 ) and moves the control wheel 29 to the second position , with the result that the spring 28 a and 28 b are reset to the first position and simultaneously move brake shoes 24 a and 24 b in direction x 1 , and in directions v 1 , v 2 , opposite the clamping direction . after reaching the raised end position , mounting arms 15 a and 15 b can be pivoted in the direction u 2 , and also once again in direction u 1 as long as the raised end position has not been reached . when the mounting arms 15 a and 15 b are moved in the direction u 2 , the cam 31 comes into contact with the control wheel 29 just before reaching the raised end position ( see fig2 through 24 ). in response to additional movement by the mounting arms 15 a and 15 b in the direction u 2 to the end position , the control wheel 29 is pivoted by the cam 31 to the first position such that the springs 28 a and 28 b are moved to the second position and is held in this position by the control wheels 29 a and 29 b . as a result , the directional locking mechanism is again activated , and the mounting arms 15 a and 15 b are able to move only in the direction u 1 until the raised end position has been reached . | 1 |
in fig1 a first embodiment of the subject thermosensitive pop - out device is indicated generally by the numeral 10 . device 10 is shown in a representative operating environment of a fragmentarily represented ordnance item having a main explosive charge 12 , a casing 13 , and a fuze 14 which have a configuration commonly used in an aircraft carried bomb , although it is to be understood that a device embodying the subject invention is utilizable with other ordnance items . casing 13 has a circular opening 20 extending through it about an axis 22 having a predetermined direction of movement therealong indicated by arrowhead 23 . opening 20 has a smaller diameter portion disposed toward the interior of casing 13 and has a larger diameter portion circumscribed by female screw threads 25 in the casing . fuze 14 is generally cylindrical about axis 22 and extends centrally of opening 20 . fuze 14 has a fragmentarily represented portion 27 extending exteriorly of casing 13 , has a portion bearing male screw threads 28 aligned transversely of axis 22 with screw threads 25 , and has a cylindrical portion 29 somewhat smaller in diameter than screw threads 28 and extending therefrom interiorly of casing 13 . fuze 14 has a booster or booster charge which is represented by dash lines 32 and is disposed in fuze portion 29 remotely from screw threads 28 . charge 12 is thus subject to cook - off detonation if booster 32 detonates due to heat , as from an accidental fire , transferred from casing 13 to fuze 14 . device 10 has an outer sleeve 35 received in opening 20 . sleeve 35 is configured similarly to a conventional and generally cylindrical fuze well , not shown , used with fuze 14 in that sleeve 35 has an annulus fitted to the enlarged portion of opening 20 and provided peripherally with screw threads 36 which engage screw threads 25 so that these screw threads fixedly connect casing 13 and sleeve 35 . sleeve 35 has a conventional cup - like region which receives the portion of fuze 14 containing booster 32 and which has a cylindrical surface 38 closely and slideably fitted to fuze portion 29 , the cup - like region having an opening at axis 22 for communicating a desired detonation of the booster 32 to charge 12 . sleeve 35 has an inwardly facing cylindrical guiding surface 40 extending from surface 38 to the end of the sleeve opposite surface 38 so that sleeve 35 has an axially open end portion 41 . end portion 41 has a counterbore 43 about surface 40 . surface 40 is coaxially related to surface 38 but is somewhat larger in diameter so that sleeve 35 has an annular step 44 connecting surfaces 38 and 40 . device 10 has a generally cylindrical inner sleeve 50 received within outer sleeve 35 and configured to circumscribe fuze 14 so that the fuze is received centrally in sleeve 50 . sleeves 35 and 50 are thus substantially coaxially aligned along axis 22 with sleeve 35 circumscribing sleeve 50 . sleeve 50 has one open end provided with female screw threads 51 which are adapted to engage fuze screw threads 28 and thus serve to fixedly connect sleeve 50 to fuze 14 . screw threads 51 terminate oppositely of such open end at an annular groove 52 . sleeve 50 has a cylindrical surface 53 , which is coaxially related to surface 38 and has substantially the same diameter . surface 53 extends from groove 52 through an open end of sleeve 50 opposite screw threads 51 so that this sleeve has an annular surface 55 facing step 44 . device 10 has a helical compression spring 57 , represented as partially broken away in fig1 extending axially between surfaces 44 and 55 and disposed between surface 40 and fuze portion 29 . it is apparent that spring 57 , which extends from inner sleeve 50 oppositely of outer sleeve end portion 41 , resiliently urges the inner sleeve and fuze 14 to move in a path in direction 23 along axis 22 so as to expel the inner sleeve and the fuze through end portion 41 . inner sleeve 50 has an outer cylindrical surface 60 which is slideably fitted within the portion of surface 40 which surrounds the inner sleeve , and this sleeve has an annular lip 61 which conforms to and is slideably fitted within counterbore 43 . sleeve 50 is thus slideably related to sleeve 35 for movement therefrom . the peripheral surface of lip 61 and surface 60 , taken together , define a first or inner retaining surface 65 borne by and circumscribing sleeve 50 . the centrally facing surface of counterbore 43 and the portion of surface 40 surrounding surface 60 taken together define a second or outer retaining surface 66 circumscribed and borne centrally by outer sleeve 35 within end portion 41 thereof . it is evident that retaining surfaces 65 and 66 conform to each other and are juxtapositioned when fuze 14 is fixed to the inner sleeve and is disposed to initiate charge 12 . it is also evident that surfaces 65 and 66 are disposed for separation when inner sleeve begins to move along axis 22 in direction 23 . device 10 has a layer 67 extending between surfaces 65 and 66 and represented by a heavy line thereat . it is evident that surface 65 is a surface of revolution disposed exteriorly of sleeve 60 and that surface 66 is disposed centrally of sleeve 35 , and it can be seen that surfaces 65 and 66 , engaging screw threads 25 and 36 , and engaging screw threads 28 and 51 are aligned in a direction transversely of axis 22 and are disposed adjacent to the exterior of casing 13 so as to facilitate heat transfer to layer 67 . layer 67 is formed from any suitable material which is relatively rigid in the normal range of ambient temperatures , so as to interconnect retaining surfaces 65 and 66 and retain inner sleeve 50 to outer sleeve 35 against the urging of spring 57 , and which becomes relatively softened , as by melting , at a predetermined higher temperature so as to disconnect the retaining surfaces and release the inner sleeve from the outer sleeve so that the spring expels the inner sleeve together with a fuze 14 from the outer sleeve . fuze 14 is thereby carried from charge 12 avoiding cook - off thereof due to detonation initiated by booster 32 and venting the charge through outer sleeve 35 avoiding cook - off due to pressure buildup within casing 13 . layer 67 is , preferably , formed from soft solder , a well known alloy of tin and lead which is relatively rigid at normal temperatures and which begins to melt at a temperature of about 350 ° f . or 180 ° c . the layer is formed by placing sleeves 35 and 50 into their relative positions shown in fig1 and melting soft solder so as to flow between surfaces 65 and 66 which are constructed to provide a suitable radial clearance for the flowable solder , such as a clearance of 0 . 010 to 0 . 015 inch ( 0 . 25 to 0 . 78 mm ) which has been found satisfactory for purposes of the subject invention when surfaces 65 and 66 have diameters in the order of 2 . 2 to 2 . 5 inches ( 56 to 63 . 5 mm ). a second embodiment of the subject invention is shown in fig2 in which only those elements , of a device corresponding to device 10 , differing from the elements shown in fig1 are depicted together with a predetermined axis 122 and direction 123 therealong corresponding to axis 22 and direction 23 . the embodiment of fig2 has an outer sleeve 135 having screw threads 136 , has an inner sleeve 150 having screw threads 151 and a cylindrical surface 153 , has a spring 157 , and has a layer 167 which connects sleeves 135 and 150 and is , preferably , formed of soft solder . these elements correspond in structure and arrangement , respectively , to elements 35 , 36 , 50 , 51 , 53 , 57 , and 67 shown in fig1 and are depicted without ordnance item elements corresponding to casing 13 and fuze 14 . it is evident that an outer sleeve 35 or 135 , which is connected to an inner sleeve 50 or 150 by a layer 67 or 167 and assembled with a spring 57 or 157 , can be stored in assembled relation to an existing ordnance item and an existing fuze , such as 14 , installed shortly before deployment of the item . the areas at which the embodiment of fig2 differs from that of fig1 will now be described . inner sleeve 150 bears a first or inner retaining surface 170 , which is frusto - conical , and outer sleeve 135 bears a second or outer retaining surface 171 conforming to and circumscribing surface 170 . surfaces 170 and 171 are disposed in juxtapositioned relation and are aligned with screw threads 136 and 151 transversely of axis 122 . it is evident that surface 170 is disposed exteriorly of sleeve 150 and surface 171 is disposed centrally of sleeve 135 and that movement of the inner sleeve in direction 123 separates surfaces 170 and 171 when such movement begins . surfaces 170 and 171 have individual smaller diameter ends 173 and have individual larger diameter ends 174 disposed in direction 123 therefrom . inner sleeve 150 bears a cylindrical alignment surface 177 and outer sleeve 135 bears an alignment surface 178 conforming to surface 177 . surfaces 177 and 178 are coaxially related along axis 122 and are disposed radially in facing and relatively closely spaced slideable relation to facilitate coaxial alignment of sleeves 135 and 150 before the formation of layer 167 . surfaces 177 and 178 are disposed at the end of sleeve 135 opposite surfaces 170 and 171 and are thus spaced from smaller diameter ends 173 oppositely of larger diameter ends 174 in a direction along axis 122 opposite direction 123 . inner sleeve 150 bears a cylindrical surface portion or spacing surface 181 extending between alignment surface 177 and the corresponding end 173 . surfaces 177 and 181 , typically , have the same diameter and provide a continuous area of sleeve 150 . outer sleeve 135 bears a cylindrical surface portion or spacing surface 182 extending between alignment surface 178 and the corresponding smaller diameter end 173 and disposed in facing relation to surface 181 . surface 182 has a larger diameter than surface 181 such that these surfaces are spaced radially a substantially greater distance than retaining surfaces 170 and 171 and alignment surfaces 177 and 178 are spaced . as a result , when soft solder in a flowable state exists between surfaces 170 and 171 , solder escaping from between these surfaces onto surface 181 or onto surface 182 does not engage the other one of the latter surfaces and connect sleeves 135 and 150 thereat when the solder hardens . it has been found that , in a device embodying the subject invention and having surfaces corresponding to surfaces 170 , 171 , 177 , 178 , 181 , and 182 with a diameter in the order of 2 . 2 inch ( 56 mm ), a radial spacing in the order of 0 . 005 inch ( 0 . 125 mm ) between surfaces corresponding to surfaces 170 , 171 , 177 , and 178 and a radial spacing in the order of 0 . 05 inch ( 1 . 25 mm ) between surfaces corresponding to surfaces 181 and 182 provides convenient assembly and effective operation of the device . it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that sleeves 35 and 50 of the embodiment shown in fig1 can be provided with radially spaced surface portions corresponding to surfaces 181 and 182 of the embodiment shown in fig2 by increasing the diameter of surface 40 or decreasing the diameter of surface 60 only in a region adjacent to counterbore 43 so that flowable material used to form a layer corresponding to layer 67 and interconnecting the sleeves at the counterbore does not connect the sleeves at such spaced surface portions and so that the remaining and more closely radially spaced portions of surfaces 40 and 66 facilitate coaxial alignment of sleeves 35 and 50 . obviously many modifications and variations of the subject invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is , therefore , to be understood that the invention may be practiced within the scope of the following claims other than as specifically described herein . | 5 |
the following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure , application , or uses . referring now to fig1 , an embodiment of a multi - speed transmission is generally indicated by reference number 10 . the transmission 10 includes a transmission housing 11 , an input shaft or member 12 , and an output shaft or member 14 . the input member 12 is preferably connected to an engine ( not shown ) or to a turbine of a torque converter ( not shown ). the output member 14 is preferably connected with a final drive unit ( not shown ) or transfer case ( not shown ). in the example provided , the output member 14 is coaxial with a longitudinal axis defined by the input member 12 . accordingly , the output member 14 may exit on an opposite side of the transmission 10 as the input member 12 , thereby providing , for example , a rear wheel drive transmission configuration . the transmission 10 includes a first planetary gear set 16 , a second planetary gear set 18 , and a third planetary gear set 20 . the planetary gear sets 16 , 18 , and 20 are connected between the input member 12 and the output member 14 . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the first planetary gear set 16 is a planetary gear set that includes a sun gear member 22 , a ring gear member 24 and a carrier member 28 that rotatably supports a set of pinion gears 32 , 34 . pinion gears 32 , 34 are configured to intermesh with each other , sun gear member 22 and ring gear member 24 . moreover , sun gear member 22 is fixedly connected to the transmission housing 11 of the transmission 10 for preventing rotation of sun gear member 22 . ring gear member 24 is connected for common rotation with a first interconnecting shaft or member 38 and a second interconnecting shaft or member 39 . carrier member 28 is connected for common rotation with a third interconnecting shaft or member 40 and a fourth interconnecting shaft or member 45 . the second planetary gear set 18 includes a sun gear member 42 , a ring gear member 44 and a carrier member 46 that rotatably supports a set of pinion gears 48 . pinion gears 48 are configured to intermesh with both sun gear member 42 and ring gear member 44 . sun gear member 42 is connected for common rotation with the input member 12 and a fifth interconnecting shaft or member 43 . carrier member 46 is connected for common rotation with a sixth interconnecting shaft or member 47 . ring gear member 44 is connected for common rotation with a seventh interconnecting shaft or member 50 . the third planetary gear set 20 includes a sun gear member 52 , a ring gear member 54 and a carrier member 56 that rotatably supports a set of pinion gears 58 . pinion gears 58 are configured to intermesh with both sun gear member 52 and ring gear member 54 . sun gear member 52 is connected for common rotation with an eighth interconnecting shaft or member 60 . ring gear member 54 is connected for common rotation with the output member 14 . carrier member 56 is connected for common rotation with the sixth interconnecting member 47 . the transmission 10 includes a variety of torque - transmitting mechanisms or devices including a first clutch 70 , a second clutch 72 , a third clutch 74 , a fourth clutch 76 , a fifth clutch 78 , and a brake 80 . the first clutch 70 is selectively engagable to connect the fifth interconnecting member 43 with the fourth interconnecting member 45 . the second clutch 72 is selectively engagable to connect the fifth interconnecting member 43 with the seventh interconnecting member 50 . the third clutch 74 is selectively engagable to connect the third interconnecting member 40 with the eighth interconnecting member 60 . the fourth clutch 76 is selectively engagable to connect the second interconnecting member 39 to the eighth interconnecting member 60 . the fifth clutch 78 is selectively engagable to connect the first interconnecting member 38 to the seventh interconnecting member 50 . the brake 80 is selectively engagable to connect carrier member 56 to the transmission housing 11 to restrict rotation of carrier member 56 . the transmission 10 is capable of transmitting torque from the input member 12 to the output member 14 in preferably at least eight forward torque ratios and two reverse torque ratios . each of the forward torque ratios and the reverse torque ratios are attained by engagement of one or more of the torque - transmitting mechanisms ( i . e . first clutch 70 , second clutch 72 , third clutch 74 , fourth clutch 76 , fifth clutch 78 , and brake 80 ). those skilled in the art will readily understand that a different speed ratio is associated with each torque ratio . thus , eight forward speed ratios may be attained by the transmission 10 . the transmission housing 11 includes a first end wall 102 , a second end wall 104 , and a third wall 106 . the third wall 106 interconnects between the first and second end walls 102 and 104 to provide a space or cavity 108 in which the planetary gear sets 16 , 18 , and 20 and the torque - transmitting mechanisms 70 , 72 , 74 , 76 , 78 , and 80 are located . further , the cavity 108 has a plurality of areas or zones a , b , c , d , and e in which the plurality of torque transmitting mechanisms 70 , 72 , 74 , 76 , 78 , and 80 are specifically positioned , in accordance with the preferred embodiments of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , zone a is defined by the area or space bounded : axially on the left by the first end wall 102 , on the right by planetary gear set 20 , radially inward by a reference line “ l ” which is a longitudinal line that is axially aligned with the input shaft 12 , and radially outward by a reference line “ m ” which is a longitudinal line that extends adjacent an outer diameter or outer periphery of the planetary gear sets 16 , 18 , and 20 . while reference line “ m ” is illustrated as a straight line , it should be appreciated that reference line “ m ” follows the outer periphery of the planetary gear sets 16 , 18 , and 20 , and accordingly may be stepped or non - linear depending on the location of the outer periphery of each of the planetary gear sets 16 , 18 , and 20 . zone b is defined by the area bounded : axially on the left by planetary gear set 20 , axially on the right by planetary gear set 16 , radially outward by reference line “ m ”, and radially inward by reference line “ l ”. zone c is defined by the area bounded : axially on the left by planetary gear set 16 , axially on the right by planetary gear set 18 , radially outward by reference line “ m ”, and radially inward by reference line “ l ”. zone d is defined by the area bounded : axially on the left by planetary gear set 18 , axially on the right by the second end wall 104 , radially outward by reference line “ m ”, and radially inward by reference line “ l ”. zone e is defined by the area bounded : axially on the left by the first end wall 102 , axially on the right by the second end wall 104 , radially inward by reference line “ m ” and radially outward by the third wall 106 . the torque transmitting mechanisms 70 , 72 , 74 , 76 , 78 , and 80 are intentionally located within specific zones in order to provide advantages in overall transmission size , packaging efficiency , and reduced manufacturing complexity . in the particular example shown in fig1 , the torque transmitting mechanism 80 is in zone a , the torque transmitting mechanisms 74 and 76 are in zone b , and the torque transmitting mechanisms 70 , 72 and 78 are in zone c . however , the present invention contemplates other embodiments where the torque transmitting mechanisms 70 , 72 , 74 , 76 , 78 , and 80 are disposed in the other zones . the feasible locations of the torque - transmitting devices 70 , 72 , 74 , 76 , 78 , and 80 relative to the zones are illustrated in chart 1 . an “ x ” in the chart indicates that the present invention contemplates locating the particular torque transmitting device in the referenced zones . an “◯” in the chart indicates that the present invention contemplates that it is not feasible to locate the particular torque transmitting device in the referenced zone . for example , the present invention provides that brake 80 may be located in zone a , but may not be located in zones b , c , d or e . it should be appreciated that each of the torque transmitting devices 70 , 72 , 74 , 76 , 78 , and 80 may be located in a permissible zone , as indicated in chart 1 , independently of the location of any of the other torque transmitting devices 70 , 72 , 74 , 76 , 78 , and 80 . the description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 5 |
the preferred embodiment of the invention may take the shape of a convertible article 10 , able to appear from time - to - time in any one or a plurality of distinctly different configurations . for ease of illustration , configurations operate in four different illustrative modes , hereinafter referred to as modes i - iv , explanations of modes i - iv follow . mode i configures article 10 as a chair ( fig1 ). during continuance of mode i the convertible article 10 has a seat assembly 20 , a backrest 21 and a backboard assembly 13 . seat assembly 20 comprises right and left risers 206 a , 206 b , crossbar 208 , legs 42 a , 42 b and wheels 44 a , 44 b . backboard assembly 13 comprises a backboard 12 , a hoop 14 and a net 15 . as shown in fig1 , backboard assembly 13 may be positioned upright in a visible location atop article or chair 10 . alternate positioning of backboard assembly 13 is available under mode iv , as discussed below . seat assembly 20 extends laterally between a left arm 22 and a right arm 24 . a headrest 17 may be positioned atop backrest 21 . backrest 21 , right arm 24 , and left arm 22 are all visible to an observer . also visible to an ordinary observer are optional logos 75 , which may be decals promoting a charitable organization , a university , a professional sports team or the like . a non - visible skeleton 50 ( fig7 ) provides internal support for convertible article 10 in all of its modes . skeleton 50 preferably is fashioned from welded steel bar or tubular members . preferably arms 22 , 24 are defined by wood frames 25 , 25 ( fig1 ) secured to base frame 105 ( fig7 ) of skeleton 50 . padding , preferably foam plastic , is positioned on or molded against wood frames 25 , 25 and all exposed surfaces of skeleton 50 , as illustrated in fig1 . wood frames 25 , 25 are identical in construction . therefore , only one wood frame 25 is shown in fig1 . fig2 , 12 and 13 illustrate convertible article 10 as it operates in mode ii . here , convertible article 10 is being used as a standup basketball goal . it is able to maintain a stance in this position by reason of a cam surface 164 and a cam follower 170 . cam surface 164 has a pair of index apertures 166 , 168 which may be engaged by a projection 172 on cam follower 170 . cam follower 170 is spring biased against a notch 174 of an arm 177 . when an operator depresses foot switch 16 ( fig1 ) it produces vertical movement of linkage generally designated by reference numeral 176 . vertical movement of linkage 176 causes cam follower 170 to be pushed out of engagement with notch 174 and to slide along the outside surface of cam 164 . the operator swings support rods 56 , 56 and 58 , 58 in the direction of arrow b until cam follower 170 is pulled into engagement with one or the other of index apertures 166 , 168 . fig1 illustrates the lower portion of skeleton 50 . shown therein is the rotational movement of two pairs of support rods 56 , 56 a and 58 , 58 a when convertible article 10 is morphed from mode i ( solid lines ) to mode ii ( phantom lines ). support rods 56 a , 58 a do not appear in fig1 , because they are hidden behind support rods 56 , 58 respectively . a mode change from mode i to mode ii may be initiated by stepping on foot switch 16 . additional details of a morph from mode i to mode ii are shown in fig1 . illustrated therein is a linkage between foot switch 16 and a cam 164 . the aforementioned cam follower 170 rides along the surface of cam 164 between a pair of apertures , 166 , 168 . cam 164 has the projection 172 which releasably engages the notch 174 in arm 177 . when foot switch 16 is depressed , a linkage 176 moves upward , lifting projection 172 from engagement with notch 174 . it will be seen that cam 164 has the general shape of a circular arc . mode iii is used for playing shooting games of a type wherein a basketball is automatically returned to a shooter . an illustration of convertible article 10 , operating in mode iii , appears in fig3 . mode iii is entered from mode i by pulling out seat assembly 20 to a position extending forward of left and right arms , 22 and 24 respectively . that deploys a ball return net 26 , which is illustrated in fig3 . as shown in fig3 , ball return net 26 has three enclosed sides 29 a , 29 b , 29 c , an open side 29 d and an open top 28 . the ball return net is stiffened by triangular fabric panels , 31 a , 31 b ( fig3 ). fabric panels 31 a , 31 b are secured to backboard 12 by means of eye bolts 52 ( fig4 ) and quarter inch rods 54 in the manner shown in fig4 . a net deployment assembly 104 , described later herein , may also be provided . as mentioned above , the mode i configuration places backboard assembly 13 in a position elevated above headrest 17 . in some cases it may not be desirable to have a backboard assembly perched in such a location . mode iv addresses that situation by collapsing backboard assembly 13 downwardly to the rear of convertible article 10 , thereby hiding backboard 12 , hoop 14 and net 15 . fig7 illustrates the configuration of skeleton 50 when convertible article 10 functions in mode iv as a chair . fig1 illustrates the operation of convertible article 10 while in mode iii with ball return net 26 deployed . for ease of illustration , the article 10 is shown without padding or covering . in that condition a shooter may launch a basketball 66 on an arc intended to pass first through opening 28 and thereafter through hoop 14 . a successful attempt to do so is credited to the shooter as a “ basket ” and scored in accordance with the rules in effect for the game . an arrow 72 in fig1 illustrates the termination of a successful shot wherein basketball 66 is corralled by hoop 14 and net 15 and is directed downwardly along a path illustrated by arrows 72 a , 72 b , and 72 c . fig1 also illustrates a series of basketball phantom line positions 66 a as basketball 66 passes through convertible article 10 . as the basketball 66 reaches the bottom of convertible article 10 it is engaged by a pulley 70 , as illustrated in fig1 . following engagement by pulley 70 , basketball 66 exits convertible article 10 and returns to the shooter at a speed dependent upon the angular rotation rate of motor - driven pulley or wheel 70 . there is a speed control 18 ( fig1 a and 3 ) on right arm 24 of convertible article 10 which can be used for adjusting the rotation rate of pulley 70 and thereby regulate the return speed of basketball 66 . exit guidance is provided by a curved discharge track 68 ( fig1 ). referring now to fig1 and 11 , a returning basketball falls downwardly through a waistband 147 and into a chute 149 defined by stringers 150 . as the basketball leaves chute 149 , it is squeezed between pulley 70 and curved discharge track 68 . pulley 70 is driven by an electric motor 154 at a rotational speed governed by the setting of speed control 18 . fig1 illustrates convertible article 10 in mode i , whereas the configuration of fig7 corresponds to a skeleton 50 operating in mode iv . principal parts of skeleton 50 , as illustrated in fig7 , are a backboard assembly 13 , a mainframe 102 , a base frame 105 , a chute assembly 107 , a ball return assembly 111 , and a net deployment assembly 104 . referring to fig8 and 9 , net deployment assembly 104 has a generally rectangular configuration comprising a pair of spaced apart and parallel upper and lower frame members 108 , 110 , respectively , and a pair of parallel , spaced apart , first and second side frame members , 112 , 114 , generally normal to upper and lower frame members 108 , 110 and secured endwise thereto . a guide rod 146 is secured to upper and lower frame members 108 , 110 about midway between the first and second side frame members 112 , 114 , respectively . there is a slide bar 120 slidable along the length of guide rod 146 between upper frame member 108 and lower frame member 110 . a pair of extension rods 116 , 118 are secured to slide bar 120 at attachment points 122 , 124 and extend from slide bar 120 to upper frame member 108 . net deployment assembly 104 also has four pulleys 302 , 304 , 306 , 308 , a deployment rope 310 through guide rod 146 , first side frame member 112 and portions of upper frame member 108 and lower frame member 110 extending there between . the viewing direction for fig9 is from a back side of the net deployment assembly 104 and is generally indicated by lines 9 - 9 of fig7 . this is opposite the viewing direction for fig8 of fig7 . therefore , pulleys 302 , 304 , 306 , 308 are visible in fig9 and are hidden in fig8 . the same is true for deployment rope 310 . an actuator 320 has a finger 322 which is coupled to and able to move deployment rope 310 reversibly in + or − directions indicated by a double arrow 328 as an end 334 a of a control rod moves towards and away respectively , from the upper frame member 108 . movement of deployment rope 310 in the + direction causes slide bar 120 to move in the direction toward upper frame member 108 while movement of deployment rope 310 in the minus direction moves slide bar 120 in the direction toward lower frame member 110 . it should be understood that as the frame member 108 is pulled in upper direction of arrow x in fig8 , 9 and 11 , end 334 a moves from the position shown in fig7 and 8 to the motion shown in fig9 and 11 . the movement of end 334 a pulls rope 310 in the minus (−) direction shown in fig8 . this movement of rope 310 pulls slide bar 120 toward upper frame member 108 . this in turn causes extension rods 116 and 118 to move in the direction of arrow y , thereby deploying the net which is coupled to the ends 130 and 132 . fig9 illustrates the deployment sequence for net deployment assembly 104 . the assembly 104 comprises a control plate 330 and a linear spring 333 connected in such a way as to create a spring bias forcing a locking pin 210 of control plate 330 to move into surface contact with the control rod 334 . this causes locking pin 210 to fall into a notch 332 formed along an edge of control rod 334 . deployment of ball return net 26 commences by rotating control plate 330 into a position whereby locking pin 210 is clear of notch 332 . once control rod 334 is disengaged from notch 332 , net deployment assembly 104 is free to pivot about pivot points 106 a , 106 b in the direction indicated by arrow a . net deployment assembly 104 is very light in weight even when carrying a net . note that the assembly 104 lies in generally the same position or place as the backrest 21 . therefore , a human operator can easily swing net deployment assembly 104 from a reclining position to a vertical position by simply moving the backrest 21 from the position shown in fig1 to the position shown in fig3 . as net deployment assembly 104 swings upwardly and outwardly , slide bar 120 moves in the positive direction + 328 . extension rods 116 , 118 are secured to ball return net 26 at their ends 130 , 132 and deploy ball return net 26 as illustrated in fig9 . the process is easily reversed by reversely rotating control plate 330 and swinging net deployment assembly 104 reversely about pivot points 106 a , 106 b . this causes slide bar 120 to move toward upper frame member 108 , reeling in ball return net 26 , as it goes . the operator stores the net by stuffing the incoming net in a pocket in the manner illustrated in fig5 and 6 . there is a cavity 402 in the rear side of the plastic foam covering net deployment assembly 104 . a pocket 404 is defined by netting secured to cavity 402 . when ball return net 26 is retracted half of the netting is gathered around fabric panel 31 a and stuffed into pocket 404 . the remaining netting is gathered about fabric triangle 31 b and also stuffed into pocket 404 . thereafter , backrest 21 is closed , trapping ball return net 26 out of sight in cavity 402 . during deployment of ball return net 26 extension rods 116 , 118 engage ball return net 26 and push it outwardly away from lower frame member 110 . it is a manual operation and proceeds simply by releasing a latch ( not illustrated ) and pulling upper frame member 108 to an upright position . backboard assembly 13 is supported by a support rod 202 ( fig7 ) attached to mainframe 102 at a swivel 230 . it may be noted that skeleton 50 appears in fig7 with backboard assembly 13 collapsed . the collapsing of backboard assembly 13 morphs convertible article 10 into the mode iv configuration . the pulley arrangement illustrated in fig9 is but one of many assemblies which are well known for obtaining the mechanical motion required for this task . support rods 56 , 58 ( fig1 ) are pivotally joined to base 90 at pivot points 92 , 94 . support rods 56 , 58 may be tilted from a reclining orientation shown in fig1 to an upright position as shown in fig1 . cam 164 locks support rods 56 , 58 selectively into either the reclining position or the upright position . it should be observed that support rods 56 , 58 remain parallel throughout the morphing process . after foot switch 16 has been depressed the operator completes the morph from modes i or iv to mode ii by simply moving backrest 21 ( fig8 ), which in one turn moves support rods 56 or 58 , and swinging it angularly upward in the direction shown by arrows c of fig1 . as support rods 56 , 58 are elevated from a reclining position to an upright position shown in upright in fig1 and in fig2 and 14 , seat assembly 20 collapses . collapsing of seat assembly 20 proceeds automatically with the elevation of support rods 56 , 58 . the collapse of seat assembly 20 is characterized by downward rotation of right and left risers , 206 a , 206 b ( fig7 ) on which the seat is mounted about pivot points 40 a , 40 b , coupled with generally downward rolling motion of risers 206 a , 206 b and cross bar 208 across wheels 44 a , 44 b . while the method herein described , and the forms of apparatus for carrying this method into effect , constitute preferred embodiments of this invention , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise method or forms of apparatus , and that changes may be made in either without departing from the scope of the invention , which is defined in the appended claims . | 0 |
in particular , it has been found that the pharmaceutical composition in capsule , preferably in “ soft capsule ” or in swallowable ( i . e . tablet - shaped or capsule - shaped ) uniform soft - gel matrices , containing thyroid hormones , preferably t3 and / or t4 , allows to obtain several advantages with respect to normal administration in known pharmaceutical forms . whereas the degradation of thyroid hormones in traditional solid forms of administration has been studied for a long time and by different authors , see in particular richheimer , s . l . & amp ; amer , t . m . “ stability - indicating assay , dissolution and content uniformity of sodium levothyroxine in tablets ” journal of pharmaceutical sciences 72 ( 11 ), 1349 - 1351 , brower , j . f . tolier , d . y . & amp ; reepmayer j . c . “ determination of sodium levothyroxine in bulk , tablet and injection formulations by high - performance liquid chromatography ”, journal of pharmaceutical sciences 73 ( 9 ), 1315 - 1317 , chong min wong , “ kinetics of degradation of levothyroxine in aqueous solution and in solid state ”, pharmaceutical research , vol . 9 , no . 1 , 1992 , 131 - 137 and das gupta et al ., “ effect of excipients on the stability of levothyroxine sodium tablets ”, journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics , 15 , 331 - 336 ( 1990 ), as seen before , it has not been possible until now — because of the plurality of potentially influent factors — to indicate a solid pharmaceutical composition and a method for its production which could overcome the aforesaid problems . for example , while it could be supposed that some pharmaceutical excipients catalyzed the decomposition of the active principle ( das gupta et al ., see above ) according to a desamination reaction ( won , see above ), it was also known that another pathway of decomposition consisted in a deiodization competing with the first reaction in given conditions . in practice , because of the manifold sensitivity of thyroid hormones , in particular of t3 or t4 and of their combination , none of the solid forms of administration of the prior art which consisted of tablets was particularly satisfying . during the research work carried out for the present invention it has been found that said known negative effects of some excipients , of light , of humidity , of temperature , of the contact with oxygen , of ph , etc . as degrading factors identified and described in the prior art , are instead remarkably reduced or even eliminated by applying a method of manufacture of the form of administration which avoids the compacting of the pharmaceutical formulation typically characterizing the manufacture of tablets . the theoretical explanation as described before being provided in the present patent application without any binding intent but with mere illustrative aims , and without limiting the scope of protection requested by the applicant for the present invention , as defined only in the attached claims , it is reported that the results obtained by the inventors seem to indicate that , very likely , the degrading effect undergone by thyroid hormones , in particular t3 and / or t4 , during the stress caused by the compacting stage of the semi - finished product to obtain the finished tablet , leads to an at least partial transformation of the starting thyroid hormone into an intermediate product which , once it is formed , self - catalyzes the following decomposition of the remaining active principle contained in the traditional solid pharmaceutical form , i . e . in the tablet . as a matter of fact it has been found that the pharmaceutical forms for oral administration obtained according to the present invention are then clearly less sensitive to the various degrading influences described and discussed in the prior art . in particular , the present invention provides for pharmaceutical compositions based on thyroid hormones , in particular t3 and / or t4 , in capsules , preferably in soft capsules , or in swallowable ( i . e . tablet - shaped or capsule - shaped ) uniform soft - gel matrices which , beyond being free from micro - contaminations that might self - catalyze the further decomposition , also determine additional advantages such as for instance the high and more immediate bioavailability of the active principle in gastric and / or intestinal environment , since said active principle is already in a dissolved / dispersed form , or anyway it is not compacted . traditional tablets , on the other hand , beyond disadvantages such as low titer stability described in the scientific literature as above , can result in further problems , since when they come into contact with the fluids of the gastrointestinal lumen , they dissolve quite slowly and the dissolution rate is broadly affected , beyond by the ph conditions in the lumen and the administration together with or without food , also by the specific characteristics of the tablets . the pharmaceutical form in swallowable uniform soft - gel matrix or in capsule , preferably in soft capsule ( which can be coated with an enteric layer , decomposable according to the ph value , i . e . in the desired area of the gastrointestinal tract ), should it consist of a shell containing thyroid hormones , in particular t3 and / or t4 , and possible excipients in solid form ( for example in the case of the so - called “ hard gelatin capsules ” o dfc , “ dry - filled capsules ” as described in “ remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences ”, 18 th edition , edited by alfonso r . gennaro , 1990 , mack publishing company , easton pa . 18042 , isbn 0 - 912734 - 04 - 3 , or in the case of sec , “ soft elastic capsules ” as described in “ remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences ”, 18 th edition , edited by alfonso r . gennaro , 1990 , mack publishing company , easton pa . 18042 , isbn 0 - 912734 - 04 - 3 , the latter also containing solid formulations ) or in a liquid , or half - liquid vehicle , possibly together with additional excipients ( i . e . in the — preferred — case of sec ; “ soft elastic capsule ”), or ( according to a further embodiment ) in case the pharmaceutical form consists of a swallowable ( i . e . tablet - shaped or capsule - shaped ) uniform soft - gel matrix , in which the said swallowable soft - gel matrix comprises both , the thyroid hormones and possible excipients and / or plasticers , enables a fast release of the content of the shell or of the matrix , respectively , be it hard or soft , and therefore an immediate release of the active principle which is already pulverized ( in case of hard capsule — dfc — or of sec with solid content ) or already dissolved and / or dispersed ( in case of soft capsules or swallowable uniform soft - gel matrices ). the enteric layers which are preferred in the framework of the present invention can be applied to all forms of capsules or swallowable uniform soft - gel matrices here described , and they are formulated according to known techniques so as to substantially decompose in the area of the small intestine which is the primary site where thyroid hormones are absorbed . besides ( or instead of ) possible enteric layers , the capsules or swallowable uniform soft - gel matrices according to the present invention can also be provided with additional outer layers which simplify ingestion , i . e . consisting of excipients which reduce the friction between the capsule and the patient &# 39 ; s esophagus . the materials which are used to obtain the capsules or swallowable uniform soft - gel matrices according to the present invention are common gelatins ( so - called a and b type ) used in the pharmaceutical field , or methylcellulose , hydroxypropylmethylcellulose , calcium alginate or other suitable materials known in the pharmaceutical art , which can also be used for the same purposes . moreover , the hardness of the capsules or swallowable uniform soft - gel matrices according to the present invention can be controlled according to the type of capsule or swallowable uniform soft - gel matrix which has to be obtained by means of known pharmaceutically acceptable plasticizers for capsules , such as for instance polyhydroxyl alcohols , preferably glycerol , 1 , 2 - propylene glycol , solutions of sorbitol / sorbitanes , etc . further common optional components of the capsules or swallowable uniform soft - gel matrices according to the present invention are water and preserving agents ( such as anti - bacterial agents , anti - fungal agents , etc . ), always at the discretion of the man skilled in the art . in particular , according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention it is provided for a so - called hard gelatin capsule consisting of two “ cases ” ( half - capsules ) connected with each other by means of telescopic fitting , and containing thyroid hormones , preferably t3 and / or t4 or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof , in particular their sodium salts , in solid form mixed with common pharmaceutical excipients in form of powder , micropellets or other non - compacted microgranules . according to the various needs said micropellets or microgranules can be in turn micro - encapsulated according to known methods so as to control the release of the thyroid hormones they contain . as far as the solid excipients which can be used in this context are concerned , these are diluents , buffers , binders or disintegrating agents commonly used in the pharmaceutical field . for example , the same excipients can be used which are commonly added to obtain tablets . some preferred examples of solid excipients are the following : dicalcium phosphate dihydrate , sodium carboxymethyl starch , microcrystalline cellulose , monohydrate lactose , sodium carboxymethylcellulose , maize starch , magnesium stearate , etc . according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention it is provided for a soft capsule (“ soft elastic capsule ”) containing thyroid hormones , preferably t3 and / or t4 or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof , in particular their sodium salts , in solid form mixed with common pharmaceutical excipients in form of powder , micropellets or other non - compacted microgranules . according to the various needs said micropellets or microgranules can be in turn micro - encapsulated according to known methods so as to control the release of the thyroid hormones they contain . as far as the solid excipients which can be used in this context are concerned , these are diluents , binders or disintegrating agents commonly used in the pharmaceutical field . for example , the same excipients can be used which are commonly added to obtain tablets . some preferred examples of solid excipients are the following : dicalcium phosphate dihydrate , sodium carboxymethyl starch , microcrystalline cellulose , monohydrate lactose , sodium carboxymethylcellulose , maize starch , magnesium stearate , etc . according to “ remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences ”, 18 th edition , edited by alfonso r . gennaro , 1990 , mack publishing company , easton pa . 18042 , isbn 0 - 912734 - 04 - 3 , the soft capsules containing solid formulations according to the present invention can be obtained with the so - called “ accogel capsule machines ” o “ stern ” machines developed by lederle . another machine and method to obtain soft capsules containing solid formulations according to the present invention are described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 740 , 660 of scherer corp . according to a third embodiment of the present invention , which is particularly preferred , it is also provided for a soft capsule ( sec ) consisting of a shell of gelatin material containing thyroid hormones , preferably t3 and / or t4 or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof , in particular their sodium salts , and possible excipients in a liquid or half - liquid vehicle . in particular , said soft capsule contains an inner phase consisting of a liquid , a half - liquid , a paste , a gel , an emulsion or a suspension comprising the liquid ( or half - liquid ) vehicle and the thyroid hormones together with possible excipients in suspension or solution . the preferred manufacturing process for the soft capsule as described above provides for the dissolution / suspension of the active principle and of possible excipients in the liquid or half - liquid vehicle to give an inner phase which is then injected into the melted gelatin semi - finished product so as to obtain the finished capsule . anyway , any known method described in the pharmaceutical literature to obtain sec with liquid or half - liquid content , such as for instance the “ plate process ”, the “ rotary die process ” or the use of the “ norton capsule machine ” or of the same “ accogel capsule machine ” as described in “ remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences ”, 18 th edition , edited by alfonso r . gennaro , 1990 , mack publishing company , easton pa . 18042 , isbn 0 - 912734 - 04 - 3 , can be applied in order to obtain soft capsules according to the present invention comprising thyroid hormones and possible excipients in a liquid or half - liquid vehicle . it should be observed that , in the specific case providing for the use of solutions of thyroid hormones dissolved in the liquid or half - liquid vehicle contained in the soft capsules , this preferred embodiment of the present invention involves also an additional advantage , i . e . the relative case in obtaining dosage units which are perfectly homogeneous one with the other , especially if compared with the very laborious methods to prepare perfectly homogeneous solid mixtures . as a matter of fact , the known machines for the production of sec with liquid or half - liquid content enable the microdosage of the content ( i . e . of the inner phase ) with such a precision that the variation of content from capsule to capsule is within one percent or less . among the excipients which can be used together with liquid vehicles one can quote all common pharmaceutically acceptable solid additives which can be used , dispersed or dissolved , to modify the viscosity of the capsule content or the release profile of thyroid hormones from the vehicle . further excipients which can be added to the vehicle contained in the soft capsule are preserving agents such as parabens , preferably methyl para - hydroxybenzoate , ethyl para - hydroxybenzoate or propyl para - hydroxybenzoate or their salts . among the liquid or half - liquid vehicles one can quote as mere examples glycerol , ethanol , polyethylene glycol ( particularly with a molecular weight of 200 - 800 ), glycofurol ( tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol polyethylene glycol ether ; sigma t3396 ), 1 , 2 - propylene glycol , pharmaceutically acceptable oils , or non - ionic surfactants , for example polysorbates ( polysorbate 20 or 80 ), or various tweens ® ( i . e . monolaurates , monooleates , monopalmitates , monostearates , polyoxyethylene sorbitane trioleates or tristearates , for example tween ® 80 , sigma p1754 ) or other vehicles ( or their mixtures ) which are commonly used in the pharmaceutical field to prepare sec with liquid or half - liquid content . a preferred example of the capsule material is gelatin ( both of a type and obtained from pigs &# 39 ; skins , animal bones or fish by acid treatment , and of b type and obtained from animal bones and skins by alkali treatment ), whereas the plasticizers which can be used to control the elasticity of the capsule can be glycerol , 1 , 2 - propylene glycol , 85 % solution of sorbitol / sorbitanes , etc . as is known in the pharmaceutical field , the gelatin material and the liquid or half - liquid content of the capsule should be compatible , and therefore , as far as the capsule material is concerned , it is preferable to use plasticizers which are also present ( possibly in different percentages ) in the liquid or half - liquid vehicle , for example glycerol . among the possible formulations according to the third embodiment of the invention , sec capsules comprising thyroid hormones or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof , in particular their sodium salts in a liquid or a half liquid vehicle consisting of ethanol or glycerol or of a mixture of ethanol and glycerol and possible excipients in suspension or solution are particularly preferred . according to a first preferred formulation embraced by the third embodiment of the invention , an sec capsule containing a liquid or half - liquid inner phase comprising thyroid hormones or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof , in particular their sodium salts in a liquid or half liquid vehicle consisting of ethanol or glycerol or of a mixture of ethanol and glycerol is provided . according to a second preferred formulation embraced by the third embodiment of the invention , an sec capsule containing an inner phase consisting of a paste or gel comprising gelatin and thyroid hormones or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof , in particular their sodium salts in a liquid or half liquid vehicle consisting of ethanol or glycerin or of a mixture of ethanol and glycerol is provided . according to a fourth embodiment of the invention , swallowable ( i . e . tablet - shaped or capsule - shaped ) uniform soft - gel matrices are provided , in which the said soft - gel matrix comprises both , the thyroid hormones , in particular t3 and / or t4 or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof , in particular their respective sodium salts , and possible excipients and / or plasticers . accordingly , these swallowable uniform soft - gel matrices of the invention are constituted of a single phase and are as such not provided ( except for putative external additive layers like enteric layers or layers facilitating the swallowing ) with an outer shell which could be distinguished from the bulk of the soft - gel matrix . methods of manufacture of uniform soft gel matrices are available in the pharmaceutical art and / or in food technology . a preferred but in no way exclusive process of manufacture of the said swallowable uniform soft - gel matrix comprises the dissolution / suspension of the active ingredient and of eventual excipients and / or plasticizers in a liquid vehicle ( preferably chosen from glycerol or glycerol / ethanol mixtures ) which is then gelled through addition of gelatin ( or of a vehicle / gelatin premix of high gelatin content ) to give a gelled mass from which the final tablet - shaped or capsule - shaped matrices are obtained preferably through heat melting and subsequent molding , e . g . injection molding . a further advantageous feature of the said swallowable uniform soft - gel matrices thus obtained arises from the fact that the same can be divided — at least in case the same are not provided with enteric coatings or the like — upon a physician &# 39 ; s recommendation by the patient himself ( eg . into two halfs or into three thirds ) to allow for a further fine - tuning of the daily dosage beyond the standard dosage units provided by the pharmaceutical manufacturer . moreover , as pointed out earlier , in all of the cases in which solutions of the active ingredient ( s ) are employed in the obtaining of the gel matrix , the production of perfectly homogeneous dosage units is particularly eased . among the optional excipients which may possibly assist in the preparation of the swallowable uniform soft - gel matrix , one should list the “ usual ” pharmaceutically acceptable components like e . g . solid additives acting as thickeners which may become dissolved or dispersed in the liquid vehicle prior to or during gelification of the matrix and / or preservatives like e . g . parabenes , preferably methyl parahydroxy benzoate , ethyl para ethyl parahydroxy bezoate or propyl parahydroxy benzoate or their salts . preferred vehicles are chosen among glycerol , ethanol , polyethylene glycol or their mixtures , glycerol and glycerol / ethanol mixtures being particularly preferred . as non - limiting examples for the gelatin , again type a or b are preferred , whereas plasticers ( like sorbitol / sorbitanes or glycerol ) may be added to modify the elasticity of the soft - gel , exclusively in case that the vehicles and / or excipients already mentioned above are not sufficient to obtain the desired result . in particular , also in the case of the swallowable uniform softgel matrices , substances providing for multiple functions like e . g . glycerol ( acting as vehicle and / or plasticizer ) are particularly preferred . the following lists some examples of formulations according to the present invention : example 1 : hard gelatin capsule containing a granulate consisting of t4 , dicalcium phosphate dihydrate , sodium carboxymethyl starch , microcrystalline cellulose and magnesium stearate . example 2 : hard hydroxypropylmethylcellulose capsule (+ optional coloring agents ) containing a granulate consisting of t3 , calcium phosphate dihydrate ( cahpo 4 · 2h 2 o ), sodium carboxymethyl starch , microcrystalline cellulose and magnesium stearate . example 3 : hard gelatin capsule (+ optional coloring agents ) containing a granulate consisting of t4 , monohydrate lactose , sodium carboxymethylcellulose , microcrystalline cellulose and magnesium stearate . example 4 : hard gelatin capsule (+ optional coloring agents ) containing a granulate consisting of t3 and t4 , maize starch sodium carboxymethylcellulose , microcrystalline cellulose and magnesium stearate . the solid contents of these capsules can be the same as in the case of hard capsules as described above . iii . soft capsules ( sec ) with liquid , half - liquid , paste - like or gel - like inner phase : the following compositions and percentages refer to the whole dried capsule , i . e . soft shell and its content : % by weight example 1 t 3 na 0 . 001 - 1 % glycerol 5 - 30 % ethanol 1 - 15 % polyethylene glycol 400 20 - 90 % gelatin 3 - 40 % water 1 - 10 % 85 % solution of 0 . 5 - 30 % sorbitol / sorbitanes example 2 t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % glycerol 5 - 30 % ethanol 1 - 15 % polyethylene glycol 400 20 - 90 % gelatin 3 - 40 % water 1 - 10 % 85 % solution of 0 . 5 - 30 % sorbitol / sorbitanes example 3 t 3 na 0 . 001 - 1 % glycerol 5 - 30 % ethanol 5 - 15 % tween 80 20 - 90 % gelatin 3 - 40 % water 1 - 10 % 85 % solution of 0 . 5 - 30 % sorbitol / sorbitanes example 4 t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % glycerol 5 - 30 % ethanol 5 - 15 % tween 80 20 - 90 % gelatin 3 - 40 % water 1 - 10 % 85 % solution of 0 . 5 - 30 % sorbitol / sorbitanes example 5 t 3 na 0 . 001 - 1 % glycerol 1 - 30 % ethanol 1 - 10 % water 1 - 10 % polyethylene glycol 300 15 - 90 % gelatin 3 - 40 % 85 % solution of 0 . 5 - 30 % sorbitol / sorbitanes example 6 t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % glycerol 1 - 30 % ethanol 1 - 10 % water 1 - 10 % polyethylene glycol 300 15 - 90 % gelatin 3 - 40 % 85 % solution of 0 . 5 - 30 % sorbitol / sorbitanes example 7 t 3 na 0 . 001 - 1 % glycerol 1 - 30 % ethanol 1 - 10 % water 1 - 10 % gelatin 3 - 40 % polyethylene glycol 600 10 - 60 % example 8 t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % glycerol 1 - 30 % ethanol 1 - 10 % water 1 - 10 % gelatin 3 - 40 % polyethylene glycol 600 10 - 60 % example 9 t 3 na 0 . 001 - 1 % t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % glycerol 1 - 30 % ethanol 1 - 10 % gelatin 3 - 40 % polyethylene glycol 400 20 - 80 % water 1 - 10 % methyl para - 0 . 01 - 1 % hydroxybenzoate propyl para - 0 . 01 - 1 % hydroxybenzoate example 10 t 3 na 0 . 001 - 1 % t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % glycerol 1 - 30 % ethanol 1 - 10 % gelatin 3 - 40 % polyethylene glycol 400 20 - 80 % example 11 t 3 na 0 . 001 - 1 % t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % glycerol 1 - 30 % ethanol 1 - 10 % gelatin 3 - 40 % polyethylene glycol 600 10 - 90 % water 1 - 10 % 85 % solution of 0 . 5 - 30 % sorbitol / sorbitanes example 12 t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % tween 80 20 - 95 % gelatin 3 - 40 % 85 % solution of 1 - 30 % sorbitol / sorbitanes glycerol 1 - 30 % water 1 - 10 % methyl para - 0 . 01 - 1 % hydroxybenzoate propyl para - 0 . 01 - 1 % hydroxybenzoate example 13 t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % gelatin 20 - 95 % glycerol 1 - 40 % water 1 - 30 % example 14 t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % gelatin 20 - 95 % glycerol 1 - 40 % ethanol 0 . 1 - 50 % water 0 . 1 - 10 % example 15 t 3 na 0 . 001 - 1 % gelatin 20 - 95 % glycerol 1 - 40 % ethanol 0 . 1 - 50 % water 0 . 1 - 10 % the following compositions and percentages refer to the inner phase injected into the sec capsules : % by weight example a t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % ethanol 1 - 10 % glycerol 1 - 30 % polyethylene glycol 400 q . s . ad 100 % example b t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % ethanol 1 - 10 % glycerol 1 - 30 % tween 80 q . s . ad 100 % example c t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % tween 80 q . s . ad 100 % example d t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % polyethylene glycol 400 q . s . ad 100 % example e t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % ethanol 1 - 10 % propylene glycol 1 - 30 % polyethylene glycol 400 q . s . ad 100 % example f t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % gylcerol 1 - 20 % polyethylene glycol 400 q . s . ad 100 % example g t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % glycofurol q . s . ad 100 % example h t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % polyethylene glycol 300 q . s . ad 100 % example i t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % ethanol 0 . 1 - 50 % glycerol q . s . ad 100 % example k t 3 na 0 . 001 - 1 % ethanol 0 . 1 - 50 % glycerol q . s . ad 100 % example l t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % ethanol 0 . 1 - 50 % gelatin 0 . 1 - 20 % glycerol q . s . ad 100 % example m t 3 na 0 . 001 - 1 % ethanol 0 . 1 - 50 % gelatin 0 . 1 - 20 % glycerol q . s . ad 100 % example n t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % t 3 na 0 . 001 - 1 % ethanol 0 . 1 - 50 % gelatin 0 . 1 - 30 % glycerol q . s . ad 100 % example o t 3 na 0 . 001 - 1 % gelatin 0 . 1 - 30 % glycerol q . s . ad 100 % example p t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % gelatin 1 - 30 % glycerol q . s . ad 100 % example q t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % water 0 . 1 - 40 % ethanol 0 . 1 - 50 % glycerol q . s . ad 100 % example r t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % gelatin 1 - 30 % water 0 . 1 - 40 % glycerol q . s . ad 100 % example s t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % gelatin 1 - 30 % water 0 . 1 - 40 % ethanol 0 . 1 - 50 % glycerol q . s . ad 100 % example t t 3 na 0 . 001 - 1 % gelatin 1 - 30 % water 0 . 1 - 40 % ethanol 0 . 1 - 50 % glycerol q . s . ad 100 % example u t 3 na 0 . 001 - 1 % t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % gelatin 1 - 30 % water 0 . 1 - 40 % ethanol 0 . 1 - 50 % glycerol q . s . ad 100 % iv . the following compositions and percentages refer to swallowable uniform soft - gel matrices according to the invention , in the dried state : example v % by weight t 4 na 0 . 001 - 1 % glycerol 1 - 30 % gelatin q . s . ad 100 % | 0 |
this invention utilizes the powerful oxidizing oh radical to oxidize malodorous or toxic gases . the oh radical reacts with all organic molecules with reaction rates of between 10 - 10 cm 3 / mol · sec and 10 - 15 cm 3 / mol · sec . the oh radical may be created by a number of processes . one of the most rapid having a rate constant of about 2 × 10 - 10 cm 3 / mol · sec . is the reaction : o ( 1 d )+ h 2 o → 2oh . the o ( 1 d ) radical may be provided by the exposure of ozone to ultraviolet radiation having wavelength less than 310 nm . the o ( 1 d ) radical is collisionally deactivated in air by reacting with n 2 and o 2 to form o ( 3 p ) and reacts with water to form the oh radical . at normal air density and humidity at room temperature about 15 % of the o ( 1 d ) radical formed in the photo - dissociation of ozone reacts to form the oh radical . thus exposure of a humid air stream to ultraviolet radiation of wavelength less than 310 nm yields a high density of the oh radical which has been found to be capable of oxidizing malodorous or toxic gases present in the reaction zone of the air stream . the reaction of the o ( 1 d ) radical with h 2 o has been found to be relatively insensitive to the concentration of water in the air stream , providing some water is present . however , we have found it desirable to maintain the humidity of the air stream above about 50 ppm . in analyzing the reaction process of oh in an air stream containing a malodorous or toxic gas , we define a quantity called the dose , d , as follows : where [ o 3 ] is the concentration of ozone in the air stream , i is the intensity of the ultraviolet radiation applied to the air stream and f is the flow rate of the air stream . d is a measure of the oh formed . we have found that the removal efficiency of the process decreases as d increases beyond a certain level which we call the critical region or critical point . thus , the amount of malodorous substance removed various linearly with d up to the critical point . above the critical point , while increasing d by an amount δ d increases the amount removed , the amount removed by each additional δ d is less than the amount removed by an increase of δ d in the linear region ( shown at lr ). this variation of amount removed ( y ) with d is illustrated in fig1 . y has units moles × 10 8 / l . without being bound by the following , we believe that the reduced efficiency of the process when d is above the critical region is caused by the reaction of oh with by - products from the oxidization of the malodorous or toxic gas . the utilization of oh by the by - products reduces the amount of oh available to oxidize the malodorous or toxic gas . for example , in the oxidization of xylene in an air stream , where the flow rate of the air strem is 1000 m 3 / min . ( which is typical of industrial exhaust air streams ), the concentration of ozone is 330 μg / l , and i / f is 0 . 058 , then the critical point occurs at about d = 19 watt · min · μg / l 2 . this corresponds to the removal of about 5 ppm xylene . it is therefore desirable for greatest efficiency , to operate with d about or less than 19 in the case of xylene . thus , in practice , i and [ o 3 ] may be adjusted so that d is maintained in the required region . for oxidization of methylethylketone and ethoxyethylacetate , we find that the critical dose is also approximately 19 . also , since d is derived from the relation i abs = εi o [ o 3 ]· l where l is the path length , is the extinction co - efficient , [ o 3 ] is concentration of ozone , i o is the radiation applied and i abs , the absorbed radiation , is a measure of the rate at which o ( 1 d ) is produced , we expect any organic gas whose reaction rate constant with the oh radical is about 10 - 11 or 10 - 12 cm 3 / molecules - sec to have the same critical dose . since our understanding is that the existence of an optimal removal region depends on the decomposition of products formed by the oxidization of the malodorous or toxic gas , the process described here will efficiently oxidize any oxidizable malodorous or toxic gas of sufficient complexity that it initially decomposes into intermediate products . in particular , we can predict that the process will efficiently oxidize the classes of compounds defined in the background section of this patent . thus , for example , as noted above , we have tested members of the classes : aromatic compounds , ketones and esters . also , as noted above , these were found to have d equal to about 19 at the critical point . for other compounds with different reaction rates , other values of d may be expected , but we can predict that the linear region will exist for other sufficiently complex compounds of these classes and oxidizable malodorous or toxic gases having intermediate by - products of decomposition . the process therefore operates most efficiently with the removal of a fixed small quantity of the malodorous or toxic gas in the reaction zone . to remove greater amounts , it is preferably to increase the number of reaction zones rather than increase the concentration of ozone or the intensity of the radiation . for example , for complete removal of 40 ppm of xylene , eight separate reaction zones are used each 1 m . apart along a duct confining an air stream containing industrial exhaust gases . by sequentially aligning the reaction zones , the contaminants are constrained to move from one reaction zone to the next . the distance apart is dictated by the desirability of allowing the by - products from the upstream reaction zone to fully oxidize before reaching the downstream reaction zone . this avoids wasting oh redicals produced in the down stream reaction zone for the oxidization of by - products . the optimum distance may be determined by taking samples of air stream at intervals to determine if the products of decomposition of the malodorous or toxic gas have themselves decomposed . ozone has an absorption spectrum with a strong band ( ε ≈ 3 , 0001 / mole · cm ) peaking at about 254 nm and falling away to values less than 100 l / mole · cm at values around 200 nm and 300 nm . accordingly it is desirable that the radiation source for the invention have high power in the region between 210 - 310 nm , particularly near 254 nm . we have found that commercially available high pressure mercury lamps are suitable although low pressure mercury arcs with power at 254 nm above about 150w could be used . the invention does not require use of radiation below 210 nm . accordingly , loss of such radiation from the mercury lamps by passage through quartz windows used to protect the mercury arc from the constituents of the air stream does not effect the operation of the invention . thus high quality quartz windows are not required . fig2 illustrates the use of several reaction zones indicated generally at 10 in a linear sequence in an air duct 12 . air flow in the duct is indicated by the arrow f . industrial air ducts such as are used to confine the air stream are generally rectangular or square in cross - section , but the invention may be adapted to operate in virtually any shape of air duct . typical duct dimensions at the radiation source are of the order 1 - 2 m . in fig2 mercury arcs 14 or other radiation sources are supported within the duct 12 by supports ( not shown ) mounted on the walls of the duct 12 . the arcs 14 are located at the focus of the parabolic mirrors 16 , also supported on supports ( not shown ) on the walls of the duct 12 . impervious quartz windows 18 mounted in or adjacent the apertures defined by the parabolic mirrors 16 seal off the mercury arcs 14 from the contents of the air stream . the mirrors 16 and windows 18 provide protection for the mercury arcs 14 from the constituents of the air stream which may contain liquid or solid particles . the mirrors 16 may terminate laterally in impervious walls ( not shown ) separate from the walls of the duct if desired . the volume defined by the mirrors 16 and windows 18 may be filled with an inert gas to avoid formation of ozone in the volume defined by the window 18 and the mirror 16 . quartz windows 18 are made of quartz , commercially available , that are transparent to radiation in the waveband 210 - 310 nm and allow passage of the radiation into the reaction zones 10 . if desired , special quartz windows may be used that allow passage of other radiation . the windows 18 may be slidably mounted for ease of cleaning or may be cleaned with wiper blades or an equivalent mechanism . in some applications it may be desired to protect the mercury arcs 14 by envelopes of quartz , for example , quartz cylinders surrounding the arcs 14 . in that case , the windows 18 may be redundant . mercury arcs 14 are preferentially adjustable high pressure mercury arcs having a power of between 1 kw and 60 kw with strong emission in the waveband between 210 nm and 310 nm . such arcs are commercially available . however , commercially available low or medium pressure mercury arcs or other radiation sources may be used depending on the application . parabolic mirrors 16 may be made of aluminimum or other reflecting material . several mirrors may be placed side - by - side ( sideways being defined as the direction perpendicular to the axis of the mercury arcs and perpendicular to the direction of flow of the air stream ) with gaps between each of the mirrors 16 and the walls of the duct 12 so that the air stream may flow around the mirrors 16 . ( see fig3 ) the mirrors 16 and windows 18 shield the arcs 14 from debris , such as airborne particles and droplets , and collimate the radiation emitted from the arcs 14 so that the radiation is directed downstream . other shapes of mirror may be used . for example , v - shaped or circular mirrors could be used , but with a loss of efficiency . the shapes are defined here in a plane of cross - section parallel to the flow of the air stream and are preferentially uniformly shaped in a direction perpendicular to this plane . if other radiation sources are used that , unlike the mercury arcs 14 , are not a line source , but are a point source , then the mirrors 16 could define surfaces of rotation about the direction of flow . for example , we have used parabolic mirrors having a defining equation of 4py = x 2 with p = 5 / 3 . the more radiation that is directed downstream or given a downstream component so as to avoid or delay absorbance of the radiation in the duct walls , the more efficient the oxidization of the gas in the reaction gases . hence it is clear that other configurations of mirrors could be used but at a loss of efficiency . if the apparatus described here is operated with a process that requires addition of gases not present in the air stream or present but in inadequate quantities , inlets 20 and 22 may be used to allow addition of gases such as ozone and water to the air stream . if desired , additional inlets ( not shown ) may be used for the addition of gases at other locations in the duct . the reaction of the malodorous gas with oh or other oxidizing radicals takes place primarily in a very short distance from the quartz window 18 . in the case of i / f = 0 . 058 watt - min / l and [ o 3 ]· i / f = 19 watt · min μg / l 2 and xylene , the path length for substantially all of the oh radical to react with the xylene is less than about 10 cm . we have , for example , removed xylene having a concentration of 10 ppm for an air stream having a flow rate of 2 , 500 l / min . we used two mercury arcs in series , each of 160 w power in the waveband 210 - 310 nm . these were placed in a duct 30 cm × 30 cm and were protected by cylindrical quartz windows from the air stream . parabolic aluminum mirrors 30 cm high , 10 cm deep and 15 cm wide were placed around the arcs . each mirror had the shape defined by 4py = x 2 with p = 5 / 3 . with i / f = 0 . 058 , [ o 3 ]= 330 μg / l ( about 160 ppm ), concentration of water at 20 , 000 ppm and t = 25 ° c . we were able to remove 5 ppm for each dose ( d = 19 ). by application of this method we were able to remove xylene from the air stream so that it was undetectable by normal sampling techniques . the efficiency of the removal , defined as concentration removed per unit dose of input was 0 . 263 ppm per dose unit at these conditions . | 1 |
fig1 shows a portion of the printing group or unit of an offset printing press . a plate cylinder 1 serves as the image carrier . a removable printing plate with a printable material can be mounted on the surface of the plate cylinder 1 . in a plateless system , the material to be printed can also be applied directly to the surface of the plate cylinder 1 , or , alternatively , the uppermost layer of the plate cylinder 1 can be the printable layer . the plate cylinder 1 is mounted on both ends in the machine frame of the sheet fed printing press . a shaft 2 of the plate cylinder 1 is seated on one end in a fixed bearing 3 . the other end of the plate cylinder 1 is seated in a swivel bearing which is not shown in greater detail . this bearing can be swiveled in direction 4 , which is substantially perpendicular to a plane defined by the axes of the plate cylinder 1 and a transfer cylinder 5 that is in rolling contact with the plate cylinder 1 . the transfer cylinder 5 can be lowered against and raised from the plate cylinder 1 . during printing , the transfer cylinder 5 is raised from the plate cylinder 1 . a print head 6 is associated with the plate cylinder 1 . the print head 6 is mounted in a longitudinal guide 7 . the longitudinal guide 7 allows the print head 6 to be moved in a direction 8 that is parallel to the axes of the transfer cylinder 5 or the plate cylinder 1 . semiconducting laser diodes 9 are mounted in the print head 6 such as to be substantially equidistant from one another in direction 8 . the semiconducting laser diodes 9 emit light in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the plate cylinder 1 . laser light is only emitted when the image in the printing material in the plate cylinder 1 indicates that a dot must be produced . the rotation of the plate cylinder 1 and the displacement of the print head 6 must be synchronized with the image data used for printing . the positioning of the plate cylinder 1 relative to the print head 6 is described in greater detail below with reference to fig2 . to realize the swivel motion in direction 4 , the shaft 2 of the plate cylinder 1 is coupled to a linear drive 10 . this can be the same drive that sets the diagonal or inclination register during printing . the linear drive 10 is incorporated into a register system for adjustment of the registers . a stepped motor or a motor with gearbox and shaft encoder can be used as the linear drive 10 . the linear drive 10 is connected to an electronic controller 11 . by means of the linear drive 10 , that end of the plate cylinder 1 engaged by the linear drive 10 can be swiveled by about +/− 1 mm out of the plane defined when the machine is at rest by the axes of rotation of the plate cylinder 1 and the transfer cylinder 5 . the swivel pin of the plate cylinder 1 is seated in bearing 3 . a sensor for the distance of the semiconducting laser diodes 9 from the surface of the plate cylinder 1 is integrated into the print head 6 , and the signal output for the measured distance x ist of this sensor is connected to the electronic controller 11 . at each position of the print head 6 in direction 8 , the respective currently measured value x ist is compared with the specified value x soll for the distance . if the measured value x ist deviates impermissibly from a specified value x soll entered in a setpoint device 13 , the plate cylinder 1 is then swiveled by the linear drive 10 in direction 4 a or 4 b depending on the sign of the comparison value ( x soll − x ist ). the swivel direction 4 can change during one rotation of the plate cylinder 1 if the plate cylinder 1 is imperfectly shaped or in the event of runout errors . controlling the spacing essentially ensures that the dots produced are always substantially in the proper position and of the substantially proper size . fig3 shows a variant of the schematic diagram shown in fig2 wherein the motor is placed adjacent to the press . the invention is not restricted to the described embodiment . in one variant of the invention , the actuators for a swiveling movement can also engage the plate cylinder 1 on both ends . the positioning range of the plate cylinder can thus be enlarged and the positioning time reduced . the invention can also be used for the production of type forms and the scanning of images outside of printing presses , e . g . in plate and film image setters and in drum scanners . in another variant in which the plate cylinder 1 can be swiveled around a bearing 3 , two sensors 12 for the distance of the print head 6 from the surface of the plate cylinder 1 are located at the edge of the surface to be printed toward the axis of the plate cylinder 1 . this enables measurement of the distances to correct for runout errors during one rotation of the plate cylinder 1 . positioning of the plate cylinder 1 with the linear drive 10 can be realized such that the plate cylinder 1 always assumes a specified position at the measuring site of the two sensors during printing . in at least one embodiment of the present invention , the bearing can be mounted on the linear drive to adjust the bearing . also in at least one embodiment , the motor can be connected to the linear drive to adjust the position of the shaft . fig4 illustrates a rotary print stand 110 of a rotary printing press which can employ a distributor roller displacement arrangement . rotary print stand 110 generally includes : a plate cylinder 111 for having mounted thereon a printing plate d ; an inking unit 112 which includes ink applicator rollers 113 for applying ink to the printing plate an ink profile ; a dampening ( or wetting ) unit 118 having dampening applicator rollers 119 for transferring a dampening agent to the printing plate d , a blanket cylinder 116 carrying a rubber blanket 117 for receiving an ink impression from the printing plate d , and a sheet drum 115 for carrying a printed sheet 114 onto which the ink impression carried by blanket 117 is transferred . a duct roller 123 is typically mounted adjacent to ink duct 121 . typically , ink is transferred from duct roller 123 to inking unit 112 by means of a vibrator roller 124 which oscillates to successively pick up ink from duct roller 123 and deposit the same on a roller 132 of inking unit 110 . typically , the printing stand 110 will also include auxiliary mechanisms such as , for example , a duct roller drive 128 , a vibrator roller drive 129 , a roller drive 132 a an applicator roller throw - off 130 for lifting the ink applicator rollers 113 off of the printing plate , a press drive 125 and a sheet feed 127 for supplying the sheets to be printed 126 to sheet drum 115 . fig5 shows one embodiment of an arrangement which could incorporate control keys 206 - 213 . in essence , such an arrangement could be provided as an accessory to , or a standard component of a printing press , or of an operator &# 39 ; s control panel of a printing press . as depicted in fig5 the control keys 206 - 213 could be electrically connected to a device 215 for evaluating which of the keys 206 - 213 has been depressed , or activated . this evaluation device can essentially be a known device commonly used for evaluation of a keyboard , or keypad to determine which button has been depressed , and then sending a signal , i . e ., and electrical signal , corresponding to the depressed button to the microprocessor for selection of an appropriate program sequence . thus , by connecting the keys 206 - 213 , via an evaluation device 215 , to the microprocessor through an input port of the microprocessor , an appropriate electronic signal could then be sent from the device 215 to the computer , or processing unit 219 to enable the appropriate calculation algorithms for the selected key . the computer 219 could then prompt the operator , via a display device 216 that is preferably operated via a display driver 217 , for entry of values corresponding to the location of marks , and the measured value for the deviation of a mark from the ideal position . such a display device could be a full computer monitor , a display screen having only a few display lines , or even an output printer . each of these display devices could be connected via an appropriate display drive , to an output port of the computer 219 . such display devices , and display drivers are generally well in the computer field and are therefor not explained in any greater detail herein . once the necessary values are entered the computer can then preferably calculate , based upon the selected deviation as chosen by depressing an appropriate button 206 - 213 , the types of register movements that are needed to correct for the register of the printing plate , via the calculation algorithms as set forth above . alternatively , the computer could be provided with a table of correction values specific to the printing plates used thereon . such tables , alternatively called look - up tables , could cross - reference each deviation ( a ) with a distance ( b ) for a given printing plate , and the computer receiving the value ( a ) could then simply reference the appropriate table relating to the lateral positions of the points . after determining the value of ( b ) an appropriate electronic signal can be sent to an actuating device 218 , to actuate positioning motors 224 , 225 and 226 to provide the necessary movements of the circumferential , diagonal and / or side registers , respectively . such servo - motors and feedback sensors are generally known as disclosed by u . s . pat . no . 5 , 117 , 365 to jeschke and rodi , and are therefore not described in any greater detail herein . examples of motors for the linear drives may be procured from , for example , maxon precision motors , inc . 838 mitten road , burlingame , calif . 94010 , phone 1 - 650 - 697 - 9614 . such motors could be , for example , maxon parts nos . : re010 ; 2312 ( s program ); 12 mm dia . ( a - max program ); re013 ; 2515 ( a - program ); re016 ; 22 mm dia . ( a - max program ); 2140 ( f program ); ec022 ; ec040 ; or ec060 . examples of gearboxes for the linear drives may be procured from , for example , maxon precision motors , inc . 838 mitten road , burlingame , calif . 94010 , phone 1 - 650 - 697 - 9614 . such gearboxes could be , for example , maxon parts nos . : 10 mm dia planetary 0 . 005 - 0 . 1 nm torque ; 12 mm dia . spur 0 . 01 - 0 . 02 nm torque ; 16 mm dia . spur 0 . 015 nm torque ; 24 mm dia . spur 0 . 1 nm torque ; 30 mm dia . spur 0 . 07 - 0 . 2 nm torque ; and 38 mm dia . spur 0 . 1 - 0 . 6 nm torque . examples of apparatus for alignment of printing functions , which may be utilized in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention , may be found in the following “ apparatus for adjusting the movement of a roller in a printing press ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 701 , 817 , issued to thunker et al . ; “ method and apparatus for the alignment of printing functions by optical beams reflected from sheets ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 659 , 178 , issued to bucher et al . ; and “ electronic apparatus and computer - controlled method for alignment correction ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 649 , 484 , issued to broghammer et al . examples of roller bearings , which may be utilized in accordance with embodiments of the present invention , may be found in the following “ bearing assembly for a cylinder in a printing press ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 252 , 059 , issued to simeth ; “ device for eliminating effect of bearing play in printing press cylinders ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 149 , 461 , issued to simeth ; “ roller bearing executing swivel motions with device for the synchronous guidance of the bearing cage ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 884 , 902 , issued to kispert et al . ; “ serial bearing assembly ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 618 , 271 , issued to li ; “ swash plate swivel bearing for a hydraulic axial piston machine ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 858 , 480 , issued to rohde et al . ; “ unitary bearing retainer for a swashplate bearing ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 627 , 330 , issued to beck , jr . ; “ heavy - duty swivel bearing ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 072 , 372 , issued to korrenn et al . ; “ ball and socket swivel bearing ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 775 , 815 , issued to abusamra ; and “ swivel bearing ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 073 , 038 , issued to o &# 39 ; connell . examples of linear motors and movement mechanisms , which may be utilized in accordance with embodiments of the present invention , may be found in the following “ linear drive for a printing apparatus ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 149 , 808 , issued to matthias et al . on apr . 17 , 1979 ; “ method for initializing the position of a linear drive system ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 638 , 268 , issued to souza on jun . 10 , 1997 ; “ backlash compensated linear drive method for lead screw - driven printer carriage ”, u . s . pat . no . 3 , 941 , 230 , issued to bellino et al . on mar . 2 , 1976 ; “ disengageable linear stepper motor with recentered rotor ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 019 , 732 , issued to spiesser on may 28 , 1991 ; “ combined linear - rotary direct drive step motor ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 093 , 596 , issued to hammer on mar . 3 , 1992 ; “ linear motor ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 130 , 583 , issued to andoh on jul . 14 , 1992 ; “ rotary to linear motion converter ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 941 , 367 , issued to konves on jul . 17 , 1990 ; “ linear drive device ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 351 , 599 , issued to stoll on oct . 4 , 1994 ; “ pressure - medium activated linear drive system ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 601 , 026 , issued to rothemeyer et al . on feb . 11 , 1997 ; “ linear drive system ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 819 , 584 , issued to evans on oct . 13 , 1998 ; “ electromagnetic linear drive ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 809 , 157 , issued to grumazescu on sep . 15 , 1998 ; “ linear drive device ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 949 , 161 , issued to nanba on sep . 7 , 1999 ; “ device for the reciprocating linear drive of a part ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 642 , 839 , issued to urban on feb . 17 , 1987 ; “ linear drive ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 656 , 881 , issued to goedecke et al . on apr . 14 , 1987 ; “ linear drive unit ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 648 , 325 , issued to gutekunst on mar . 10 , 1987 ; “ linear motors ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 091 , 665 , issued to kelly on feb . 25 , 1992 ; “ latching linear motor ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 148 , 067 , issued to lasota on sep . 15 , 1992 ; “ controlled linear motor ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 028 , 856 , issued to zannis on jul . 2 , 1991 ; “ mechanical linear drive system ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 715 , 241 , issued to lipinski et al . on dec . 29 , 1987 ; “ linear pulse motor with magnetic armature lock ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 999 , 530 , issued to azuma et al . on mar . 12 , 1991 ; “ movement guiding mechanism ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 916 , 340 , issued to negishi on apr . 10 , 1990 ; “ linear drive for converting a rotational drive movement into a linear output movement ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 331 , 862 , issued jul . 26 , 1994 ; “ linear - drive cylinder ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 507 , 218 , issued to lipinski on apr . 16 , 1996 ; “ linear drive device ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 703 , 666 , issued to fickler on nov . 3 , 1987 ; “ linear drive system ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 887 , 477 , issued to hauser et al . on dec . 19 , 1989 ; “ electro - magnetic linear drive ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 931 , 677 , issued to heidelberg et al . on jun . 5 , 1990 ; “ linear drive with screw and threaded follower ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 906 , 137 , issued to zelechonok on may 25 , 1999 ; “ lead screw and linear drive assemblies using such lead screw ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 551 , 314 , issued to andrzejewski , jr . et al . on sep . 3 , 1996 ; “ linear drive ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 016 , 519 , issued to goedecke et al . on may 21 , 1991 ; “ linear drive ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 330 , 272 , issued to stoll on jul . 19 , 1994 ; “ rotary to linear drive unit ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 121 , 019 , issued to pradler on jun . 9 , 1992 ; “ linear actuators and linear drive systems ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 053 , 660 , issued to sneddon on oct . 1 , 1991 ; “ linear drive ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 573 , 369 , issued to horn on mar . 4 , 1986 ; “ electric linear drive with an external rotor electric motor ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 560 , 894 , issued on dec . 24 , 1985 ; “ slidable brush and screw linear drive arrangment ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 345 , 515 , issued to holt on aug . 24 , 1982 ; “ reciprocating linear drive mechanism ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 180 , 766 , issued to matula on dec . 25 , 1979 ; “ electromagnetic linear drive ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 686 , 435 , issued to heidelberg et al . on aug . 11 , 1987 ; “ position sensors for linear motors including plural symmetrical fluxes generated by a planar drive coil and received by planar sense coils being colinear along an axis of motion ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 434 , 504 , issued to hollis et al . on jul . 18 , 1995 ; “ linear motor ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 965 , 864 , issued to roth et al . on oct . 23 , 1990 ; “ linear drive device with two motors ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 614 , 128 , issued to fickler on sep . 30 , 1986 ; “ linear drive device with two motors ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 494 , 025 , issued to fickler on jan . 15 , 1985 ; “ linear motor type handling device including mobile elements travelling over a network ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 476 , 047 , issued to sebillaud on dec . 19 , 1995 ; “ linear drive motor multiple carrier control system ”, u . s . pat . no . 4 , 633 , 148 , issued to prucher on dec . 30 , 1986 ; and “ linear motor control system and method of use ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 416 , 397 , issued to mazzara et al . on may 16 , 1995 . examples of general concepts and principles relating to linear motors may be found in the following u . s . pat . no . 5 , 118 , 055 , issued to veraart on jun . 2 , 1992 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 085 , 480 , issued to jackson on feb . 4 , 1992 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 002 , 020 , issued to kos on mar . 26 , 1991 ; u . s . pat . no . 4 , 987 , 927 , issued to kluczynski on jan . 29 , 1991 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 416 , 753 , issued to kanazawa et al . on may 16 , 1995 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 141 , 082 , issued to ishii et al . on aug . 25 , 1992 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 105 , 109 , issued to nakai et al . on apr . 14 , 1992 ; and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 083 , 745 , issued to tischer on jan . 28 , 1992 . an example of a device for controlling registration may be found in the following “ device for adjusting the circumferential register at rotary printing machines ”, u . s . pat . no . 5 , 249 , 522 , issued to kusch et al . on oct . 5 , 1993 . one feature of the invention resides broadly in the apparatus for adjusting the position of a cylindrical image carrier relative to a scanning head whereby the image carrier is mounted so as to be rotatable around its longitudinal axis , characterized by the fact that the image carrier 1 is mounted such that it can be swiveled around an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 2 . another feature of the invention resides broadly in the apparatus characterized by the fact that the image carrier 1 is located on the plate cylinder 1 of a printing press and that the plate cylinder 1 is mounted in the side walls of the printing press , whereby at least one of the bearings is connected to an actuator 10 that swivels the cylinder 1 in one of the bearings 3 . yet another feature of the invention resides broadly in the apparatus characterized by the fact that the actuator is electively connected to an arrangement 11 , 12 , 13 for setting the position of the cylinder 1 relative to the scanning head 6 or to an arrangement for setting the registers of the printing press . still another feature of the invention resides broadly in the apparatus characterized by the fact that the arrangement for setting the position includes a measuring device 12 for the distance ( x ist ) between the scanning head 6 and the plate cylinder 1 , a setpoint device 13 for the specified value ( x soll ) for the distance and a control circuit 11 , whereby the scanning head 6 can be displaced essentially parallel to the axis of rotation 2 of the cylinder 1 . a further feature of the invention resides broadly in the apparatus characterized by the fact that two fixed sensors 12 for the distance ( x ist ) are provided at the edge of the surface of the image carrier 1 to be scanned by the scanning head to determine the position of the image carrier 1 relative to the scanning head 6 . the components disclosed in the various publications , disclosed or incorporated by reference herein , may be used in the embodiments of the present invention , as well as , equivalents thereof . the appended drawings in their entirety , including all dimensions , proportions and / or shapes in at least one embodiment of the invention , are accurate and to scale and are hereby included by reference into this specification . all , or substantially all , of the components and methods of the various embodiments may be used with at least one embodiment or all of the embodiments , if more than one embodiment is described herein . all of the patents , patent applications and publications recited herein , and in the declaration attached hereto , are hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in their entirety herein . the corresponding foreign patent publication applications , namely , federal republic of germany patent application no . 198 48 455 . 0 , filed on oct . 21 , 1998 , having inventor gotthard schmid , and de - os 198 48 455 . 0 and de - ps 198 48 455 . 0 , as well as their published equivalents , and other equivalents or corresponding applications , if any , in corresponding cases in the federal republic of germany and elsewhere , and the references cited in any of the documents cited herein , are hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in their entirety herein . examples of printing presses and components thereof which may be used in the present invention may be found in the following u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 701 , 817 , issued dec . 30 , 1997 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 659 , 178 , issued aug . 19 , 1997 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 649 , 484 , issued jul . 22 , 1997 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 619 , 922 , issued apr . 15 , 1997 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 713 , 280 , issued feb . 3 , 1998 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 845 , 576 , issued dec . 8 , 1998 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 230 , 284 , issued jul . 27 , 1993 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 107 , 761 , issued apr . 28 , 1992 ; and u . s . pat . no . 5 , 003 , 874 , issued apr . 2 , 1991 . examples of swivel bearings that may be used in embodiments of the present invention may be found in the following u . s . patents : the details in the patents , patent applications and publications may be considered to be incorporable , at applicant &# 39 ; s option , into the claims during prosecution as further limitations in the claims to patentably distinguish any amended claims from any applied prior art . although only a few exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above , those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments 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 . in the claims , means - plus - function clause are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures . the invention as described hereinabove in the context of the preferred embodiments is not to be taken as limited to all of the provided details thereof , since modifications and variations thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
fig1 illustrates an embodiment of a semiconductor processing chamber 100 with a pyrometer 105 that measures a temperature of a substrate 102 . the illustrated embodiment shows one way of optically measuring a temperature of a target or substrate 102 ( e . g ., a semiconductor substrate ) within the processing chamber 100 via a non - contact temperature monitoring device ( e . g ., pyrometer 105 ) that enables non - contact temperature measurements of a semiconducing substrate 102 or other processing target to a degree of accuracy that accounts for or negates stray blackbody radiation . in an embodiment , the semiconductor processing chamber 100 can be a plasma processing chamber for etching and deposition on the substrate 102 such as a semiconductor wafer or a photovoltaic polymer substrate . the substrate 102 can rest on a substrate holder 104 ( e . g ., a wafer chuck ), and the pyrometer 105 can measure a temperature of the substrate 102 via transmitting light ( e . g ., infrared light ) through a view window 107 in the processing chamber 100 and reflecting the light off a back or under surface 103 of the substrate 102 and detecting the reflected light that passes through the view window 107 to a light sensor or detector of the pyrometer 105 . the pyrometer 105 can include an electronics portion 106 containing electronics for generating , detecting , and analyzing the infrared light . the pyrometer 105 can also include a baffles 108 to reduce stray blackbody radiation from , for instance , the substrate holder 104 and the processing chamber 100 walls . the pyrometer 105 can be in communication with a circuitry or logic 110 by receiving instructions from the circuitry or logic 110 or providing data to the circuitry or logic 110 . in an embodiment , the pyrometer 105 measures a temperature of the substrate 102 , passes temperature data to the circuitry or logic 110 , and the circuitry or logic 110 can modify various parameters of the processing chamber 100 controls ( e . g ., temperature , gas flow , rf power , to name just a few non - limiting examples ). the illustrated processing chamber 100 does not show various aspects of typical processing chambers that can be implemented , such as heating elements , gas pressure sensors , gas input and output ports , rf power sources , electrodes , etc . for instance , a heating element can be incorporated into or coupled to the substrate holder 104 , and can be in thermal communication with the substrate 102 . while the pyrometer 105 is centered under the substrate 102 , this is not required . in some embodiments , the pyrometer 105 can be radially offset from the center of the substrate 102 and can direct light at a radially offset point or points on the substrate 102 . furthermore , while the electronics portion 106 is arranged outside of the processing chamber 100 , in some embodiments , the pyrometer 105 can be arranged partially or completely within the processing chamber 100 , and there may or may not be a view window 107 . nor is there a requirement that the pyrometer 105 direct light through an opening in the substrate holder 104 as illustrated . in some embodiments , the pyrometer 105 can direct light towards a top surface 101 of the substrate 102 or use mirrors or fiber optics to direct light to the bottom surface 103 of the substrate 102 without passing through the substrate holder 104 . one skilled in the art will also recognize , in view of the specification , that a communication between the pyrometer 105 and the circuits or logic 110 is not required and in some cases the electronics portion 106 can share functionality with the circuits or logic 110 . one skilled in the art will also recognize , in view of the specification , that the pyrometer 105 is not limited to infrared light . fig2 illustrates an embodiment of a pyrometer 205 , in communication with temperature monitors 218 , 220 , 222 , that makes non - contact temperature measurements of the substrate 202 while accounting for stray blackbody radiation from the substrate holder 204 and other stray blackbody sources . the substrate 202 can rest on or be coupled to the substrate holder 204 , and the pyrometer 205 can be arranged such that a light beam 230 can be directed through a view window 207 of the processing chamber 200 to a bottom surface 203 of the substrate 202 and reflected back to the pyrometer 205 through the view window 207 as a reflected light beam 232 . the pyrometer 205 includes an electronics portion 206 having electronics and devices for generating the light beam 230 , controlling various parameters of the light beam 230 , detecting a reflected light beam 232 , analyzing the reflected light beam 232 , and optionally communicating temperature data to other circuits or logic 210 in communication with the pyrometer 205 . in particular , the electronics portion 206 includes a light beam source 212 , a light beam detector 214 , and an analysis and control module 216 . to cut down on stray blackbody radiation , the pyrometer includes a baffles 208 that blocks a substantial amount of stray blackbody radiation from reaching the light beam detector 214 . the baffles 208 can be cooled in order to reduce stray blackbody radiation from the baffles 208 itself . the analysis and control module 216 can instruct the light beam source 212 to project the light beam 230 towards the substrate 202 via control of the power and timing of the light beam 230 . the light beam 230 reflects off the substrate 202 and returns to the pyrometer 205 as the reflected light beam 232 , which is detected by the light beam detector 214 . the light beam detector 214 provides a signal to the analysis and control module 216 giving information regarding the reflected light beam 232 ( e . g ., photocurrent p ( λ )). the analysis and control module 216 can use this information along with information regarding the amount of light generated by the light beam source 212 to determine a reflectance r of the substrate 202 , which also gives an emissivity of the substrate as ε = 1 − r . reflectance r of the substrate 202 is given as the ratio of the amount of light detected by the light beam detector 214 over the amount of light directed at the substrate 202 by the light beam source 230 ( e . g ., reflected intensity of light or second intensity divided by emitted intensity of light or first intensity ). the analysis and control module 216 also knows a wavelength λ at which the light beam 230 was generated , and an attenuation factor α that can account for a view factor and a sensor factor ( e . g ., a percentage of light intensity transmitted through the pyrometer 205 window and / or a view window 207 of the processing chamber 200 ). with these parameters , equation 3 can be solved for a temperature of the substrate t . however , such a temperature measurement can be inaccurate since it does not distinguish between blackbody radiation from the substrate 202 and stray blackbody radiation 234 from stray blackbody sources such as the substrate holder 204 . for purposes of this disclosure , stray blackbody radiation refers to blackbody radiation from anything other than the substrate 202 that reaches the light beam detector 214 whether directly or via one or more reflections . for instance , blackbody radiation from the baffles 208 that directly impinges on the light beam detector 214 as well as blackbody radiation from the baffles 208 that reflects off the substrate 202 and impinges on the light beam detector 214 , are both considered stray blackbody radiation . to account for stray blackbody radiation , a photocurrent for each blackbody source can be added to equation 3 . for instance , equation 4 has an additional term p ( λ ) b1 added to the photocurrent of equation 3 to account for the blackbody radiation from a stray blackbody source such as the substrate holder 204 or a heating element . when p ( λ ) b1 is expanded , equation 4 can be written as : equation 5 shows that the stray blackbody radiation p ( λ ) b1 depends at least on the temperature of the stray blackbody source t b1 along with the wavelength λ of the light beam 230 , a reflectance r t of the substrate 202 ( e . g ., the intensity of the reflected light beam 232 , or first intensity , divided by the intensity of the light beam 230 , or second intensity ), emissivity ε b1 of the blackbody source , and an attenuation factor α b1 that accounts for at least a sensor factor and a view factor of the blackbody source . view factor is a percentage of light emanating from a source that is incident on a given target . sensor factor represents a percentage of the light incident on the given target that is detected ( e . g ., there can be losses due to reflection and absorption in optics of the detector ). the terms ε b1 α b1 can be simplified into a term , k b1 . while most terms can be measured during a temperature measurement , k b1 cannot , and thus a calibration is made to determine k b1 , which can then be used in equation 5 to determine the substrate 202 temperature t t during a temperature measurement . the calibration can be part of a two - phase non - contact measurement of the substrate 202 temperature t t . first , a calibration measurement can be made in a calibration phase and then a non - contact measurement in a non - contact measurement phase . the calibration measurement can involve solving equation 6 ( below ) for k b1 ( or ε b1 α b1 ), where equation 6 is the same as equation 5 , but rewritten in terms of k b1 and performed with a reference substrate substituted for the substrate 202 . the reference substrate can be substituted for the substrate 202 during the calibration phase since a contact measurement for temperature could damage the substrate 202 , which may have a variety of delicate films and structures on its surfaces . the reference substrate is thus used in place of the substrate 202 for this measurement , and should have similar if not identical characteristics and quality to that of the substrate 202 . to clearly show that equation 6 applies to the reference substrate , equation 6 can be rewritten in terms of reflectance of the reference substrate r ref and a temperature of the reference substrate t ref , rather than in terms of r t and t t . solving equation 6 for k b1 can involve first measuring the first temperature t ref of the reference substrate via the temperature monitor 218 , the first temperature t b1 of the stray blackbody source ( e . g ., the substrate holder 204 ) via one of the temperature monitors 220 , 222 , and the first reflectance r ref of the reference substrate via the light beam source 212 , the light beam detector 214 , and the control module 216 . the emissivity ε ref of the reference substrate is given as ε ref = 1 − r ref , the attenuation factor α of the substrate term can be a value determined by the manufacturer for each pyrometer produced , and the wavelength λ is the wavelength of the light beam 230 . with the value of k b1 , or at least having made the measurements of the reference substrate temperature t ref , the first blackbody source temperature t b1 , and the reference substrate reflectance r ref , the non - contact measurement can be made in the non - contact measurement phase . if a reference substrate was used , then the reference substrate can be replaced with the substrate 202 intended for processing and the temperature monitor 218 can be removed or decoupled from the reference substrate . in an alternative embodiment in which a reference substrate is not used , the temperature monitor 218 can be decoupled from the substrate 202 . a second temperature t ′ b1 of the stray blackbody source can be measured via a temperature monitor ( e . g ., 220 or 222 ) coupled to the stray blackbody source ( e . g ., the substrate holder 204 , the baffles 208 , or a heating element , to name three non - limiting examples ) since the stray blackbody source likely increased in temperature when the temperature in the processing chamber increased . also , a reflectance r t of the substrate 202 ( or target ) can be determined as a ratio of intensity of the light detected by the light beam detector 214 ( e . g ., photocurrent in the light beam detector 214 ), the second intensity , divided by an intensity of light emitted by the light beam source 212 , the first intensity . these values can be substituted into equation 7 ( below ) and equation 7 can be solved for the temperature of the substrate t t . although the reference substrate and the substrate 202 can be similar if not identical materials , a reflectance measurement for both ( r ref and r t ) can still be made . for instance , this may be desired where the substrate 202 is at a higher temperature than the reference substrate . in an alternative embodiment , a single reflectance measurement can be taken , either on the substrate 202 or the reference substrate , and the value can be used in both equations 6 and 7 . in an alternative embodiment , rather than solving for k b1 and then substituting k b1 into equation 7 , the values for the reflectance of the reference substrate r ref , the first temperature of the stray blackbody source t b1 , and the temperature of the reference substrate t ref , can be measured , followed by a replacement of the reference substrate with the substrate 202 , a ramping of the temperature , and then measurements of reflectance r t of the substrate 202 and second temperature of the stray blackbody source t ′ b1 . then the temperature of the substrate t t can be calculated using equations 6 and 7 in combination with these measured values to solve for the temperature of the substrate t t via a single calculation . in other words , equation 6 can be solved for k b1 , and the solution for k b1 can be substituted into equation 7 and then solved for the temperature of the substrate t t . the calibration measurement can be made using a reference substrate — a substrate other than the one that will be measured during the non - contact measurement . alternatively , the calibration measurement can be performed on the substrate 202 to be processed , but at a temperature at which a contact measurement can be made via the temperature monitoring device 218 ( e . g ., via thermocouple ). once the calibration measurement has been performed , the temperature monitoring device 218 can be decoupled from the substrate 202 and processing of the substrate 202 can begin . the substrate 202 and reference substrate are embodiments of a target and reference target . the target and reference target can include objects to be processed that include , but are not limited to substrates and reference substrates . for instance , a polymer or glass sheet for photovoltaic manufacturing can be a target or reference target . equations 4 - 7 account for the blackbody radiation of a single source . such a source can typically be a heating element that is at a much greater temperature than any other objects in the processing chamber 200 . thus , there may not be a need to account for any more than one stray blackbody source . however , in the event that more than one stray blackbody source is to be accounted for , one skilled in the art will recognize that equation 4 can be expanded beyond two terms , with each additional term accounting for a separate stray blackbody source . for instance , in equation 8 ( below ) two photocurrent terms p ( λ ) b1 and p ( λ ) b2 are added to the target photocurrent term p ( λ ) t to account for two different stray blackbody radiation sources ( e . g ., the substrate holder 204 and a heating element ). the term p ( λ ) t is the photocurrent of the substrate 202 as given by equation 3 , the term p ( λ ) b1 is the photocurrent attributable to a first stray blackbody source and equals and the term p ( λ ) s2 is the photocurrent attributable to a second stray blackbody source and equals as seen , the photocurrent of each of the stray blackbody sources depends at least in part on a temperature of each stray blackbody source t b1 and t b2 , respectively . the emissivity and attenuation factor of the first stray blackbody source are represented by k b1 and by k b2 for the second stray blackbody source . the reflectance r represents that of the reference substrate or the substrate 202 , depending on whether equation 8 is being used in the calibration or the non - contact measurement phase . in embodiments such as that modeled by equation 8 where there are multiple stray blackbody sources and thus two or more k values , a matrix of results can be determined , which can then be interpolated based on weighing of the two or more stray blackbody sources to determine the two or more k values . referring to equation 6 , in various alternative embodiments , once k is determined , an array or table of substrate 202 temperatures t t can be calculated as a function of reference substrate temperature t ref , stray blackbody source temperature t b , wavelength λ , reference substrate reflectance r ref , and substrate 202 reflectance r t . in such embodiments , the temperature of the substrate t t is essentially pre - calculated such that during the non - contact measurement , the temperature of the substrate t t can be looked up in the array or table . an array or table can lead to discontunity between values . in other words , given changing conditions or temperatures in the processing chamber , the calculated value of the substrate temperature t t does not change smoothly , but jumps between values in the array or table . this can be challenging for a control system to handle and for a human engineer to analyze if looking for continuous data trends . thus , in the alternative to using a table or array , a polynomial can be used in combination with a least squares fit to the polynomial to solve for the substrate 202 temperature t t . in a particular embodiment , a second or fourth - order polynomial can be used to model a temperature to be subtracted from the measured temperature ( also known as an error function ) in order to arrive at a substrate 202 temperature t t that accounts for the bias of stray blackbody radiation . in other words , the polynomial can predict measured substrate temperature ( e . g ., based on a pyrometer readout ) as a function of actual substrate temperature . performing a least squares fit to a polynomial ( e . g ., a fourth - order polynomial ) enables a smooth and continuous accounting of the temperature component attributable to stray blackbody radiation . the data points used to perform the fit comprise one or more pyrometer temperature readings for a reference substrate as a function of different substrate temperatures . fig8 , illustrates one exemplary set of data where a polynomial 802 is fitted to data points 804 representing pyrometer temperature reading error ( in units of temperature ) for different reference substrate temperatures . to arrive at this data set , the reference substrate temperature can be set to a first value , and a difference between the temperature measured by the pyrometer and a temperature of the reference substrate as measured by a thermocouple can be calculated . this difference is plotted as a function of the reference substrate temperature . the reference substrate temperature is then either increased or decreased , and another difference calculated . this procedure continues thus generating the set of temperature differences or errors 804 as a function of reference substrate temperature . the polynomial 802 can then be fitted to the data points 804 via a least squares algorithm . in another embodiment , the non - contact temperature of the target is determined in a two - phase process . first in a calibration phase , a value for k is determined . then , in a non - contact measurement phase , the temperature of the target t t is measured . the non - contact measurement phase can include measuring a reflected intensity of the reflected light beam 232 , and subtracting from the reflected intensity an intensity of light attributable to the stray blackbody radiation , for instance by subtracting photocurrents p ( λ ) b1 and p ( λ ) b2 as defined with reference to equation 8 . the non - contact measurement phase can then include calculating or recalculating the target temperature t t based on the reflected intensity of light minus the intensity of light attributable to the stray blackbody radiation . the baffles 208 is viewed in cross section , and as illustrated is a tube that can be made from a variety of preferably light - absorbing materials , although reflective and light - scattering materials can also be used . in an embodiment , the baffles 208 can have a textured surface that helps scatter and absorb stray blackbody radiation 234 such that less of the stray blackbody radiation 234 reaches the light beam detector 214 . the baffles 208 can be arranged as close to the substrate 202 as possible without contacting the substrate 202 so that an amount of stray blackbody radiation 234 reaching the light beam detector 214 is reduced . the baffles 208 is shown as being separated from the substrate holder 204 — passing through an opening , hole , or gap in the substrate holder 204 . however , in some embodiments , the baffles 208 can be coupled to the substrate holder 204 via an insulating material or device such as a washer . the baffles 208 can be coupled to a view window 207 of the processing chamber 200 . although illustrated as a hollow tube , in an embodiment , the baffles 208 can be a solid cylinder of waveguide material ( e . g ., a fiber optic or tube of sapphire or glass ). such a waveguide material could further prevent stray blackbody radiation 234 from reaching the light beam detector 214 since some stray blackbody radiation 234 able to reflect off the substrate 202 and enter the tubular baffles 208 illustrated in fig2 , would partially reflect off an end of a waveguide baffles ( e . g ., when incident at greater than the critical angle for total internal reflection ). this affect is attributable to the higher index of refraction of the waveguide baffles ( e . g ., glass or sapphire ) versus the vacuum or processing chamber gas in which the stray blackbody radiation 234 travels through before impinging on the waveguide baffles . such a waveguide baffles may also have the benefit of allowing the electronics portion 206 to be located further from the substrate 202 or the processing chamber 200 ( e . g ., where a fiber optic feeds from a pyrometer 205 outside the processing chamber to the substrate 202 within the processing chamber ). a waveguide baffles could also have a light - reflecting or light - absorbing coating or material on an outer surface to prevent stray light and blackbody radiation 234 from entering the waveguide baffles via a side of the waveguide baffles . in some variations , the baffles 208 can be cooled to below room temperature including temperatures which greatly reduce blackbody radiation emitted in wavelengths overlapping with that of the emitted light beam 230 ( e . g ., infrared wavelengths ). for instance , the baffles 208 can be cooled to between 0 c .° and 20 c .°. the baffles 208 can be cooled via thermal coupling with a cooling device ( not illustrated ) such as a liquid cooling system , for example . the light beam source 212 can be implemented with any number of light generating devices such as diode lasers and light emitting diodes . the light beam 230 can be collimated , can have a narrow or broad wavelength bandwidth , and can change wavelength during measurements in order to perform multi - wavelength non - contact measurements . the light beam detector 214 can be implemented with any number of light detecting devices such as photodiodes , photomultipliers , charge - coupled devices , calorimeters , and photodetectors to name just a few non - limiting examples . in the illustrated embodiment , the temperature monitors 220 , 222 coupled to stray blackbody sources can be used to measure the temperature of the substrate holder 204 and the baffles 208 , respectively and the temperature monitor 218 can be used to measure the temperature of a reference substrate , and optionally the substrate 202 . a thermocouple is an exemplary temperature monitor 218 , 220 , 222 , although one skilled in the art will recognize that other temperature monitoring devices can also be used . one skilled in the art will also recognize that the light beams 230 , 232 and stray blackbody radiation 234 are not drawn to scale , and the angles of the beams may not be entirely accurate . for instance , the light beam 230 and the reflected light beam 232 may be substantially parallel . one skilled in the art will also recognize that the arrangement of components within the electronics portion 206 is merely illustrative . for instance , the light beam source 212 and light beam detector 214 need not be separated as illustrated , but could be coupled to each other , adjacent to each other , overlapping , or even built into a single device or circuit board or system - on - a - chip . the light beam source 212 , light beam detector 214 , and analysis and control module 216 can all be built into a single device or circuit board , or system - on - a - chip . fig3 illustrates a method 300 of making a non - contact temperature measurement of a substrate inside a processing chamber that accounts for stray blackbody radiation . the method 300 includes a measure a first temperature of a reference target in the processing chamber operation 302 , a measure a temperature of the stray blackbody source operation 304 , a measure a reflectance of the reference target operation 306 , a replace the reference target with the target operation 308 , and a perform a non - contact temperature measurement of the target in the processing chamber operation 310 where the perform operation 310 further includes a measure a second temperature of the stray blackbody source operation 312 , a measure a reflectance of the target operation 314 , and a calculate the temperature of the target operation 316 . the measure a temperature of the reference target operation 302 can involve measuring a temperature ( e . g ., via a thermocouple ) of the reference target ( e . g ., a reference substrate ) during a calibration phase where the reference target is not heated to processing temperatures , but rather is measured at temperatures around room temperature . the measure a first temperature of the stray blackbody source operation 304 can involve measuring a temperature ( e . g ., via a thermocouple ) of the stray blackbody source ( e . g ., a heating element , the substrate holder , the chamber walls , to name a few non - limiting examples ). the measure a reflectance of the reference target operation 306 can involve reflecting a light beam off the reference target and comparing an intensity of reflected light to an intensity of emitted light . for instance , the reflectance can equal a ratio of the reflected light divided by the emitted light . the replace the reference target with the target operation 308 can take place after a temperature of the reference target , temperature of the stray blackbody source , and reflectance of the reference target have been measured . a determination of emissivity or an array of emissivities for different stray blackbody source temperatures can be determined prior to the replace operation 308 . the perform operation 310 can include a number of sub - operations as discussed in the following . the measure a second temperature of the stray blackbody source operation 312 can involve measuring a temperature ( e . g ., via a thermocouple ) of the stray blackbody source once the processing chamber has been raised to a processing temperature ( e . g ., 600 ° c .). the measure a reflectance of the target operation 314 can involve reflecting a light beam off the target and comparing an intensity of reflected light to an intensity of emitted light . for instance , the reflectance can equal a ratio of the reflected light divided by the emitted light . the calculate the temperature of the target operation 316 can calculate the temperature of the target based on or as a function of at least the following : the first temperature of the stray blackbody source , the second temperature of the stray blackbody source , the temperature of the reference target , the reflectance of the reference target , and the reflectance of the target . in one embodiment , an emissivity for the stray blackbody source can be calculated based on the first temperature of the stray blackbody source , the temperature of the reference target , and the reflectivity of the reference target . this emissivity can then be used in concert with the second temperature of the stray blackbody source and the reflectance of the target to calculate the temperature of the target . in yet another embodiment , an array of emissivity values can be determined for different temperatures of the stray blackbody source , and this array can be used to calculate a temperature of the target . fig4 a and 4 b illustrate a top and side view , respectively , of an embodiment of the baffles 408 of a pyrometer 405 . non - contact temperature measurements as disclosed herein typically take place in an environment devoid of non - blackbody light sources ( e . g ., with the lights off or obstructed ). the baffles 408 can prevent stray blackbody radiation from passing through it and striking the light beam detector 414 . however , some stray blackbody radiation 450 can reflect off the substrate 402 , then off an end of a baffles 410 , off the substrate 402 again , and then impinge on the light beam detector 414 ( more than one reflection of an end of a baffles 410 is also possible ). to reduce this stray blackbody radiation 450 , the baffles 408 can have a light - absorbing end 410 . for instance , the baffles 408 can be made of a plurality of concentric rings of tubes coupled to each other or arranged adjacent to each other ( as viewed from above in fig4 a ), and arranged such that light cannot pass through the baffles 408 from a side of the baffles . however , these tubes are also of such a diameter ( e . g ., 2 - 10 mm ) that when the stray blackbody radiation 450 impinges on the end of the baffles 410 , the stray blackbody radiation 450 scatters off the tubes and generally is directed downward in fig4 b towards the electronics portion 406 rather than reflecting back towards the substrate 402 ( the stray blackbody radiation 450 is illustrated to show the reflections off of a non - absorbing end of a baffles rather than a light - absorbing baffles as discussed in this paragraph ). as the stray blackbody radiation 450 scatters back and forth between the tubes , each scattering results in absorption , and eventually the stray blackbody radiation 450 is absorbed or substantially absorbed in the tubes . in other words , the tubes act as a near - perfect light absorber . while three concentric rings of tubes are illustrated , more or less than three concentric rings of tubes can also be implemented . in an embodiment , a similar effect to using tubes for the baffles 408 can be achieved by coating the end 410 of the baffles 408 with a light - absorbing textured material such as gold black . the baffles 408 is coupled to an electronics portion 406 that houses at least a light beam source 412 ( e . g ., a laser diode ) and a light beam detector 414 ( e . g ., photodiode ). the light beam source 412 and light beam detector 414 can be adjacent to a center of the baffles 408 ( as viewed from above in fig4 a ), but can also be arranged in any number of other configurations . fig5 illustrates a close - up isometric view of a portion of the tubes 408 of fig4 . the spacing between each concentric ring of the tubes 408 is not limited , however it will depend on the wavelength of infrared light emitted from the light beam source 412 . the spacing between tubes 408 in a given concentric ring can also depend on the wavelength of light emitted from the light beam source 412 . for shorter wavelengths of light , the tubes 408 can be more closely arranged . the tubes can be hollow or solid cylinders . the concept behind the baffles 408 made of tubes in fig4 is that a structure that is very tall relative to its diameter presents little surface area for light reflection , and presents a large area for scattering and redirecting the light in substantially the same direction that the light was originally traveling . other shapes can also achieve a similar affect , and some non - limiting examples are discussed with reference to fig6 - 7 . fig6 illustrates a close - up view of a portion of an end of an embodiment of a baffles 608 with a single concentric ring of round - ended or needle - tipped tubes . the round - ended or needle - tipped tubes may have less reflective area provided to stray blackbody radiation than concentric rings of tubes as in fig4 a , 4 b , and 5 . only one ring of needle - tips is illustrated , but in other embodiments there can be a plurality of concentric rings of needle - tips . fig7 illustrates a close - up view of a portion of an end of an embodiment of a baffles 708 made with a plurality concentric rings . these concentric cylinders act similarly to the tubes of fig4 a , 4 b , and 5 in that light has very little surface area to reflect off of and instead a majority of light scatters off of sides of each ring in a direction generally opposite to the direction of the substrate until enough scattering has occurred to substantially absorb all of the stray blackbody radiation . fig6 - 7 show just two examples of the myriad forms that such a light - absorbing baffles can take . the general idea being that the baffles comprise a structure presenting very little surface area for reflections of stray blackbody radiation back towards the substrate , and instead cause stray blackbody radiation to scatter off sides of the structure and be absorbed by the structure during a plurality of scattering events such that the stray blackbody radiation is substantially absorbed rather than reflected from an end of the baffles . in conclusion , the present invention provides , among other things , a method , system , and apparatus that enables non - contact temperature measurements of a semiconducting substrate or other processing target to a degree of accuracy that accounts for or negates stray blackbody radiation . those skilled in the art can readily recognize that numerous variations and substitutions may be made in the invention , its use , and its configuration to achieve substantially the same results as achieved by the embodiments described herein . accordingly , there is no intention to limit the invention to the disclosed exemplary forms . many variations , modifications , and alternative constructions fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosed invention . | 6 |
in the apparatus shown in the figure , a measurement cell 2 is provided having an internal flow conduit 4 for the through flow of a gas composition the temperature of which is to be measured by means of a platinum wire resistance element 6 . the measurement cell 2 may , as illustrated in the figure , be an integral part of a pneumatic circuit , which is shown generally at 8 or may be a separate unit capable of gas connection to such a circuit 8 . the platinum wire resistance element 6 is located within the flow conduit 4 and is in electrical connection with a bridge circuit 10 of known construction . the element 6 and the bridge circuit 10 together form a known platinum resistance thermometer , the output of which is to be calibrated using the apparatus according to the present invention . an element of the apparatus is a reference thermometer 12 , such as a known thermo - element or pt100 - based measurement instrument , which in the present embodiment may be introduced into the internal flow conduit 4 through an externally accessible gas - tight seal 14 within the measurement chamber . the apparatus also includes an acoustic transmitter 16 / receiver 18 arrangement that , together with associated control and measurement electronics 20 , form an acoustic meter of known construction . in the present example the acoustic transmitter / receiver arrangement 16 , 18 is shown as separate devices located directly facing one another across the measurement cell 2 . it will be appreciated that other known configurations of a separate transmitter device 16 and receiver device 18 as well as an acoustic transceiver element may be employed to delimit an acoustic path 22 through gas within the cell 2 . in the present embodiment a separate calibration unit 24 is also provided as an element of the apparatus . this unit 24 may be realized in a suitably programmed microcomputer having appropriate known interface devices connected thereto for appropriately conditioning incoming and / or outgoing signals . during a first phase of a calibration procedure , the calibration unit 24 receives a signal from the reference thermometer 12 as a first reference temperature value , which is indicative of an equilibrium temperature of a gas composition within the flow conduit 4 of the measurement cell 2 . since the temperature measured is an equilibrium temperature , a reference thermometer 12 having a relatively long time constant may be used . the calibration unit 24 also receives during this first phase an output signal from the resistance thermometer 6 , 10 as a first temperature measurement value and stores , for example in an associated digital memory , the two first values in a referenced fashion . during a second phase of the calibration procedure , which is carried out at a second , non - equilibrium , temperature of the gas composition , the calibration unit 24 receives from the acoustic meter 16 , 18 , 20 a signal related to an acoustic velocity within the gas composition . this signal , for example , may be an actual velocity value or a transit time value for acoustic energy emitted by the transmitter 16 to traverse the acoustic path 22 and be received by the receiver 18 , the latter being provided particularly if the length l of the acoustic path 22 is unknown . the calibration unit 24 , for example , may be configured to provide a trigger signal to the control and measurement electronics 20 to initiate transmission of acoustic energy from the transmitter 16 and to start a timer which stops upon notification of receipt of the transmitted energy by the receiver 18 . interrogation of such a timer will thus provide a measure of the transit time t as is well known in the art . as an alternative , other known acoustic velocity measurement techniques may be employed to provide the appropriate acoustic velocity related signal . the speed of sound v in a gas composition is described by the known equation : where t is the transit time for acoustic energy along the acoustic path 22 . thus from equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) the temperature , t , of the gas may be described according to the equation : where c is a constant based on the composition of the gas and on the length l of the acoustic path 22 . where the path length l is known or can by provided as an input to the calibration unit 24 then this may be employed in the calibrations unit 24 , together with a known or input gas composition constant k , to determine a second reference temperature value according to equation ( 3 ) and using the signal provided by the acoustic meter 16 , 18 , 20 . during the second phase the calibration unit 24 is configured to also receive an output signal from the resistance thermometer 6 , 10 as a second temperature measurement value and to store the two - second values also in a referenced fashion . to increase the utility of the calibration apparatus an assumption can be made that one or both of the path length l and the gas composition ( hence k ) is unknown . the acoustic meter 16 , 18 , 20 is then adapted to perform a further acoustic velocity related measurement during the first phase and supply a related output signal to the calibration unit 24 . the calibration unit 24 then utilizes this signal , together with the first reference temperature value , to determine the unknown value or a ratio of the unknown values using equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ). the thus - determined parameter may then be employed by the calibration unit 24 in the determination of the second reference temperature value since the gas composition remains unchanged between the two phases of the calibration procedure . it is particularly advantageous for the acoustic velocity related measurement to be performed as quickly as possible after introduction of the gas composition at the second temperature into the measurement cell 2 since any errors which may be introduced due to a change in the length l of the acoustic path 22 caused by thermal expansion or contraction of the measurement cell 2 as the system equilibrates can be avoided . the calibration unit 24 is further adapted to recall the first and second reference and measurement temperature values and to perform a two point calibration of the resistance thermometer 6 , 10 in a known manner , for example to perform a straight line fit of the calibration points , and thereby establish a calibration relationship between reference temperatures and measurement temperatures . during use of the resistance thermometer 6 , 10 its output can be translated into a temperature value , for example within the calibration unit 24 using the above - mentioned established calibration relationship . as described above , it is not necessary to have knowledge of the gas composition during the calibration procedure . it will be appreciated , however , that an output from the resistance thermometer 6 , 10 , calibrated using the above - described apparatus and related method , may be employed together with a , preferably simultaneous , acoustic velocity related measurement signal output from the acoustic meter 16 , 18 , 20 to derive information about the composition of the gas within the measurement cell 2 using , in a known manner , the equations ( 1 ) ( 2 ) or ( 3 ) above . to this end the calibration unit 24 may be additionally programmed to perform such a derivation . thus an accurate , relatively inexpensive , gas composition analyzer 26 having an integral resistance thermometer calibration apparatus may be provided which employs the same components for the two devices . the exemplary embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention is configured to perform only a two point calibration of the resistance thermometer it will be appreciated that , without departing from the inventive concept , any number of further calibration points may be provided by employing the acoustic meter 16 , 18 , 20 to generate the further reference temperature values in a manner substantially similar to that described with reference to the second phase of the calibration procedure . although modifications and changes may be suggested by those skilled in the art , it is the intention of the inventors to embody within the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of their contribution to the art . | 6 |
one or more embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein . it will be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms . the appended figures may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular embodiments , features , or elements . specific structural and functional details , dimensions , shapes , or configurations disclosed herein are not limiting but serve as a basis for teaching a person of ordinary skill in the art the described and claimed features of embodiments of the present invention . referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are represented by like numerals throughout , there is shown in fig1 , a perspective view of a combination birdfeeder and birdbath or fountain 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention . the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 comprises a feeding unit 200 , an illuminating unit 300 , and a fountain unit 400 . the units 200 , 300 , 400 , are detachably assembled together to form the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 . the feeding unit , generally denoted at 200 , includes a food dispenser 210 that is releasably attached to a feeder base 212 . the feeder base 212 and food dispenser 210 couple together to define a storage reservoir for holding food 800 for birds . the feeder base 212 includes at least one food receiving compartment 220 for receiving food 800 that is dispensed from the storage reservoir of the food dispenser 210 , by gravity . the at least one food receiving compartment 220 may comprises a single annular food compartment having a predefined depth , or a plurality of individual food compartments each compartment having a predefined depth and separated from each other by dividers . the feeder base 212 further includes a feeding surface 230 forming the outside perimeter of feeder base 212 for allowing birds to perch themselves on the feeder base 212 while eating or resting . as illustrated in fig1 , food dispenser 210 includes a plurality of dispensing openings 214 where each dispensing opening 214 is in communication with a corresponding food compartment 220 . each dispensing opening 214 is shaped and sized to provide a controlled release of bird food 800 into each food receiving compartment 220 . the food dispenser 210 is sized to provide a predetermined storage capacity to hold a desired amount of bird food 800 to reduce the need of constant replenishment . it will be noted that the food dispenser 210 may or may not be transparent for allowing a person to see the contents therein . a feeder top 216 , overhang or awning is releasably attached to the food dispenser 210 for sealing the bird food 800 within the storage reservoir of the food dispenser 210 . the feeder top 216 has a sloped superior surface 218 that extends outwards over the feeder surface 230 of the feeder base 212 for sheltering birds that perch on the feeder surface 230 of the feeder base 212 , and / or the food 800 that is disposed within each food compartment 220 , from the elements such as rain or snow . the feeder top 216 is releasably attached to food dispenser 210 by any means known in the art including , but not limited to , threads , screws , snap - like features , a bayonet connection , magnets , hinges , clamps , clips , nuts and bolts , or the like . with continued reference to fig1 , the illuminating unit 300 includes a lighting cone 310 including a hollow central opening for housing a means for illuminating the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 at night or in the early morning hours where there is limited daylight . the lighting cone 310 comprises an inverted funnel - like member that includes a first end , and a second end having a larger diameter than the first end . the lighting cone 310 further includes a fountain dispensing plate 312 for water 700 to cascade down into a basin reservoir 428 . the dispensing plate 312 may be molded integrally with the lighting cone 310 or attached separately to the second end of the lighting cone 310 . to further enhance the ornamental features of the combination birdfeeder and fountain 100 , the lighting cone 310 may or may not be transparent or alternatively include a variety of different colors . the means for illuminating may include any suitable lighting devices known in the art including , but not limited to , light bulbs , fiber optics , solar powered lights , leds , or neon lights . alternatively , the means for illuminating may comprise a non - electrical means of illuminating such as optical reflectors , magnifiers , chemiluscent sticks , or glow sticks , or any other suitable lighting device . in addition , the means for illuminating may or may not comprise a variety of different colors for enhancing the ornamental design of the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 . as shown in fig1 , the fountain unit 400 includes a fountain base 420 , and a basin 422 having an annular sidewall 430 integrally formed with a basin bottom 432 for defining a basin reservoir 428 . the basin reservoir 428 is dimensionally configured to hold a predetermined amount of water 700 for allowing one or more birds 600 to drink from or bathe in . the basin 422 may be molded integrally with the fountain base 420 or alternatively , the basin 422 may be detachably coupled to the fountain base 420 as a separate unit to form the fountain unit 400 . the fountain base 420 provides structural stability for supporting the feeding unit 200 , cones 310 , 410 , basin 422 , water 700 and any birds 600 thereabout . with continued reference to fig1 , the fountain unit 400 also includes a fountain cone 410 comprising an inverted funnel - like member having a first end and a second end having a diameter that is larger than the first end . the fountain cone 410 houses a pump 440 and tubing assembly 442 . a first end of fountain cone 410 is attached to dispensing plate 312 , and a second end of the fountain cone 410 is affixed within the center of the basin 422 so that the pump 440 and tubing assembly 442 are in fluid communication with the basin reservoir 428 for pumping or cycling water 700 from the basin reservoir 428 through the fountain cone 410 , via , the tubing assembly 442 . the water 700 cascades from the fountain dispensing plate 312 and drips into basin reservoir 428 . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the structural elements of the fountain cone 410 preferably utilizes the standard method of recycling water in fountains . in the preferred embodiment , the means for pumping includes a small water pump that may pump on a continuously or intermittent basis over predetermined timed intervals . to enhance both the ornamental features of the present invention and to provide additional illumination to the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 , a lighted ornament 500 is disposed on the outer surface of feeder top 216 . the lighted ornament 500 comprises any configuration , figure , character , number , or letter , and houses a lighting device that may include any one of light bulbs , fiber optics , solar powered lights , leds , optical reflectors or magnifiers , chemiluscent sticks , glow sticks , neon lights or any other suitable lighting devices known in the art . in one exemplary embodiment , the lighted ornamental device 500 comprises a lighted device in the shape of a bird so as to compliment the intended use of the combination birdfeeder and fountain 100 . referring now to fig2 , there is provided a combination birdfeeder and fountain assembly 100 , according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention . the elements , features , dimensions , — and configurations defining the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 as described in the embodiment of fig1 above , are the same as the elements , features , dimensions , and configurations as illustrated in the embodiment of fig2 , except for an alternative lighting ornament 605 . the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 of fig2 , includes an alternative lighted ornament 605 that replaces the lighted ornament 500 depicted in fig1 . the lighted ornament 605 includes a stem 610 having a lighted element 612 disposed at a distal end of the stem 610 for providing more light to the feeding unit 200 , and fountain unit 400 of the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 . one end of stem 610 , opposite the end including lighted element 612 , is attached to the outer surface of feeder top 216 . the stem 610 may comprise a rigid or flexible member comprising any one of plastic , rubber , metal , ceramic or glass . it should be noted to those skilled in the art that a variety of lighting sources may be provided for the lighted ornament 605 . the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 may further include a heating element ( not pictured ) for keeping the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 warm in the winter months . the heating element may be used to generate heat to warm the birds 600 , and / or to melt any ice that may build - up or accumulate on the surface of the birdfeeder and birdbath 100 . the heating element 446 may be disposed on any surface of the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 , and may comprise any one of electric resistance wire , carbon heater , resistors , heating tape , an electric heater , or the like . the lighted ornament 500 , 605 , means for illuminating , and water pump 440 are electrically coupled to a power source 444 that comprises an ac or dc power source such as a standard home ac outlet , or one or more batteries . an alternative power source may comprise one or more solar cells for converting light into electrical power . further , the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 may also include electronic circuitry for controlling the operation of the lighted ornament 500 , 605 , means for illuminating and / or water pump 440 . the electronic circuitry may include timers , pulsing circuits , programmable features , converters , or the like . the elements of the present invention may be fabricated from any strong , durable , material including a natural or synthetic material , fiberglass , acrylic , glass , plastic , hard rubber , ceramic , metal , cement , concrete , wood or any combination thereof . alternatively , the combination birdfeeder and fountain 100 may comprise a lightweight material , and include a means for hanging the device from a tree or post where the means for hanging may include brackets , wires , rope , clips , clamps , hangers , or any other suitable means for securely hanging the birdfeeder and fountain 100 . in assembly and use , the combination birdfeeder and fountain 100 is assembled such that the feeding unit 200 , illuminating cone 300 , and fountain unit 400 are releasably attached together using any one of threads , screws , clips , posts , nuts and bolts , snap - together features , clamps , lugs , adhesive , glue , cement , nails , or any combination thereof . the food dispenser 210 is attached to feeder base 212 so that each dispensing opening 214 formed within the food dispenser 210 is in communication with each food receiving compartment 220 . bird food 800 is disposed within the storage reservoir 222 of the food dispenser 210 allowing the food 800 to flow through each dispensing opening 214 into each food compartment 220 . the feeder top 216 is releasably attached to the food dispenser 210 sealing the bird food 800 within the storage reservoir . the fountain base 420 of the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 is placed on a planar surface , or alternatively , the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 is hung from a tree , the eaves of a house , a pole , or other suitable position where birds 600 are safe from predators in general . the basin reservoir 428 is filled with an appropriate amount of water 700 , and power is provided to the lighted ornament 500 , 605 , means for illuminating and water pump 440 to light the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 during evening hours , and to circulate the water from the basin reservoir 428 up through the fountain cone 410 to cascade from the fountain dispensing plate 312 and into basin 422 . one or more birds 600 stands on the feeding surface 230 to rest or to eat the dry food 800 that has been dispensed from the feed dispenser 210 into each food compartment 220 . the sloped superior surface 218 of feeder top 216 is configured to shield both the food 800 and any birds 600 present from the elements . further , one or more birds 600 may optionally bathe within the basin reservoir 428 of the fountain unit 400 without having to leave the abode to seek water 700 elsewhere . birds may fully enjoy the use of the combination birdfeeder and birdbath 100 during evening hours as a result of the lighted ornament 500 , 605 and means for illuminating . it should be emphasized that the above - described embodiments are merely exemplary illustrations of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention . many variations , combinations and modifications may be made to the above - described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as defined and intended by the following claims . | 0 |
a typical arrangement of a rotary joint having an external compensator is shown in fig1 and this arrangement is very similar to that shown in the assignees u . s . pat . no . 3 , 874 , 707 . the rotary joint is generally indicated at 10 and includes a housing 12 having a conduit inlet port 14 . the housing includes an inner wall plate 16 attached to the housing by bolts , and at its other axial end the housing is closed by the outer wall plate 18 also attached to the housing by bolts . the housing wall 18 also includes a syphon housing 20 whereby syphon structure , not shown , may communicate the housing 12 . internally , the housing 12 is mounted upon the rotating tubular nipple 22 which is coaxially connected to the rotating heat exchanger drum for rotation therewith , not shown , receiving the pressurized medium introduced into the rotary joint 10 through the inlet port 14 . sealing structure is located within the housing 10 interposed between the nipple 22 and the housing and such seals are of an annular configuration including collars 24 and 26 which , at least one of which may be axially displaceable on the nipple and an annular sealing ring 28 is located between collar 24 and inner wall 16 while the annular seal 30 is located between collar 26 and outer was 18 . a compression spring 32 biases the collars 24 and 26 into engagement with the associated sealing ring and sealing surfaces exist between the collars and their associated sealing rings , and between the sealing rings and their associated housing end wall plates . as will be appreciated , as the housing sealing structure is directly exposed to the pressurized medium , usually steam , within the housing 10 significant internal pressures exist within the housing that are also imposed upon the sealing structure causing the engaging surfaces of the seals and collars to firmly engage . the rotary joint housing 10 is supported upon a pair of radially extending arms 34 which have holes at their outer ends for slidable association with the support rods 36 which are attached to fixed support structure adjacent the rotary drum , not shown . the support rods 36 are threaded at their outer ends for providing support for the compensating external expansible chamber device or motor 38 as later described . the aforedescribed rotary joint structure is known and fully described in the assignees u . s . pat . no . 3 , 874 , 707 . the construction of the compensating expansible chamber motor 38 is best appreciated from fig2 . the compensator comprises an expansible chamber motor 38 having a housing defined by an outer cover plate 40 , an annular spacer plate 42 , and a body plate 44 . these three plates are maintained in assembled relationship by eight threaded bolts 46 having heads bearing against the cover plate 40 , and threads which thread into holes defined in the body plate 44 . as will be appreciated from fig2 plates 40 and 42 are each provided with an internal cylindrical surface of equal diameters to define the cylindrical chamber 48 of the compensator motor . the plate 44 includes a pair of radially extending arms 50 having threaded nuts 52 affixed thereto and by the use of lock nuts 54 , the axial position of the compensator motor 38 to the support rods 36 , and to the joint housing 12 , can be accurately determined and maintained . it is to be appreciated that the rotary joint arms 34 are supported upon the support rods 36 for axial displacement of the housing 12 relative thereto , while the compensator 38 is axially fixed with respect to the support rods and the joint housing . the compensator 38 includes a piston 56 axially extending through the center of the body plate 44 through a bushing 58 , and internally , a circular rigid head 60 is mounted upon the piston by bolt 62 . a flexible diaphragm 64 formed of a high temperature resistent elastomer and fabric , such as commercially known under the trademark viton , is mounted upon the piston head by a lip retainer 66 held in position by the bolt 62 , and at its outer region the flexible diaphragm is received between the joining surfaces of the cover plate 40 and the spacer plate 42 so that the outer circumference of the diaphragm is sealed with respect to the compensator housing . a compression spring 68 circumscribing to the boss 70 formed on the cover plate and bears against the lip retainer 66 to bias the piston head and piston to the right , fig2 ., into engagement with the anvil 72 defined on the rotary joint syphon housing 20 . an inlet port 74 , fig2 is formed in the cover plate and is tapped with a 1 / 4 &# 34 ; pipe thread for receiving the air supply tube 76 , fig1 . with reference to fig4 the circuitry and operation of the external rotary joint bearing compensator of the invention will be explained . the pressurized medium , such as high temperature steam , supplied to the rotary joint 10 through the port 14 is supplied from a header 78 . a transmitter 80 is in communication with the header 78 sensing the pressure within the header . the transmitter 80 produces a signal proportional to the pressure within the header and this signal is transmitted to the multiplier 82 . the multiplier 82 in turn produces a signal fed to the amplifying relay 84 which is in the form of a compressed air regulator receiving compressed air through supply conduit 86 . the pressure of the compressed air from the regulator 84 is determined by the signal received from the multiplier 82 , and the regulated compressed air is supplied through conduit 88 to the compensator expansible chamber motor 38 through tube 76 , and accordingly , the pressure within the compensator chamber 48 will be determined by the regulator 84 and the axial force imposed on the rotary joint housing 12 by the piston 56 is accurately determined by the value of the compressed air within the compensator 38 . in fig4 a plurality of compensators 38 are shown as being controlled in parallel by the compressed air from regulator 84 , and it will be appreciated that a plurality of rotary joints 10 may be controlled by a single regulator or each rotary joint may have its own regulator . it will be appreciated from the above description that the compressed fluid medium used to control the compensator expansible chamber motor 38 is separate and distinct from the pressurized fluid medium within the header 78 and joint 10 . as the preferred control pressurized medium is compressed air , and as compressed air will be relatively cool , no significant deterioration of the flexible diaphragm 64 will occur due to the compensator medium , and as will be appreciated from fig2 the &# 34 ; fold &# 34 ; of the diaphragm may be significantly long to permit sufficient piston travel to accommodate the entire range of movement required for compensation as the seals wear without necessitating adjustment of the compensator upon the support rods 36 . in the disclosed control circuitry shown in fig4 the transmitter 80 and multiplier 82 are air controlled , and compressed air is supplied to the transmitter and multiplier through the compressed air conduit 90 . the transmitter 80 may be a foxboro pressure transmitter and the multiplier may also be a foxboro pneumatic computer multiplier while the amplifying relay regulator may be a standard model manufactured by moore products . as the transmitter 80 receives a steam pressure signal from the header the transmitter produces an air pressure signal corresponding to the steam pressure and the pneumatic computer multiplier 82 produces an air pressure signal proportional to the amount of compensation force needed . this air pressure signal from the multiplier 82 is then supplied to the amplifying relay regulator 84 where it is boosted to provide the necessary pressure for the compensator 38 . while , in the enclosed embodiment , the sensing and control of the air pressure supplied to the compensator utilizes air controlled devices , it will be appreciated that electronically operated transmitter and multiplier devices may be used and the amplifying relay would constitute an electrically controlled compressed air regulator . the computer multiplier 82 , or transmitter 80 , or both , include readily adjustable controls so that the air pressure supplied to or through the conduit 88 may be very accurately regulated merely by adjusting such controls . thus , the practice of the invention permits the amount of load bearing compensation of the rotary joints to be very accurately regulated to accommodate the particular conditions present . to obtain maximum seal ring life the force exerted on the seal rings 28 and 30 and the temperature of the seal rings must be maintained at a minimum . however , the axial sealing force on the seal rings must be sufficient to produce effective sealing . excessive force on the seal rings causes faster than normal wear and high temperature cause rapid deterioration . the axial force on the seal rings is determined by the pressure of the medium within the rotary joint , and the temperature of the seal rings is determined by both the temperature of the medium within the joint and the heat generated by contact between the seal rings and the associated collars and plates . while the temperature of the medium within the joint cannot be regulated , the degree of seal friction can be controlled by the compensation provided by the practice of the invention , and by regulating the output signals of the transmitter and multiplier the degree of axial compensating force imposed on a rotary joint may be very accurately regulated and varied if desired . such &# 34 ; customized &# 34 ; adjustment has not been previously available with either external or internal compensated rotary joints . by utilizing compressed air as a control pressurized medium for the compensator expansible chamber motor problems previously encountered due to condensate within the expansible chamber motor compensating motor are eliminated , the seal structure within the compensator is not exposed to high temperatures , and sufficient axial piston movement can be achieved with 100 % effective sealing between the piston and chamber by the use of the diaphragm is present as compared to the limited metal diaphragm movement of prior art devices , and with the practice of the invention the ability of an exteriorly compensated rotary joint to handle nonconcentric installations is maintained while simultaneously providing a degree of control of compensation not heretofore achievable . it is appreciated that various modifications to the inventive concepts may be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 5 |
hereafter , the present invention will be described on the basis of an embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings . fig1 to 4 illustrate a spherical bearing in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . in the drawings , an inner ring 1 has an outer surface formed into the form of a spherical strip , and the inner ring 1 is slidably engaged with an inner periphery of an outer ring 3 via a liner 2 . the inner ring 1 is spherically shaped , and a through hole 4 for mounting a journal therein is formed in the direction of a central axis thereof . meanwhile , the outer ring 3 has a configuration of a flat cylinder , and its inner peripheral surface is formed into a spherical shape whose diameter is slightly larger than that of the above - described inner ring 1 . in addition , the liner 2 is a cylindrical member which is expanded into the shape of a spherical strip matching with the configuration of the inner periphery of the above - described outer ring 3 , and is constituted by a liner body 21 made of resin and a metallic mesh member 22 embedded in this liner body 21 . as the liner body 21 , a resin which has a low coefficient of friction and excels in frictional resistance and also excels in heat resistance is employed . in this embodiment , a fluoride - based resin such as tetrafluoroethylene resin is used , which has a high load resistance and a large thermal conductivity in addition to the aforementioned characteristics , and its coefficient of thermal expansion is small . in addition , as the mesh member 22 , bronze , stainless steel , or the like which is flexible and rigid is used . as for a state in which the mesh member 22 is embedded , the mesh member 22 is embedded in such a manner that a sliding surface side s which is brought into contact with the inner ring 1 has a thick resin portion , while the side of its surface contacting the outer ring 3 is thin . meanwhile , the inner surface of the outer ring 3 is joined to the liner 2 in a state in which the inner surface bites into the inside of the meshes 22a of the aforementioned mesh member 22 . as for the mesh member 22 , wires constituting the same are welded together at a seam , and the meshes do not become loose even if a high load ( 4 , 000 kg / cm 2 or thereabout ) is applied thereto , and the mesh member 22 firmly binds and holds the resin layer to prevent the deformation or flow thereof . in addition , the mesh member 22 has a property of speedily radiating heat which is generated on the surface of the bearing . a method of producing the spherical bearing having the above - described arrangement will be described with reference to fig5 to 10 . first , the inner ring 1 is produced , as shown in fig5 . the inner ring 1 is finished after quenching , and a spherical portion la is finished by lapping . the process of coating with a sheet 5 made of a resin will be described with reference to fig5 to 8 . first , the resin - made sheet 5 is formed in advance into a cylindrical shape , as shown in fig6 a . next , the resin - made sheet 5 is cut in round slices at predetermined widths by a portion to be coated on the inner ring 1 , and this portion is applied on the outer surface of the inner ring 1 . further , as shown in fig7 both end portions of the sheet 5 are throttled by using press dies 6 , 7 , and , as shown in fig8 the sheet 5 is made to be closely adhered to the outer surface of the inner ring 1 over the entire periphery thereof . furthermore , as shown in fig9 the inner ring 1 is inserted into a mold 8 and die casting is effected . the mold 8 is a split type to be splittable into two parts along a perpendicular line y which passes through a central point o of the inner ring 1 and is perpendicular to a central axis x thereof . inside the mold 8 , an annular empty chamber 9 for forming the outer ring 3 is formed around the inner ring 1 , and the outer ring 3 is formed as molten metal is poured from a casting channel 10 which communicates with this empty chamber 9 . as for the molding material of the outer ring 3 , zinc ( melting point : 400 ° c . ), aluminum ( melting point : 600 ° c . ), or the like is used . it should be noted that a specific alloy for a bearing may not be used as the material of the outer ring 3 . according to the present invention , since the resin - made sheet 5 is held in close contact with the outer surface of the inner ring 1 in a preprocessing process , it is possible to completely prevent the molten metal from flowing round from the end portions of the sheet 5 to the side of the inner ring 1 during casting . owing to the heat of the molten metal poured , the contact surfaces of the resin sheet 5 and the molten material are fused by the heat , and the metal enters the meshes 22a of the mesh member 22 , with the result that the sheet is firmly bonded to the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring 3 . subsequently , after the internal molten material has been cooled and hardened , the mold is opened to take out the molded product . furthermore , after the molded product is removed from the mold 8 , the shrunk outer ring 3 is spread by applying an external force to the outer periphery thereof inwardly in the radial direction , as shown in fig1 , so as to form a very small gap d between the sheet 5 and the outer surface of the inner ring 1 . namely , the inner surface of the outer ring 3 is pressed against the outer surface of the inner ring 1 by the external force , so that the inner surface of the outer ring 3 is spread by conforming to the outer spherical surface of the inner ring 1 . the mesh member 22 bonded to the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring 3 is expanded by the portion in which the outer ring 3 has spread , and the resin portion of the resin - made sheet 5 is also spread by the spreading of the mesh member 22 , so that the very small gap d with a uniform width is formed between the resin - made sheet 5 and the outer surface of the inner ring 1 over the entire periphery thereof . finally , the outer peripheral surface and the both end surfaces of the outer ring 3 are subjected to cutting to remove flashes and the like , and surface finishing is provided , thereby completing the processing . according to the thus formed spherical bearing , since the metal for the outer ring 3 bites into the meshes 22a of the mesh member 22 of the liner 2 , the resin - made sheet 5 does not become offset by the pressure or movement of the pressure molten metal , and the liner 2 can be formed at a predetermined position of the outer ring 3 with a high degree of accuracy . in addition , since the liner 2 is thus bonded firmly , there is no possibility that the liner 2 is offset with respect to the outer ring 3 or removed by a shearing force acting on the bonding portion when the spherical bearing is used under high load and at high speed . meanwhile , even if a large load is applied from the inner ring 1 to the liner 2 , since the liner 2 is reinforced by the metallic mesh member 22 , the liner 2 is not crushed by a compressive load . in addition , the creep deformation of the resin portion is prevented by the location of the mesh member 22 . the frictional heat generated on the bearing surface during use is allowed to escape to the outer ring through the metallic mesh member 22 , and the sliding portion is cooled efficiently . furthermore , even if the resin portion of the liner 2 becomes worn and the mesh member 22 is exposed as a result , since the meshes 22a are filled with the resin , the resin powders loaded in the meshes 22a are the mesh member , the bonding strength can be made far stronger than a case where a resin - made thin plate is directly fused to the outer ring , as in the conventional case , and the reliability can be enhanced . in addition , since the liner itself is reinforced by the mesh member , its strength is high , and its load resisting capability can be improved . furthermore , the heat generated on the bearing surface during use is transmitted speedily from the mesh member to the outer ring , and the cooling efficiency of the bearing can be enhanced . moreover , even if the resin portion of the liner becomes worn , the resin powders loaded in the meshes of the mesh member are spread in the form of a film over the entire sliding surface as a lubricant , so that the lubricating performance can be maintained and a long life can be ensured . meanwhile , in the present invention , since a resin - made sheet is applied to the spherical surface of the inner ring in a closely adhered state prior to the casting of the outer ring , it is possible to completely prevent the molten metal from flowing round to the side of the inner ring during the casting of the outer ring , it is possible to protect the sliding surfaces of the liner and the inner ring , and the reliability of the product can be improved . in addition , as an external force is applied to the outer ring inwardly in the radial direction , it is possible to spread in the form of a film as a lubricant over the entire sliding surface during the rotation of the inner ring 1 , so that a favorable self - lubricating function is maintained . furthermore , since the gap d between the liner 2 and the inner ring 1 is formed by compressing the outer ring 3 inwardly in the radial direction and by spreading the outer ring 3 by conforming with the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring 1 , a uniform size is obtained over the entire sliding surface . accordingly smooth movement of the inner ring 1 is ensured , and since the contacting area is large , it is possible to bear a high load , and the load resisting capability is kept to be high . in addition , partial wear does not occur , and it is hence possible to prevent rattling or the like resulting from the partial wear . it should be noted that , although , in the present invention , a description has been given of a spherical bearing having a cylindrical outer ring , the present invention is also applicable to one having a rod , as in the case of a conventional example , i . e ., a rod end bearing . the present invention is constituted by the above - described arrangement and operation , and since a liner is bonded to an outer ring by using a liner with a metallic mesh member embedded therein and by embedding the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring in the meshes of uniformly form the very small gap formed between the resin - made sheet and the inner ring , so that smooth movement of the inner ring can be ensured . also , since the inner ring is not brought into partial contact with the liner , it is possible to provide large contacting areas , making it possible to increase the load resisting capability and to prevent the occurrence of partial wear . in addition , since the very small gap can be made uniform , the size of the gap can be made as small as possible . this results in improved shock resistance and smaller play between the inner ring and the liner , and it is possible to improve the response characteristics of transmission of a force when the spherical bearing is used in , for instance , a link mechanism . thus , the present invention makes it possible to obtain various effects . | 8 |
fig3 , 4 a through 4 g and the following discussion demonstrate an improvement over the prior art . fig4 a , like fig2 a , shows the wafer having a layer of passivation 404 a , 404 b , 404 c , 404 d through which bump pads 402 a , 402 b and test pad 403 are exposed . however , instead of immediately beginning to separate the wafer into die ( as seen in fig2 b ), another layer 410 is deposited 301 over the wafer as seen in fig4 b . this layer is referred to as a shielding layer because , as will be described below , it shields the wafer test pads from the bump deposition solution thereby preventing the formation of unwanted bump material on the wafer surface . according to one embodiment , the shielding layer 410 is made substantially of polyimide . according to another embodiment , the shielding layer 410 is a second layer of passivation . processing details concerning these layers are provided in more detail below . after shielding layer 410 is deposited over the wafer , it is patterned 302 so as to expose the bump pads 402 a , 402 b but not the test pad 403 . the resulting structure is observed in fig4 c . the patterning may be performed by traditional lithography techniques where a layer of photo - resist is coated over shielding layer 410 and then electromagnetic radiation is directed through a mask onto the photoresist . the patterns on the mask are such that the radiation shines on the regions of the photoresist over the bump pads 402 a , 402 b but does not shine over the regions of the photoresist over the test pads 403 ( if the photoresist is of a first polarity ), or , the patterns on the mask are such that the radiation shines on the regions of the photoresist over the test pads 403 but does not shine over the regions of the photoresist over the bump pads 402 a , 402 b ( if the photoresist is of a second polarity ). alternatively , certain types of polyimides can be exposed directly with radiation ( i . e ., without a layer photoresist ). importantly , wafer level testing where test signals are applied and / or received through test pads such as test pad 403 are performed before shielding layer 410 is deposited on the wafer . so , for example , a standard processing flow might entail the following sequence : 1 ) process the wafer up to the structure of fig4 a ; 2 ) perform wafer level testing by applying wafer test probes to test pads such as test pad 403 ; 3 ) deposit shielding layer 410 to form the structure of fig4 b on a tested wafer ; 4 ) pattern shielding layer 410 to form the structure of fig4 c . starting then with the structure of fig4 c , contact bumps 206 a , 206 b are deposited 303 on the exposed bump pads 402 a , 402 b , for example , by any of a number of plating processes as described above in the background . importantly , because the test pad 403 is not exposed , it cannot act as a catalyst for depositing unwanted bump material as described in the background . thus , the result of the plating process is properly formed bump material substantially limited to the desired bumps residing on the bump pads . after the bumps 206 a , 206 b are formed , the wafer is separated into individual die . thus , as observed in fig4 e , the wafer is cut along the saw street 411 . here , polyimide and / or passivation is a somewhat “ hard ” material . hence , according to one perspective , in order to minimize wafer saw blade wear - out , the thickness of shielding layer 410 should be kept minimal ( e . g ., approximately within a range of 2 - 6 μm inclusive ). however , as described in more detail below , certain ancillary or additional advantages besides elimination of unwanted bump material may result . because some of these advantages are better realized with a greater thickness for shielding layer 410 , the ultimate thickness for shielding layer 410 depends on weighing the various advantages described below . fig4 f shows the separation of the wafer into individual die through back grinding . again , alternate separation techniques can be used ( such as sawing straight through the wafer ). fig4 g shows the antenna inlay 408 a attached to the separated die . note that , unlike the depiction of fig2 e , unwanted bump material is not in contact with the antenna inlay 408 a . a discussion of some possible features of shielding layer 410 follows immediately below . as discussed above , shielding layer 410 can be formed at least with polyimide or a second layer of passivation . a shielding layer 410 made of polyimide may be easily applied via standard spin - on or deposition techniques . the polyimide layer may be non - soluble , non - conductive as well as resistant to mechanical and thermal stresses . an exemplary polyimide includes kapton ® made by dupont ®. shielding layer 410 can also be implemented as a second passivation shielding layer 410 . passivation is typically implemented as si 3 n 4 or other materials such as silicon oxynitride or doped glasses . immediately following is a discussion of some additional or ancillary advantages of the shielding layer 410 that may affect some of the characteristics and / or processing parameters discussed just above . one such ancillary advantage is the reduction of light sensitivity effects . rfid tag circuit die are essentially weak signal devices . that is , the electrical signal produced by the antenna is not a particularly strong signal . silicon exhibits some photo - sensitivity , thus , electrical currents are produced in a rfid tag circuit die when light is shined on the die . because of the relatively weak signals that an rfid tag circuit die typically processes , the presence of light can interfere with the electrical signaling and therefore interfere with the proper operation of the rfid tag . within the visible and ultra violet ( uv ) spectra at wavelength below 550 nm , a layer of polyimide tends to absorb light rather than transparently permit the light to flow through it . the absorption , in turn , reduces the intensity of light that reaches the semiconductor wafer . thus , shielding layer 410 can be used to diminish the photosensitivity issues associated with rfid tag circuit die at least at wavelengths below 550 nm . conceivably the polyimide could be darkened ( e . g ., painted black ) to enhance the spectrum over which it exhibits absorptive behavior . another possible advantage is the role of shielding layer 410 as a mechanical stress buffer . semiconductor ics , when packaged , are subjected to a process in which epoxy resin is heated and molded around the ic . the thermal expansion of the resin places mechanical stress on the die which can result in its cracking or warping . therefore , using a shielding layer that is pliable or compressible should absorb some of the stress that would otherwise be applied to the die during packaging . also , when the antenna inlay is attached to the die , an epoxy resin is used that must be cured with high temperatures . again , a layer of polyimide can protect the die against any resulting mechanical stresses by absorbing the expansion of the epoxy . furthermore , polyimide can also promote adhesion to resin thus resulting in better adhesion between the die and the antenna inlay . also , additional non - thermally induced mechanical stresses can be applied to a die during its packaging . shielding layer 410 can protect against chipping or cracking of the die resulting from the application of such mechanical stresses . for instance , according to various packaging processes , individual die are attached to backing tape on their wafer substrate side before they are packaged into individual packages . in order to remove the die from the backing tape a blunt pin is forcibly protruded through the backing tape upon the wafer substrate side of the die ( e . g ., to “ pop ” the die off the backing tape ). the force of this trauma can cause chipping or cracking of the die . however , a polyimide shielding layer 410 can act as a sealant or other protective coating that prevents the die from being damaged in this manner . conceivably , if the shielding layer 410 is hard enough , the tape can be applied to the surface of the die rather than the backside because the hard shielding layer can withstand the blunt pin force applied to the metallization surface of the die . if the die is placed with the top of the die ( surface with polyimide ) on the tape , then the polyimide may also act as a soft buffer to absorb some of the trauma associated with removing the die from the tape . an example of a process that results in the die having its front attached to the tape is as follows . one possible process is for the saw operation to only partially go through the topside of the wafer . then the wafer is transferred to another frame with tape face down ( die top attached to the tape ). the wafer is then back ground . according to a back grinding process , the exposed bottom of the die / substrate is ground or polished ( material removed ). when the back grind operation removes enough material to reach the bottom of the saw street , the die are singulated . this process results in separated die on tape with the “ top ” side attached to the tape . this process might be advantageous to manufacturing since the machine that attaches to the die during the removal from tape process can then immediately place the die on a tag with the bumps down ( as needed to make electrical contact to the antenna . another possible benefit is the reduction of parasitic capacitance associated with the antenna assembly including the antenna inlay . essentially , a polyimide layer having a dielectric constant less than 3 . 9 ( e . g ., within a range of 3 . 0 to 3 . 8 inclusive ) can be readily deposited . without the presence of shielding layer 410 , the volume consumed by shielding layer 410 will include passivation or other material having a higher dielectric constant ( e . g ., sio2 at 3 . 9 or si3n4 at 7 . 5 ). capacitance is proportional to dielectric constant , thus , lower dielectric constant materials between the antenna inlay and the die should result in lower parasitic capacitances between the inlay and die . these in turn can provide greater tolerance of inlay / bump misalignment and tighter impedance tolerances . in the above , the order of operations is not constrained to what is shown , and different orders may be possible . in addition , actions within each operation can be modified , deleted , or new ones added without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . the electrical circuit ( s ) described in this document can be manufactured in any number of ways , as will be appreciated by the persons skilled in the art . one such way is as integrated circuit ( s ), as described below . schematic - type inputs can be provided for the purpose of preparing one or more layouts . these inputs can include as little as a schematic of a circuit , to more including relative sizes of circuit components and the like , as will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art for such inputs . these inputs can be provided in any suitable way , such as merely in writing , or electronically , as computer files and the like . some of these computer files can be prepared with the assistance of suitable design tools . such tools often include instrumentalities for simulating circuit behaviors and the like . these inputs can be provided to a person skilled in the art of preparing layouts . this , whether the person is within the same company , or another company , such as under a contract . a layout can be prepared that embodies the schematic - type inputs by the person skilled in the art . the layout is itself preferably prepared as a computer file . it may be additionally checked for errors , modified as needed , and so on . in the above , computer files can be made from portions of computer files . for example , suitable individual designs can be assembled for the electrical components and circuits indicated in the schematic - type inputs . the individual designs can be generated anew , or selected from existing libraries . in the layout phase , the assembled designs can be arranged to interoperate , so as to implement as integrated circuit ( s ) the electrical circuit ( s ) of the provided schematic - type inputs . these computer files can be stored in storage media , such as memories , whether portable or not , and the like . then a special type of computer file can be synthesized from the prepared layout , in a manner that incorporates the prepared layout , which has the embodied schematic - type inputs . such files are known in the industry as ic chip design files or tapeout files , and express instructions for machinery as to how to process a semiconductor wafer , so as to generate an integrated circuit that is arranged as in the incorporated layout . the synthesized tapeout file is then transferred to a semiconductor manufacturing plant , which is also known as a foundry , and so on . transferring can be by any suitable means , such as over an electronic network . or a tapeout file can be recorded in a storage medium , which in turn is physically shipped to the mask manufacturer . the received tapeout file is then used by mask making machinery as instructions for processing a semiconductor wafer . the wafer , as thus processed , now has one or more integrated circuits , each made according to the layout incorporated in the tapeout file . if more than one , then the wafer can be diced to separate them , and so on . in this description , numerous details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding . in other instances , well - known features have not been described in detail in order to not obscure unnecessarily the description . a person skilled in the art will be able to practice the present invention in view of this description , which is to be taken as a whole . the specific embodiments as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to be considered in a limiting sense . indeed , it should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that what is described herein may be modified in numerous ways . such ways can include equivalents to what is described herein . the following claims define certain combinations and subcombinations of elements , features , steps , and / or functions , which are regarded as novel and non - obvious . additional claims for other combinations and subcombinations may be presented in this or a related document . | 7 |
the invention relates to an injectable composition for the extended release of aripiprazole comprising a mixture of aripiprazole in an injection vehicle comprising an optional viscosity enhancing agent . the aripiprazole can be present in an amount of at least about 10 mg / ml , preferably at least about 20 mg / ml or at least about 30 mg / ml . the invention also relates to methods for providing aripiprazole to an individual in an extended release injectable composition comprising administering a mixture of at least about 50 mg aripiprazole in an injection vehicle . in general , the aripiprazole will be suspended in the injection vehicle . in one embodiment , the aripiprazole is supplied in a free flowing powder , substantially free of major amounts of pharmaceutical excipients or other compounds . for example , the aripiprazole can be supplied in a micronized state , consisting of or consisting essentially of aripiprazole . an aripiprazole drug substance can be said to consist essentially of aripiprazole if it contains , for example , 90 % by weight or more aripiprazole and minor amounts ( e . g ., less than 10 % by weight ) of other materials that are , for example , residual to its process for manufacture . compounds that may be found in a substantially pure aripiprazole drug substance can include wetting agents used , for example , to facilitate micronization , grinding or comminution , residual solvents , reaction by products or staring materials . the compositions of the present invention are free of sustained release matrices . sustained release matrices are polymers and other macromolecules ( albumin ), present in major amounts ( e . g ., 50 % by weight or more of total solids ), which when the active agent is dispersed therein , are used to slow the exposure or bioavailability of the active agent in the patient . a frequently used polymeric matrix is poly lactide - co - glycolide polymers . thus , the aripiprazole drug substance and / or injectable compositions of the invention generally do not contain major amounts of plga polymer matrices . of course , polymers are often found in pharmaceutical compositions where the activity is not at all related to extending the release profile of the drug . for example , minor amounts of polysorbates , polyamines , polyvinylalcohol and polyethylene glycols are added to facilitate dispersibility of active agents in its vehicles . the inclusion of such polymers in amounts intended to accomplish these functions , and in amounts that do not permit the formation of substantial matrix formation , is permitted . the aripiprazole drug substance is added to an injection vehicle . the drug substance can be dispersed or suspended in the vehicle , depending upon the solubility of the drug in the vehicle . the vehicle is preferably an aqueous vehicle which suspends the drug substance . preferably , the vehicle contains a viscosity enhancing agent . viscous vehicles can have , for example , a viscosity of at least 20 cp at 20 ° c . in other embodiments , the fluid phase of the suspension has a viscosity at 20 ° c . of at least about 30 cp , 40 cp , 50 cp , and 60 cp are preferred . the viscosity can be achieved by adding a viscosity enhancing agent , such as a carboxymethyl cellulose , such as sodium carboxy methylcellulose . in one embodiment , the injection vehicle comprises at least about 1 % by volume sodium carboxymethyl cellulose , preferably about 3 % by volume carboxymethyl cellulose . the injection vehicle can advantageously contain a wetting agent , such as a polysorbate . suitable polysorbates include polysorbate 20 , polysorbate 40 , and polysorbate 80 , sold under the trademark tween ®. the wetting agent can be added in an amount that enhances the dispersibility of the active agent . an example of a suitable amount includes about 0 . 1 to 2 % by weight of polysorbate 20 . the injection vehicle can also advantageously employ a density enhancing agent , such as a sugars , e . g . mannitol , or sorbitol and / or a tonicity adjusting agent , such as sodium chloride . in one embodiment , the tonicity adjusting agent is about 1 % by weight , including 0 . 9 % by weight . in one embodiment , the composition consists of the aripiprazole drug substance and the injection vehicle , thereby providing a surprisingly simple and elegant formulation for obtaining an extended or sustained release profile . the aripiprazole drug substance can comprise , consist essentially of or consist of aripiprazole ( in a crystalline , non - crystalline or amorphous form ), an aripiprazole salt , an aripiprazole solvate ( including ethanolates and hydrates ), or other aripiprazole polymorphs . preferred salts include those salts insoluble in an aqueous vehicle . pharmaceutical salts such as the hydrochloride and hydrobromide salts are suitable . the methods of the invention include administering the compositions described herein , thereby obtaining an extended release or sustained release profile in the patient . an extended release profile includes deliveries that achieve a therapeutically effective amount of the aripiprazole is present in the plasma of the individual for at least about 7 days , preferably at least about 14 days , or more preferably at least about 21 days alternatively for at least 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 or 8 weeks or as much as three months . in one embodiment , the formulations can be administered as a single or sole dose . however , the invention is particularly beneficial for those individuals that require constant or chronic therapy , such as those that receive repeated doses over several weeks or months or more . in such dosing regimens , the method can comprise a first administration of a first extended release formulation and a second administration of a second extended release formulation . the second formulation can be the same , substantially the same or different as the first and can include the same active agent or a different active agent . for example , the second formulation can be administered at about 7 days , or more , such as at least about 14 days , or at least about 17 days , after the first administration , where the first administration results in the release of agent for a period of 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 days , or more . the term “ therapeutically effective amount ” is further meant to define an amount resulting in the improvement of any parameters or clinical symptoms . the actual dose may vary with each patient and does not necessarily indicate a total elimination of all disease symptoms . as used herein , the term “ individual ”, “ subject ” or “ patient ” refers to a warm blooded animal , including but not limited to humans , such as a mammal which is afflicted with a particular disease state . a therapeutically effective amount of the compound used in the treatment described herein can be readily determined by the attending diagnostician , as one skilled in the art , by the use of conventional techniques and by observing results obtained under analogous circumstances . in determining the therapeutically effective dose , a number of factors are considered by the attending diagnostician , including , but not limited to : the species of mammal ; its size , age , and general health ; the specific disease involved ; the degree of or involvement or the severity of the disease ; the response of the individual patient ; the particular compound administered ; the mode of administration ; the bioavailability characteristic of the preparation administered ; the dose regimen selected ; the use of concomitant medication ; and other relevant circumstances . the mode of administration will generally be by injection or implantation , such as intramuscularly or subcutaneously . preferred amounts according to the selected mode of administration are able to be determined by one skilled in the art . pharmaceutical compositions can be manufactured utilizing techniques known in the art . typically the therapeutically effective amount of the compound will be admixed with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier . for injection , the compounds may be in a physiologically acceptable pharmaceutical carrier and administered as a suspension . illustrative pharmaceutical carriers also include water , aqueous methylcellulose solutions , saline , dextrose solutions , fructose solutions , ethanol , or oils of animal , vegetative , or synthetic origin . the pharmaceutical carrier may also contain preservatives , and buffers as are known in the art . when the composition is to be used as an injectable material , including but not limited to needle - less injection , it can be formulated into a conventional injectable carrier . suitable carriers include biocompatible and pharmaceutically acceptable solutions . in a preferred embodiment , the size of the drug particle can be controlled . often , the mass mean diameter of the drug particles is less than 100 microns , such as between about 1 and 100 microns , preferably about 10 and 100 microns , or about 20 and 60 microns . in one embodiment , the unit dosage form can be stored as a dry powder , for example , to be mixed for injection prior to use , or as a stable suspension ready for use . other methods for storing or administration using art recognized methods are also contemplated herein . pharmacokinetic evaluation of aripiprazole in rats following administration of single subcutaneous doses of aripiprazole formulations group a : three rats injected once sc with 10 mg of aripiprazole . group b : three rats injected once sc with 20 mg of aripiprazole . group c : three rats injected once sc with 30 mg of aripiprazole . group d : three rats injected once sc with ˜ 67 mg of microparticles . group e : three rats injected once sc with ˜ 40 mg of microparticles . blood collection blood samples were collected via a lateral tail vein after anesthesia with halothane . a syringe without an anticoagulant was used for the blood collection , then the whole blood was transferred to tubes containing k2 edta and mixing beads ( microtainer ®; mfg # bd365974 ). the blood samples were processed ( the tubes are inverted 15 - 20 times and centrifuged for 2 minutes at & gt ; 14 , 000 g &# 39 ; s ) to separate plasma . the plasma samples prepared in this manner were transferred to labeled plain tubes ( microtainer ®; mfg # bd5962 ) and stored frozen at & lt ;− 70 ° c . blood volumes : at least 250 μl blood were collected at for each time point during the first 24 hours and 400 μl for at each time point thereafter . note : when plasma concentration was lower than the limitation of quantification , that group of ats were terminated . the results obtained are reported in the figure . surprisingly , the rats that received bolus injections of aripiprazole and injection vehicle alone were substantially the same as those that received the aripiprazole dispersed within a plga microsphere . modifications and variations of the invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the foregoing detailed description of the invention . such modifications and variations are intended to come within the scope of the appended claims . all patents , patent application publications and articles cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety . | 0 |
fig1 a shows an exemplary system for cryptographically combining two electronic credentials , such as a uhf rfid tag 102 and an hf rfid tag / smart card 101 to create a single multi - use credential or ‘ enhanced ’ rfid tag 100 ( a ). the present system employs a method for cryptographically linking a non - secure uhf rfid tag 102 to a secure hf rfid tag 101 such that , in combination , the resulting ‘ enhanced ’ tag 100 provides the benefits of both tag types while ameliorating disadvantages of both . in an exemplary embodiment , the enhanced tag is included in a single tamper - proof piece of physical media , to protect against physical tampering . fig1 b shows an exemplary variant of the present method , which combines a uhf rfid tag 102 with a contact smart card 105 ( iso7816 , for example ) or a combination contact / contactless smart card 105 ( iso7816 + iso14443 , for example ) to create an enhanced rfid tag 100 ( b ). in both tags 100 ( a ) and 100 ( b ), the uhf tag 102 may be optionally coupled to the second ( the hf ) tag 101 or to smart card 105 via shared memory 107 . hereinafter , references to “ hf tags ” 101 are also applicable to “ smart cards ” 105 . alternatively , the hf tag 101 may be a magnetic stripe — the uhf tag is used most of the time , and occasionally the user is required to swipe the magnetic stripe to reconfirm the validity of the uhf tag . in an exemplary embodiment , the two types of tags ( uhf tag 102 and the second tag / card type 101 / 105 ) are proximately co - located ( i . e ., within approximately 2 cm or less of each other , or within a distance not greater than the range of the hf tag ) in the same container or packaging unit , such as an iso hard card or standard credit card , which provides enhanced protection against ‘ tearing ’ attacks where one of the credentials is separated and replaced . in the present system , the linkage between the uhf tag 102 and the hf tag 101 / 105 is cryptographic , in the form of a digital signature . this is equivalent to linking a relatively secure credential , e . g ., a passport , to another , weaker credential , e . g ., an employee badge . in the present analogy , the badge , typically used on a regular basis ( e . g ., daily ), is backed up by the passport ( and cryptographically linked to it ) so that the badge id can be periodically confirmed by the valid passport that was used to validate the badge holder &# 39 ; s identity in the first place . this enhanced rfid tag 100 allows new and enhanced uses for rfid applications including : ( 1 ) using the hf tag 101 to prevent cloning of unsecured uhf tags used for consumables ; ( 2 ) using uhf tag 102 for asset / person tracking with occasional hf identity verifications to confirm the identity of the asset being tracked ; and ( 3 ) using the dual tag in a kerberos - or saml - like mode where the hf tag 101 is the long lived credential ( which is protected by its short range of use and security features ) and the uhf tag 102 is the kerberos ticket or saml name assertion equivalent . this allows the uhf tag 101 to be used for access at significant range ( which additionally allows for ease of use , such as with wheelchair door access ). the hf tag 101 can be used as an extension of the trust base ( e . g ., a kerberos server ), allowing many transactions to be completed offline without the need to do a live lookup to a trust system for every transaction . the present method significantly extends the utility of systems like liberty / saml and kerberos , which are otherwise designed to always perform online trust verification . given a uhf tag 102 and an hf tag 101 , where it is more likely ( although not required ), that the hf tag has more processing capabilities , on many occasions it may be possible to access the uhf tag but not the hf tag ( due to the distance between the enhanced tag and the reader , for example ). the present method authenticates the uhf tag 102 and binds it to a specific hf tag 101 . the present method also provides partial protection against cloning of the uhf tag and privacy for the carrier of the uhf tag . fig2 is a flowchart showing an exemplary method for cryptographically linking a non - secure uhf rfid tag 102 to a secure hf rfid tag 101 . the cryptographic linkage of the uhf tag 102 to the hf tag 101 is performed as follows ( in all cases , the hf tag may be replaced by a contact smart card or combination contact and contactless smart card ), as shown in fig2 . initially , at step 205 , signed and optionally encrypted data is stored on the uhf tag 102 . in an exemplary embodiment , a nonce ( a number used only once ) is included in the signed data . the tag signature may be a symmetric signature ( e . g . full or truncated hmac ) or an asymmetric signature ( e . g . ecdsa , rsa or dsa ). the signer may be the hf tag itself , third party trusted authority , or both . the signed data may include the hf tag &# 39 ; s public id , hf tag &# 39 ; s private id , hf tag &# 39 ; s public key , uhf tag &# 39 ; s physical characteristics ( e . g . non - linear characteristics used as a hardware fingerprint , specific response timings or other physical based characteristics ), an external unique id , bearer / item characteristics , a nonce , timestamp and application - specific data . at step 210 , if the data on the uhf tag 102 is encrypted , it may be encrypted with a key derived from any or all of the anticollision id , physical characteristics , and bearer / item characteristics . at step 212 , if the data is encrypted it may be re - encrypted with a different iv ( initial vector ) or anticollision id at each read to provide additional privacy by effectively changing the visible contents of the tag , even if the encrypted contents remain largely or entirely the same . alternatively , the uhf tag 102 may be re - encrypted according to a policy , for example , once per day , or by way of a policy requiring interaction with the hf tag part of the enhanced tag 100 once per day according to whether the timestamp for the uhf tag has been updated to the current day . uhf tag events may be authenticated at read time or in batch mode at the next hf tag - rfid reader interaction . protection against cloning and rollback may be enhanced by updating the nonce , at step 215 . in the case of a symmetric key solution this nonce can be updated by a reader and stored in a database at a given authority ( which may transferred to another authority over time by an authority to authority protocol ). in the case of an asymmetric key solution , the same can be done , or the nonce update can be deferred to the next time both hf and uhf tags 101 / 102 are read together . in the case where the signer is the hf tag 101 it may be the case that the hf tag is either a smart card , a simple memory card , or a memory card with limited cryptographic capabilities ( e . g ., desfire , cryptorf ). in the latter two cases where the hf tag 101 is a memory card , the card may contain the symmetric or asymmetric private key which is used by reader but not retained by the reader . alternatively , it may be the case that the hf tag &# 39 ; s private key is derived from a master key plus attributes of , and data stored on , the hf tag . as indicated at step 220 , the contents of hf tag 101 may be encrypted , require authentication for access thereto , be transferred with transport protection , or any combination of such options . the above - described method may be combined with sequence numbers and authoritative transfers . the latter case includes the use of anticloning uhf transactions between hf verifications then tracking uhf ( while maintaining privacy ) between hf verifications . sequence numbers are used to foil replay attacks . a tag having sequence number n indicates that the tag has had n uses , and the consumer of the ticket checks that number against what it expects the next sequence number to be . thus , for example , if it is expected that there are 10 uses left ( e . g ., sequence number 90 out of 100 ), and a particular tag has a sequence number 10 of 100 , then either the tag was legally recharged or a replay attack is being attempted . an authoritative transfer occurs when the owner of the ticket is legitimately changed ( which is otherwise , always considered to be an attack ). this technique is typically employed by a trusted third party overseeing the transfer . with or without additional anticloning protections , the present dual - tag method may be used with risk management routines to perform a kerberos style single sign - on or transfer of high value credentials to long value credentials for limited duration . kerberos is a computer network authentication protocol which allows individuals communicating over a non - secure network to prove their identity to one another in a secure manner . kerberos builds on symmetric key cryptography and requires a trusted third party . kerberos uses as its basis the needham - schroeder protocol , which makes use of a trusted third party , termed a key distribution center ( kdc ), which consists of two logically separate parts : an authentication server ( as ) and a ticket granting server ( tgs ). kerberos works on the basis of ‘ tickets ’ which serve to prove the identity of users . the kdc maintains a database of secret keys ; each entity on the network — whether a client or a server — shares a secret key known only to itself and to the kdc . knowledge of this key serves to prove an entity &# 39 ; s identity . for communication between two entities , the kdc generates a session key which they can use to secure their interactions . an analogy to kerberos may be drawn in the present system , where a high value credential ( e . g ., a ticket granting ticket or tgt ) is used to obtain access to a service ticket that is essentially a signed ( technically , an encrypted ) service entitlement . that entitlement is then presented repeatedly until it expires . this process may be viewed as being similar to the hf tag corresponding to the tgt while the uhf tag stores the signed service entitlements . in the above case the hf tag 101 has two roles : both the tgt and the actual kerberos server itself . purely offline transactions may be supported with the majority of the risk management state and logic being stored ( but not necessarily processed ) on the hf tag 101 . offline transactions may be considered as transactions not requiring immediate access to an authorization / authentication server such as a kerberos server , but relying on such an interaction having occurred some time in the past and occurring again at some point in the future . thus , as long as the hf tag 101 is valid , it may issue the service entitlements according to policy stored in it . the hf tag 101 may also act more like a tgt in the sense that it may require that it be unlocked only periodically with a high value credential such as a fingerprint , pin or attendant verified photo . fig3 is a flowchart showing an exemplary method for using an enhanced tag 100 as a component in a security system , wherein the hf tag 101 corresponds to a high - value credential ( e . g ., tgt ), and contains rules including the tgt and kerberos server rules , while the uhf tag 102 stores the signed service entitlements . as shown in fig3 , at step 305 , the enhanced tag 100 is used to perform a kerberos - style single sign - on or transfer of high value credentials to long value credentials for a limited duration . at step 310 , hf tag 101 uses a high value credential ( e . g ., tgt ) to obtain a service ticket that is an encrypted service entitlement . at step 315 , the entitlement is presented to one or more readers repeatedly until the entitlement expires . while the hf tag 101 is valid , it issues the service entitlements according to policy stored therein . offline transactions are supported with risk management state and logic being stored on the hf tag . the hf tag may optionally permit its being unlocked only periodically using a high value credential such as a fingerprint , a pin , and an attendant - verified photograph , as indicated at step 320 . ‘ tips ’ to help include risk management in the service entitlements may be included in the present system , for example , statements tied to the uhf part of the enhanced card 100 , such as whether the holder is an adult or child . in addition , risk management rules may also be included , such as determining if a particular procedure is performed more than n times , and if so , then revoking this service entitlement . the present system may also be employed in a scenario where there is more than one service to be unlocked and service access to the uhf portion of the enhanced card 100 is allowed instead of tag tracking only . one example of an application for the present system is access control where there are a number of automatic doors to different parts of facility , such as in a hospital . the hospital may divide different departments into different services and require that they authenticate with their hf tag once every given amount of time , but otherwise use uhf to allow individuals to enter a door , or detect whether there is more than one person present at the door . for some high value doors , an hf swipe may still be required [ rather than dual factor ( hf and uhf ) swipes ] except once a day , or after some inactivity timeout . hospital employees , for example , may also be required to use a fingerprint or pin . then , fast free access would still be allowed , while maintaining reasonable security , and also maintaining an audit of employee movements ( for the purpose of tracking down drug theft , for example ). while preferred embodiments of the disclosed subject matter have been described , so as to enable one of skill in the art to practice this subject matter , the preceding description is intended to be exemplary only , and should not be used to limit the scope of the disclosure , which should be determined by reference to the following claims . | 7 |
as shown in the figure , the inventive microphone assembly 10 comprises a tube or tubing 11 , such as of polished stainless steel , which is 0 . 75 inches in diameter , and 30 inches in length . it should , of course , be understood that the specific dimensions recited herein are not to be considered limited in any way . tube or tubing 11 includes a straight or mounting portion 12 and a microphone - supporting portion 14 , which receives a microphone cartridge or module 15 therein . the microphone cartridge 15 may be of any suitable manufacture ; and , in one application , it is an electret microphone manufactured by primo manufacturing co . mounting portion 12 of tube 11 is mounted by a flange 16 of a suitable plastic or metal , such as delrin plastic or aluminum metal . the mounting flange 16 has a tubular body portion 20 , with an axially - extending channel 21 which receives portion 12 of tube 11 . flange 16 includes a radially - enlarged circular shoulder 19 , formed on one end of the tubular body portion 20 . flange 16 is , in turn , attached to a base ( not shown ), as by bolts or screws received in holes 18 formed in shoulder 19 . flange 16 includes recesses 23 and 24 , formed adjacent the axially - opposed ends of flange 16 . the recesses 23 and 24 have three closed sides and an open side , opening toward the axial channel 21 of flange 16 , and may be formed in rectangular configuration . flexible o - rings 25 and 26 , which may be of a rubber - like or elastic material , are placed in the respective recesses 23 and 24 . the end of tube 11 , that is , portion 12 of tube 11 , is force - fitted into the channel 21 of flange 16 , enabling the two eleastic o - rings 25 an 26 frictionally grip the tube 11 and hold the tube in position . as shown in the figure , the o - rings 25 and 26 are compressed and deformed by the outer surface of tube 11 to thus provide a firm gripping action on the periphery of the tube 11 . the tube 11 will remain in the position in which it is adjusted until manually or physically readjusted . the magnitude of the frictional grip of the tube 11 is determined by the amount of compression of the o - rings 25 and 26 , which , in turn , is controlled by the depth of the recesses 23 and 24 . thus , the magnitude of the frictional grip of the tube 11 is determined by the manufacturer of the microphone assembly , rather than by the user . the microphone cartridge 15 , which is , as mentioned , of any suitable known design and is of cylindrical configuration , is fitted into the open end of the tube 11 . two o - rings , generally labeled 27 , are positioned around the microphone cartridge 15 to engage the interior surface of the tubing and hold the cartridge 15 in position . the microphone cartridge 15 is electrically connected by three conductor wires , generally labeled 28 , to a suitable terminal connector 29 . three conducting leads , generally labeled 30 , extend from terminal connector 29 to and through a shielded cable 31 , which cable extends substantially along the axis of the tube 11 . the other end of the cable 31 terminates adjacent the opposite end of the tube 11 . the leads 30 , extending from cable 31 , are connected to a phone jack 32 , also of any suitable known design . phone jack 32 is mounted in a tubular plastic insert 33 , which in turn is bonded in the end of tube 11 or otherwise fixedly held therein . the interior surface of one end of insert 33 is threaded , as at 34 , to receive the threads 35 of phone jack 32 . the other , or interior , end of insert 32 includes inwardly - extending flanges 37 to position the jack end of cable 31 axially therein . importantly , the use of the phone jack 32 provides a rotary coupling to phone plug ( not shown ) so that the user can rotate the tube 11 without limit and without risk of twist damage to the cable ( not shown ) connected to the phone plug ( not shown ). by this means , a common cause of microphone failure is precluded . a pair of tightly - fitting rubber or plastic grommets 38 and 39 are mounted in spaced relation within tube 11 . each of the grommets 38 and 39 has a central opening 41 and 42 for permitting the cable 31 to pass therethrough . grommet 38 is positioned adjacent the connector 29 , approximately three inches from the microphone 15 end of the tube 11 . grommet 39 is positioned in the tube 11 , approximately four inches from the opposite , or phone jack 32 , end of the tube 11 . importantly , the spacing formed in tube 11 between the grommets 38 and 39 is filled with sand 40 . as will be readily understood , the grommets 38 and 39 seal the sand 40 in the spacing between the grommets in tube 11 . the foregoing feature provides excellent noise - dampening , and also makes the unit extremely rugged . also , external vibrations are deadened or dampened by the assembly . this has a very positive effect in providing a much quieter and noise - free microphone . while the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a apreferred embodiment thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings . fig1 is a block diagram showing a wireless telephone system according to a first embodiment of the present invention . this system comprises a cordless slave ( referred to as a “ slave ” below ) 1 , i . e ., a wireless slave , and a key telephone master ( referred to as a “ main unit ” below ) 2 . the slave 1 has a memory 110 for processing and stores a call end - processor 111 , an incoming - call processor 112 and a call processor 113 , an operational controller 120 for supervising control of the slave , a wireless unit 130 for supervising wireless connection and disconnection between the slave and the main unit 2 , a lamp display 140 which flashes a main - wire lamp for an incoming call to an outside line ; an lcd display 150 for displaying the telephone number - of an incoming call to an outside line , and a transmitter / receiver 160 for transmitting and receiving ( talking and listening ). the main unit 2 has a memory 210 which stores a terminating / transmitting processor 211 , a call - end processor 212 and a call processor 213 , an operational controller 220 for supervising control of the main unit , a wireless unit 230 for supervising wireless connection and disconnection between the main unit 2 and a slave , a communication - line controller 240 for managing or controlling a main wire such as a public telephone line , and a wireless - link disconnect timer 250 . the timer 250 may be implemented by executing program processing within the operational controller 220 . fig2 is a sequence chart showing an example of operation of the wireless telephone system according to the first embodiment , and fig3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the main unit 2 according to the first embodiment . as shown at step 301 in fig3 the operational controller 220 starts up the call processor 213 within the memory 210 to execute call processing . if , during this processing , notification that slave 1 a is on the hook is received via the wireless unit 230 at step 303 without detection of an incoming call to the slave 1 a at step 302 , the operational controller 220 starts up the call - end processor 212 in memory 210 at step 304 and transmits a standby - state transition request , which is for placing the master on standby while maintaining the established wireless link , to the slave 1 at step 305 via the wireless unit 230 under the command of the operational controller 220 . at this time the main unit 2 determines at step 306 whether or not there is an incoming call to the slave 1 a . if there is no incoming call , the wireless - link disconnect timer 250 , which is for disconnecting the wireless link upon elapse of a prescribed period of time , is started at step 307 in response to a command from the operational controller 220 . if there is an incoming call (“ yes ” at step 309 ) to the slave 1 a before the timer runs out of time (“ no ” at step 308 ), the operational controller 220 resets the wireless - link disconnect timer 250 , starts the terminating / transmitting processor 211 in the memory 210 and , in order to notify the slave 1 a of the incoming call , sends an outside - line terminate request to the slave 1 a at step 310 using the wireless link already established by the preceding call via the wireless unit 230 . then , if notification of the fact that the slave 1 a has been taken off the hook is received from the slave 1 a at step 311 by the wireless link that was being used by the preceding call , the operational controller 220 starts the call processor 213 in the memory 210 and executes processing ( step 312 ) for calling the slave 1 a using the wireless link already established by the preceding call via the wireless unit 230 . if an incoming call to the slave 1 a is detected at step 306 when notification of the end of the call has been received from the slave 1 a , the operational controller 220 starts the terminating / transmitting processor 211 in the memory 210 and sends the outside - line terminate request to the slave 1 a via the wireless unit 230 at step 310 using the wireless link already established by the preceding call . thereafter , if notification of the fact that the slave 1 a is off the hook is received from the slave 1 a at step 311 , the operational controller 220 starts the call processor 213 in the memory 210 to execute call processing ( step 312 ) with respect to the slave 1 a . if the fact that the timer 250 has run out of time is detected by the operational controller 220 at step 308 , then , in order to disconnect the wireless link , the operational controller 220 sends a wireless - link disconnect request to the slave 1 a via the wireless link 230 at step 313 and disconnects the wireless link at step 315 when confirmation of wireless - line disconnection from the slave 1 a is received via the wireless unit 230 at step 314 . if an incoming call is detected ( as by a telephone beeper service ) at step 302 during communication , the operational controller 220 sends the slave 1 a , via the wireless unit 230 , the outside - line terminate request to inform the slave 1 a of the incoming call ( step 316 ). if notification that slave 1 a is off the hook is received from the slave 1 a ( step 317 ), then the operational controller 220 sends notification of this fact to the exchange via the public telephone line ( step 318 ). the exchange places the call on hold and transmits a call signal with regard to the terminating call . as a result , the operational controller 220 executes call processing ( step 319 ) with respect to the slave 1 a using the established wireless link as is . when notification of the fact that the slave 1 a is on the hook is received again ( step 320 ), the operational controller 220 communicates this fact to the exchange ( step 321 ) so that the call that was in the held state is started again . fig4 is a flowchart showing operation of the slave 1 a according to this embodiment . in fig4 the operational controller 120 starts the call processor 113 in memory 110 and executes call processing at step 401 using the transmitter / receiver 160 and wireless unit 130 . if the handset of the transmitter / receiver 160 is on the hook (“ yes ” at step 402 ), the operational controller 120 so notifies the main unit 2 ( step 403 ) via the wireless unit 130 . if beeper service is being received , the call processing in response to the incoming call is continued ( step 404 ) using the established wireless link . if beeper service is not being received , however , the operational controller 120 of the slave 1 a that has received a standby - state transition request ( step 405 ) from the main unit 2 via the wireless unit 130 starts the call - end processor 111 in memory 110 at step 406 and causes the ldc display unit 150 to present a display indicative of the standby state at step 407 . the operational controller 120 then undergoes a transition to the standby state . the wireless link that was being used in the preceding call is kept as is until the wireless - link disconnect request is received from the main unit 2 . upon receiving notification of outside line termination from the main unit 2 via the wireless unit 130 at step 408 , the operational controller 120 starts the incoming - call processor 112 in memory 110 at step 409 and causes the ldc display unit 150 and lamp display unit 140 to display the fact that the incoming line has arrived at the outside line ( step 410 ). when the operator observes the ldc display unit 150 and lamp display unit 140 and takes the phone off the hook at step 411 , the operational controller 120 transmits notification of this fact to the main unit 2 ( step 412 ) using the wireless link that was being used in the preceding call and then starts the call processor 113 in memory 110 to execute call processing with regard to the above - mentioned outside line ( step 413 ). if notification of the incoming call to the outside line is not received from the main unit 2 at step 408 and the wireless - link disconnect request is received from the wireless unit 130 at step 414 , the operational controller 120 transmits a wireless - link disconnect confirmation signal to the main unit 2 via the wireless unit 130 at step 415 to disconnect the wireless link at step 416 . fig5 is a block diagram based upon a wireless system according to a second embodiment of the invention . the system of fig5 differs from that of fig1 in that a cordless master ( referred to as a “ master ” below ) 3 serving as a wireless master is connected to the main unit 2 by a wire line 2 , with the master 3 being provided internally with a transfer section 310 for transfer of wireless communication between the main unit 2 and the slave 1 . other components are similar to those of the first embodiment ( fig1 ) and need not be described again . fig6 is a sequence chart showing an example of operation of the wireless telephone system according to this embodiment . the master 3 relays wireless communication between the main unit 2 and slave 1 by using the transfer section 310 , thereby effecting a transfer operation . the operation of the main unit 2 and each of slaves 1 a ˜ 1n is the same as in the first embodiment and need not be described again . if the cord length between the main unit 2 and master 3 is extended by adopting an arrangement of the kind shown in fig5 the slaves 1 can be deployed over a wider area . fig7 is a block diagram illustrating a third embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , as shown in fig7 the wireless unit in the main unit 2 is eliminated , and the master 3 is provided with a memory 310 storing a terminating / transmitting processor 311 , an operational controller 320 for supervising control of the master 3 , a wireless unit 300 for performing wireless connection and disconnection between the master 3 and a slaves 1 , and a timer 340 . other components are similar to those of the second embodiment shown in fig5 . thus , the third embodiment is characterized by the fact that the sections for processing relating to connection of the wireless link are provided in the master 3 to execute this processing . fig8 is a sequence chart showing an example of operation of the wireless system according to the embodiment of the invention . fig9 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the communication control apparatus 2 according to this embodiment . as shown at step 901 in fig9 the operational controller 220 executes call processing with respect to the slaves 1 . if , during this processing , notification that slave 1 a is on the hook is received via the master 3 at step 903 without detection of an incoming call to the slave 1 a at step 902 , the operational controller 220 starts up the call - end processor 212 in memory 210 at step 904 and transmits a standby - state transition request to the master 3 at step 905 . if there is an incoming call to the slave 1 a at step 906 , the operational controller 220 starts the terminating / transmitting processor 211 in the memory 210 and transmits an outside - line terminate request to the master 3 at step 907 . then , if notification of the fact that the slave 1 a has been taken off the hook is received from the master 3 at step 908 , the operational controller 220 starts the call processor 213 in the memory 210 and executes processing ( step 909 ) for calling the slave 1 a . if an incoming call to the - slave 1 a is detected at step 902 , the operational controller 220 sends the outside - line terminate request to the master 3 at step 910 . if notification of the fact that the slave 1 a is on the hook is received from the slave 1 a at step 911 , the operational controller 220 notifies the exchange of this fact via the public telephone line at step 912 and executes call processing with respect to the incoming call at step 913 . when notification of the fact that the slave is on the hook is received again ( step 914 ), the operational controller 220 communicates this fact to the exchange ( step 915 ) and executes call processing for calling the slave 1 a . fig1 is a flowchart showing an example of operation of the master 3 according to this embodiment . processing ( step 1001 ) for relaying communication between the slave 1 a and communication control apparatus 2 is performed by the wireless unit 330 in response to a command from the operational controller 320 . if notification of the fact that the slave 1 a is on the hook is received from the slave 1 a (“ yes ” at step 1003 ) without the outside - line terminate request being sent from the communication control apparatus (“ no ” at step 1002 ), notification of the fact that the slave 1 a is on the hook is transferred to the communication control apparatus 2 ( step 1004 ). if the standby - state transition request is subsequently received from the communication control apparatus at step 1005 , the operational controller 320 starts the wireless - link disconnect timer 340 at step 1006 and transmits the standby - state transition request to the slave 1 a via the wireless unit 330 at step 1007 . if the outside - line terminate request is received from the communication control apparatus 2 at step 1009 before the timer 340 runs out of time (“ no ” at step 1008 ), the operational controller 320 starts the terminating / transmitting processor 311 in memory 310 at step 1010 and transmits the outside - line terminate request to the slave 1 a at step 1011 using the wireless link that was being used in the preceding call . if notification that the slave 1 a is off the hook is subsequently received from the slave via the wireless unit 330 (“ yes ” at step 1012 ), the operational controller 320 transfers notification of this event to the communication control apparatus 2 ( step 1013 ) and executes processing ( step 1001 ) for the relay operation between the slave 1 a and the communication control apparatus 2 . if the timer runs out of time (“ yes ” at step 1008 ) before the outside - line terminate request is received , the operational controller 320 transmits the wireless - link disconnect request to the slave 1 a ( step 1014 ) via the wireless unit 330 by the wireless link that was being used in the preceding call . if confirmation of disconnection of the wireless link is received from the slave 1 a via the wireless unit 330 by the wireless link that was being used in the preceding call ( step 1015 ), the operational controller 320 disconnects the wireless link at step 1016 . if the outside - line terminate request is sent from the communication control apparatus during relay processing (“ yes ” at step 1002 ), the request is transmitted to the slave 1 a ( step 1017 ). if notification that the slave 1 a is on the hook is received from the slave (“ yes ” at step 1018 ), notification of this fact is transmitted to the communication control apparatus at step 1019 . when transfer of this notification is finished , processing ( step 1020 ) for relaying the communication between the communication apparatus and the slave 1 a is performed using the established wireless link . when notification that the slave 1 a is on the hook is received (“ yes ” at step 1021 ), notification of this fact is transmitted to the communication control apparatus at step 1022 and relay processing is executed again . the operation of the slave 1 a is similar to that of the first embodiment and need not be described again . by adopting this embodiment , the processing relating to the wireless link is executed almost entirely within the master 3 . as a result , the communication control apparatus 2 can transmit commands without taking the status of the wireless link into account , and it will suffice to provide the same program irrespective of processing of a wired telephone . a particular advantage of this invention is that it is possible to create the program of the communication control apparatus 2 without being aware of the fact that the telephone is a wireless telephone . the first , second and third embodiments are described in conjunction with an incoming call to an outside line . however , if the system is one in which a call can be placed to an extension , the same effects can be obtained by performing a similar operation when the incoming call is to the extension . further , the method of wireless control in fig1 and 7 may be in accordance with the system id method or an individual id method . though a call is described as being an outside line call in the first , second and third embodiments , calls may be extension calls , door intercom calls or private branch calls . further , though the first , second and third embodiments are described with regard to wireless telephone calls , the same effects can be obtained by applying the present invention to a wireless communication system in which data communication or the like is performed wirelessly . further , if an arrangement is adopted in which the times to which the timers 250 , 340 of the first , second and third embodiments are set can be adjusted by an external operation , a system conforming to various applications can be provided . thus , in accordance with the embodiments of the invention as described above , if an incoming call arrives at a wireless communication apparatus while the wireless communication apparatus is performing communication or within a prescribed period of time from the end of communication , the wireless link that was established by such communication can be utilized as is , i . e ., without being disconnected . as a result , notification of the incoming call and telephone communication can be carried out smoothly without the task of establishing a wireless link anew for the next communication operation and without taking too much time . fig1 is a block diagram showing the construction of a cordless key telephone system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention . a key telephone apparatus has a main unit 1102 which includes a switching section for switching voice calls and the like , outside - line controllers 1104 a , 1104 b , which accommodate a public switched telephone network ( pstn ) 1101 , for detecting an incoming call from a telephone line and sending a dialed number to a telephone line , extension wireless controllers 1105 a , 1105 b for controlling dedicated extension cordless telephones 1110 a , 1110 b , respectively , a sound source 1106 for generating a dtmf signal sent to a telephone line , a holding tone and various other tones , a main controller 1107 for controlling the cordless key telephone apparatus in various ways , a rom 1108 storing a control program for controlling a timer used in this embodiment as well as the overall main unit 1102 , and a ram 1109 for storing various data . the dedicated cordless telephones 1110 a , 1110 b are connected to the main unit 1102 by wireless links that have been established by a control channel . fig1 is a block diagram showing the internal construction of the dedicated extension cordless key telephones 1110 a , 1110 b . as shown in fig1 , the dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 includes an antenna 1202 for sending and receiving radio waves , a wireless controller 1203 for sending and receiving radio waves to and from the main unit and detecting whether a wireless link with the main unit has been established , an audio processor 1204 for linking a voice between the main unit and a handset and for sending and receiving control data to and from the main unit , a main controller 1205 for controlling this mobile device in various ways , a rom 1206 in which a control program and the like are stored , a ram 1207 for storing various data , an earphone 1208 , a microphone 1209 , a control panel 1210 having outside - line buttons , push buttons for dialing and a hold button , etc ., a display unit 1211 comprising a liquid - crystal display device or leds ( light - emitting diodes ), and a speaker 1212 for sending an incoming - call tone . when the dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 a is taken off the hook in order to make a transmission to the pstn 1101 , a procedure for establishing a wireless link between the dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 a and the extension wireless controller 1105 is executed . after the wireless link is established , off - hook information is transmitted from the dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 a to the extension wireless controller 1105 a . upon receiving the off - hook information from the dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 a , the extension wireless controller 1105 a communicates this information to the main controller 1107 . upon receiving the off - hook information , from the dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 a , sent by the extension wireless controller 1105 a , the main controller 1107 causes the outside - line controller 1104 a to acquire a telephone line . thereafter , when a dial button on the dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 a is pushed , a dialing signal is sent to the extension wireless controller 1105 a by the established wireless link , the extension wireless controller 1105 a communicates the dialing signal to the main controller 1107 , and the latter sends the signal from the outside - line controller 1104 a to the telephone line . when the subscriber &# 39 ; s number of the communicating party ( not shown ) has been dialed in full , the number is terminated at the communicating party and the party answers , it becomes possible for the communicating party to communicate with the dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 a via the pstn 1101 and the outside - line controller 1104 a , switching section 1103 and extension wireless controller 1105 in the main unit 1102 . when there is an incoming call from a telephone line , the outside - line controller 1104 a detects the incoming call and communicates the incoming - call information to the main controller 1107 . upon being notified of the incoming - call information , the main controller - 1107 establishes a wireless link between the extension wireless controllers 1105 a and 1105 b and the dedicated extension cordless key telephones 1110 a , 1110 b in order to produce an incoming - call tone . the extension wireless controllers 1105 a and 1105 b execute a procedure for establishing a wireless link with the dedicated extension cordless key telephones 1110 a and 110 b . when this procedure is completed , the extension wireless controllers 1105 a and 1105 b communicate establishment - completed information to the main controller 1107 . upon receiving the establishment - completed information , the main controller 1107 causes the extension wireless controllers 1105 a , 1105 b to send incoming - call information to the dedicated extension cordless key telephones 1110 a , 1110 b . furthermore , the main controller 1107 transmits the incoming - call tone from the sound source 1106 to the dedicated extension cordless key telephones 1110 a , 1110 b via the switching section 1103 and extension wireless controllers 1105 a , 1105 b so that the incoming - call tone is produced by the speaker 1212 of each of the dedicated extension cordless key telephones 1110 a and 1110 b . when the dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 b is taken off the hook in response to the incoming call , an operation similar to that performed at the time of transmission is carried out . specifically , the off - hook information is transmitted , this information is communicated from the extension wireless controller 1105 b to the main controller 1107 , the main controller 1107 causes the outside - line controller 1104 a to acquire a telephone line , a response is made to the incoming call and communication with the originating party ( not shown ) can be achieved in the same manner as at the time of transmission . next , an operation for storing the status of the main unit 1102 when a wireless link is established will be described in conjunction with the flowchart of fig1 . in a state in which a wireless link has not been established between the extension wireless controller 1105 a and the dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 a , the main controller 1107 waits for notification of the off - hook information , from the dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 a , sent by the extension wireless controller 1105 a ( step s 1301 ). if the information is not communicated to the main controller 1107 , the main controller 1107 waits for notification of incoming - call information , from the telephone line , sent by the outside - line controller 1104 a ( step s 1302 ). if the incoming - call information is not received , the program returns to step s 1301 . if the off - hook information from the dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 a has been communicated at step s 1301 , the fact that a connection has been made by the off - hook operation is stored in the ram 1109 as the status at the time the wireless link is established ( step s 1306 ). a transition is then made to the transmission state ( step s 1307 ). if the incoming - call information indicative of the incoming call to the outside line is communicated at step s 1302 , then the fact that an incoming - call connection has been made is stored in the ram 1109 as the status at the time the wireless link is established ( step s 1303 ) and the extension wireless controller 1105 a is made to execute the procedure for establishing the wireless link ( step s 1304 ). a transition is then made to step s 1305 , at which completion of wireless - link establishment is awaited . thus , status at establishment of the wireless link with a dedicated extension cordless key telephone is stored in the ram 1109 by the main unit 1102 . the operation of main unit 1102 when a wireless link is cut will now be described in conjunction with the flowchart of fig1 . when the extension wireless controller 1105 a and the dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 a are wirelessly linked , the main controller 1107 monitors the hook status of the dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 a ( step s 1401 ). if the telephone is off the hook , the program returns to step s 1401 . if the telephone is on the hook , the main controller 1107 monitors the incoming - call status of the outside line ( step s 1402 ). if an incoming call is still in progress , the program returns to step 1401 . if there is no incoming call , the main controller 1107 checks a disconnect timer ( step 1403 ). if the timer is not operating , the main controller 1107 checks the status , stored in the ram 1109 , that prevailed when the wireless link was established ( step s 1404 ). in case of an off - hook connection , namely disconnection due to placing the telephone on the hook , the main controller 1107 starts a timer t 1 ( e . g ., 5 sec ) ( step s 1405 ). in case of an incoming - call connection , the main controller 1107 checks whether the incoming call was suspended ( step s 1406 ). if the call was abandoned from the originating side in mid - course , the program proceeds to step s 1405 , where the disconnect timer t 1 is started . if the call from the originating side is not abandoned at step s 1406 and the dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 b responds to the incoming call , the main controller 1107 starts a disconnect timer t 2 ( e . g ., 20 sec ), which has been set to a time longer than that of the disconnect timer t 1 , and the program returns to step s 1401 . if the disconnect timer has already been started at step s 1403 , the timer performs a counting operation ( step s 1408 ) and the program returns to step s 1401 if the timer has not run out of time . if the timer has run out of time , the timer is halted and a procedure for cutting the wireless link is started ( step s 1409 ), after which the program makes a transition to step s 1410 to wait for completion of the wireless - link disconnection . it should be noted that the timer simply performs a counting operation at step s 1408 . however , if the timer value is set and time is counted down when the disconnect timer t 1 or t 2 is started , it is possible to execute processing regardless of whether the timer that has started is t 1 or t 2 . thus , it is so arranged that when an operation for responding to an incoming call is detected , the wireless link with the extension cordless telephone is cut after a prescribed period of time which is longer than that when an outgoing call is abandoned in mid - course or when the telephone is placed on the hook . operation up to the response to an incoming call to an outside line and the placing of an outside line on hold during a call will now be described in accordance with the sequence chart of fig1 . when there is an incoming call from a public telephone line , the main controller 1107 transmits wireless - link establishment request information to the extension wireless controller 1105 a ( 1501 , 1502 ). upon receiving the wireless - link establishment request information ( 1501 , 1502 ), the extension wireless controller 1105 transmits a wireless - link establishment signal ( 1503 ) to the extension cordless telephone 1110 a by a control channel . at this time the call channel used between the extension wireless controller 1105 a and the extension cordless telephone 1110 a is communicated by the wireless - link establishment signal ( 1503 ) and the radio - wave receiving section is switched over to the call channel , thereby establishing a wireless link . meanwhile , since the control channel is already being used , the extension wireless controller 1105 b waits for the control channel to become idle . upon receiving the wireless - link establishment signal ( 1503 ), the extension cordless telephone 1110 a transmits a wireless - link establishment notification signal ( 1504 ) by the designated call channel . upon receiving the wireless - link establishment notification signal ( 1504 ), the extension wireless controller 1105 a transmits a wireless - link establishment response signal ( 1505 ) to the extension cordless telephone 1110 a and transmits wireless - link establishment confirmation information ( 1506 ) to the main controller 1107 , thereby notifying of the fact that the wireless link has been established . the extension wireless controller 1105 detects the idle control channel , transmits a wireless - link establishment request signal ( 1507 ) to the extension cordless telephone 1110 b by the control channel , notifies of the call channel to be used subsequently and switches the radio - wave receiving section over to the call channel , thereby establishing a wireless link . upon receiving the wireless - link establishment confirmation information ( 1506 ) from the extension wireless controller 1105 a , the main controller transmits outside - line incoming - call information ( 1508 ) to the extension wireless controller 1105 a . upon receiving this information , the extension wireless controller 1105 a transmits an outside - line incoming - call signal ( 1509 ), which includes an outside - line ringing tone and outside - line led information , to the extension cordless telephone 1110 a . upon receiving the outside - line incoming - call signal ( 1509 ), the extension cordless telephone 1110 a produces an outside - line incoming - call tone by the ringing tone designated by the outside - line incoming - call signal ( 1509 ) and causes outside - line leds to light in the pattern designated by the - signal ( 1509 ). after the wireless - link establishment request signal ( 1507 ) has been sent and received , the extension wireless controller 1105 b and extension cordless telephone 1110 b perform operations ( 1510 ˜ 1513 ) similar to those described above , cause the outside - line incoming - call tone to be produced by the extension cordless telephone 1110 b and cause the outside - line leds to be lit . thereafter , when the extension cordless telephone 1110 a is taken off the hook in order to answer the incoming call to the outside line , the extension cordless telephone 1110 a transmits an off - hook signal ( 1514 ) to the extension wireless controller 1105 a , which in turn transmits off - hook information ( 1515 ) to the main controller 1107 . upon receiving the off - hook information ( 1515 ), the main controller 1107 causes the outside - line controller 1104 to acquire the outside line terminating the call , connects the switching section 1103 and makes possible an outside - line call by the extension cordless telephone 1110 a . since the incoming call to the outside line has been responded to with regard to the extension cordless telephone 1110 b , it is necessary to halt the outsideline incoming - call tone and communicated new outsideline led information . accordingly , outside - line incoming - call abandonment information ( 1516 ) is transmitted to the extension wireless controller 1105 and the timer t 2 , which runs until the wireless link is cut off , is started . upon receiving the outside - line incoming - call abandonment information ( 1516 ), the extension wireless controller 1105 b transmits an outside - line incoming - call abandonment signal ( 1517 ) to the extension cordless telephone 1110 b . upon receiving the signal ( 1517 ), the extension cordless telephone 1110 b halts the outsideline incoming - call tone and causes the outside - line leds to light in the pattern designated by the outside - line incoming - call abandonment signal ( 1517 ). thereafter , when the timer t 2 runs out of time , the main controller 1107 , in order to cut off the wireless link , transmits wireless - link disconnect request information ( 1518 ) to the extension wireless controller 1105 b . upon receiving this information , the extension wireless controller 1105 b transmits a disconnect request signal ( 1519 ) to the extension cordless telephone 1110 b . upon verifying completion of reception of the disconnect request signal ( 1519 ) at the extension cordless telephone 1110 b , the extension wireless controller 1105 b , as well as the extension cordless telephone 1110 b , halts the transmission of radio waves and cuts the wireless link . when , during an outside - line call , a holding operation is performed at the extension cordless telephone 1110 a in order to transfer or temporarily hold the call that is in progress , a hold signal is transmitted from the extension cordless telephone 1110 a to the extension wireless controller 1105 a . upon receiving this signal , the extension wireless controller 1105 a transmits holding information to the main controller 1107 . upon receiving the holding information , the main controller 1107 sends a holding tone to the outside line and transmits outside - line holding information ( 1522 , 1523 ) to the extension wireless controllers 1105 a , 1105 b . upon receiving the outside - line holding information ( 1522 ) from the main controller 1107 , the extension wireless controller 1105 a transmits an outside - line hold signal ( 1524 ) to the extension cordless telephone 1110 a by the call channel since the wireless link has already been established . meanwhile , upon receiving the outside - line holding information ( 1523 ), the extension wireless controller 1105 b transmits an outside - line hold signal ( 1525 ) to the extension cordless telephone 1110 b by the control channel since a wireless link with the extension cordless telephone 1110 b has not been established . upon receiving the outside - line hold signals ( 1524 , 1525 ), the extension cordless telephones 1110 a , 1110 b light the outside - line leds in the patterns designated by the outside - line hold signals ( 1524 , 1525 ). further , the holding operation of fig1 is performed after the wireless link between the extension wireless controller 1105 b and extension cordless telephone 1110 b is cut . however , if the holding operation is performed before the wireless link is cut , the transmission of the outside - line hold signal ( 1525 ) to the extension cordless telephone 1110 b is performed by the call channel . thus , it is possible to answer an incoming call to an outside line and place the call in progress on hold . described next will be the sequence chart of fig1 showing operation when an outside - line button is pressed on the extension cordless telephone 1110 b at such time that an outside line of the extension cordless telephone 1110 a has been placed on hold , the sequence chart of fig1 showing operation when a response is made to the holding outside line at the extension cordless telephone 1110 b in a state in which the timer t 2 is counting and a wireless link remains as established , and the flowchart of fig1 illustrating these operations . when the outside - line button on the extension cordless telephone 1110 b is pressed in order to respond to the holding outside line ( step s 1801 ), the extension cordless telephone 1110 b checks , using the wireless controller 1203 , whether the wireless link has been established ( step s 1802 ). if the wireless link has been cut , the extension cordless telephone 1110 b transmits a wireless - link establishment request signal ( 1601 ) to the extension wireless controller 1105 b by the control channel in order to establish the wireless link ( step s 1803 ). upon receiving the wireless - link establishment request signal ( 1601 ), the extension wireless controller 1105 b transmits an establish request signal ( 1602 ) to the extension cordless telephone 1110 b by the control channel , designates the call channel to be used and switches the receiving section , which receives radio waves from the extension cordless telephone 1110 b , over to the call channel , thereby establishing a wireless link . upon receiving the establish request signal ( 1602 ) at step s 1804 , the extension cordless telephone 1110 b transmits a wireless - link establishment notification signal ( 1603 ) by the designated call channel ( step s 1805 ). upon receiving this signal , the extension wireless controller 1105 b transmits a wireless - link establishment response signal ( 1604 ) to the extension cordless telephone 1110 b by the call channel and transmits wireless - link establishment notification information ( 1605 ) to the main controller 1107 . upon verifying , owing to reception of the wireless - link establishment response signal ( 1604 ) from the extension wireless controller 1105 b ( step s 1806 ), that the wireless link has been established , the extension cordless telephone 1110 b transmits an outside - line button signal ( 1606 ) to the extension wireless controller 1105 b ( step s 1807 ). upon receiving this signal , the extension wireless controller 1105 b sends the main controller 1107 information ( 1607 ) indicating depression of the outside - line button . upon receiving the information ( 1607 ), the main controller 1107 changes over the switching section 1103 and connects the call channel of the holding outside line from the extension wireless controller 1105 a to the extension wireless controller 1105 b , thereby making possible an outside - line call at the extension cordless telephone 1110 b ( step s 1808 ). if it is determined at step s 1802 that the wireless link has been established , a signal ( 1701 ) indicating depression of the outside - line button is transmitted to the extension wireless controller 1105 b ( step 1807 ) owing to the fact that the wireless link has been established . upon receiving the signal ( 1701 ), the extension wireless controller 1105 b sends the main controller 1107 information ( 1702 ) indicating depression of the outsideline button . upon receiving this information , the main controller 1107 changes over the switching section 1103 , connects the call channel of the holding outside line to the extension wireless controller 1105 b and makes possible an outside - line call at the extension cordless telephone 1110 b ( step s 1808 ). more specifically , if the established wireless link remains in effect when a transfer is made to another telephone or a hold response is made at another telephone after the response to the incoming call from the telephone line is made , the sending / receiving of signals at s 1803 ˜ s 1806 described in fig1 and the sending / receiving of signals 1601 ˜ 1604 and sending / receiving of information 1605 in fig1 can be eliminated . the time required to hold and respond to an outside line and make a call possible can be shortened . more specifically , as described in connection with fig1 , when the main unit detects an operation for responding to an incoming call , the time required to cut the wireless links between the main unit and extension cordless telephones other than that which performed the response operation is made longer than the time for cutting the wireless link by hanging up or by abandonment of the call on the originating side . as a result , the time needed for a hold response on the outside line can be shortened , as set forth above . a fifth embodiment of the present invention will now be described . in the fourth embodiment , it is so arranged that when an off - hook connection has been made on a wireless link , the set value of the disconnect timer of extension cordless telephones other than the extension cordless telephone that has answered is changed depending upon whether an outgoing call is abandoned by the originating side in mid - course or an operation is made to respond to an incoming call . in the fifth embodiment , it is so arranged that when an extension cordless telephone has performed an operation to respond to an incoming call , the wireless links to extension cordless telephones other than the extension cordless telephone that has responded are not cut . reference will be had to the flowchart of fig1 to describe an operation in which , when the main unit 1102 has detected an operation by the extension cordless telephone 1110 a to respond to an incoming call , the wireless link of the extension cordless telephone 1110 b , which is other than the extension cordless telephone that responded , is not disconnected during acquisition of a telephone line . in fig1 , steps s 1901 ˜ s 1903 are the same as steps s 1401 ˜ s 1403 , and steps s 1908 , s 1909 are the same as steps s 1408 , s 1409 . these steps need not be described again . the operating status of the disconnect timer is checked at step s 1903 . if the timer is not operating , monitoring is performed ( step s 1904 ) to determine whether the outside line responded to by the extension cordless telephone 1110 b is continuing the call . if the call is continuing , the status , stored in the ram 1109 , that prevailed when the wireless link was established is checked ( step s 1905 ). in case of an off - hook connection , i . e ., in case of disconnection owing to hanging up of the phone , the disconnect timer ( e . g ., 5 sec ) is started ( step s 1906 ). in case of an incomingcall connection , whether the incoming call was suspended is checked ( step s 1907 ). if the call was abandoned from the originating side in mid - course , the program proceeds to step s 1906 , where the disconnect timer is started . the program then returns to step s 1901 . if the call from the originating side is not abandoned at step s 1907 and the other dedicated extension cordless key telephone 1110 b responds to the incoming call , the program returns to step s 1901 without starting the timer . if the outside line responded to at step s 1904 has been disconnected , a procedure for cutting the wireless link is started ( step s 1909 ) and the program makes a transition to step s 1910 to wait for completion of the wireless - link disconnection . thus , when the main unit 1102 has detected an operation for responding to an incoming call , the wireless links with all dedicated extension cordless telephones are not cut during acquisition of a telephone that has responded to an incoming call . when the telephone that has responded to an incoming call is disconnected , it is possible to cut the wireless links with all dedicated extension cordless telephones . fig2 is a diagram showing the construction of a system according to a sixth embodiment of the invention . the system of fig2 is additionally provided with an extension wireless controller 1105 c and a wireless facsimile device 1111 . the other components are the same as shown in fig1 and need not be described again . the wireless facsimile device 1111 performs facsimile communication via the pstn 1101 , and the extension wireless controller 1105 c is for controlling the wireless facsimile device 1111 . the type ( telephone , facsimile , etc .) of extension device connected to each extension wireless controller is stored in the ram 1109 in advance . in a case where a wireless data communication device such as the facsimile device in included in the system , as shown in fig2 , the probability that a transfer from the extension cordless telephones 1110 a , 110 b will be made is low . therefore , in this embodiment , the cutting of the wireless link of the wireless facsimile device 1111 is performed as in the fourth and fifth embodiments , namely at the time of off - hook connection or when an outgoing call is abandoned on the originating side . fig2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the main unit in this embodiment . operation in accordance with this flowchart will now be described . when a wireless link has been established between the extension wireless controller 1105 and the extension cordless telephones 1110 and wireless facsimile device 1111 , the main controller 1107 monitors the hook status of the extension cordless telephones 1110 a , 1110 b and wireless facsimile device 1111 ( step s 2101 ). if any one of the extension cordless telephones 1110 a , 1110 b or wireless facsimile device 1111 is off the hook , the program returns to step s 2101 . if any one of these is on the hook , the main controller 1107 monitors the incoming - call status of the outside line ( step s 2102 ). if the incoming call is continuing , the program returns to step 2101 . if there is no incoming call , the main controller 1107 checks a disconnect timer ( step 2103 ). if the timer is not operating , the main controller 1107 checks the status , stored in the ram 1109 , that prevailed when the wireless link was established ( step s 2104 ). in case of an off - hook connection , the main controller 1107 starts the timer t 1 ( step s 2105 ). in case of an incoming - call connection , the main controller 1107 checks whether the incoming call was suspended ( step s 2106 ). if the call was abandoned from the originating side in mid - course , the program proceeds to step s 2105 , where the disconnect timer t 1 is started . if the call from the originating side is not abandoned at step s 2106 , an incoming - call response is made at step s 2107 after judging whether the wireless terminal is an extension cordless telephone or the wireless facsimile machine . if the wireless terminal is the facsimile device 1111 , the timer t 1 is started in order to cut the wireless link with the other wireless terminals ( the extension cordless telephones 1110 a , 1110 b ). if the extension cordless telephone has responded to the incoming call at step s 2107 , then the program proceeds to step s 2108 . it is determined at step s 2108 whether the wireless link to be cut is that of the extension cordless telephones or of the wireless facsimile device . in case of the wireless facsimile device , the program proceeds to step s 2105 . if the wireless link cut is that of the extension cordless telephones , the disconnect timer t 2 , which has been set to a time longer than that of the disconnect timer t 1 , is started at step s 2109 . and the program returns to step s 1401 . if the disconnect timer has already been started at step s 2103 , the timer performs a counting operation ( step s 2110 ) and the program returns to step s 2101 if the timer has not run out of time . if the timer has run out of time , the timer is halted and a procedure for cutting the wireless link is started ( step s 2111 ), after which the program makes a transition to step s 2112 to wait for completion of the wireless - link disconnection . thus , in a case where the system incorporates devices having various functions , the time up to cutting of the wireless link can be changed depending upon the communication function of the device . in the fourth through sixth embodiments , the set time of the disconnect timer t 2 is longer than that of the disconnect timer t 1 . this set time is a fixed time period . however , in a seventh embodiment , it is so arranged that the set time of the disconnect timer t 2 can be changed by the operation in dependence upon application in which the system is put to use . fig2 is a diagram showing the construction of the main unit 1102 according to the seventh embodiment . in fig2 , numeral 1112 denotes a control panel , which is provided with a switch of the kind shown in fig2 . this makes it possible to freely change the set time of the disconnect timer t 2 . other components in fig2 are the same as those in fig2 and need not be described again . in fig2 , numeral 2301 denotes a control panel having a display 2302 which displays the set time of the disconnect timer t 2 . by moving a variable switch 2303 , the time of the disconnect timer t 2 can be set with facility . a control panel of this kind can be provided in the apparatus of the first through third embodiments , thereby making it possible to change the set values of the timers 250 , 340 . in the first through seventh embodiments , the example of the wireless link described relies upon radio waves from a low - power system . however , it is obvious that the present invention can be implemented in a similar manner also in various wireless telephone systems in which wireless communication relies upon very low - power radio waves or other radio waves , light such as infrared rays , etc . there is no particular limitation upon the type of wireless link . the arrangement of the cordless key telephone apparatus shown in fig1 is only one example and it goes without saying that there are many other arrangements available . the invention is not limited to a key telephone apparatus . it is obvious that the invention is applicable in similar fashion to a cordless telephone system in a public branch exchange or business office . with regard to the type of outside line , the invention is not limited to an ordinary public telephone line . the line may be an extension in a public branch exchange ( pbx ), a digital line typified by an isdn , a special - purpose line or a line in a private network . there is no limitation upon the type of extension terminal accommodated . if a plurality of dedicated cordless telephones are accommodated , dedicated telephones , ordinary subscriber telephones ( slts ), facsimile machines or other telephone terminals conventionally connected to the main unit by lines may be accommodated . the extension wireless controllers are accommodated within the main unit . however , they may be provided outside the main unit and connected thereto by line wires . in the foregoing embodiments , the timers in the main controller are described as being software . however , hardware timers may be employed . in accordance with the embodiments of the invention described above , in an instance where a calling party receives a response from a party different from the intended party after the incoming call from a public telephone line is terminated and answered , as is often the case where a hold - and - transfer operation is used most frequently , the time needed for cutting of the wireless link after the response to an incoming call is made is lengthened . as a result , the operation for effecting transfer to another telephone or for holding and answering at another telephone can be facilitated and the waiting time of the calling party is shortened . in a case where various devices , such as a facsimile device , which communicate data other than voice data are included in the system , the cutting of the wireless link can be performed in dependence upon the function of the device . further , by providing a switch for setting time up to the cutting of the wireless link , the operator is capable of setting the time in dependence upon the application or conditions of use . accordingly , in a wireless communication system which accommodates devices having a plurality of functions , the time up to the cutting of the wireless link of each device can be changed in conformity with the function of the device and the state of use of the system . as many apparently widely different embodiments of the present invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments thereof except as defined in the appended claims . | 7 |
referring now to the drawings , like elements are represented by like numerals throughout the several views . referring first to fig1 and 2 , there is shown a treatment tank 1 having a sedimentation compartment 2 , a flocculation compartment 3 , a destabilization compartment 4 , the compartments 2 , 3 and 4 being arranged adjacent each other in a generally rectangular tank , and a thickening compartment 5 disposed below the sedimentation compartment 2 . in this embodiment the thickening compartment 5 has a circular cross - section so as to facilitate the installation of a rotating stirring and scraping device 6 including sludge scraper blades 12 which scrape sludge material into the sludge sump 13 , from which sludge is removed by means of sludge pump 21 . the sides of the rectangular sedimentation compartment 2 and the circular thickening compartment 5 are constructed so as to merge smoothly into one another . the destabilization compartment 4 includes a stirring element 7 mounted on a suitable bridge structure 9 and the flocculation compartment 3 has a pair of stirring elements 8 mounted on a fixed bridge 10 . a similar bridge 11 spans the tank containing the sedimentation and thickening compartments 2 and 5 and carries a vertical shaft which at its lower end has attached thereto the stirring and scraping device 6 for rotation about the axis of this vertical shaft . the sedimentation compartment has therein several groups 14a - 14d of inclined separator plates 14 or similar devices disposed parallel to one another with their inlet ends on top , whereas their lower sludge outlet ends are located immediately above the thickening compartment 5 . the plates 14 of these separators are inclined downwardly toward the direction of the flow coming from the flocculation compartment 3 so that the inflowing liquid is deflected at the inlet by more than 90 °. however , the plates may also be inclined in the opposite direction . the bottom ends of the separator plates are bent off , as shown in fig1 . separators 50 are disposed at this bend to separate the water not containing flocs and to effect direct removal through outlet openings , thus avoiding undue turbulence in and below plates 14 . the outlet openings of such separating plates are connected to pipes 15 leading upwards and discharging into horizontally arranged overhead liquid channels 16 . the liquid level in these channels 16 and in the discharge channel 17 arranged beyond it relative to the level maintained in the flocculation and sedimentation compartments is regulated in such a manner as to permit the clean water to flow freely from the separators 50 into the collecting channels 16 , 17 . the flocculation compartment 3 and sedimentation compartment 2 are connected across a weir 18 . liquid from the flocculation compartment 3 passes over weir 18 across to the inlet ends of the plate 14a , 14b , 14c and 14d . between the plates 14b and the plates 14c there is provided a central zone 51 bordered on one side by a wall 52 and on its two long sides by walls 53 , these walls being high enough to prevent liquid from flowing from above into this area 52 . the shaft of the scraping and stirring device 6 also passes down into this zone 51 . a wall 19 between compartments 2 and 3 prevents heavier flocs from entering the sedimentation compartment 2 . rather , these heavy flocs settle directly in the flocculation compartment 3 where they collect on the sloped bottom thereof and are removed through an opening in the floor thereof by means of sludge pump 21 . the liquid to be treated is delivered from the righthand end of fig1 as indicated by the arrow at the upper righthand portion thereof into the destabilization compartment 4 and after treatment therein through an opening in the wall separating the compartments 3 and 4 into the flocculation compartment 3 . after treatment therein , the liquid with the small flocs formed near the surface thereof ( the largest flocs having fallen to the bottom of compartment 3 ) flow over the weir 18 into the sedimentation compartment 2 . clear liquid at the surface flows directly into channels 16 and therealong in the direction as indicated by the arrows in fig1 and 2 into the discharge channel 17 and out to the left as indicated by the arrow at the upper lefthand portion of fig1 . the liquid containing the flocs starts flowing down between the separator plates 14 , some of this liquid flowing through the plates closest to the compartment 3 . however , the flow across compartment 2 is such that the liquid containing the flocs to be separated flows evenly across the top of compartment 2 and then downwardly , preferably evenly distributed through the parallel flow paths between the parallel plates so that the solids which fall into the settling tank 5 are evenly distributed over its area . towards the lower ends thereof as the solids have now built up to the point where they will settle out , the liquid is removed directly by means of separators 50 for delivery through pipes 15 directly into the channels 16 . while only two of the pipes 15 are shown in the figures , it will be understood that a pipe 15 will be provided for each separator 50 . meanwhile the solid material falls out of the bottom openings between the plates down to the thickening compartment 5 where the solid material is thickened by stirring of the device 6 after which the sludge is removed by the scraping action of blades 12 scraping the solid sludge into the sump 13 from which the material is removed by means of pump 21 . the embodiment according to fig3 and 4 differs from the above described embodiment of fig1 and 2 in that the whole flocculation compartment 23 is arranged above a portion of the thickening compartment 25 and for the most part borders on the sedimentation compartment 22 . the compartment 23 is rectangular , the deeper section of which houses the stirring units 8 and the shallower section of which extends above the upper ends of the separator plates 24 . the destabilization compartment 4 lies partly above the flocculation compartment 23 and thickening compartment 25 respectively . the result is a very compact unit . the stirring and scraping devices are carried by a single cross - shaped bridge 20 from where the quality of the clarified water leaving through channels 26 can be checked . the embodiment of fig3 and 4 differs in certain other minor respects from the embodiment of fig1 and 2 . in this case , the pipes 15 of the plates 24 on the righthand side cannot lead directly upwardly because of interference with the flocculation compartment 23 . in this case , these pipes 15 must follow a move devious path , not shown , to the collection channels 26 . the embodiment of fig3 and 4 also includes a central section 51 void of plates and through which the shaft of stirring and scraping device 6 , 12 extends . this section 51 is hidden by the enlarged bridge 20 in fig4 . actually , in this embodiment of shaft of device 6 extends down through the compartment 23 and through the slanted lower left wall thereof ( as viewed in fig3 ) and then into the section 51 down between the plates 24a and 24b . fig5 shows in longitudinal section a further variation of the embodiments of fig1 and 2 . in this case the thickening compartment does not have a circular but a rectangular cross - section which is identical with that of the sedimentation compartment 2 , so that the walls of these compartments are co - extensive with each other , there being no sloping surfaces whatsoever . this rectangular or square thickening compartment 35 is equipped with stirring means 28 and scraping means 29 attached to a structure 27 which in return is supported on a bridge - type structure 30 reciprocating on the tank crown . the scrape blades are double - edged so the tank can be scraped in both directions . stops 31 for the traveling structure 30 prevent the stirring device 28 and scraping device 29 from hitting the tank walls and being damaged . being scraped in both directions , the thickening compartment 35 is provided with sludge collecting troughs 32 at both front ends , the sludge being withdrawn from these troughs by pumping means 21 . the rectangular cross section of the thickening compartment not only lacks sloped surfaces merging with the sedimentation compartment but also makes better use of available space , which is a considerable advantage . besides , a rectangular tank is less expensive than a partly circular , partly rectangular one . all these advantages are independent of whether or not a sedimentation compartment is provided above the thickening compartment and whether or not the separator as depicted is replaced by other separation means or processes . the stirring and scraping devices operating in a longitudinal direction inside the rectangular tank are another asset in that they are independent of where and how the sludge to be thickened accumulates . in other respects , the embodiment of fig5 is similar to that of fig1 . for example , extending across the width of the compartment 2 there can be four sets of separator plates 24a through 24d , only 24a being visible in the drawings . and of course there would be a central section such as 51 void of separator plates , the structure 27 would move as the structure moved longitudinally through the tank . the operation of the apparatus is as follows : the water or waste to be treated arrives in the destabilization compartment 4 where it is normally mixed with hydrolizing metal salts such as iron ( iii ) chloride , aluminum sulfate or polymeric cationic polyelectolytes . the ph value may be adjusted in the same compartment by addition of an adjusting or standardizing agent , as the case may be . the mixture thus obtained leaves the destabilization compartment 4 in the direction of the flocculation compartment at which settleable flocs will form and where flow conditions are entirely different from those prevailing in the destabilization compartment 4 . retention time in these two compartments depends normally on the requirements of the respective process . the flocs - water mixture leaves the flocculation compartment to enter the sedimentation compartment where the inclined separator plates are arranged . the mixture enters the latter from above and flows down together with the settling flocs , the flow being unidirectional . the cleaned water is withdrawn through plates 15 and the flocs gradually sink down to the thickening compartment . the conditions are such that practically no turbulence will develop below the inclined separator plates 14 , 24 and such that the settleable solids move into the thickening compartment without any serious interference therein . because of the above described sedimentation process , the separated flocs issuing from the separator plates and spreading over 80 % of the tank floor can enter the thickening compartment below the sedimentation compartment in a very steady manner . the thickening compartment is layed out according to the dimensional requirements of familiar sludge thickening equipment and permits optimum concentration of the solids separated in the sedimentation zone . the thickened sludge is withdrawn by pumping means 21 from the centrally arranged conical sludge sump 13 or from the two sludge collecting troughs 32 of the thickening compartments . in order to replenish the turbid water in the thickening tank in proportion to the sludge volume withdrawn per time unit , a certain quantity of water is continuously withdrawn from the upper sedimentation compartment without harm to the sedimentation process . this results in an exchange of the liquid above the thickening sludge and prevents the digestion of the turbid water below the separators . a treatment plant according to the combined mechanical and chemical method requires 6 to 12 time less space than a conventional sludge contact plant , depending on whether it is used for treating waste water or water ; the conventional sludge contact plant not permitting the required separation of destabilization , flocculation and sedimentation processes . although the invention has been described in considerable detail with respect to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be apparent that the invention is capable of numerous modifications and variations apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 1 |
it should be understood at the outset that although an illustrative implementation of one embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated below , the present system may be implemented using any number of techniques , whether currently known or in existence . the present disclosure should in no way be limited to the illustrative implementations , drawings , and techniques illustrated below , including the exemplary design and implementation illustrated and described herein , but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents . disclose herein is a system and method for improving multiple - input and multiple - output ( mimo ) system performance using the signal - to - noise ratio ( snr ) and / or bit - error rate ( ber ), but without using channel state information ( csi ). this improved performance is gained through determining an optimal power allocation of the transmitted signals based on the snr of the mimo system . the power is allocated such that decision feedback ( df ) detection is improved or promoted by allocating more power to the first signals . by allocating power in this way , the ber for a given signal - to - noise ratio is decreased compared to when power is allocated uniformly for all of the signals . the system and method disclosed above may also be used even if the snr is not available at the transmitter . when the snr is not available , the power allocation is performed based on a required ber of the mimo system . in this case , the performance is still improved when compared to uniform power allocation , but the improvement may be less than when the snr is known . also , error correcting code may be used at the receiver to further increase the performance gains . fig1 illustrates one embodiment of a transmitter 100 associated with a mimo communications system . the transmitter 100 contains a de - multiplexer 102 , and a plurality of channel encoders 104 , modulators 106 , adjustors 108 , and antennas 110 . the transmitter 100 may be configured with a layered structure such that the channel encoders 104 , modulators 106 , adjustors 108 , and antennas 110 are arranged in a parallel configuration , as illustrated by the embodiment shown in fig1 . as explained in further detail below , the transmitter 100 also contains at least one power allocation calculator 112 that is used to modify the strength of the signals transmitted over the antennas 110 to facilitate improved df detection . data generally flows from left to right through the transmitter 100 . the transmitter 100 may receive input data from a telecommunications or data network ( not shown ) in the form of a single communications signal or a multiplexed communications signal . if the input data is multiplexed , the de - multiplexer 102 separates the input data into a plurality of sub - streams , b k [ n ]. as used herein , the use of a lower - case “ k ” refers to a general designation of a data stream , whereas the use of a number , such as 1 or 2 , or a capital “ k ” refers to a specific designation of a data stream . thus , the sub - streams may be generally referred to as b k [ n ], or specifically referred to as b 1 [ n ], b 2 [ n ], b 3 [ n ], or b k [ n ]. returning to fig1 , the sub - streams are fed into the channel encoders 104 that encode the sub - streams using error - correction codes to produce symbols , c k [ n ]. if desired , the error - correction codes may be interleaved to reduce the quantity of undetected error bursts . the symbols produced by the channel encoders 104 are fed into the modulators 106 that modulate the symbols into signals , d k [ n ]. the signals are then fed into the adjustors 108 that modify the power allocated to the signals by an adjustment factor , λ k , produced by the power allocation calculator 112 . after the signals are modified in the adjustors 108 , the modified signals are transmitted by the antennas 110 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 , the transmitter 100 has k antennas 110 . the power allocation of the modified signals reduces the probability of symbol detection errors . in one embodiment , the transmitter 100 may implement orthogonal frequency division multiplexing ( ofdm ) to convert a frequency - selective broadband channel into a plurality of narrowband channels . in such an embodiment , the channels may be flat fading . fading refers to the variation of a transmitted signal caused by changes in the communication medium , wherein flat fading indicates that fading occurs proportionally for all frequency components of a received signal . the power allocation calculator 112 creates adjustment factors , λ k , that are used to modify the power allocated to the signals . while the power allocation calculator 112 may produce an adjustment factor for each signal stream in the transmitter 100 , it is also contemplated that the power allocation calculator 112 may produce adjustment factors for less than all of the signal streams . such an embodiment is advantageous because it may reduce the quantity of computations performed by the power allocation calculator 112 , for example , by only producing adjustment factors for the signal streams that require adjustment . in an embodiment , the power allocation calculator 112 may assume that the energy of each signal stream may be zero . specifically , for any n or k : similarly , the power allocation calculator 112 may assume that the average power of each signal stream may be a unit value . specifically , for any n or k : such assumptions maintain the generality of the signal streams by keeping the transmission of all of the signal streams between 0 ( no power ) and 1 ( maximum power ). fig2 illustrates an embodiment of a receiver of a mimo wireless communications system . the receiver 200 contains a spatial temporal processor 204 , and a plurality of antennas 202 , slicers 206 , and demodulators and decoders 208 . the receiver 200 may be configured in a layered structure such that the slicers 206 and the demodulators and decoders 208 are arranged in a parallel configuration , as illustrated by the embodiment shown in fig2 . as explained in further detail below , the receiver 200 is used to perform df detection on the received signals to detect the symbols transmitted by the transmitter 100 . data generally flows from left to right through the receiver 200 . the receiver 200 receives the signals r k [ n ] through antennas 202 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig2 , the receiver 200 has m antennas 202 . it is contemplated that the number of antennas 202 on the receiver 200 may be more than , less than , or equal to the number of antennas 110 on the transmitter 100 . that is , k may be greater than m , k may be less than m , or k may be equal to m . the signals received through the antennas 202 are input to the spatial temporal processor 204 that manipulates the received signals to obtain decision statistics x k [ n ]. the decision statistics are a statistical estimation of the transmitted signal based on a portion of the signals received at all of the antennas 202 . for example , the decision statistic for the first antenna 110 , x 1 [ n ], is an estimation of the cumulative effect that the transmitted signal d 1 [ n ] had on each of the antennas 202 . the spatial temporal processor 204 suppresses the interference caused by the other signals received at each of the antennas 202 using mmse criteria discussed in more detail below . the decision statistics are input to a slicer 206 that performs quantisation of the decision statistics to calculate a decision { circumflex over ( d )} k [ n ] of the received signal d k [ n ]. once a decision is made , the decision may be fed back to the spatial temporal processor 204 in order to perform decision feedback detection described in more detail below . the decision { circumflex over ( d )} k [ n ] may also be input to a demodulator and decoder 208 to demodulate and decode the decision into decoded words { circumflex over ( b )} k [ n ]. the decoded words may then be used by any equipment ( not shown ) connected to the receiver 200 such as a cellular phone or a laptop . in an alternative embodiment , rather that feeding back the decision to the spatial temporal processor 204 , the decoded words may be fed back to the spatial temporal processor 204 . by feeding back the decoded words to the spatial temporal processor 204 , error correcting code may be used to perform successive interference cancellation described in more detail below . when transmitting a signal from a transmitter to a receiver , the signal traverses a communication medium . the path that the signal travels over the communication medium is referred to as the channel , where the impact that the communication medium has on the signal is referred to as the channel gain . the channel gain corresponding to the k - th transmitter antenna and the m - th receiver antenna is denoted as h km . for example , the channel gain h 11 denotes the impact applied by the communication medium for a signal traveling from the first transmitter antenna to the first receiver antenna . a channel vector for the k - th transmitter antenna , h k , indicates each of the channel gains from the k - th transmitter antennas to each of the receiver antennas . a channel matrix , h , indicates the channel vector for each of the transmitter antennas . the channel vector for the k - th transmitter antenna and the channel matrix may be expressed as : h k = ( h k 1 ⋮ h km ) and h = ( h 1 , … , h k ) ( 3 ) respectively . the signal received at each of the receiver antennas 202 is the received signal vector r [ n ]. in accordance with equation ( 3 ), the received signal vector may be expressed as : r [ n ] = ( r 1 [ n ] ⋮ r m [ n ] ) = ∑ k = 1 k h k λ k d k [ n ] + n [ n ] ′ where ( 4 ) n [ n ] = ( n 1 [ n ] , … , n m [ n ] ) t ( 5 ) is the noise vector . the noise vector represents the noise detected by each of the antennas 202 , where n 1 [ n ] is the noise detected by the first receiver antenna 202 and n m [ n ] is the noise detected by the m - th receiver antenna 202 . each n m [ n ]&# 39 ; s for different m &# 39 ; s or n &# 39 ; s is assumed to be an independent , complex gaussian function with zero mean and variance σ n 2 determined by the snr of the mimo system . the received signal vector of equation ( 4 ) may also be expressed in matrix form as : at the receiver , the transmitted signals may be detected using a mmse decision feedback detection process illustrated in fig3 . at block 302 , the first symbol , d 1 [ n ], is detected . when detecting the first symbol there is multiple antenna interference from all of the other symbols being transmitted , d 2 [ n ], . . . , d k [ n ]. in order for the spatial temporal processor 204 to determine the decision statistics for the first symbol , x 1 [ n ], the interference from all of the other signals needs to be suppressed . in order to accomplish the interference suppression , the spatial temporal processor may apply a nulling vector , w 1 h , to the received signal vector as shown below in equation ( 8 ). the nulling vector may be expressed as shown in equation ( 9 ) below . the first term of the nulling vector is the mmse criterion used to suppress the interference and the second term is the channel vector of the first signal . in accordance with the description above , the decision statistics for the first signal , x 1 [ n ], may be expressed as : w 1 =( hλh h + σ n 2 i ) − 1 h 1 . ( 9 ) in block 304 , once a decision of the first signal is made the impact of the first signal can be cancelled from the received signal vector by : r 2 [ n ] = r [ n ] - h 1 λ 1 d ^ 1 [ n ] = ∑ k = 2 k h k λ k d k [ n ] + h 1 λ 1 ( d 1 [ n ] - d ^ 1 [ n ] ) + n [ n ] . ( 10 ) the spatial temporal processor 204 may cancel out the impact of the first signal in accordance with equation ( 10 ) once the decision for the first signal is fed back as shown in fig2 . from ( 10 ), it can be seen that the impact of the first signal can be completely eliminated if the decision of the first signal is equal to the value of the first signal , { circumflex over ( d )} 1 [ k ]= d 1 [ k ]. in that case , only the interference from the signals d 3 [ n ], . . . , d k [ n ] needs to be dealt with when detecting the second signal d 2 [ n ]. since there is less interference than when the first signal was detected , it is easier to detect the second signal . if the decision of the first signal does not equal the first signal , then the difference between the two signals represents the remainder of the first signal that still impacts the remainder received signal vector . this remainder may be thought of as additional noise that needs to be suppressed when detecting the next signal . in block 306 the next signal is detected , namely the second signal . similarly , to the process described above , the decision statistics for the second signal can be obtained by w 2 =( h 2 λ 2 h 2 h + σ n 2 i ) − 1 h 2 , ( 12 ) in each of the equations above , the values associated with the first signal are not included . this is because the impact of the first signal has been canceled out as was described above with equation ( 10 ). similar to block 304 above , in block 308 the interference from the next signal is canceled out from the remainder of the received signal vector in order to enable easier detection of the next signal . in this case the second signal that has just been detected is canceled out from the remainder of the signal vector r 2 [ n ] to produce a remainder of the signal vector r 3 [ n ] from which a third signal may be detected . in block 310 it is determined whether all of the signals have been detected . if not , then the process repeats at block 306 to detect the next signal . if all of the signals have been detected then the df detection process is completed . in general , in order to detect a k - th signal then { circumflex over ( d )} k [ n ] is the decision of the k - th signal and d k [ n ] is the k - th signal . the remainder of the signal vector from which the k - th signal is to be detected may be expressed as : r k [ n ] = r [ n ] - ∑ i = 1 k - 1 h i λ i d ^ i [ n ] = ∑ i = k k h i λ i d i [ n ] + ∑ i = 1 k - 1 h i λ i ( d i [ n ] - d ^ i [ n ] ) + n [ n ] ( 14 ) as shown in equation ( 14 ) the first term is the remainder of the signal vector from which the k - th signal is to be detected . the middle term in equation ( 14 ) is the cumulative impact remaining from previously detected signals due to the decisions of the previously detected signals not equaling the previous signals . the last term in equation ( 14 ) is the noise vector as described above . similar to the description above , the decision statistics for the k - th signal can be determined by the spatial temporal processor 204 for as : w k =( h k λ k h k h + σ n 2 i ) − 1 h k , ( 16 ) as described above , in each of these equations the values associated with the previously detected signals are not included . this is because the impact of the previously detected signals has been canceled out as was described above with equation ( 14 ). from the discussion above of the df procedure , if all past decisions are correct , then the decision for a current signal is easier than for the past signals since the detection needs to deal with the interference from fewer symbols . however , if one or more of the past decisions are with error , then the error will be passed to the decision of the current or future symbols . since the first detected symbols have more impact on the overall system performance more power should be allocated to those first signals . more power should be allocated to the first signals because the first signals have more noise and interference to contend with . the snr of a signal is determinant of the ber in detecting the signal . a signal with a high snr may have a low ber , whereas a signal with a low snr may have a high ber . since the first signals have more noise then the snr of the first signals will be lower than the snr of each subsequent signal . namely , when detecting the first signal , the interference from all of the other signals may be thought of as noise . when detecting the second signal , the impact of the first signal is canceled out and as such there is less noise when detecting the second and subsequent signals . as such , in order to have a high snr for the first signals , and consequently a low ber in detecting the first signals , then more power may be allocated to the first signals . the increased amount of power allocated to the signals increases their signal strength and consequently increases their snr such that the first signals may be detected with low bers . as such , disclosed herein below are embodiments to optimally allocate power to different signals according to the snr of the system rather than using the instantaneous csi . in one embodiment , a method may be used to determine the optimal power allocation based on a known snr for a channel . the overall transmission power for the transmitter 100 that may be used by all of the antennas 110 is assumed to be fixed or the average power from each antenna is unit , which can be expressed as : 1 k ∑ k = 1 k e { λ k d k [ n ] 2 } = 1 . ( 17 ) since it has been assumed in ( 2 ) that the average power of each signal is unit , e {| d k [ n ]| 2 }= 1 , then the constraint of equation ( 17 ) is equivalent to as discussed above , the snr , g , of a mimo system is determinant of the ber of the mimo system . further , since the amount of power being allocated to each signal is based on the adjustment factors λ as shown in the transmitter 100 of fig1 , then the snr is also based on the adjustment factors λ . conversely , these relations may be expressed as the ber of a mimo system is based on the snr , γ , and the adjustment factors λ . this relation of the ber may be expressed as : p b = g ( γ ; λ 1 , . . . , λ k ). ( 19 ) as such , it is desirable to find λ k &# 39 ; s that minimize the ber for any given snr . the optimum power allocation for a mimo system with k transmit antennas 110 and a snr = γ may be denoted as λ 1 ( γ , k ), . . . , λ k ( γ , k ). first , a 2 - input and m - output mimo system is considered . the 2 - input and m - output mimo system contains two antennas 110 at the transmitter 100 and any number , m , of antennas 202 at the receiver 200 . fig4 depicts a method to find the optimum power allocation in the 2 - input and m - output mimo system . in accordance with equation ( 19 ) above , the ber of the 2 - input and m - output mimo system can be expressed as : since the total amount of power to be allocated is express in equation ( 18 ), then equation ( 18 ) may be solved for k = 2 since there are two antennas 110 in this mimo system . a ratio of the power allocated to the first antenna to the power allocated to the second antenna may be defined as in accordance with this relation , then equation ( 18 ) may be solved such that : λ 1 = 2 α 1 + α and , λ 2 = 2 1 + α . ( 21 ) inserting these solutions into equation ( 20 ) the ber of the 2 - input and m - output mimo system can be expressed as : p b = g ( γ ; 2 α 1 + α , 2 1 + α ) . ( 22 ) in block 402 , computer simulation may be performed to find α in ( 22 ) that minimizes the ber for any given snr . this computer simulation may be performed by the power allocation calculator 112 of the transmitter 100 or performed by another computer and input to be stored by the power allocation calculator 112 , for example . as such , α is calculated to be some function of the snr of the mimo system , expressed as : in block 404 , the optimum α of equation ( 23 ) is substituted into equation ( 21 ) to calculate the optimum power allocation for the mimo system . as such the power is allocated in accordance with a function of the snr of the 2 - input and m - output mimo system , which may be expressed as : λ 1 ( γ , 2 ) = 2 f 2 ( γ ) 1 + f 2 ( γ ) , and ( 24 ) λ 2 ( γ , 2 ) = 2 1 + f 2 ( γ ) . ( 25 ) at block 406 , the results of equations ( 24 ) and ( 25 ) are output by the power allocation calculator 112 to the adjustors 108 . in order to better understand the calculation of α , some exemplary results of block 402 are shown in fig8 a . fig8 a illustrates exemplary performance of a 2 - input and 2 - output mimo system in terms of the ber versus α for different snr &# 39 ; s . from the results shown in fig8 a , a relationship between α and snr that minimizes the ber of the 2 - input and 2 - output mimo system can be obtained . in this case it can be seen that α is as follows : when the snr of a mimo system is known , the optimum power allocation for a mimo system with any number of transmit antennas can be obtained iteratively using the process shown in fig5 . assuming that the optimum power allocation for a k − 1 - input and m - output system is known , the optimum power allocation for a k - input and m - output system can be obtained as follows . similar as before , a ratio of the power allocated to the first antenna to the average power allocated to the rest of the antennas is defined as α , which may be expressed as : α = λ 1 2 1 k - 1 ∑ i = 2 k λ i 2 . ( 26 ) in accordance with the relation in equation ( 26 ), then equation ( 18 ) may be solved such that the power allocated to the first antenna is expressed as : λ 1 2 = k α k - 1 + α , ( 27 ) and the power allocated to the rest of the antennas is expressed as : 1 k - 1 ∑ i = 2 k λ i 2 = k k - 1 + α . ( 28 ) as noted in the discussion above on df detection , once the first signal is detected , its impact can be cancelled from the received signal vector . the remaining signal vector is equivalent to a signal vector that would be transmitted by a k − 1 - input and m - output mimo system . therefore , the power should be allocated such that λ 2 , . . . λ k of the k - input and m - output mimo system is allocated according to a power allocation λ 1 ( γ , k − 1 ), . . . , λ k - 1 ( γ , k − 1 ) that optimizes the equivalent k − 1 - input and m - output mimo system . the snr for the equivalent system is if the original snr of the k - input and m - output system is γ . therefore , in accordance with equation ( 28 ) the power allocated to each of the second and following antennas may be expressed as : λ i = k k - 1 + α λ i - 1 ( k k - 1 + α γ , k - 1 ) ( 29 ) for i = 2 , . . . , k . in accordance with equations ( 19 ), ( 27 ), and ( 29 ), the ber for the k - input and m - output mimo system can be expressed as : p b = g ( γ ; k α k - 1 + α , k k - 1 + α λ 1 ( k k - 1 + α γ , k - 1 ) , … , k k - 1 + α λ k - 1 ( k k - 1 + α γ , k - 1 ) ) , ( 30 ) which is a function of the snr , γ , of the k - input and m - output mimo system and of α as defined above in equation ( 26 ). similar to above , in block 502 a computer simulation may be performed to find α in ( 30 ) that minimizes the ber for any given snr . as such , α is calculated to be some function of the snr of the k - input and m - output mimo system , expressed as : in block 504 , substituting ( 31 ) into ( 27 ) the optimum power allocation for a first antenna may be expressed as : λ 1 2 = kf k ( γ ) k - 1 + f k ( γ ) . ( 32 ) in blocks 506 and 508 the optimum power allocation for the second and following antennas may be iteratively obtained by λ i = k k - 1 + f k ( γ ) λ i - 1 ( k k - 1 + f k ( γ ) γ , k - 1 ) ( 33 ) for i = 2 , . . . , k for the equivalent k − 1 - input and m - output system . in block 510 the power allocation calculator 112 may output the power allocation factors to the adjustors 108 . in accordance with the description above , the power allocation for a 3 - input mimo system requires that the power allocation for a 2 - input system is known . as such , the power allocation for mimo systems with a successively larger number of transmit antennas 110 must be iteratively calculated . the above discussion on finding optimum power allocation for a mimo system was for the case when the snr was known at the transmitter 100 . however , the transmitter 100 sometimes may not know the snr . as stated above , the determination of α for various mimo systems may be calculated off - line ahead of time and stored at the power allocation calculator 112 . in this case , α may be selected to minimize the required ber of the system using the process shown in fig6 based on the stored calculations of α and the required ber of the mimo system . at block 602 it is assumed that the required ber of the system is known . in block 604 , using the results stored in the power allocation calculator 112 , α may be selected to minimize the required ber . for example , the results of the calculation for α in a 2 - input and 2 - output mimo system shown in fig8 a may be stored at the power allocation calculator 112 . in the example of fig8 a , if the required ber of the system is 1 %, then the snr may be found to be in the range between 11 - 15 db , and therefore α = 6 db . in block 606 , it is determined whether the number of transmitter antennas 110 , k , is greater than two . if the number of transmitter antennas 110 is not greater than two , then the process proceeds to calculate the power allocation for a 2 - input and m - output mimo system . when calculating the power allocation for a 2 - input and m - output mimo system in accordance with fig4 , the process may begin at block 404 because α has already been determined in block 604 . returning to block 606 , if the number of transmitter antennas 110 is greater than two , then the process proceeds to calculate the power allocation for a k - input and m - output mimo system . when calculating the power allocation for a k - input and m - output mimo system in accordance with fig5 , the process may begin at block 504 because α has already been determined in block 604 . fig7 describes the overall process that the power allocation calculation unit may perform in an embodiment . in block 702 , it is determined if the snr of the mimo system is known . if the snr is not known , then in block 710 the power allocation is calculated to minimize the required ber of the mimo system , for example , using the process illustrated in fig6 . returning to block 702 , if the snr is known , then in block 704 it is determined whether the number of transmitter antennas 110 , k , is greater than two . if the number of transmitter antennas 110 is not greater than two , then in block 706 the power allocation is calculated for a 2 - input and m - output mimo system in accordance with fig4 . if the number of transmitter antennas 110 is greater than two , then in block 708 the power allocation is calculated for a k - input and m - output mimo system in accordance with fig5 . for mimo systems with error - correct coding , the redundancy in the code can be used to further improve the performance . each of the sub - streams , b k [ n ], may be encoded separately by channel encoders 104 . at the receiver 200 , each of the decisions may be decoded and demodulated by the demodulator and decoder 208 to produce decoded words , { circumflex over ( b )} k [ n ]. the decoded words may then be re - encoded and re - modulated at the receiver to more reliably detect the transmitted signal , d k [ n ] using the error correcting code . this error correction may be used in any of the processes described above , except in blocks 402 or 502 , where the computer simulations are performed to minimize the word - error rate ( wer ) instead of the ber . further , as shown by the dashed line in fig2 , instead of feeding back the decisions { circumflex over ( d )} k [ n ] to the spatial temporal processor 204 , the demodulated and decoded words { circumflex over ( b )} k [ n ] may be fed back to the spatial temporal processor 204 . the examples shown in fig8 a , 9 a , 10 a , and 11 a demonstrate the simulation results to find α for various mimo systems . fig8 b , 9 b , 10 b , and 11 b demonstrate the performance of the various mimo systems when the snr is known , when the snr is not known , and when power is uniformly allocated to each of the signals . in the simulations , channel gains corresponding to different pairs of transmit and receive antennas , h km &# 39 ; s , may be independent , complex gaussian functions with zero mean and unit variance . in this instance , the lower - case “ k ” is a general designation of a transmitter antenna 110 and lower - case “ m ” is a general designation of a receiver antenna 202 . the transmitted signals , d k [ n ]&# 39 ; s , may be independent for different k &# 39 ; s or n &# 39 ; s and may be randomly drawn from 4 - qam constellations , fig8 a and 8b show the performance of a 2 - input and 2 - output mimo system . fig8 a demonstrates the simulated ber versus α for different snr &# 39 ; s . as described above , the results of fig8 a may be used to obtain the relationship between α and the snr that minimizes the ber of the 2 - input and 2 - output mimo system . fig8 b compares the performance of the 2 - input and 2 - output mimo system when the snr is known , when the snr is not known , and when power is uniformly allocated to each of the signals . as shown in fig8 b , it can be seen that there is about a 4 db performance gain at about 1 % ber for the mimo system with power allocation as compared to the mimo system with uniform power allocation . further , there is little performance difference for the power allocation when the snr is less than about 12 db , regardless of whether the snr is known . when the snr is known , and the snr is larger than about 14 db , the performance of the mimo system is better than when the snr is not known . fig9 a and 9b demonstrate the performance of a 2 - input and 4 - output mimo system . similar to fig8 a and 8b , α is first found from fig9 a . fig9 b compares the performance of the mimo system when the snr is known , when the snr is not known , and when power is uniformly allocated to each of the signals . from the fig9 b , it can be seen that when the snr of the system is less than 10 db there is little performance difference for the power allocation whether the snr is known or not . when the snr is known , and the snr is larger than 12 db , the performance of the mimo system is better than when the snr is not known . fig1 a and 10b demonstrate the performance of a 3 - input and 4 - output mimo system . from fig1 a , α = f 3 ( γ ) can be obtained . based on α = f 2 ( γ ) found in fig9 a and α = f 3 ( γ ), power may be allocated for each of the signals at the transmitter 100 . fig1 b compares the performance of the 3 - input and 4 - output mimo system when the snr is known , when the snr is not known , and when power is uniformly allocated to each of the signals . from the fig1 b , it can be seen that there is a performance gain of 0 . 6 db snr at 1 % ber and about a 2 db snr performance gain at 0 . 1 % ber . fig1 a and 11b demonstrate the performance of a 4 - input and 4 - output mimo system . from fig1 a , α = f 4 ( γ ) can be obtained . based on α = f 2 ( γ ) found in fig9 a , α = f 3 ( γ ) found in fig1 a , and α = f 4 ( γ ), the power may be allocated for each of the signals at the transmitter 100 . from fig1 b , it can be see that at 1 % ber the performance gain of the mimo system may be as large as 3 . 5 db where the performance gain continues to increases with the snr of the system . disclosed above is an optimal power allocation method that may be used regardless of whether the mimo system snr is known . in particular , an experimental method to find the optimal power allocation in layered space - time coding mimo system is disclosed . computer simulation results show that optimal power allocation can improve the performance of a 2 - input and 2 - output system by 4 db at 1 % ber and that of a 4 - input and 4 - output system by 3 . 5 db . also disclose above is a system and method for improving mimo system performance without using csi . this improved performance is gained through determining an optimal power allocation of the transmitted signals based on the snr of the mimo system . the power is allocated such that df detection is improved by allocating more power to the first signals . by allocating power in this way , it was seen that the bit - error rate for a given signal - to - noise ratio is decreased compared to when power is allocated uniformly for all of the signals . the system and method disclosed above may also be used even if the snr is not available at the transmitter . in the case of the snr not being available , the power allocation is performed based on a required ber of the mimo system . in this case , the performance is improved when compared to uniform power allocation , but may be less of an improvement than when the snr is known . also , error correcting code may be used at the receiver to further increase the performance gains . the power allocation calculator 112 and / or all of the other telecommunication network components in the system described above may be implemented on any general - purpose computer with sufficient processing power , memory resources , and network throughput capability to handle the necessary workload placed upon it . fig1 illustrates a typical , general - purpose computer system suitable for implementing one or more embodiments disclosed herein . the computer system 1280 includes a processor 1282 ( which may be referred to as a central processor unit or cpu ) that is in communication with memory devices including secondary storage 1284 , read only memory ( rom ) 1286 , random access memory ( ram ) 1288 , input / output ( i / o ) 1290 devices , and network connectivity devices 1292 . the processor may be implemented as one or more cpu chips . the secondary storage 1284 is typically comprised of one or more disk drives or tape drives and is used for non - volatile storage of data and as an over - flow data storage device if ram 1288 is not large enough to hold all working data . secondary storage 1284 may be used to store programs which are loaded into ram 1288 when such programs are selected for execution . the rom 1286 is used to store instructions and perhaps data which are read during program execution . rom 1286 is a non - volatile memory device which typically has a small memory capacity relative to the larger memory capacity of secondary storage . the ram 1288 is used to store volatile data and perhaps to store instructions . access to both rom 1286 and ram 1288 is typically faster than to secondary storage 1284 . i / o 1290 devices may include printers , video monitors , liquid crystal displays ( lcds ), touch screen displays , keyboards , keypads , switches , dials , mice , track balls , voice recognizers , card readers , paper tape readers , or other well - known input devices . the network connectivity devices 1292 may take the form of modems , modem banks , ethernet cards , universal serial bus ( usb ) interface cards , serial interfaces , token ring cards , fiber distributed data interface ( fddi ) cards , wireless local area network ( wlan ) cards , radio transceiver cards such as code division multiple access ( cdma ) and / or global system for mobile communications ( gsm ) radio transceiver cards , and other well - known network devices . these network connectivity devices 1292 may enable the processor 1282 to communicate with an internet or one or more intranets . with such a network connection , it is contemplated that the processor 1282 might receive information from the network , or might output information to the network in the course of performing the above - described method steps . such information , which is often represented as a sequence of instructions to be executed using processor 1282 , may be received from and outputted to the network , for example , in the form of a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave such information , which may include data or instructions to be executed using processor 1282 for example , may be received from and outputted to the network , for example , in the form of a computer data baseband signal or signal embodied in a carrier wave . the baseband signal or signal embodied in the carrier wave generated by the network connectivity devices 1292 may propagate in or on the surface of electrical conductors , in coaxial cables , in waveguides , in optical media , for example optical fiber , or in the air or free space . the information contained in the baseband signal or signal embedded in the carrier wave may be ordered according to different sequences , as may be desirable for either processing or generating the information or transmitting or receiving the information . the baseband signal or signal embedded in the carrier wave , or other types of signals currently used or hereafter developed , referred to herein as the transmission medium , may be generated according to several methods well known to one skilled in the art . the processor 1282 executes instructions , codes , computer programs , scripts which it accesses from hard disk , floppy disk , optical disk ( these various disk based systems may all be considered secondary storage 1284 ), rom 1286 , ram 1288 , or the network connectivity devices 1292 . while several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure , it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods may be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure . the present examples are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive , and the intention is not to be limited to the details given herein . for example , the various elements or components may be combined or integrated in another system or certain features may be omitted , or not implemented . also , techniques , systems , subsystems and methods described and illustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may be combined or integrated with other systems , modules , techniques , or methods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure . other items shown or discussed as directly coupled or communicating with each other may be coupled through some interface or device , such that the items may no longer be considered directly coupled to each other but may still be indirectly coupled and in communication , whether electrically , mechanically , or otherwise with one another . other examples of changes , substitutions , and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in the art and could be made without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed herein . | 7 |
although specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings , it should be understood that such embodiments are by way example only merely illustrative of but a small number of the many possible specific embodiments which can represent applications of the present invention . various changes and modifications obvious to one skilled in the art the present invention pertains are deemed to be within the spirit , scope and contemplation of the present invention . fig1 illustrates an frontal horizontal perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a channeled level device 100 of the invention showing certain key permutations of many elements , portions , and parts of the present invention . x - frame 107 is a channeled frame having channels formed by frame elements which approximate a letter x , wherein the x - shape has a central elongated section or beam . as illustrated in fig1 , the structure of x - frame 107 resembles two y sections connected via the stem of the y . the length , as referring to the length of x - frame shall herein be defined as a measurement of length of the axis defined by the center point of a series of x shapes formed from the profile of the device . skid plate 101 is adapted and arranged to be reversibly mountable to the bottom or top of an x - frame 107 of the invention . skid plate 101 can be made of any suitable material , but preferably of industrial plastic , and shall be particularly suitable for slide - ably interfacing the invention with concrete , bricks , and rough surfaces . in the preferred embodiment shown , skid plate 101 is provided with grooves 516 which are configured for intimate and slide - able attachment to of the bottom contact edges 720 a and 720 b of x - frame 107 , forming v - channel 709 when attached . v - channel 709 is formed by planar walls of the structures of x - frame 107 and skid plate 101 . skid plate 101 is provided with front edge 103 and rear edge 105 . grooves 516 and x - frame 107 preferably mate with one another such that skid plate 101 and frame 107 can slide with respect to one another in use in applications where x - frame 107 is desired to move with respect to plate 101 . skid plate 101 is configurable such that it broadens the width or length of the footprint of the combined x - frame 107 and skid plate 101 , while also providing a variable length to the present invention for use , by way of example , on masonry , concrete walkways , bricks , cinder blocks , and building frame elements . preferably , bottom surface 130 of skid plate 101 is in parallel planar relation with the plane defined by bottom contact edges 720 a and 720 b of x - frame 107 . a user of the present invention may thus rely on x - frame 107 &# 39 ; s accuracy with respect to the parallelism between it and bottom surface 130 . x - frame 107 can be made of any suitable material or combination of materials , such as aluminum , plastic , composite materials , or carbon fiber , as one of ordinary skill in the measuring tool arts will comprehend . x - frame 107 is provided with a number of key features and aspects which enable its adaptability to many uses . in one significant aspect , x - frame 107 of level device 100 is provided with one or a plurality of high - strength magnets 109 ( for example , neodymium magnets ) which , in some preferred embodiments , are flush - mounted to one or more surfaces of x - frame 107 , although any mounting method which is adapted and arranged to achieve the purposes of the invention is within the spirit and concept of the invention . high - strength magnets 109 are preferably positioned so that they can magnetically , and reversibly , affix or mount level device 100 to , for example , metallic framing elements of buildings and other structures , round piping and conduit , and ductwork . magnets 109 can also be positioned such that they interact with other magnets and magnetically susceptible inserts or portions of other devices . as an example , magnets 109 can be positioned so that they interact adherently to other magnets , such as high - strength magnets 409 placed within triangular bar rail 127 as described herein . through apertures 115 , 413 , and 419 are also provided in x - frame 107 . through apertures 115 , 413 , and 419 are adapted and arranged such that they can be used as handles for carrying , holding or handling level device 100 , or for the mounting and carriage of various types of modules , attachments or devices which can be combined with frame 101 ( such as modules mentioned elsewhere herein , or with any other part or portion of level device 100 ). such apertures are preferably oblong oval in shape and centrally located along the median of the frame , made by way of drilling , molding or punch press manufacturing for use of hand placement to carry and hold device to work surfaces . for some or all apertures , cushioned linings 730 can be provided to improve user comfort while handling the device via the apertures . some preferred embodiments of x - frame 107 are also provided with shock - absorbing protective end caps 415 , which can also be of electrically or thermally insulating materials , and made with scratch - resistant materials center vial holding brackets 117 a and 117 b are adapted and arranged to hold center vial 207 with respect to frame 107 , or to hold other elements or modules useful within a level device . center vial 207 may preferably comprise a rectangular acrylic block liquid - filled bubble vial . brackets 117 a and 117 b can be formed into frame 107 , or added thereto as is needed for the particular embodiment desired . brackets 117 a and 117 b can also be adapted and arranged to hold digital vials , for example , digital leveling vials adapted and arranged to record measurements that have been taken or observed . such brackets are preferably made of hard plastic to accurately hold edges of centrally - mounted vials , screens , or indicators . it is within the contemplation of this invention that such brackets may hold a wide variety of instrumentation useful in a level device , such as timekeeping devices , compasses , or devices interacting with mobile phones . in some preferred embodiments , the invention can include at least one adjustable , and reversibly mountable , triangular bar rail 127 , which is preferably configured and arranged such that level device 100 can be adapted for use with bar rail 127 , for example , on polished , smooth or delicate surfaces such as marble countertops , polished metal , glass , and fine carpentry and cabinetry , where scratch - free contact is desired . bar rail 127 is adapted and arranged such that it can be slide - ably seated within top v - groove 705 of x - frame 107 . preferably , bar rail 127 is complementary in shape to top v - groove 705 such that the two can slide with respect to one another and extend the footprint of the level device 100 . if a preferred embodiment of level device 100 has a top v - groove angled at 90 degrees , bar rail 127 will also have surfaces that intersect at 90 degrees to thereby provide mating angles and shapes of the complementary elements . many embodiments of level device 100 are possible within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure . in some preferred embodiments , bar rail 127 is provided with one or a plurality of high - strength magnets 409 that are arranged and positioned at or near the surface of the walls of bar rail 127 such that the relative positions of bar rail 127 with respect to surfaces 603 can be set as desired . for example , magnets 409 can be provided at indexed positions along or near the surfaces 603 such that they attach to one another such that portions of level device 100 and bar rail 127 overlap , but only to some extent . bar rail 127 can also be complementary to v - channel 709 of x - frame 107 and may in fact be stored in v - channel 709 when not in use . both bar rail 127 and the inner surfaces of the top v - groove 705 can also be provided with one or a plurality of measuring or indexing lines , numerals and related markings . triangulated bar rail 127 is provided with front and rear surfaces 214 . bar rail 127 can be formed , machined or molded using any suitable material , such as of plastic , metal or composite materials . preferably the one or more materials from which x - frame 107 is made offer sufficient rigidity that the several functions of the device are depend - ably facilitated . in an alternative embodiment , bar rail 127 can be manufactured also of inherently magnetic materials , such as ferrous metal , so that it can attach via magnets 109 to x - frame 107 onto inner surfaces of the top v - groove 705 , without the need for magnets 409 . x - frame 107 of level device 100 may be fitted with one or a plurality of tubular liquid - filled bubble vials 205 . one such vial 205 is shown in fig1 , wherein bubble vial 205 is shown rotate - ably mounted in base collar 211 by means of vial holder 203 . bubble vial 205 is mounted in a way that allows full 360 - degree rotation against the frame . bubble vial 205 and / or base collar 211 may be provided with angle ( degree ) or other indexing markings . vial holder 203 and base collar 211 are flush - mounted within the frontal y - beam section of x - frame 107 . front mounted , circular rotational tubular vial holder 203 is preferably mounted within the 90 degree frontal y beam section which connects the top v - groove 705 and bottom v - groove 709 , of the x - frame 107 , with incremental degree and other indexing markings . also with respect to fig1 , bubble vial module 119 is adapted for detachably mounting in and out of a receiver slot 333 ( shown in other figures ). bubble vial module 119 is provided with liquid - filled bubble vials 129 , rotational bubble vial rotational mechanism 201 , as well as tubular liquid - filled bubble vial 205 , and circular rotational tubular vial holder 203 . such a bubble vial module could be made of an sturdy material and are top and flush - mountable to slot 333 . liquid - filled bubble vial 129 may be centrally - mounted on a rotational mechanism 201 to facilitate vertical and post - level measurement . rotational bubble vial rotational mechanism 201 are hinged - secured to module 119 by way of rotational pins 501 . rotational pins 501 are designed to provide at least 180 degrees of movement to the rotational mechanisms they are attached to . rotational mechanism 201 may be in the form or shape of doors , flags , or hinged protrusions as illustrated . bubble vial module 119 is provided with swivel base locking bolt 301 for rigidly attaching module 119 to x - frame 107 , and also with swivel base locking nut 304 for holding bolt 301 in place . a combination of bolt 301 and nut 304 may attach other modules beyond bubble vial module 119 onto x - frame 107 , such as interchangeable laser mechanism module 314 ( discussed herein ), or other modules within the contemplation of the invention . referring to fig1 a , rotational laser mechanisms 307 are adapted and arranged to be reversibly and interchangeably mounted in receiver slot 333 ( shown in other figures ), and demounted from receiver slot 333 which is provided in frame 107 . laser mechanisms 307 are flush - mounted to x - frame 107 and can swivel 180 degrees from a retracted position by way of rotational pins 501 . one or more receiver slots 333 can be provided at various positions in x - frame 107 . although the embodiment shown in fig1 shows laser mechanisms 307 in receiver slot 333 near the front end of x - frame 107 , laser mechanisms 307 can be located anywhere along x - frame 107 as can be appreciated by those of skill in the art . with respect to fig1 a , interchangeable laser mechanism module 314 is provided with hard - mounted liquid bubble vials 316 in 90 - degree relation to each other are also adapted and arranged to provide level and non - level indications , as well as angular readouts . bubble vials 316 provide level readings to the user while employing the laser . module 314 is also provided with laser beam projection holes 401 a and 401 b as well as rotational pins 501 which are adapted and arranged as rotational axes for holding rotatable laser mechanisms 307 . module 314 also provides for bolt 301 and nut 304 adapted for securely attaching laser mechanism module 314 to the x - frame 107 . rotational pins 501 attach laser mechanisms 307 to module 314 . fig2 is an overall side oblique view of a preferred embodiment of channeled level device 100 showing certain permutations of many elements in retracted form . referring to fig2 , bottom skid plate 101 and triangulated bar rail 127 are shown to be fitted and attached to x - frame 107 . bubble vial module 119 is shown attached to x - frame 107 in a manner as to minimize the level device 100 footprint , and rotational bubble vial mechanisms 201 are shown to be in the retracted position . fig3 is an overall side oblique view similar to that shown in fig2 , showing laser mechanism module 314 attached to x - frame 107 . laser mechanisms 307 is in the retracted position and attached to x - frame 107 . fig4 is an overall side oblique view from the rear of a preferred embodiment of level device 100 similar to that shown in fig1 , where bubble vial module 119 is attached to the x - frame 107 . fig5 is an overall side oblique view from the rear of a preferred embodiment of level device 100 similar to that shown in fig4 , except from the opposite side . a bull &# 39 ; s - eye type liquid leveling vial 233 is attached to x - frame 107 via circular vial base 230 . vial 233 is mounted via vial base 230 in a flush - mounted configuration of the opposing y - beam section of the x - frame 107 for use on table tops , decks , floors to measure 360 degrees of horizontal measurement . fig6 is a side frontal sectional ( and closeup ) view of laser mechanism module 314 having laser mechanisms 307 adapted and arranged to rotate about rotational pins 501 . fig7 is a closeup top rear perspective view of the embodiment shown in fig6 , with a laser mechanism module 314 shown with laser mechanisms 307 in open configuration , and emitting straight - line visible laser projections 701 . a user can take advantage of these projections to orient the level device quickly . referring again to fig7 , a centrally located digital readout 740 is attached to the x - frame 107 . fig8 is a straight - on profile - from - the - front view of an embodiment having a bubble vial module 119 , and showing several permutations of the many possible angular extensions of the rotational bubble vial rotational mechanisms 201 wherein the bubble vials are disposed . although only the approximate angles of 0 ( retracted ), 45 , 90 , 135 , and 180 ( fully extended ) are illustrated , the invention encompasses a full range of motion between 0 and 180 degrees for the rotational mechanisms 201 . fig9 illustrates the versatility of the slide - able elements of the invention . bar rail 127 is shown seated in v - groove 705 , and skid plate 101 is shown attached to x - frame 107 via grooves 516 . the slide - able elements are both shown partially extended . fig1 is a side view of level device 100 of the invention showing receiver slot 333 , which is adapted and arranged for receiving and reversibly holding , one or more modules of the invention . numerous modules can be adapted and arranged to be reversibly mounted in slot 333 . in the embodiment shown by fig1 , slot 333 is a rectangular void disposed within x - frame 107 . however , slot 333 can be of any shape , configuration or disposition within x - frame 107 , so long as it is adapted and arranged to accept and reversibly mount one or more modules of the invention . in another aspect , more than one slot 333 can be structured in x - frame 107 as desired or needed . it should be clear from one of ordinary skill in the measuring arts that receiver slot 333 , leveling vial 233 , and center vial 207 may be replaced with a limitless combination of instrumentation designed to facilitate a wide variety of uses . for example , such instrumentation , in module or other form , may include laser modules , electronic levels , distance measuring equipment , gps modules , modules operatively linked to one another via digital means , modules connected to computers and other equipment via digital means , and real - time communications with software programs . fig1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of receiver slot 333 constructed within a portion of x - frame 107 , wherein portions of the x - frame have graduated markings adapted and arranged for various measuring and marking functions . shown are painted ( or etched ) standard english measurement markings 340 . fig1 is a bottom perspective view of a preferred embodiment of level device 100 of the invention , showing markings 340 , and of metric measurement markings 342 . in another aspect of the invention , the rigid x - frame component of the level device provides multiple permutations of the invention that can be provided in one or more hollow - containing embodiments of the frame elements in order to allow for various manufacturing processes , such as the extrusion of preferred materials into a frame of the invention . although the x - frame can be made of any suitable material or combination of materials , aluminum , plastic , and fiberglass are particularly preferred . examples of embodiments of the invention comprising a hollowed x - frame are shown in fig1 . with respect to fig1 , hollowed cavity , or void 803 can be provided within and through the total length and profile of hollow frame body 801 , or within any portion of body 801 . thus , while the exterior of the frame is generally x - shaped , the void or hollow within the frame could also be x - shaped , as well as any other shape which would fit within the margins of the frame . a hollow x - frame of the invention is also advantageous in that the hollow or void provides access to the centers and other internal portions of the device , for example , to position one or more elements such as digital readouts , laser components , leveling vials or components , and any other elements or components useful in facilitating the construction or use of the invention . in another embodiment of the invention , fig1 is a frontal oblique view of flat - bottomed x - shaped hollow frame 801 of the invention . hollow bottom section 808 is shown contiguous with the other hollow portions of frame 801 and forms a flat bottom surface 805 . fig1 shows also a top v - channel as well as side channels . the hollow frame in comprising internal hollows illustrate yet additional embodiments of the invention , as well as optional surface configurations to assist in quick measurements of a variety of surface shapes and applications . fig1 shows virtual bubble vial 901 . as an additional advantageous aspect of some preferred embodiments of the invention , one or more digitized led screens can be provided in or attached to an x - frame of the invention . such digitized screens can be adapted and arranged to accurately display readouts , such as those of “ bull &# 39 ; s - eye ” vials in conventional levels . virtual bubble vial 901 may comprise , as examples , one or more internal leveling sensors and related circuitry , adapted and arranged to provide numerous types of readouts , such as vertical and horizontal , as well as any other angle . one or more vials 901 can be provided with one or more front and back panels , such as front and back panels 903 , and can be configured to fit into an x - frame of the invention , for example , as a replacement for center vial 207 or bull &# 39 ; s - eye type liquid leveling vial 233 . although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment , it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as herein described . | 6 |
fig1 is a diagrammatic perspective of a roller ski according to the invention . fig2 is a partial side elevation showing a speed reducer mounted on the front end of the fig1 roller ski . fig3 is a front elevation showing the fig2 speed reducer mounted on the fig1 roller ski . fig4 is a partial side elevation showing a brake mounted on the rear end of the fig1 roller ski . fig5 is a diagrammatic partial side elevation showing attachment of a leg strap and cable on a leg of a user of the fig1 roller ski . referring to fig1 there is shown the aluminum base member of the ski 6 , the machined forks ( cutouts to accept the wheel ) 17 and 28 , the binding 37 , the brake 38 mounted to rear wheel fork 28 , the speed reducer 39 mounted to front fork 17 , the front wheel 5 , the rear wheel 27 , the retaining bolt 10 , the front fender stop 9 , the rear fender 40 , and the cable 20 . referring to fig2 there is shown the aluminum base member of the roller ski 6 and front wheel 5 rotatably mounted on the forks of the roller ski 17 . the frame structure 1 is mounted to the fork 17 with the wheel bolt 10 . the roller 4 is housed in a slotted portion of the first pivotable member 3 , and rotates about pin 12 which is pressed into a suitably sized slot of pivotable member 3 . in the free or neutral position shown , roller 4 does not contact the wheel 5 . the first pivotable member 3 is rotatably mounted to the frame structure 1 with metallic pins 13 . the compression spring 2 is captured in the first pivotable member 3 by a suitably sized depression 18 and is held in the frame structure 1 by a pop rivet 14 . the second pivotable member 8 is mounted to the frame structure 1 by a metallic pin 11 and is held in the neutral position by the plastic member 9 , enabling the hand of the user to slide under the extended portion of the member 8 . suitably sized indentations 7 , of second pivotable member 8 , receive the lobe 16 of first pivotable member 3 . referring to fig3 there is shown the front wheel 5 rotatably mounted on the forks of the roller ski 17 with bolt 10 and nut 15 . the frame structure 1 is mounted to the fork 17 with the wheel bolt 10 and nut 15 . the roller 4 is housed in a slotted portion of the first pivotable member 3 , and rotates about pin 12 which is pressed into a suitably sized slot of first pivotable member 3 . in the free neutral position shown , roller 4 does not contact the wheel 5 . the first pivotable member 3 is rotatably mounted to the frame structure 1 with metallic pins 13 . the compression spring 2 is captured in the first pivotable member 3 by a suitably sized depression and is held in the frame structure 1 by a pop rivet 14 . the second pivotable member is mounted to the frame structure 1 by a metallic pin 11 . referring to fig4 there is shown the aluminum base member of the roller ski 6 and rear wheel 27 rotatably mounted on the rear forks of the roller ski 28 . the frame structure 1 , identical to the frame structure 1 of fig1 and 2 , is mounted to the rear fork 28 with the wheel bolt 10 . the lever 32 is rotatably mounted to the frame structure 1 with metallic pin 33 . the brake pad 25 is secured to the lever 32 with retaining screw 26 . the geometry of the lever 32 , where the brake pad 25 is attached , is such that the structure matches the geometry of the cylindrical brake pad 25 reducing the force load on the retaining screw 26 when the brake pad 25 is forced against the wheel 27 . the lever 32 is pressed against stop 34 by a compression spring 2 . compression spring 2 is secured to the lever 32 by vertical walls 35 and to the frame 1 by a pop rivet 14 . the coiled cable 20 is secured to the retaining clip 29 by retaining crimp lug 30 . the other end of coiled cable 20 passes through a plastic tube 35 and a loop is formed by having the cable 20 attached to itself by crimp lug 31 . the leg strap 22 is wrapped around the user &# 39 ; s leg and is secured by hook and loop fasteners ( e . g ., velcro ). entrapped by , and protruding in perpendicular fashion from , the leg strap 22 is a pliable plastic insert 23 , with a hole 24 of a diameter sufficient to allow loop 21 to be passed through the hole when the loop 21 is compressed . after the loop 21 has passed through the hole 24 , energy within the loop 21 returns it to its normal shape retaining it in place . when in the neutral position shown , there is ample clearance 36 between the brake pad 25 and the wheel 27 . referring to fig5 there is shown the leg strap 22 mounted to the user &# 39 ; s leg and the plastic insert 23 , loop 21 and cable 20 . in operation the user &# 39 ; s boot is attached to binding 37 , and with ski poles in hand the user alternately pushes backwards and rolls , simulating classical cross country skiing , or alternately pushes the roller skis sideways and backward and rolls developing forward locomotion by a skating motion , known as free style skiing . this is also the motion used by in - line skaters . when approaching a downhill grade , where greater rolling resistance is desired to reduce speed , the user bends forward and pushes second pivotable member 8 forward so that lobe 16 engages the second indentation 7 , thus causing the roller 4 to press into the elastomeric material of the wheel 5 . if additional rolling resistance is desired , the second pivotable member 8 is pushed forward until the lobe of the first pivotable member 16 engages the next indentation 7 . on steeper downhill slopes , the second pivotable member 8 would generally be pushed forward until lobe 16 of the first pivotable member 3 would engage the third indentation 7 . the fourth , or last indentation 7 of the second pivotable member 8 , is normally used only after the wheel 5 has seen extensive use and is worn , thus causing the wheel to be smaller in diameter . with roller skis having a wheel geometry as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 898 , 403 , expert skiers can control roller ski speed on less steep hills by snow plowing , whereby the front of the roller skis are pushed towards each other and the back of the skis are spread apart forming a v , thus increasing rolling resistance through frictional rotation . however , on medium grade or steeper hills this is not possible even for expert skiers , because the leg force required to maintain this position is too great . most roller skis with conventional wheel geometry , i . e ., other than the geometry shown in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 898 , 403 , cannot be snow plowed . with the use of the speed reducer invention it is not necessary to use the snowplow maneuver , and with the rear mounted brake it is now possible to further reduce speed or to stop by pulling on the coiled cable attached to the brake lever . in practice the invention works extremely well and users have found it very easy to learn . other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims . for example , other materials and other dimensions could be used . the speed reducer could be activated by a rotating pressure member such as a threaded rod pushing the roller against the wheel or a different kind of leverage system than described in the preferred embodiments . the speed reducer and brake could be mounted in different fashion than with the bolt and nut securing the wheel . the detailed description of the speed reducer and brake is for a roller ski , but the invention is equally suitable for in - line skates with rotatably mounted elastomeric wheels and other similar foot supporting roller devices . | 0 |
reduced shield - to - shield spacing can be achieved through the use of trilayer readers with dual free - layers . in a trilayer structure , two free - layers with magnetization in a scissor orientation are used to detect media magnetic flux . synthetic antiferromagnetic ( saf ) and antiferromagnetic ( afm ) layers are not needed and free layer biasing comes from the combination of backend permanent magnet and demagnetization fields when both free layers have ends at the air bearing surface . since the pm is recessed from the abs surface , it does not interfere with the ability to achieve smaller shield - to - shield spacing without a sacrifice of pm material properties and bias field . trilayer readers with a short stripe height and backend magnetic biasing have high readback signal but can be magnetically unstable and are very sensitive to process variations . fig1 is a schematic cross - sectional view of an example embodiment of a magnetic read / write head 10 and magnetic disc 12 taken along a plane normal to air bearing surface abs of read / write head 10 . air bearing surface abs of magnetic read / write head 10 faces disc surface 16 of magnetic disc 12 . magnetic disc 12 travels or rotates in a direction relative to magnetic read / write head 10 as indicated by arrow a . spacing between air bearing surface abs and disc surface 16 is preferably minimized while avoiding contact between magnetic read / write head 10 and magnetic disc 12 . a writer portion of magnetic read / write head 10 includes top pole 18 , insulator 20 , conductive coils 22 , and bottom pole / top shield 24 . conductive coils 22 are held in place between top pole 18 and top shield 24 by use of insulator 20 . conductive coils 22 are shown in fig1 as two layers of coils but may also be formed of any number of layers of coils as is well known in the field of magnetic read / write head design . a reader portion of magnetic read / write head 10 includes bottom pole / top shield 24 , bottom shield 28 , and magnetoresistive ( mr ) stack 30 . mr stack 30 is positioned between terminating ends of bottom pole 24 and bottom shield 28 . bottom pole / top shield 24 functions both as a shield and as a shared pole for use in conjunction with top pole 18 . fig2 is a schematic view of air bearing surface abs of the example magnetic read / write head 10 of fig1 . fig2 illustrates the location of magnetically significant elements in magnetic read / write head 10 as they appear along air bearing surface abs of magnetic read / write head 10 of fig1 . in fig2 all spacing and insulating layers of magnetic read / write head 10 are omitted for clarity . bottom shield 28 and bottom pole / top shield 24 are spaced to provide for a location of mr stack 30 . a sense current is caused to flow through mr stack 30 via bottom pole / top shield 24 and bottom shield 28 . while the sense current is injected through the bottom pole / top shield 24 and bottom shield 28 in fig1 and 2 , other configurations have mr stack electrically isolated from bottom pole / top shield 24 and bottom shield 28 with additional leads providing the sense current to mr stack 30 . as the sense current is passed through mr stack 30 , the read sensor exhibits a resistive response , which results in a varied output voltage . because the sense current flows perpendicular to the plane of mr stack 30 , a reader portion of magnetic read / write head 10 is a current perpendicular to plane ( cpp ) type device . magnetic read / write head 10 is merely illustrative and other cpp configurations may be used in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention . fig3 shows an abs view of an embodiment of a trilayer cpp mr sensor 50 comprising trilayer mr stack 51 . mr stack 51 includes metal cap layer 52 , first freelayer 54 , nonmagnetic layer 56 , second freelayer 58 , and metal seedlayer 60 . trilayer mr stack 51 is positioned between bottom pole / top shield 24 and bottom shield 28 . in operation , sense current i s flows perpendicularly to the plane of layers 52 - 60 of trilayer mr stack 51 and experiences a resistance which is proportional to the cosine of an angle formed between the magnetization directions of first freelayer 54 and second free layer 58 . the voltage across trilayer mr stack 51 is then measured to determine the change in resistance and the resulting signal is used to recover encoded information from the magnetic medium . it should be noted that trilayer mr stack 51 configuration is merely illustrative and other layer configurations for trilayer mr stack 51 may be used in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention . the magnetization orientations of first freelayer 54 and second freelayer 58 in trilayer mr stack 51 are antiparallel and initially set parallel to the abs in the absence of other magnetic fields or forces . the alignment of the freelayers in this antiparallel direction is attributed to magnetostatic interactions between the two freelayers and occurs when the reader width ( rw ) is larger than the stripe height ( sh ). to increase the sensitivity of the reader , the alignment of the two freelayers is preferably an orthogonal alignment relative to each other and about 45 degrees to the abs , respectively . this is accomplished by a back bias magnet , ( not shown in fig3 ) behind trilayer mr stack 51 biasing each freelayer . fig4 , which is a schematic cross - section of the example cpp mr sensor 50 taken along section a - a in fig3 , shows back bias magnet 62 behind mr stack 51 recessed from the abs and positioned between bottom pole / top shield 24 and bottom shield 28 . the length of trilayer sensor stack 51 behind the abs is the stripe height sh and , as will be shown , is an important variable in embodiments to be discussed . a schematic cross - section perpendicular to the abs of trilayer cpp mr sensor 50 along section b - b in fig3 is shown in fig5 . trilayer mr stack 51 a with air bearing surface abs is shown positioned above recording medium 12 . back bias magnet 62 is shown positioned above trilayer mr stack 51 a recessed from air bearing surface abs . trilayer mr stack 51 a has a layer structure identical to trilayer mr stack 51 . magnetization of back bias magnet 62 is shown by arrow 63 as pointing in a vertical downward direction towards air bearing surface abs . magnetizations of first freelayer fl 1 and second freelayer fl 2 of trilayer mr stack 51 are shown schematically by arrows 53 a and 55 a respectively . as noted earlier , in the absence of back bias magnet 62 , magnetizations 53 a and 55 a would be parallel to the abs and antiparallel to each other . the presence of back bias magnet 62 forces magnetizations 53 a and 55 a into a scissor relationship as shown . curve 57 a in the graph of fig5 a depicts the magnetic field strength h media from recording medium 12 in trilayer mr stack 51 a . as shown in fig5 a , the magnetic field strength in the sensor decays exponentially as a function of distance from the abs . in the sensor geometry shown in fig5 , the reader width rw is larger than the stripe height sh a of trilayer stack 51 a . the scissors relation of magnetizations 53 a and 55 a of freelayers fl 1 and fl 2 result in increased sensitivity because both magnetizations freely respond to h media , the media flux . however , minor changes caused by process variability during fabrication can cause unacceptably large variability in sensor output or even magnetically unstable parts that will decrease product yield to unacceptable levels . a variation of the sensor geometry shown in fig5 is shown in fig6 . back bias magnet 62 is shown positioned above trilayer mr stack 51 b distal from air bearing surface abs . trilayer mr stack 51 b has a layer structure identical to trilayer mr stack 51 . trilayer mr stack 51 b differs from trilayer mr stack 51 a in that the stripe height sh b of trilayer mr stack 51 b is longer than the reader width rw of trilayer mr stack 51 b by at least a factor of two . both sensor stacks 51 a and 51 b have the same reader width rw . magnetization of back bias magnet 62 is shown by arrow 63 as pointing in a vertical downward direction toward air bearing surface abs . magnetizations of first freelayer fl 1 and second freelayer fl 2 are shown schematically by arrows 53 b and 55 b respectively . in contrast to the magnetization orientations of trilayer mr stack 51 a , the magnetizations of each freelayer at the backend of trilayer mr stack 51 b are stable and parallel to the magnetization of back bias magnet 62 as indicated by arrow 63 . due to the long stripe height of trilayer mr stack 51 b , the magnetization of free layers fl 1 and fl 2 naturally relax into the divergent orientations proximate the abs as shown by arrows 53 b and 55 b due to the magnetostatic interaction between fl 1 and fl 2 . the stability and robustness of trilayer sensor stack 51 b significantly exceeds that of trilayer mr stack 51 a . the increased stability , however , comes with a cost . as a result of the increased stripe height , a majority of the length of trilayer mr stack 51 b does not contribute to the magnetoresistive sensing signal . rather , the back end of the sensor stack functions as an electrical shunt , thereby decreasing the sensor output . solutions to the problem that provide trilayer reader sensors with robust stability as well as increased sensitivity are shown in fig7 - 10 . one embodiment is shown by cpp mr sensor 70 in fig7 . in cpp mr sensor 70 , trilayer mr stack 71 has a stripe height of at least twice reader width rw as shown in fig6 . cpp mr sensor 70 is comprised of trilayer mr stack 71 positioned between bottom pole / top shield 24 and bottom shield 28 with back gap magnet 62 behind the trilayer mr stack 51 as in cpp mr sensor 50 shown in fig4 . the difference is that insulator layer 72 in cpp mr sensor 70 is positioned between trilayer mr stack 71 and bottom shield 28 . insulator layer 72 extends from the back end of bottom shield 28 to a distance close to the abs , thereby providing a constriction in the current flow from bottom shield 28 through trilayer mr stack 57 to bottom pole / top shield 24 . by constricting the current flow to the vicinity of the abs , as shown by the arrows , electrical shunting at the back end of trilayer mr stack 71 is blocked resulting in increased sensor output . another embodiment is shown in fig8 . cpp mr sensor 80 is comprised of trilayer mr stack 71 with a long stripe height positioned between bottom pole / top shield 24 and bottom shield 28 with back gap magnet 62 behind trilayer mr stack 71 . in this case , insulator layer 73 is positioned between bottom pole / top shield 24 and trilayer mr stack 71 . insulator layer 73 extends from the back end of bottom shield 28 to a distance close to the abs , thereby providing a constriction in the current flow from top shield 24 through trilayer mr stack 71 to bottom shield 28 as indicated by the arrows . by constricting the current flow to the vicinity of the abs , electrical shunting at the back end of trilayer mr stack 71 is blocked resulting in increased sensor output . another embodiment is shown in fig9 . cpp mr sensor 90 is comprised of trilayer mr stack 71 with a long stripe height positioned between bottom pole / top shield 24 and bottom shield 28 with back gap magnet 62 behind trilayer mr stack 71 . in this case , insulator layer 73 is positioned between bottom pole / top shield 24 and trilayer mr stack 71 and insulator layer 72 is positioned between bottom shield 28 and trilayer mr stack 71 . insulator layers 72 and 73 extend from the back ends of top and bottom shields 24 and 28 to a distance close to the abs thereby providing a constriction in the current flow between bottom pole / top shield 24 and bottom shield 28 or between bottom shield 28 and bottom pole / top shield 24 through trilayer mr stack 71 . by constricting the current flow to the vicinity of the abs , electrical shunting at the back end of trilayer mr stack 71 is blocked , resulting in increased sensor output . another embodiment is shown in fig1 . cpp mr sensor 100 is comprised of trilayer mr stack 71 with a long stripe height positioned between bottom pole / top shield 24 and bottom shield 28 with back gap magnet 62 behind trilayer mr stack 71 . insulator layer 72 extends from the back end of bottom shield 28 to the abs . in this case , a portion of insulator layer 72 proximate the abs has been treated to transform insulator layer 72 into electrically conducting portion 74 . electrically conducting portion 74 provides a constriction in the current flow from bottom shield 28 to bottom pole / top shield 24 through trilayer mr stack 71 as indicated by the arrows . by constricting the current flow to the vicinity of the abs as the current passes through trilayer mr stack 71 , electrical shunting at the back end of trilayer mr stack 71 is blocked , resulting in increased sensor output . insulator layer 72 can be converted to electrically conducting region 74 after the abs is lapped by a number of processes . some of these are described here . one approach is to use co - sputtered fe and sio 2 as the insulating layer . the resulting fe / sio 2 layer is amorphous and electrically resistant . preferential heat treatment of the abs to moderate temperatures of about 350 ° c . to 400 ° c . by exposing the abs to a laser beam will cause fe segregation and the formation of electrically conductive channels close to the abs . another approach is to use a tio x barrier layer as the insulating layer . lapping the abs containing tio x insulating layers in an ordinary atmosphere or in hydrogen forms defects in the tio x layers that form conductive channels , thereby allowing current flow at the abs . insulator layers that have been transformed into conducting channels at the abs to constrict current flow through sensor stack 71 at the abs can also be positioned between bottom pole / top shield 24 and stack 71 and between bottom shield 28 and stack 71 . it should be noted that the sensor stacks described above are merely illustrative and other configurations may be used in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention . it has been found that introduction of insulator layer 72 in bottom shield electrical conductor 28 leads to manufacturing and device performance issues . a key step in the manufacture of cpp mr sensor 70 shown in fig7 is the planerization of the tops of bottom shield electrical conductor 28 and insulator layer 72 , i . e . surface s , before trilayer mr stack 71 is deposited . planerization is accomplished by chemical mechanical polishing ( cmp ) whose techniques are well known to those versed in the art . difficulties arise because the cmp polishing rates of dissimilar materials are different . this results in discontinuities in surface s . such as peaks and valleys in the surface in the vicinity of the intersection of shield 28 and insulator layer 72 , in dishing in the insulator material , and other problems . the resulting unpredictable nature of surface s after planerization leads to device performance instability , lot to lot variation during processing , and increased manufacturing costs . it has been found that introduction of insulator layer 72 in bottom shield electrical conductor 28 leads to manufacturing and device performance issues . a key step in the manufacture of cpp mr sensor 70 shown in fig7 is the planarization of the tops of bottom shield electrical conductor 28 and insulator layer 72 , i . e . surface s , before trilayer mr stack 71 is deposited . planarization is accomplished by chemical mechanical polishing ( cmp ) whose techniques are well known to those versed in the art . difficulties arise because the cmp polishing rates of dissimilar materials are different . this results in discontinuities in surface s . such as peaks and valleys in the surface in the vicinity of the intersection of shield 28 and insulator layer 72 , in dishing in the insulator material , and other problems . the resulting unpredictable nature of surface s after planarization leads to device performance instability , lot to lot variation during processing , and increased manufacturing costs . the problem has been circumvented by the inventive embodiment shown in fig1 - 13 . fig1 shows cpp mr sensor 110 comprising trilayer mr stack 71 with a long stripe height positioned between bottom pole / top shield 24 and bottom shield 28 with backgap magnet 62 behind trilayer mr stack 71 . insulator layer 72 has been replaced with multilayer insulator structure 74 . multilayer insulator structure 74 comprises insulator layer 76 and nonmagnetic metal conducting layer 78 . nonmagnetic metal conducting layer 78 has cmp polishing rates similar to bottom shield 76 , thereby ensuring planarization of surface s during cmp . insulating layer 76 contains insulating side wall 77 that ensures there is no conducting path between bottom shield 28 and nonmagnetic conducting layer 78 . the thickness of sidewall 77 is between 3 nm to 5 nm . multilayer insulator structure 74 can also be employed in the embodiment shown in fig9 as shown in fig1 . fig1 shows cpp mr sensor 120 comprising trilayer mr stack 71 with a long stripe height positioned between bottom pole / top shield 24 and bottom shield 28 with back gap magnet 62 behind trilayer mr stack 71 . insulator layer 72 has been replaced with multilayer insulator structure 74 . multilayer insulator structure 74 comprises insulator layer 76 and nonmagnetic metal conducting layer 78 . nonmagnetic metal conducting layer 78 has cmp polishing rates similar to bottom shield 76 , thereby ensuring planarization of surface s during cmp . insulating layer 76 contains insulating side wall 77 that ensures there is no conducting path between bottom shield 28 and nonmagnetic conducting layer 78 . the thickness of sidewall 77 is between 3 nm to 5 nm . insulating layers 76 and 76 ′ can be , among others , al 2 o 2 , sio 2 , and sion . nonmagnetic metal conducting layers 78 and 78 ′ can be , among others , ru , ta , cr , and nicr . while the present disclosure has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment ( s ), it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the claimed embodiments . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof . therefore , it is intended that the claimed technology not be limited to the particular embodiment ( s ) disclosed , but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
the present invention relates generally to a sputter source and more specifically to a magnetron sputter source , the deposition of materials and more specifically to utilizing a sputter source for the deposition of the material . the following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements . various modifications to the preferred embodiments and the generic principles and features described herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art . thus , the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown , but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein . the present invention is a “ concentric hollow cathode sputter source ” and is shown in fig3 . fig3 is a cross section of the sputter source 300 which consists of a circular housing 302 . a outer hexagon ring of two rows of magnets 306 , 319 are attached to an iron yoke 302 and an inner hexagonal ring of two rows of magnets 306 , 319 are attached to an iron yoke 302 and an inner hexagonal ring of two rows of magnets 313 , 318 are also attached to iron yoke 302 . the iron yoke 302 is the return path for the magnetic flux from all the magnets . fig4 is a top view of the present invention and shows the inner ring of magnets 313 and outer ring of magnets 306 arranged in a hexagon . other configurations are possible such as 3 sides , 4 sides , etc ., however 6 sides is the preferred configuration . all the magnets are attached to the iron yoke 307 . referring to fig3 , the magnetic field has three components . the first component is a magnetic field 314 from the upper row of outer magnets 319 to the lower row of outer magnets 306 that penetrates the outer row of targets 312 and is largely parallel to the outer target surface 309 which traps ions near the surface 309 and results in a high rate of sputtering from the outer target surfaces 312 . a second magnetic field 316 is generated from the inner row of upper magnets 318 to the inner row of low magnets 313 which penetrates the inner targets 308 and is largely parallel to the inner target surface 322 and traps ions at the inner target surface 322 and results in a high rate of sputtering from the inner target surfaces 322 . the third magnetic field 304 is generated from the outer ring of upper magnets 319 to the inner ring of magnets 318 . a similar magnetic field 321 is generated at the bottom of the cavity 315 between the outer ring of lower magnets 306 and the inner ring of lower magnets 313 . magnetic fields 304 and 321 trap ions and electrons within the cavity 315 which results in increasing the ion density within the cavity 315 and allows sputtering at pressures of 2 × 10e − 5 to 1 × 10e − 2 torr and preferably at 5 × 10e − 5 to 5 × e − 4 torr . other magnetron sputter sources such as the planar source 100 and the hollow cathode 200 require pressures from 3 × 10e − 3 to 1 × 10e − 2 torr . the low pressure of this concentric hollow source 300 results in denser sputtered films with less argon or any other gases used in the sputtering process trapped in the deposited film . the lower pressure also increases the mean free path in the vacuum reducing the collusions between the gas molecules and the sputtered material resulting in an increase in the average energy of the arriving sputtered material at the substrate surface , which also increases the deposited material density . a second advantage of trapping the ions and electrons within the cavity 315 is that the number of ions and electrons reaching the substrate surface 105 is greatly reduced as compared to the planar source 100 or the hollow cathode 200 . the reduced ions and electrons reaching the substrate surface 105 greatly reduces ion and electron damage to semiconductor devices fabricated on the substrate surface 105 . although the present invention has been described in accordance with the embodiments shown , one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that there could be variations to the embodiments and those variations would be within the spirit and scope of the present invention . for example , although the splice is preferably made of a conductive material such as aluminum , it could be made utilizing a non - conductive material which has a conductive capability added to its surface and its use would be within the spirit and scope of the present invention . accordingly , many modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims . | 2 |
the above method is basically a modification of the method reported by glaudemans and fletcher in methods of carbohydrate chemistry , vol . vi , r . l . whistler and j . n . bemiller , eds ., academic press , new york , new york ( 1972 ), pp . 373 - 376 . numerous modifications in the depicted reaction scheme will be apparent to those skilled in the art . for example , protecting groups other than benzyl can be employed , so long as they can be readily removed after coupling of the α - d - 2 - deoxyglucopyranose and 2 - acetoxybenzoic acid portions of the molecule . thus , p - methoxybenzyl or tert - butyl radicals could be introduced into the glucopyranose molecule instead of the benzyl protecting groups . after coupling , benzyl and p - methoxybenzyl protecting groups can be conveniently removed by catalytic hydrogenolysis . suitable catalysts may include rhodium , platinum , ruthenium , raney nickel and palladium ( optionally on a support ), a particularly preferred catalyst being palladium - on - carbon . when protecting groups which are normally not sensitive to catalytic hydrogenolysis , e . g ., tert - butyl radicals , are employed , removal may be effected by use of an acid such as trifluoroacetic acid . variations in the coupling reaction would also be possible . for example , the acid chloride starting material could be reacted with the protected glucopyranose in the presence of suitable bases other than pyridine , e . g ., other tertiary aliphatic or aromatic amines such as n - methylmorpholine , triethylamine , and picoline , conveniently in a non - protic solvent . alternatively , the protected glucopyranose could be reacted with 2 - acetoxybenzoic acid ( rather than with the acid chloride ), in which case the reaction would be conducted in the presence of a suitable dehydrating agent , for example , an aromatic or aliphatic carbodiimide . the invention will appear more fully from the examples which follow . fifteen grams ( 0 . 09 moles ) of 2 - deoxyglucose were dissolved in 540 milliliters of 2 % methanolic hydrochloric acid and the solution was warmed to 40 ° c . in a water bath . the solution was shaken occasionally for one hour , then allowed to cool to room temperature and stirred with thirty - two grams of sodium carbonate for fifteen minutes . the solution was filtered and the filtrate was concentrated under diminished pressure to yield a light yellow oil containing a small amount of white solid . the oily mixture was then stirred vigorously with 750 milliliters of acetone for thirty minutes . the resulting suspension was filtered and the filtrate was concentrated under diminished pressure to yield a clear light yellow oil . the oil was combined with five milliliters of absolute ethanol and the mixture stored at - 20 ° c . large clear crystals of 1 - o - methyl - α - d - 2 - deoxyglucopyranose separated spontaneously after two to three days . the crystalline material was recovered by filtration and washed with cold (- 20 ° c .) ethyl acetate . nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): δ4 . 1 - 4 . 8 ( m , 3 ,-- o -- h ), δ3 . 1 - 4 . 1 ( m , 9 , 3 - 6 h &# 39 ; s , 1 h , -- och 3 ), δ1 . 1 - 2 . 3 ( m , 2 , 2 -- h &# 39 ; s ). nine grams ( 0 . 05 moles ) of 1 - o - methyl - α - d - 2 - deoxyglucopyranose was added to a suspension of 44 . 8 grams of finely powdered potassium hydroxide in 110 milliliters of dry dioxane and the mixture was warmed to reflux . when the reaction mixture was refluxing smoothly , sixty - two milliliters of colorless benzyl chloride was added dropwise over a period of about forty - five minutes . the mixture was refluxed for an additional period of forty minutes , then cooled . the apparatus was rearranged and the dioxane was distilled off over a period of three hours . the residue was cooled , diluted with water to a total volume of 350 milliliters , and extracted successively with 300 , 200 , 100 and 100 milliliter portions of ether . the ether portions were combined and dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate , then were filtered . ether was removed from the filtrate under diminished pressure to yield a light yellow oil . the oily material was subjected to vacuum ( 10 - 4 mm hg ) distillation with the bath temperature slowly increased to 200 ° c . the product , an amber - colored oil , remained in the distillation pot in 96 - 100 % yield . nmr ( cdcl 3 ); δ6 . 7 - 7 . 7 ( m , 15 , arh ), δ4 . 2 - 5 . 0 ( m , 7 , φ - ch 2 -- o -- and 1 -- h ), δ3 . 4 - 4 . 2 ( m , 5 , 3 - through 6 - glucose - h &# 39 ; s ), δ3 . 2 ( s , 3 ,-- och 3 ), δ1 . 4 - 2 . 5 ( m , 2 , 2 - position - h &# 39 ; s ). the amber oil obtained in example 2 ( 22 . 3 grams , 0 . 05 moles ) was dissolved in 550 milliliters of hot ( 70 ° c .) glacial acetic acid , 240 milliliters of hot ( 70 ° c .) molar sulfuric acid were slowly added , and the resulting mixture was maintained at 73 °- 75 ° c . for one hour . ( the sulfuric acid was added slowly and with vigorous stirring to prevent precipitation of the starting material .) the reaction mixture was then slowly added to three liters of vigorously stirred water . the mixture was stirred for two hours , then was kept at + 10 ° c . for twenty - four hours . filtration and washing with two sixty - milliliter portions of methanol resulted in 14 grams ( 65 % yield ) of a white powder . melting point : 96 °- 97 ° c . nmr ( cdcl 3 ): δ6 . 7 - 7 . 7 ( m , 15 , arh ), δ5 . 1 - 5 . 4 ( broad s , 1 , 1 -- h ), δ4 . 2 - 5 . 1 ( m , 6 , φ - ch 2 -- o --), δ3 . 2 - 4 . 2 ( m , 6 , 3 - through 6 - glucose - h &# 39 ; s and 1 - oh ), δ1 . 4 - 2 . 5 ( m , 2 , 2 - position ). a solution of 13 . 7 grams ( 0 . 032 moles ) of 3 , 4 , 6 - tri - o - benzyl - α - d - 2 - deoxyglucopyranose in 130 milliliters of dichloromethane was treated with a solution of 6 . 93 grams ( 0 . 035 moles ) o - acetylsalicyloyl chloride and 2 . 8 milliliters of dry pyridine in fifty milliliters of dichloromethane and the resulting mixture was stirred at room temperature . after twenty - three hours , 100 grams of ice were added and stirring was continued for one hour . the bi - layered mixture was transferred to a separatory funnel and the dichloromethane layer was washed successively with water , 3 n sulfuric acid , water , and a saturated aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate . the dichloromethane layer was then dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and filtered , and the filtrate was concentrated under diminished pressure to a clear oil in nearly quantitative yield . the oil , however , was found to contain varying amounts of a second component . this material was removed by dissolving the oily product in 200 milliliters of methanol at room temperature and then cooling the resultant solution to - 20 ° c . the desired product was isolated as a waxy solid by decanting the methanol layer . this procedure was repeated with 50 milliliters of methanol , when necessary , to produce a unitary compound ( tlc on silica gel with a mobile phase of chloroform / heptane / methanol / formic acid at 50 / 50 / 5 / 1 , r f : 0 . 57 ). the product was then isolated , in 25 % yield , as white , crystalline flakes by recrystallization from absolute ethanol ( twenty milliliters per gram of product ). nmr ( cdcl 3 ): δ6 . 7 - 8 . 0 ( m , 19 , arh ), δ5 . 8 ( d , 1 , 1 - h ), δ4 . 4 - 4 . 9 ( m , 6 , -- ch 2 -- o --), δ3 . 4 - 3 . 9 ( m , 5 , 3 - through 6 - position - h &# 39 ; s ), δ1 . 0 - 2 . 5 ( m , 5 , 2 - position and -- ococh 3 ). one gram of 1 - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- acetoxy ) benzoyl - 3 , 4 , 6 - tri - o - benzyl - α - d - 2 - deoxyglucopyranose was dissolved in 150 milliliters of absolute ethanol in a parr bottle and 0 . 6 grams of 10 % pd / c was added . hydrogenolysis at 60 pounds per square inch of hydrogen pressure was carried out for twelve hours . the reaction mixture was then filtered and the filtrate was concentrated under diminished pressure to a clear oil . the oil was washed with one fifty - milliliter portion of petroleum ether . the product crystallized spontaneously in 95 - 100 % yields upon the addition of fifteen milliliters of chloroform . nmr ( acetone - d 6 ): δ7 . 0 - 8 . 2 ( m , 4 , arh ), δ5 . 8 - 5 . 9 ( d , 1 , 1 - h ), δ3 . 0 - 4 . 1 ( m8 , 3 - through 6 - h &# 39 ; s and -- oh &# 39 ; s ), δ2 . 3 ( s , 3 , -- ococh 3 ), δ1 . 0 - 2 . 3 ( m2 , 2 - h &# 39 ; s ). at low ph , the absorbance spectrum of 1 - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- acetoxy ) benzoyl - α - d - 2 - deoxyglucopyranose exhibits a large peak at 278 nanometers which is exactly like that observed for the unionized aspirin molecule . at a ph value of 6 , the spectrum of the prodrug of the present invention remains unchanged , while that observed for the ( ionized ) aspirin molecule exhibits a significant decrease in absorbance at wavelengths of 270 to 290 nanometers . therefore , the decrease in absorbance of a solution containing both the prodrug of this invention and aspirin observed at 285 nanometers upon adjustment of the ph to a value of six is proportional to the amount of aspirin in the solution . accordingly , the rate of generation of aspirin via hydrolysis of the derivative of the present invention was determined spectrophotometrically at 285 nm . solutions of 1 - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- acetoxy ) benzoyl - α - d - 2 - deoxyglucopyranose in a buffered solution containing 5 mg / ml were freshly prepared and maintained at constant temperature in a circulating waterbath . an aliquot of 200 μl of the solution was added to 3 ml of buffered solution at ph 6 in a 1 cm path - length spectrophotometer cell ( cary cell ), and , after inverting several times to insure a uniform mixture , the absorbance versus a buffer - only blank was observed at 285 nm . buffers employed were hydrochloric acid ( ph 1 to 2 ), citrate ( ph 3 ), acetate ( ph 4 to 6 ) and phosphate ( ph 7 - 9 ). ionic strength was adjusted with potassium chloride ( usually to 0 . 1 ). the change in absorbance at 285 nm was followed until no change in absorbance was observed . first order plots were constructed by plotting log ( a t - a . sub .∞) agains time . the effect of ph on the rate of hydrolysis was determined using solutions ranging from ph 1 . 2 to ph 9 . the generation of aspirin from the derivative was found to be independent of the ph of the solutions as shown in the table . the half - life for the hydrolysis at ph 3 and ph 8 at 37 ° c . was found to be 7 minutes . table______________________________________the half - life of hydrolysis of 1 - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- acetoxy ) benzoyl - α - d - 2 - deoxyglucopyranoseto aspirin as a function of ph at 37 ° c . ph tl / 2 *( minutes ) ______________________________________3 74 . 6 7 . 16 . 4 7 . 08 7 . 029 7 . 0______________________________________ * each halflife is the average of three determinations . thus , the transient blocking of the acidic carboxylic group of aspirin by formation of an acylal - linked derivative results in a compound which regenerates aspirin at an acceptable rate . such a compound reduces the gastrointestinal liability of aspirin by presenting a neutral molecule to the gastric membrane . the rate of hydrolysis of 1 - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- acetoxy ) benzoyl - α - d - glucopyranose , i . e ., the compound of the formula ## str4 ## was determined by following the rate of appearance of aspirin in a solution by high pressure liquid chromatography . 1 - o -( 2 &# 39 ;- acetoxy ) benzoyl - α - d - glucopyranose was found to have a half - life of hydrolysis to aspirin of 55 hours . the compound of this invention is conveniently administered in oral dosage form , such as by tablet or capsule , by combining the same in a therapeutic amount ( e . g ., dosage regimen for aspirin on an equivalent weight basis ) with any oral pharmaceutically acceptable inert carrier , such as lactose , starch ( pharmaceutical grade ), dicalcium phosphate , calcium sulfate , kaolin , mannitol , and powdered sugar . in addition , when required , suitable binders , lubricants , disintegrating agents , and coloring agents can also be added . typical binders include starch , gelatin , sugars , such as sucrose , molasses , and lactose , natural and synthetic gums such as acacia , sodium alginate , extract of irish moss , carboxymethylcellulose , methylcellulose , and polyvinylpyrrolidone , polyethyleneglycol , ethylcellulose and waxes . typical lubricants for use in these dosage forms can include , without limitation , sodium benzoate , sodium acetate , sodium chloride , leucine and polyethyleneglycol . suitable disintegrators can include , without limitation , starch , methylcellulose , agar , bentonite , cellulose and wood products , alginic acid , guar gum , citrus pulp , carboxymethylcellulose and sodium lauryl sulfate . if desired , a conventionally pharmaceutically acceptable dye can be incorporated into the dosage unit form , i . e ., any of the standard fd & amp ; c dyes . any skilled artisan can prepare these oral dosage forms by simply referring to the oral dosage form preparatory procedure outlined in &# 34 ; remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences ,&# 34 ; fourteenth edition ( 1970 ), pp . 1659 - 1698 , inclusive . the dose administered , whether a single dose or a daily dose will , of course , vary with the needs of the individual being treated . however , the dosage administered is not subject to definite bounds , but it will usually be an effective therapeutic amount , or the equivalent on a molar basis of the pharmacologically - active form produced upon the metabolic release of the active drug ( 2 - acetoxybenzoic acid ) to achieve its desired pharmacological or physiological effect . although the present invention has been adequately described in the foregoing specification and examples included therein , it is apparent that various changes and / or modifications can be made thereto by the skilled artisan without departing from the spirit and scope thereof . such changes and / or modifications are properly , equitably and intended to be within the full range of equivalence of the following claims . | 2 |
the intrapulmonary delivery device 5 shown in fig2 comprises a mouthpiece 10 , a flow rate controller 14 , and a container 18 . details of the mouthpiece 10 are illustrated in fig1 and 3 . the mouthpiece is a unitary structure of flexible material having an annular flat flange portion 10 a , a bulbous intermediate portion 10 b , the diameter of which is slightly less than the diameter of flange portion 10 a , a cylindrical portion 10 c and a nipple portion 10 d . nipple portion 10 d has an orifice 12 at the distal end away from flange portion 10 a . the mouthpiece 10 is elongated and generally tubular and is made of a flexible material that can withstand sterilization via hot water , e . g . latex or silicone rubber . preferably , the mouthpiece is made of a clear silicone rubber - type material so that deposits of medicament or other substances within the mouthpiece can be easily viewed and removed . the orifice 12 of the mouthpiece 10 has a diameter of approximately about 3 . 1 mm to 8 mm and a relatively circular shape . the mouthpiece 10 has a wall thickness of approximately about 0 . 5 mm to 5 mm . the container 18 is shown in fig2 , 4 b and 4 c . container 18 comprises a hollow cylinder of approximately about 140 mm to 160 mm in length for holding a quantity of medicament . the container 18 has a first cross sectional area and a neck portion 24 of a second cross sectional area which is less than the first cross sectional area . it is to be noted that the container wall transitions from the first to the second cross sectional area by forming an angle of approximately 45 °. the container further comprises an outlet opening 23 at the end of the neck portion 24 that allows for medicament to pass through . the mouthpiece 10 is sized to fit snugly over and around the neck portion 24 of the container and is held in place by a combination of friction and elasticity . the opposite end of the container is closed by a boot 20 . boot structure 20 comprises an integral closure for the end of the container and includes side walls 20 a and 20 b which cooperate with a central portion 20 c to present a slot 20 d that frictionally engages the wall of container 18 . central portion 20 c also mounts a membrane valve 26 having a plurality of slits 26 a so as to accommodate the insertion of a supply tube 27 ( fig2 ). it will be appreciated that valve 26 is integral with the body of the boot 20 . as best illustrated in fig2 , 4 a , 4 b and 6 c , a baffle structure 22 is coupled with neck portion 24 . baffle structure 22 comprises four vanes 23 , mounted about an axial hub 25 . each of vanes 23 is spaced approximately 90 ° from an adjacent vane . the outboard surface of each vane has a straight section 23 a which merges into an angled section 23 b so that this surface generally follows the contour of container 18 . an end wall 21 rigid with the vanes 23 blocks the flow of medicament from the container 18 . the axial hub 25 presents a through passage 16 along its length . the diameter of passage 16 is approximately 1 . 5 mm to 4 mm and the length is approximately 26 mm to 32 mm . end wall 21 ( fig6 a and 6c ) mounts baffle structure 22 rigidly with the container 18 inside the neck portion 24 . it is preferred that the diameter of the mouthpiece orifice 12 is about double the diameter of passage 16 . in operation , the device of fig2 is easy to use and effectively delivers medicament to the lungs of a patient . the mouthpiece 10 is connected to the neck portion 24 of the container 18 and medicament is supplied to container 18 via supply line 27 . a tight fit between the mouthpiece 10 and the container 18 is essential because the transference of negative inspiratory pressure will not occur if there is a leak between the mouthpiece 10 and the container 18 . the mouthpiece 10 is configured to conform to the mouth of the user as he purses his lips around the conical section 10 c so that an airtight seal is formed . in this regard it will be appreciated that bulbous portion 10 b forms a “ stop ” for the user &# 39 ; s lips when moving in one direction , and the nipple 10 d being larger in diameter than section 10 c , works against accidental withdrawal of the mouthpiece when in use . once the user forms a seal with his or her lips around mouthpiece 10 , medicament within container 18 will move into the lungs as the user inhales . because of the specific design of baffle structure 22 , greatly reduced negative pressure is required to initiate the flow of medicament through passage 16 and through orifice 12 . this reduced effort results in a relatively low inspiratory flow rate which , as explained above , is desirable for maximum efficacy of the medicament . the preferred flow rate is between about 25 . 8 and 30 . 2 liters per minute ( 0 . 43 to 0 . 51 liters per second ). while the physics of the device 5 according to the present invention are not fully understood , it is believed that the combination of the upper portion of container 18 , as shown in fig6 c , together with baffle structure 22 form a flow rate controller 14 which promotes laminar flow and creates a type of poiseuille gauge . the relatively high negative inspiratory pressure which is required to effect low emitted flow through passageway 16 is explained by the poiseuille equation : where f = flow rate ; r = radius of the constriction ; l = length of the constriction ; δp = pressure difference driving the flow ; and η = is the viscosity of air . one alternative to the mouthpiece orifice 12 and axial hub passage 16 of the preferred embodiment described above is to make both the orifice and passage the same diameter . the passage 16 in baffle structure 22 is about 28 mm to 30 mm in length with a diameter of about 1 . 5 to 4 mm . the mouthpiece orifice 12 has a diameter of about 3 . 1 and 8 mm . even with an orifice 12 that is the same diameter as passage 16 , the effect on flow rate is only about 10 % ( i . e ., the change in flow rate is negligible ). however , doubling the size of the orifice 12 relative to the diameter of the passage 16 will produce a theoretical 16 fold increase in flow rate . while not intending to be bound by any particular theory , it may be that human physiology is better adapted to hard sucking action on an object with the geometry of a nipple as described herein , as compared to the cylindrical or elliptical configuration of a spacer or holding chamber device of the prior art . it may also be that use of a flexible material for the mouthpiece 10 according to the present invention is better suited with respect to human physiology than a non - flexible mouthpiece in terms of generating maximum negative inspiratory pressure with minimal force . additionally , while the mouthpiece orifice 12 of the present invention is shown in a relatively circular configuration , it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that other configurations such as oval and elliptical can be utilized as well . the mouthpiece 10 in combination with the flow rate controller 14 will work with any inhalation delivery device such as pmdis , nebulizers , medicine cups . the mouthpiece 10 in combination with the flow rate controller 14 of the invention may also be used with other inhalation delivery devices , such as the presently available exubera insulin delivery device . fig6 d illustrates a side view of the mouthpiece 10 coupled with flow rate controller 14 which may be used in conjunction with an inhalation delivery device . most children can inhale most of the medication in 3 - 4 seconds with the present invention , whereas with the prior art devices it takes a minimum of 6 - 8 seconds . further , without the benefit of the invention , most children will inhale and exhale twice within the first 6 - 8 seconds . usually , with prior art devices , over time ( 20 - 30 seconds or more ) medication falls out of the aerosolized state , primarily due to gravity , into the portion of the spacer or holding chamber that is substantially parallel to the ground when the spacer or holding chamber is in use . this results in less medication being aerosolized , thus giving less chance for medication to be inhaled . with the present invention a greater amount of medication is inhaled in the first few seconds , before the medication falls out of its aerosolized state . normal tidal volume breathing ( less than 30 l / min ) has been shown to allow better drug deposition into the lungs . the present invention encourages young children and adults to inhale naturally at normal tidal volume rates . this is especially important with patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (“ copd ”), who may have difficulty generating negative inspiratory pressure . in fact , it is well known by those skilled in the art of pulmonary medicine that these groups of patients unconsciously purse their lips to enhance their breathing . the mouthpiece of the present invention naturally accommodates these patients &# 39 ; tendencies , permitting better generation of negative inspiratory pressure . it will also be appreciated that the present invention encompasses a method for administering medicament via inhalation . the method is carried out utilizing a container as afore - described having a first cross sectional area and a neck portion which presents a second cross sectional area that is smaller than the first cross sectional area . the method comprises the steps of providing a flexible mouthpiece having an orifice for passage of medicament , providing a baffle structure coupled with the mouthpiece and having an axial through passage with the structure extending at least partially into the neck portion of the container . next , the user places the mouthpiece into his or her mouth and then moves the medicament through the axial passage by inhalation . by following the afore - described method steps , the mouthpiece and baffle structure cooperate to dispense a desired quantity of medicament to the user . preferably , the method includes providing a mouthpiece having a nipple with the orifice of the nipple having a diameter of approximately 3 . 1 to 8 mm . it is also preferred that the mouthpiece have a thickness of approximately 0 . 5 to 5 mm and that the baffle structure comprises at least three ( 3 ) vanes . the method further comprises providing a baffle structure with a through passage of approximately 1 . 5 to 4 mm in diameter and a length of approximately 26 to 32 mm . preferably , the method utilizes a container having a length of 140 to 160 mm with the container comprising a boot structure which closes the end of the container opposite the outlet opening . one of the concerns with the use of dpis is the need to generate enough negative inspiratory pressure to de - aggregate the powdered medication found in these devices . most patients need high negative inspiratory forces , greater than 30 l / minute to de - aggregate the medication , resulting in undesirable turbulent flow . turbulent flow , as contrasted with laminar flow , is undesirable because it results in more oral deposition ( deposition of the medicament in the mouth ) rather than intrapulmonary deposition ( deposition of the medicament in the lungs ). the use of the present invention solves this problem if a dpi device releases the medicament into a spacer or holding chamber , e . g ., the exubera device presently on the market . another advantage of the present invention is time efficiency . utilizing the prior art devices , it takes approximately 20 - 30 minutes to prepare and administer a single nebulization treatment . this does not take into account the time it takes to coax a relatively compliant child into submitting to the nebulization treatment . if the child is crying or combative , even more time is needed for the treatment . a crying child will have poor inspiration and will not receive the proper amount of medicament due to the poor inspiration . using the device of the present invention , it takes approximately 8 - 20 seconds to complete a full inhalation treatment . while the preferred flow rate is about 25 . 8 to 30 . 2 l / minute , it is to be understood for certain applications the flow rate may range from 15 to 60 l / minute . the method and device of the present invention are useful for delivering a wide variety of medicaments , drugs , biologically active substances , and the like , to a patient &# 39 ; s lungs . the present invention is particularly useful for delivering high value medicaments and drugs , such as proteins and polypeptides , where efficient delivery and proper dosage are of great concern . from the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all ends and objectives herein - above set forth , together with the other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the invention . since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof , it is to be understood that all matters herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted as illustrative , and not in a limiting sense . while specific embodiments have been shown and discussed , various modifications may of course be made , and the invention is not limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts and steps described herein , except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims . further , it will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations . this is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims . | 0 |
the present invention relates to novel photon generators , collectors , and directors and methods of preparing such devices . fig1 a and 1b illustrate the general structural features of a simple porous ceramic burner 100 formed according to principles of this invention with an optical collector 160 ( such as a light pipe ) and target such as a photovoltaic ( pv ) cell 170 . the porous ceramic burner comprises a fiber layer 132 , a burner skeleton , and a fuel oxidizer system . an intermediate or base layer may be required to bond an emitter material to the optical device . the base layer is preferably any low cost material that can bond the emitter to a light pipe effectively ( preferably with thermal - stimulated superemitter materials ). the base layer may comprise a high temperature material such as a high temperature fiber or coating , for example , pure or doped oxide ( s ) of uranium , thorium , ytterbium , aluminum , gallium , yttrium , erbium , holmium , zirconium , chromium or other high - temperature oxides . a preferred base fiber layer is one made from aluminum oxide , which is inexpensive and which lasts longer under oxidative conditions than do other inexpensive materials such as carbides , silicon oxide , or aluminosilicates . the intermediate layer functions to bond the outer material to an inner portion of the optical device . an yttria intermediate layer may be used when an optical director , i . e ., a light pipe , is formed from aluminum oxide , since it is difficult to maintain a bond between ytterbia and alumina after thousands of cycles . if an optical director , i . e ., light pipe , other than aluminum oxide , such as yag , is used the intermediate layer may be omitted . when the intermediate layer is used , it preferably comprises any material which is oxidation resistant and which bonds well to both the light pipe and superemitter . the same principles apply to fiber systems . the outer fiber layer is preferably formed from a hightemperature superemissive material . the superemitter comprises a material which has an inner electron shell vacancy such that , upon heating , causes one inner electron below to jump into the vacancy as described in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 906 , 178 , 4 , 793 , 799 and 4 , 776 , 895 , i . e ., perhaps by means of a photon - electron interaction . these patents are herein incorporated by reference . materials suitable for use as the superemitter include a narrow band or selected emitter such as neodymium , yttrium , ytterbium , holmium , erbium , thulium , cerium - thorium , thorium - holmium , aluminum - ytterbium - yttrium mixed oxides or mixtures thereof and other materials that emit radiation by an inner electron shell transition . the use of certain materials increases the useful life , reduces corrosion , and changes the emissivity characteristics of the resultant burner to those desired for a variety of uses such as photovoltaic devices , cooking food , heating water , pumping lasers , reacting materials photochemically , etc . one method of fabricating such burners from fiber has been described in patent application ser . no . 07 / 517 , 699 and in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 758 , 003 , 4 , 776 , 895 , 4 , 793 , 799 , and 4 , 906 , 178 . the fibers shown in fig3 a and 3b and similar devices may be made by one of several methods , e . g ., using lasers to heat the material and then pulling it from the surface of the melt on the waveguide or light pipe to form a type of optically coupled whisker . such laser - fiber methods are commercially used to produce ( monofilament ) optical alumina fibers . a similar type of process can be used to produce continuous small optical quality fibers that are connected to a target waveguide or light pipe . thus , all the photons generated inside the optical fiber may be combined and directed to one or two targets . the fibers may be coated with emissive materials by one or more of the methods listed below or in a copending patent application ser . no . 07 / 695 , 983 . alternately , the fibers in the emitter shown in fig3 a may be made of small fibers of emissive compositions such as described in the application and in the other cited patents , e . g ., u . s . pat . no . 4 , 776 , 895 . one method of coating a superemitter material onto structures such as fibers and waveguides is to coat one or more intermediate layers on the fiber or waveguide , such as a layer of yttria and another layer of the emitting material , such as an ytterbia containing material . this method improves the bonding of the outer layer to the coated intermediate layer for some superemitters . the process of coating the underlying structure , i . e ., fiber or waveguide , with one or more intermediate layers enhances bonding of the outer superemitter and involves the use of soluble ceramic precursors or mixtures of solubles and insoluble colloidal particles such as alkoxide , nitrates , colloidal hydroxide and alkoxide and / or nitrates to coat the light pipe by spray , dip or similar process . one such coating process is the subject of a co - pending application ser . no . 07 / 695 , 783 filed may 6 , 1991 . the coating of the intermediate layer is followed by a drying process and then a denitration process ( or similar process to solidify the soluble material ), such as by exposure to ammonia to form the hydroxide or by hydrolysis with h 2 o and catalysis for the alkoxide case as described by j . brinker and w . scherer in &# 34 ; sol - gel science &# 34 ;, academic press , ny , n . y . ( 1990 ), and the references in that book identified as 13 - 21 and 25 - 37 in chapter 14 , pages 839 - 880 . in another method , colloidal hydroxide may be bonded directly to the oxide . alkoxide coating methods have been extensively described in the literature , such as those for producing light pipe antireflective coatings . one novel application of the present invention is a thermophotovoltaic ( tpv ) device having a fiber matrix , thin coating , or both added to the interior of a transparent solid optical tube 600 , as shown in fig6 . the optical tube 600 comprises an outer body 640 formed from a thickness of an optically transparent material 630 . the optical tube has an inside surface coated with fibers 610 of superemissive material . two opposing oil fired torches provide fuel and oxidizer 620 from each end of the tube to effect thermal stimulation of the superemitter material . fig7 illustrates a tpv device 700 similar to that described above and illustrated in fig6 comprising an optically transparent tube 710 having an inside surface coated with fibers of superemissive material . in this embodiment , fuel 720 is provided from a single end of the tube into the tube via a single fuel injection line 715 and mixed with oxidant within a centrally located burner 730 to provide thermal energy to effect stimulation of the superemitter material . an oxidant such as oxygen or air may be used at temperatures well above the ignition point , making recuperation and fuel injection efficient and practical . the recuperator ( 330 ), shown in fig3 a and 3b may optionally contain a catalytic surface which may be used to further reduce nox . also , the air may be replaced with or enriched with oxygen to further increase the temperature of combustion and the energy density ( watts / m 2 ) output of this design . the recuperator provides a method to significantly increase efficiency by recycling the energy in the exhaust products . a central - focus firing cylindrical burner with fuel injection 100 is depicted in fig1 a and 1b . hot oxidant enters an outer distribution chamber 110 under pressure and flows through a porous structural member 120 . as shown in fig1 b , the porous structural member 120 comprises fuel injection tubes 130 disposed therein . a fiber matrix 132 is disposed along an inside surface portion of the porous structural member . fuel enters the fiber matrix 132 through fuel injection tubes 130 and is combusted upon mixing with the hot oxidant . resulting exhaust products 140 move through an exhaust chamber 140 disposed between the porous structural member and a filter 150 . one or more targets 170 , i . e ., photovoltaic cells , is protected from the combustion products by the filter 150 . narrow band radiation emitted from the superemitter fiber matrix 132 passes through the filter 150 and focuses onto a light pipe 160 , which in turn directs the photons to the photovoltaic cells 170 . a fluid ( optionally ) flows inside the optical tube ( not shown ) to cool the tube . water may flow on the outside of the pv cells to keep them cool ( not shown ) or fuel and / or oxidizer may be used to further conserve energy . fig2 is a cutaway view of one half of a fuel injection burner 200 as used to heat a section of a light pipe 250 coated with an emitter ( not shown ). the burner 200 comprises a number of fuel injectors 220 disposed within a cylindrical body portion 210 of the burner . the injectors are oriented with their ends directed toward an axis running along the length of the burner so that flames 230 projecting from each fuel injector are directed to a central portion of the burner . oxidant air enters the burner 200 via tubes 240 disposed within a porous structure . fig3 a illustrates thermophotovoltaic device 300 comprising dual opposing torch - type burners 350 for heating a superemitter in the form of fibers 332 suspended from a central area of a cone . a fuel supply 310 and oxidant air supply 320 is routed to each burner 350 and combusted to form a flame 333a impending directly on the fibers . photons 370 emitted from the fibers 332 focused through conical waveguides to end portions 365 and onto one or more targets 360 , such as photovoltaic cells . fig3 b illustrates a thermophotovoltaic device similar to that disclosed above and illustrated in fig3 a , comprising a number of torches 350b projecting flames 333b impending directly on a superemitter coated onto a waveguide surface , or a superemitter fiber pulled from the waveguide surface by use of focused laser heating . advantages of the optical light pipe systems constructed according to principles of this invention , including those where optical fibers have been pulled or grown from the melt , are that they : ( 1 ) are relatively inexpensive to construct ; ( 2 ) are strong ; ( 3 ) are durable ; ( 4 ) are light weight ; ( 5 ) achieve high radiation power densities of desired spectral wavelength ( s ); and ( 7 ) provide high energy density and efficiency . other preferred embodiments of the invention are capable of delivering high photon fluxes to one or more target ( s ) as shown in fig2 - 4 and 6 and may be constructed of bundles of optical fibers . the optical fibers may be attached to a lens or waveguide or other means to collect photons emitted from the superemitter materials . selected wavelength bands of photons may be used to match the various pv cells , e . g ., silicon photovoltaic cells having a band gap of about 1 , 100 nm ., or multi - layer cells can be used in conjunction with multiband emitters . the useful photon fluxes from these multiband emitters are many times those produced by conventional photon sources and may be easily delivered to a variety of targets , such as photovoltaic cells , chemical reactors , heating devices , and optical collection means for lighting or growing plants and pumping other devices such as lasers . further concentration of photons in an optical fiber system is possible using waveguides and other commercial devices . high electric power conversion efficiencies of from about 10 to 80 percent can be achieved from photon radiation emitted in the selected wavelength bands . the estimates of efficiency of the tpv systems and other similar systems are based on the novel design described in fig1 - 4 . the principle that electromagnetic emissions increase dramatically with temperature has been well established in physics by stefan , e . g ., the equation i . sub . ( t ) = σεt n , where σ is a constant , ε , the causivity , is a number between 0 and 1 , and n equals 4 for a near blackbody . using this principle , an estimate of power potential using data from the tpv measurements in the laboratory has shown n = 7 to 14 , depending upon the chemical composition of the emitter and the temperature . recovering some of the exhaust gas energy raises the pre - combustion gas temperature . similar results were obtained by the american gas association ( see a . g . a . research &# 39 ; s bulletin no . 91 ), i . e ., the intensity of light emission increases with the 10th power of temperature for 99 % thoria and 1 % ceria emitters . nelson estimates that emission for ytterbia increases with the 8th power of temperature . it is estimated that superemitters ( assuming e is constant ) go up as n increases from the 7th to the 14th power . using the recuperation concept or oxygen to raise the temperature , very high photon fluxes can be obtained . the recuperator burner and emitter may be designed and constructed as a unit . one method of producing a photon generator consisting of a single recuperator burner emitter system includes the following steps : 1 ) impregnating an organic foam with soluble precursor salts ; 2 ) weaving fibers such as fiber optics or rayon impregnated with superemitter precursor material as described in several earlier patents , e . g ., u . s . pat . no . 4 , 776 , 895 ; 3 ) drying the fibers ; 4 ) treating the fibers with ammonia to reduce nitrates to hydroxide ; and 5 ) heating the fibers to convert hydroxide to oxide . in another variation of the invention , a burner recuperator foam structure may be fabricated by weaving optical fibers into a green foam as shown in fig8 as 810 , then heating the system to burn out the organics , forming a ceramic foam with fibers or preferred type , orientation , and density . the fibers may be coated with the same various formulas as previously described . in another embodiment of the invention , rayon may be woven into the organic foam before impregnation . however , this method may use more superemitter material . generally , methods which reduce the cost of superemitters are preferred . however , sometimes improved product and lower process cost are important , depending on the volume and value added . the idea of inverting the burner system and collecting the photons in a light pipe or wave guide has two main benefits , it increases the ratio of emissive surface area to collector area , thereby reducing the number of photovoltaics required because a higher photon flux can be obtained , and it results in a more compact design ( higher energy density ) which will cost less for certain type of hybrid electric vehicles because the energy package will occupy less space and be more durable . fig8 shows a foam burner system 800 in which fibers 805 are woven into foam 810 so that open ends 820 of the fiber 805 are directed toward a target 830 . the fuel and oxidizer entering means into the foam may comprise tubes 850 for the oxidizer 851 and fuel 852 which may be premixed in a very small chamber ( not shown ) at very high speed to prevent combustion before exiting the chamber to produce a very hot flame ( not shown ). the flames may be designed so that they oppose each other in the area of the fiber to prevent damage to the fibers . the fibers 805 may be coated with a superemissive material 806 . the emitted photons ( not shown ) are either emitted towards the target or at some angle . the photons that get trapped in the fiber 805 will pass into the foam and out the other end of the u - turn and be directed to the target , thus providing increased photon flux at the target . another embodiment of the invention is a fluidized bed combuster 400 , as shown in fig4 . fuel and oxidizer enter the combuster through a bottom opening 405 and the resultant exhaust products of the combustion exit the combuster via top opening 410 . photons 415 are emitted from beads 420 disposed within the combuster that are coated with or otherwise comprise superemitter material . the photons are directed to one or more targets 430 by a waveguide 425 and are converted to electricity by pv cells located at one or more targets 430 . fig3 a and 3b illustrate other embodiments of the invention using superemissive fibers made by the process described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 776 , 895 or by the laser process described above . a holmium oxide emitter has demonstrated an ability to produce more than twice the absolute radiant intensity that of ytterbia , per btu of heat , as shown in fig5 . advanced photovoltaic materials such as inga alas , ingaasp , and similar group iii - v compounds ( ingaas ) used with this emitter are expected to produce a tpv generator twice as efficient as one with silicon based pv cells . the recuperation temperature of a normal air / fuel gas premix system is limited by its combustion temperature . for natural gas in air , this combustion temperature is somewhere below 800 ° c . in order to increase the emissive fiber temperature using recuperation , it is desirable to have the combustion air as hot as possible without preignition of the mixture . fig2 and 3 depict a possible configuration where fuel and oxidizer are injected through tubes into the premix chamber as in a torch . the recuperated air can then be heated to 1000 ° c . without fear of preignition if the premix chamber is small and the velocity of the reactants is high enough . fig9 illustrates an tpv device 900 comprising an optical waveguide cavity 910 , in which the primary emitter comprises one or more optical fiber emitters 940 , which may comprise a superemitter or may be coated with such material ( not shown ). the photons ( not shown ) are emitted from the emissive material when heated above a certain temperature and are either trapped in the optical fiber 940 or the outer waveguide 910 , which alternately may comprise a similar form made from the optical fibers ( not shown ), and thus in either case the photons will be directed to the target 960 by waveguide lens 950 , or optical fiber ( s ). the fuel and air are mixed in the premix chamber ,( not shown ) within the burner tube 930 and the flame is produced as the reactants exit the holes 920 , and the impinge on the superemitter material - optical fiber system 940 . the photons produced are then focused onto the target . although the above exemplary embodiments of a ceramic burner comprising the use superemissive materials disposed on light pipes - and waveguides , and method for making the same , has been specifically described and illustrated , variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art . it is , therefore , to be understood that the present invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments described above . the scope of the invention is defined in part by the following claims . | 6 |
with reference to fig1 a block diagram is shown generally at 10 of a digital voice processing system in which the tdm chip of the instant invention has utility . it will be appreciated that this is for illustrative purposes only as the tdm chip of the instant invention is a general purpose , multiple processor capable of communicating with a tdm bus . the system 10 has a host computer 12 , a plurality of voice processing circuit boards 14 , only one being shown in fig1 and a bus 16 that connects the voice processing circuit board to a plurality of audio circuit boards 18a , 18b . . . 18n . for purposes of convenience the circuit boards and 18 will be referred to as &# 34 ; cards &# 34 ;. each audio card 18a , 18b . . . 18n has four ports 20 through which communication can be had with a plurality of devices such as direct connect and loop start telephones 22a , 22b . . . 22n , through telephone lines 23 through which functions such as telephone communication , dictation , answering machines and the like can be performed . the host computer 12 , which can be any of a number of commercially available computers such as an ieee 996 standard pc / at , includes a processor 24 that is in communication with a disk storage 26 and a memory 28 . the host processor 24 is also in communication with a bus interface 30 . the disk storage 26 acts as a storage medium for prompts , operating data , base directory information and other data . prompts are recorded messages , instructions and menus that are for the purpose of assisting a caller in the use of the voice processing system 10 . the disk storage also provides data storage capacity when the capacity of other memories in the system are exceeded . the memory 28 is a volatile memory which recovers the operating code for the system 10 from the disk storage 26 on start up . the memory 28 also stores diagnostic information and serves as a buffer . the bus interface 30 provides communication between the host processor 24 and the voice processing card 14 through a bus 32 . the voice processing card 14 is shown and described in greater detail in concurrently filed patent application having ser . no . 815 , 207 now abandoned and entitled digital signal processor circuit board which is hereby incorporated by reference . the voice processing card 14 has essentially two independent circuits therein which will be described simultaneously . each circuit has a host computer interface ( pci ) chip 40a , 40b to which a ram 42a , 42b , respectively , is connected for temporary storage of data and storage of the operating code for the voice processing card 14 . details of this pci chip 40a , 40b , are given in concurrently filed patent application ser . no . 816 , 516 now abandoned and entitled interface chip for a voice processing system , which is hereby incorporated by reference . each pci interface 40a , 40b is in communication with an application processor 38a , 38b , respectively , such as an intel 80c186 . the application processors 38a , 38b run the application programming and database management . each application processor 38a , 38b is in communication with and controls a pair of signal processors 36a and 36b and 36c and 36d , respectively , each of which contains an algorithm for voice compression and expansion , depending upon direction of the data stream , tone detection and voice activated operation . the signal processors may be tms 320c25 processors from texas instruments . all the signal processors 36a - 36d are in communication with a tdm chip 44 which is the subject of the instant invention . each audio card 18a , 18b . . . 18n is in communication with the bus 16 and includes another time division multiplexer ( tdm ) chip 46 which is the same as to the tdm chip 44 of the voice processing card 14 except that is has fewer components connected as will be explained hereafter . the tdm chip 46 is in communication with the bus 16 and with a high speed audio processor 48 such as a tms 320c10 available from texas instruments , the latter being in communication with an analogue interface 50 which interfaces through the ports 20 with a plurality of telephones 22a , 22b . . . 22n . the audio cards 18a - 18n of this embodiment each has four ports 20 . the analogue interface 50 can also communicate through their ports 20 with private branch exchanges ( pbx ), private wire networks ( pwn ) and the like . the audio card 18 is shown and described in concurrently filed patent application having ser . no . 815 , 205 , now abandoned , and entitled audio signal circuit board and is hereby incorporated by reference . with reference to fig2 the layout of the digital voice processing system 10 is shown in plan view . the system 10 includes a housing 52 having a base 54 to which the voice processing cards 14 and audio cards 18 are physically attached in pairs without necessarily being logically connected so that the cards 14 , 18 can be logically intermixed with one another . more specifically and by way of example , the voice processing card 14b can be physically connected to the audio card 18b but logically connected to the audio card 18a . the voice processing cards 14a , 14b . . . 14h provide physical support and electrical connections to the audio cards 18a , 18b . . . 18h . as shown in fig2 the system 10 is made up of eight pairs of voice cards 14 and audio cards 18 , but fewer or more such cards can be included depending upon need . some of the voice processing cards 14 could be replaced with dummy cards 57 that only provide the physical support and electrical connections to the audio cards 18 without logic . also included is an optional a 16 port audio card 56 that provides expanded capacity , a clock buffer 58 , a local area network ( lan ) card 60 that can provide local area networking , the host computer 12 , the disk storage 26 and a disk storage drive 62 . the voice processing cards 14 have the capacity to serve more than one of the audio cards 18 and also serve 16 port audio cards 56 that may be added as required to the system 10 . the 16 port audio card is supported by a dummy card 57 . a bus 41 provides connection between the host computer 12 and the audio cards 18 , 56 for the purpose of directing the locations in memory that are to be accessed as will be described hereinafter . with reference to fig3 the tdm chip 44 of the voice processing card 14 is shown in detail . physically , the tdm chip 44 is only 3 / 4 &# 34 ;× 3 / 4 &# 34 ; in size . as stated previously , the tdm chip 46 of the audio card 18 is the same but has fewer components connected . the tdm chip 44 includes four interfaces 80a - 80d , each of which is in communication individually with a signal processor 36a - 36d ( fig1 ), respectively . a pair of arbitration units 80a and 80b , are in communication with the interfaces 80a - 80d , for controlling access of the interfaces to a ram in an arbitration mode as will be described hereafter . each arbitration unit 82a , 82b is in communication with a pair of interfaces 80a , 80b and 80c , 80d , respectively . the interfaces 80a - 80d also are in communication with a pair of srams 84a and 84b through address buffers 81a - 81d control buffers 83a - 83d , and data buffers 87a - 87d . all of the buffers 81a - 81d , 83a - 83d and 87a - 87d are in communication with a bank switch unit 86 . the bank switch unit 86 receives a frame synch which will be described hereinafter . a time slot address generator 88 , which serves the counting function , receives a clock signal and is in communication with an interrupt 96 and with the signal processors 36a - 36d . a bus interface 92 is in communication with the bus 16 ( fig1 ) and with the data buffers 87c and 87d for the transfer of data between the srams , 84a , 84b and the bus 16 . a clock fail detector 93 is provided to determine if there is a clock failure . a fail detector unit 94 is in communication with the interface 92 and the bus 16 . this fail detector unit 94 is a latch that latches in the data that is being written onto the bus 16 by the interface 92 and compares this latched data to the data that is written on the bus . if the comparison shows the latched data is not the same as the written data , a bus fail will be output by the unit 94 which will be received by the host computer 12 . the interrupt 96 is in communication with the signal processors 36a - 36d ( fig1 ) and with the time slot address generator 88 . the interrupt unit 96 generates four interrupts each frame . a control logic unit 89 is in communication with the control buffers 83c and 83d and the clock fail unit 93 and receives a clock signal . the tdm chip 46 of the audio cards 18a - 18n is the same as the tdm chip 44 just described except that only one interface 80a is required as there is only one audio processor 48 with which it communicates . no arbitration unit is required because of the single interface 80a . otherwise , all the other components are the same . with continued reference to fig3 the tdm chip 44 includes a pair of rams 84a , 84b , preferably srams , which are in connection with the address buffers 81a - 81d , the control buffers 83a - 83d and the data buffers 87a - 87d . each of the srams 84a , 84b has 256 locations 91a , 91b which are 12 bits in width . the tdm bus 16 has 256 time slots and 12 bits of information so that a correlation exists between the srams 84a , 84b and the bus . more specifically , all 256 locations in the srams 84a , 84b will be accessed during one frame . with reference to fig4 a description of the timing of the tdm chip will be given . a frame synchronization will repeat at an 8 khz rate for every 125 microseconds , each ram array , i . e . 256 locations 91 , has to be addressed within the 125 micro seconds . each location 91 represents a time slot , time slot zero being location zero on all the srams , 84a , 84b of both the voice application card 14 and the audio cards 18 . time slot one is location one and there is a direct correlation from the sram location 91 to the time slot . when a processor 36 , 48 is accessing an sram 84 , it will have access to two locations at a time , i . e ., locations 0 and 1 . the two rams 84a , 84b are riding in a ping pong fashion on the frame boundary under control of the bank switch unit 86 , a frame being 125 microseconds , as stated , and the boundary being the beginning of a frame . while one ram 84a is accessing the tdm bus 16 , the other sram 84b is being accessed by signal processors 36 attached to the interfaces 80 at any given time . at the end of a frame , the communications of the rams 84a , 84b are switched so that sram 84b now has access to the tdm bus and the sram 84a is now being accessed by the processors 36 connected to the interfaces 80a - 80d . this is accomplished by the bank switch unit 86 through the address buffers 81a - 81d , control buffers 83a - 83d , and data buffers 87a - 87d . the bank switch has two buffer control outputs # 1 and # 2 that are transmitted on buffer lines as indicated by fig3 . when the # 1 buffer line enables address buffers 81b , 81c control buffers 83b , 83c , and data buffers 87b , 87c , the sram 84b would be in communication with the bus 16 . at the same time , the bank switch 86 sends a signal over # 2 buffer line to address buffers 81a , 81d , control buffers 83a , 83d and data buffers 87a , 87d and sram 84a would be in communication with the interfaces 80a - 80b . when a frame changes , the bank switch unit 86 will output a # 2 signal to address buffers 81b , 81c , control buffers 83b , 83c , and data buffers 87b , 87c and a # 1 signal to the other buffers 81b , 81d ; 83b , 83d and 87b , 87d , so that sram 84b would now attach to the bus 16 and sram 84a would be attached to the interfaces 80a - 80d . with reference to fig4 the synchronization of the above procedure is performed by the clock buffer 58 , see fig2 which outputs a frame synch at a rate of 8 kh z . the clock buffer 58 generates two 4 kh z clocks . one clock is a quadrature of the other ; namely , it is 90 degrees out of phase which produces four megahertz , 4 quadratures . this provides switching edges that are equivalent to 8 megahertz . the clock buffer 58 is centrally located within the chassis 52 so there is only the one clock source for all cards in the system . the clock buffer 90 is redundant , i . e . there are two separate clock circuits in clock buffer 58 , so that if the primary clock is lost , there will be a backup , but there is only one clock source in the system . a frame synch of 8 kh z was selected because a voice system utility uses this frequency . for other applications , different frequencies and periods can be selected . frame synchronization comes from the clock buffer 58 and synchronizes all tdm chips 44 in the system 10 to the clock signals . frame synchronization will repeat at an 8 khz rate every 125 micro seconds ; therefore , the logic in the tdm bus 16 logic has to address an entire sram 84 array of both cards 16 , 18 simultaneously within 125 micro seconds . at the end of 125 micro seconds , a frame synch will act upon the bank switch 86 to switch the communication of the rams 84a - 84b . in addition , the processors 36a 36d , have only 621 / 2 micro seconds if in the arbitration mode and 311 / 4 seconds if in the interrupt mode in which to access an sram 84 to which it is attached through the interfaces 80a - 80d . the interrupt mode and arbitration mode will be described more fully hereinafter . every location 91 of an sram 84 does not need to be accessed . the host computer 12 will determine which of the locations in the srams are to be accessed based upon the activities taking place . for example , there might be 8 to 16 locations 91a that might be accessed from the ram 84a which gives a signal processor 36a , 36b ( fig1 ) more than enough time to access the sram . on the other hand , in the ram 84b , every location 91b may have to be accessed , but this is highly unlikely . the srams 84a , 84b ping pong operation allows the processors to write and read from one sram , while the tdm bus 16 is attached to the other sram . this is the &# 34 ; real time &# 34 ; aspect of the invention . on the other side of the bus 16 are similar tdm chips 46 which are part of the audio cards 18 . reading from and writing to one of the srams 84a , 84b of the tdm chip 44 by an audio processor 48 is taking place while data is being transferred across the bus 16 by the other sram . this creates a real time transfer across the tdm bus 16 . in fig5 a - 5h a number of locations 91 of srams 84a , 84b are shown , each location being twelve bits wide . fig5 a can be either of the audio card 18 or the signal processor card 14 and represents location &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; of an sram 84 . each fig5 a - 5h represents one of 256 locations of an sram 84 . the first two bits of the location 91 represent control or status bits as seen in fig5 a . each control and status word consists of eight bits so that four frames are required to transmit a control or status word . a control word indicates that data is to be sent to the audio card from a signal processor 36 directing the audio card to perform a specific task . for example , the audio card 18 may be instructed to go off hook when a telephone 22 is requesting service . a status word goes from the audio card 18 to a signal processor 36 to indicate status of the audio card 18 . for example , someone may be waiting to place a call through one of the telephone lines 23 . the status word would indicate the need of service and , most likely , would be followed by a command word from the signal processor to provide the service . the third bit is a gate bit that indicates whether the control / status bit is valid . the fourth bit is a direction bit that informs an appropriate processor 36 , 48 that data can be written into an sram location if the direction bit is low , but if the direction bit is high , data can only be read from the location . the fifth through the twelfth bits represent the voice data to be sent or received . if data is being transmitted by the signed processor 36 to an audio card 18 , the bits are control , control and direction &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; as seen in fig5 b , 5d . the gate bit would be low , fig5 b , if the direction bit is true , but high if false , fig5 c . if data is to be read by an audio card 18 , the bits would be status , status , gate low and direction &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; as shown in fig5 e and 5i , the four locations providing the status word . with regard to assignments of locations in the sram , with smaller systems each port 20 of an audio card 18 would be assigned a specific location . this same location would be addressed for the data to and from a specific port 30 . in larger systems 10 , i . e ., systems with a large number of four port audio cards 18 and 16 port audio cards 56 , the sram locations accessible by the data to and from the ports 30 would be assigned by the host computer 12 which would communicate with the application processors 38 through the bus 32 and with the audio processors 48 through the bus 41 . when one processor 36 , 48 is writing into a given location of an sram 84 , all other processor on the tdm bus 16 must be in the read mode for that particular location on all the other srams 84 , which means that their respective processors would have written a &# 34 ; one &# 34 ; on the direction bit . it is possible to have the direction bit set true for the same location . this means that , for example , if sram 84a had the direction bit low in time slot zero and another tdm chip 44 had time slot zero direction bit low , then when the tdm bus 16 interface logic saw it , both processors would attempt to write data into the same location . this condition would be detected and labeled as a fault and the fault would be transmitted back to the application process 38 . a routine would be run by an application processor 38 to decipher what to do about the erroneous entry . an sram 84 gets updated for every location in one frame . this allows any one of the signal processors 36a - 36d and audio processors 48 to read the data on the sram 84 in one frame . even though a location 91 may have data written thereto , that location is also read during a frame . with this system , switched time slots on rams is achievable . for example , a time slot from zero can be read and then written into time slot 28 . this enables the information from location zero to be placed on a different location so that somebody else can also read the data . this provides the capability of conference calling . two signal processor 36a - 36d through their interfaces 80a - 80d , cannot access an sram 84a , 84b at the same time ; otherwise , there would be contention . therefore , two modes of operation are provided for the tdm chip : an interrupt mode and an arbitrated mode which are controlled by the interrupt unit 96 and the arbitration units 82a - 82b . in the interrupt mode , the interrupt unit 96 will interrupt a signal processor 36 through an interface 80a - 80d to let it know that it has access to an sram 84 . that interrupt occurs in synch with the frame synchronization , see fig4 . consequently , at time slot zero , which is where a frame synch occurs , the signal processor 36a from the interrupt unit 96 attached to the interrupt 80a would receive an interrupt telling it that it has access to one of the srams , and that processor 36a has 311 / 4 microseconds to access all 256 locations 91 of the sram . then , one quarter of the way into the frame , which is 311 / 4 micro seconds later , the processor 36b attached to interface 80b would get an interrupt , likewise 311 / 4 micro seconds later there a 3rd interrupt and the processor attached to interface 80c would get an interrupt , and , again , 311 / 4 micro seconds later the fourth signal processor 36d would get an interrupt . the frame of 125 micro seconds is split into four thereby allowing each signal processor 36a - 36d 311 / 4 micro seconds to communicate with one of the srams in the interrupt mode . the interrupt 96 puts some constraints in the system in that each signal processor 36a - 36b has to come in and get out and complete its communication with an sram 84 within 311 / 4 micro seconds . if it doesn &# 39 ; t , another signal processor 36 is going to come in . in the arbitration mode , the arbitration units 82a , 82b will determine if one of the rams 84a , 84b is busy with a signal processor 36 . for example , if the signal processor 36a attached to interface 80a is busy , the other signal processor 36b attached to interface 80b is delayed during the time the sram is busy . after completion by the first signal processor 36a of the first transaction , the arbitration unit 81a allows access by the second signal processor 36b for the remainder of the 62 . 5 micro seconds . the signal processors 36a , 36b attached to the two interfaces 80a , 80b can gain access to a sram 84 so that between these two signal processors they will have access to the sram for a shared period of 621 / 2 micro seconds . if the signal processor 36a has no activity and the other signal processor 36 has a great deal of each activity , the latter could have use of the full 621 / 2 per sec . this is done in groups of two such that 62 % micro seconds later , the second set of signal processors 36c , 36d attached to interfaces 80c , 80d would be allowed arbitrated access in the same manner . with reference to fig6 the operation of the tdm chips 44 and 46 will be described with regard to the manner in which data is read from and written into one location , location number 128 , of the srams 84a , 84b with a brief explanation of the parameters given at 126 . m - ram1 identifies ram 84a and m - ram2 identifies ram 84b of the voice processing card 14 . a - ram1 identifies ram 84a and a - ram2 identified ram 84b of an audio card 18 . the frame number is given on the left margin . it shall be kept in mind that the audio card 18 has only one interface 80 as discussed previously . fig7 a and 7b correspond to fig6 a and show which location has data during a given frame , for example o11h representing data received in m - ram1 during the first frame . fig7 c - 7e correspond to fig7 b - 7d , respectively . fig8 a - 8e show the value read by a processor in the rams . fig8 a - 8e correspond to fig6 b - 6f , respectively . in frame 1 , data is written 128 into location 128 of m - ram1 by a signal processor 36a and the srams will be switched 130 . the incoming data will be in digital form and its direction bit is tested 132 . an inquiry will be made whether the bit is low 134 . if the direction bit is low data is written 135 into m - ram1 location 128 and further data is written in m - ram2 136 . if it is not low an error is indicated . simultaneously , the direction bit of a - ram1 is tested 33 and an inquiry is made 134a whether it is low . if no , data is read from the bus 16 and written 137 into location 128 of a - ram1 . but if yes , an error is indicated . the rams on both tdm chips 44 , 46 are switched 138 . the direction bit at location 128 of m - ram2 is tested 140 and an inquiry is made 142 whether the bit is low . if &# 34 ; no &# 34 ; an error condition is set but if &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; data is written 144 onto the bus 16 from location 128 m - ram2 . simultaneously , the direction bit at location 128 a - ram2 is tested 148 and an inquiry is made 150 as to the direction bit at location 128 of a - ram2 . if it is high , an error is indicated , but if it is low , then data is is written 152 into location 128 a - ram2 . the data at location a - ram1 is then read 154 by the audio processor 48 . the rams on both cards 14 , 18 are switched 156 at the boundary of frame 4 and the direction bit at location 128 m - ram1 is tested 158 . an inquiry is made 160 whether the direction bit is low 160 . if not , an error condition is set . if &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; data is written 162 to the tdm bus 16 from location 128 of m - ram1 and data is is written 164 into location 128 of m - ram2 by a signal processor 36 . within the same frame , the direction bit of location 128 a - ram1 is tested 166 and an inquiry is made 168 whether the bit is low . if &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; an error condition is set , but if &# 34 ; no &# 34 ; the data is read from the tdm bus and written 170 into location 128 a - ram1 and the data at location 128 a - ram2 is read 172 by the audio processor 48 . the ram functions are then switched 174 at the frame boundary of frame 5 . the direction bit for location 128 m - ram2 is tested 176 and an inquiry is then made 178 whether the direction bit in m - ram 2 is low . if not , an error condition is set , but if so , data is written 180 into location 128 of m - ram2 and data from a processor 38 is written into location 128 of m - ram 1 181 . the direction bit at location 128 a - ram2 is tested 182 . an inquiry is made whether the bit is low 184 . if yes an error is indicated , bit if no , data is read from bus 16 and written 186 into location 128 a - ram2 . the data on a - ram 1 is read 190 by the audio processor 48 . the functions of rams are switched 192 . the direction bit of location 128 m - ram1 is tested 194 and an inquiry is made 196 whether the direction bit is low . if not , there is an error , but if &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; data is written 198 to the bus 16 from location 128 m - ram1 . the direction bit at location 128 a - ram1 is tested 200 and an inquiry is made 202 whether the direction bit is low 202 . if &# 34 ; no &# 34 ; the audio processor 48 reads data 204 from the bus 16 and writes it into location 28 a - ram1 and data is read 206 from location a - ram2 by the process 48 . if the inquiry 202 is &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ; an error is indicated . the rams are switched 208 at the boundary of frame 7 and the direction bit of location 128 m - ram2 is tested 210 . an inquiry is made whether the direction bit is low 212 . if yes , an error condition is set , but if no there is a default to read 214 from the bus 16 idle state . simultaneously , the direction bit of location 128 a - ram2 is tested 216 . an inquiry is made whether the direction bit is low 218 . if yes , an error condition is set , but if not data from location 128 a - ram1 is read 210 by the audio processor 48 . thereafter the transmission is completed 222 . thus what has been shown and described is a tdm chip that provides optimum communication and use of components . by having two rams whose communication with associated components alternate as described , one achieves a two fold increase in memory without the need of one large memory having twice the capacity . by having two rams , each of which is functioning at all times , the amount of time required for a cycle is reduced by half . more specifically , the system checks the status of memory locations on both rams and respond accordingly rather then checking the status of only one memory location in the same period . | 7 |
with reference now to fig2 a - 2f , six respective preferred embodiments of a cmos device constructed in accordance with the present invention will be described . in this connection , the same reference numerals are used throughout to designate like elements thereof , since the cmos device of each of these preferred embodiments includes common elements , as will now be described . more particularly , the cmos device of each embodiment includes an n - well 18 formed in a first region of a p - type semiconductor substrate 10 , a p - well 22 formed in a second region of the substrate 10 , field oxide layer regions 26 formed at the respective junctions of the wells 18 , 22 and a third region of the substrate 10 in which no wells are formed , a gate oxide layer 28 formed on the entire surface of the substrate 10 , and gate electrodes 30 formed on the gate oxide layer 28 above each of the first , second , and third regions , respectively . the gate electrodes 30 serve as the gate electrode of respective transistors formed in the first , second , and third regions of the substrate , respectively . in this regard , the source and drain regions of the respective transistors are not shown in order to facilitate ease of illustration and description of the other features of the present invention . however , since the basic methodology for forming the source and drain regions of the transistors is notoriously well - known in the art , no description thereof is deemed necessary for a full and clear understanding of the present invention . as is also notoriously well - known in the art , each of the first , second , and third regions of the substrate 10 has an intrinsic depletion region associated therewith . with particular reference now to fig2 a , a cmos device made in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described . more particularly , a first impurity layer 100 is formed in the vicinity of the depletion region of the third region of the substrate 10 , i . e ., outside of the wells 18 and 22 . a second impurity layer 101 is formed in the first and second regions of the substrate 10 ( i . e ., in the n - well 18 and p - well 22 ) to a depth greater than that of the first impurity layer 100 . a third impurity layer 102 is formed in the transistor channel region of each of the first , second , and third regions of the substrate 10 , to a depth shallower than that of the first impurity layer 100 , in order to adjust the channel threshold voltage of the respective transistors formed in the first , second , and third regions of the substrate 10 . preferably , the first and second impurity layers 100 , 101 , respectively , each have a concentration lower than that of the third impurity layer 102 , but higher than that of the substrate 10 and wells 18 , 22 . preferably , the concentration of the first and second impurity layers 100 , 101 is in the range of 1 . 0 - 5 . 0e11 ions / cm 2 . the first impurity layer 100 preferably extends to the same depth as does the depletion region of the third region of the substrate 10 , e . g ., to a depth of 0 . 8 - 1 . 5 μm from the surface of the substrate 10 . as will be readily evident to those skilled in the art , the first impurity layer 100 serves to increase the punch - through voltage of the transistor formed in the third region of the substrate 10 , which requires a high punch - through voltage for reliable and efficient operation thereof . with particular reference now to fig2 b , a cmos device made in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described . with this embodiment , the punch - through voltage characteristics of the transistors formed ( or to be formed ) in the first region of the substrate 10 ( i . e ., in the n - well 18 ) and in the second region of the substrate 10 ( i . e ., in the p - well 22 ) are controllably adjusted to improve the same . more particularly , the first impurity layer 100 is formed in the n - well 18 and the p - well 22 , and the second impurity layer 101 is formed in the third region of the substrate 10 , i . e ., outside of the wells 18 and 22 . from the foregoing , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the punch - through voltage characteristics of a selected one or more of the transistors formed in the first , second , and third regions of the substrate 10 can be adjusted ( increased ) by forming the first impurity layer 100 in the region ( s ) of the substrate 10 in which the selected transistor ( s ) is ( are ) formed , and forming the second impurity layer 101 in the region ( s ) of the substrate 10 in which the non - selected transistor ( s ) is ( are ) formed ( i . e ., in the remaining region ( s ) of the substrate 10 ). in a similar fashion , with the cmos device of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention depicted in fig2 c , exhibits improved punch - through voltage characteristics of the transistors formed in the n - well 18 and the third region of the substrate 10 . with the cmos device of the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention , depicted in fig2 d , the punch - through voltage characteristics of the transistor formed in the p - well 22 are improved . with the cmos device of the fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention , depicted in fig2 e , the punch - through voltage characteristics of the transistors formed in the p - well 22 and the third region of the substrate 10 are improved . with the cmos device of the sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention , depicted in fig2 f , the punch - through voltage characteristics of the transistor formed in the n - well 18 are improved . with reference now to fig3 a - 3f , a method for manufacturing the cmos device in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the present invention ( depicted in fig2 a ) will now be described . with particular reference now to fig3 a , a pad oxide layer 12 is formed on the surface of the semiconductor substrate 10 , and a first insulating layer 14 is formed on the pad oxide layer 12 . a photoresist layer 16 is formed on the first insulating layer 14 , and a window 1 is formed in the photoresist layer 16 and the corresponding underlying portion of the first insulating layer 14 , e . g ., by a standard photolithographic etching process , to thereby expose the first region of the semiconductor substrate 10 . thereafter , the first region of the substrate 10 is doped with n - type impurities , e . g ., by using an ion - implantation process . although not limited to the present invention , the semiconductor substrate 10 preferably has a specific resistance of 18 ω / cm and is doped with p - type impurities . the pad oxide layer 12 serves as a buffer oxide layer and is preferably formed to a thickness of 500 - 1 , 000 angstroms . the first insulating layer 14 is preferably a nitride layer , and is preferably formed to a thickness of 1 , 000 - 2 , 000 angstroms , depending upon the energy used in implanting the n - type impurities into the first region of the substrate 10 , and on the depth of the intrinsic depletion region of the first region of the substrate 10 . preferably , the n - type impurities are phosphorus ions which are ion - implanted at an energy of about 100 kev and a concentration of 1 . 8e13 ions / cm 2 , using the photolithographically patterned photoresist layer 16 as an ion - implantation mask . with particular reference now to fig3 b , a second insulating layer 20 is formed on the first region of the substrate 10 , and , preferably simultaneously therewith , the n - well 18 is formed by a thermal well drive - in process , by which the ion - implanted n - type impurities are diffused into the first region of the substrate 10 to a predetermined depth . the second insulating layer 20 is preferably formed to a thickness of 4 , 000 - 6 , 000 angstroms . the thermal drive - in process is preferably carried out at 1150 ° c . for about eight hours . next , as shown in fig3 b , the photoresist layer 16 is removed , and a photoresist layer 17 is formed on the resultant structure . a window 2 is formed in the photoresist layer 17 , and in the corresponding , underlying portion of the first insulating layer 14 , e . g ., by a standard photolithographic etching process , in spaced - apart relationship to the n - well 18 , to thereby expose the second region of the semiconductor substrate 10 . thereafter , the second region of the substrate 10 is doped with p - type impurities , e . g ., by using an ion - implantation process . preferably , the p - type impurities are boron ions which are ion - implanted at an energy of about 80 kev , and at a concentration of 2 . 1e12 ions / cm 2 . with particular reference now to fig3 c , a third insulating layer 24 is formed on the second region of the substrate 10 , and , preferably simultaneously therewith , the p - well 22 is formed by a thermal well drive - in process , by which the ion - implanted p - type impurities are diffused into the second region of the substrate 10 to a predetermined depth . preferably , this thermal well drive - in process is carried out at a temperature of 1150 ° c . for about eight hours . although the n - well 18 and p - well 22 are formed by respective , separate ion - implantation , oxidation , and thermal well - drive in processes , it should be clearly understood that this is not limited by the present invention . for example , after the ion - implantation steps are separately carried out , a single thermal well drive - in process can be performed to simultaneously complete the n - well 18 and the p - well 22 by thermal diffusion of the respective ion - implanted n - type and p - type impurities into the first and second regions respectively , of the semiconductor substrate 10 . in general , the specific method used for forming the n - well 18 and p - well 22 is not limited by to the present invention . with particular reference now to fig3 d , the second and third insulating layers 20 , 24 , respectively , are removed , and impurities ( either p - type or n - type impurities , depending on the desired threshold voltage characteristics of the transistors ) are doped into the entire surface of the resultant structure , e . g ., by using an ion - implantation process , preferably at an energy of 400 - 800 kev , to thereby form a first impurity layer 100 in the third region of the substrate 10 , i . e ., outside of the wells 18 and 22 , and a second impurity layer 101 in the first and second regions of the substrate 10 , i . e ., in the n - well 18 and the p - well 22 . even though the first and second impurity layers 100 , 101 , respectively , are preferably simultaneously formed by using an ion - implantation process carried out at the same energy level , because of the presence of the pad oxide layer 12 and the first insulating layer 14 above the third region of the substrate 10 , the first impurity layer 100 is implanted to a depth less than that of the second impurity layer 101 . preferably , the first impurity layer 100 is formed to the same depth as that of the intrinsic depletion region of the third region of the substrate 10 , i . e ., about 0 . 8 - 1 . 5 μm from the surface of the substrate 10 . the dosage of the impurities ion - implanted for forming the first and second impurity layers 100 , 101 is preferably lower than the dosage used for adjusting the threshold voltage of the transistors formed in the first , second , and third regions of the substrate 10 ( in a subsequent step , as will be explained below ), but higher than that of the substrate 10 , e . g ., 1 . 0 - 5 . 0e11 ions / cm 2 . with particular reference now to fig3 e , the pad oxide layer 12 and the first insulating layer 14 are both removed , and separate field oxide layer regions 26 are formed on the surface of the resultant structure across the junctions of the n - well 18 and the third region of the substrate 10 , and at the junctions of the p - well 22 and the third region of the substrate 10 . next , a third impurity layer 102 is formed by doping impurities , e . g ., ion - implanting p - type impurities , into the entire surface region of the resultant structure , i . e ., in the first , second , and third regions of the substrate 10 . preferably , boron ions are ion - implanted at an energy and dosage sufficient to adjust the threshold voltage of the transistors to be formed in the first , second , and third regions of the substrate 10 to a desired level , e . g ., at an energy of about 30 kev and at a dosage of 1 . 7e12 ions / cm 2 . then , a gate oxide layer 28 is formed on the surface of the first , second , and third regions of the substrate 10 , e . g ., to a thickness of about 120 angstroms . next , as can be seen in fig3 f , the gate electrodes 30 of the respective transistors to be formed in the first , second , and third regions are formed , e . g ., by a standard metal deposition and photolithographic etching process well - known to those skilled in the pertinent art . from the foregoing , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that with the above - described first preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention , the first impurity layer 100 is formed to the same depth as that of the source and drain regions of the transistor ( s ) to be formed in the third region of the substrate 10 , i . e ., outside of the wells 18 and 22 , and the second impurity layer 102 is formed to a depth greater than that of ( beneath ) the source and drain regions of the transistors to be formed in the n - well 18 and p - well 22 . in this way , the transistor ( s ) formed in the third region of the substrate 10 , i . e ., outside of the wells 18 and 22 , is made to have a high punch - through voltage , and the transistors formed in the wells 18 , 22 , respectively , are made to have an operating voltage which is not affected by the bulk concentration of the high - concentration impurity layer . thus , a transistor formed in the third region of the substrate 10 can be made to have a selectively higher punch - through voltage than the transistors formed in the wells 18 , 22 ( i . e ., first and second regions of the substrate 10 ), without the need for additional , separate mask process steps . with reference now to fig4 a - 4d , a method for manufacturing the cmos device in accordance with the second preferred embodiment of the present invention ( depicted in fig2 b ) will now be described . in general , the method of the second embodiment is used to increase the punch - through voltage of the transistors formed in the wells 18 and 22 , while the method of the first embodiment was for increasing the punch - through voltage of the transistor formed in the substrate . the method of the second embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment only in that , with this embodiment , the first and second impurity layers 100 , 101 , respectively , are formed after removing the first insulating layer 14 and before removing the second and third insulating layers 20 , 24 . with reference now to fig5 a - 5f , a method for manufacturing the cmos device in accordance with the third preferred embodiment of the present invention ( depicted in fig2 c ) will now be described . in general , the method of the third embodiment is used to increase the punch - through voltage of the transistors formed in the n - well 18 and third region of the substrate 10 . more particularly , a pad oxide layer 12 and first insulating layer 14 are sequentially formed on the surface of the semiconductor substrate 10 ( fig5 a ), the p - well 22 and the third insulating layer 24 are formed ( fig5 b ), the n - well 18 is formed ( fig5 b - 5c ), and then the first and second impurity layers 100 , 101 , respectively , ( fig5 d ) are simultaneously formed . the remaining steps depicted in fig5 e - 5f are essentially the same as those depicted in fig3 e - 3f and described previously in connection with the description of the first preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention . with reference now to fig6 a - 6c , a method for manufacturing the cmos device in accordance with the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention ( depicted in fig2 d ) will now be described . in general , the method of the fourth embodiment is used to increase the punch - through voltage of the transistor formed in the p - well 22 . in contrast to the third preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention depicted in fig5 a - 5f in which only the portion of the insulating layer 14 on the p - well 22 is removed , with this embodiment , the portions of the insulating layer 14 on the n - well 18 and third region of the substrate 10 are also removed , and the third insulating layer 24 formed on the p - well 22 is not removed prior to the step of forming the first and second impurity layers 100 , 101 , respectively . with reference now to fig7 a - 7d , a method for manufacturing the cmos device in accordance with the fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention ( depicted in fig2 e ) will now be described . in general , the method of the fifth embodiment is used to increase the punch - through voltage of the transistors formed in the p - well 22 and the third region of the substrate 10 . in contrast to the third preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention depicted in fig5 a - 5f in which only the portion of the insulating layer 14 on the p - well 22 is removed , with this embodiment , only the portion of the insulating layer 14 on the n - well 18 is removed prior to the step of forming the first and second impurity layers 100 , 101 , respectively . with reference now to fig8 a - 8c , a method for manufacturing the cmos device in accordance with the sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention ( depicted in fig2 f ) will now be described . in general , the method of the sixth embodiment is used to increase the punch - through voltage of the transistor formed in the n - well 18 . in contrast to the third preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention depicted in fig5 a - 5f in which only the portion of the insulating layer 14 on the p - well 22 is removed , with this embodiment , the portion of the insulating layer 14 on the n - well 18 and third region of the substrate 10 are removed , and the second insulating layer 20 is formed on the n - well 18 ( rather than the third insulating layer 24 being formed on the p - well 22 ), prior to the step of forming the first and second impurity layers 100 , 101 , respectively . although several preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail , it should be clearly understood that many variations and / or modifications of the basic inventive concepts which may appear to those skilled in the art will still fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims . | 7 |
provided is a novel bike lock . the bike lock comprises first a lock body that has a top portion and a bottom portion . the top portion has a first and second fastening edge , each located opposite the other along the perimeter of top portion . fasteners are disposed onto the fastening edges . arm members extend through journals on the bottom portion . each arm member has at least two arm member ends , each arm member end having at least one locking surface . the locking surfaces may be hole - bearing ( e . g ., a grommet ) to which a shackle may be adaptively inserted or pin - bearing , for insertion into a locking receptacle . a locking element secures the locking surfaces together . fig1 a illustrates an exemplary bike lock . a lock body 100 is shown having two journals 107 on the lock body bottom surface 106 . an arm member 113 extends through journals 107 terminating in two arm member ends 114 . a grommet locking surface 116 is disposed on each arm member end 114 . a first fastening means 103 provides hook fasteners 110 and second fastening means 105 provides look fasteners 111 . a loop 129 is disposed onto one arm member end and a self - powered light emitting diode (“ led ”) light source is attached to the loop 129 . fig1 b illustrates a second embodiment of a bike lock . a top surface 101 of a lock body 100 has a first side 102 and a second side 104 . the first side 102 is provided with a first fastening means 103 . the second side 104 is provided with a second fastening means 105 . two arm members 113 are provided each ending in two arm member ends 114 . one arm member end 114 of each arm member 113 is provided with a pin locking surface 117 . the other arm member end 114 of each arm member 113 is provided with a pin lock 123 . fig2 illustrate an exemplary deployment of a bike lock . the lock body 100 is placed on a bike seat 124 . two arm members 113 descend from the lock body and are interwoven with the bike frame surfaces 121 and against a bike rack 125 . the arm member ends 114 are collected and a shackle - bearing lock 122 secures the arm member ends 114 through grommets 116 disposed thereon . fig3 a illustrates an exemplary bike lock in the process of being self - stowed . two arm members 113 are collapsed within a folding lock body 100 . grommets are disposed on the arm member ends 114 and collected substantially within the perimeter of the lock body lower surface 106 . snaps 109 are disposed onto the first fastening means 103 and second fastening means 105 . fig3 b illustrates an exemplary bike lock in a self - stowed configuration . two arm members 113 are collapsed within a folded lock body 100 . grommets 116 are disposed on the arm member ends 114 and kept substantially within the perimeter of the lock body lower surface 106 . a first fastening means is disposed on a first side 102 of the lock body top surface 101 . snaps 109 secure the first fastening means 103 to a second fastening means 105 , keeping the lock body folded around and securing the arm members 113 and arm member ends 114 . fig3 c illustrates an alternate embodiment of a self - stowed bike lock . a lock body 100 is substantially folded over an arm member 113 . a zipper first fastening means 103 is disposed along the perimeter of a first side 102 of the lock body top surface 101 . a zipper second fastening means 105 is disposed along the perimeter of a second side 104 of the top surface 101 . a slider 112 is disposed onto the perimeter of the lock body top surface 101 . the slider 112 can enclose the arm member 113 and arm member end 114 within the folded lock body 100 . fig4 a illustrates an exemplary arm member end . a grommet 116 is disposed onto the arm member end 114 proximate to a glow - in - the - dark lighting element 126 . fig4 b is a cross sectional view of the arm member end of fig4 a . a steel cable 118 is disposed within a water impermeable layer 119 . a woven textile fiber jacket 120 envelopes the water impermeable layer 119 and steel cable 118 disposed therein . a grommet 116 perforates the woven textile fiber jacket 120 and allows a shackle to connect the arm member end 114 to another arm member end . fig5 illustrates an exemplary bike lock deployed onto a bike . a lock body 100 is placed onto a bike seat 124 . two arm members 113 descend from the lock body 100 . the bike 115 is leaned against a tree 128 . the arm members 113 are intertwined around the bike surfaces 121 . the arm members each have an arm member end 114 terminating in a pin 117 and another arm member end 114 terminating in a pin lock 123 . the pins 117 and engaged to the pink lock 123 , securing the arm member ends 114 together and preventing the separation of bike components or the bike 115 itself from the tree 128 . a water impermeable ( e . g ., polymer ) layer ensheaths the steel cable to prevent environmental moisture from compromising the steel cable . a woven textile fiber jacket surrounds the outer surface of the water impermeable layer to resist abrasion . recycled fire hoses , polymer cable , metal fabric , or other durable materials which are flexible though abrasion - resistant may be used in the jacket . the lighting elements disposed onto the arm member ends and proximate to the locking surfaces enable the bike lock user to use the bike lock in low light conditions . the lighting elements may be battery powered light emitting diodes ( led ), photoluminescent material . fastening means may include snaps , zippers , or other removably - securable means such that the user can collapse the lock body around the arm members as the arm members themselves are collapsed . the locking element may be a standard key lock , combination lock , pin lock , or a shackle - bearing implement adapted to secure the locking surfaces together . when in use , the lock body is first placed onto a bike &# 39 ; s seat or other bike component . the arm members are successively intertwined through the bike &# 39 ; s components . the arm member ends are placed together and the locking elements secure the locking surfaces together . the arm members are kept in tension , forcing the lock body onto the bike seat . the lighting elements facilitate the user with engaging the bike components with the lock body and arm members . the bike lock &# 39 ; s cable woven textile fiber jacket resists shear force and the internal cable resists saw - type threats . the bike lock may be used to render a bike inoperable alone , or along with a bike rack or stationary object against which the bike lock may secure the bike and its components . when the user desires to utilize the bike , the locking element is disengaged from the locking surfaces . the arm members are disengaged from the bike frame and components . the lock body is removed from the bike seat and the arm members are collapsed under the bottom portion of the lock body . the fasteners are used to self - securely collapse the lock body around and enclose the collapsed arm members , resulting in a self - contained bike lock package . while the bike lock invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments , various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention . | 1 |
fig1 shows a drilling tool guide according to the present invention for use with a guide wire . the guide has a hollow sleeve 10 with a bore 12 of preferably cylindrical cross - section . the rear end 14 of the sleeve 10 is preferably threaded on its outer surface to screw to a hollow endcap 16 . preferably , another portion 17 of the outer surface of sleeve 10 is threaded to screw to a separate drill guide ( not shown ). a bore 18 extends through the front tip 20 of the sleeve 10 . preferably , the tip bore 18 is sized to guide a drilling tool , such as a threaded guide wire or a kirschner wire , but may have a diameter appropriate to other tools such as drill bits or fixation pins . the outer diameter of tip 20 is preferably as narrow as practical to seat closely around a drilling site , but still maintain the structural integrity needed to guide a spinning tool . also , serrations 22 preferably line the front side of the tip 20 to frictionally grip a bone surface during drilling to prevent the drilling guide from sliding on the bone &# 39 ; s slippery periosteum , a fibrous membrane that covers the surface of the bone . the preferred embodiment is handheld . it has a handle 24 secured to sleeve 10 by two pins 26 . in this embodiment , the pins 26 penetrate the wall of the sleeve 10 , but do not extend beyond the interior surface of the wall of sleeve 10 . the handle 24 also has an alignment bore 28 . the alignment bore 28 is sized to receive a parallel guide - wire that has already been inserted into a bone . preferably , the alignment bore 28 extends in parallel to the intended drilling axis at a predetermined distance therefrom . a plunger 30 slides telescopically within the sleeve 10 . the main body 32 of the plunger 30 is preferably narrower than the sleeve bore 12 . a plunger bore 34 extends axially through the length of the plunger 30 and is shaped to receive and guide a spinning tool . this bore is axially aligned with the tip bore 18 of sleeve 10 in order to guide the tool along a straight line into the bone . moreover , the plunger 30 and the sleeve 10 together protect tissue surrounding the drilling site . the rear of the plunger 30 terminates in a platform 36 . platform 36 is adapted to abut the front of a spinning drill chuck , so that the chuck can force the plunger 30 forward and deeper into the sleeve 10 . the platform 36 also provides a surface that a user can grasp to pull the plunger 30 backwards , extending the drilling guide . the forward end of the plunger 30 is divided into a plurality of resilient fingers 38 . in the preferred embodiment , finger heads 40 on the fingers 38 naturally form a slightly larger diameter than that of the sleeve bore 12 . most preferably , the fingers are tapered to produce a constant deflection along their lengths when a force is applied to their tips , producing fairly uniform bending moments throughout each finger . thus , when the fingers 38 are inserted within the sleeve bore 12 , the inner wall of the sleeve 10 biases the fingers 38 inwardly . this fit permits the plunger 30 to telescope within the sleeve 10 under friction , so the plunger 30 and the sleeve 10 retain their relative telescopic position after they have been partially collapsed . as explained above , a front end of the hollow endcap 16 is screwed to the rear 14 of the sleeve 10 . a rear endcap bore 42 , behind the threaded portion , has an inner diameter that approximately matches the outer cross - section of the main body 32 of the plunger 30 . when the endcap 16 is screwed onto the rear 14 of the sleeve 10 , it prevents the finger heads 40 from retreating backwards beyond the endcap bore 42 . thus , the telescoping sleeve 10 and plunger 30 of this embodiment may only extend up to a predetermined maximum , as shown in fig1 . this maximum extension should be at least as long as the portion of a drilling tool that protrudes from a chuck , and preferably at most as long as that portion of the tool . a scale 44 graduates the outside of the plunger 30 and indicates the amount by which the guide has been collapsed . fig1 shows numerical markings at every 10 units , and graduations 44 at every 2 units . the graduations 44 in this embodiment are read against the rear end 46 of the endcap 16 , although other embodiments can employ alternative forms of scale indicators . in the illustrated , maximally extended position , the scale 44 reads zero . as the plunger 30 is introduced further into the sleeve 10 , the endcap rear end 46 indicates a higher number . fig2 shows a drilling tool 48 , in this case a self tapping , surgical guide - wire according to the invention . the front tip 50 of the guide wire 48 preferably has sharp facets and ends at an acute point for cutting through bone . in the illustrated embodiment , the guide wire 48 has self - tapping threads 52 , but other embodiments , such as kirschner wires , pins , and drill bits , may not exhibit this feature . to facilitate the use of the guide wire 48 , indicia 54 marks the portion of the guide wire 48 to be inserted into the chuck of a drill . the distance from this indicia 54 to the tip 50 of the wire 48 preferably equals the fully extended length of the guide . thus , if a surgeon properly loads the wire 48 into a chuck and aligns the front of the chuck with the indicia 54 , the portion 55 of the wire protruding from the drill will be as long as the extended drilling - guide . if the surgeon places serrated tip 30 against a bone , as the surgeon drills the tool 48 into a bone through the drilling guide , the scale 44 indicates the length of the portion of the tool 48 that extends beyond the tip 20 of the sleeve 10 , the frontmost part of the guide , and thus the scale 44 indicates the length of the wire 48 presently drilled into the bone . if an intermediate object is placed between the tip 30 and the bone , the penetration depth indicated includes the part of the intermediate object through which the wire 48 is currently passed . fig3 shows the guide wire 48 of fig2 being implanted into a bone 56 . after having closed a drill chuck 58 of drill 60 around the wire 48 so that the tip of the chuck 48 aligns with indicia 54 , the surgeon has slid guide wire 48 into the guide . in the figure , the serrations 18 at the front tip 20 of the sleeve 10 rest against the proximal bone - cortex 62 or its periosteum . in the illustrated use , guide wire 48 is being implanted at a predetermined distance from , and parallel to , a parallel guide - wire 64 that has already been implanted . the alignment bore 28 has been slid over the parallel wire 64 as shown . as the surgeon operates the drill 60 , the chuck 58 pushes the platform 36 and the plunger 30 forward , gradually collapsing the guide . the surgeon may monitor the progress of the wire 48 with lateral x - ray imaging . at any point during the insertion of the wire 48 , the current depth of the wire is indicated on the scale 44 . the surgeon stops drilling when the tip 50 of wire 48 reaches the appropriate depth within the bone 56 . this is usually when the wire 48 reaches the distal bone - cortex 66 , which is visible under lateral imaging . the surgeon may read the indicated depth at this point . otherwise , the surgeon may read the depth after detaching the drill 60 and removing the drilling guide , provided that a mechanism retains the sleeve 10 and the plunger 30 in relative stasis , as does the frictional association between the plunger fingers 38 and the inner wall of sleeve 10 . as a result of its construction , during insertion , the drilling guide provides simultaneous support for the guide wire 48 , implantation depth indication , and protection of surrounding tissue . certain procedures require a surgeon to use a separate , specialized drill - guide . one percutaneous procedure necessitates screwing a bullet nosed insert , called a trocar , into a drill guide , piercing the patients skin with the trocar far enough so the trocar touches bone , and unscrewing the trocar prior to drilling when the separate drill - guide is firmly seated against the skin . in an embodiment of the invention adapted for this procedure , the threaded portion 17 of the sleeve 10 is sized to screw into the separate drill guide from where the trocar was removed . in the preferred embodiment , the sleeve 10 , the plunger 30 , and the endcap 16 have round cross - sections . fig4 shows an alternative embodiment with a plunger 68 of noncircular cross - section . the square cross - section in the figure is seen from a forwardly facing view taken through endcap 70 . in this embodiment , the inner cross - section of the sleeve , hidden from view behind the endcap 70 , preferably also matches the noncircular shape of the plunger 68 . embodiments with noncircular cross - sections prevent relative rotation between the plunger 68 and the sleeve 10 . because the plunger 68 is not round , the endcap 70 is preferably fixed to the sleeve in a manner different from screwing a threaded endcap onto a threaded sleeve , as is preferred in embodiments of circular cross - section . the endcap 70 can be secured to the sleeve by bonding or with other fasteners , for instance . other noncircular embodiments , for example , have a key fixed to the sleeve or the plunger and slidably engaging a slot in the other of the two . this key in slot arrangement also limits rotation while permitting telescopic movement of the drilling guide . in another embodiment , shown in fig5 the plunger 30 is rearwardly biased , preferably by a spring 72 disposed inside the sleeve 10 that presses against a front surface of the plunger 30 . a drilling guide of this embodiment automatically extends when pressure on the platform 36 is removed . thus , if a surgeon has partially drilled a hole , but decides to realign it , the drilling guide will still indicate the current depth of the tool 48 while the surgeon partially or wholly retracts the tool from the bone 56 . this feature is especially useful when larger drill bits are used . in embodiments comprising a sleeve and a plunger , the sleeve need not be at the front of the drilling guide . further embodiments may place the plunger at the front , to abut the bone , and the sleeve at the rear , to abut the drill . still further embodiments may have a workpiece - abutment member and a chuck - abutment member with different shapes and mechanisms than those of the sleeves and plungers described . also , as stated above , the invention may be tailored to accept other drilling tools including other types of guide wires , kirschner wires , pins , and drill bits , and the tip 20 may be adapted to abut other types of workpieces such as skin . | 0 |
fig1 shows a view of the components of module 20 and how they are assembled together . metal ( brass ) inserts 21 are assembled into the module 20 from the bottom . subscriber wires 22 , 23 ( tip and ring respectively ) with spade terminals 24 on one end are terminated to inserts 21 using a small screw fastener 25 which screws into insert 21 . four washer screw terminals 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 are screwed into the opposite end of inserts 21 from the top of module 20 . inserts 21 provide continuity from premises screws 26 , 27 ( tip and ring respectively ) to subscriber wires 22 , 23 ( tip and ring respectively ). four screw terminals provide the capability of terminating up to eight wires to both tip and ring . shorting bars ( not shown ) may replace spade terminals 24 to provide continuity between two inserts 21 creating two terminals shorted to the same single wire . for example , screw terminals 26 and 28 would be shorted together to provide the tip connections and screw terminals 27 and 29 would be shorted together to provide the ring connections . this would allow two screw terminals 26 , 28 for tip connections and two screw terminals 27 , 29 for ring connections to accommodate multiple wire connections . the opposite ends of subscriber wires 22 , 23 are soldered to the momentary solder terminals 31 , 32 ( tip and ring respectively ) on the bottom of the switch 30 . test jack wires 38 , 39 ( tip and ring respectively ) have gold wire 40 terminated to one end which is inserted into test jack 41 . after insertion into test jack 41 , gold wires 40 are bent over ( as shown in fig3 ) and test jack 41 is assembled into the module 20 from the bottom . test jack 41 provides a testing means from the top of the module 20 using a working telephone plug 68 which plugs into test jack 41 through an opening in the top of module 20 , as shown in fig3 . the opposite ends of test jack wires 38 , 39 are soldered to no - momentary solder terminals 35 , 36 ( tip and ring respectively ) on the bottom of switch 30 . telephone network wires 43 , 44 ( tip and ring respectively ) are soldered to always live solder terminals 33 , 34 ( tip and ring respectively ) on the bottom of switch 30 . the other end of the telco wires 43 , 44 proceed to either electronics , protectors , or telco connections of some kind . switch 30 is also assembled into the module 20 from the bottom . all the wire terminations are terminated to the bottom of the module 20 to be totally submerged within a potting compound . module 20 has a molded - in standing rib 67 on the top surface around the switch actuator and test jack openings . the underside of inner jack door 46 has a molded - in trough 66 formed by standing walls around the perimeter of inner door 46 . trough 66 is filled with a two - part silicone gel and cured . inner door 46 is assembled to module 20 by snapping inner door hinge 47 onto hinge pin 48 , inner door 46 will then snap into place by pressing inner door catch 49 under module latch 50 , thus forcing standing rib 67 into gel - filled trough 66 between the standing walls . when inner door 46 is in the closed position , standing rib 67 will be immersed into the silicone gel , creating a watertight seal around test jack 41 and switch actuator clearance hole 52 on top of module 20 . other alternatives to seal up around test jack 41 and switch actuator clearance hole 52 on top of the module 20 are : ( 1 ) using a gasket . instead of a gel trough , a gasket adheres to the underside of inner door 46 to a flat surface by means of an adhesive surface on one side of the gasket . inner door 46 will then snap into place by pressing inner door catch 49 under module latch 50 , thus forcing standing rib 67 into the gasket which compresses and creates a watertight seal . ( 2 ) utilizing two part molding to seal like a gasket . but instead of attaching to the inner door by an adhesive back , it would be a two part molding operation in which a silicone material would be molded directly onto the underside of inner door 46 . ( 3 ) using a molded plastic part , possibly silicone , seal like a gasket . this molded part would be assembled to the underside of inner door 46 by mechanical means ( example snap - fit ). all three alternatives will provide a watertight seal around test jack 41 and switch actuator clearance hole 52 , on top of module 20 . when inner door 46 is closed , activator post 51 travels through clearance hole 52 in module 20 and presses down actuator 37 on switch 30 placing it in the depressed position of fig8 . see fig6 . when switch 30 is depressed , terminals 31 ( tip ) and 33 ( tip ) are connected together to connect subscriber wire 22 ( tip ) to telco wire 43 ( tip ), and terminals 32 ( ring ) and 34 ( ring ) are connected together to connect subscriber wire 23 ( ring ) to telco wire 44 ( ring ). the circuit is then complete from subscriber screw terminals 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 to telco connections through telco wires 43 , 44 . test jack 41 is out of the circuit in this position . when inner door 46 is opened , activator post 51 releases actuator 37 on switch 30 bringing it to its upright position as shown in fig7 . see fig5 . when switch 30 is in the upright position , terminals 35 ( tip ) and 33 ( tip ) are connected together to connect test jack wire 38 ( tip ) to telco wire 43 ( tip ), and terminals 36 ( ring ) and 34 ( ring ) are connected together to connect test jack wire 39 ( ring ) to telco wire 44 ( ring ). the circuit then goes from wires 40 to the telco connections through telco wires 43 , 44 . the test jack is then active for testing and subscriber terminals 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 for customer wiring are then disconnected . there may be two different sizes of potting bases : shallow base 53 , and deep base 54 to hold built - in electronics 55 . shallow base 53 can be used on a module assembly not requiring electronics 55 , non - sealed electronics , or to add electronics at a later time by splicing them into the circuit and storing them in the space provided underneath the module assembly as shown in fig1 . deep base 54 will be used on the module assembly requiring sealed electronics or possibly sealed protectors . in this case , electronics 55 will be wired directly into the circuit and placed inside deep base 54 as shown in fig9 . base 53 , 54 will be filled with a potting compound . the potting compound is poured into the base from the top . module 20 will then be snapped onto base 53 or 54 from the top . the potting compound level is to be well above all the wire terminations to seal them within the encapsulant . test jack 41 is designed to accept a longer than normal gold wire 40 , so that exposed test jack wires 38 , 39 will be totally submerged in the potting compound , leaving only protected gold coated wires 40 extending above the potting compound level . protective walls extending from the bottom of module 20 are designed to surround test jack 41 , switch 30 , and the subscriber towers , and provide a sealed off area within the potting compound preventing any air pockets around any wires and terminations . individual line security door 58 is assembled to module 20 by snapping outer door hinge 59 to module hinge pin 60 . fig9 and 10 show the assembled module snapping into network interface device ( nid ) enclosure base 61 with telco shield 62 which is secured to base 61 with telco security screw ( security screw not shown ). telco shield 62 separates the assembled module from the telco area . padlock latch 63 molded into telco shield 62 rests beside individual line security door hook 64 when outer door 58 is in the closed position to accept customer padlock 65 . the completed module assembly can be used as shown in fig4 . subscriber wiring 73 , 74 , is connected to terminals 26 , 27 . also shown are nid base 71 , telco door 70 and outer door 72 . in the preferred embodiment , the switch is a double pole - double throw switch . actuator 37 travels around 0 . 125 inch . the contact action is momentary and contact action is make - before - break ( shorting ). its termination is solder tail . all electrical connections are metallic . unless otherwise described , all other components are molded plastic . the invention also can be used when all electrical connections and electronics are built into a pc board . | 7 |
the description , construction and operation of the catcher of the invention will be best illustrated by beginning with the construction of the catcher . an expanse of material 21 is provided which may be cut to a circular shape or to an oval shape . material 21 may preferably be made from polyurethane having a thickness of perhaps 3 mils . an alternative set of cutting lines are seen as cutting line 23 which may preferably form a blended radius for reduction of the effective radius by about 75 % and a cutting line 25 which may preferably form a blended radius for reduction of the effective radius by about 83 %. a pair of dart cutting lines 31 and 33 and a pair of dart cutting lines 35 and 37 are shown on the upper half of the expanse of material 21 . a pair of dart cutting lines 41 and 43 and a pair of dart cutting lines 45 and 47 are shown on the lower half of the expanse of material 21 . the expanse of material can be any size , but may have a maximum radius of about sixty inches down to about forty inches , but for certain models of high chairs the maximum radius may preferably be about forty eight inches . the dart cut lines 31 , 33 , 35 , 37 , 41 , 43 , 45 and 47 can be varied greatly in both length , angle of separation and angle with respect to the effective center of the expanse of material 21 . further , the darts may be slightly offset . the cut lines 33 & amp ; 35 may be farther from each other than the cuts lines 43 and 45 . as will be shown this will provide for some offsets of the resulting darts in the resulting two ply catcher . referring to fig2 , the expanse of material 21 of fig1 is shown as having been made more oval by cutting along cutting line 25 , and folded in half . the fold creates a folded edge 51 which has a length equivalent to the maximum diameter seen in fig1 . adjacent and spaced apart from the folded edge 51 is a continuous stitch 53 which may preferably form an internal channel for supporting a stretched length of elastic ( not shown in fig2 . in the alternative , the shape seen in fig2 may be provided a single ply thickness of material with stitching 53 used to stitch a length of stretched elastic near an upper edge ( rather than fold 52 ). the use of a folded , two - ply structure seen in fig2 will result in a better exterior finish with resulting darts to have cut edges ( for example cutting lines 31 and 33 joined together ) sewn on the inside with the cut edges also inside . the opposing set of cutting lines 41 and 43 would similarly be located on the inside , but opposite and slightly offset from a resulting dart formed by the cutting lines 31 and 33 . thus , a two - ply material would actually involve forming four darts , two on each side of the material . the two - ply material also allows the formed darts to have stitch lines which are internal for a better finished look , as well as having internally protruding seems offset from each other , which can also contribute to the overall shape of the resulting catcher . in fig2 , the material between pair of dart cutting lines 31 and 33 and the material between pair of dart cutting lines 35 and 37 are to be removed at removal boundaries 55 . the removal boundaries 55 represent a connection between the pair of dart cutting lines 31 and 33 and pair of dart cutting lines 35 and 37 and are not otherwise specified . the shape of the removal boundary will determine the bulk and outward appearance of the resulting dart when the pairs of dart cutting lines 31 and 33 and 35 and 37 are brought together . the removal boundaries 55 can be straight , or more concave or angled at a greater angle that the dart cutting lines 31 and 33 and 35 and 37 . forming the removal boundaries 55 as angle concave will reduce the pleat effect . referring to fig3 , a plan view is shown in which the pair of dart cutting lines 31 and 33 have been brought together to form a dart 61 having a main seam length portion 63 and tapering into a pleat portion 65 . likewise , the pair of dart cutting lines 35 and 37 have been brought together to form a dart 71 having a main seam length portion 73 and tapering into a pleat portion 75 . the main seam length portions 63 and 73 represent one way of transitioning from an state where the material is joined from a separation to where the material flows into a sturdy pleat . the view of fig3 shows the two distal portions of folded edge 51 as being angled with respect to a central portion to form a finished catcher 81 . however , the view of fig3 is merely a representation of the effect of the darts 61 and 71 on the overall shape ( as such folded edge 51 is actually made to curve or equivalent ). in reality the darts 61 and 71 form a three dimensional shape but for the fact that the expanse of material 21 is left to create undulating folds when laid flat which are not shown because of their unimportance in the flat state and because they randomly occur . with respect to the darts 61 and 71 , ( as well as the two darts which are associated with cutting lines 31 & amp ; 33 and 35 & amp ; 37 ), the angle of the darts 61 and 71 with regard to the middle of the folded edge 51 , the depth of darts 61 and 71 , and the width of material taken out to form the darts 61 and 71 will control the three dimensionality of the resulting catcher 81 , especially the apparent shape when it is engaged to a high chair ( as will be shown ). also seen in fig3 is a series of fasteners including a first pair of oppositely located fasteners 85 which are located at or near the distal ends of the folded edge 51 , and a second pair of oppositely located fasteners 87 which may be either spaced apart from , adjacent to , or continuous ( especially where fasteners 87 and fasteners 85 are hook and loop members ), is shown . an optional center fastener 89 is located along a curved edge 91 which is generally opposite , but terminating adjacent to the ends of folded edge 51 . thus fasteners 87 and 89 can occupy much more length along the curved edge 91 , and that fasteners 85 can occupy much more length along folded edge 51 , especially where a continuous or intermittent engagement fastener is used . it is expected that the catcher 81 will be made with one complementary member of a complementary pair of fasteners already attached to the catcher 81 and that the other of the complementary pair will be provided for adhesive or glued attachment to the specific structures from which the catcher 81 will depend for support . fasteners 85 , 87 , and 89 may include hook and loop , snap , magnetic , hook and eyelet , tab and slot or simple hook , or any other structure which will enable attachment to child seating , such as high chairs . as will be shown the periphery which is generally co - extensive with the edge 51 will provide a force component to draw the center of the edge 51 underneath a either a foot support or some other stable anchoring members to enable the catcher to form a stable pocket . as a result , the number and availability of the fasteners along edge 51 can be used to provide further anchoring force , and can help control the catcher 81 more completely if desired . conversely , a curved edge 91 will be in a more upwardly directed position and will attach adjacent the tray of a high chair . as will be shown , the material removed which shortens the radius , as well as the material removed for the darts 61 and 71 help take up the excess material to insure a good fit about a high chair tray . fig3 also illustrates several optional sets of ties 93 which may be utilized where a high chair has an insufficient leg support about which to form a pocket . the ties 93 can assist the generally central area of the edge 51 to be attached to form a debris catching pocket , where a high chair lacks leg supports about which the edge 51 may be elastically looped . referring to fig4 , a sectional view taken along line 4 - 4 of fig3 illustrates in the example of a two ply catcher 81 the entrapment of an elastic member 95 , which may be an elastic rope or elastic band . the main generally straight edge 51 seen in fig2 and 3 is seen to be part of a capture tube formed by the folding over of two areas of material and stitched with stitch 53 to capture the elastic cord 95 within the fold bounded by the stitch 53 . in the embodiment seen in fig3 , the elastic cord 95 will be stitched at its opposite ends , typically at , along with , or near the first pair of oppositely located fasteners 85 to enable the first pair of oppositely located fasteners 85 to have a more direct connection with the elastic cord 95 . referring to fig5 , a view similar to that seen in fig4 illustrates the example of a single ply catcher which may have the edge 51 folded and stitched to prevent fraying , but also having an elastic band 97 continuously stitched adjacent the protective fold of edge 51 . the continuous stitching exposes the elastic band 97 , but as will be seen , one side of the catcher 81 will oppose the underside of a high chair and thus the elastic band 97 will be predominantly hidden during use . referring to fig6 , an example of a commercially available high chair 101 is seen . in this particular model , a main back support member 103 is continuous with a rear set of legs 105 . a pair of front leg members 107 are provided , one of which is shown broken away so that it will not obscure the other important members of the high chair 101 . not all high chairs have the front legs depend from a rear support , but such a design helps to keep front legs away from attachment points and mechanisms the child might be able to reach . attached to the main support member 103 are arm rails 109 which support a tray bracket 111 . the arm rails 109 and main support member 103 may have attached or be formed with a form fitting seat 113 which may extend to and be formed integrally with a guided leg and foot support 115 . the tray bracket 111 typically includes a mechanism for supporting a tray 117 , or other high chair 101 forward and preferably upper member . the tray bracket 111 typically enables the tray to be slid forward or rearward and in some cases removed altogether . the design theme for most modern high chairs is that the child should be completely isolated from the operation mechanism . thus , the tray 117 extends significantly beyond the bracket 111 . given the form fitting seat 113 and the fact that the bracket 111 mechanical features are on the outside and underneath the tray , the child is isolated from the mechanism and can contact only smooth surfaces . the views of the form fitting seat 113 and the guided leg and foot support 115 are exterior views of structure which continuously surround the child and do not illustrate the full degree to which the child is isolated from the chair mechanism . the structures on any given high chair can provide a number of places for attachment of members by which the fasteners 85 and 87 may be attached . it should be noted that the food & amp ; debris catcher 81 is very lightweight and it will take very little structural dependence in order to be fully supported . a first anchoring attachment member 121 is seen as supported by the tray bracket 111 . the first anchoring attachment member 121 will typically engage the fastener 85 as the upper and rearward most point of attachment for the catcher 81 . a second anchoring attachment member 123 is seen in phantom and as supported underneath the tray 117 by any structural element . the second anchoring attachment member 123 will typically engage the fastener 87 to hold up the front of the catcher 81 . as will be shown , the overwhelming bulk of the force will be held by the first anchoring attachment member 121 and the fastener 85 because of the pulling stress due to an elastic member associated with the edge 51 . the portion of the catcher 81 at the curved edge 91 need only hold up the weight of the material adjacent the curved edge 91 and the fasteners 87 which are typically spaced apart are usually sufficient . referring to fig7 , a side view similar to that of fig6 is shown , but where the catcher 81 has been attached . the attachment process can be started from either side of the high chair 101 by orienting the catcher 81 with its fastener 85 toward the first anchoring attachment member 121 and attaching it . the folded edge 51 of the catcher 81 is brought underneath the guided leg and foot support 115 to and around the other side so that the other fastener 85 can be pulled up to engage an oppositely located first anchoring attachment member 121 , while pulling the folded edge 51 against the force of an internal elastic member ( not yet shown ). the continuous stitch 53 seen in fig7 gives an idea of the extent to which the folded edge 51 seeks the path of least length as the two fasteners 85 are oppositely stretched apart to their associated first anchoring attachment members 121 . note that the guided leg and foot support 115 is at least partial enveloped between the edge 51 and the upper curved edge 91 which is shown as being loosely near the bottom front edge of the tray 117 . to operate as a catcher , is it only necessary that some minimum lower curvature be provided at or near a vicinity in which food and debris may fall . the guided leg and foot support 115 is shown as longer than may be available on some models of high chair . other high chairs may have some obstruction a few inches upward from the lower rear area of the guided leg and foot support 115 , while others will have an abbreviated length guided leg and foot support 115 which may terminate before forming a foot support which is seen with respect to the high chair 101 of fig4 and 5 . a dart 125 is seen on the outside of the catcher 81 which was associated with dart cutting lines 41 and 43 . referring to fig8 a sectional view taken through the center of the high chair 101 seen in fig7 illustrates further details of the catcher 81 and details of construction and attachment . since the section is taken through the center of the high chair 101 with the catcher 81 in place , the leg 107 of the far side is not be shown in broken form as it does not obscure relevant details of the drawing . a smooth molded formfitting seat bottom and surface 129 is shown leading to a smooth form fitting lateral side and back surface 131 of the guided leg and foot support 115 . the transition between the bottom of the seat bottom and surface 129 and the back of lateral side and back surface 131 corresponds to area where the child &# 39 ; s knee would bend . the seat bottom and surface 129 forms a natural funnel forward to the transition to the form fitting lateral side and back surface 131 with any food or debris able to escape to the floor upon which the high chair 101 is sitting only forward of the transition . however , because the catcher 81 is in place , a particle 133 of food or debris or a utensil 135 has no placed to go but into the bottom of the catcher 81 , where such particles 133 collect for later disposal . other details seen are the structural tray members 137 which are usually extensive and accessible from underneath the tray 117 . any available structure can be used to attach the second anchoring attachment member 123 to hold up the front of the catcher 81 . also seen is dart 71 on the inside of the catcher 81 . when it is desired to dump the particles 133 , the user merely detaches the located fasteners 87 ( since the front of the catcher will not likely fall forward with fasteners 85 still attached ) and then simultaneously detach the fasteners 85 while bringing the whole catcher 81 low enough so that edge 51 ( which remains significantly high above the lowest part of the catcher 81 to prevent spillage of the particles 133 ) clear the underneath portion of the guided leg and foot support 115 as it is brought forward . the catcher 81 can be then dumped into a receptacle and washed , if desired . while the present invention has been described in terms of a system and method for providing controllable capture of items dropped with respect to a high chair , one skilled in the art will realize that the structure and techniques of the present invention can be applied to many structures , including any structure or technique where an efficient capture and isolation of food , objects , utensils can be had with respect to a furniture object or child seat . although the invention has been derived with reference to particular illustrative embodiments thereof , many changes and modifications of the invention may become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . therefore , included within the patent warranted hereon are all such changes and modifications as may reasonably and properly be included within the scope of this contribution to the art . | 0 |
the embodiments disclosed herein can be employed in any application in which finely divided solids are to be removed from a gaseous stream . the invention is particularly advantageous for use as a third stage separation system for removal of catalyst fines from regeneration flue gas in fcc units , but the scope of the invention is not limited to such use . generally stated , the apparatus includes an upright cylindrical vessel with a plurality of cyclonic elements positioned and oriented within the interior space of the vessel . the vessel is divided by interior baffles into at least three separate chambers . the upper chamber serves as an inlet plenum area for the cyclonic elements ; the middle chamber serves as a collection area for the separated solids ; and the lower chamber serves as a plenum for collection of the clean gas discharge from the cyclone elements . the baffles are sealed against the vessel wall by appropriate means and the surface of the baffles is angled so that the collected solids will slide freely down the baffles under the action of gravity . the upper chamber of the vessel is connected to an inlet line that conducts the gas and solids to be cleaned into the vessel . the lower chamber of the vessel is connected to an outlet line that conducts the cleaned gas away from the vessel to be further processed . the middle chamber of the vessel is connected to an outlet duct that penetrates the bottom head of the vessel and conducts the separated solids out of the vessel under gravity flow . the three chambers of the vessel are completely sealed from each other so that no gas or solids can flow from one chamber to the next except along the flow paths formed by the cyclone elements . the bodies of the cyclone elements penetrate the upper baffle so that the inlet ducts of the cyclonic elements are located in the upper chamber of the vessel . the penetrations of the cyclone elements through the upper baffle are sealed so as to prevent any leakage of gases past the baffle without entering the cyclone elements . thus , the upper baffle acts as a tube sheet to force the entering gas plus solids into the cyclone inlet ducts . the gas plus solids entering the cyclone elements are forced to undergo a spinning motion by the tangential orientation of the inlet duct . the spinning motion of the gas forces the solids to move to the wall of the cyclone elements where they are slowed by friction and move downwardly along the wall under the action of gravity . the bodies of the cyclone elements are open to the middle chamber of the vessel and the separated solids fall freely into this chamber under the action of gravity . once free of the cyclone bodies the separated solids fall to the surface of the lower baffle , which is angled so that the solids will continue to slide to the center of the vessel . at the center of the vessel the solids enter the solids outlet line that exits the vessel through the bottom head . in one embodiment the solids are collected in a separate vessel located below the third stage separator . the collection vessel is sealed so that no flow of gas accompanies the solids . in another embodiment , a portion of the gas is drawn out of the solids collection line along with the separated solids . this gas flow that accompanies the solids in this embodiment is commonly referred to as “ underflow ” and is typically from about 1 % to about 5 % of the entering gas stream . the underflow thus comprises a concentrated gas plus solids stream and the percentage of gas withdrawn is controlled by external means , such as by a properly sized restriction orifice or flow nozzle . the underflow can be further processed to recover the solids by means of an additional cyclonic element or filtration system . if the third stage separator is being used only to protect downstairs equipment , the underflow can be recombined with the clean gas stream downstairs of the downstream equipment without recovering the separated solids . each of the cyclone elements is equipped with a gas outlet tube that projects into the cyclone body of the cyclone elements along the center axis of the cylindrical body . the circular annular area between the gas outlet tubes and the cyclone body forms the outlet flow area for the separated solids . the outlet tubes are sized so that the spinning gas is forced into a tight vortex in order to enter the smaller diameter of the gas outlet tube . the conservation of angular momentum causes the rate of spin to increase as the vortex enters the gas outlet tube , thus enhancing the separation of solids from the exiting gas stream . unlike a traditional cyclone separator with the tangential gas inlet at the top and the gas outlet tube in the roof , in the cyclone elements used herein , the vortex is not required to undergo a directional change . the vortex spirals downwardly in one direction from inlet to outlet . referring first to fig1 , one embodiment of a solids separation apparatus is shown and is designated as 10 . the solids separation apparatus 10 includes a cylindrical upright vessel 11 having a top head 12 , a bottom head 13 and a cylindrical side wall 14 . the vessel 11 forms a gas tight housing for the multiple cyclone elements 26 . the vessel 11 is subdivided by internal tube sheets or baffles into three separate chambers . an inner baffle 16 , which preferably is configured in the shape of a hollow cylinder , forms a vertical wall suspended from the top head 12 that supports the other baffles . conical upper baffle 17 and the vessel top head 12 define an upper chamber 18 within inner baffle 16 that forms an inlet plenum for the gas and solids entering through the vessel inlet duct 19 . conical lower baffle 20 , the inner surface 27 of side wall 14 and the vessel bottom head 13 form a lower chamber 21 that serves to collect the clean gas from the cyclone elements 26 and conducts the gas into a clean gas outlet duct 22 . a middle chamber 23 is defined by upper baffle 17 , lower baffle 20 , and inner baffle 16 . the middle chamber 23 is configured to receive solids from the cyclone elements 26 and is connected to a solids outlet duct 24 . multiple cyclone elements 26 are supported by upper baffle 17 and lower baffle 20 . the baffles 14 , 17 and 20 are sealed at all connection points and are also sealed to the individual cyclone elements 26 such that no gas or solids can flow between the vessel chambers except by means of the flow paths through the cyclone elements 26 . upper baffle 17 and lower baffle 20 are angled inwardly and downwardly in an amount sufficient to cause the solids that accumulate in the middle chamber 23 to slide downwardly along the top side 31 of lower baffle 20 toward the center of vessel 11 under the action of gravity . solids that collect on the top side 31 of lower baffle 20 will thus be conducted into the centrally located solids outlet duct 24 that exits the vessel through the bottom head 13 . the angles of the surfaces of baffles 17 and 20 will typically be between about 30 degrees and about 60 degrees from the vertical with the most preferred angle being about 45 degrees . in one embodiment , the solids collected in the middle chamber 23 of the vessel are conducted into a solids outlet duct 24 that is connected to a sealed collection vessel 28 such that no gas flows into the solids outlet duct 24 with the collected solids . in another embodiment , some gas is drawn into the middle chamber 23 with the solids and accompanies the solids into the solids outlet duct 24 and the collection vessel 28 . such gas flow , termed underflow , is controlled by external means downstream from the solids outlet duct 24 . the flow control means for the underflow gas is typically a restriction orifice or flow orifice , but other flow control means may also be employed . the gas plus solids underflow stream can be further treated to remove the solids in external equipment not shown herein . such further treatment typically consists of an additional cyclone separator ( fourth - stage cyclone ) or a filtration system . the solids collected in either embodiment are typically discarded sine the particles are usually too small to be reused in the process . the vessel 11 can be made of any suitable material , and typically has a carbon steel exterior with an interior insulated lining . the vessel 11 typically has a diameter in the range of 6 - 30 feet . the vessel 11 usually contains about 10 - 300 cyclone elements 26 , which typically , but not necessarily , each have a diameter in the range 6 - 18 inches . the baffles are made of a material that is sufficiently strong to support the cyclone elements 26 . fig2 is a schematic , side elevational view of one of multiple cyclone elements 26 included in the vessel 11 which is shown in fig1 . the cyclone elements 26 each have a hollow cyclone body 30 and a tubular gas outlet duct 34 . the cyclone body 30 is mounted in an aperture 50 in the upper baffle 17 in a vertical orientation . the gas outlet duct 34 is mounted in an aperture 43 in the lower baffle 17 in a vertical orientation . the cyclone body 30 and gas outlet duct 34 are not rigidly fixed to each other . an inlet 32 for gas and entrained solids is formed at the top of the cyclone body . usually , the inlet 32 has a rectangular cross section . the solids outlet 39 is an annular opening at the lower end of the cyclone body 30 formed by the inner wall 52 of the cyclone body 30 and the outer wall 54 of the gas outlet duct 34 . the cyclone body 30 includes an upper portion 33 with a generally cylindrical cross section and a lower portion 35 that is inwardly tapered in the downward direction . gas plus entrained solids enter the cyclone body 30 through inlet 32 , which preferably but not necessarily is positioned in a tangential relation to the upper portion 33 of the cyclone body 30 . the tangential orientation of the inlet 32 , shown in fig2 - 4 , causes the gas and solids to begin a spinning motion inside the cyclone element 26 . the spinning motion and formation of a gas vortex inside the cyclone element 26 are enhanced by the inclusion of a vortex former 36 that confines the inlet gas to an annular area between the inner wall 31 of the cyclone and the axially positioned vortex former 36 . the vortex former 36 is usually cylindrical in shape . the vortex former 36 contributes to the improved overall collection efficiency of the device . the force of the vortex causes the gas to move to the center of the cyclone body 30 as the solids move to the inner wall 46 of the cyclone body 30 . the spinning gas vortex that forms inside the cyclone element 26 tapers from the full inner diameter d of the upper portion 33 on the cyclone body 30 at the inlet 32 to the diameter of the gas outlet 34 . this tapering of the vortex to a smaller diameter causes the rotational speed of the gas to increase as the gas approaches the gas outlet 34 since angular momentum is conserved . the increase in velocity helps to improve the solid - gas separation efficiency of the cyclone . another significant feature of the embodiment shown in the figures is the configuration of the gas outlet duct 34 . the upper portion 40 of the gas outlet duct 34 projects into the cyclone body 30 through the lower end 42 of the cyclone body 30 , as is shown in fig2 . the lower portion 44 of the gas outlet duct 34 extends through the aperture 43 in the lower baffle 20 . the area between the aperture 43 and the gas outlet duct 34 is tightly sealed to prevent any flow of gas or solids around this connection . however , as indicated above , the gas outlet duct 34 has no rigid connection to the cyclone body 30 and is allowed to move vertically up or down relative to the cyclone body 30 . thus , the gas outlet duct 34 and the cyclone body 30 move relative to one another when the gases being processed are at high temperature or when the system is heated or cooled unevenly . the connection between the cyclone body 30 and the gas outlet duct 34 constitutes an expansion joint that allows for vertical telescoping motion between the cyclone body and the gas outlet duct , and thus forms a slip joint . the connection is made through the lower baffle 20 , which is connected to the gas outlet duct 34 and the upper baffle 17 , which is connected to the cyclone body 30 . both the lower baffle 20 and the upper baffle 17 are connected to the inner baffle 16 . due to the inclusion of an expansion joint having this configuration , no bellows - type expansion joint is required . the gas outlet duct 34 has a series of thin cementing tabs 45 extending radially outward from its outer surface to keep the gas outlet duct 34 centered within the cyclone body 30 while allowing for vertical slip between the cyclone body 30 and the gas outlet 34 . the centering tabs 45 allow for a close fit within the cyclone body 30 but still allow the gas outlet 34 to move freely up or down within the cyclone body 30 . the centering tabs 45 also act as a vortex breaker for the separated solids . the separated solids will move in a downward spiral along the inner wall 46 of the cyclone body 30 . the centering tabs 45 act to break the spiral motion of the solids and rob them of energy , thus helping them to fall to the surface of the lower baffle 20 and under the influence of gravity . another important design feature of the cyclone is the length to diameter ratio , or l / d . as is shown in fig2 , the length l of the cyclone element 26 is defined to be the distance from the inside of the cyclone roof 38 to the beginning of the gas outlet duct 34 . the diameter d of the cyclone element 26 is defined to be the inside diameter of the upper portion 33 of the cyclone body 30 . a longer cyclone , i . e ., greater l / d , will be more efficient because the greater vortex length will provide more time for solids to move to the wall under the action of the applied centrifugal force . in the preferred embodiment the l / d will be greater than about 3 , more preferably above 4 , and most preferably above 5 . several design parameters that influence the separation efficiency of cyclone separators are the inlet velocity , the gas outlet velocity , and the ratio of the barrel area to cyclone inlet area . a high inlet velocity results in higher centrifugal forces acting on the solids entrained within the incoming gas stream . however , too high an inlet velocity can result in excessive erosion from solids impacting and scouring of the internal surfaces . in the preferred embodiment , the cyclone inlet velocity is between about 50 feet per second and 140 feet per second , and typically will be 70 to 90 feet per second . the inlet velocity is set by the cross sectional area of the inlet 32 , the volumetric flow of gas to be processed , and the number of cyclone elements 26 . the cross sectional area of the rectangular inlet 32 is set by the width and height of the internal surface of the inlet 32 . the internal width w of the inlet 32 usually does not exceed the width of the annular area between the inner all 46 of the cyclone body 30 and the vortex former 36 . the cyclone gas outlet velocity is controlled by the internal diameter of the gas outlet duct 34 . a smaller diameter for the gas outlet duct 34 will force the gas vortex within the cyclone body to taper to a smaller diameter and will speed up the rotational velocity of the vortex at the gas outlet duct 34 . the width of the annular space between the cyclone body 30 and the gas outlet duct 34 will also be greater , providing more area for the flow of separated solids . also , a greater distance between the inner wall 46 of the cyclone body 30 and the gas outlet opening 51 will reduce the possibility of the downwardly moving solids being re - entrained in the gas stream as the gas moves into the gas outlet duct 34 . in the preferred embodiment , the gas outlet velocity will be from 1 . 0 to 1 . 5 times the gas inlet velocity and more preferably about 1 . 2 to 1 . 3 time the gas inlet velocity . the ratio of the cyclone barrel area to inlet area is defined to be the internal cross sectional area of cyclone body 30 divided by the internal cross sectional area of the inlet 32 . in the preferred embodiment of this invention , the ratio of barrel area to inlet area is between about 4 and about 8 and is preferably above 5 . as mentioned above , inclusion of the vortex former 36 at the cyclone inlet helps establish the initial shape of the gas vortex . the expansion joint , such as a slip joint , allows the cyclone body to be rigidly attached and securely sealed to the upper baffle while the gas outlet tube is rigidly attached and tightly sealed to the lower baffle . as a result , no bellows type expansion joints are required to absorb differential thermal growth between the upper and lower baffles and the cyclone elements . the gas outlet tube also utilizes alignment tabs that act as vortex breakers for the separated solids and facilitates the setting of the solids into the collection chamber . various of the above - disclosed and other features and functions , or alternatives thereof , may be combined into many other different structures or methods . various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives , modifications , variations , or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims . | 1 |
fig1 is a block diagram of the parallel computer showing the first embodiment of the present invention . in fig1 processors 1 process the procedures stored in memories 8 . processor means 9 include processors 1 and memories 8 . cluster buses 2 transfer data in a processor 1 to the other processors 1 in the same cluster or to other processor 1 in other clusters . a first cluster bus 21 is constructed from a plurality of sub - cluster buses of 21a , 21b , 21c and 21d . a second cluster bus 22 is constructed from a plurality of sub - cluster buses of 22a , 22b and 22c . the buses 21 and 22 are connected to the processor 1 through a selector 6 which selects either the first bus 21 or the second bus 22 to the processor 1 . the sub - cluster buses are separated as shown in the fig1 . each sub - cluster bus is connected to four processors 1 . each processor 1 is connected to two cluster buses through the selector 6 . a system bus 7 transfers data between the clusters connecting the whole system . all selectors 6 in the system operate at the same time . that is , the selectors 6 do not operate separately . the selectors do not operate for each transfer of data . the operation timing for the selectors 6 is called system reconstruction timing . the reconstruction timing of the system is decided from the start timing and finish timing for a plurality of the real time processes which are executed at the same time . each processor 1 is able to be connected to two buses . the change of the connections to one of the buses is executed only at the above system reconstruction timing . at any other timing , each processor 1 is fixed to either bus of the cluster bus 21 or the cluster bus 22 . as a result , the clusters in the system is fixed and each processor 1 in a cluster is connected to only one cluster bus . each reconstructed cluster bus operates independently . the cluster bus is not influenced by the other process contents or process conditions in other clusters . in fig1 each sub - cluster bus is able to be connected to the four processors 1 . each processor 1 can be connected to two sub - cluster buses . the cluster construction of the system is changed by altering the connections between the cluster buses 2 and processors 1 . fig2 and fig3 shows examples in which the cluster constructions are changed by altering the connection between the cluster buses and processors 1 . fig2 shows an example of a cluster construction . cluster a is constructed from two processor means using sub - cluster bus 21a , cluster b is constructed from a processor means using sub - cluster bus 21b , cluster c is constructed from three processor means using sub - cluster bus 21b , cluster d is constructed from two processor means using sub - cluster bus 22b , cluster e is constructed from a processor means using sub - cluster bus 22c , and cluster f is constructed from three processor means using sub - cluster bus 22c . as shown in fig2 the processor 1 numbers in the cluster may vary from one to four by using two cluster buses . it is not always necessary to use all cluster buses 2 in the cluster . the clusters may be constructed so that only one cluster bus 22 is used without using cluster bus 21 . fig3 shows an example of such a cluster construction . cluster a is constructed from four processor means using sub - cluster bus 22a , cluster b is constructed from four processor means using sub - cluster bus 22b , and cluster c is constructed from four processor means using sub - cluster bus 22c . as shown in fig3 at most four processors 1 may be connected to each cluster . in this case , cluster bus 21 is wasted because it is not used . although it is not shown in fig2 and fig3 data may be transferred between the clusters via the system bus 7 if real time process for the request is small . as shown in fig2 and fig3 each cluster a , b , c , d , e and f is constructed so that the given process may be executed in its own cluster , independent of the other clusters . selector 6 selects the desired sub - cluster buses . as described above , if a cluster is reconstructed before the process is executed , the process may be executed within its own cluster without accessing the other clusters . for example , if each process a , b , c , d , e and f is accessed in parallel and needs two , one , three , two , one , three processors respectively , the selectors 6 are changed beforehand to construct the system as shown in fig2 . as a result of making the construction as shown in fig2 before executing the process a , b , c , d , e and f , the process operation environment may be defined steadily and the operation time and operation result can be obtained consistently . in prior parallel processors , there are many reasons why processor 1 are not used effectively . real time operation within a cluster is difficult to obtain since independence of operation can not be assured . the data transfer efficiency is degraded in the system . in the embodiment shown in fig2 these problems are eliminated . fig4 is a fourth cluster construction showing the second embodiment of the present invention . in the fig1 - 3 , two cluster buses are shown , but in fig4 three cluster buses are shown . three , four or more cluster buses may be used . as the number of cluster buses increases , the number of the cluster in the system increases . the arrangement of processors 1 in a cluster may be more freely selected with three cluster buses and the possible cluster construction in the whole system can be more freely selected . in fig3 the sub - cluster buses are constructed by separating the cluster buses for every four processors . the number of the processors for a sub - cluster buses may be two , three , five , six or more . the number of the processors can be different for a sub - cluster buses such as two , three , five , six or more . the number of sub - cluster buses connected to a processor can be vary between clusters . the number of clusters in the system and the number of processor 1 in a cluster may be more freely selected and the possible cluster construction in the whole system can be more freely selected . in the previous embodiment , the sub - cluster buses are separated into several portions , but the sub - cluster buses do not necessarily have to be separated in pieces . in fig5 the cluster buses 21 and 22 are not separated in pieces but instead are continuous . the system may be have two , three or more cluster buses which are not separated . the number of clusters in the system and the number of processor 1 in a cluster may be more freely selected and the possible cluster construction in the whole system can be more freely selected . although not shown in fig5 the system may be constructed with cluster bus 21 separated into pieces and with cluster bus 22 in one continuous piece . in the first embodiment , the sub - cluster buses are separated into several portions . these sub - cluster buses may be connected with bus connectors 10 , shown in fig6 . the bus connectors 10 may connect not only adjacent sub - cluster buses , but also sub - cluster buses at any distance . again , the cluster construction may be freely selected for the whole system . the bus connectors 10 may connect not only sub - cluster buses in its own cluster bus , but also sub - cluster buses in the other cluster buses . in the above embodiment , the processors processor 1 are connected together by cluster buses , but any kinds of network may be used for connecting the processors 1 together . in the above embodiments , the memory is a distributed shared memory which is characterized strongly by the local memory , but the memory may be a completely shared memory or a completely local memory . in the above embodiments , the system reconstruction is executed at the same time for the whole system , but the system reconstruction may be executed in parts for the whole system . in order to use separated unused processor 1 , the system may be reconstructed at an appropriate interval . in the above embodiments , the parallel computer comprises a plurality of data transfer means ( cluster buses ) provided for each processor in order to construct the cluster between the processor 1 , a plurality of selector means for selecting one of the data transfer means for each processor during the operation of the computer , and control means for reconstructing the selection and fixing of the data transfer means in accordance with requests from the application program at an appropriate timing during the operation of the computer . another parallel processing computer , described in the laid - open patent publication no . 61 - 148564 / 86 , has a plurality of processors which are arranged and connected in two dimensions . the parallel processing computer has bus connection means which connect directly the processors arranged in the different row and column . in the above prior art , the parallel processing computer connects directly processors arranged in predetermined rows and columns . the parallel processing computer is not able to change the connections between the processors arranged in the rows and columns . this prior art is believed to be different from the present invention . fig7 is a block diagram of the parallel computer of the ninth embodiment of the present invention . in fig7 processors 1 process the procedures stored in the distributed shared memories 8 which are characterized strongly by the local memory . cluster buses 2 transfer the data in the cluster from processor 1 in the same cluster . a transfer processor 31 controls the data transfer between the processors 1 . a program memory 32 stores transfer programs which execute the data transfer . fifo registers 33 stores the data which are to be transferred to the other processors 1 . when the four processors 1 execute blocks of procedures in parallel operation , it is often necessary to transfer data between the processors 1 and also between their distributed shared memories 8 . the processors 1 output data to the fifo register 33 . further transfer processes to the other processors 1 or to the distributed shared memories 8 are executed by the transfer processor 31 as follows . in the present architecture , a static scheduling is adopted in which sharing method for processing and procedures between the processors 1 are not changed during execution of a certain amount of the processing . that is , the interruption method and synchronous timing of the processors 1 are provided at the time of making programs . the timing for the data transfer is generally known beforehand and the output data order from each processor is known beforehand . it is also completely known beforehand where the data is to be transferred . therefore , the data transfer program can be written beforehand . the transfer program is written with the arithmetic program and loaded into the program memory 32 in the transfer processor 31 . the transfer processor 31 reads the data from the fifo 33 in accordance with the program and transfers it to the distributed shared memories of the assigned processor . the order in which data is to be read from the fifo 33 is the same as the order in which the processor outputs data to the fifo 33 . the order in which fifos 33 are accessed is decided at the time when the program is made . the order can not be changed during execution of the program . as described above , it is necessary that the data be stored in the fifo 33 before the data can be transferred . the transfer timing procedure which executes the synchronous control in a high speed is explained using fig7 and fig8 . processor 1 calculates in accordance with the arithmetic program and stores the calculated results in fifo 33 . the transfer processor 31 accesses fifo 33 according to its own program . sometimes data will not yet be stored in fifo 33 when the transfer processor 31 accesses the fifo 33 . when the data is not stored in the fifo 33 , an interruption signal is outputted from the fifo 33 to the transfer processor 31 . a detailed explanation regarding the interruption operation is explained hereinafter using fig8 . fig8 is a block diagram of the fifo register 33 which has the function of generating an interruption signal when data is not present in accordance with the ninth embodiment of the present invention . in fig8 the data is stored in the two port memory 41 in the fifo register 33 . a writing address counter 42 counts the writing address of the two port memory 41 . a reading address counter 43 counts the reading address of the two port memory 41 . a interruption signal generation circuit 44 generates an interruption signal when the transfer processor 31 accesses the fifo 33 before the data is stored in the two port memory 41 . the interruption signal generation circuit 44 includes a comparator not shown in fig8 . when the transfer processor 31 accesses the fifo 33 , the transfer processor 31 sends a reading strobe signal 45 to the fifo 33 . when the reading strobe signal 45 is inputted from the transfer processor 31 , the comparator compares the contents of the writing address counter 42 with the contents of the reading address counter 43 . if the content of the reading address counter 43 is larger than the content of the writing address counter 42 , the comparator determines that the data has not been prepared yet , and sends the interruption signal to the transfer processor 31 . when the transfer processor 31 receives the interruption signal from the fifo 33 , the transfer processor 31 determines that the data transfer has failed , and executes the reading procedure again according to the interruption processing program . when the interruption signal is not received from the fifo 33 , the transfer processor 31 determines that the data transfer has been executed properly , and executes the next procedure according to the data transfer program . in this system , the transfer processor 31 assumes that the data is stored in the fifo 33 . only if the data transfer has failed , does the transfer processor 31 retry the data transfer by the interruption procedure . this method reduces the overhead . since the data transfer is controlled by the transfer processor 31 , the data transfer is not influenced by the generation of data or the request for data from the processor 1 . if the system has sufficient capacity for data transfer , then data transfers occur at substantially the same rate at which data is generated . the timing for data transfers may be freely selected so that the cluster buses are used effectively . programmers could produce the above mentioned data transfer program , but it would be substantial amount of work . instead , the transfer program is produced by the preprocessor 52 in this system . the preprocessor 52 is used in combination with the parallel language compiler 55 . fig9 is a compiler system diagram of the ninth embodiment of the present invention . in fig9 a parallelized source program 51 is written in parallel language . a preprocessor 52 separates the parallelized source program into parallelized source program arithmetic and transfer source program . a parallelized source program for arithmetic 53 is separated from the parallelized source program 51 by the preprocessor 52 . a transfer source program 54 is also separated from the parallelized source program 51 by the preprocessor 52 . the parallel language compilers 55 are conventional compilers . an object program for arithmetic 56 is outputted from one of the parallel language compilers 55 . an object program for transfer 57 is outputted from the parallel language compiler 55 . the programmers write the parallelized source program 51 using the conventional parallel language . the arithmetic part and transfer part of the parallelized source program 51 are separated into the parallelized source program for arithmetic 53 and the transfer source program 54 by the preprocessor 52 . the parallelized source program for arithmetic 53 and the transfer source program 54 are changed to the object program for arithmetic 56 and the object program for transfer 57 by the parallel language compilers 55 respectively . fig1 is a block diagram of the preprocessor 52 for the ninth embodiment of the present invention . an extracting part 61 extracts the portions related to the data transfer between the processors 1 . a separation and reconstruction part 62 separates and reconstructs the arithmetic program and the transfer program . in the preprocessor 52 , the extracting portion 61 checks all reading and writing operation of the memory , detecting the portions which are accessing the distributed shared memories 8 . the separation and reconstruction part 62 separates the portions associated with data transfer between the processors 1 from the portion detected by the extracting part 61 and reconstructs the data transfer program using fifo 33 . the remaining arithmetic program reconstructs the system by reading the access instructions aimed to other distributed shared memories 8 , from its own distributed shared memory 8 , or by writing the access instruction into its own fifo 33 . at the same time , the preprocessor 52 adds the necessary synchronous control instruction to the respective transfer and arithmetic program . in the above ninth embodiment , the clusters having four processors 1 are described , but the clusters may include any number of processors 1 more than two . in the above ninth embodiment , the processors 1 are connected together by the cluster buses , but any kinds of network may be used for connecting the processors 1 together . in the above ninth embodiment , the memories characterized strongly by the local memories , are distributed shared memories , but can be complete local memories . in the above ninth embodiment , fifo 33 is used as the buffer , but other types of data buffer may be used instead of the fifo 33 . for example , output data may be stored in the distributed shared memory 8 . in that case , the processor 1 would access the data using a predetermined addresses . in the above ninth embodiment , the preprocessor 52 is combined with the parallel language compiler 55 , but the automatic extraction , separation and reconstruction function may be built in to the parallel language compiler 55 or automatic parallel compiler . | 6 |
the invention will be described in detail , in conjunction with the accompanying drawings , in which : fig1 is a diagram schematically showing components of an electronic fuel - injection control system for an internal - combustion engine ; fig2 and 4 are similar diagrams to show different embodiments of potentiometer circuitry for one of the components of fig1 ; and fig5 is a graphical presentation of performance of circuits of fig2 to 4 , as a function of throttle - angle displacement . in said copending patent application , a fuel - injection internal - combustion engine is described in which one or more square - wave pulse generators drive solenoid - operated injectors unique to each cylinder , there being a single control system whereby the pulse - generator means is modulated as necessary to accommodate throttle demands in the context of engine speed and other factors . fig1 herein is adopted from said application , for purposes of simplified contextual explanation . the control system of fig1 is shown in illustrative application to a two - cycle six - cylinder 60 - degree v - engine wherein injectors for cylinders # 2 , # 3 and # 4 are operated simultaneously and ( via line 48 ) under the control of the pulse output of a first square - wave generator 46 , while the remaining injectors ( for cylinders # 5 , # 6 and # 1 ) are operated simultaneously and ( via line 49 ) under the control of the pulse output of a second such generator 47 . the base or crankshaft angle for which pulses generated at 46 are timed is determined by ignition - firing at cylinder # 1 , and pulses generated at 47 are similarly based upon ignition - firing at cylinder # 4 , i . e ., at 180 crankshaft degrees from cylinder # 1 firing . the actual time duration of all such generated pulses will vary in response to a control signal ( e mod . ), supplied in line 45 to both generators 46 - 47 . the circuit to produce the modulating - voltage e mod . operates on various input parameters , in the form of analog voltages which reflect air - mass flow for the current engine speed , and a correction is made for volumetric efficiency of the particular engine . more specifically , for the circuit shown , a first electrical sensor 50 of manifold absolute pressure is a source of a first voltage e map which is linearly related to such pressure , and a second electrical sensor 51 of manifold absolute temperature may be a thermistor which is linearly related to such temperature through a resistor network 52 . the voltage e map is divided by the network 52 to produce an output voltage e m , which is a linear function of instantaneous air mass or density at inlet of air to the engine . a first amplifier a 1 provides a corresponding output voltage e m at the high - impedance level needed for regulation - free application to the relatively low impedance of potentiometer means 53 , having a selectively variable control that is symbolized by a throttle knob 54 . the voltage output e mf , of potentiometer means 53 , reflects a &# 34 ; throttle &# 34 ;- positioned pick - off voltage and thus reflects instantaneous air - mass flow , for the instantaneous throttle ( 54 ) setting , and a second amplifier a 2 provides a corresponding output voltage e mf for regulation - free application to one of the voltage - multiplier inputs of a pulse - width modulator 55 , which is the source of e mod . already referred to . the other voltage - multiplier input of modulator 55 receives an input voltage e e which is a function of engine speed and volumetric efficiency . more specifically , a tachometer 56 generates a voltage e t which is linearly related to engine speed ( e . g ., crankshaft speed , or repetition rate of one of the spark plugs ), and a summing network 57 operates upon the voltage e t and certain other factors ( which may be empirically determined , and which reflect volumetric efficiency of the particular engine size and design ) to develop the voltage e e for the multiplier of modulator 55 . the present invention is concerned with the nature and performance of potentiometer means 53 . desired performance is presented in fig5 in terms of output voltage ( e mf ,) as a percentage of input voltage ( e m ) over a 75 - degree range of throttle - position angles , the 75 - degree position being indicated as &# 34 ; w . o . t .&# 34 ;, meaning the wide - open position of throttle 54 . the particular engine is shown to operate generally in a range which extends between a &# 34 ; lean &# 34 ; limit curve and a &# 34 ; rich &# 34 ; limit curve , and legends in fig5 explain that these limits are taken for points at which speed loss occurs on the respective lean and rich sides of operation at any given throttle setting . a solid - line curve ( a ) displays one type of desired performance of potentiometer means 53 wherein a sloped linear first fraction of throttle 54 displacement ( e . g ., from 0 ° to 50 °) occurs within the indicated lean - rich spread , being on the lean side in the 20 ° to 35 ° range throttle - angle settings which govern economy or cruising operation of the engine . beyond cruising , greater throttle - angle settings call for more - enriched mixture until the 50 ° setting , at which point the output voltage e mf , is 100 % of ( i . e ., equal to ) the input voltage e m ; beyond the 50 ° setting , further advance of throttle 54 is ineffective to increase the output voltage e mf ,. the circuit of fig2 achieves the a - curve performance noted above in connection with fig5 without requiring that the potentiometer component be specially characterized to develop the knee of the curve . simply stated , a commercially available linear potentiometer r p is selected to have a range of electrical adjustability ( e . g ., 90 degrees ) which is at least as great as the engine - limited range of throttle adjustment , illustratively shown in fig5 as 75 degrees . the full resistance of potentiometer r p , together with such additional fixed series resistance ( r 4 ) as may be appropriate , is connected across the input - circuit connections of means 93 , here shown to comprise an input - signal pole 10 and a ground connection , with potentiometer r p connected to pole 10 . a voltage divider comprising resistors r 5 and r 6 is similarly connected across the output - circuit connections of means 93 , here shown to comprise an output - signal pole 11 and a ground connection , a voltage - dividing tap 12 being available at the connection of resistors r 5 and r 6 . a bridging resistor r 2 interconnects the signal poles 10 - 11 and is of resistance value very substantially less than that of either of resistors r 5 - r 6 . voltage - comparator means 20 has two input terminals and an output terminal , the latter being connected to the output - signal pole 11 . legends at 20 identify the negative input terminal connected to tap 12 and the positive input terminal connected to the wiper arm 15 of potentiometer r p , and arm 15 is shown to be mechanically positioned by the throttle control 54 . a resistor r 3 is serially included in the connection of arm 15 to comparator 20 and is the parallel value of r 5 and r 6 to assure substantial uniformity of current flow ( i . e ., to assure against any substantial disparity of current flow ) in the respective input - circuit connections to comparator 20 . the comparator 20 is suitably a commercially available unit , such as the national semiconductors product designated lm - 2901 , and it is in fig2 used in a non - inverting operational amplifier configuration , so that the overall gain of the circuit will never exceed unity . a resistor r 1 , of resistance value substantially exceeding all other resistors , spans the arm 15 connection and the input - signal pole 10 , thereby insuring that the non - inverting comparator terminal is tied to a high potential in the event of loss of wiper - arm ( 15 ) contact with the potentiometer substrate ; this r 1 connection allows the circuit to fail rich at part throttle and to maintain proper calibration at larger throttle openings . a capacitor c is used for frequency compensation , in the indicated situation of employing a comparator as an operational amplifier . typical values for the indicated circuit elements are : r p = 2 kilohms , r 1 = 1 megohm , r 2 = 1 kilohm , r 3 = 100 kilohms , r 4 = 1 . 6 kilohms , r 5 = 100 kilohms , r 6 = 460 kilohms , and c = 0 . 47 μf . typically , input - signal voltage e m is approximately 3 volts , and the non - inverting nature of comparator 20 assures a maximum output voltage e mf , at the instantaneous level of input voltage e m , i . e ., for upper ( greater - throttle ) positions of arm 15 . when arm 15 is at its lowest position , it samples approximately 44 % of the instantaneous input voltage for application to the positive input of comparator 20 ; this sampled voltage is amplified by comparator 20 , the gain of which is controlled by the feedback network of r 5 and r 6 , yielding an output voltage e mf , of about 1 . 3 volts . with advancing positions of throttle control 54 , the voltage e mf , ( 11 ) approaches that of e m ( 10 ), and attenuation reduces as a substantially linear function of arm ( 15 ) position , until the voltage at arm ( 15 ) multiplied by the amplifier gain is equal to e m ( at the 50 ° position , in the present example ), thus ending the linearly varying fraction of the curve a . for sampled voltages beyond this point ( i . e ., throttle angles from 50 ° to w . o . t . ), the inability of the comparator ( 20 ) to source current prevents e mf from exceeding the value of e m ; therefore , there is no change in output voltage . it will be seen that in the described circuit of fig2 the slope of the inclined fraction of curve a is dependent upon the selected resistance values of r 4 in relation to the portion of r p to be used throughout the range of throttle positions . it is also seen that the relation of resistance at r 5 to that at r 6 determines the &# 34 ; knee &# 34 ; point of curve a transition , from substantially linearly varying , to unvarying . fig3 illustrates a modification in which a greater slope offset is achievable for the linearly varying fraction of curve a . all circuit components of fig2 are to be found in fig3 with the same reference numbers , but fig3 achieves the additional slope offset by imposing a fixed bias upon the tap 12 connection to comparator 20 . such bias is shown imposed by a high resistance element r 8 ( typically 1 megohm ) in the connection of tap 12 to a b + supply ( e . g ., 8 volts ). at the same time , a relatively low resistance element r 7 connects comparator ( 2 ) to the output - signal pole 11 . resistor r 7 should be selected such that the particular engine will idle smoothly for the low - throttle limit of potentiometer r p . the circuit of fig3 performs as described for fig2 except that its function follows curve b to provide more lean mixtures throughout the 0 ° to 50 ° range of throttle ( 54 ) settings ; beyond this point , no change in output voltage e mf , results , for increasing throttle ( 54 ) settings . fig4 will be recognized for its resemblance to fig2 the only change being that in the event of using an operational amplifier 20 &# 39 ;, in place of comparator 20 , a diode 16 is included in the output connection to pole 11 . diode 16 allows amplifier 20 &# 39 ; to sink only , thus duplicating the described action of comparator 20 . while there is technical difference , in that diode 16 will increase the minimum possible value of e mf , by 0 . 7 volt , this is in most cases not a problem . it will be understood that what has been said as to amplifier 20 &# 39 ; and diode 16 , as a replacement for the comparator 20 of fig2 will also apply for similar substitution for the comparator 20 of fig3 . the described invention will be seen to meet all stated objects , enabling a standard linear potentiometer to selectively produce particular performance such as curve a or curve b , merely by choice of fixed resistance values where indicated . not only is slope or offset selectable , but so also is the &# 34 ; knee &# 34 ; point of curve positioning , in relation to total angle of throttle positioning . also , the indicated results are achievable even though the angular range of the standard potentiometer r p exceeds the angular range of throttle adjustment . while the invention has been described in detail for preferred and illustrative embodiments , it will be understood that modification may be made without departure from the claimed scope of the invention . | 5 |
fig1 shows a product indexing system 100 having a server 200 configured to receive product data of a product . product data includes at least an image , such that the image includes a product image of the product and a context image which provides the context that the product is in . product indexing system 100 includes a product identification module 210 configured to identify the product image , a context identification module 220 configured to identify the context image in the image , a verification module 230 configured to verify the product image based on the context image , an extraction module 240 configured to extract the product image from the image , and an indexing module 250 configured to index the product image . indexed product image may form a product visual feature index . product feature visual index may be an index used to index product catalogues to facilitate a search using visual search query . fig2 shows an example of product data 300 . product data 300 may include at least an image 310 . image 310 may include a product image 320 of the product and a context image 330 which provides the context that the product is in . fig3 shows another example of product data 302 . product data 302 may include a product text 340 of the product . product text 340 may include a product name 342 and / or a product description 344 of the product . product name 342 may be a brand , a model , name etc . of the product which may be provided by the product company . product description 344 may be a product specification or write - up of the product . product data 302 may be received from a product company . product data 302 may be in the form of a digital product catalogue . fig4 shows a product indexing method 400 for the product indexing system 100 . product indexing method 400 includes receiving product data 300 of a product in 410 . product data 300 has at least an image 310 . image 310 has a product image 320 of the product and a context image 330 which provides the context that the product is in . context image 330 includes at least one non - product image . product indexing method 400 includes identifying the product image 320 in 420 , identifying the context image 330 from the image 310 in 430 , verifying the product in the product image 320 based on the context image 330 in 440 , extracting the product image 320 in 450 and indexing the product image 320 in 460 . when the server 200 receives product data 300 , the server 200 may analyse the product data 300 to identify the product in the product data 300 . referring to fig2 , the server 200 may use the product identification module 210 to identify the product image 320 of the product , e . g . coat . server 200 may use the context identification module 220 to identify the context image 330 in the image 310 , e . g . face , hand . server 200 may use the verification module 230 to verify that the product image 320 , e . g . coat , based on the context image 330 identified e . g . hands and face are adjacent the coat . once the product image 320 is identified , the server 20 may extract the product image 320 from the image 310 using the extraction module 240 and index the product image 320 using the indexing module 250 . extracted product image 320 may be used to form the product visual feature index . as described , to index a product data 300 , the product that the product data 300 represents may be identified for indexing to be carried out . thereafter , the product image 320 of the product may be identified , selected and extracted to be used for the product visual feature index . product identification module 210 may include a product prediction module 211 configured to predict a product category ( shown below ) of the product in the product data 300 . product prediction module 211 may be used to predict the product image 320 in the image 310 . fig5 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary method 213 of a product prediction module 211 . product prediction module 211 may be configured to predict the type of product in the image 310 . product prediction module 211 may include text prediction module 212 and / or image prediction module 214 . text prediction module 212 and / or image prediction module 214 may include pretrained text classification models . text prediction module 212 and image prediction module 214 may be conventional text - based and image - based prediction models respectively , e . g . machine learning algorithm . as shown in fig5 , the product name 342 and / or the product description 344 of the product text 340 may be predicted by the text prediction module 212 . image 310 may be predicted by the image prediction module 214 . product indexing system 100 may include a product prediction score 215 . product prediction module 211 may be used to analyse the product image 320 to obtain the product prediction score 215 . product prediction score 215 may be at least one number indicating the probability of the product predicted by product prediction module 211 to belong to a product category . e . g . referring to fig3 , the product prediction module may predict the product image 320 to have a product prediction score of 85 % as a shoe and maybe 40 % as a slipper as the product has a high resemblance of a shoe . product prediction module may be configured to analyse a product database having product data of a plurality of products to provide a plurality of product prediction scores for the plurality of products . product prediction score 215 may include a text prediction score 216 and / or an image prediction score 218 . product prediction module 211 may be configured to use supervised learning modules to generate text - based and visual - based prediction modules . text prediction score 216 may be obtained from the text prediction module 212 when the product data 300 is being analysed by the text prediction module 212 . image prediction score 218 may be obtained from the image prediction module 214 when the product data 300 is analysed by the image prediction module 214 . product prediction score 215 may be obtained by aggregating the text prediction score 216 and the image prediction score 218 using a score aggregating module 219 . text prediction score 216 may be factored by a text prediction weight to obtain a weighted text prediction score . image prediction score may be factored by a image prediction weight to obtain a weighted image prediction score . text prediction weight and / or image prediction weight may be configured empirically . product category ( as explained below ) of a product may be determined based on the product prediction score . product indexing system 100 may include a plurality of product categories . product category of the product may be determined based on product data 300 . product category of a product may be determined based on the product prediction score 215 . based on the results of the product prediction module 211 , e . g . product prediction score 215 , the product category of the product may be identified . product prediction score 215 obtained from the product data 300 may be used to predict the product category of the product from the plurality of product categories . based on the product prediction score 215 , the server 200 may identify and select the product category that is the most relevant to the product , e . g . highest product prediction score for the product category , from the plurality of product categories for the product . as mentioned above , the product prediction score 215 may include text prediction score 216 and / or image prediction score 218 . therefore , the product category may be identified and selected based on the product text and / or image of the product data 300 . in another words , the product category may be determined based on at least one of the product name 342 or the product description 344 . as the text prediction score 216 is a component of the product prediction score 215 , the product category may be determined based on the product text 340 and / or the product image 320 of the product data 300 . plurality of product categories may include a plurality of product detection modules . each of the product category may include a product detection module . each of the plurality of product detection modules may be pre - defined for each category of product , e . g . product detection module for clothing , footwear , or handbags etc . product detection module may be configured to extract information of the product from the image 310 . product detection module may be configured to extract the position of the product image 320 in the image 310 . product detection module may include an image detection module . product detection module may include the text prediction module 212 . text prediction module 212 may be configured to extract a text feature representation from the product data 300 . image detection module may be configured to extract an image feature representation from the product data 300 . based on the product detection module and the text feature representation and / or image feature representation , parametric models of the product may be learned by supervised learning methods e . g . regression , svm , neural network , etc . multiple parametric models may be learned for both the text feature representation and / or the image feature representation by changing the feature representations and learning methods . product detection module may be a labeled product dataset . product detection module may be a pre - trained product detection module configured to detect a product in the product image . text prediction module may include pretrained text classification models . text prediction module 212 may be conventional text - based prediction models respectively , e . g . machine learning algorithm . product detection module of the product category may be configured to identify the product image . each of the plurality of product categories may include a product detection module . product detection module may be customised for the respective product category . for example , if the product is a shoe , the product category may be “ footwears ”. product detection module for “ footwears ” may be configured to detect images that are relevant to shoes , slippers etc . unlike the product prediction module 211 , the product detection module has more product specific detection algorithm to detect or identify the product image within the image . therefore , the incorporation of the product detection module may enhance the quality of the product image and hence enhance the quality of the product index . product detection module may include visual detection models which are built using shape models . detection model may be utilised with haar feature . histogram of oriented gradient feature convolutional neural network as image descriptor . product indexing system 100 may include an image position identification module configured to identify the position of the product image and / or the context image within the image . image position identification module may be independent from the product detection module . product detection module may be configured to identify the position of the product image and / or the context image within the image . product position of the product in the image 310 may be obtained during the detection of the product in the image 310 by the product detection module . product category may include visual detection models like shoes , coat , trousers , etc . such detection models may be built using shape models . detection models may be used with haar feature . histogram of oriented gradient feature convolutional neural network as image descriptor . product category may include a spatial relationship module having conditions defining the spatial relationship between the product image 320 and the context image 330 . spatial relationship module for each of the plurality of product categories may be unique to the nature of the product . as such , the conditions in the spatial relationship module for each of the plurality of product categories may be different from each other . there may be a possibility that the product category of the product may not be determined . as mentioned , the product prediction module 211 may be used to predict the product category of the product . product prediction module 211 may determine that the product may belong to an undetermined product category in the event that the product category is not determined . a general product category may include a general product category detection module configured to detect the undetermined product . using the general product category detection module , the product image 320 of the undetermined product may be identified and extracted . product image 320 of the undetermined product may be indexed by the indexing module 250 as part of the product visual feature index as an “ undetermined ” index . product category may include at least one pre - defined viewpoint for a product . product detection module may be configured to store pre - defined viewpoints of the product for the respective product category . for example , if the product is a shoe , the pre - defined . viewpoints may be a left side view , a right side view and / or a perspective view of the shoe . product category may include a viewpoint managing module configured to identify the viewpoint of the product in the product image 320 . viewpoint of a product may be a view of the product from a point away from the product , e . g . front side , left side , right side , rear side , perspective side . viewpoint managing module may be configured to orientate a product image 320 having a viewpoint that is different from the pre - defined viewpoint of product category to align the viewpoint of the product image to that of the pre - defined viewpoint . context identification module 220 may be configured to identify the context that the product may be in . for example , for the image 400 , e . g . coat , as shown in fig6 , the context image 330 may include a face 410 , skin 420 , human 430 , text 440 and rectangular / circular image mosaics 450 . context identification module 220 may include pretrained context models configured to detect context image 330 . context identification module 220 may be configured to perform context identification on the product image 320 . context image 330 may be common irrelevant content appearing in the image 310 or the product image 320 . for example , as shown in fig6 , visual models may be constructed for the context objects such as human , face , skin , text , boxed or circled mosaics . these context images 330 may be related to the product but may be irrelevant to the product . context identification module 220 may include shape model with edge features descriptors to detect shapes , e . g . human , faces and text . shape model with edge features descriptors may include haar feature , histogram of oriented gradient feature or pixel convolutional kernels from a convolutional neural network . context identification module 220 may use conventional methods , e . g . gaussian mixture model ( gmm ) of color , to identify colour - related context image 330 , e . g . human skin . context identification module 220 may include edge , line , circle and corner detectors to predict context image like mosaic boxes / circles . edge , line , circle and corner detectors , e . g . hough transform , may be implemented to detect all high probability boxes , circles / ellipses and generate the boxes , circles / ellipses as an output . context image 330 may be areas of the product images that may need to be removed when extracting the product image . context image 330 may be used for more accurate product category prediction and / or position prediction . product images may be selected by the verification module 230 based on the aforementioned results obtained from at least one of the product detection module , the product prediction module 211 and the context identification module 220 . product indexing system 100 may further include a product image selection module configured to select the product image 320 . product image selection module may be independent from the verification module 230 . information related to the product that is found in the product category , e . g . spatial relationship module , predicted product images from the product prediction module 211 and context image from the context identification module 220 may be fed into the verification module 230 . verification module 230 may analyse all the results together to generate a more accurate result of the product image 320 . once the context identification module 220 identifies the context image 330 , the context image 330 may be used to verify the product image 320 in the image 310 . verification module 230 may be configured to identify a relationship between the product image 320 and the context image 330 , e . g . spatial relationship , chronological relationship . image position identification module may be configured to identify the position of the context image 330 in the image 310 . position of the context image 330 may be obtained during the detection of the product in the image 310 by the image position identification module . verification module 230 may include a spatial relationship module configured to verify the spatial relationship or positional relationship between the product image 320 and the context image 330 . spatial relationship module may include a visual grammar module having conditions pertaining to the relationship between the product image 320 and the context image 330 . product indexing system 100 may utilise the results obtained from the product detection module , the product prediction module 211 and the context identification module 220 in the verification of the product image so as to verify the accuracy of the product image 320 . for example , as shown in fig6 , the context identification module 220 may have identified a plurality of context images 330 , e . g . face 410 , skin 420 and human 430 , and the position of the plurality of the context images 330 . although , the plurality of context images 330 , e . g . the face as well as several parts of the human body , may not be applicable for the product image , i . e . coat , they may be important for inferencing the position of the product image 320 . visual grammar module may be used to merge the prediction results for at least one of the three modules , i . e . the product detection module , the product prediction module 211 and the context identification module 220 . visual grammar module may contain a spatial relation validation grammar . visual grammar module may analyse the spatial relations between the position of the product image 320 and the position of the context image 330 and may filter the product image 320 with invalid product - context relation . visual grammar module may perform refinement to the product image position . based on the result of the spatial relation analysis , it can be found that although the prediction of the product image 320 is correct , the position of the product image 320 may somehow not be accurate enough . visual grammar module may verify the product image 320 based on at least one of the context images 330 using linear model , e . g . predict the boundary coordinates of the product image , e . g . coat , from the face box 412 coordinates . visual grammar module may include prediction parameters which may be manually tuned or learned from existing product detection module to improve the prediction of the product image 320 . product indexing system 100 may include a product image defining module configured to define the product image 320 . product box and context box may be used to define the product image and the context image respectively as shown in fig6 . for example , the context box may include a face box 412 to identify the position of the face 410 , a skin box 422 to identify the position of the skin 420 , a human box 432 to identify the position of the human 430 , a text box 442 to identify the position of the text 440 , and the image mosaic box 452 to identify the position of the image mosaic 450 . as shown , a box is used to define the area confined within the box and the box may be circular , square or any other shapes used to depict a boundary of the image . a product box ( not shown in fig6 ) should be within the image mosaic boxes / circles ; a top clothes box ( not shown in fig6 ) should not exceed the human box 432 . top boundary of top clothes box should not exceed the middle of the face box 412 . skin area within a product box should not exceed a threshold ( the threshold may vary according to the product category ). otherwise 1 ) if face color is not used for skin prediction then the skin area is considered as invalid ( if the skin prediction is inaccurate ) 2 ) if face color is used for skin prediction , then the product box is invalid . remove all skin area in the product box since skin area is highly possible to be noise data to the product image . product category may define the definitions in the visual grammar module . as such , the visual grammar may vary be changed flexibly according to the product category of the product . use of the context image 330 , i . e . photo context information , may be a key component in the identification of product image 320 . model based context prediction may be more general comparing to similar image processing approaches . models can be constructed about common irrelevant context information such as text , boxed or circled mosaics and human as shown in fig6 . context identification module may detect time relevant data , e . g . time of the day , season of the year . time relevant data may be used to identify products which may be relevant to the time of the day or season of the year . for example , snow may indicate that the clothes worn by a person may be winter clothes . as shown , context image may be a contextual background image . in another example , the contextual background image may be at least one kitchen item , e . g . a kettle , basin , and the product image may be compared using visual grammar which is in the context of kitchen items . visual grammar may include object - to - scene and / or object - to - object relationship conditions . context image may be removed when the product image is extracted for indexing purposes as will be explained later . as mentioned earlier , the viewpoints required for a product may be pre - defined in the product category . for example , for shoes , the mirrored version of the side view may be required to be generated and indexed ( refer to fig7 ( d ) ). product image 320 may be extracted and fed into the viewpoint managing module to generate different product viewpoints . viewpoint managing module may be designed according to different product categories since different product has different geometric features , e . g . symmetric , rotate - invariant , etc . viewpoint managing module may utilise shape model to predict the required viewpoint of the product . in this way , the product indexing system 100 would only incur rather low computation cost . when the viewpoints of a product are finalised , the viewpoints may be indexed . by generating more viewpoints , the product index of the product may be enhanced and thereby improving the visual index quality of the product . products may look different from different viewpoints . therefore , the viewpoint of the product may need to be further processed in order to obtain a unified search result from variant user queries . if the product position and viewpoint are well predicted , the viewpoint of the product from other viewpoints , like mirrored or rotated views , may be synthesized . product image 320 may be identified based on the product category . fig7 shows a flowchart 380 of the product image being indexed . image 310 may be predicted by the image prediction module 214 . as mentioned earlier , the product detection module may be configured to detect the position of the product image 320 and the viewpoint of the product in image 310 . image position identification module of the product detection module may be used to predict the position of the product in image coordinate . referring to fig7 ( a ) , once the product image 320 is detected , a product image box 322 may be generated to define an image area of the product image 320 . referring to fig7 ( b ) , the viewpoint managing module may be used to detect a viewpoint of the product ( indicated by the arrow of the product image box 322 ). for example , the two shoes can be detected by a 45 degree and a 90 degree rotated shoe model . referring to fig , 7 ( c ), based on the pre - defined viewpoint of the product in the product category , the product images 320 may be extracted along the boundary of the product image box and aligned with the pre - defined viewpoint of the product category for the product . as shown in fig7 ( c ) , the product image 320 of the right shoe may be rotated about 90 degree counter - clockwise as defined in the product category . if the product image 320 is already aligned to the pre - defined viewpoint of in the product image , the product image need not be rotated . once the product images 320 of the product have been obtained , the product images 320 may be indexed as the product visual feature index . as the product image 320 includes a viewpoint of the product , e . g . side view , a viewpoint index may be generated . product index and / or the viewpoint index may be saved into the product visual feature index . referring to fig7 ( d ) , the product , e . g . shoe shape models , may have two viewpoints , i . e . a side view and a front view . the viewpoint index may facilitate the search if the search query is also labeled with the viewpoint index . depending on the pre - defined viewpoints as required by the product category , other viewpoints may also be generated by the viewpoint managing module . e . g . referring to fig7 ( d ) , the viewpoint managing module may generate a mirrored or rotated viewpoint 324 of the product image 320 . most of the electronic commerce product data may not be symmetric and rotation invariant . therefore , it may be necessary to generate the viewpoints which are useful for the search . when a product image 320 has be identified and / or refined , visual feature description of the product may be extracted from product image 320 . product category may include visual feature extraction parameters which may also be required for the extraction of the product image 320 since different product category may result in different extraction parameters . a product visual feature index may be built from the product image 320 . the final product visual feature index may be built using the product category and the extracted visual features based on common data indexing techniques such as hashing and inverted index . product category may be used for visual feature extraction and indexing to provide a more accurate indexing of the product . fig8 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 304 of indexing of the product image 320 . as shown in fig8 ( a ) , the product image 320 may be predicted from an image 310 using the product prediction module 211 , e . g . product prediction module 211 has identified the product image 320 to be a coat . server 200 may select the product image 320 by generating a product image box 322 around the product image 320 . product prediction score 216 may have been generated by the product prediction module 211 . server 200 may call for the product category for the coat based on the product prediction score 216 . server 200 may activate the product detection module to detect the product in the product image 320 . referring to fig8 ( b ) , the server 200 may activate the context identification module 220 to identify the context image 330 , e . g . human , in the image 310 . using the verification module 230 , the context image 330 may be used to be compared against the product image 320 and verify the product image 320 , e . g . using the visual grammar module . referring to fig8 ( c ) , based on the visual grammar , the server 200 may refine the product image 320 by enlarging the product image box 322 to better define and encapsulate the product within the product image box 322 . referring to fig8 ( d ) , the context identification module 220 may identify a plurality of context images 330 and may mask the plurality of context images 330 ( see fig8 ( e ) ). server 200 may extract the product image 320 using the extraction module 240 . upon extracting the product image 320 , the server 200 may remove the plurality of context images 330 from the product image 320 to isolate the product image 330 from the plurality of context images 330 , i . e . noise . thereafter , the product image 320 may be indexed using the indexing module 250 to form the product visual feature index . with the removal of the plurality of context images 330 , the accuracy of the product visual feature index for the product may be improved . fig9 shows a flowchart of an exemplary a product indexing method 900 . upon receiving the product data 300 , the product identification module 210 may be used to analyse the product data 300 to identify the product image 320 . product image 320 may be identified from the image 310 using the product prediction module 211 . type of product in image 310 may be predicted by the product prediction module 211 . product prediction module 211 may be used to predict the product category 350 of the product . upon identifying the product category 350 , the product detection module 260 related to the product category 350 may be used to identify the product image 320 in the image 310 and for other functions , e . g . determining the viewpoints to be acquired . context image 330 may be identified by the context identification module 220 from the image 310 . product image 320 may be verified by the verification module 230 by considering the inputs from at least one of the product image 310 , the product category 350 , and the context image 330 . based on the verification , the product image 320 may be refined and the refined product image 320 may be extracted by the extraction module 240 . product image 320 extracted from the image 310 may then be indexed by the indexing module 250 to obtain the product visual feature index 370 . user search query image may also be processed by the product indexing system 100 . any one of more of the modules described above in the product indexing system 100 may be executed for the user search query image . e . g . viewpoint managing module may mirrored or rotated the image of the user search query . | 6 |
in fig1 a melting device 2 is constructed above a base board 1 . the melting device 2 has a water - cooled furnace body 3 . the furnace body 3 defines a space for melting the radioactive wastes . a furnace cover 3a is removably attached to the top of the furnace body 3 . bolts and nuts or clamps may be used as means for removably mounting the cover . a gripper 4 is mounted on the furnace cover 3a so as to be rotatable and movable up and down . the gripper 4 is rotated about its axis and moved up and down by an operating mechanism not shown . a connector 4a is threadedly mounted on the lower end of the gripper 4 . a portion 5 of radioactive waste 5 is connected in a suspended fashion to the connector 4a . the waste portion includes metals ( such as pipes , valves , plates , die steels , and tools ), waste filters ( such as prefilters , hepa filters ) and inorganic materials ( such as heat insulating material , fire - resisting material , glasses and concrete ). it will be observed that the portions 5 of radioactive waste are contaminated by radioactivity such that as shown in fig2 ( a ), wherein the radioactive nuclides 5b are adhered to the surface of a solid 5a which forms the pipe , filter , glass and the like as described above , which is well - known . connection means of the waste portion 5 to the connector 4a may be a bolt and nut . it will be noted that if the waste portions 5 are metal , welding may also be used for that purpose . plasma torches 6 are mounted on the side walls of the furnace body 3 . in the illustrated embodiment , three such plasma torches 6 are spaced by 120 ° and are each supported retractably and tiltably by a support mechanism 7 . the support mechanism 7 has a support frame 9 secured to the furnace body 3 . the interior of the support frame 9 comprises a spherical surface . a spherical body 10 is fitted internally of the support frame 9 . externally the spherical body 10 comprises a spherical surface capable of frictional sliding movement with respect to the internal surface of the support frame 9 . the spherical body 10 has a through - hole 10a bored therein . the aforesaid plasma torch 6 is retractably inserted into the through - hole 10a . the support device 7 further has a retracting device 12 for retracting the plasma torch 6 . the retracting device 12 is mounted on the frame 11 secured to the base board 1 and has its retracting portion 12a which retracts in a direction as indicated by the arrow a . the retracting portion 12a has a tilting device 13 mounted thereon . the tilting device 13 comprises , for example , a hydraulic cylinder , to tilt the plasma torch 6 in a direction as indicated by the arrow b . next , a water treatment means 15 is positioned under the base board 1 . this water treatment means 15 is positioned directly beneath the melting device 2 . the water treatment means 15 has a water vessel 16 filled with water 17 . the water vessel 16 is provided at its lower end with a discharge opening adapted to be opened and closed by a valve 18 . next , the upper portion of the water vessel 16 is closely connected to the lower portion of the furnace body 3 , and a shielding wall 40 is disposed between the furnace body 3 and the water vessel 16 . this wall 40 is provided to thermally shield a space 41 internally of the furnace body 3 and a space 42 internally of the water vessel 16 . preferably , the wall 40 may be of water - cooled construction similar to the furnace body 3 . the shielding wall 40 has a hole formed in the central portion thereof . on the edge 40a of the hole is mounted a cylindrical depending wall 43 suspended from the shielding wall 40 . the interior of the hanging wall 43 has a through - hole 44 , through which drops 26 later described will drop . a gas discharging duct 19 is connected to the furnace body 3 of the melting device 2 and to the water vessel 16 of the water treatment means 15 . reference numeral 20 designates a control mechanism . the control mechanism 20 comprises a power source device 21 , a gas supply device 22 , a water supply device 23 and a control device 24 . the power source device 21 is provided for use with each of the plasma torches 6 . for the power source device 21 , a dc power source device can be used and also , an ac power source device can be used depending upon the plasma torch to be used . as power supply systems to the plasma torches 6 , a transfer system or a non - transfer system may be used in accordance with kind of the wastes 5 . that is , the transfer system may be employed if the wastes are metal , and the non - transfer system may be employed if the wastes are mainly non - metal . the gas supply device 22 is provided to supply gases to form a plasma by means of the plasma torch 6 . the gases used include inert gases such as argon and other gases such as nitrogen . the water supply device 23 is provided to supply cooling water for the torches 6 and furnace body 3 and water for the water treatment means 15 . the control device 24 is designed in a known manner so as to adequately control a supply of electricity , gas and water to the torches 6 , the furnace body 3 and the water treatment means 15 . first , the portion 5 of waste is attached to the gripper 4 with the furnace cover 3a removed from the furnace body 3 . this attachment may be achieved by bringing the connector 4a pre - secured to the portion 5 of waste into threadable engagement with the lower end of the gripper 4 . next , the furnace cover 3a is mounted on the furnace body 3 and the portion 5 of waste is positioned to assume the position as shown . then , the plasma torches 6 are operated to emit the plasma arcs 6a by which the portion 5 of waste may be heated so as to become molten . the portion 5 of waste is moved up and down in a direction as indicated by the arrow or is rotated and or the plasma torches 6 are retracted in a direction as indicated by the arrow a or tilted in a direction as indicated by the arrow b so that the waste 5 is melted in orderly fashion from the lower end thereof . during the above - mentioned melting step , the waste gases taken out of the plasma torches 6 in the form of plasma and used up to heat the portion 5 of waste are principally discharged via the duct 19 in communication with the space 41 internally of the furnace body 3 . however , the exhaust gases partly enter the space 42 from the space 41 by passing through the through - hole 44 and are discharged through the duct 19 in communication with the space 42 . when the portion 5 of waste is melted in the manner as described above , the melt falls in the form of a drop 26 . the drops 26 fall directly into water 17 within the water vessel 16 for pulverization and cooling into pulverized particles 27 which are deposited on the bottom of the water vessel 16 . in the event that the hot melt drops 26 falling into water 17 as described above produces vapor , the vapor principally stays in the space 42 and is discharged through the duct 19 in communication with the space 42 . the thus formed pulverized particles 27 are passed into the container 25 together with water 17 by opening the valve 18 . the container 25 is formed at its bottom with a water drainage hole so that only the pulverized particles 27 remain within the container 25 and water 17 is discharged . the pulverized particles 27 taken into the container 25 are dried by means of a drying agent or by natural ventilation . the dried pulverized particles 27 are introduced into a storing container for storage or used as a weight - increasing material . after all the portions 5 of waste have been melted by the operation as described above , the cover 3a is again removed from the furnace body 3 and the connector 4a is removed from the gripper 4 . thereafter , a fresh portion of waste is attached in a manner similar to the former case , and the similar operation is repeated . the pulverized particle 27 produced in the manner as described above has the following dimensions and contents for example . where the waste is metal , the pulverized particles 27 are about 2 mm to 10 mm in diameter . it is estimated that those of 5 to 10 mm are about 90 %, those of 2 mm are about one percent and those of other diameters are about 9 %. where the waste is non - metal , the pulverized particles 27 are about 0 . 5 to 8 mm . in the percentage , it is estimated that those of 5 to 8 mm are about 7 %, those of 2 to 5 mm are about 70 %, those of 0 . 5 to 2 mm are about 18 %, and those of other diameters are about 5 %. it is a matter of course that the size or diameter and the percentage contents of the pulverized particles 27 vary with the size and shape of the portions of waste to be melted , the injection speed of the plasma arc , the degree of agitation of water 17 within the water vessel 16 , the amount or size of the drops 26 falling into the water at a time , the temperature of the plasma arc , the temperature of water 17 , and the like . it should be noted that the pulverized particles 27 produced as described above have been subjected to the melting operation as mentioned above , and thus the radioactive nuclides 5b adhered to the surface of the solid material 5a as shown in fig2 ( a ) are buried and mixed into the solid material , and the nuclides 5b in the resolidified state become incorporated into the once molten and solidified solid material 27a as shown in fig2 ( b ). accordingly , the radioactive rays radiated from the nuclides 5b are partly intercepted by the solid material 27a , and hence , the quantity of radioactive rays emerging externally of the pulverized particles 27 decreases . next , fig3 shows a different mode of embodiment . the device shown in fig3 comprises a cooler 30 and a compressor 31 in communication with the cooler 30 . the cooler 30 is placed in communication with a space 41e internally of the furnace body 3e and with a space 42e internally of a water vessel 16e , through a duct 19e illustrated as a gas flow passage . the compressor 31 is placed in communication with plasma torches 6e through a gas flow passage . the gas from the duct 19e is cooled and pressurized , after which it is supplied to the plasma torches . the flow passage positioned between the compressor 31 and the plasma torch 6e includes a duct 19 &# 39 ;, a gas supply device 22e and a control device 24e . when vapor within the gases is condensed into water as the gas is cooled by the cooler 30 , the water may be thrown away but it may sometimes be returned to the water supply device 23e for reuse . further , in come applications there is disposed a filter , between the cooler 30 and the compressor 31 , to collect dust raised when the wastes are molten . in the case of such an arrangement as described above , it is advantageous in that the gases used to heat and melt the radioactive wastes and thus contaminated by radioactivity are not released outside . in the present embodiment , those parts considered identical or equivalent in function to those in the previous embodiments bear like reference numerals with ` e ` affixed thereto for omission of repeated explanation . as many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments thereof except as defined in the appended claims . | 8 |
the pre - paid credit card comes in two parts : ( a ) a pre - paid card issued by a bank or financial institution to a customer or user who made a request for one , ( b ) pre - paid credit cards made available to the general public by banks or financial institutions and sold in retail outlets . the pre - paid credit card is issued with a single account number and can be accepted in places of commerce where regular credit cards are . the pre - paid credit card will be activated in one of two ways : ( a ) the card issued by the bank or financial institution to a user after a request is made , will be activated when the user calls an activation phone number provided by the bank or financial institution . the call can be made from a home , office or cell phone , depending on the information supplied by the user . this pre - paid card can be used like the regular credit card which is verified by the customer &# 39 ; s signature . ( b ) the second way to activate the pre - paid credit card made available to the general public and sold in retail outlets is either by calling a phone number provided for that purpose by the issuing bank or financial institution , or by an identification number encrypted on the back of the card by the issuer of the card . the issuing bank or financial institution will determine the method most suitable to them . in case of a loss or theft , the card holder will call the issuer of the card so that a stop or cancellation can be placed on it . for the card issued by the bank or financial institution , a replacement card can be issued to the user . for the pre - paid credit cards sold in retail outlets , a refund of the remaining balance will be sent to the user based on the information supplied by him or her . the pre - paid credit card can be purchased for a dollar amount from the bank or financial institution with cash or through money in a savings or checking account and for the pre - paid cards offered for sale through retail stores , cash or debit bank cards . after this transaction , the card is then mailed to the user . for the user to be able to use the card , the pre - paid credit card will have to be activated via a telephone number provided for that purpose by the issuer of the card . the user can then use the card to purchase goods or services at any merchant or services physical location or internet site where such cards are accepted . the user can use the card just the same way the standard credit card or gift card is used . when the pre - paid credit card is presented , the sales rep swipes it in an in - store card reader to debit the purchase amount from the cash amount on the card . the purchase amount is then electronically debited from the account balance . the issuing bank or financial institution keeps a record of all the transactions on the card . the purchase charge is sent on to a cooperating bankcard back office operation for further processing including statements and normal customer service , collections and settlement matters . the monthly statements are sent only to corporations , businesses and government offices . for the users of pre - paid credit cards bought from retail stores , statements may only be mailed out in times of sales disputes or when the user requests for one , especially if the users &# 39 ; complaints have not been completely resolved . however , the card issuers can modify this section to make implementation possible and feasible . if the purchase is within the available cash limit on the pre - paid credit card , it is processed through the network of merchants processing operation including paying an exchange fee . the purchase on the network of merchants is paid to the merchant minus the exchange fee . if the balance amount on the card is not sufficient to pay in full the amount of the purchase , the merchant has a choice of either denying the purchase , or asking the user to make up the balance by cash . otherwise , the transaction ends if the balance on the pre - paid credit card is not sufficient to meet the purchase amount . the pre - paid credit card is an invention that will benefit society . it is not only an idea that can help the poor , the rich , as well as business people will also reap its benefits . the most obvious advantage is that a pre - paid credit card eliminates the need for a credit check which is the achilles &# 39 ; heels when it comes to getting approved for credit . with the pre - paid credit card , the cardholder determines the cash limit and purchases one accordingly . the pre - paid credit card holder will no longer live above his or her means . the cash limits on the cards will depend on whatever the cardholder can afford or wants . the pre - paid credit card will bring a new horizon to the concept and use of the credit card . the pre - paid credit card will bring the use of credit card to the general populace all over the world , to more people who otherwise would never have access to credit cards . this is one of the beauties of the invention , widespread use of the credit card . the pre - paid credit card will also allow anyone with no credit or poor credit history to build it up again . though the user provides the cash on the card , the issuing banks or financial institutions will monitor the purchases and usages to determine if these people could be approved for credit . the pre - paid credit card will aid corporations , businesses and government offices to monitor and eliminate wasteful spending on the part of their staff on business trips or official conferences . currently , staff on business trips or conferences , tend to over spend and go over the cash limit on their companies &# 39 ; credit cards . this present pre - paid credit card invention will also help parents to control their children &# 39 ; s spending habit . giving them pre - paid credit cards will eliminate the current practice of parents giving their children credit cards with no spending or cash limits , rather depending on these children to be prudent in their spending . experience has shown that these children spend the money anyway . the present invention will also help teenagers , students in high schools or colleges to learn financial responsibility and use money wisely . currently teens and students use the pre - paid cell phone to cut down on usage and cost . knowing that they have a cash limit on their credit cards will help them to learn to prioritize . this invention will also help to shut down the practices of fraudulent people or businesses who bilk people with poor or no credit history out of hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars every year by offering them credit cards which never materialize . now all they need to do is apply for a pre - paid credit card in any amount they can afford . the present invention will make credit cards more readily available to consumers , due to the fact that pre - paid credit cards in small amounts will be made available for purchase at retail stores . on the international scene , the pre - paid credit card will help to introduce the concept and use of the credit card to people in third world countries . the pre - paid credit card may be used in place of travelers &# 39 ; checks or traveling allowances which people from third world countries use while traveling to the west . while the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention , it should be readily apparent to people of ordinary skill in the art that a number of modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof . the accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention . the presently disclosed embodiments are , therefore , to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description . all changes that come within the meaning of and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein . | 6 |
for the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the disclosure , reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and described in the following written specification . it is understood that no limitation to the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended . it is further understood that the present disclosure includes any alterations and modifications to the illustrated embodiments and includes further applications of the principles of the disclosure as would normally occur to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains . fig1 - 4 depict transmission electron microscope ( tem ) images of an electronic device 100 including a passivation layer 102 . the electronic device 100 includes a base portion 104 on which the passivation layer 102 is formed . while depicted as being formed on an upper surface of the base portion 104 , the passivation layer 102 may be formed additionally and / or alternatively on sides of the base portion 104 . the passivation layer 102 includes a base layer 106 formed with an insulating material using a process such as ald , although pvd is used in another embodiment . in the embodiment of fig1 - 2 , the base layer 106 is of al 2 o 3 formed to provide a thickness on the order of 5 - 6 nm . in other embodiments , the base layer is a few angstroms in thickness . a matrix 108 including noble metal nanoparticles 110 ( which appear as large dark circular objects , particularly in fig2 - 4 ) and insulating material 112 ( which is similar in appearance to the base layer 106 ) is located above the base layer 106 . in fig2 , five layers of noble metal nanoparticles 110 can be discerned . each layer of nanoparticles is separated from the adjacent layer of nanoparticles by a layer of insulating material , resulting in four intermediate layers of insulating material . the noble metal nanoparticles 110 in this embodiment are platinum noble metal nanoparticles with a diameter of about 4 nm . the total thickness of the matrix 108 is about 24 . 2 nm . accordingly , each layer of insulating material ( like the layer 16 ) is about 1 nm in thickness . in fig3 and 4 , approximately seven layers of the noble metal nanoparticles 110 can be discerned . similar to the layers of the nanoparticles shown in fig2 , each layer of the nanoparticles shown in fig3 and 4 is separated from the adjacent layer of nanoparticles by a layer of insulating material , resulting in six intermediate layers of insulating material . the noble metal nanoparticles 110 in this embodiment are similarly platinum noble metal nanoparticles with a diameter of about 4 nm . accordingly , the total thickness of the matrix 108 shown in fig3 and 4 is greater than 24 . 2 nm . in the embodiments of fig1 - 4 , a cap layer 114 of insulating material is provided above the uppermost layer of noble metal nanoparticles . in some embodiments , the cap layer 114 is of similar thickness and material as the base layer 106 . in other embodiments , the cap layer 114 is about the same thickness as the intermediate insulation layers , or thinner . the passivation layer 104 prevents electrical short circuiting of different sensor / device areas . platinum is described as being used as the noble metal nanoparticle in the foregoing example , but other noble metals such as gold ( au ) are known to be extremely inert against harsh or disruptive environments such as those that are chemically aggressive . accordingly , in other embodiments nanoparticles of other noble metal are used . in other embodiments using other noble metals , the nanoparticles are preferably substantially the same size as the platinum nanoparticles of fig1 - 4 . materials other than noble metal are also known to be resilient against harsh or disruptive environments . accordingly , in other embodiments nanoparticles of material other than noble metal , such as aluminum , titanium , titanium nitride , tungsten , and ruthenium , are used . in addition , while al 2 o 3 is described as being used for the insulation material , in other embodiments other insulating materials , including hafnium oxide ( hfo 2 ) and zirconium dioxide ( zro 2 ), or combinations thereof , are used . the term “ electronic device ” is not meant to be limiting to any one specific device and includes devices such as a sensor , an integrated circuit , and an interposer . accordingly , the term “ base portion ” as used herein can include any portion of a sensor , an integrated circuit , an interposer , or the like on which a passivation layer is formed . fig5 - 8 depict a process for forming a passivation layer on a base portion 150 , which in one embodiment includes an outer layer of silicon . referring initially to fig5 , a base layer 152 is deposited on the base portion 150 . the base portion 150 in one embodiment is formed in accordance with any desired process . in some embodiments , the base portion 150 is an outer layer of the sensor area , or even a membrane of a sensor area . the base layer 152 is a layer of insulating material . in one embodiment , the base layer 152 is a thin al 2 o 3 layer , having a thickness of a few angstroms . in some embodiments , the base layer 152 is a few nanometers thick . the base layer 152 may be deposited on a base portion formed of a material such as silicon , adjacent to one or more conductors formed on the base portion . the base layer 152 provides a base layer of insulating material which substantially prevents electrical short circuiting of different areas of the devices being formed including mems sensors and accelerometers . formation of the passivation layer continues by using a switched process of atomic layer deposition ( ald ). after the base layer of insulating material such as aluminum oxide ( al 2 o 3 ) is deposited to form the base layer 152 , a layer of noble metal nanoparticles 154 such as platinum ( pt ) is deposited on the base layer 152 as illustrated in fig6 . the deposition process of the layer of noble metal nanoparticles 154 is controlled in a way that individual nanoparticles 154 are formed . in one embodiment , the nanoparticles 154 are pt crystals . fig6 is for illustrative purposes only and the circles representing the nanoparticles 154 do not represent an actual size of the nanoparticles with respect the thickness of the film 152 , nor do the respective locations of the nanoparticles represent the distance between nanoparticles . while the layer of noble metal nanoparticles 154 may be thicker than the base layer 152 , the thickness of the layer of noble metal nanoparticles 154 is controlled to be less than the thickness at which the noble metal coalescences , for instance approximately four ( 4 ) nanometers for pt . consequently , individual nanoparticles are realized , not a continuous layer , once the process for depositing the layer of nanoparticles 154 is completed . because the thickness of the layer of noble metal nanoparticles 154 is limited , if a different thickness is desired for a passivation layer , the above steps are repeated , as desired to obtain the desired thickness . for example , as illustrated in fig7 , a second layer 156 of insulating material is deposited on the layer 152 and on the nanoparticles 154 . if the thicker passivation layer is desired , a second layer of nanoparticles 158 such as platinum nanoparticles is deposited on the second layer 156 ( see fig8 ). the steps are thus repeated as needed to obtain the desired thickness . in some embodiments , a stack of four to fifty or more layers of insulating material and noble metals are used . in one embodiment , the final layer of insulating material is formed to be thicker than any of the intermediate insulating layers to form a cap layer such as the cap layer 114 . because of the manner in which the various layers in the passivation layer are formed , it is possible to mix materials if desired for a particular application . for example , the different layers of insulation material may be formed using different materials and the different layers of noble metals may be formed with different metals . the nature of the film allows a high protection of the underlying device against attack from harsh or disruptive environments . the platinum particles are chemically extremely inert and thereby not attacked . the insulating al 2 o 3 matrix is extremely thin , only 0 . 1 - 2 nm , and therefore a high aspect ratio structure is obtained , which allows good protection against attack . those of skill in the art will recognize that the process described with reference to fig5 - 8 in other embodiments is modified to provide a variety of configurations designed for the particular embodiment . the passivation layer and devices which include the passivation layer of the present invention can be embodied in a number of different configurations . the following embodiments are provided as examples and are not intended to be limiting . in one embodiment , a method is provided for fabricating a passivation layer for protection of devices against undesirable environments . the method in one embodiment has a low deposition temperature of less than three - hundred degrees c . in one embodiment , the method is implemented to fabricate complementary metal oxide semiconductor ( cmos ) devices and sensors . the method in one embodiment has a deposition temperature of one - hundred degrees or lower so as to allow compatibility to bio - sensors and lab - on - chip systems . in one embodiment , the passivation layer is formed of particles having a high chemical inertness due to utilization of noble metal nanoparticles , including platinum or gold . the method in one embodiment includes an electrically insulating film of platinum - nanoparticles realized by enclosing the particles within an insulating matrix including al 2 o 3 , hfo 2 , zro 2 , or combinations thereof . in one embodiment , the method includes fabricating the passivation layer by use of an ald process . in one embodiment , the method includes passivation of packaged electronic devices , as a highly conformal deposition process . the method in one embodiment includes passivation of bond - wires and / or passivation of high aspect - ratio structures including micro - fluidic systems . in one embodiment , the method includes a passivation layer having a total film thickness less than 100 nm . the method in another embodiment includes a passivation layer having a total film thickness below 50 nm . in one embodiment , the method includes a passivation layer formed as an optically transparent film , including a low thickness . the method in one embodiment includes a passivation layer for applications in systems with optical detection / readout . the passivation layer described above does not limit to materials including nanoparticles made from noble metals . other type of materials such as aluminum , titanium , titanium nitride , tungsten , ruthenium are also possible , depending on the application . while the disclosure has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description , the same should be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character . the passivation layer can be incorporated in a wide range of devices . it is understood that only the preferred embodiments have been presented and that all changes , modifications and further applications that come within the spirit of the disclosure are desired to be protected . | 1 |
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